Good Food takes a vacation
The good folks at the Good Food Emporium (2179 Gottingen Street, 422-3150) deserve a vacation, and they’re taking one whether you agree or not! The popular Gottingen Street restro is closing from Saturday, August 7 through Sunday August 16. Remember to get a load of cookies before then, to hold you over through the week.
That vest caught me eye, your eyes caught my heart.
This morning I saw you as I went to get the boat. You fiddled with your phone and adjusted your green vest. You said good morning and that was it. Done?! I felt sad that all you left me with was the smell of your hair and the faint mint from your breath. If you…
Caught off guard
All you cute lady loving ladies who smile at me unexpectedly, causing me to blush and trip over my own feet, thanks for being out there. —Flustered female
I love my Halifax family
Dear Halifax friends: I love you all so much and it makes me so sad to say goodbye. We’ve had so many great memories over the past years that thinking of them will make me smile and laugh even though the physical distance will get bigger. Thank you for making my time here so memorable…
Summer Skin
I know that, considering the fact that I’m only here for another month, I really shouldn’t have fallen as hard as I have. But I have. You make me want to sit by my phone all day so I don’t miss your call. You make me want to ‘accidentally’ stop in at your work to…
Two months of intense change
It’s been just over two months since you broke up with me, and I must thank you for it. You blamed me for a lot of problems in your own life, and I’m sorry if basically letting you live with me rent-free wasn’t enough in return for the guilt-ridden drives and reluctant offerings of food…
Let Halifax “Come to Life” Already!!
I get annoyed when I hear/read about Haligonians complaining about the “loss” of the Halifax Commons due to big concerts. It’s a COMMONS… for the people… ALL the people… not just the few who use it for recreational use, and access isn’t limited for the entire summer, but only for a few weeks! The ones…
News?
Hey guys, just to let you know, four house fires and three road accidents is NOT national and international news! And get over your inbred snobbishness and come to terms with the fact that there are other cities (Dartmouth for instance) that exist other than Halifax and stop announcing that every item of news occurring…
The Devious Iced Slushie
I work for a “coffee shop” and we serve an iced slushie that you may or may not have heard of. For all of the fucking idiot parents that are coming in on a regular basis buying all 6 of their spoiled rotten children iced cappuccinos: you might as well be buying them four extra…
Bordering on Banal
I know you have brains, so why won’t you just use them already and spend an hour or two talking about something of importance? And while you’re at it, try being less negative and at times downright cruel. It would do you good, and make those who spend time in your otherwise delightful company happier…
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?
I hate the new fucking traffic lights! I don’t care if I have to wait a bit before I can go but I fucking hate that through some amazing technology I can’t fucking see if it’s green until I’m already in the intersection and right underneath it. Otherwise it looks totally black. I literally have…
Stay quiet while I’m talking!
You know what my pet peeve is? Being interrupted when I’m talking! I’m sure this is many others’ pet peeves as well. I’m so sick of talking to someone and having them cut me off mid-sentence to throw in their two-cents! …Hello, I’m still talking here! I see people do this to others all the…
For the Natal Day RoadRunner
Well Buddy if it wasn’t bad enough that you ran over a 6 yr old little girl at the Dartmouth Sportsplex Bus terminal you reached a totally new low when you were sitting there on the 52 Burnside and started bragging about bowling over a 6 yr old girl. What a total asshole you are……
Motor Vehicles Prohibited!
Douchebag in white mini-van who was DRIVING on Tower Road THROUGH Point Pleasant Park at 10:45ish on Sunday night… You can’t drive there. Especially at night. Especially doing 80, you idiot! There were all kinds of people leaving a show in the park, plus people walk their dogs there all the time at night. Flashing…
Another Fed Pig Feeds at the Trough
I just read about some career politician who spent 17 years working in Parliament and retired. He gets a $111,000 pension. WHAT THE FUCK????? I have been working for 18 years and I probably would get about $111 if I retired today. This is absolutely crazy!!!! We Canadians complain and complain, then comtinue to let…
Are We Not Men? We Are R-I-C-H
Jenn Ivanovs all keyed up! HOYO! The seemingly inexhaustible Rich Aucoin was all over Montreal last weekend for shows both scheduled and spontaneous. After spending Friday opening for Of Montreal at Metropolis, Aucoin was woken from a deep Saturday-morning slumber by his bandmate Joel Waddel, who announced that Cage the Elephant had cancelled and Aucoin…
Mr. Burns’ mansion
I hate your monstrosity of a house. The public wharf used to be a nice place to sit before you blocked the view and made us all feel like we were somehow putting YOU off. Obviously you realize nobody is impressed judging by the number of surveillance cameras trained on the public land surrounding the…
Barrington Street to be Reborn?
When is this city going to realize that Barrington st could be as SGR is? It is time to move all of the transit buses down to Hollis st, and make Barrington st one-way opposite Hollis st. Get rid of the noise and bus fumes. Make it a street I would enjoy walking down! You…
Hate this apartment ugg…why do I keep living here?
Dear Landlord, Learn how to fix things. Our bathroom faucet is broken and the cold water tap on the bathtub has been broken since June. We have called you six times, put in two written requests for this to be fixed. I am so frustrated with this, is it that hard to fix something. We…
Zee lights, zay air too bright
Okay this is really bugging me: why do people wait until AFTER you can see them to turn off their high-beams?? Coming around a corner, up a hill, whatever, I can see you have high beams on and yet you wait until we can see each others lights before you turn yours off?? WTF? Turn…
I’m Human!
I work in customer service, this however does NOT make it OK for you to treat me like less than you! You were not waiting for a long time at the counter as you stated, I had just walked back from there not two minutes before to help someone else. Instead of glaring at me…
Commons for sale
Can we have the next concert in your backyard instead? Give us back our commons, you fucking crooks. Poison shitting bastards… —ryleyhfx
Bio-diesl V.W.
To the person who parked your VW Van in front of my driveway: Sorry I had your van towed, but after 12 hours I had no choice. I’m glad you’re helping the environment by using a bio-diesl… at least now you can use all that money you saved on gas to get your car out…
The rt 80 on a Sunday
I was blonde, dressed in black, you were handsome and probably much older than me. I regret not having spoken properly to you but thank you for turning and looking at me when the bus drove away. :3 —Patient blond
Bike Theft Stoppers
Thank you to whoever stopped the potential thief from cutting all the way through my bike lock on Saturday in front of the YMCA. I came out and found it half cut, and was so grateful that the jackass attempting to rip me off didn’t get away with it. I could be angry at the…
Free Concerts
Thanks HRM for the rockin’ free Natal Day concert. This is how public money should be spent – incredibly talented local bands, amazing venue, and accessible to everyone. We all had an amazing night, and I couldn’t have be more proud to call Halifax home. —City of Lakes Lover
In Like with You
Shucks, you’re awesome. Getting to know you recently has been a lot of fun. All the beery nights and bullshit talk aside, I think you’re a very special and beautiful woman. I hope we can be friends for a long time. You rock. —That guitar pick doubles as jewelry
Ideal Man
Gotta say way to go for working in this heat and kicking butt on repair turn around time. —A sweet customer
Canadian Slang
A flight debacle on Saturday meant I didn’t arrive in Montreal until Day 1 of the Osheaga Festival was almost over, meaning the closest I got to Parc Jean-Drapeau was texts from my Coast cohort Holly (summary: THE NATIONAL!). The festival is easily accessible by subway, and if you can make it through the pre-gate…
Roger Ebert is alone with Andrea Dorfman and Tanya Davis
Ebert’s Tweet, on an alone Saturday night. We’re not sure how, but Roger Ebert has discovered Tanya Davis’ new lovely video for her song “How to be Alone,” directed by Andrea Dorfman, who also did the animations. The video only went up on July 28, and now has over 122,000 hits—a testament to the power…
Pardis Parker on Implants and awards
Pardis Parker, who just won three awards at the Montgomery Film Festival in Alabama for his film Two Men, Two Cows, Two Guns, has a new digital short, Implants. Written and directed by Parker, it also stars Evany Rosen from Picnicface, with cinematography by Tarek Abouamin. Parker is up for FOUR Canadian Comedy Awards (Stand-Up…
One taste
of you is just never enough, the tang of honey crisp apples and pineapple… with strawberry champagne… deliciously fresh. —Gurlie
To the dancer who gave me band-aids
Thanks again to the lady who offered me band-aids on Barrington while we were getting on the bus. I was falling over while trying to put socks on my blistered feet. You caught on right away. Thank you for your perfectly-timed true kindness. —Happy Feet
For all the Evolvers out there…
Thank you for attending Evolve and making it the best one yet! I love being under the stars and listening to the best DJ’s from around the world and dancing till the sun come up. Thank you for your crazy outfits, awesome talks and amazing dance moves. Thank you to the Security for not being…
Making council smaller will hurt downtown
Halifax council Tuesday will take up the “boundary review” issue—the re-jigging of electoral districts to meet population changes. This is usually a matter left to bureaucrats and policy wonks, but unfortunately lots of nonsense has been added to the mix this time around, so it’s quite possible that we’re going to see council produce a…
Hey I exist assholes!
To my closest friends: When i’m off on a friday night how about having some drinks with me?! The last 4 weekends all I did was work or sit at home doing nothing! This is the shittiest summer ever so far! I’m sick of the excuses “I have no money”, “I’m not feeling good”, “I’m…
My Aching Back
Thank you Jesus for blessing me with an ample chest but my back can’t take it anymore and I can’t afford a reduction right now. Popping Tylenol 3 for the pain almost every day is bringing me closer and closer to a hard drug addiction. May have to try crack. —Too Heavy
Why can’t you just pick up the phone?
What is with people not calling you back to let you know that you didn’t get the job or the room in the house? Sure, you might feel bad about it, but think about all the constant wondering and stress you’ll be relieving the person of. I, for one, am tired of waiting a week…
Cockroaches are gone, now the bed bugs are making their rounds..
After months of spraying and cleaning and sealing cracks our roach problem is under control. Now I find out that other units are infested with bed bugs. If anyone has advice on how to break my lease or how I can possibly even AFFORD to move out then please, let me know. In my mind…
Gee thaanks
Thanks for telling me you’d be at the pool hall when you fucking knew you weren’t going to. Even though not a single fucking person showed up for my 20th birthday I thought I could at least count on you. But no, I went to your house to see what happened? Your man didn’t feel…
Lucky to Work?
When in hell did it become a luxurious to have a job? It is ridiculous how people the same age as me (20) put no effort into even graduating high school, and therefore cannot find a decent job and then turn to the ones who do have jobs for support and sympathy. Why the fuck…
Irony in it’s saddest form
You don’t get it and probably never will. You’re only the projection of who you want to be. Your ideals are great, but perhaps you should listen to your ‘self’ instead of setting unrealistic expectations based on what you think is cool. You were a poor friend. An even worse lover. Please leave me alone.…
Is That A 747 Or A Street Cleaner?
Could it be a 747 coming in for landing? Perhaps a military tank coming down the road? No its our 2 night a week street cleaner coming down the road at all hours of the fucking morning. We can put people on the moon but we can’t build a fucking street cleaner that doesn’t sound…
Camera Karma
I took my Mom in her wheelchair (who is ill with a terminal disease) and my 5 year old on his bike around 5 corners in Dartmouth and proceeded to lose our camera… I went right back out within 15 minutes of losing it and it was gone. I understand a camera is worth a…
Good-bye to the Brewery Market
[image-1] Now that it’s history, I can confess: I’ve always hated the Brewery Market. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve loved the idea of the market. On paper, thousands of people trekking to a historic building to buy locally grown food and crafts, people watching and socializing is all a grand thing. But the reality is…
Dog Shit…
I love dogs, all types of dogs. I make an effort to stop and pet your dog when I walk by. I also love that MOST people clean up after their dog when it does its business, where ever that may be. But, what I hate is that you leave the bag full of dog…
Nap Cooking
To the fucking retard two doors down from me: Learn to stay the fuck awake when cooking and sending me into a panic when I wake up to smoke in my apartment and can’t see in the hallway. It’s not convenient for me 3:00 in the morning. Learn how to cook you shit-tard! —Senor Campana
Dairy
To a certain super market: Put the freakin’ cheese with the freakin’ milk. They’re both dairy products. I had to buy two things:milk and cheese. It took me 3 quarters of an hour, because the milk was on the other side of the store from the cheese. I missed House thanks to you! —Lactose Intolerant
Proved Me Wrong
To the sunny Bedford boy who stole my heart in front of the library: thank you for proving my bruised heart wrong and reawakening my aspirations to have children, car-trips and a summer home. You have made me feel like a child again, full of romantic dreams that know no bounds. I. love. you. —Big…
The most precious gift going
This goes out to Kaelan, my step-grandson, who 8 days ago entered this world: I will love you and protect you with my last dying breath, now and always. You have given me another chance to play daddy, even if only for a short time. When I saw you come into this world, and heard…
Kibbi Dinner
Thank you kind owner man at the Lebanese restaurant in Spring Garden Place. I love my Kibbi, but was .85cents short with the drink I wanted, to which he said… get me next time). —Falafel lover seeking alternate faves
Hungry Chili to close
Hungry Chili will close at the end of August, victim of cascading business relocation. First, Curry Village expanded into the Dresden Row space once occupied by Baan Thai, and the owners of Baan Thai moved into the upstairs of the Blower Street building occupied by Hungry Chili. “He offered to buy us out,” explains Hungry…
Province, City come to agreement on Bridge Terminal
Halifax mayor Peter Kelly confirms that the city and the province have sorted out their differences with regard to Dartmouth Common issues, and the Bridge Terminal reconstruction plans are continuing without further change. In June, Halifax council approved a plan to place an expanded Bridge Terminal on Common land, in a configuration that stretched the…
My Interview with B.J. Snowden
I was supposed to have an email chat with legendary outsider music star B.J. Snowden earlier this week for the print edition of the Coast, but she was traveling and couldn’t get to a library to check her email, so I didn’t hear from her until mid-Wednesday. Before she responded to my questions, she called…
Muppet magic at the Shoe Shop
Why are there so many songs about rainbows and so little art with Muppets? Well, it’s time to light the lights because The Muppet Art Show opens Tuesday night, 8pm at the Economy Shoe Shop. Ten artists offer up their own interpretations of the beloved characters, in a variety of media. The show came about…
City orders Fred Connors to get rid of his chickens
Fred Connors, owner of the cafe/art gallery/salon FRED, has become the stylish new spokesman for keeping backyard hens in Halifax. Just two months after Connors transformed a “dilapidated crack house” into an urban farmhouse with a self-contained chicken coop, the city served him with a “Notice to Comply” with the bylaw prohibiting hens in residential…
Feast on Metal Fest
these guys will tell you WHAT FOR. This is a good week for those whose tastes run heavy and mordant. First there was the Slayer/Megadeth/Testament show (which we heard was soooo good and loud that it made at least one poor bastard vomit with great gusto). And then there’s the upcoming two-day Weekend of Noise:…
Promoter Harold MacKay asked province for additional $700,000 to cover Halifax Common concerts
Updated below In April, The Coast broke the news that the provincial Department of Tourism spent $600,000 in support of the 2009 Paul McCartney concert on the Halifax Common, and had floated private promoter Harold MacKay with a $3.5 million cheque to cover McCartney’s upfront fees. This was over and above the $150,000 the city…
HB Studios to close Halifax operation
Lunenburg-based videogame producer HB Studios is closing its satellite Halifax operation. “The current projects under development at the Halifax studio are to be completed before the studio officially closes on September 17,” confirms Melanie Williams, director of operations at HB. “Twenty-five of the 29 staff have been offered the chance to relocate to Lunenburg; six…
The Golden Dogs
Toronto’s Golden Dogs have overcome a fondness for cacophony and delivered as crisp and punchy a pop album as you’ll hear anytime soon. Coat of Arms is the band’s first full-length in four years. From the judicious use of reverb to individual song graphics, the mission to focus is palpable. Guitarist Dave Azzolini and keyboardist…
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) committed suicide in March. Linkous’s last work is this collaboration with (and initiated by) Danger Mouse. Several guest vocalists appear. One is Vic Chesnutt, who took his own life last December. “Grim Augury” is the retelling of a “horrible dream” set to a waltz. Nina Persson partnered with Linkous on the first…
Pass the Salt
Let’s be upfront and get Salt’s faults out of the way: There is a plain, egregious misuse of the incomparable Andre Braugher, and two major plot twists are easy to foresee. However, in other ways, Salt overcomes mediocrity and poor judgment. The titular protagonist was originally written for Tom Cruise and then re-written for uber-femme-fatale…
Daniel Romano
Daniel Romano’s biography reads like the most melancholy of Hank Williams tunes: adopted by an older couple who teach him the six-string, loses most of his vision in one eye, meets musical birth parents. After the death of his adopted parents, Romano records in their empty house, but the recordings are lost when the house…
Sleuth solves summer boredom
There are twists and turns aplenty in Anthony Shaffer’s clever play Sleuth, and it’s a tricky work to review without giving away any of its many surprises. However, even if you go in knowing the entire plot, great performances by Ed Thomason and Jeremy Webb make it worthwhile to see the Festival Antigonish production. Thomason…
Crowded House
Before Coldplay, The Killers, Wilco (on occasion) or Justin Rutledge, there was Crowded House and arguably one of the best pop songwriters of the last almost-25 years at its heart in Neil Finn. Without largesse, artifice or literary pretensions, Finn has written a truly literary, exciting and engaging body of pop composition. It’s been fine…
Ramona and Beezus: the good kind of cute
Based on the books by Beverly Cleary, imaginative, nine-year-old Ramona Quimby (Joey King) copes with being the class misfit and the family trouble-maker. This film is cute without being insipid. Ramona is an adorable moppet with a loving and interesting family (played by John Corbett and Bridget Moynahan as the dad and mom, and Selena…
Rail Life
If you’ve taken VIA Rail’s The Ocean train between Halifax and Montreal, you know the movies played in the lounge car generally come off a list of the worst of last year’s blockbuster fare. Watching them onboard, Khyber ICA board member Colleen Wolstenholme had an idea: why not expose train viewers to contemporary video art…
Arcade Fire
So this is how it all falls apart, right? The troublesome third album, where for every rare triumph—your OK Computer, your Moon and Antarctica—there are dozens of buzz bands that either buckle under the pressure to evolve or prove that their initial formula was all they had to offer in the first place. Add Arcade…
Sweet Sadies
Few bands in Canadian music have a resume of collaborations as extensive as Toronto’s The Sadies, and this past week they added author Margaret Atwood to the list. “We had a slot of our own scheduled on CBC’s Q that got moved by a day because Margaret Atwood was going to be in, and they…
Looking into Camera Obscura
When photographer Graham Ward couldn’t find the camera or film that he wanted for his art, he made it himself. “I wanted big prints, and I really like the aesthetic of the old-style photography,” the Australian-born photographer says over the phone from his Dartmouth home. “I taught myself because there really was nowhere to learn…
Teacher’s pet project
Teacher plays in a band. It was a secret until one savvy student in a grade seven class spoke up. “During silent reading, she lifted her hand up and said, ‘Mr. B.,’ and I said ‘Yeah?'” recounts Adrian Teacher, singer/guitarist/lyricist for the Vancouver trio Apollo Ghosts, from a tour stop in Rochester. The value of…
Hot beers
Do you remember when “lite” beer was trendy? Actually, as someone who ignored that trend, I totally don’t. But I am keen on some of the current beer fads. What’s hot changes when you talk to a mainstream beer drinker versus a craft beer fanatic. The big breweries have been pushing “white” beers and fruit-flavoured…
Coco et Co. finds its roots
Andrew Sisk’s move to Montreal has helped him musically reconnect. “I have been recording a lot at home over the last year with my partner Miranda,” writes Sisk from the heat wave city. “It’s helped me get back to all the reasons I like making music.” Sisk, creator of Halifax band Share, says he’s always…
Ryan MacGrath’s moment
Ryan MacGrath is sick. You can see it before you’re even close enough to say hi, as he makes his way up the moderate incline of Blowers Street, offering a restrained wave. “My bones hurt,” he says, with a hint of real worry in his voice—that voice—as he settles into a chair overlooking a Grafton…
Jim Guthrie and Holy Fuck: together, almost
Let’s call it the SappyFest side effect: kick-ass shows pop up in Halifax before and after the festival weekend because hey, why not drive a little farther if you’re already in Sackville, NB? Tonight the Paragon has two bills you won’t want to miss, with the ever-wonderful Jim Guthrie playing an early show (joined by…
A hermit’s tale
There are a lot of reasons to read Jon Tattrie’s new book about Eddie Carvery, The Hermit of Africville (jontattrie.ca/africville/index.html). First, it’s a damn good read. Tattrie, a former Daily News reporter, writes with an engaging novelistic approach, through one- to five-page chapters that give life and colour to what in a lesser writer’s hands…
Free pass for porn! For all!
Q Ever since hearing you say on your podcast that all men use porn, I have had a burning question: What about us women? If all men get a pass to have this whole other sex life, which is (mostly) external to their partnerships and is sexually satisfying, then I think all women should have…
Free Will Astrology
LEO(July 23-August 22) Can you force things to grow? Is it possible to induce ripening simply by aggressively exerting your willpower? Normally I’d say no, but these days I think it’s within your capacity. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying you could go up to a tomato plant and magically transform mid-size green tomatoes into big…
Greenberg
Noah Baumbach specializes in narcissistic jerks, but none of his previous creations, from Jeff Daniels’ arrogant academic in The Squid and the Whale to Nicole Kidman’s ice queen in Margot at the Wedding, can match Ben Stiller’s Roger Greenberg for sheer assholery. Greenberg is a seething, socially inept 40-something who spends his time writing complaint…
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson), an anthropology PhD student, gets dumped by her boyfriend (Krasinski). The event clarifies the purpose and structure of her doctoral work and her interviews with different guys: to understand who men are, how they help and harm themselves and others, even when they don’t intend to do one or the other.…
How Did You Get This Number
Coming off a bit like the younger, slightly rebellious, and actually funny, sister of Carrie from Sex and the City, Crosley’s collection of humorous essays centre around being young in general, and being young in New York. The New York humour is a bit alien: I don’t really get jokes about taxi service, or bargain…
Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour
It doesn’t matter how many kerplows, superpowers or evil villains you stuff into a graphic novel—if it doesn’t have a sense of humanity and a strong heart, who cares? Former Haligonian O’Malley’s series, which is going to balloon to phenomenon status with the launch of the film on August 13, may contain the requisite hipster…
Colleen and Paul
As far as summer anthems go, “TV Summer” is a brilliant addition to the tradition from duo Colleen and Paul. Colleen Hixenbaugh, who plays rhythm guitar and sings most lead vocals, goes “la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, ta-da!” And Paul Linklater, who plays lead acoustic and harmonizes vocally, chimes in with calls of “TV summer!” And then Hixenbaugh…
