Something cliche about merit
The Merritt Awards for local theatre were announced last night in Dartmouth. Here are the winners. Look for Kate Watson’s full report in The Coast on Thursday. Actor in a Leading Role: Graham Percy (Noises Off) Actress in Leading Role: Carolyn Hetherington (Lillibet) Actress in a Supporting Role: Patricia Zentilli (Noises Off) Actor in a…
Riding on horseback
Few bands celebrate the release of a record simultaneously with an amicable parting of ways, but three-piece rock act Horses is doing just that. Guitarist Lachie MacDonald is packing his bags to be with his flame in Toronto, 1,800km from drummer Glenn Barrington and bassist Mark Gillis. “Basically the idea is that because I knew…
By the numbers
The first round of 2006 census data was released this week, and the news for Halifax was not particularly good. Like many other urban areas in Canada, the city is growing—but not keeping pace with other cities. The HRM’s population had inched upwards by just 3.8 percent since 2001, prompting much dooming and glooming—”Why are…
Just cause
The neighbourhood near Spring Garden and Carleton has welcomed a new Just Us! Coffee Shop (the first Fair Trade coffee roaster in Canada), now operating out of the old UNICEF building. “The space has been substantially renovated and redecorated and looks pretty amazing,” says Just Us! event coordinator Derrick Dixon. But the coffee shop is…
Hobo with a laptop
The suffix “-ploitation”—blaxploitation, sexploitation, Holmesploitation (free Katie, now more than ever!)—is a favourite of film wankers, but did you know that the term “grindhouse” covers all of that too? (We did not.) Shown mostly in tiny American dollar theatres from the late ’60s through to the ’80s, featuring plots, actors and production values of the…
Change of venue
About five minutes after noticing a thread on www.halifaxlocals.com titled “NEP on fire?” (NEP standing for the North End Pub), the Coast office started to smell like smoke. We could see the clouds billowing over the north end while people quickly posted photos and comments online. Within minutes, there were hundreds of people posting about…
Find me guilty
Twice recently I’ve screwed up the coffee thing. You know: the evil paper cup conspiracy. The first time, I neglected to bring my plastic mug with me to meet someone for coffee at the Farmers’ Market—I ended up furtively stealing sips from a paper cup, self-consciously dreading that someone might see Mr. Environmental Columnist chopping…
Pressing engagement
The first time we had dinner at the Press Gang, we were seated in a small alcove, at a very private table. Candles nestled in niches along a stone wall, the music was right and the lighting was low. My husband looked around, gazed deep into my eyes and whispered, “This would be a great…
Junction yard
Brampton’s spontaneous concourse The Junction are a triad of energy, power and personality. The versatile group returns to Halifax to promote its debut self-titled full-length at Hell’s Kitchen on March 16. “Originally the band name came from a Jamiroquai lyric. We were in grade 9 at the time,” says bassist Matt Jameson, calling from Toronto.…
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Plenty of high-profile movies are about the tormented lives of artists. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer takes it up a notch: It’s also a legitimate artwork. Thrown away at birth, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille’s childhood as an unloved ghetto urchin was saved by his one gift. Born with the best sense of smell in Paris, he…
Talk talk
About 100 people have gathered in Ginger’s Tavern and most of them have their fists raised in the air. Emphatically, the arms jerk down, a sea of fists pump together in solidarity. With the fist-pumps comes a one-word chant of encouragement from a bar full of voices. “Speak!” It’s mid-January, and the crowd has gathered…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Don’t let the man get you down, Virgo.
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan Savage reads some books, puts the frosting back on the shelf.
Talking points
While the Commonwealth Games bid was getting scuttled at City Hall last week, I was across the street having a meeting with two people over lunch. Although it was tempting to go over and watch the debacle unfolding, I stayed put. The Games might have been the biggest thing to hit Halifax since the explosion—and…
Great expectations
Listen to “Unnatural” off the new album Home of the New Totem. “Ultimately, I am at the point where I am only doing things I am passionate about. I don’t do anything in my life that is monotonous,” says Sean MacGillivray. “It’s been my goal and the way I’ve structured my life, and structured the…
Luck o’ the geek
Can’t make it to Blarney Castle this St. Patrick’s day?Here’s the next best thing.
Indie spirit rewards
Director Cam Erais’s short film Crossing Over tells the story of a man stuck in a nine-to-five world that Erais describes as “gray and cold and very routine.” The man notices that the street across from his workplace is more colourful, and that people there are happier. He decides to cross the street. Kids never…
More Savage Love
Just so I understand, it’s OK to consensually, have sex dressed like a fuzzy animal, wear diapers, act-rape, slurp someone’s santorum, pee all over someone, attach and activate shock devices to genitalia, fist, role play, prod, probe and peg. But you can’t think about someone who is dead when you masturbate? I hope this is…
Brain candy
Zombies. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re a reality of life. We’re better off making them do what we want. It really is “a better life through containment.” Or, at least, that’s what Fido, Andrew Currie’s new film, suggests for the residents of Willard, USA. You gotta know how to kill ’em, too, in case…
