East Coast Music Association Announces 2010 Awards nominations
Joel Plaskett killed it with eight music nominations, In-Flight Safety, Classified snag six nominations each Artist and industry award nominations were announced today at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre for the 2010 East Coast Music Awards, Festival and Conference, to be held March 4-7 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The industry awards will be presented…
Hooray for the Olympics!
The Olympic organizers in Vancouver have sent out a directive to all artists, musicians and performers associated with the event. It stipulates that no-one will speak critically of the event, or its sponsors, by any means whatsoever…that means neither spoken to the media, in any song lyrics, in any piece of art or theatre and…
Learn To Fly
I had another close call yesterday: a fat pigeon-missile rocketing past my face. If I hadn’t been so speedy, my pigeon-to-the-face count would be three now (close encounters nearing 5). Stupid fat greasy morons, did you learn to fly from Haligonian taxi-drivers or is there a mountain of fucking food on my face?—I WASH MY…
My gorgeous teach.
I’m trying to conain my sexual urges, but my gym teacher is just way too hot. It’s unreal. He is the reincarnation of every greek god put together – you name it – tall, muscular, handsome…shit, I’m drooling already. The other day he curled his arm around the small of my back, and I almost…
Pay it forward
Thank you for paying for my food at lunch in the MSVU cafeteria when I could not find my wallet! That was so nice as you didn’t even know me. All you asked was for me to “Pay It Forward” I did… I made a fine donation to support a family in need over the…
grateful
I was in a car accident a few weeks ago, which left me car-less and hence took a cab home. I shared my story with the driver, who in turn shared his own mishap. Upon my destination, I attempted to pay but the driver declined, despite my insistence on paying… To you, my friend, I…
Advent Calendars
I’ve spent the last fucking month searching HRM up and down for a single advent calendar but they don’t fucking exist anymore. I’m not talking about one of those shitty advent calendars with their shitty chocolate pieces in the windows. They suck and the chocolate is always bad. And who wants to see bloody empty…
NS Authors Signing at Atlantic City Centre
Books? Anywhere from $5 to $100. A book signed by the author? Priceless. Drop by City Centre Atlantic (1535 Dresden Row, above Pete’s Frootique) on Friday, December 4 from 7-9pm to meet and get books signed by 10 prominent Nova Scotia authors: Budge Wilson, Donna Morrissey, Vicki Grant, Don Aker, Richard Rudnicki, Jill MacLean, Kate…
Georgia Barnwell’s Soup
As these words are being typed, snow is swirling outside the office window. Sigh. Sounds like time for soup. Living Soup! Georgia Barnwell, local raw food expert, is giving a mini-workshop at Planet Organic (6485 Quinpool Road, 425-7400) on Saturday, December 5 from 1pm to 2:30pm on soup. “We will be making, and tasting, a…
In the Dead of Winter 2010 festival line-up announced
Righteous babe The In the Dead of Winter festival is in it’s triumphant 5th year, bringing 54 performers together to warm you people up during the bleakest month in Halifax. 2010’s performing artists include Ani DiFranco, John K. Sampson, Justin Rutledge, Luke Doucet, Rose Cousins, Catherine MacLellan, Ken Whitely, Ron Hynes, Ruth Minnikin, The Wooden…
Alabama Christmas
I love this time of year. I love the decorations and the smell of Christmas trees. I love that my 2 year old can’t wait meet Santa and that soon we’ll be able to build snow men. I love on Christmas morning when my brother puts on Alabama Christmas while we open presents. Most of…
hey cashiers
simple….change first.. then bills.. dont put bills in my hand and then pile change on top then get frustrated when the change slips out and all over the floor and i hold up the line trying to pick it all up..–go sigh somewhere else before i throw the $.97 at you
RV DEALER
To the owner of the RV dealership who sold us a fucking piece of junk under your dealership licence, I hope you lose your business. You are a bullshit liar and everybody knows it. We’ve spread the word from Dartmouth to Ontario to Arizona (and to hundreds of RVers in between) that you are a…
Get your shit together Coast
You guys FINALLY offer a mobile version and theres no Bitch section? What gives??? I’d say about 60 percent of the people that go on here come to bitch. Add Mobile Bitching!–bummed
So far away…
We met through your cousin and I remember your right thumb was hurt from hockey. That night I remember watching you and listening you speak to someone about your ex…I don’t think you were over her. And somehow I asked you out and somehow everything worked out for us. And then I moved. I miss…
Psssst… BUY MY STUFF!
Anyone notice that the PSST section is no longer just for “pssts”? Advertisements for the Dartmouth Market, and fake international scammer ads for puppies. What has become of The Coast’s Classifieds section? It all seems to have come with the advent of the new system. You’d think they’d have thought of this before making it…
They all say it, “He’s hot, but…”
You’re nearing thirty. You toil around in a brewery, and gay it up as us gays usually do on the weekend. That’s fine, but… yeah, some people think you’re hot, but behind the tats, some of the muscles, the piercings and facial hair, there’s still a lanky geek with a weak chin. You’re trying to…
Alteregos offering one-of-a-kind gifts
You might know it as Alteregos Coffee House (2193 Gottingen Street, 431-3170) or as Backpackers hostel, but either way, you know they’ve got a place for travellers to stay and a lot of great food. They’re also carrying a series of one-of-a-kind gifts for the holidays, including locally made sock monsters, hand-made bowties, photo albums,…
Peep Show closing
Shoptalk received this message from Freak Lunchbox (1723 Barrington Street, 420-9151) and Peepshow Girly Boutique (1717 Barrington Street, 404-3886) owner Jeremy Smith: “Peepshow Girly Boutique is closing this month [he means in December—ed. note] due to end of lease. Peepshow will hold Boxing Day before Christmas this year with discounts beginning now! We are also…
Fireworks Display Unnecessary
I know that you’ve been hiding this a long time. I get that you’re extremely excited, and freed by the admission of such a secret. I respect your courage, and I will be your friend as long as you’ll have me. But why is it necessary to come out of the closet on fire? You…
The RN and Staffers Manning the Dal H1N1 Vaccine Clinic
I scheduled the whole day to get my H1N1 vaccine, thinking that the Dalhousie MacInnes room would be in chaos. I was pleasantly surprised. The clinic was extremely well organized and well staffed. Thanks to all the friendly RNs doing a terrific job and to the students and staff who are providing critical support. I…
Got a smart new tag for this one?
I like having music in the background at work, but is it REALLY necessary to play Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” 5 times a day EVERY WORKDAY for the last month?— I believe! I believe!
Want, Take Have? good plan
To the ass-hat who decided that it would be a good idea to break the drivers side window in on my car on Friday night, in the rain! I just wanted to thank you. It made my weekend so much better… It made getting to where I had to go at 8:30 am, before most…
Your Burning Question Answered
For months, you’ve had a question in your head that you wanted answered. You were either too shy to ask or didn’t know where to get the answer, so you took your sharpie and started asking this question on mailboxes, construction signs, walls, anywhere where people would see it. Of course, you didn’t leave any…
I am tired of being poor.
I am tired of being poor.Tired Poor Person
No one cares!
Stop reporting about the car accident a certain pro golfer got into! First of all, no one gives a shit. Second of all, this is NOT news! I’ve seen it urgently discussed on FIVE reputable (or so I thought) news stations already! This is the sort of thing entertainment news does, celebrity gossip and speculation.…
You’re still a jerk
Even though you think you’re god’s gift to us lowly types you’re still evil and we know what you did. Given time it will all come out. After you’re gone we’ll still be here.—Still here
Cat ran away
My f*ing cat ran away, just when I was beginning to get attached to her. Like, come on.—Nick
Pantyhose are not pants! Shirts are not dresses!
Not a day goes by that I dont see women wearing pantyhose with no underwear as pants or women wearing shirts as dresses with no underwear. Maybe you ladies should go bare ass.—Fully dressed.
Another Driving Bitch
I am very aware that Metro is, oh, 85% anti-child. Most people here are trying to be some sort of low-rent New York, or whatever- point is, most hate little ones. That being said, they’re here, we keep having them, get over it. Move to the actual New York or something. What do you NOT…
Smoker Haters
I’m standing outside my place of work,in the rain,grabbing a quick smoke.You and your wife,both FAT people, walk by and you give the look….glowering eyes,sneer,attitude. Well,FUCK YOU! You’re FAT! I walk or bus to work; you drive because you’re FAT! I’m going to do die with cancer,yes but you are going to live on being…
Uphill Both Ways.
Fuck Halifax’s rent, which is so high I live in Purcell’s cove with a minister and her 4 indoor cats. Fuck the buses that don’t run past midnight (when I finish work) which brings me to fuck the sparse and randomly placed, ultra-narrow, unprotected “bike” lanes that I’m forced to ride 40 minutes on in…
To cashiers and food service workers.
Please don’t comment on what food I’m purchasing. I don’t have the munchies. Don’t make a sarcastic comment about how I’ll be “eating healthy” tonight. I’M BULIMIC. When you say things like that you have no idea what state of mind the customer is in and how much it hurts my already crushed self esteem.…
StarBucks Environmentalist
So, this goes out to the ass-fuck who cut me off in the Lacewood StarBucks drive-through on Sunday. Hey, dickface, I had my signal light on waiting in line to turn in for a reason, I wasn’t just doing it to add to the atmosphere of the area. Perhaps next time you open your eyes…
Dave Bidini at the Carleton on December 6 and 7
The Bidins also wrote a book of erotic hockey stories. Entertaining writer and Canadian songsmith Dave Bidini is coming to town with Bidiniband, featuring Don Kerr, Paul Linklater and Doug Friesen, making their Maritime debut next Sunday and Monday at the Carleton. 20$ for two hours of “Canadian Shield Rock.” And there will be a…
Listening to Fugazi complain is making my day
“Where I come from, saying ‘shut the fuck up’ is rude”
NO NO NO
Has anyone seen that furniture commercial with the Santa Claus auditions? The one that offends all of humanity? My Christmas wish is for a bunch of people to shit all over thier parking lot(s). Just lettin you guys know —Mrs. Claus
Super nice
Thanks so much for taking me out for dinner.. I really needed something like that at this time of year. I really appreciate you spending $63 on a meal, especially since I know how badly you’re trying to save money for school and moving out. It was really good food, dessert, and beer, and I…
Queen of the public housing laundry room
This is to the lady in the laundry room last Tuesday. I was folding my clothes onto an empty washing machine. The laundry room was nearly empty. You decided that you wanted to use that machine, though there were at least 6 empty ones that you could have chosen. Instead of asking me to move,…
find me when you come back this way..
everything in the short time i’ve know you has convinced me that the pot we’re told not to stir needs a heck of a lot more stirring. meeting you, has given me a lesson more valuable than any maxim an example of that change we hope to see.—thank you
Dear Police:
I got robbed. you would not drive me home or even give me a goddamn bandaid. And no, I counldn’t just call a cab, I have no money, remember?? Yes I was I drunk, but I did not deserve that treatment. Thanks for upholding stereotypes.—Wallet-less in the North End
for the girl who held the door for me…
because the first thing you said to your roommates when you got home the day we met was “ugh-oh”, because you were right and because that didn’t stop us. because one morning i woke up and found that you had put dinosaur stickers all over my mirror and because your emails out-word any essay i…
Why don’t you pick on a polluter your own size?
“Do you realize you have NO reflectors, NO lights…. are you looking to get killed?” Thanks for asking you old moron. Maybe I don’t have any lights on my bike but I do have reflectors and a big bright yellow milk crate on the back. If you can’t see that with your headlights and all…
HOLY SHIT
My back. Has been itching. For three weeks.—Dino
Yes, you’re on TV…
and all your drunk buddies at home have seen you. Now sit the fuck down and stop waving that fucking flag every time the fucking camera pans in your direction! If I was the guy sitting behind you that had paid thousands of dollars for a season ticket, I’d have had your kneecaps broken by…
Road love
To the driver of the folkswagon on Forest Hills who let me turn left after the light went green at the Auburn Dr intersection a few days ago: Farvegnugen indeed, sir or madam. I hope you got a really big hug from someone that day, or won the lottery or something.—Slug Tire Stu
Paying for air? WTF?
What the fuck is up with gas stations charging us for using their air hoses? I went to FOUR fucking stations tonight looking to pump up one of my tires and every fucking one of them was looking for money to turn on the goddamn pump. Last time I checked, you didn’t have to drill…
i heart MEC
To the exceptionally enthusiastic cutie who sells backpacks at MEC: kudos. Thanks for describing a certain versatile bag as a “spacial anomaly.” You made my day. And it’s true–you can indeed fit a very surprising amount in there—satisfied customer
Treat your money right!
We can get free sex changes here and pay millions of dollars for certain unemployed people to visit, but health insurance doesn’t cover dental, wisdom teeth (something nearly everyone gets done), chiropractors (very important!), and most drugs and health aids. This country is not a monarchy, and we need our priorities straightened out.—Kars
Classical Conditioning
Why did my body have to learn to associate me starting the coffee machine with taking a shit? Every freakin’ day, I go to make a coffee, and suddenly I feel a bowel movement. I either have to ignore it, or listen to it and let my coffee sit and get cold in the pot…
Halifax Adhesive Inadequacies
I haven’t lived in Halifax very long, but finally long enough to find something to bitch about. And that would be tape. Or is it just my apartment building where tape cannot stick to walls? All our pictures, maps, etc. have 10 fucking wads in every corner yet they still buckle or peel off every…
Dal Swing Society
I LOVE YOU. Thank you for existing! Thank you for being such an awesome bunch of people making super cheap, fantastic dance lessons available to us happy feeters, and letting us step on your feet while you twirl us like tops. You have made this crazy stressful year wonderful, because I can always look forward…
REALLY Coast?
No three sheet in the 50 odd bands you listed as the “talk of the town” this year? REALLY coast, what town are you living in…cause I was born and bred in this magical town where three sheet has been holden down a solid weekly gig, playing the seahorse and paragon regularly, having an EPIC…
Hey Music Industry! Stop Being Greedy!
So I just read an article about how the music industry is trying to levy fees from gymnastic clubs whenever they practice or use music. The article talks about charging the clubs a fee of $2.14 per member per year for use of the music (not a lot at first glance but multiply that by…
coffee bitches
ok, when you come into the store and say GIVE ME A COFFEE, first of all.. where the hell are your manners??? second, there are a number of different kinds of coffee, what kind do you want?? third, what size coffee would you like? and forth, what do you take in your coffee? i know…
to the cranky bus driver
dearest bus driver, you look upon me with and scold me when I do not wait for the jerk chatting to you to exit the bus on this raining day, then you pull away before I even get in my seat and I almost fall over, you glare at me and when I finally get…
Heroine’s last trunk show of 2009
Heroine (5775 Charles Street, 420-0328) hosts its final trunk show of the season this week, featuring the elegant work of Toronto designer David Dixon. Hours of the show are Friday, December 4, 4pm-7pm, and Saturday, December 5, 1pm-4pm. Email heroine@eastlink.ca for more information.
The Biggest Small Party of the Season
Looking for a big Christmas party for your small office? This year the Atlantica Hotel bar, Season’s Bistro and Wine Bar (1980 Robie Street, 490-3331) is hosting Season’s Biggest Small Party on December 5th and 12th. Bring your group of twenty or less to join other offices for a buffet-dance-drinkathon for just $32 a head.…
Five questions with Meat Curtains
Um, gross! Meat Curtains play minimalist punk songs about underage boys, dead dogs, and news anchors. Their vocals all sound like like they’ve unleashed the gates of hell and dual drummers mean you hear that hammering in your head for days. They’re great entertainers, what can I say? Scene & Heard: What are you up…
Works Every Time
To a certain beer sold in a 40 oz (1.18L) bottle, Why do you have to be so tasty and satisfying? you may be the death of me, but thanks for the good times and memories, love you more with every taste, though they tell me your a waste…—40of45
Hootin’ and hollerin’
It is 3AM on a weekday, and some people have to work the next morning. Please remember this when you choose to have your next outing to a certain North End pub and refrain from screaming your lungs out for minutes on end. Not only does it wake up people, but screaming should be reserved…
protest the hero mosh pit
To the dick who thinks it was funny to take my fuckin slipknot hat right off my head in the mosh pit at Protest The Hero concert last week FUCK YOU!!! Get a job you lazy bastared and go to HMV and get your own it only cost $20 that fuckin less then the concert…
I tried, I really tried…
How am I supposed to help someone if they won’t make any effort what-so-ever to communicate with me? I had a client who was deaf. The first couple of meetings went great; productive and pleasent. Then one day the interpreter wasn’t able to come, she contacted me and my client, and he decided not to…
to the sunglass hater
Some people need to wear sunglasses inside dumb,dumb. My prtner just had serious eye surgery and the lights n the malls really hurt his eyes. So yes some people o wear them unnessasarily.But not everyone.— He don’t look dumb.
NHL Gamecenter SCAM
So I pay 125$ for this ‘Gamecenter’ to watch all my out of market hockey games, and what do I get? A stupid screen that LAGS ALL THE TIME, barely even HD, and has blackouts. It is nearly impossible to watch in full screen without the picture being choppy, too. Fuck you NHL. Avoid this…
bitch move
the coast wont post my bitch because it’s about them. bitch move— you know it’s true
Wiper Woes
All of a sudden my wipers decide to wrap themselves around each other in mid-wipe, making it impossible for me to see while driving in this damned downpour. Thanks Chrysler, for making a shitty product that falls apart the day after warranty…—shoulda got a Ford
Royal Pain in the Ass
Yay! We were so blessed to have the royal family visit Canada for about two weeks!! …Too bad that despite the current economy crisis, Canada had to fork out 2.57 million dollars for their stay: http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=22730306—Mind Snap
House of Dogs doggie deals
You may have seen the big signs in the windows of House of Dogs (6448 Quinpool Road, 492-3647) over the past few weeks trumpeting their big sale, 10 to 70 percent off everything in the store. Shoptalk, concerned, inquired after the health of the business but was reassured that they’re just clearing stock to make…
Love Savage…but in print
On Thursdays I like to pick up a newly printed copy of The Coast, head to my favourite coffee shop, get a drink and settle in for an hour or so of reading. I work my way through most of the articles, front to back, until I get to the very last line on the…
Cops need more time
I feel compelled as a retired staff sergeant from HRP, once in charge of Major Crime, to comment on Stephen Kimber’s story about unsolved murders in Halifax (“Dead wrong,” November 19). A murder is one of the most difficult cases to solve unless you have the evidence right in front of you, such as a…
Last Call Chernobyl stoked on Warped
They’re a Canadian band After I made a ridiculous post last week, Last Call Chernobyl got back to me. Here’s what they have to say about their Warped Tour win. Steph: How did you guys feel when you found out?Last Call Chernobyl: The four of us started screaming like school girls at first. It was…
Frank Beazley: Setting the Record Straight
It is rare that I write a Letter to the Editor, however, based on the content of the November 19 unsolved homicide article, I feel the need to clarify several points. It is disappointing that the article brought into question the experience and professionalism of our officers, particularly those in the Major Crime Unit. Our…
Your rich, who cares
To all the rich obnoxious homophobes in my university discipline, you are all the biggest bunch of unknowingly homoerotic douches, and you dress rather poorly.—trying to study in peace
qpmzwonxeibcruv
i love how you always write these huge paragraphs, it cracks me up & makes lltwl more enjoyable for me—you know
Still exploiting the homeless
There’s no difference between calling them lazy bastards and shipping your party leader in for a photo op with them at the homeless shelter. Either way, you’re exploiting the problem for political points.—speck
Bluenose II restaurant
This is the greatest restaurant ever. Great service and great food combined at a great price. And to the first person to ever serve me there as I wandered in off the streets after a long grueling day at work, thank you so much. It was only your second day but still the service was…
Who do you think you are?
I’m either totally crazy or every douche in this city thinks they are IT!! Just because I try to get into the restroom and have to ask you to move(only because you make a professional rugby player look small), which is weird because you were about 150 pounds, does not mean I’m “fronting”. Get a…
Thanks to a beautiful girl
Hey Miss, You’ve made such a difference in my life. When my marraige ended I thought that love had ended. You restored my faith that maybe there is someone out there for me. I’m so grateful that it’s you.—A very grateful boy
Moron driver
You were the asshole driving yesterday afternoon on Bayers Rd. I was the one who wanted to hit you after you followed two other cars into a left hand turn from Joseph Howe on a red light (the first car made it on the yellow, you and the car in front of you are stupid).…
Group Work not a Group Effort
So I’m a full time grad student and my degree requires a ridiculous amount of group work. And guess what? Group work sucks shit. Every time there’s group work I’m stuck with a bunch of lazy, borderline-illiterate goofballs or arrogant jerks who think their stupid ideas are the only ones that matter. Note to my…
Lovember
Wow, November, you have been spectacular this year. Usually you’re a dreary, dark, cold son of a bitch, but this year, days and days of sun and warmth. You’re getting a bit grey now, but that’s ok–your warm temperatures have warmed my heart! Thanks for making winter seem far, far, far away and being all…
It’s an Ongoing Issue.
Hi Refund Lady, Your gym charged my account another $40 on 20-Nov-2009. Can you please make sure this gets refunded ASAP along with the other $280. Can you also check your system and make sure that I am not added to your automatic withdrawal system. Please fix this ASAP, I cannot bear having one more…
Is it Friday yet?
No you fucking dumbass, it’s not fucking Friday yet! What a stupid ass question? NO, I don’t find your question pithy and humorous. You’re a fucking moron. How many days of the week are there in your world to be so confused as to what fucking day it is? Why don’t you look at a…
Whoa, tannenbaum! Blythe Church felts Christmas
Blythe Church, whose felted Rolleiflex camera is the picture of handmade perfection on the cover of our new Buy Local city guide, has seriously outdone herself this time. A year-long project commissioned by the Keating family, Church felted a life-sized Christmas tree and toys. “I used an artificial tree with all the needles removed as…
My Gold shoes are too tight.
I don’t like the colour of dirt anymore.—Hunger
It’s not that hard…
If the hand is flashing, DON’T FUCKING CROSS.—It’s not Quantum Mechanics people.
Up In Smoke
Another Dartmouth restaurant in a particular Main Street location goes up in smoke. On the radio they said fire investigators were looking for a cause. Really? The investigators in question must be new in town. My bitch? The folks who keep opening restaurants there and ‘closing’ them a few years later are driving up my…
Serves ’em right…
The big red-lettered cell phone giant is laying off a bunch of their executive and management types… Not that I am for a bigger drain on our EI system, but maybe they should get rid of their idiot customer “non-service” people who never know WTF they’re talking about when you call in… Hey – if…
Local Music’s Best: behind the cover
PLUS Related Stories
Burnt Church: Hanging out in the music teacher’s pet cemetery
Burnt Church (named after “a small, yet controversial, fishing town in New Brunswick,” says guitarist/vocalist Mike Parks) haven’t been together quite a year yet, but the band is made up of some scene vets. Featuring Mike Parks (Prisoners, On The Blood of Others, Raygunomics) and Gerald Smith (Existench, Gorebage, Thy Flesh Consumed) and (Fredericton’s Hard…
Theatre review: Harvey
What are they feeding the students at King’s? I only ask, because after seeing four plays there in the past five weeks, I’d say they have some secret recipe for turning out terrific actors. The latest King’s Theatrical Society offering, Mary Chase’s 1944 classic Harvey, is one of the most delightful productions I’ve seen in…
WTF cable company
I’m a sucker who is paying too much for ‘premium’ cable channels. For about the past month one of the features I paid for has been ‘unavailable’. It’s a feature where you practically have a library of movies and series at your fingertips. Anyway WTF? Can’t you at least send a ‘message’ to your subscribers…
Abduct this…
Did anyone else hear about the elderly couple from Pictou accused with attempted abduction because they waved at a child from their car on the way into a store? Some numbtyfuck called the cops when they entered the grocery store, and on the way out, they were stopped in the parking lot, taken to the…
Relationships are too much work
I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I don’t want a relationship with a member of the opposite sex (or the same for that matter). Relationships are simply too much work….you always have to answer to someone or for something. Friendships are fine as there are few expectations. Love and procreation (kids) is for young…
Pop goes a new Republic
The recording process for a band like The Most Serene Republic always sounds like the punchline to a lousy joke: What happens when you throw a big group of diverse, classically trained, cosmically minded musicians in a room together? Fortunately, the band (who mostly hail from pastoral Milton, Ontario) has somehow managed to produce a…
Local restaurants win Taste of Nova Scotia and Restaurant Industry of Nova Scotia awards
Nova Scotia has some award winning recipes on its hands. But food is just a part of the equation — it’s the recipes for success in the foodservice industry that Taste of Nova Scotia and the Restaurant Industry of Nova Scotia both just honoured at their respective annual awards. On November 5, Taste of Nova…
Going the extra mile: DVD picks of 2009
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Two-Disc Special Edition (Paramount) Button remains scattershot on second viewing, hampered by David Fincher’s inability to believe in sentiment as much as technical wizardry. But the disc’s three-hour making-of documentary sets a new quality standard for behind-the-scenes extras. DVD —MP Dollhouse: Season One (20th Century Fox) The never-aired, first-season…
The Road is harrowing
Man (Viggo Mortensen) and Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) travel south along a road long deserted by humanity, literally and figuratively. It’s an unrelentingly gloomy story and mostly faithful to Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece source novel, where dread, despair and desperation amidst the unrelenting dangers of broken civilization made for its own uniquely suspenseful plotting. John Hillcoat’s film…
Game on: best video games and iphone apps of 2009
Batman: Arkham Asylum The apocalypse must be nigh because they finally went and made an awesome Batman game. I actually shouted, “I am the Batman” twice. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows Fallout 3: downloadable content One of last year’s biggest games got way bigger with a slew of downloadable content. These five downloads made…
Old Dogs, no new tricks
Maniacally slapstick, utterly charmless and ultimately unfunny, Old Dogs is devoid of merit but slightly unique in PG entertainment. John Travolta and Robin Williams play aging bachelor sports-marketing magnates and co-dependent male BFFs who find their sleek lives up-ended when Williams discovers he has children. When “family” films often boast that old saw about the…
Clowning around with the Red Bastard
Modesty and embarrassment are as foreign to Red Bastard as a fitness trainer. The bulbous, belligerent red monster is the creation of New York-based actor-writer-director Eric Davis. Already lauded as one of the premier clowns of our time, Davis has received new acclaim as Red Bastard. It’s led him to some unexpected places, too. At…
House of Lancaster strips down
In a choice between fame and infamy, Sarah Gregg Millman (pictured, left) chose the latter. Seeking a name for her new band, she asked former Deadly Snake Max McCabe-Lokos. He suggested Toronto Blue Jays or House of Lancaster, a strip club on Toronto’s Bloor Street offering the “ultimate nude sports bar experience.” “It was a…
Ninja Assassin needs a high kick
The main reason to like the good guys more than the bad guys in Ninja Assassin is that they’re labelled that way. It probably won’t stand up in court, but Raizo (pop superstar Rain) falls in the good side because he once fell in love. The fight scenes unleash disposable villain after disposable villain with…
Local family’s food miles documented
The McMillins may seem like an ordinary family, but they’re not. They’ve cut their food miles by nearly 70 percent and have done so without depriving themselves of any of life’s pleasures, like the hot chocolates they’re sipping in a downtown cafe. The family reduced their average food miles from 2,569 km/month to 880 km/month,…
Inquiry into B.C. salmon first step to accountable fisheries management
In 1992, 95 percent of Atlantic cod disappeared. Our fisheries collapsed, and with a major ocean predator gone, an entire ecosystem was out of whack. Now scientists say the European cod stocks are collapsing. Thank god for pollock. Oh wait, their stocks remain depleted. OK, haddock? Some stocks stable, some uncertain, some shut down for…
Fantastic Mr. Fox is, well, fantastic
Fantastic Mr. Fox presents a world and characters in miniature, and that minute detail makes it an abstract joy on the big screen. Wes Anderson’s take on Roald Dahl’s children’s classic isn’t as polished as the stop-motion in Corpse Bride or Coraline. Its distinctly jittery retro-style of furry dolls brought to life is the perfect…
Jazz it up: top jazz of 2009
Jeff TorbertThis Weather Honest (independent) Torbert’s first release under his own name sends listeners on an improvisatory trip down the open roads of jazz and folk, bringing a stellar cast of Halifax’s new guard of jazz players along as he makes serious headway on his compositional path. Easley Stevenson Arsenault Nine Steps (Superhigh) This top-notch…
I’ll just try it this one time
Q I am a 29-year-old single straight man. Over the past year, I have become very close friends with a gay man close to my age. We have a blast hanging out, and I value our friendship. Four months ago, he told me that he had developed romantic feelings for me and said he needed…
Dartmouth Hooters burns
Shoptalk has learned that a fire inside the Dartmouth Hooters (120 Main Street, 482-7717) this morning has closed the place, indefinitely. Incidentally, Ralph’s Place (132 Main Street, 435-6468) was undamaged by the blaze.
A-Z on our headphones: best out of town music
A A Camp, Colonia Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion Antony & the Johnsons, Crying Light Arctic Monkeys, Humbug B Band of Skulls, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey Bell Orchestre, As Seen Through Windows Andrew Bird, Noble Beast The Black Crowes, Before the Frost… Until the Freeze Black Feelings, Black Feelings Black Joe Lewis & the…
Insecurity complex
“Have you got your lanyard, sir?” inquired a security official in the lobby of the Westin hotel Saturday morning. “No, I’m media,” I replied, “and I still haven’t registered for the conference.” The security guy made it clear I wouldn’t be going anywhere without official ID consisting of a plastic card clipped to an orange…
Don’t look for satire on Planet 51
Dwayne Johnson seems too self-aware at this point to convincingly play goofy meatheads, but broadening his horizons would sacrifice his claim to the lucrative kiddie market. Why mess with a winning formula when Vin Diesel makes you look like the Daniel Day-Lewis of age-10-and-under cinema? Johnson plays an astronaut stranded on the titular Planet 51,…
Tickled ivory: piano bar round up
While Halifax is a great city for weekly live music shows, sometimes it’s nice to simply sit down and have a drink with a performance that isn’t taking centre stage. Ragtime, anyone? Press Gang The Gang’s piano’s played weekly from Thursday to Saturday, 7:30-11pm, with a new time slot Thursdays and Fridays from 4:30-5:30pm. Musician…
Twilight: New Moon’s light flickers
The Twilight Saga: New Moon may satisfy the faithful, yet director Chris Weitz’s take on the vamp-lit phenomenon doesn’t work Stephanie Meyer’s text into driven screen fiction. It becomes increasingly evident here that 18-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart) is unusually passive as a film hero. She’s the type of protagonist more common to pop songs: Bella…
Urban chickens plan re-flight
Last year, Halifax council declined to intervene as bylaw officers evicted three chickens from Louise Hanavan’s north end yard. But the issue is far from dead—councillor Jennifer Watts has announced she will soon ask city staff to establish possible land use guidelines that permit urban chickens. The issue will come before the December 14 Peninsula…
Talk of the town: best music of 2009
A History OfAction in the North Atlantic (Noyes) High-octane, Maritime-themed math rock? Yes, please. A History Of gets the Halifax music scene right, and finally gives us a full-length record. —LK Black MoorThe Conquering (Diminished Fifth) The stuff of heavy metal legend: surviving a car crash, Black Moor channels death and Kill Em All hooks making you…
Green Lantern building still shines
The historic Green Lantern building on Barrington Street will not be coming down after all. Halifax councillor Sue Uteck raised eyebrows at a recent council meeting when she said she had received an email from Green Lantern owner Jeff Webber expressing frustration with the city’s historic preservation efforts. “He’s given up on it, and is…
Bus to the airport gets green light
An airport bus appears to be coming after all. Mention of the airport bus was left off the Five-Year Transit Plan delivered to council a few weeks ago, but a separate staff report submitted to council this week says the airport bus is in the works. Sort of. Metro Transit hopes to incorporate the bus…
Rad Radiator
Fuck Montreal plays raucous, deconstructed punk music, kicking off a two-week US tour (to promote its new seven-inch record upon return) with a show at Club 1668 on November 27 with Strings, Liars on Fire, Good Kids Bad Kids and Dave Fultz. Alex Currie and Jenny Empey, two members of Fuck Montreal (along with Mike…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
SAGITTARIUS Birthdays (NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 21) The surest way to beat the system, my dear, is to elude it and erect your own system. The strategy most likely to leave your competitors babbling in the mirror, sweetheart, is to go completely over their heads. That doesn’t mean, darling, that you should be a remote and grandiose…
Precious a hard and worthy effort
This year’s steam-gathering Oscar contender has the grit and guts Slumdog Millionaire lacked—there are no free-falls into shitholes, because you’re already in one. Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a functionally illiterate Harlem teen pregnant with her father’s second child. Her mother (Mo’Nique) is an emotionally and physically abusive terror collecting welfare on Precious and her…
Come out of hiding
To the douchbag that was evicted from an apartment near me. You can tell your douchbage comrades that they come out of hiding from the hit and run to my brand new car in the apartment parking lot. The police are closing the file, so you can sleep easy now. All I have left is…
Thanks for your patience during rush hour!
To the person who let me change lanes during rush hour on Quinpool, thank you! I know it seems something small and insignificant, but it was in back to back traffic and most people wouldn’t have. I am a new driver and slower to move than most so your patience when I edged over was…
Graffiti – Homeowners
So, the City have decided that if you’re unfortunate enough to have your property tagged, you (the homeowner) have to clean it off or the City folks will do it for you and bill you for it.—Basil Fawlty
leaves
thank you, whoever you are, for cleaning up the leaves that were blocking the storm drain. I walk past there every day and suddenly, today, the leaves were gone.—walker
Politicians with foul mouths
To the local MP with the nasty comments about the less fortunate and unemployed, and to all the self-righteous “no-good bastards” who agreed with him..FUCK YOU…No one chooses to be poor or live on the street. Everyone wants a decent life but it is usually denied them by elitist fuckheads like you..Do more for the…
MP has “foot-in-mouth” disease
To anyone who agrees with his comments, you are a totally inconsiderate and uninformed asshole. It’s not enough that you come from a priveleged background..It’s not enough that your wife is a former Minister of Community Services [I can imagine the dinner table talk} but you are supposedly a representative of the very people you…
I hate constuction (and Starbucks)
So I live in the Hydrostone. Nice quiet area to raise your kids in a community that is filled with little shops and local cafes. Now to the people building the hideous condo across the street: screw you!!!! Not only did it take you 6 months to dig your underground parking hole with your jackhammer…
Adam Lambert
What is it about kissing that freaks people out? Katy Perry can sing to the world that she kissed a girl and she liked it. Madonna can publically kiss Britney Spears and some other chick (that I can’t remember). Rap artists, both male and female can simulate sexual acts on stage. But why can’t an…
dear idiots
who keep kicking the garbage can back into the room im working in- stop that shit. I put it there for a reason… its like 100degrees in this room- i require better air circulation, as would you if you were in here BUT YOU AREN’T SO WHY ARE YOU MESSING WITH IT?!-and you’re all profs…
don’t vomit on the bus
To the chick who vomited on the number 81 bus this morning around 8am. What the fucking fuck?!!!! Not only is it completely disgusting an inappropriate to vomit on a public bus, but you had the fucking nerve to get OFF the bus, leaving your bag of vomit ON THE BUS for everyone to step…
HRM Fuckreation
Ugh, I’ve been looking through the HRM Recreation Catalogue for the past half an hour and it’s such a headache to read. My main issue is that for a lot of classes it’s impossible to tell how much they cost or where they take place. Sometimes these details are added, sometimes not. If it says…
Who the hell are you texting in the movies!
Every time I go to the movies lately, there is a sea of lights from the rows ahead of me of people with their cells and blackberries texting incessantly throughout the entire movie. Then of course, whatever ultra important person that is on the other end has to text back every other minute and I…
Who should pay for graffiti?
Not the victims, you fucking douche knobs. In times like this when it’s difficult enough to pay the fucking rent, keep a job or run a business the grande mighty council clowns pulls out yet another proposal from their well worn jester drawer and read: “YOU KNOW WHAT WE NEED? ANOTHER FUCKING BYLAW.” Here’s a…
Go somewhere else
To the greasy student sitting across me in the Killam library today….please visit a doctor. Or an excorcist. Either one will be fine by me. This person was literally hacking and gagging on his own phlegm for over twenty minutes before I had to finally get up and leave. Really, if you turned out the…
You should’ve stayed home
I’m sick of all these “privileged” kids from Toronto coming here for university and then ripping on the Maritimes at every chance they get. And no, I’m obviously not saying you’re all like that…but the few that are are so vocal about it that sometimes it’s hard to remember. I would have more respect if…
Looking forward to your retirement
hey bus drivers that speed up to pass me on my bike, only to pull INTO my lane BEFORE actually passing me, beeping your horn to get me stop, thanks. No, frig you. Bikes and buses should be in this together.—nearly squished norco
tree plantin awesome people
To all you people responsible for planting the trees along windsor st., by the army base… i love you. KEEP IT UP!—girl who lives in boring part of north end
Half-missing NSLC sign, Quinpool Road.
What’s wrong? Half-missing NSLC sign, Quinpool Road. Who’s responsible? Rick Perkins, NSLC spokesperson. REMARKS In an ironic case of biting the hand that feeds, some drunk evidently tore the top half off this sign. Now how’re ya gonna know where to go to get the fuel for your next vandalism spree, wise guy? Perkins says…
Von Allan gets personal about mental illness
When Ottawan Von Allan decided to create the art for his graphic novel, he couldn’t draw. “I literally sat down, when I was 24, with Betty EdwardsDrawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and I started to teach myself,” says Allan. Eleven years later, the former independent bookstore manager is now selling his self-published…
Walking backwards with Eryn Foster
Work off Saturday’s donair belly on Sunday at the last Wander in the Yonder, artist Eryn Foster’s series of “walking-based art activities, lectures and performances.” This time, Foster, who is the city’s first artist-in-residence working out of Point Pleasant Park Lodge, is inviting everyone to walk backwards with her, from the park to the top…
Brooklyn and beer
If you’re looking for a special meal and beverage this Sunday, consider The Brooklyn Warehouse (2795 Windsor Street, 446-8181) and its four-course beer pairing, in tandem with the folks at McAuslan Brewery. They say there will be a “healthy dose of local ingredients, uplifting beverages, and some education on the beer making process.” It starts…
March 19: Perfect time to execute “Operation: Change Rollins into dream husband”
Gimme gimme gimme: Perving on Henry Rollins in person? Don’t mind if I do! You thrilled to his ramblings in Get In The Van, you felt uncomfortable when you watched that YouTube video where he humiliates that poor kid trying to interview him, and you’ve thought about him countless times in the shower, now you…
