I do own the road
This is a preemptive strike against all those who don’t like cyclists. I do own the road, I am faster and stronger than your smoke machines. This is notification that the revolution has begun. I will not be intimidated. Pass me too closely again and I will write down your license plate, call the cops,…
I had no idea this was happening!
So apparantly a certain radio station had a morning show about hospitality staff and tips. I listened a bit while driving to work and from what I gathered, we have by far the worst restaurant owners in the world. A lot of wait staff called in about this problem and actually i’m still shocked and…
It’s easier than going around
Whoever keeps “repairing” the fence on the Chebucto Lain trail which connects to the quinpool superstore, please fuck off. All you are doing at this point is wasting your own time and money. Do you not see that no matter how many times you “fix” it, its going to keep coming down? This has been…
Green Airport?
A couple of stuffed suits from the airport showed up at council last night to crow about how great the place is, making much of the airport’s regular top honours for “passenger satisfaction for airports with under five million passengers.” But that says more about the hardy, stoic nature of Maritimers, who make up the…
loser at winners
Dear asshole, This bitch has been a long time coming. Last year, when I was at Winners, some shit-for-brains twat nearly ran me over to get a spot close to the entrance because she was irritated at the time I was taking to BUCKLE MY 18MONTH OLD SON into his CAR SEAT. To be more…
long pole
To all the employees at the store in Mic Mac Mall: I don’t know if it is in the company manual that states you all have to act like pompous assholes but you all succeed at it brilliantly. I dread having to go in there every month for I know I will have to encounter…
Urban Surf Kings 4 Eva
The Urban Surf Kings’ annual tribute to all that is stringed and twangy, Guitar-Fest IV, is taking place this Sat May 17 at the Seahorse Tavern (9:30pm). The Divorcees pay tribute to Willie Nelson, the Urban Surf Kings play a tribute to Spaghetti Western, Brad Conrad tips his hat to Johnny Guitar Watson, the Fabulous…
Dammien Alexander is turning Japanese
Big congrats to Dammien Alexander on his upcoming European, Korean and Japanese “Sweet Action” solo tour and his upcoming album on Live Village. Catch him on Fri May 16 at the North Street Church (10pm, $10/$15) performing classic soul R&B, reggae and originals. With music by DJ Anderoc, food by Starlight Caribbean Cuisine, this is…
Fighting Fools
To the couple on the #4 Downtown Thursday night: save your domestic disputes for home. If this is the way you act on a bus full of strangers, I’d hate to see you around your kids. And lady, if heads turn when you walk into a room, what the hell kind of rooms are you…
Canada’s Multiculturalism is broken
I’ve always thought multiculturalism is a good idea; different cultures integrate together to add all kinds of different flavours to the Canadian culture. What’s happening now though is people are immigrating in, setting up little enclaves, and expecting that everything to be exactly the same as their home country. We as a country, are bending…
I saw you
Hey dude on the Burnside bus, monday morning at roughly 8am. You sure did think you were slick when you stuck your dirty finger up your nostril, pulled it out, peeked at your little treasure and then casually stuck it in your mouth. Have a good chew? Nice and tangy, was it? Buddy, please do…
discrimination in PEI
I’ve been on the “island” as a PEI resident for years now and I continue to be appalled by the discriminating actions that I receive based on my last name. I am Canadian, but do not have an Anglo-Saxon type name. Continually, I’m treated suspiciously. Much of it is systemic discrimination, but it is still…
No action on the environment
A press release from the Ecology Action Centre: Halifax – The Ecology Action Centre says the provincial government’s climate change agenda is in need of emergency assistance. The EAC is throwing a lifejacket to the Premier of Nova Scotia and providing a pail full of solutions that the province should act on to fulfill its…
Dumb Hotel Management
To my idiot manager (of a certain Halifax Hotel) who thinks she can push her banquet staff around and threaten us with “a private meeting”… Get over your power trip and start doing your job properly! There is more to managing than flitting around erratically with a cell-phone held to one ear, while randomly giving…
McNabs Island clean-up
Well, it can be kinda depressing, but the annual McNabs Island Beach Sweep is an opportunity to check out the island and do some good work besides. I highly recommend it. This year’s sweep is scheduled for Sunday, June 1; meet at 10am at Murphy’s for the free ferry across. Go here to learn more…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Coast readers, Tim Roberts’s letter in the April 12 issue of The Coast (Axles of Evil) probably echoed the feelings of many HRM residents starting to wonder why sensible and sustainable tranportation options don’t seem to be taken more seriously by our city planners in 2007. As both an employee of and volunteer with…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Coast, I was both glad and a bit saddened by your recent article on the gentrification of the North End. I was glad to see this area of the city getting some attention, and that there is some acknowledgement that we need to talk about the development going on in the area. The North…
Where goes the neighbourhood?
As someone who lives in the North End I found the feature story on gentrification very interesting and thought provoking. I agree that something needs to be done to ensure that current residents aren’t displaced – everyone deserves to live in this great neighbourhood. However I was shocked at the tactics of the Halifax Coalition…
Letters to the Editor
Religion in Politics To the editor: This weekend I was disturbed to see the amount of people that came out to protest the “Unborn Victims of Crime Act”, many of which belonged to various religious groups. These individuals never cease to amaze me with their ability to impose their values on the general population. Times…
Whales
While I’ve followed the news accounts of the battling neighbours in Herring Cove, and have read the court decision, it’s hard to know who is “right” on the issue (I’m talking only the permitting issue, not the subsequent vandalism, of course). People have certain expectations when they buy property, and that includes both expecting that…
Can The Coast Tell Time?
A date. A time. People normally consider these two different things but computers know they are one in the same. So, why can’t The Coast list recent stories in chronological order ALL the time instead of only some of the time? Hint, in a computing environment a datetime is just that and includes the AM…
mothers day? huh?
thanks to my wonderful husband for ABSOLULTY NOTHING.. no card, no “happy mothers day” no nothing other then ” why is the floor sticky right here?” fuck you asshole.. leave me with both kids while you leave at 9am to do god knows what… and no.. he didnt forget.. because he made sure to tell…
Repairing (?) the Sinkhole…
Opposite 1636 Walnut Street there is a sinkhole–the result of a botched job last summer to cover up a water main repair. Two weeks ago CBC “Information Morning” did a story on the 16″ sinkhole that had opened up. To “resolve” the matter, HRM sent out a 2-man crew and one bag of asphalt. After…
Please stop bitching about gas prices.
To the drivers that constantly complain about the price of gas, stop. It might not be you that is the cause of the high price of gas, but it has to be almost everyone else you know. On my way to work today, i passed 9 Tim Horton’s, 3 McDonalds, and two gas stations with…
Slow, Bad and Crappy
Goodbye old work, you don’t train anyone properly, you make us pretend to be experts on travel (when we’re not) and then some of the product you sell place HOLDs of hundreds of dollars on peoples credit cards! Then when they call ME to get these holds released, the procedures do the opposite of EXPIDITING…
Hey artwank:
It’s not necessary to refer to artists as “woman painters.” It’s not the 50s. If it would somehow actually be important for me to know the artist’s gender, I’m pretty sure I’d figure it out when you tell me her name. Kthnxbye.
Racist
To the receptionist of a certain salon/spa’: stop being so ignorant, delusional and RACIST. really though, you are a disgrace to mankind, especially in this day and age. i see the looks you give certain types of people, and its disgusting. go to hell. Unhappy client
To the two or three nice young ladies who shouted from their car to get my attention on Tuesday April 15th
Do you recall? I was walking down Young Street and crossing Kempt Road at the traffic lights. Your vehicle was the second or third – I don’t know, I didn’t look, I didn’t want to look, but I wasn’t deaf – in the right lane, waiting for your green light. The reason why I didn’t…
Absent HRM Professionalism
What’s wrong with the “professionals” in this region? I research the company, apply for a job I qualify well for, etc. Several email and phone calls later I’m invited for a 90 fucking minute interview then never hear from anybody again. Never a “thank you,” a “fuck you,” nothing! This wouldn’t be a “valid” bitch…
Scammers on Kijiji
I heard the story recently about the single mom that got scammed out of $600.00 on Kijiji. The scam was a puppy for sale and the seller was in Cameroon Africa. I notice today that there is someone selling and African grey for $300.00. BEWARE and always ask the seller where they are located. NEVER,…
worlds shittiest friends and family
To all the people I “love” who can’t even bother to be there for me when I do the thing I have been dreaming of for most of my adult life….fuck you. No more birthdays, babysitting, get well cards, errands, sympathetic ears, donations of time, effort or money….fuck the lot of you. Next time you…
Loyalists and Layabouts
Stephen Kimber, The Coast’s senior feature writer, is releasing his new book tomorrow (Tuesday), 5:30 – 7pm at The Wardroom in the Arts and Administration building at King’s College. All are invited. Loyalists and Layabouts: The few hundred loyalists who gathered at Roubalet’s Tavern in New York on the night of Saturday, November 16, 1782,…
What else they got
As I pointed out a few weeks ago, MLA pensions were one consideration in the Liberal’s support for the government. Four members of the Liberal caucus (of nine)— including party leader Stephen McNeil– qualify for pensions as of August 5. Why risk losing that over something as silly as principled political stands? (Seven members of…
Harper
Maybe I should cross the street and watch the circus: Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be in Halifax today to make a military announcement. A news release issued Sunday by the Prime Minister’s Office said Mr. Harper will be joined by Defence Minister Peter MacKay for an announcement at 1 p.m. The announcement will take…
Coffee flavoured coffee
Why does my coffee taste like a doughnut? Van Harsh
Work Ethic
I work in a call center. I don’t like it, and I don’t plan on doing it longer than I need to. I probably won’t even put it on my resume. However, I believe that whatever job you find yourself doing, you have an obligation to do it to the best of your ability. It’s…
Dear, Mr. I Have No Talent.
It’s not my fault you have no talent as a tattoo artist, and got fired. But piss off, and stop asking me to do your dirty work. I love the people at the shop and I’m not going behind there backs and telling you everything they tell me. If they wanted you to know they…
Price of oil
Weekend trading price: $125.96/barrel City budget assumptions: $100/barrel My prediction: soon after the October election, the newly sitting city council will have to deal with a fiscal crisis at city hall, due to skyrocketing fuel costs. It’s always dicey to make predictions, and I don’t know what kind of modelling city bureaucrats used to make…
Not-so-happy Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day in the United States (and, I’m assuming, Canada) has its origins in the 19th century pacifist movement: Ruth Rosen explains: …The women who conceived Mother’s Day would be bewildered by the ubiquitous ads that hound us to find that “perfect gift for Mom.” They would expect women to be marching in the streets,…
Stay Open Late – Make Money
It’s a long time since many of us had to rise at 5:30 in the morning to pull our nets and traps. Why then can’t a restaurant serve food past 9:00 even on a Saturday night. Many maritimers enjoy eating a late meal on the weekend. We don’t all go to bed at 10:00 on…
Losing Faith
I have been doing some work for a Church in Dartmouth and I would like to say thanks to the pukes who broke in and stole all of my tools. Thanks to some good people who are allowing me the use of their tools, I will get the job done. Start praying that I never…
Come On, Coast.
When I saw the issue about the 3 buddies on the Mooseheads I thought, “I never thought of The Coast as being very sports-orientated, but it’s a decent story, so whatevs.” Then, a month or two later, I see the Hockey Championships/Latvians issue and think to myself “Another hockey issue? I guess it’s warranted with…
Find a Fucking Track
We’ll stick with last week’s theme on joggers. I have no problem with joggers whatsoever, hell I jog myself, however, why on earth some of these jackasses choose to jog down Spring Garden Road, on a Saturday, on a warm day, at 3 pm, is fucking beyond anything I can possibly fathom. Do you actually…
SuperNova = SuperFunny
Bag Spray—a product that can infuse one’s testicles with the alluring smell of Brie or cold hard cash. A smarmy stand-up comedian whose jokes are mostly lame, and who makes even the funny ones lame by explaining them after he’s told them. A giant, steroid-enraged baby nursing at his mother’s tit. A mucous-spewing fish French…
Bitch bitching here
You guys have been remarkably well behaved. But if you feel the need, here’s the place to be overly rude to each other. Website Nazi
Enough!!!
This bitch is to my completely annoying co-worker. You are the biggest hypochondriac I have ever met in my life. How can one person possibly have so many things wrong with them. When it’s not your bad knees it’s your bronchitis. Or your insomnia. Or your allergies. Or your sensitive skin. Guess what? We are…
SuperNova – Day ?
The audience gasped with pleasure at the opening scene of To Capture Light—and that was a good indication of the general reaction to Luna/Sea’s beautifully rendered creation. The play tells the story of Canada’s first impressionist painter, Frances Jones Bannerman, artfully weaving the biographical facts of her life with imagined scenes of the painter interacting…
camera phones
ok i know i’m overweight i’m actually trying to better myself by walking and eating healthier..what stops me is young fucks with camera phones trying to snap me when i am walking, at the gym, eating better by going to subway instead of mcdonalds. this is not helping the person who is trying to loose…
Eugene Mirman is worth the admission price alone, folks.
A few weeks ago, Scene and Heard guest/celebrity blogger Tara Thorne told us all about the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Festival in Seattle’s Marymoor Park July 12 and 13 (with an amazing comedy festival on July 11, featuring Sub Pop artists Patton Oswalt and Eugene Mirman, man from the sea). Thanks to her determination, I…
What they got
Not much (paid subscription required): McNeil said his party demanded a home heating rebate program for low-income Nova Scotians, 10 new medical school seats, transit tax breaks and funding for the colo-rectal drug Avastin. That’s pretty weak, as opposition parties go.
You spin me right ’round, baby, right ’round
This summer Argyle Fine Art (1869 Upper Water) is hosting “a new and exciting exhibition combining both the musical and visual arts.” Entitled Vinylview, the exhibit will show works of art created out of vinyl records or record sleeves. The gallery is currently looking for music-minded folks who are inspired enough to make something totally…
Liberals prop up PCs
Breaking: It’s official — the Liberals will keep the MacDonald government alive this spring.Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said this morning that his party will vote in favour of the budget next week, thereby ensuring it will pass and eliminating the possibility of an election.
Best of Food
Where the hell is the Best of Food survey 2008?! We’ve been on The Coast web site for the past friggin’ hour looking for the survey that, according to the cover of this week’s issue, is available on line. We went out of our way to get to a computer because we don’t have one…
Her Royal Majesty’s Garbage Dump
Nice try HRM. You know those garbage cans that have three different sections, marked “recyclables”, “garbage” and “organics”? Just the other day I watched as one of HRM’s garbagepeople dumped them all into the same ‘ol truck. Lookin’ good, but thanks for not even trying. CRAZY RADICAL ALCHEMIST with a PENCHANT for POOPY YUCKINESS
To my dear former employer
You fucking suck. I hope you and everyone who works for you rot in some terrible hell for all eternity. You would think after being taken to court and having the labour board informed of your stupidity you might smarten up and stop trying to rob your employees. Grow some fucking balls, and act like…
That’s gold, Jerry, gold
As Seinfeld demonstrated, good mentors can teach you about risk management or making jokes about Ovaltine, but they can also teach you how to be better film, TV and new-media producers. Film Nova Scotia is co-sponsoring the Canadian Film and Television Association Atlantic Mentorship Program. Last year the pilot program teamed up Shotgun’s Jason Eisener…
Shoptalk-lets
Like a diner, only more closed: Quincy’s (6273 Quinpool), the first place I ate out after moving to Halifax, is no longer with us…After 12 years in business, both locations of The Cookhouse (at 1512 Dresden Row and at 85 Hector Gate, Dartmouth) have also closed…Somebody tell Bill Cosby: Freeman’s Little New York has opened…
Fire watch
The uncertainty’s over: The fire in the former City Pizza/Topcutsspace (5688 Spring Garden) was caused by “an electrical malfunction in what is called branch-circuit wiring, which is simple electrical wiring that was located in a concealed space between the second and third floor,” says Dave Meldrum,public information officer for Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service.…
Venus Envy’s Anniversary
It’s a proud weekend: A lot of folks’ favourite sex shop is growing up. Venus Envy(1598 Barrington) celebrates its 10th birthday this Saturday with super-cool sales and a kickin’ party. The store spent a year down on Inglis and the last nine in its current digs. ” we opened up…we had about two kinds of…
Command performance
Jacob Zimmer is the ideal keynote speaker for this weekend’s Performance Creation Canada meeting. Organized by local artists through the SuperNova Theatre Festival and the Khyber ICA, PCC Halifax brings 100 artists, educators, critics, presenters and funders together (watch out hockey dudes) to “explore issues inspired by our theme—‘Bridge Walking: Reconciling the gap between avant-garde…
New Clay Cafe
Confused by the Clay Cafe’s (6413 Quinpool) recent “grand re-opening” events? That’s fair: the cafe was never closed. However, the shop has been under new ownership since February and has undergone a whole pile of fancy changes, too. And let’s face it—“grand unveiling of new owners and fancy new changes” lacks pizzazz. The new owners…
SuperNova
If you think you should go see In Pink, the play dealing with the anti-bullying movement started by two Annapolis Valley teens, just because you’ll learn something about the impact of bullying, you’re wrong. You should go see In Pink because it’s so many things that live theatre should be—entertaining, funny, well-written, well-acted, illuminating, challenging…do…
Practice safe safe for f-sakes
To the chicky and her older hubby who post on POF on a regular basis under “Intimate Encounters”- never once have I seen you mention safe sex in your ad….if you are going to be such a big and obvious slut as you seem to be…please do the world a favor and have the many…
nobody cares about kings
i don’t care about all the books you have read this year in fyp. i read lots of books too, congrats you can read books with big words. just because you cannot accept that high school is OVER and needed another year of feeling close to others, does not make you better than me or…
Oy
This government sure has had its issues with government-leased cars: Cabinet ministers in Nova Scotia will no longer be allowed government-leased vehicles, after the teenage son of the community services minister crashed in her SUV. Premier Rodney MacDonald said ministers will now have to buy or lease their own vehicles and claim mileage.
Environment
It’s funny now everywhere you go, everything you see, somehow is associated to global warming and the environment. I’m not saying you should recycle or take care of the environment or anything like that, but don’t you realize that it’s your government that’s creating all this to drive the price of your living up so…
tired of idiots on the road
to the fucking idiots that think driving 10-20 kms under the speed limit is safe. you are the reason the other fucking idiots get frustrated and try to pass when it is not safe causing the deadly head on collisions. when you drive below the speed limit pull over and let the people who do…
North end news
Allnovascotia.com (paid subscription required) is reporting that developer Doug Raphael has acquired three buildings at the corner of Agricola and McCully Streets, and is “considering” building a four- or five-storey office building at the site.
Bar Problems.
When the worlds largest pub crawl happened a couple of weeks ago, My friends and I hit all the bars. One of my friends recently had gotten back from the UK. She is a really sweet person whom I have known since I was a child, but she tends to get looks about the way…
Nova Scotia’s forests
GPI Atlantic issued its extensive study of Nova Scotia’s forests yesterday. The “good” news: selection harvesting, which removes trees selectively to maintain the integrity, age and species diversity, health, and value of the forest as a whole, grew marginally from 0.9% of logging in 2000 to 1.5% in 2005-06, while clearcutting declined from 97% to…
Hockey Money
As I said below, I hold these sort of things suspect: …the IIHF men’s world hockey championship is bringing lots of business to Halifax. “It’s an incredible event for downtown Halifax,” Paul MacKinnon, executive director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, said Tuesday in an interview. Mr. MacKinnon said the 12-day tournament, which began May…
Where’s my free fucking B-day dinner?
All year round I see ads in the paper, or in resurant windows boasting off FREE meals on your birthday…well its my fucking Birthday and nobody wants to dish out my free food! Although many places offer free dessert and to embarass the shit out of me thats about it! So within the next few…
Cancer Bats
Cancer BatsSaturday, May 3rd, 8:59pm, The PavilionRobin Hart Hiltz
Overly descriptive sign at the Clayton Park McDonald’s.
Remarks: Emily, a reader, took this photo with her cellphone and helpfully sent it to onpatrol@thecoast.ca, a gesture we much appreciate and the kind of behaviour we want to encourage among Haligonians. As for the burger, it comes in at 590 calories, 33 grams of fat (740 calories, 45 grams of fat if you get…
Health Crunch
I recently attended a local emergency room b/c my knee was swollen so i couldn’t get my jeans on and it hurt like hell. There were three otherpoor souls waiting as well. i could hear the doc in the background saying cold compress, advil, tylenol, wait three weeks. Then my turn, I’m in real pain…
(Ale) house of Windsor
Liz Feltham went to Hants County for beer and dancing but stayed for the food.
Speed racer
The kaleidoscopic acid-colour explosion of Speed Racer brings the thrill of spectacle back to action scenes. By diverging from standard action greys and blues, it makes physics and motion goofier and more vibrant. The Wachowski brothers turn the races into three-dimensional roller coaster courses of neon cars against starry night skies. These big visions of…
Painting the past
In the fall of 2006, Luna/Sea Theatre Company’s Martha Irving attended a show at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia called Two Artists Time Forgot: Frances Jones (Bannerman) and Margaret Campbell MacPherson. Luna/Sea’s mandate is to celebrate women’s stories and Irving immediately saw the potential for them to tell the story of Frances Jones Bannerman,…
Hot Toddy
[image-4]Published May 15, 2008.Hot ToddyTrioindieTrio is a polished, serendipitous comfy couch Ry Cooder-appreciating blues ramble. Thom Swift is the strongest lyricist in the room, but three of his four compositions are instrumentals. The sadness of a girl’s life gone astray in Swift’s “Far Away From Home” is expressed in chops honed on those long New…
Bus blues
He hates to admit it, but councillor Steve Streatch has never been on a Metro Transit bus. But with gas prices set to skyrocket, he’s one of many car-owning Haligonians looking for a seat on Metro’s already-crowded buses. “We all need to recognize, regardless of what walks of life we come from, this is something…
Los Campesinos!
[image-4]Published May 15, 2008.Los Campesinos!Hold On Now, Youngster…(Arts and Crafts)The ambitious arrangements and playful back and forth of main vocalists Gareth and Aleksandra Campesino! conjure up comparisons to The New Pornographers. Though Aleksandra’s vocals may lack the sophistication of Neko Case, chemistry between Campesino! singers makes their weaknesses seem like endearing idiosyncrasies. Los Campesinos! blaze…
Not every old man is a creepy letch
I’m 16 and gay. I recently got into an argument with my parents over whether HIV is spread by saliva or if you can be infected during oral sex. I thought that you were safe kissing and that it’s OK to have oral sex, but that you need to use condoms for anal sex. My…
Daniel Lanois
[image-4]Published May 15, 2008.Daniel LanoisHere Is What Is(Red Floor)The soundtrack (and DVD) documents Daniels year-long journey creating his own music. The CD has snippets of Brian Eno offering words of wisdom about creating music. Some songs sound like they coul or should be sung by other artists—Lovechild channels Aaron Nevilles falsetto; I Like That has Bono…
Iron Man
The spin Iron Man puts on the usual becoming-a-superhero story is key to its appeal. Tony Stark isn’t another of those teenagers who learns he can scale tall buildings. He’s a billionaire middle-aged playboy living with an arrogance that Bruce Wayne has always been too broody and reclusive to indulge. Played by Robert Downey Jr.,…
Robyn
[image-4]Published May 15, 2008.RobynRobyn(Konichiwa/Universal)Mall music just got more interesting. The North American release of the Swedish bubblegum-pop singer’s dance album was the same week as Madonna’s Hard Candy, but it’s years ahead in style and sass. Although Robyn’s hair and balls-out confidence is sadly reminiscent of a young, scrubbed-down Pink, there’s a sincerity Spears and…
Skate 4 Cancer
Over the past four years, Rob Dyer has grown Skate 4 Cancer from a skateboard trip inspired by Terry Fox to a music tour that has featured City and Colour and Protest the Hero. While on tour, Dyer gives talks at high schools and Flash presentations during concerts about the importance of disease prevention through…
The Dead Girl
[image-4]Published May 15, 2008.The Dead GirlDirected by: Directed by Karen Moncrieff (First Look)This hyper-intimate film—less drama than horror—follows the ripple of effect of women affected by a murder. There’s the victim (Brittany Murphy), her mother (Marcia Gay Harden), the medical examiner (Rose Byrne), the killer’s wife (Mary Beth Hurt) and the stranger who finds the…
Young and Sexy
[image-4]Published May 08, 2008.Young and Sexy The ArcMint RecordsAmid the media churn around so many other bands from the west coast, Young and Sexy are largely overlooked in the rest of the country. It’s high time—the band’s been around 10 years and this is their fourth album—this be corrected. The Arc will win over those…
Leona Lewis
[image-4]Published May 08, 2008.Leona LewisSpiritJ-RecordsLeona Lewis’ influences include Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, which instantly makes her a dream come true for Simon Cowell and Clive Davis, executive producers of Lewis’ debut Spirit. Lead single “Bleeding Love” is an infectious tune that channels equal parts Annie Lennox and Celine Dion; while interesting, it…
Bring on $2 gas
War. Famine. Blackout. The rising price of oil has some heavy implications. But what’s the one that North Americans are freaking over? The high cost of gasoline. Politicians of all stripes, presidential candidates to premiers, are facing calls to lower gas taxes from a consistently whiny group: Those among us who are convinced cheap gas…
Tokyo Police Club
[image-4]Published May 08, 2008.Tokyo Police ClubElephant Shell(Saddle Creek Records)For their first full-length album, Elephant Shell, Tokyo Police Club have polished their sound; the jostling of instruments sounds and effects found on their popular EPs is considerably subdued here. As always, Greg Alsop’s beats stay on course enough to be danceable. The careful insertion of snare…
Poop scoop
Last column I wrote about HRM’s plan to sell our toxic crap to farmers, call it fertilizer and grow our food in it. The sludge from our harbour is a massive cocktail of mostly unidentified chemicals that pose deadly risks to farm animals and humans and huge financial risks to farmers. I’ve heard better ideas,…
Will Currie and the Country French
[image-4]Published May 08, 2008.Will Currie and the Country French A Great Stage(murderecords)For Will Currie, one of the first acts (along with Pony Da Look) assigned to Sloan’s resurrected label, 11 years after murderecords stopped producing non-Sloan material, this is a great start. The pop sextet—five dudes and a woman—make happy, melodic piano pop that Ben…
Death Cab for Cutie
[image-4]Published May 08, 2008.Death Cab for CutieNarrow StairsAtlanticThis winter, with the distinctive bassline of “I Will Possess Your Heart” as score, deathcabforcutie.com hosted a video compiled from recording sessions. At the end of it, Ben Gibbard’s disembodied voice drifted in with one of the hoariest rock cliches ever: “We don’t have anything left to prove…
Stand-in city
The last time the Screen Actors Guildlooked poised to go on strike in the US—in 2000—it resulted in a boon for film and television production in Halifax as producers rushed to get projects in the can before the strike deadline. (It never happened.) The Shipping News, K-19: The Widowmaker and Wise Girls—plus their marquee stars…
Underdog
Act 1: A ragtag band of misfits with nothing to lose and everything to gain. When the film The Mighty Ducks came out in 1992, it was a surprise hit. It grossed $50 million in the US and spawned two sequels. The people had spoken. They love underdog stories on ice (and, apparently, Emilio Estevez).…
Stone Age keyboardist Dean Fertita speaks
Dean Fertita has done a lot in his musical lifetime. He founded The Waxwings, a Detroit rock group whose song “Fragile Girl” was covered by fellow Motor city maniacs The White Stripes. He’s also toured as a member of Jack White’s “other band,” The Raconteurs. But, he says, nothing compares to his current assignment as…
Art meets hockey
It’s the first warm, sunny Saturday in April and already downtown Halifax is filled with foolishly optimistic crowds wearing shorts and flip-flops. At the Nova Scotia Power parking lot or “graffiti pit” over on Morris and Lower Water streets, a group of about 20 young people are preparing for their weekly street-hockey game around a…
Online Personals – not so friendly
For everyone who has used internet sites to meet people (for friendship to intimate dates) – Isn’t it frustrating when people on there won’t be upfront and real? You know who I mean: “Hi, nice profile, I am maybe we can get to know each other. Do you have any pictures? Talk to you soon!”…
