Dance piece draws me in
I just want to offer my congratulations to Sue Carter Flinn on her excellent feature, “Dreaming, desperate, devoted to dance” (Feb. 19). As I read, I found myself developing an admiration for the choreographer and her dancers for their devotion and willingness to undergo hardship for their craft. It was a well-written piece that struck a…
Remembering Elle the cat
Yesterday I received a phone call from an American author promoting her self-help book (it’s like those Chicken Soup books, but told from the perspective of a cat). Anyway, she asked me if there was a large cat population in Canada. I didn’t know how to answer. Right now I’m just interested in one cat.…
Dear a certain government funded drug program for “families”:
Fuck you for not covering my insulin. INSULIN. You won’t cover fucking INSULIN. You’ll cover birth control pills just fine (and yes I realize they’re used for other purposes, but if they were covered just for that they’d be status exempt drugs and they’re not). When I called you, you told me you won’t cover…
Death Cab will possess Dalhousie’s heart
So there was this national contest put on by a cell phone company and Dalhousie University won it. The prize? Oh, no big — just an April 3 McInnis Room show with DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE. Full, wonderful story here. One time we met Ben Gibbard through a fence in Providence, Rhode Island and he…
Tax reform news
The misguided effort to shift the tax burden away from wealthy property owners and onto those of more modest means, which has been given the Orwellian label “tax reform,” took centre stage at Tuesday’s council meeting as Councillor Russell Walker asked council to rescind its December vote for funding new transit services. As I reported…
Hurt
You were abusive – you didn’t hit me but you came close. Now you parade around town in your band like you did nothing and have the odacity to call me the crazy one. I hope your come up in’s come up, SOON. —Hurt
Keep calling me “it”, asswipe.
It’s not like it was a huge surprise, dickwad. I told you I was intersex months before we started doing anything sexual. You lead me to believe that you were okay with it. As hypocritical as it was, I’m not pissed that you freaked out when you saw what was down there. A lot of…
WOOF!
To my elderly neighbor and your yappy shiatsu: You have seen my Boxer and my sheppard/lab mix dogs many times.. why the hell do you think it would be smart to OPEN my door and walk in my house WITH YOUR DOG to tell me that “when your dogs bark they scare my dog” Your…
Ass Sniffer
to the possessed fuck that sniffs my ass whenever I change in the locker room. poke your head up your own ass if it smells that good. —personal space
Get a life
To the old asshole ( I hope he/she is old ) who called the RCMP on my while I’m standing infront of Costco with MY new TV which I JUST BOUGHT, I hope you brun and die …I know you called the cops only because I had cornrows on my hair …you loser….and I also…
Stop Being Too Cynical
To all the fans of Bitching about anything and everything….stop being a bunch of wussy cynical bastards….its not like everyone in the city of Halifax is aiming to get you and piss you off….so my advice to you is to get into some Anger Management programs or shove your useless advices back in your stinking…
sketchy
I’m glad you think its okay to leave six pills of e on my foyer floor, You know how against drugs I am but I guess you thought it would be a great idea to see how quickly you could kill my animals. —tattooed terror
Gross..
Hey roomie, sorry I threw out your moldy bread. I didn’t know you wanted to eat it even after you knew it was green. You didn’t have to have a shit fit. By the way, you’re disgusting. —Too bad your friends don’t know how gross you are…
Merritt a fight
Does it get any more dramatic than theatre awards? Nova Scotia’s theatre peeps strut the red carpet for the Merritt Awards on March 23, which is being held at Neptune Theatre this year. If real life mimics the stage, it could get nasty in the Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor category as Shakespeare by…
Shut the fuck up!
I can’t stand spoiled rich university kids that get everything handed to them and have the gall to complain about how their life is so hard through every lecture class while all the people who’s futures depend on their grades try to hear the proff talk over their lame ass life stories. —not rich
Supper time
Kev Corbett, host of Sing for Your Supper. “I felt a little bit bad because there were one or two people who showed up who were like, ‘Where do I sign up?'” says Kev Corbett, host of the new songwriters’ circle at The Carleton. “I had to play bad cop there.” Sing for Your Supper…
Nova Scotia’s missing insurance consumer advocate
Having problems with your car insurance company? Well, don’t bother calling Nova Scotia’s insurance consumer advocate. George Jordan’s number is no longer in service. His job was eliminated last summer. The Tory government of John Hamm appointed Jordan in April 2003 when public anger at the government and the big insurance companies was reaching the…
another tipping bitch
I know that pretty soon we’re going to need a separate section for boring tip bitches, but this one is legit, I swear. To the overgrown moron of a wannabe fratboy that works in our local pub (small neighborhood, you know who you are): I’ve been eating in your establishment since moving to the area…
Bayers Rd and Romans Avenue Intersection
The intersection of Romans Avenue and Bayers Road .what a fucking pain in my ASS it is to have to get through that intersection. If I am travelling on Romans avenue towards Bayers Rd (coming from Mumford Rd), why the FUCK does it take anywhere from three to five light changes for me to make…
90 minutes of live music for how much?
KD Lang plays the Metro in April. ticketsnow.com says 14 tickets available from $354 to $525 each. They MUST be kidding. —Trying to survive the recession
Tiny Tummy
Once again I bitch at myself, because whenever I go out to eat some delicious food at a delicious resty, I barely make way 20% into my meal before I feel like I’m bout to BARF. Then I have to take da shit home in a doggy bag, and when i’m actually hungry again the…
Did I puke on myself?
NOOOO!!! It’s the commons! Am I the only one who smells that shit! I think my puke smells better than that! Seriously, what the fuck is that rank seething into my nostrils, and what are we going to do about it? —Long haired dude who didn’t puke on himself
Pick Up Truck came out of median on hwy 102 south bound yesterday at about 06:30
Whoever you are, I would just like to say thank you very much for pulling out in front of me yesterday on the highway between Milford and Elmsdale – causing me to go in the center median. When th police arrived, I sat in their car to keep warm. Another accident happened right then and…
Baby on Bullshit
To all of you douchebag parents out there driving your cars who expect me to take you seriously with your “baby on board” signs: maybe you should think about putting your god damn cell phone away while driving around with your precious little bundle in the backseat. You expect me to kill myself to avoid…
Pick up your poo!
Once again I’m walking down the street, and what do I notice? I big pile a dog poo on the sidewalk?! Is it so hard to carry a bag with you when you take your pooch for a walk? I know its disqusting, but its part of the package when you get a dog! I’m…
beater
this is to my asshole boy friend who still beats the fuck out of me, thank you for turning me into a shell of a person…but you are right I have no where else to go so I will rot here until its too late. — black and blue
Dollar Sign Hats
If I see one more piece of clothing with money paraphenalia all over it I am going to scream! Yeah I understand you are just expressing yourselves but think about it: If you actually had money then you would’nt flaunt it, and if you do then enjoy your mugging. If you don’t have money then…
Pizza in the City
“Pizza is like sex,” it has been said, “Even bad pizza is good pizza.” And, as with sex, you know that the unfortunate soul who adheres to this admonition has really never had good pizza. Perhaps not so unfortunate for those living around these parts as they blissfully gobble up the crap they send to…
2 Perveted
I caught you Fuck-Face! The jerk-off in the blue car on the corner of Spring and Queen around 2pm Monday. I noticed your jacket half-off, covering your probable hard-on, while conspicuously pumping your left shoulder. You probably used your left hand to feel like someone else was doing it, eh? Ludicrous. If I catch you…
Why wait for a Rider’s Guide with GPS?
I think the following should be added to the bottom of Metro Transit schedules… #80, 5 mins late into halifax, 5 mins early out #9 always 5 mins early #7 Late in nice weather, early when there is precipitation, on time when mediocre #42 Often early, may not show up at all, but do not…
Nocturne 2009 date set
Scott Saunder’s video installation on Barrington Street. After the success of the first Nocturne Festival, we’re thrilled that it’s coming back again on October 17. Last year, thousands of people wandered the streets, taking in art at 23 galleries, with 26 special projects. The Nocturne committee will soon be looking for volunteers, so keep an…
New transit garage
Wow, the bidding process for the new transit garage sure looks overly complicated to my eyes: The RFP was scored using a two envelope process. Envelope one was the technical component of the RFP (qualifications and experience, methodology and approach, work plan schedule). Envelope two consists of the lump sum project cost and deliverables for…
Am I the only person with this phone problem?
Calling a toll free government number is becoming my hell, not for the fact you can be on hold for a inordinate amount of time, but for the fact when I finally, FINALLY, get a support worker on the phone and I get to ask that simple question of mine, they don’t understand me and…
What the fuck is up with drivers on Magazine Hill
Specifically regarding outbound traffic on Magazine Hill: This is the only place I have ever driven in Nova Scotia where people go 80 in the passing lane! Now, I know that the turn-off to Bedford is on the left side of the road, but is it really necessary to hold everyone up because you don’t…
To All With A Mobile Speed Bump Sticker
If you drive the posted limit -this bitch does not apply to you as you are following the law. If you are driving below the posted limit because road conditions are poor due to weather, pot-holes, etc. this bitch does not apply to you as you are using the all too rare common sense. If…
Not really a bitch but…
Can you send messages to other people on this site? If Hfxgurl is hangin around, just want to say THANK YOU for liftin my spirits with that last comment! secondary bitch: i want more friends that are fellow introverts like meself. sick and tired of being misunderstood as a shy antisocial. oh the wee 25%……
Scum!
To the three young men on the steps by the Walmart on Mumford road at 4:30 Sunday afternoon – you are disgusting human beings! You saw my 61 year old mother who was trying to quickly get out of your way as you were coming down stairs, but instead of moving aside you decided to…
Staff at Maplestone
To everyone at Maplestone Enhanced Care (Nursing Home). Thank you for being so great to my father-in-law. He absolutely loves everyone there and the staff is so kind and easy to talk to. You all do really great work, and I thank you for that. jj
Out of town
Thank you HALIFAX! I’ve been out of town for school all winter in a small town and every time I come home I realize Halifax really has something going for it. I proud to boast how it manages still hold on to a large number a genuinely kind and caring people. Missing the Fax
Small, But Meaningful
A certain search engine often changes their logo for different holidays, awareness campaigns, etc. Why is there nothing for today… International Women’s Day? —Disappointed
Betch
I know, i’m probably getting a boring label for this one, but I’m just really broken hearted right now. My bitch is that I’m too much of a loser to have any friends. I’m not emo, or depressed, but.. I’m a 17 year old girl, and I am hurting for a good friend so incredibly…
So Mad I Could Spit!
To all of you neanderthals out there who think that spitting whilst walking down the street makes you look cool: news flash, it fucking doesn’t. Pull up your pants, learn some manners and keep your DNA to your fucking self. —Betch
South Park is smarter than you.
To the nosy woman in the bus terminal. South Park did not corrupt your kids. If you didn’t pay attention to what they were watching on TV, it’s YOUR FAULT. So don’t impose yourself on a quiet conversation two strangers are having about a shared interest with your obnoxious and condescending bullshit. Harassing random teenagers…
Its not a bitch, however I know I will get some opions here.
Hey, am I wrong for this: I am a married man, early 30’s, average guy. Looking for a female to talk with and have a coffee. Sometimes a new voice would be good. (and your right my spelling and grammar are bad) —Looking for opion
More like “go figure” skating
I don’t know if anyone’s heard, but Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier have been forced to share their gold medal in pairs figure skating with another pair from Russia. This really whips my cream! —Don’t even get me started
Sectr dresses up D2’s window
If you were walking down Spring Garden today enjoying the sun, you probably noticed a graffiti artist working in the front window of D2 today. Dazzled by the day’s warmth and curiosity, I climbed into the small fishbowl of a window to see what was going on. Turns out this is artist/filmmaker Christian Toth, AKA…
That Bitch was Me.
To the three nice gals who were just walking along with their dogs and i was in such freakin hurry to jog past in Point Pleasant that I had to make big scrapy approaching sounds, I’m really sorry. Not to excuse my rude behavior, I’d just had a near collision with a fast-moving Weimerheiner so…
To the Prick Who ruined my night
I called you creepy because you and your buddy thought it would be funny to approach me in an obnoxious manner while I was walking home alone at 2am. There was no need for you to go on for 5 minutes when I got stuck in the elevator with you about how ugly I was.…
You have a nice day too :-)
To the lovely older gentleman who works as a greeter at the Joe Howe Superstore; Your genuine smile and cheerful greeting never fail to make me smile. No matter how rushed, stressed, depressed, or just plain bitchy I feel, you’re always a little bright spot in my day. Thanks. Yellow Backpack
WOW, how weird!!!!
This is a very strange and weird blog site, do you people not have any thing better to do than send out strange little love messages to each other? “GAG” BARF!!!!!!!!!
Hot Guys at Work
Just have to say a BIG thank you to certain beautiful guys where I work. You make my day so much better when I’m ready to pull my hair out. You look good, you smell good and if there were any way…..unfortunately YOU have to come to me to prevent any misunderstandings (if you catch…
fireside
Thanks to you fireside for your awesomely fantastic dessert, the raspberry kuchen. As fussy as I am it never ceases to knock my socks off. I don’t know why I can’t convince anyone else to try it. k.
Ever needed someone to talk to?
Looking for options, I am a married man, w/kids, average, early 30’s, would like to have a female to talk with and maybe have a coffee. Am I wrong for this? Sometimes a new voice would be nice
ADD Monster strikes again
super super super ellen, right when you think you’re ready to relax, you make a quick jerk to the right and next thing you know, you’re cowering in fear of a tea tsunami about to crash all over you. what a dumbass. now you are dripping head to toe in scalding fragrance, your hands have…
Young Street kitty blues
I keep seeing this white fluffy cat with scabby, pus filled eyes and a bloated figure limping around my neighbourhood. Our area has a lot of cats, mostly with homes, and some without.. I see this cat all the time and it breaks my heart because he is in bad shape. If someone owns him/her…
PISSING MYSELF OFF WHILE LAUGHING AT YOUR BITCHES
Im getting fucking tired of halfing to find the last bitch I was reading because I keep hitting the close button instead of the fucking back button. FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!! —Fuck me
Sucks to be you!
To the asshole in the maroon PT Cruiser that smashed into the red car on the end of Williams St at 5:40pm today and drove away without hesitation. There were three witnesses to what you did and thanks to a friend who chased your gutless ass down we got your license plate number. Karma’s a…
REF THE MAC CAT
I guess I cant call this a bitch, Ill call it a saulte, my hat off to the guy that wished her to choke. —I like animals
No Socialists allowed!
I’m really pissed off that it looks like we’re destined to have Darrell Dexter’s NDP win the next provincial election. Don’t people realize that the last thing this province needs, in the middle of a recession, are a bunch of socialists running around with the money? Elect the Liberals, or even re-elect the PC’s, but…
nova scotia hospitality
Hi Halifax, I just wanted to say i love you and the people you cuddle in the bosom of your land. i know alot of people experience theft and rudness on a daily basis, but it is the few true haligonians that make it impossible to leave this place and be happy anywhere else. i…
Put You in a Cage and See How You Like it.
To the woman who left their caged cat out in the. Mcdonalds parking lot to die this morning. You are one fucked up individual. It makes me sick to my stomach that people like you exist. If it wasn’t for stupid Mcdonalds Rules, I would have kept your cat, because i hear you do this…
What the heck is up with milk?
Can anybody tell me why the hell a 4-litre jug of milk is over $7 frigging dollars?! Milk is an essential food item, dammit! They don’t tax it, but they charge over $7 for it! And what pisses me off even more is that I can get it at least $1 cheaper by buying it…
Get your facts straight!!!!
If you are going to argue, with someone, and bring facts in to the wrguement, then this means that your “facts” need to be correct and not your flawed….very flawed opinion! how many people must a person talk to before they realize that it is not everybody else that is the problem…..maybe it’s you. —Hating…
Where are the FUCKING jobs?
University graduate looking for employment in Halifax. Any jobs? FUCK NO!!!!! There are no jobs here!!!! NONE!!!!!!! WHY THE FUCK DID I COME HERE???????????????????????? Just to witness a bunch of hipster fruits walk around in their tight jeans and fancy shirts!!!! Wow, Fashion Forward douche bags who spend their parents money!!!! This is a second…
Pick Your Partner. I Don’t Care and I Don’t Have To.
Be gay. I really don’t care what you do with whom in your home as long as you and the people around you (including me, your neighbor) are safe. If you’re happy and healthy I wish you more of the same. I care about all people. I wish none of us any harm. When you…
Not a clue:
Well As I read the bitches all the time and am really really tired of one inparticular. I would like for (IT) to understand that, no matter what, your views that if we legalize something the world will implode because we will all become stupid dope smoking prostitutes and will have unrealistic discussions with our…
Your weekend primer
Becky Siamon ain’t afraid of no orchestra. It’s 15 degrees in Toronto as we type, and the rumour is we’ll hit double digits ourselves tomorrow, furthering heightening the eau de poo coming off the Common. Which is better than The River Citadel, around which we have been portaging for weeks with nothing but gig posters…
Fishy Social Experiment
ok, So being bored and curious by nature I went online to a free and well known dating website. I posted a made up profile of a guy in his mid-late 20’s with a good job and found a great pic of a good looking guy ( not me ). The hitch? The write up…
Hit & Run, you’d better keep running!
To the stupid old bitch this afternoon who rear ended me, side swiped a truck and then drove off: FUCK YOU!! We got your license plate you old piece of shit! I’ll be filing a police report tomorrow for a hit and run and so will the driver of the truck! And guess what you…
Kudos to the Call Centre
I’d like to send out some good vibes to the folks who work at the 490-4000 call centre. They work really hard to answer all of our questions, put up with us when we’re upset and are generally an awesome part of the HRM! Everytime I call 490-4000, I always tell them how much I…
Food Survey Love
I love how happy the screen at the end of the Best of Food survey is for me having submitted it. Thanks, I WILL go get some food! PAS
Halifax Cabbies
What is it with Halifax cabbies?! I don’t own a car and am at the point – after 13 years of living on the peninsula – of walking any distance (tired, freezing +/or drunk) rather than risking the chance of getting the 8/10 cabbies who are self-righteous, opinionated, red-necked arseholes. Is it my fault you…
What the fuck is up with the 68?
My bus of choice is the 68, which I take everywhere I need to go, and I’d like to know why the fuck the 68 is ALWAYS late? I mean, the 61, which goes from Spryfield to N. Preston, is always on time. Whether I catch the 68 at the Bridge, in Cole Harbour, or…
Sticky Fingers
To the person who stole my Ipod touch: I hope you get fat. Seriously, it was the only thing that kept me going through my monotone Bio teachers lectures about the difference between DNA and RNA. It not only had the best artists ever on there (To name a few: Jimi Hendrix, CCR, Bob Dylan,…
Attention New downtown eatery
Your prices are ridiculously high, your food mediocre at best and the service is so fucking slow, it made me wonder if the cook was running around the kitchen trying to kill my meal. Unfortuantely, the dumbfuck tourists will suck it all up. —That is all.
Mayor
Has our beloved Mayor EVER made a decision without the help of fucking consultants? Thank fuck they cancelled the rail-cut idea, by the time it was made a lot of the container companies would have fucked off to Melford and it would be yet another road to nowhere. —senile
Motorcycles Greener?! What a Joke!
I almost died laughing when I read an article in the Herald this week about a group of motorcyclists lead by a certain city councillor and some other lady who are lobbying City Hall for free parking in the downtown. They claim that motorcycles and scooters are more environmentally friendly and as such, they should…
hwy…101 Tailgaters…..
OK, FINE..I understand you want to get home! Its dark, been a long day. I get it………….. But so do…with my child and I in 1 piece. I go 105-110km/h when I have to (i know..Dale Earnhardt here) , but please stop riding on my A** AND with your high beams on . Just because…
Eyelevel Gallery seeks radical artmakers
Harvest day at Arbour Lake Sghool. Image courtesy of thearbourlakesghool.com. Eyelevel Gallery and SUNSCAD (NSCAD’s student union) are wondering if there are any radicals left. Hello? Their lecture/exhibition series Where have all the Radicals Gone?, which “questions the presence (or non-presence) of radical action and thinking in present-day artistic practice,” kicks off with a talk…
This is what they mean by Share
photo Scott Blackburn Share Friday, February 27 in Corner Brook
cell phone idiot
To the person whose cell phone was ringing during the performance of Doubt at Neptune Theatre: common courtesy wasn’t enough to inspire you to turn your phone off before the play started, neither was the polite request made just before the curtain went up to turn all cell phones off. Not even your cell phone…
Sea Sick
Having reported on issues related to climate change for many years, I thought I understood the gravity of the situation, the scale of the challenges we face and the urgency of avoiding the cataclysmic tipping point of two degrees Celsius. But when a review copy of Alanna Mitchell’s new book, Sea Sick, showed up on…
What’s wrong with 2.25?
I’m sick and tired of all of the bitching from people about how Metro Transit is raising the bus fares to 2.25! I ride the bus everywhere I go and, honestly, 2.25 isn’t that much! This is the first fare increase introduced in over 4 years, and the price of everything else has gone up,…
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Don’t give me the “it’s escapism” defense. Escapism would be welcome. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is purgatory. It’s not really even a movie. It’s barely up to the standards of the narrative scenes between levels of a video game. The success of the Street Fighter games already spawned one movie (a rather unequal…
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Don’t give me the “it’s escapism” defense. Escapism would be welcome. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is purgatory. It’s not really even a movie. It’s barely up to the standards of the narrative scenes between levels of a video game. The success of the Street Fighter games already spawned one movie (a rather unequal…
Democracy 251
When Rodney MacDonald calls the election that every political watcher expects him to call sometime in the next few months, the economy is sure to be a major issue. That’s a given, considering the world’s financial meltdown and the shockwaves being felt across the spectrum from individual workers to entire industries. But the premier of…
Morrissey
It took The Moz about 15 years, since Vauxhall and I, to figure out if that angsty concert-rock shit ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Although Years of Refusal won’t win any new Moz-ites, fans will delight in the dramatic but hilarious musings on mortality. The charming older man does have some new tricks, though. He…
Asshole commentaries
Q I have lived with my boyfriend for almost two years. He says he loves me and does a lot of loving things for me. We are both in our early 60s, but we have the sexual energy of 20-year-olds. Here’s the problem: I am overweight (size 18). I was overweight when he met me.…
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Pointless screaming? Over-pronouncing vowels in a nasally emo fashion? Check. Cheesy songs about war/the earth’s plight? Synths to make the album sound trendy? Check. In short, the band’s second album has everything you’d expect from a 2009 screamo album. While it sounds contrived at times, that’s not to say these conventions don’t work. “Godspeed,” an…
Superman’s girl
I miss the one who I called Superman, the way he took care of me, and the way he loved me… and I loved him. I think about him all the time and wonder if he misses me… Still Cinderella
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
A fictionalization of Toby Young’s memoir, about the writer’s time working at Vanity Fair for the enigmatic Graydon Carter, should be razor-sharp, considering director Robert B. Weide also worked on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Physically, Simon Pegg is spot-on as Young—both are fair-haired, balding Brits. But anyone who’s read Young’s books knows that man is a…
Francesca Rogier v. The Halifax Regional Municipality– excerpts
[Editor’s note: this article is related to today’s feature story, Saving Brindi.] Here is a list of excerpts from the January 16, 2009, decision of Justice Duncan Beveridge in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia decision in the case of Francesca Rogier v. The Halifax Regional Municipality, the Field Operations Supervisor, Animal Services, Halifax Regional…
Xara Young Women’s Choir
Xara. It’s an Arabic word meaning “blossoming,” and with its melodious sound and edgy “x,” it’s the perfect name (and adjective) for the choir of 24 young women conducted by musical mover and shaker, Christina Murray. In 2007, Murray was approached by four singers who were too old for youth choirs and not interested in…
Wrong time on the clock at the Gordon Snow Recreation Centre in Fall River.
Who’s responsible? Ann Marie Duggan, poject manager Capital Projects-Buildings, HRM Transportation and Public Works. Remarks According to the clock at the new $9 million rec centre, Fall River is one hour earlier than in the rest of Nova Scotia. “It’s Toronto time,” says Duggan. “The supplier of the sign can’t figure out how to change…
Andre Ethier
As part of a reported trilogy (the first, On Blue Fog came out in 2007), one could interpret this latest title literally, since the album marks a true rebirth of Ethier’s musical direction. While the writing still sparks little flashes of Al Tuck, Dylan, Nick Cave and noir-ish folk, Born of Blue Fog takes a…
Great Lake Swimmers’ out of water
Tony Dekker makes Ontario sound mythical. Both in lyric and location of the recording process, the Great Lake Swimmers’ latest effort, Lost Channels, explores the various caverns within the Thousand Islands region. From historic island castles to old-world churches, the album charts this mysterious terrain. “For songwriting, I usually try to get into a really…
The Deep Dark Woods
Saskatoon’s The Deep Dark Woods has created an album to help you fill winter’s long, dark hours with appropriately sad, introspective music. Produced in Vancouver by Steve Dawson, the band’s third album is reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne—not surprisingly, both were recorded live off the floor. Ryan Boldt’s candid lyrics and understated delivery shine through…
The word is out
Jane Buss is tired. She sits in her dark, cubbyhole-like office, plastered with posters of literary events. “I have six little fires burning here,” she says, pointing to piles of papers on her desk from writers who need her help. “That’s in addition to building a library and running the programs and workshops. I’m never…
K’naan
Compared to the grittiness of his debut, The Dusty-Foot Philosopher, K’naan’s latest album Troubadour might come across as a bit of shock. The production is super-slick, the beats are clean and radio-ready and the guests are high-profile: Mos Def; Adam Levine and Kirk Hammett (!?) all take a turn. All this may have some purists…
Organic basket case
“Garlic, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets.” Geordie Ouchterlony lists the organic vegetables he can’t get locally: “Turnips. Squash, beans…I mean beans, it’s something that’s really easy to grow here. There were no more in November.” Ouchterlony owns Home Grown Organic Foods, a home-delivery food service which does its best to sell local organic produce. Right now,…
Saving Brindi
Sometimes you have to laugh, so that you don’t cry. Just ask Francesca Rogier. “I wouldn’t believe this story if somebody told me,” she says. “Honestly.” And yet…the fantastically far-fetched plotline that belongs to the story of Brindi the dog—Rogier’s five-year-old brown mutt that was seized by the city after three attacks on other dogs,…
One Week
Joshua Jackson has always been an amiable and knowing presence and One Week, from writer/director Michael McGowan, cleverly upends his personae by gut-punching his character, Ben Tyler, with a cataclysmic cancer diagnosis and sending him out along the Trans-Canada Highway to find the meaning of it all. One Week is endearingly oh, so Canadian, finding…
Metro Transit gets Fare-ly expensive
Bus fares are going up. Halifax council Tuesday voted to increase the price of transit, effective July 1. The one-way adult fare will go up 12.5 percent, from $2 to $2.25. Children and senior fares and the cost of monthly transit passes, ferry and MetroLink service will rise as well. The increase is needed, says…
Religious eco-wars
Last week’s “Can We Be Good Without god” debate, a response to Metro Transit’s ban on atheist advertising, got me thinking big, post-modern questions such as: What does “good” mean? For “Sustainable City” purposes, let’s assume being good means living sustainably, allowing life to continue for as long as possible on this planet. To what…
I’ve Loved You So Long
The tragedy of a woman’s wasted life first drives Philippe Claudel’s debut I’ve Loved You So Long. But once the tale expands, and Claudel has the option to turn against estranged sister Juliette (Kristen Scott Thomas), he takes the high road and doesn’t. To reveal specifics would harm the experience, which depends upon viewers coping…
Animal instincts
When journalists Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit arrived in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in June of 2004, they expected to spend three weeks reporting on an attempt to reunite a young orca with his pod. Three years later, they left with a movie. “We thought it was going to be…
The word is out
Jane Buss is tired. She sits in her dark, cubbyhole-like office, plastered with posters of literary events. “I have six little fires burning here,” she says, pointing to piles of papers on her desk from writers who need her help. “That’s in addition to building a library and running the programs and workshops. I’m never…
