Jake
STUNNER. Killer smile (seriously—smiles are not something I take lightly—this photo doesn’t do him justice!), killer plaid and killer boots make for an AWESOME fashion explosion on Spring Garden Road late Friday afternoon. I had met this particular gem at an HPX event the week before and he remembered me! He also remembered how in…
The Way is long
Actor/writer/director Emilio Estevez casts his dad (Martin Sheen) as Tom Avery, whose only son, Daniel (Estevez), is killed as he commences his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. The 60-something Tom decides to make the pilgrimage himself, Daniel’s ashes in tow. En route, he collects a slew of companions—Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), Joost (Yorick van…
Not Everyone Sucks
To my thoughtful colleague who phoned me this morning (Wednesday) to offer to take me to lunch just because he hadn’t seen me in awhile: your gesture has really brightened what has otherwise been a pretty bleak few weeks. I get really awkward when people offer to buy things for me so I’m not sure…
Bus Bitch
I ran to the bus stop and was dismayed to see the bus get there before I did. As luck would have it the light at the intersection turned red and bought me some time! I was thrilled and ran across the street, ecstatic that I would make it to my appointment on time. Unfortunately,…
Step On It Please!
Driving 15km in a 50 zone… please I gotta get to work so I can contribute to your welfare cheque. I don’t have all day, move. If the big ass van you’re driving is too big for you – you should get a smaller car, prob less scary to drive for you. —Not Everyone is…
Lovely Wallet Finder
To the amazing soul who found my lost wallet somewhere around Chebucto/Dublin/North… and looked at my address on my id and put it in my mailbox… I love love love you, thank you so much! you deserve the biggest dose of good karma, and I send nothing but good vibes your anonymous way! —Grateful Wallet…
Thanks for Occupying My Paycheck
You cost this city $25,000 to clean up after your protest fantasy camp which your precious 99% will be paying for. Thanks for the “support” protest, shit for brains, but most of us can’t afford to accept “support” from you anymore. Get a job and help the rest of us pay for the fallout from…
Hope With a Rose
To the stranger in the mask who gave me the rose with the encouraging note- It was just what I needed to hear! You made a difference! —Inspired
Occufail
I’m in the private sector, I make okay money, I have unlimited employer paid benefits, and stock options. Oh yeah, and I did all this with a BA in English and a student loan. It wasn’t even an honours degree. I graduated in 2006. The main complaint of the Occufail movement: how do we get…
Rib Trouble
It seems that certain municipal politicians cannot take a ribbing online, instead opting to go for the head in the sand approach. Block it out all you want, it won’t make the critics go away. —Silly Hall Ribber
The News
Why is the news so depressing? Why can they never put on a nice happy story? It’s always death and robberies and missing people. I hate it and it depresses the shit out of me. —Chaos57
To the Hardware Store
You guys rock. Your customer service is fantastic, and it’s staff like you that will keep the red and yellow from becoming hardware superstores. You guys are absolutely amazing. —You’ll Never Find Me Anywhere Else
A Long Walk
Ok, seriously, what’s with this city? I’m sorry but I have given it the benefit of the doubt for far too long. One moment you think you can just live here and make a life for yourself and the next you see everything crumbling away from you. There are too many people who are willing…
I know people will bitch about this and that about our transit system so it’s time for some love: -Love to the bus driver who got to know my name and greets me with a warm good morning. -Love to the driver who offered me a free ride when I was having the worst night.…
You’re Excused
To the fellow pedestrian who was in such a hurry to get where he was going that he sideswiped me in the middle of a crosswalk about 30 minutes ago; hey, no worries. It’s not like I was dragging home 50 pounds of groceries while walking with an obvious limp. It’s not like I just…
The most Spoiled & Self-Entitled People in Canada
Are all you people who get off the Ferry at Lower Water Blind? Can you not see street signs and automated traffic signs? Contrary to what most Haligonians think; city by-laws DO NOT entitle you to walk where you want, when you want… holding up who you want. When faced with lights that dictate car…
The Shakedown Combo is Tennessee-Bound
Gil Goode Big things are happening for the Amherst-based rockabilly band The Shakedown Combo. Next week, the group —guitarist Davey Lee Goode, singer/percussionist Gil Goode and their daughter, upright bassist Kim Goode— will be headed to Jackson, Tennessee to record an album on the JAXON record label with Larry Rogers and extra help from Sun…
Seeds Gallery launches Printed Matter
Seeds Gallery (Suite 116-1099 Marginal Road, 494-8301) is launching a new Printed Matter Bookstore today, Wednesday, November 2, at 5:30pm. This is a bookstore concept, featuring printed matter in all forms including but not limited to DVD’s, books, mail art, t-shirts, one-offs, zines, stationery, cards, and magazines.
Pip Robins brings Movember without the soup catcher
Local online label Pip Robins Accessories (piprobins.com), run by Gillian Hyde, makes cowl scarves—all recycled, upcycled or reclaimed. Slip one over your head and you’ve got the warmth of a traditional scarf but without all the bulk, looping and tying. Men love them because they’re not girly, and women love them because they can be…
Bikram Yoga Halifax opens
Kristin Johnston’s family owns and runs three Bikram Yoga studios in Montreal. She’s exporting the family business to Halifax to operate her own studio, opening Bikram Yoga Halifax on Wednesday, November 16 at 1567 Grafton Street in the space that once was Stage 9 and Coconut Grove. “You wouldn’t recognize it,” says Johnston, who has…
Laura
Laura was one of those run through a red light to catch up with kind of fiiinds (which I did) and MAN OH MAN was she worth it. Aside from great fashion chats, we talked jobs, favorite blogs and really solidified our bond with our love for wearing men’s clothing. Laura is a student of…
Recently Engaged: Chrissy & Francisco
Francisco and I met here in Halifax when his band was touring. Franc attended NSCAD and became the drummer for a local band Scribbler. The sparks flew when we met and spent an entire night at the seashore talking. Franc asked me to join his new band, The Free Mansons and we went on tour…
Council live-blogging, explained
Sigh: I have to explain myself. That’s never an enjoyable task, but it takes on an added degree of annoyance when it doubles up as having to explain satire. Kind of destroys the whole point of it. But, alas, it’s come to this because I find the very success of my live-blogging of council meetings…
What a Let Down
I was at a famous well known restaurant on Saturday. I just wanted to order two cups of their famous turkey gravy. Their turkey gravy is the best in town BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR TURKEY GRAVY last Saturday. It was runny. It was tasteless and I mean there was no…
For Shame
Makes you laugh at the time when you forward an image of a girl who shat herself at the bar, then she kills herself because of it. How does that sit with you, cunt? Then again you’re too concerned with yourself to care that someone in your age group killed themselves, she’s just the dumb…
You Should Be Ashamed of Yourselves
I’m so sick of hearing about beautiful young, talented, KIDS taking their lives because of people bullying them. How many more kids need to die to prove a point. Words DO hurt, more than they are given credit for. When will people learn? I’ve decided to try and start a “wave” of compliments, if you…
Photographers are Hot
To the beautiful man with the camera on the stick at the TWRP show on Saturday… we locked eyes several times, I regret not having the ovaries to at least introduce myself. Hopefully we can lock eyes again, I’ll wear my pink bandana to jolt your memory. Farewell Tupper Ware Remix Party, Halifax will miss…
Free Camping
I’d like to bitch about the fact that the homeless took this long to figure out that there’s free camping by City Hall. Apparently all you have to do is say that you’re protesting something that you know will never change. So you just set up your tent and stick a sign outside saying “protesting…
Giddy for Giller: Esi Edugyan wins!
The Giller Prize winner is announced tonight, you guys. One lucky author is going to MAKE IT RAIN. Celebrate this prestigious award while supporting the Atlantic Book Awards Society at their Giller Lite Bash. There will be chances to win Giller-nommed books, and you can watch the live broadcast of the ceremony. Don’t forget the…
No Smoking Bus Stops
Tonight I read the sign at the dartmouth bridge bus stop, as I do every time I am there: NO SMOKING, fines up to $1000… blah blah blah. Really? Has anybody ever been fined for this? Why make laws to supposedly crack down on public smoking and then never ever do anything about them? Every…
Matthew Samways
Q: Who are you? A: Operator of Electric Voice Records imprint. Q: Why do you do what you do? A: A moral obligation. Q: Can you take us through a typical day in your life? A: That would not be prudent. Q: What is your favourite snack? A: Coffee(s). Q: The Captain & Tennille or…
Sexism is OK When Women Do It?
Why is it ok for women to laugh and joke about men suffering, but not the other way around? If you’re going to laugh about a case where a man is permanently disfigured like it’s the funniest thing on earth, expect 0 sympathy from me the next time a woman is attacked or assaulted. I’ll…
“You’re awkward and your face is weird.”
Where do you get off coming out of left field with a statement like that? Really, who the fuck do you think you are, you gangly insecure tart? Did you feel I was threatening you in some way? Do you not abide by normal social conventions like, say, being polite or decent? Are you just…
Um, Most People Leave When They Quit
You quit. In a giant hissyfit. For no reason you were willing to tell anyone coherently. Although I appreciate that you want to finish up the project you were working in, it’s been reassigned to someone who is actually still employed here. So stop following up on it. —Don’t Let the Door Hit You Where…
Get a LIFE!
Seriously – I volunteer my time to put this shit together for you. VOL-UN-TEER. That means I don’t get paid, and I do this as a FAVOUR to you and your ilk. So if you think I am going to speed up the process by ignoring the job that pays for my time just because…
A Tale of Unaccustomed Customers in Retail
Since when did leaving your manners at home like a tired old pet become a part of the routine shopping experience where one ignores those around you as you would trivialize the air you breathe. Oh too often are we in light of tremors of unrestrained childish wanton when viewing our neighbours shop. From those…
Nick
I bee-lined for Nick. BEE-LINED. I dig his hip-hop infused style, his laid-back stance and even that cigarette he’s holding. Nick is a wannabe actor turned film producer and is back in Halifax after a 10 year stint in Toronto. He moonlights as—get this—the coordinator for Value Village. No wonder his threads are so ballin’,…
Turnstile Annual Holiday Sale this week
Turnstile Pottery Co-op (2733 Agricola Street, 431-2529) is hosting its Annual Holiday Sale on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday November 13, from 11am–5pm. A variety of pottery and sculpture from each of these eight Turnstile members will be for sale: Lily Greer, Rosanne Tanner, Bethany Riordan-Butterworth, Jenny Morton, Dorota Forfa, Christine Waugh, Elizabeth Woodyard and…
Tammachat Fibre Fair happens November 12
Fabrics, clothes and gift people Tammachat Natural Textiles (902-624-0427, tammachat.com) are hosting their annual here-come-the-holidays Fibre Fair: Fashion & Gifts at the Universalist Unitarian Church (5500 Inglis Street) on Saturday, November 12, from 10am–5pm. There’ll be plenty of gift ideas, from sweatshop-free clothing, jackets, tops and wrap pants, organic silk scarves, cotton scarves and shawls,…
Vacation Time #forturkeys
Next Thursday we will be stuck together for 20+ hours on a train. Here is to way too many episodes of The First 48, and possibly several bags of Smart Food. I love you. —cuz
Just a Glimpse of You
I just saw a quick glimpse of you Thursday evening around ten o’clock. You drove by so quickly, that is all it took, just to have seen a quick glimpse of you. My heart fluttered. My memory of you came back even though is has been almost 2 and a half years ago since our…
2011 Slow Motion Food Film Festival opens this week
The Coast rarely is able to cover events happening outside the HRM, but when the Haliwood Insider heard about this, we had to give a shout-out. The 2011 Slow Motion Food Film Festival is taking place November 11-14 in Wolfville. Screenings include Canadian and international shorts and features. The festival organizer is Michael Howell, chef…
To the Kirwan Family
Sending our best love on the worst day of your life. I think I speak for all of us when I sign this… —HRM
Halloween at a Certain Southend Grocery Store
You made my day by speaking to me and complimenting my hair; I wish I had of complimented your smile. —Wishes My Cashier Wasn’t So Slow
Mysteriously Masqued
To the guy with the phantom of the opera-esque mask handing out lovely plastic black roses on Barrington street: Thank you so much for making me smile. The hand written note inside was beautifully written and I can tell a lot of time and thought went into them. Screw anyone who poked fun at you,…
So Cute!
To the sweet lady that came to the toy store, looking for doll clothes for a small premature baby, you made our entire day with your lovely story about the little one and I think she will look so sweet and snug in those outfits! —Made Our Day
THE FOREVER STREAM!!!!
Someone please explain to me why there is not an overpass walkway system over NANTUCKET ROAD! If it isnt pimple faced teeanagers getting their fast food fix it’s people switching buses or catching them! More than once during peak hours- ie. afterschool lunch and 5 pm I’ve seen near misses of people trying to make…
Thanks for the Offer
To the lady in the car, turning onto to Quinpool, who offered my friend and I ride while we were carrying a few cases of pop. Thank you! we really weren’t going far but if we were we would have taken you up on it. We’ll definitely pass the love forward… —2 Pop Carrying People
Sidewalks Pleeeeeze
I live in Dartmouth and work in Burnside and getting to work is still a challenge without a car. Burnside has been here for… well as long as I can remember… 20 years at least, and the bus routes suck and I couldn’t even walk to work if I wanted to because there are no…
Thanks from the Trainwreck
I don’t know if it was too little sleep or just too many doubles the Halloween before Friday, but I was a mess on Grafton. Someone went to buy me a bottle of water so my boyfriend didn’t have to leave me alone (as I vomited on my boots and cried), so a big thank…
You Can Ride My Movember Crustache All You Want
Yeah girl, you sure can. Because I love you. —Crustachio
I’d Rather Kiss a Woman
Men have the nerve to want us to landscape but they can’t even shave their faces so it doesn’t tear up our faces while we kiss them? I am so sick of the double standards in this world. If you can shave for work, or shave to look good, then for the love of god……
HEY PUNKIN’
Yes . . . . Just as Much / as You . . . . For Now / For Always . . . . Smile / I am . . . . For I have / You . . . . Within . . . . Me . . . . —Robby
Your Turn May Come
To the piece of shit who thought it would be funny and a thrill to throw a big rock through my vehicle’s window, fuck you! I can only assume you are a youth and wanted to impress your friends. Hope it was all you hoped it would be. Was it satisfying? Did it make you…
Things I Love
Whitestrips. Family. Chanel. Lil Wayne. Vintage. Long hair. The Olsen Twins. Louboutins. Fiji water. Jewlery. Swag. Flying first class. Bubble baths. Individuality. Angelina Jolie. Midnight workouts. Lingerie. When Kanye West said George Bush doesn’t like black people. When Kanye West grabbed the mic from Taylor Swift and said “Beyonce had one of the best videos…
Nosy Employees
You know what I hate? You’re in a store browsing, looking for something cool to buy then that annoying voice rings out, “Can I help you sir?” No you cannot help me if I want or need help I’ll ask for it, in the meantime why don’t you mind your own business and fuck off.…
Your Pizza Sucks
A few nights ago after having some drinks downtown, my friend and I went to grab some slices of pizza before we headed home. Moments after stepping through the door the employees all began to laugh and snicker. The oldest man working said to me, “Halloween is over.” I ignored him and began to order…
MO’ MOVEMBER PLZ
HALIGONIAN MEN: I have not seen enough moustaches yet. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it’s just taking awhile for that transparent peach fuzz to become visible… But seriously, I better see a few Sellecks before too long. I spend 11 months of the year searching for upper lips to oogle,…
Music Nova Scotia Award Winners
Ms. Townsend Well, that was fun. List of award winners below. Biggies include Carmen Townsend, who won four awards, Three Sheet and David Myles. Meanwhile, the “Best Sandwich,” “Vodka vs. Ouzo,” “No-Pants” and “Best Elevator Trauma” awards were given out during a secret ceremony on Saturday night at around 4am. Music Awards Bell Aliant Entertainer…
Go with the Flow Please
To the brain-dead bitch driving a green, late model Ford Windstar minivan on Sunday afternoon, are you on crack? The reason why cars were honking at you was because you turned left from Major Street onto the OFF-ramp of the Circumferential Highway thus driving directly into oncoming traffic! That’s why they were honking. Putting your…
NSMW: Part 3
Our own Alison Lang was up for an award for Media Professional of the Year at the Music Nova Scotia Music and Industry Awards brunch, so we headed to the Grand Ballroom in our nice shirts. It was sponsored by Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey so there was a bottle on every table. It wasn’t so bad…
Motorists Dismount and Push Car Across Bicycle Trail
What is up with the ‘cyclists dismount’ signs? I can understand a sign like that in a blind approach to a road near downtown Halifax, but I’ve been riding some suburb bike trails near Hammonds Plains, and the signs are actually asking me to dismount to cross a rarely used gravel road. —I Have a…
Too Hoarse To Horse Around
Obviously at no fault of our own, but is it not suspect that by self proclaiming in a tavern that you would like to be arrested by an officer on a passing horse somehow warrants enough intrigue for an automatic unseemly dismissal from one of our more reputed downtown watering holes? In need of serious…
NSMW: Part 2
Saturday morning brought a craving for pancakes the likes of which I have never experience thus far in life. Instead, Waye Mason took Team Coast to the Old World Bakery and Deli (AKA “Brickface”) for smoked turkey sandwiches, and it was a good compromise. I had planned on seeing Harold and Kumar be funny that…
Occupy Some Jobs
So I believe in Occupy and what is is on paper. But what the hell are these protesters doing in parade square? What are they hoping to accomplish, cause to me they seem like a bunch of uneducated hippies with no way of making change. When there are so many solutions that these protesters are…
To My Inconsiderate, Loudmouthed, Douchebag Roommates
Listen guys, I get it. It’s been a long week and you just want to unwind and party with friends. And that’s fine, good for you. But for the fucking love of god, please stop being so fucking loud! I have to get up tomorrow morning at 6 to go to work, and what with…
Dearest Parkinson’s Disease
You suck. You rob people of so much, make day to day things difficult to nearly impossible. We don’t know how or why people get this disease. I hate you. —Let’s Find a Cure Before Someone Else Gets Diagnosed
Birth Control Please
To the poor excuse of a mother who got the on #80 on Joseph Howe with three young kids. First, you took up the first 6 seats at the front of the bus, one for yourself, two for your groceries, and then 3 more for your kids, not that they stayed there long. As soon…
More Things I Hate
Snooki. Christmas music. Surprises. Mini vans. Basic bitches. People who say “I seen” instead of “I saw.” When a certain coffee chain increases their prices. Ugly hotels. People who hurt animals. People who complain they have no money. The accent of a Cape Bretoner. The sugar content in muffins from coffee chains. People from highschool…
It’s Called a School Bus
To the elementary schools of Halifax: STOP using public transit as a means to haul your kids around the city! I’m talking about the morning of Friday November 4th where well over 40 kids and approximately 7 chaperones piled onto the #7 Robie on the stop on Leeds Street. Now I understand that some daycares…
On Patrol
Mangled condo fencing at bottom of Portland Place isn’t as much of an eyesore as the concrete wall smack against the sidewalk just up the street where the owner struggles continually with graffiti. Why doesn’t the City commission a wall mural for this site, or take out part of the sidewalk at the base of…
Dudes Smelling Dudes
It’s just creepy and wrong. I do realize though it hard not to get lost in the moment eh boys? —N
Nova Scotia Music Week: Part 1
Nova Scotia Music Week, we are at you! After a three and a half hour drive through some undeniably pretty parts of Nova Scotia—and one stretch of what Tara Thorne was calling “a human centipede of traffic”—we arrived at the Rodd Grand Hotel feeling a little ill from reading on our phones while in the…
There’s A Party In Yarmouth and Everyone’s Invited
party like the donnas, ladies Starting today, the Coast Girl Team (Tara Thorne, Stephanie Johns, Allison Saunders and myself) will be posted up in scenic Yarmouth celebrating Nova Scotia Music Week, along with a sizeable chunk of Halifax’s musicians and music-lovers. I’m fairly sure that the majority of our coterie has never attended this fine…
Yoga Love
It may not have made it on The Best Of list, but as far as educated teachers go, all you have to do is take a class with the senior teachers there to see the huge difference between a certain Spring Garden location and other studios… their knowledge is profound and never are their classes…
Got Penny?
I was at the inside counter paying for my gasoline this morning, and the clerk handed me my change and asked me if it was alright if she shorted me 3 pennies? Normally, I would have said ‘yes’ but for the hell of it, I asked if she would round up and give me a…
To the Morons on 10
This message is for the two assholes who thought it was so funny to sit there and openly mock a mentally ill gentleman sitting in the front seat. These two sat there and copied his movements… AND LAUGHED THEIR STUPID HEADS OFF… WHY DON’T WE DO SOMETHING TO YOU TWO, make you unable to control…
Who is the Loser?
Just wondering how someone who receives Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits every month for years due to a MSK injury is able to participate in a ‘Biggest Loser Boot Camp’? —Curious George
2 Women Waiting for a Cab
To the two middle aged women that had also been waiting for a taxi like the three of us (2 guys 1 girl) that day… at the Mumford grocery store Saturday, Oct 29. We had a hard time hearing the name the taxi cab driver was asking out. We kept asking if it was for…
The Passion of Adele Hugo opens Tuesday
Eastern Front Theatre’s anticipated new work, The Passion of Adele Hugo, directed by Scott Burke, opens this Tuesday, November 8 (to Nov 20), do not miss if you have a soft spot for musicals, obsessive love, Halifax history and talented folks. This marks the beginning of Eastern Front Theatre using Neptune’s Studio Theatre as its…
Long Black Gothic Style Dress Coat
To the person who decided it would be a good idea to steal my black coat on Halloween from a bar: My dad bought me that coat when I was fifteen, and he passed away shortly after I turned seventeen. That coat is one of two things I own that he had given me, and…
You WORK There, You Don’t Shop There
To the sales guy at a certain men’s clothing store who waited on me when I returned a shirt. Dude, you’re taking yourself WAAAAY too seriously. First of all, the only reason YOU are wearing those clothes is because you work there. Second, since you didn’t say one other word to me other than “RECEIPT”,…
Anti-Social
Dear “Organized” Sports League, I was so excited to start playing intramural sports. I figured it would be a fun way to get some friends together and be active. Instead my team and I have spent the last 2 months dealing with the most unorganized, excuse ridden league I have ever encountered. We have shown…
Etiquette: Guest intentions
If I’m having a seated dinner, do you recommend having a seating plan or allowing a free-for-all? I always recommend a seating plan to ensure your family and close friends are seated at the best seats close to the head table. Without one, there can be a mad rush for the good seats, potentially leaving…
Registry: Gifted education
What is the best way to let guests know about the registry? Is it uncouth to include this information on an invite or a wedding website? While setting up a registry should be a fun experience, it’s primarily a service you’re providing for your guests. Guests are generally relieved to discover there’s a registry available…
Venue: Warm reception
These days it seems that less people are sticking to convention when it comes to the location of their wedding and after-party. When it comes to quirky and creative alternative reception venues, what do you think people are looking for? I think that all couples are looking to be different. They are not looking for…
Desserts: Just desserts
Crystal Ross and Kelly Day have a serious baking obsession. After countless hours in the kitchen making gorgeous cakes and sweets, they decided they needed an outlet for their all-consuming hobby. The friends began blogging under the name Gateaux Rose (gateauxrose.blogspot.com) and started making weekly trips to the Farmers’ Market, where their creations sold like—fittingly…
Destination: Cape escape
You might not be able to pick out Middle Head Peninsula on the map, but that’s one of the best things about it. Tucked away in the Cape Breton Highlands, it’s the home of Keltic Lodge Resort & Spa, a scenic getaway a stone’s throw from Ingonish Beach, with a front-row view of Cape Smokey…
Maximum drama
Sparkle, over-the-top accents and sky-high heels promise to compete for attention with the gown. Go ahead, let them.
Press Gang gets new chef, new deals
Stalwart and classy downtown resto The Press Gang Restaurant & Oyster Bar (5218 Prince Street, 423-8816)—beloved by many, including mustachioed actor Tom Selleck—has a new chef. Beth Muise is a Sydney River native, schooled at The Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College in PEI with more than 10 years experience in the resto industry,…
You Made My Day
I have MS (I know big whoop). However, over the past year or so, my ability is not perfect (whatever). But I continue to walk. And this is where the story starts. The other day I was walking (with my Nordic Poles – love them) from the Halifax Infirmary to the IWK (I know what…
Hope
To the friends and family of the missing girl, I send love, hope, and pray that she returns home safely! —Sending All of My Prayers
Van Man!
I see you and your big white van all over the city! you give me butterflies every time I see you! Tall dark & handsome. Stay sexy van guy, hope I get the nerve to tell you this to your face someday! —The Air to Your Fire
Shawn Colvin Plays In the Dead of Winter
Shawn Colvin In the Dead of Winter, the yearly festival celebrating acoustic musicians, has announced its first performer: the Grammy-award winning Shawn Colvin. If you came of age in the ’90s, chances are you probably know her song “Sunny Came Home.” During a recent Larry Sanders binge, I realized that Colvin is also pretty funny.…
Secret Theatre’s Farewell, Halifax! gets gone
Halifax has a habit of nurturing awesome people just to have them toddle off to the big city to make their fortunes. It’s a fact of life in a small city: you can’t really blame those who make the switch, but it’s sad all the same. Secret Theatre’s Dustin Harvey, in collaboration with Montreal artist…
If You Can’t Teach, Teach Gym!
Dear teachers, the union and the board, (note: I have many teacher close friends and relatives and was even a teacher once myself. I respect what you do, you work hard and I think you should get paid well for it. I get it. And now to the rant): Working parents are tired. PD days,…
The Guy Who Calls Himself Baby Sitter Killer
BSK, I don’t know if you ever read or pay attention to the ‘Love Section’ but this one is for you. I’ve read a few of your ‘Bitches’ and I have to say that I really, really like you. I like the way you think… I like the way you express yourself… I think you…
Home in the Hive
To the people who rescued me from the skylight on a rainy day, kept me warm and fed me honey, and released me into the sunshine, thank you. I’m home in the hive, safe for the winter. —Black Wasp
Best Movie Theatre
Gold Winner Oxford Theatre Silver Winner Empire Dartmouth Crossing Bronze Winner Empire Park Lane A great theatre means lots of different things to lots of different people. Dark enough to make out in undetected? Quiet and respectful attendees, with limited annoying texters? Tasty popcorn? Romantic atmosphere? The Oxford Theatre—“One of the last great venues for…
Best Comedian
Gold Winner Candy Palmater Silver Winner Mark Little Bronze Winner Picnicface “She is unique and hilarious!” exclaims a Best of Halifax commenter. And the love for all things Candy, host of APTN’s Halifax-shot The Candy Show doesn’t stop there. “The jokes are relevant to real life. Big smiles!” They say she’s “beautiful, smart, witty and…
Best Karaoke Night
Gold Winner Bearly’s House of Blues & Ribs Silver Winner Menz Bar Bronze Winner Oasis Pub & Eatery If Mimi Andriopoulos is the captain of the unsinkable Bearly’s karaoke ship, the loyal, and always entertaining, choir of regulars are its hard working crew. It’s the combination of all of these people that keeps the ship…
Best Jewellery Store
Gold Winner Fireworks Gallery Silver Winner The Vault Bronze Winner Touch of Gold Big jewellery is in, but the price of gold is climbing. Don’t worry though, Fireworks is on it. Manager Leslie Lawrence says artists are getting more creative by blending metals and working with materials like pewter to ensure your bling can still…
Best Place To Drink Alone
Gold Winner Tom’s Little Havana Cafe Silver Winner The T-Room Bronze Winner Obladee, A Wine Bar There’s a shared theme with these three prime locales for lone wolves: dim lighting. It’s all about staying incognito when you’re hitting the bottle alone, not that we judge, but drinking for one should be done mysterious places with…
Best Activist
Gold Winner Megan Leslie Silver Winner Kevin Kindred Bronze Winner Rene Ross After a stint with Dalhousie Legal Aid, Megan Leslie stole our Hali hearts with her impressive storming of Parliament Hill—in her first year as our elected federal rep, her fellow MPs as well named her rookie of the year. Last year, Leslie won…
Best Hair Salon
Gold Winner Thumpers Salon Silver Winner Spirit Spa Bronze Winner Jay Wells Salon “It’s very exciting to win eight years in a row,” says Thumpers owner Malcolm Norton, although he admits the pressure to stay on top is “hanging over my head.” Knowing this industry veteran—Norton is president of the Cosmetology Association of Nova Scotia—the…
Summery tradition in Antigonish
Paul Green, principal and designer of calmunity.ca, and freelance writer, editor, dance instructor and enterpreneur Abena Amoako Green were brought together by Abena’s mother—in that adorable way that only a mom can play matchmaker. It only makes sense then, that family should play a similarly important role in their wedding. With a mind to having…
Best Newspaper Writer
Gold Winner Stephen Cooke Silver Winner Bill Spurr Bronze Winner Lezlie Lowe The life of a newspaper writer is no picnic, trust me. There’s a lot of sitting around in your pajamas, staring at your cat for inspiration, cleaning kitchen cupboards, wrangling with PR flaks, battling carpal tunnel, finding hidden Cheezies in your hoodie and…
Naphtali
OKAY. Could Naphtali BE any more beautiful? And for that matter, any more perfect for Youlookfiiine? I saw that horse scarf waving in the wind on Spring Garden Road and couldn’t keep myself from yelling “Excuse me!” Luckily for me, she was into it. Most of the people I stop are interested—you can tell by…
Best Second-hand Clothing Store
Gold Winner Elsie’s Silver Winner Dress in Time Bronze Winner Guy’s Frenchys (Dartmouth) One reader commented that she feels especially vulnerable to Elsie’s charms every time she steps across the threshold of Maureen Elsie Court’s stylish boutique. “I’ve banned myself from Queen Street because of Elsie’s vortex,” she writes. The store scores high with readers…
Best Shoe Store
Gold Winner Kick-Ass Shoes Silver Winner John David Shoes Bronze Winner Winsby’s Shoes KAS is the kind of place where when you stroll by its windows at Queen Street and Spring Garden Road, you can’t help but pause and gawk. The shoes are works of art, world-famous brands including Stuart Weitzman—the Vim red leather boot…
k-os
In the age of Auto-Tune, it’s uncommon to see a rapper shun their electronic facade, let alone take to the stage with a full complement of musicians, but Kevin “k-os” Brereton is far from a typical MC. He’s a hip-hop artist who shines while commanding the microphone, but his collabs with Billy Talent’s Ben Kowalewicz on…
Best Activist Organization
Gold Winner Ecology Action Centre Silver Winner Halifax Refugee Clinic Bronze Winner Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project Seven time gold winner Ecology Action Centre is the little org that could, and can. Founded as a class project for the Living Ecology course at Dalhousie University in 1971, the organization almost immediately found its activist legs…
Sign and share: NSCAD petition
Put your e-signature where your mouth is and take a minute to sign this online petition for NSCAD University. http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-nscad-university-intact-and-independent
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) “Try to be surprised by something every day,” advises Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. That’s an inspirational idea for everyone all the time, but especially for you Scorpios right now. This is the week of all weeks when you have…
Best Radio Show
Gold Winner The Morning Mob with Cub and Floyd, Live 105 Silver Winner Radio One Information Morning Bronze Winner Q104 Morning Show With a year of broadcasting on modern rock station Live 105 under their belts, the Morning Mob with Cub Carson and Floyd has won over Halifax’s jaded morning show listener, offering a fresh…
Best Record Store
Gold Winner Taz Records, Halifax Silver Winner Obsolete Records Bronze Winner HMV (Spring Garden Road) Taz remains ground zero for the local music retail scene, having won both Best Retail and Best Second-hand Record store again this year. Vinyl fiends will be thrilled to hear they’re selling a lot of the format, including a recent…
Justice
Okay. After being denied TWICE IN A ROW on Spring Garden Road today I came across Justice. Third time’s a charm, right? Well I was even MORE nervous since this is pretty much the outfit that the men of my dreams wear. He seemed pretty into it. I caught Justice on his way out of…
Best Musical Instrument Store
Gold Winner Halifax Folklore Centre Silver Winner Gig Street Music Bronze Winner Long & McQuade (Cunard Street) “Well, we’ve got nothing new and exciting. We like *old* and exciting,” David Bradshaw joked when he learned of the Folklore Centre’s BOH victory. Thanks to owners Tom and Marla Dorward, the welcoming downtown music shop has been…
Bruce Peninsula
If churches played music like Toronto’s Bruce Peninsula—fulsome gospel-tipped thunder with four-part female harmonies cleaved by impeccable bluesman growling—I would go every week. Its sophomore effort is a distinct evolution from 2009’s A Mountain is a Mouth, which sticks to and nails an earthy aesthetic; here, the female voices are featured more prominently and the…
Best Councillor
Gold Winner Dawn Sloane Silver Winner Sue Uteck Bronze Winner Jennifer Watts It’s interesting that all this year’s winners are women. Gold winner Dawn Sloane gets the most press for the various development battles downtown, but her most dedicated work is addressing the day-to-day concerns of residents. Sloane is forever taking university classes and reading…
Best Hairstylist
Gold Winner Fred Connors, FRED. Beauty Food Art Silver Winner Heidi Rofe, Beauty Starts Hair Bronze Winner Teresa Fisher, Thumpers Salon Fred Connors—whose resume includes previous Best of gold wins for Hair Stylist, an ambitious salon/bistro/gallery named after himself, plus a record of outspoken political activism that long predates his backyard poultry feather-ruffling—has been Halifamous…
Kevin Smith in Halifax
In the end of Kevin Smith’s stoner comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Silent Bob (Smith) and Jay (Jason Mewes) use royalty money from one of their movies to travel around America, beating up online critics who posted negative comments about their movie. It was pretty silly to watch in 2001, but even weirder…
Best New Store
Gold Winner Inkwell Modern Handmade Boutique and Letterpress Studio Silver Winner Oddjects Bronze Winner Plan B We dare you to step into this shop and not want to buy something. Seriously, these are the cards you wish you’d get in the mail, the notebooks you wish you could write your haikus in and the prints…
Best Drag Performer
Gold Winner Rouge Fatale Silver Winner Eureka Love Bronze Winner Elle Noir For the fourth year running, the inimitable Rouge Fatale takes the crown of Best Drag Performer in Halifax. Fresh off a wildly successful 14 week run at Casino Nova Scotia, where Rouge had them rolling in the aisles, Fatale is “over the moon…
Best Sporting Goods Store
Gold Winner Mountain Equipment Co-op Silver Winner Cleve’s Source for Sports, Park Lane Bronze Winner The Trail Shop This year MEC celebrates 10 years in Halifax and 40 years as a company. The business continues to offer an impressive example of environmental consciousness in a retailer, operating out of energy-efficient buildings and offering everything you’ll…
Cuff The Duke
On the first half of a two-parter, alt-country band Cuff the Duke explores loss. Opener “Time is Right” lets listeners in on the process of losing someone. No matter how dark the night, Morning Comes. Produced by Greg Keelor, the album translates isolation, confusion and loneliness into sound. Wayne Petti’s voice rings with catharsis and…
Best Member Of Parliament
Gold Winner Megan Leslie Silver Winner Peter Stoffer Bronze Winner Peter MacKay So, how ’bout that Megan Leslie, eh? The gold winner has a pleasing smile, rides a bike, kicks ass on the floor of Parliament and everyone falls in love with her, like that, yada yada. She’s won the heart of Hali, and can…
Best Hotel
Gold Winner Westin Nova Scotian Silver Winner The Prince George Hotel Bronze Winner The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites For locals, Halifax hotels aren’t places to sleep as much as they are where you attend events, host your big day or even go out to dinner. So Coast readers probably cast their Best Hotel votes…
Just your type
1 Canary yellow adorns Katie Tower’s letterpressed creation 2 & 5 Emily Davidson takes a cue from nature with these handmade invites 3 & 4 Duly Noted draws inspiration from letterpress-style typefaces with these custom invites 6 Don’t forget to say thanks with classy cards or personalized stationery for your wedding party from Inkwell Modern…
Storied past
As a child in Montreal, musician and composer Joe Sealy was accustomed to hearing stories about the small Nova Scotian community of Africville from his father, who grew up there. In 1956, father and teenage son went on a road trip to visit the aunts, uncles and cousins Sealy had heard so much about. “On…
Best Short Film
Gold Winner Rhonda’s Party by Ashley McKenzie Silver Winner Heart of Rhyme by Cory Bowles Bronze Winner Deep End by Brett Hannam McKenzie is from New Waterford, in Cape Breton, which she loves unreservedly. She says older folks in her town caution her to not make movies like New Waterford Girl. “They say it made…
Best Retail Sign
Gold Winner Venus Envy Silver Winner Freak Lunchbox Bronze Winner Biscuit General Store The north end’s eyecandy signs (2891 Isleville Street, 429-8281) is the talented company that put together Venus Envy’s rocket sign. They also designed the previous version of the sign, back in 2003, but it was damaged in Hurricane Juan. Venus Envy owner…
Best DVD Rental Store
Gold Winner Video Difference Silver Winner Mumford Video Bronze Winner Blockbuster (Bedford) Editor’s note: With its latest Best DVD Rental Store win in 2011, Video Difference was elevated to the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame. We have elevated Video Difference to the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame because it is the giant slayer,…
Amanda LeBlanc
This Nova Scotian, also a stage actor, has a sweet voice with a more formal approach than many of her peers. Producer Don Kerr (Rheostatics, Ron Sexsmith) treats this as a distinguishing feature, encouraging syllable extension to take advantage of her superb breath control. James McKie’s fiddle pushes for improvisation, opening the door for some…
Best Member Of The Provincial Legislature
Gold Winner Leonard Preyra Silver Winner Howard Epstein Bronze Winner Maureen MacDonald Quick: What’s the last thing that put Leonard Preyra in the news? If you guessed “fending off allegations that the new national park status for Sable Island doesn’t have enough protections from gas drilling, because Charlie Parker was out of town,” then good…
Best Manicure / Pedicure
Gold Winner Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Silver Winner Spirit Spa Bronze Winner ZigZag Hair Studio “The atmosphere is perfect, service is attentive,” comments a voter, “it’s always fun at Remedy!” A mani/pedi, fun? Relaxing, effective and professional, sure, but fun? Remedy owner Angela Bishop—whose credentials in the field include winning the silver for Best…
Embrace lace
Check out your local bridal stores for these labels and more: Always and Forever Alyssa’s Bridal Felicity Bridal Winchester’s
Smitten with simplicity
Easy does it for Rose Wilson and Kelly Blanche; they’ll both admit that from day one things just sort of fell into place for them. Even though Kelly had been working alongside Rose’s mother for three years, hearing embarrassing stories that would later fuel her jokes, the pair finally met in 2007 through another co-worker.…
Best Antiques Store
Gold Winner Finer Things Antiques Silver Winner Urban Cottage Antiques and Collectables Bronze Winner The Monkey’s Paw It’s been seven years since Jack Craft and Julianne McDonald opened this north end treasure chest, but miraculously this is their first BOH victory. Craft says lately nostalgia is what it’s all about, bringing antique hunters in for…
Best Female Theatre Actor
Gold Winner Sue Leblanc-Crawford Silver Winner Annie Valentina Bronze Winner Martha Irving After being unseated last year by Zuppa Theatre collaborator Kathryn McCormack, Zuppa Theatre founding member Leblanc-Crawford steps back into the limelight as your favourite female theatre actor. Her performance in April’s The Debacle brought confinement and loneliness to a new level at the…
Best Fashion Designer
Gold Winner Turbine by Lisa Drader-Murphy Silver Winner Veronica MacIsaac Bronze Winner Vanessa Furlong Lisa Drader-Murphy’s Turbine Boutique, the epitome of glamour in Bishop’s Landing, brings a little Hollywood sparkle to Halifax (via the Annapolis Valley). Drader-Murphy regularly makes the rounds of the awards gift suite circuit, providing lucky celebs with treasures from her own…
Best Gallery
Gold Winner Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Silver Winner Argyle Fine Art Bronze Winner Swoon—Fine Art Antiques Fashion One culture-loving voter says, “We are so lucky to have the AGNS. Sarah Fillmore is an outstanding curator—and Ray! I just love our AGNS.” Donna Wellard, marketing and communications at AGNS, responds to the love: “We are…
Faking life
After viewing Robert Lendrum’s installation Living Documents (opening Thursday, November 3 at Eyelevel Gallery) you’ll be a bit closer to knowing him—or at least, a version of him. Lendrum uses a scientific approach to riff on ideas of identity, performance and memory. Partly a reaction to online surveys and profiles, the results are thought-provoking, awkward…
Best Place For A First Date
Gold Winner The Fireside Silver Winner Economy Shoe Shop Bronze Winner Obladee, A Wine Bar When it comes to first dates, Coast readers are into the very public and crowded spaces. Is this because of the uncertainties of internet dating? A shortage of cheating? A fear of walks in the woods? Who knows. But The…
Best Massage Therapist
Gold Winner Michael Butt, Magic Touch Massage Therapy Silver Winner Nathan Wessel, Spirit Spa Bronze Winner Francine Wright, Lewis Lake Massage Therapy Michael Butt has been practising for a decade in Halifax, most of that time working out of a chiropractic clinic, with proven success. (Readers with good memories for amazingly appropriate names will remember…
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is a gift to fans
For Harold and Kumar fans, this is a welcome third installment, written by the same duo as the first two movies, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. TV director Todd Strauss-Schulson (new to the franchise) didn’t have to use 3D, but puts it to good use with self-conscious cheekiness: smoke rings swirl in the air and…
The magic of Witches’ Ball
Once an intimate celebration, this annual rocker has come a long way in the last 14 years. After outgrowing Don Adams’ north end backyard back in the late ’90s, the Witches’ Ball has since hopped around the city’s hottest venues and drawn in a long and impressive list of performers, but its mission has remained.…
Best Audio Store
Gold Winner Peak Audio Silver Winner Brooklyn Audio Bronze Winner Taz Records “I never thought in a million years that in 2011 I’d be talking to people about turntables every day of my life,” says Peak’s Chris Sweet. “There aren’t many days of the year I don’t touch one.” But he’s okay with that. Working…
Best Male Theatre Actor
Gold Winner Stewart Legere Silver Winner Jeremy Webb Bronze Winner Ben Stone Stewart Legere’s recent performances in El Camino or the Field of Stars and his Twitter-inspired Nocturne creation with Stephanie MacDonald, We Were Here We Were, highlight his onstage (or wine bar) charm. Talented and inspiring, Legere ran away with your vote for Best…
Best Festival
Gold Winner Halifax International Buskers Festival Silver Winner Halifax Jazz Festival Bronze Winner Halifax Pop Explosion Gather ’round folks, gather ’round. Pass the hat and the accolades for the Haligonian summer fun-time staple—Halifax International Buskers Festival. Bringing hundreds of street performers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, acrobats and general entertaining folks from around the world, Busker Fest…
Best Corner Store
Gold Winner Jubilee Junction Silver Winner Atlantic News Bronze Winner Point Pleasant Grocery What’s to say about a corner store? You got your chips, your candy, your backy, your lotto…. But gold winner Jubliee Junction has homemade ice cream sandwiches, an uber-convenient south end locale and a loyal customer base, which has gone so far…
CU2morrow‘s tangled web
Nothing is black and white in CU2morrow, the Doppler Effect’s ripped-from-the-headlines exploration of power, manipulation and free will in the internet age. Though loosely based on the Melchert-Dinkel “suicide nurse” case which involved a 49-year-old man masquerading as woman in online chat rooms in order to convince at-risk people to commit suicide while he watched…
Best Place To Go Running
Gold Winner Point Pleasant Park Silver Winner Shubie Park Bronze Winner Lake Banook With its maze of trails through the woods and bordering the ocean with its spectacular views, the gold winner Point Pleasant Park is a runner’s delight—and if that’s not enough, Sue Uteck’s unleashed bullmastiff provides added incentive to keep those legs pumping.…
Best Mechanic Shop
Gold Winner Todd’s Southend Car Care Silver Winner Harrington’s VW Parts & Service Bronze Winner Craig Pickrem’s Garage Readers give different reasons for voting Todd’s Southend Car Care the best. “Friendly, fast, efficient,” is one comment. “Always great service,” is another. “I have taken my car there for years,” writes a third, “Chris is so…
In the Moment
For more great work from these photographers, check out their websites: Applehead Studio Blue Vine Photography Chantal Routhier Chloe O’Brien, louphotography Emma Rose Photography Nick Sumner Scott Blackburn Trevor Allen
Rich in tradition
Most people probably think of running as a solo sport, but for Joy Tayona and James Gosselin it turned out to be perfect for pairs. Their relationship blossomed in Toronto, when after regularly crossing paths at endurance events, Joy finally made the move and asked James out. Years later, he returned the romantic gesture and…
Best Bike Store
Gold Winner Idealbikes Silver Winner Cyclesmith Bronze Winner Jack Nauss Bicycle Shop Local bike expert Dave Schuhlein sold Idealbikes in September. The shop started in the north end and moved down to Barrington Street in 2004. Through the years its been known for its no-bullshit attitude and great deals on bikes, which should continue with…
Best Optical Store
Gold Winner Gaudet Optical Silver Winner Wizard Optical Centre Bronze Winner Vogue Optical (Barrington Street) Gaudet continues to offer visual clarity and a whole lot of style to Haligonians with the courage to look different: Gaudet is not the kind of place where the average, boring pair of spectacles will be found. “The vintage look…
Best Film
Gold Winner Hobo with a Shotgun Silver Winner The Corridor Bronze Winner Roller Town It’s been the local movie on everyone’s mind since it went to camera in the spring of 2010 and released in May 2011, a balls-out exploitation drama shot in Halifax and Dartmouth starring genre-god Rutger Hauer as the eponymous vagrant who…
Best Eco-conscious Store
Gold Winner P’lovers Silver Winner Carbonstok Bronze Winner Mountain Equipment Co-op P’lovers’ Park Lane store has a simple recipe for success that seems to have struck a bell with Hali sensibilities: enviro-friendly products like reusable diapers, locally and home made products like clothing and soap, eco sensitive books, etc. The name, incidentally, refers to both…
Preparing for Dawn sheds light
On February 19, just over a week after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Tarek Abouamin arrived in Cairo to witness history in the making. The Egyptian-born NSCAD film professor and documentary filmmaker had anxiously been watching the uprising unfold from his Halifax home, but it wasn’t until the university’s February break rolled around that…
Best Place To Go Swimming
Gold Winner Long Lake Silver Winner Chocolate Lake Bronze Winner Rainbow Haven Literally *anything* can happen at gold winning Long Lake: skinny-dipping sirens at midnight? Check. A Mennonite water party? Last June, yep. Cranksters arguing about a truck pull? You bet. Cane-using retired folks quietly walking a dog, toking a joint? Seen it. Long Lake…
Best Real Estate Agent
Gold Winner Rob Scanlan, Chalet Realty Silver Winner Rosemary Porter, Royal LePage Atlantic Bronze Winner Meghan Laing, Domus Realty One of the big surprises in this year’s readers’ survey is the Best Real Estate Agent category. Rosemary Porter, who’s owned the top spot for several years running, has to settle for a second-place finish, because…
Maritime memories
Grant MacEachern and Karen Fritz and were visiting family in Nova Scotia when he popped the question as they walked along their favourite beach. As the planning began two things were certain: the couple of 10 years wanted a short engagement and a wedding near the sea. After two trips east, the Toronto-based pair found…
Greg Rekus abides
Greg Rekus has played nearly 100 shows this year, and it’s only November. With the goal of spending half the year on the road, the Winnipeg punk/folk singer-songwriter just wrapped a tour on the west coast and now brings his fiery live show, and his signature stomp board that he hauls with him, eastward. “As…
Best Camera Store
Gold Winner Carsand-Mosher Photographic Silver Winner Atlantic Photo Supply Bronze Winner Henry’s (Bayers Lake) Carsand-Mosher’s been helping Haligonians capture their most memorable moments since 1970, so it’s no wonder they’ve got it down to a science now. This camera store has it all: the newest toys and gadgets, camera accessories, printing, framing and hell, you…
Best Theatre Production
Gold Winner Robin Hood, Shakespeare by the Sea Silver Winner West Side Story, Neptune Theatre Bronze Winner Naked, Forerunner Playwright’s Theatre Kate Watson, Coast reviewer extraordinaire, said of SBTS’s Robin Hood: “Polished and sophisticated…thrilling and funny…Summer theatre doesn’t get any better than this”—and you had to agree. Quick-witted and modern, the 2011 cast of SBTS…
Best Female Film / TV Actor
Gold Winner Ellen Page Silver Winner Molly Dunsworth Bronze Winner Jackie Torrens Dear Ellen. I know you read The Coast regularly online from wherever you are in the world, usually Los Angeles, so we just wanted to congratulate you for showing up again on our readers’ poll in two categories. We really dug you in…
Best Flower Shop
Gold Winner My Mother’s Bloomers Silver Winner Props Floral Designs Bronze Winner The Flower Shop You know who in this town who knows more about flowers, flower marketing and the international floral scene than gold winner My Mother’s Bloomer’s owner Neville? Nobody, that’s who. Neville—who has just one name, like Madonna, or Godzilla—flies around the…
Terri
Azazel Jacobs has crafted a bittersweet comedy about a high school misfit, Terri (Jacob Wysocki), and his friendship with the school’s vice principal, Mr. Fitzgerald (John C. Reilly). Fitzgerald takes the pajama-clad, rotund Terri under his wing as one of the school’s misfits—“good-hearted” people, according to the VP—his parents are inexplicably absent and Wysocki cares…
Best Professor
Gold Winner Roberta Barker Silver Winner Daniel Brandes Bronze Winner Helene Deacon Dal theatre prof Roberta Barker seems downright embarrassed to win the gold—again. “I have a lot of wonderful colleagues, so I feel guilty,” she explains. “I teach a lot of required classes, and I have these amazing students.” Well, there’s no better way…
Best Salesperson
Gold Winner Jill Strong, Wildflower Clothing Silver Winner Jody Crane, Brooklyn Audio Bronze Winner Cadence Macmichael, Pretty Things Boutique “Finally someone more interested in building relationships with her customers than simply selling stuff. A true gem,” comments a reader who voted for gold-winning salesperson Jill Strong. Such a comment makes Strong happy because she really…
![NSCAD makes Halifax [your answer here].](https://i0.wp.com/www.thecoast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nscad_logo.webp?fit=225%2C113&ssl=1){kind=logo}
NSCAD makes Halifax [your answer here].
NSCAD makes Halifax cooler. NSCAD makes Halifax a more inspiring place to be. NSCAD makes halifax lousy with hipsters. That’s what the Twitbookosphere tells us. But what say you, Coastafarians? Complete this sentence in the comments: NSCAD makes Halifax ___________ .
Handmade romance
Handmade romance featured in musicians Jenn Grant and Daniel Ledwell’s rustic wedding (Ledwell proposed to Grant in the same barn they got married in, after hammering two pieces of copper into rings). Grant picked her own wildflowers and red berries, golden leaves and purple asters for her bridesmaids. A close friend made the bright red…
Best Car Dealership
Gold Winner Hillcrest Volkswagen Silver Winner Colonial Honda Bronze Winner Portland Street Honda It’s damn near impossible for a car dealership to score enviro points, but Hillcrest Volkswagen has won scads of them, by working with the Ecology Action Centre to start the Steerclean jalopy replacement program and instituting its own idle-free system, and manager…
Best Pet Supply Store
Gold Winner Bark & Fitz Silver Winner House of Dogs Bronze Winner Jungle Pets The fall is the buying season, explains owner Christine Greening, so Bark & Fitz is stuffed full of new dog and cat accessories. Consider the Indoor Launcher from Chuckit, a ball-whipping machine that is certain to keep your pup amused with…
Best Male Film / TV Actor
Gold Winner Glen Matthews Silver Winner John Dunsworth Bronze Winner Jonathan Torrens They used to call James Brown the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business. Now that moniker belongs to Glen Matthews. Check this: He was in Hobo with a Shotgun (the fake trailer and the feature), The Corridor, Roller Town and the TV series Haven.…
Best Furniture Store
Gold Winner Attica Furnishings Silver Winner M Home Bronze Winner Statement Design If you outfit your humble abode with sweet finds from Attica, chances are your home might just be cooler than you are. Sleek, futuristic beds, bold couches worth fainting on, coffee tables that double as art, crazy little fireplaces and the most adorable…
The Perfect Host
A few years ago, when the creators of Dexter hired comedic actor John Lithgow to play a demented serial killer, no one could have guessed that the 3rd Rock from the Sun star would be the series’ most terrifying character. The makers of psychological-thriller The Perfect Host probably realized this when they cast David Hyde Pierce,…
Best Public Space
Gold Winner The Public Gardens Silver Winner Point Pleasant Park Bronze Winner Halifax Commons “Jolly good!” responds The Public Gardens when we notify it by telegraph that it has won the gold. “I feared I may have let people down with the unfortunate demise of Momma, the goose, so I tried to keep my flora…
Best Spa
Gold Winner Spirit Spa Silver Winner Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Bronze Winner Summit Day Spa Spirit Spa does a lot of things well, which means having a lot of top-notch people on staff. Spirit’s Nathan Wessel won silver this year as Best Massage Therapist. The hair team took silver for Best Hair Salon, the…
Best View
Well, there’ll be those folks who believe the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site is the place with the best view. It’s a political hot button—the viewplane from the top of the drumlin to the waters of the harbour—so much so that the height of construction downtown must take into account how much of the harbour…
Never contact a truly crazy ex
Q I am marrying a man with two children, a boy and a girl, and we want to include his children in our wedding party. My best friend and maid of honour works as an escort. You and I agree that prostitution should be legal and that sex work shouldn’t be stigmatized, Dan, but the…
Best Comics Store
Gold Winner Strange Adventures Comic Bookstore Silver Winner Quantum Frontier Games & Comics Bronze Winner Giant Robot Comics Strange Adventures is a really special place, and voters agree that it’s not just awesome because of what you can buy, but also because of the people who help you buy it. Manager Dave Howlett is one…
Best Twitterer
Gold Winner Lauren Oostveen (@laurenoostveen) Silver Winner Natassha N (@natassha_n) Bronze Winner Waye Mason (@WayeMason) Running @NS_Archives, @tedxnovascotia, @carbon_arc and her personal account @laurenoostveen (“where my mission is to inform the world about the great stuff happening in Halifax, movies I love and hate and Jeff Goldblum,” she says), Lauren Oostveen is a 140-character genius.…
Best Filmmaker
Gold Winner Jason Eisener Silver Winner Thom Fitzgerald Bronze Winner Mike Clattenburg Coming off the biggest year of his career, with the world-shaking success of his debut feature film Hobo with a Shotgun under his belt, Jason Eisener isn’t slowing down. Caught on Barrington Street on the warm fall evening of Nocturne a few weeks…
Best Home Entertainment Store
Gold Winner Peak Audio Silver Winner Best Buy (Dartmouth Crossing) Bronze Winner Glubes If you step into Peak Audio’s north end showroom (which is really more like stepping into someone’s souped-up condo) you can see, and more importantly hear, just some of the things the Peak team are capable of doing to your pad. Home…
Sibling squabbles with Blowhard
Hair-pulling, clothes-stealing, parent-persuading, one-upping and general bickering. If you have a brother, a sister, or some other demon you consider to be your sibling you’ve likely encountered some of these annoyances. Or you’ve been ratted out. Or, you’ve ratted out your seemingly sweet sibling. On Monday our Blowhard friends, curators of tales worth being told,…
Best Wifi Spot
Gold Winner The Wired Monk Silver Winner Uncommon Grounds Bronze Winner Second Cup (Spring Garden Road) The Wired Monk is a great little spot to hang for a few hours…the tasty treats, the art on the walls, the little metal tables that ought be impossibly rocky but are surprisingly sturdy and, of course, the wireless.…
Best Tailor
Gold Winner Daniel’s Tailors Silver Winner Helen’s Tailor Shop Bronze Winner MicMac Tailor Shop There are a bunch of tailors and a bunch of Daniels involved with Daniel’s Tailors, but they all know the shop is named after founding tailor Raad Daniel. “Daniel is my dad and we’re his tailors,” says Richard Daniel, son, store…
Best Computer Store
Gold Winner Greenlyph Computers Silver Winner PC Medic Bronze Winner PCPC As you’ll probably have heard, Greenlyph has had a change of ownership. Former owners Wade Prue and Jeremy MacNeil have sold the business to the Full Spectrum Computers guys from Dresden Row, and it’s now called Downtown Digital. Here’s hoping the much beloved computer…
Best Visual Artist
Gold Winner James White Silver Winner Nick Brunt Bronze Winner Scott Blackburn For the third year in a row, visual artist and designer James White wins your heart and your eyeballs’ heart with his artistic sensibility. This modern day Van Gogh responds to his accolades thusly: “A tremendous thanks to everyone for the hometown support,…
Best Hair On A Local Personality
Gold Winner Bruce Frisko Silver Winner Rouge Fatale Bronze Winner Stan Selig What is the secret to great hair? Silicone-free shampoo? Overnight conditioning treatments? VO5 hot oil? Deals with the devil? Bruce Frisko clearly knows. Frisko won your voting hearts with his “quintessential ‘news guy’ hair. No irony” (claims a commenter). The sheen on Frisky…
Best Independent Bookseller
Gold Winner Bookmark Silver Winner John W. Doull Bookseller Bronze Winner Woozles “We keep doing what we do well, which is carry interesting books,” says Bookmark’s manager and book buyer, Mike Hamm. Bookmark has defied the trend of disappearing independent book stores by providing impeccable service, keeping on top of new releases and keeping unusually…
The Virgin Cure
Twelve-year-old Moth dreams of riches, mansions and exotic pets, and mostly of leaving behind her dreary life in the slums of New York—but instead is sold into servitude by her mother only to “escape” into a life of prostitution. When inspected for cleanliness and virginity at her new brothel home, Moth first meets Dr. Sadie,…
Best Thing To Happen In Halifax In The Past Year
Gold Winner The Oval Silver Winner The Canada Games Bronze Winner Metallica plays live Seriously: is The Oval some wild shit or what? It was dropped on the Common last winter, almost unexpectedly as temporary speed skating ice for the Canada Games, and opened for the public a few weeks before and after. And the…
Best Tattoo Artist
Gold Winner Amber Thorpe, Adept Tattoos Silver Winner Lydia Klenck (aka Stalingrad), Utility Bronze Winner Andy Ferrier, Utility A sure sign you’ve reached the top of your profession is when your clients will go to jail for you. “She just did my back piece,” comments a reader who voted for gold-winning tattoo artist Amber Thorpe,…
Weird Science
“We have two silos,” says meteorologist, broadcaster and author Richard Zurawski. “Scientists communicate with scientists and assume society is interested, when really they view science as unimportant or esoteric.” The other silo is the media, “skewed by ratings wars.” Zurawski says its inability to deal with science is the worst it’s been in decades: “Reporters…
Best Men’s Clothing Store
Gold Winner Dugger’s/D2 Silver Winner Biscuit General Store Bronze Winner HIM It’s been 40 years since Dugger’s was established by Douglas “Dugger” McNeil, offering high fashion and high quality men’s wear, both in casual styles as well as suits, ties and jackets. In the past year there’s been renovations upstairs and down, so the store…
Best Halifamous Person
Gold Winner Ellen Page Silver Winner Joel Plaskett Bronze Winner Sidney Crosby Remember when Ellen Page got way ahead of herself and made the buildings like go all upside-down and then the people in her dream were going to get her and Leonardo DiCaprio saved her? That was nuts. What about when she walked through…
Best Newsstand / Magazine Store
Gold Winner Atlantic News Silver Winner Blowers Street Paper Chase Newsstand & Cafe Bronze Winner The Daily Grind “Tons of local, national and international magazines, and a staff that is friendly without being too annoying,” comments a reader. And by tons, they mean a selection in the thousands. It’s also open late, for when you…
Best Open Mic Night
Gold Winner The Gorsebrook Lounge Silver Winner Menz Bar Bronze Winner The Company House “Wednesday nights are a staple,” according to The Gorsebrook’s manager Dale MacPhee, who says open mic host, and all-around talented guy Shaun Taylor knows how to work a crowd. Taylor serenades the crowd of regulars, and welcomes new performers every Wednesday…
The Sixth Gun
The Sixth Gun is an action-adventure-horror-western comic, a combination that works surprisingly well. Pinkertons, cursed civil war veterans, priests with machine guns and a preacher’s daughter all duke it out amongst each other to control the sixth gun, a weapon that gives its owner the powers of prophecy. The characters may not be all that…
Worst Thing To Happen In Halifax In The Past Year
Gold Winner The Concert Scandal Silver Winner Peter Kelly/Peter Kelly still in office Bronze Winner Approval of the convention centre There’s so much blame to go around for the concert scandal: an absurd media-created “feud” between Halifax and Moncton; the desire of middle-aged councillors to rub elbows with aging rock stars; a bumbling mayor who…
Best Tattoo / Piercing Joint
Gold Winner Utility Silver Winner Adept Tattoos Bronze Winner Kara’s Urban Day Spa There are two aspects to a tattoo business, the art side and the shop side. The art has obvious importance, as you can see winners of the Best Tattoo Artist category work at the places that come out on top of this…
Veils: Unveiled
Flowers, feathers and beads are adding a creative flair to bridal hair.
Best Website
Gold Winner Halifax Locals Silver Winner One To One Wellness Centre Bronze Winner Haligonia Halifaxlocals.com (which began a whopping 11 years ago) is still your favourite site, and I ShaneKerr. With newly upgraded software and plans to migrate to Wordpress in the near future, moderator/banninator Sean MacGillivray says the gang is focused on “how to…
Best Comedy Night
Gold Winner Yuk Yuk’s Silver Winner Geeks versus Nerds Bronze Winner The Candy Show live taping If these walls could talk, they’d most certainly be busting a gut because Yuk Yuk’s might just be the funniest room in Halifax. This comedy club tucked away in the Westin sees the best in touring comics, bringing a…
Best Second-hand Furniture Store
Gold Winner Urban Cottage Antiques & Collectibles Silver Winner Finer Things Antiques Bronze Winner Wyze Buys “A new surprise every time,” raves one reader about the long-standing Second-hand Furniture Store winner down on Granville. The store is like a giant treasure chest, and anything but stuffy, with towering ceilings giving the impression you’re strolling through…
Best Student Hang
Gold Winner The T-Room Silver Winner The Gorsebrook Lounge Bronze Winner Coburg Coffee “You come here and it feels like you’re drinking in somebody’s basement,” says Stan Selig, who along with Luke Martelli manages the engineer pub turned student hotspot. Maybe it’s the cheap drinks, the live music or that award winning trivia night…regardless, the…
Best Esthetician
Gold Winner Katherine Hanlon, ZigZag Hair Studio Silver Winner Angela Bishop, Remedy Facial Bar & Spa Bronze Winner Saskia Roch, Saskia Roch Aesthetics Katherine Hanlon is skilled at a range of the grooming-meets-pampering services under the “aesthetics” umbrella, but she has a clear favourite. “I love waxing,” she says. For the uninitiated, waxing is the…
Best Travel Agency
Gold Winner Adventure Travel Company Silver Winner Fraser & Hoyt Travel Bronze Winner Maritime Travel (Barrington Place) When the Canadian chain Travel CUTS closed its downtown office in 2010, you could be forgiven for assuming the internet had claimed another legacy business. But in fact, Travel CUTS was repositioning itself—literally and figuratively—in a textbook example…
The OK Lounge
It’s 5:30pm on Wednesday when we make it through the bumper-to-bumper traffic in the Burnside Business Park to the Rodeo Lounge on Ilsley Avenue. It’s freezing cold and the wind is howling enough to give me a chill. When we step inside, I’m hoping for a nice rush of warmth, but there isn’t any: neither…
Groom’s day
Whether decked out in a penguin suit or a shirt and tie, every gent’s wedding attire could use a little colour.
Best Book
Gold Winner Johanna Skibsrud, The Sentimentalists Silver Winner anya Davis, At First, Lonely Bronze Winner Alexander MacLeod, Light Lifting Skibsrud won the 2010 Giller Prize, like a total boss, for this novel, so it’s only fitting that she take the Best of Halifax Readers’ Poll too. The Sentimentalists draws upon Skibsrud’s father’s past and her…
Best Second-hand Bookstore
Gold Winner John W. Doull Bookseller Silver Winner Back Pages Bronze Winner The Last Word “I adore this place,” says a reader. “It’s like stepping in a cozy Hobbit hole. I could hang out there for hours and spend $100 every time.” And so it goes for JWD, which continues to be loved by those…
Best Second-hand Record Store
Gold Winner Taz Records Silver Winner Obsolete Records Bronze Winner CD Heaven You may have heard about a resurgence in cassette tapes. Well, if vinyl can come back, maybe people have been missing the mixtape, too. But for the record, Taz music expert James Reid isn’t seeing any spike in interest in tapes. “Most of…
Best Pick-up Bar
Gold Winner The Dome Silver Winner Reflections Cabaret Bronze Winner The Pogue Fado They don’t call it The Do-Me for nothing, kids. Come on, you can’t honestly think people *won’t* get frisky at a bar with poles incorporated into its dance space? But seriously, there’s a reason people are lined up outside this nightlife hotspot…
Best Trivia Night
Gold Winner The T-Room Silver Winner Rogue’s Roost Brew Pub Bronze Winner Rockbottom Brewpub As much as we’d like to think winning Best Trivia Night three years in a row is scrapbook-worthy, it’ll never top the stunt Stan Selig and Thomas Craig pulled last spring. The award-winning pair got Ken Jennings (yes, that *Jeopardy!* genius)…
Best Barber
Gold Winner Phat Luong, Phat’s Barber Shop Silver Winner Clifford MacKay, King’s Krown Bronze Winner Leroy Bennett, Bennett’s Barbershop Sixteen bucks. No appointments, no shampoos. It’s just Phat Luong, armed with scissors, clippers and personality, offering a humble service. Like it says on the sign in the small Windsor Street shop: The best lousy haircut…
Best Yoga Studio
Gold Winner Therapeutic Approach Yoga Studio Silver Winner Halifax Yoga Bronze Winner Moksha Yoga (Dresden Row) Yoga has been around for thousands of years. Across many forms, it is a calming, meditative practice intended to bring harmony to body and mind. Physical aspects of yoga are typically taken slow, steady, held for awhile to get…
Kathleen
YES! I practically ripped Kathleen’s headphones out of her ears in the middle of the crosswalk before asking her to pose for youlookfiiine. As the regular readers will know, this is my favorite kind of outfit. Casual, put together and looks as though she just threw her favorite things together and ended looking like an…
Best Women’s Clothing Store
Gold Winner Pretty Things Boutique Silver Winner Biscuit General Store Bronze Winner Sweet Pea Moving to Blowers Street has brought a new customer base into Pretty Things, says owner Cadence Macmichael. From the downtown professional to the tourist to the loyal customers who followed the business from Cunard Street, business at the boutique is booming.…
Best Gay Bar
Gold Winner Reflections Cabaret Silver Winner Menz Bar Bronze Winner The Company House If the recent rumours have any truth to them, and Reflections is moving to Gottingen, perhaps all three candidates for this award will be neighbours soon. Hello Halifax’s gay village! Daydreaming aside, it’s no wonder that with Best Party Venue and Best…
Best Sex-toy Shop
Gold Winner Venus Envy Silver Winner Night Magic Fashions Bronze Winner Naughty By Nature Stag Shop This summer was notable for Vibrategate at sex toy and education shop Venus Envy, when its vibrator advertisement was censored in the pages of *Metro*. “We got much more coverage and free advertising than we would have by just…
Best Place To Dance
Gold Winner Reflections Cabaret Silver Winner Pacifico Bronze Winner The Dome Have you ever taken a minute to *really* look at the people around you on the dance floor at Refs? Probably not. There’s something mesmerizing about it. With the lights pulsing just right, the bass turned high, beads of sweat dripping down your forehead…
Best Halifax Ambassador
Pardis Parker is what we like to refer to around here as a hyphenate. He’s not satisfied with any one thing. He’s a comedian, writer and film director, and an actor, in his own shorts and in other work. He’s a current Toronto resident, with regular visits to Los Angeles (an agent is pushing him…
Best Fitness Instructor
Gold Winner Devin Sherrington, 360fit Silver Winner Matt Mombourquette, One on One Wellness Centre Bronze Winner Amanda Shulba, Good Life Fitness Even outside a workout setting, Devin Sherrington has the upbeat, encouraging tone you’d expect from someone with a string of Best Personal Trainer gold wins. Talking about his big business move—November 2011 marks a…
Halifax’s punk history
It’s easy to overlook unsung local firsts. But in the late 1970s, punk in Halifax wasn’t just a cute imitation of crass Brits and stoned New Yorkers. It affected major changes in a city that shunned inexperienced performers and laid the groundwork for some of the most exciting independent music of the 1980s and ’90s.…
Tower Heist a limp caper
(image-1) A big-budget, mindless blockbuster entertainment, Brett Ratner’s (Rush Hour, The Red Dragon) Tower Heist doesn’t quite hit the mark. When businessman Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) defrauds the employees of the swanky high-rise he calls home, ex-building manager Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) leads a robbery of Shaw’s apartment with the aid of a team of…
Dear Orange Pants
To the man at a certain bar who swept me off my feet: is this real life? It was the free cover and the potential for beer that brought me out that night, but it was the devilishly handsome and unnaturally talented guitarist that made me stay for hours longer than I’d planned to. I…
To My Golden Sun
Your light warms my spirit, and sheds happiness and love into my life, something that I need! Without the sun the earth would be dead, so without your radiance, I wouldn’t be feeling what I do now. My heart chakra opened for you, the first time it’s opened like that for anyone. Thank you. —Moon…
If You Know What You Want…
OK people, if you have what you want and you’re so F $%^ing sure you have what you want, then F off and don’t come to me asking and then F&*^&%$ rejecting my suggestions and telling me how to do my job! Holy F are you that freaking stupid like why do I want to…
Once More with Grace
My gosh! Do you have to walk so loud! Being a lady I’ve worn heels before, yes and I understand that they make noise, that is unavoidable, no matter how soft you’re trying to walk and especially on certain surfaces. But, you kept walking up and down and up and down the hall and it…
That’s the Way to Do It
The recently renovated apartment house at the corner of North & Gottingen makes my heart happy every time I go by it. Big thanks to the owner, who did a really top notch job of refurbishing a tired but basically attractive and prominently-situated structure. May others follow suit. —La Preservationista
Thanks for Making Me Late for Work
For once I’m not referring to Metro Transit! Thanks to my roommates for having an obnoxious party while I was trying to sleep so I could work in the morning. And that’s not even the part I’m most angry about. A big fuck you to whoever told your friend that yeah if you knock on…
People Are Truly Good
To the unknown man who turned in my wallet containing lots of money, credit cards and all my ID at the Halloween store on Tuesday night. You could have pocketed my money and walked away but you didn’t. I have had a really hard month and this is another among several reminders for me that…
To My Considerate Man
I just wanted to let you know that the little things you do make me love you that much more. Waking up to a rack of clean and dry dishes in the morning, coming home to a pot of pasta and a new episode of one of our favorite shows to watch, surprise visits in…
Just Friends?!
We’ve been spending almost every spare minute together. We have walks, talks, dinners, discussions on everything under the sun. Every few days, we come damn close to hooking up but then you panic and go cold on me. Here’s what I think. I think you don’t feel that you deserve happiness. I think you like…
A Warm Hug Would be Nice Right Now
Last Friday my furnace broke down. Waiting for a part. It is so cold in my house the ice cubes in my glass of water stayed in full form overnight into the morning. I wish that I had a nice warm embraced hug right now to keep me warm. My blankets are so cold that…
Inconsiderate
I specifically said my Halloween party was a costume party. This means you wear a costume! What kind of a friend doesn’t show up in a costume when I specifically told everyone to wear one? Your excuse: I was too busy to go costume shopping and I didn’t know what I wanted to be anyway.…
It Started with a Feather…
How else can I start but to say that it started with a feather falling from elegant grace on high? It drifted down the columns of air as lightly as was the reflection of light in your eyes. As I looked down at our toes I realized that I was truly humbled not just by…
Uh… Okkkk
For future reference: when someone, who happens to be a friend, mentions that they’re still single in their early 30s because they’re a bit of a lone ranger with a short attention span, don’t retort with “Oh, I always thought you were single because you’re fat and most people are douches.” It has a tendency…
Kate Beaton signing tonight!
You only have a few hours to ready yourself for tonight’s Hark, A Vagrant! book signing by the one, the only, Kate Beaton. I suggest re-powdering your wig and brushing your fat pony. Beaton makes a stop at Strange Adventures Comic Bookshop (5262 Sackville) on her US and Canada-wide tour promoting her New York Times…
Pekingese Dreams
To the lady who walks three or more Pekingese dogs in her old fashioned baby carriage, OH MY GOD, you and your dogs are the most PRECIOUS things I’ve seen in this entire city! I wish I could snuggle and play with those dogs of yours forever and I wish I could discuss the finer…
Bike Rack Hit and Run
Thank you to whoever hit the bike rack on our PARKED CAR. Get your eyes checked. Grow a spine and leave a note. It was a great wedding present seeing as how we met mountain biking. And now we get to fix it together. This city is so bike unfriendly sometimes without the added hassle…
Hot Dog on a Cold Day
To the hotdog vender next to a hardware store on Robie Street – YOU made my day. First off, bless your heart for selling hotdogs on a freezing cold day. Second, thanks for showing sympathy and concern when I bitched about me having to wait 3 hours at the mechanic for my pos car to…
My Husband’s Boss
Thank you for not only giving him such an amazing opportunity, and job that helps provide so much for our family but for always being there as a friend, you dear sir and your wonderful wife are always in our hearts! We send you infinite love and thanks and promise to always visit! Cheers to…
Get Out of My Cab, Fool
So you’re standing on South Street on Halloween night and need a cab. That’s cool. And you see me and my disabled friend drive up in one and decide to start screaming at the driver. That’s ok too… no big deal. And as he’s trying to find his money, you hop in the front seat……
Rumour Has it She Ain’t Got His Love Anymore…
Oh my, if I weren’t so very evolved I would be in a different position. Have you no clue as to his addictions, you pseudo-comedian? You are just a convenience. After all, with doing away with one addiction (and thanks for allowing him to get plastered with you, clearly you are unaware of his health…
Happy Cab
Super thank you to the nice taxi driver the other night who made a cold city feel more like home with some common friendly talk about the weather and planes. You said it was the best weekend ever and I hope luck continues to shine on you! —Thank You
Best DJs in Halifax
Thanks for rockin last Saturday night. I had to pay 30 bucks cover because I missed out on an advance ticket but it was well worth it! You guys rocked, thanks so much for playing something for everyone, from AC/DC to Nirvana to MJ to MOP to Nice & Smooth to Puff Daddy & Mase.…
Solicitation: Free with Consultation
Not very impressed with the woman who came into the specialty store where I was shopping and solicited my mother. Is that legal? You just walked in, came right up to my mom and shoved papers and pamphlets in her face while she was helping me pick out frames. Not OK, lady. That shit is…
Helping Hands
To the kind gentlemen who helped pick my ass up off the sidewalk and help me into my cab in front of a pub over the weekend, it was really appreciated. I realize that I forgot to thank you both – I was overcome by my embarrassment at being rendered helpless by my bad knee,…
Out of Service
Living in Halifax almost 3 years now and still can’t find this fabled suburb called ‘Out of Service’. Want to buy a house there since half the buses driving around town in rush hour go there. —Sick of Waiting for the Bus
PMDD is Making Me its Bitch
Once a month I seem to go crazy. Certifiably n.u.t.s. Classified as the bigger, bitchier sister of PMS, PMDD is characterized by unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms occurring in the second half of a ladies “cycle”. This is no fucking joke. And unpleasant doesn’t even begin to sum it up. Try explaining to someone that…
So You Quit Smoking, Eh?
My husband quit smoking in September, and ever since he has been treating me like complete utter shit. He loses his temper so quickly! You can’t joke with him anymore, and I can never say the right things. He blames me for everything, and calls me names. He’s supposed to be my best friend, but…
This Halloween I Want Words, Not Candy
It seems that everyone is too comfortable in letting only the young celebrate that which we have accepted as a general holiday. As we dressed in our finest hand made festive attire we brought about what could only be described as the stares of a thousand reanimated fleshly ghouls. Is it not a true jest…
Viva Flamenco gets down
Viva Flamenco stomps and swirls through the University Club tonight at 7-10pm. $30 buys your admission as well as a glass of Spanish red wine and tapas. This would be a romantic and impressive date. But not for me particularly, as I was once falsely accused of drinking a neighbour’s Spanish red wine on a…
Studio 21’s 20/21 Vision helps the NSCAD student body
Opening to the public on November 4, Studio 21 Fine Art’s 20/21 Vision exhibit has taken up NSCAD’s cause. For the run of the exhibition, twenty per cent of the purchase price of any artwork sold will be donated to NSCAD University’s Studio 21 Aspiring Artist Fund, a fund which provides scholarships to promising students.…
Planet Paws helps Shubie Park
Shubie Snacks are an antibiotic-free, hormone-free chicken liver/organic flax/oats and parsley treats for your doggie, available at Planet Paws Pet Essentials (95 Montebello Drive, Dartmouth, 465-7297) Planet Paws is a new local pet food outlet whose owners are very interested in making sure your pet gets the best quality food. The store’s staff can help…
Rich
I caught up with Rich Aucoin the other night on my way home from an HPX show, walked by him, and then after a block of debating whether or not to go back, I did! Rich Aucoin puts on an awesome, sweaty show. Everybody’s dancing, everybody’s moving and EVERY single body is having a ballin’…
All Hallows Idiot
What kind of brain-damaged cretin thinks it’s a cute idea to hand out kittens on Halloween? That’s what some woman in our north end neighbourhood did with two 14-year-old girls who then came giggling to our doorstep, kittens in tow. They thought it was a cool-crazy-funny Halloween treat (and what excited kid would know enough…
Lots and Lots of Parking Downtown
I’m so sick of hearing people whine about the lack of parking downtown. There are paylots everywhere downtown, and people act like they don’t know how to use them. When people in Halifax say theres no parking downtown, what they are really saying is: “I can’t park for free, directly outside the door of the…
Is the Grass Always Greener Where the Dogs are Shitting?
So, I’m standing on the front step of my Cork St. home Sunday night when a fucking degenerate scumbag walking his Lassie clone stop for a moment. His dog climbs up on my lawn and starts having a crap and around the midpoint he looks over and notices I’m standing there, uh-oh! He looks at…
Belch!
We tried out your establishment on Saturday, you poured our wine from the bottle on the table and over the side of the glass and didn’t even come back to clean it up. We asked for napkins so we wouldn’t wear your over-pour. We had your cheese board and when you offered to ‘pour’ more…
Pussy
Ever since you got married, we’ve watched you change from a man into a total pussy. The guys and I all shake our heads each time we see you jump. Your phone rings, it’s your wife, and off you go. No point telling her you’re out with your friends, you instantly jump and run to…
It’s a Moral Battle Faced Every Weekend
Although you claim to cater to the LGBT community, greeting your patrons with a piss poor attitude and dry riding them with unjustifiably exorbitant cover charges does nothing but confirm your true intentions. There are limited venue choices in the city for this crowd, as we’re all aware. Yes, people go there to dance, but…
Choco Cafe opens in former Mu Lan Teahouse location
A coffee and chocolate shop, Choco Cafe (1360 Lower Water Street, 407-8844) is where the Mu Lan Tea House used to operate, just on the corner of Bishop. It’s a new storefront operated by Lama Issa, who runs Chocolates By Design, a home-based business, along with brother Rami Issa and husband Omar Khartabil. The cafe…
Lauren
I had given up on finding a Tuesday evening street-styler and was on my way home when I spotted a rolled up cuff and a striped sweater. I put down my burrito and asked Lauren to take her photograph. I wish I was kidding about the burrito, not really something that screams street-style blogger. Moving…
Spree is closed
The doors are locked, the phone out of service and other local retailers have confirmed that fashion boutique Spree Designer Market (1530 Brunswick Street) has closed.
Tanning is made easy at SunME Swimsuit Spa
SunME Swimsuit Spa (1600 Bedford Highway, Suite 102, 404-7007) employs a team of professional aestheticians to service your beauty needs. But that’s not all: this is an all-inclusive beauty spot. It offers the whole deal, including retail: professional swimwear services to fit all body types—sizes range from six to 24—with swimwear from brands including Calvin…
Natural Karoke to privatize the karaoke experience downtown
Popular in cities across the planet, Halifax will soon be able to boast its own Asian-style private karaoke establishment. The Feed has learned that opening in November will be Natural Karaoke at 5680 Spring Garden Road, where Havana Nights once operated out of. There’ll be six rooms to rent, large enough to accommodate parties of…
Shooting at School Buses? Seriously?
What arsefaced cunt-lipped idiot-brained pussy shoots the windows out of a school bus?? Sackville, wake up and pull your fucking heads out of your asses! —Is There No Limit to the Animals???
Just Need to Vent
Why would you take an amazing thing and throw it away? Months of damnably hard work for all of us, hard-won success and respect, (which, to be fair, is in PART because of your behind the scenes efforts, but is just as much because of ALL of our efforts on the front lines), and you…
Half Cop/Half Scofflaw
Recently I have seen several cases of police vehicles (very clearly in NON-EMERGENCY situations) that are illegally parked. And no, I am not talking about overtime on a parking meter. Examples? (1) Parking on the wrong side of the street i.e. facing the wrong direction, (2) Parking in a fire lane, and (3) Numerous instances…
Bus Etiquette
Apparently, I found out recently, it’s okay to stand in a bus driver’s face and blab to him throughout the trip. I witnessed this a few nights ago. An elderly couple. They knew the driver. PLENTY of vacant seats. So, several of us heard about their current situations. Who cared? Not me. Irritating and not…
You Can’t Afford an Office?
To the employees of a popular online daily deal website who camp out Monday to Friday at a popular java chain in the Hydrostone: I come in twice every weekday (morning and afternoon) on coffee break and there you all are, walking around like you own the place, taking up all of the seats, talking…
Sober Pedestrians & Drunk Drivers
Thank you so much for pulling my sober friend and I over and wrongfully accusing him for drinking and driving. I had no money on me and I had to walk all the way from downtown to Dartmouth in the freezing rain. Oh I should also put out a huge thanks to the asshole that…
Occupy Everywhere for Whatever Movement
I ran across this gem while reading a Coast Editorial about the Occupy Everywhere for Whatever movement… “We matter, damn it, and our society has failed us.” Actually, that’s wrong on both counts. These people have gone out of their way to NOT matter. Through their abuse of drugs, their poorly chosen fields of study,…
Get Out
Get the fuck out of our park, and get the fuck out of our city. We are the 53 per cent: the people who actually pay taxes to fund the social programs that support your steady drinking problem, and your weed habit, but certainly not your hot water bill (if you know what I mean).…
Silver Linings
Whenever something bad happens, we look for the silver lining, and I have spent so many years doing this, I can’t seem to see the clouds anymore until they’re raining shit all over me. Your giant steaming pile of crap is finally gone, and the silver lining is your madness allowed me to start to…
We Can See
We see them everyday. Standing in the alleys, loading doorways. Wearing their grimy kitchen whites, or blacks. Ball caps and cigarettes. over worked, under paid grey faced lower classes. They’re cooking your food and washing your dirty dishes in your fancy restaurants. Making somebody else rich, feeding the rich. They should tell their customers to…
You’re Sick and Twisted
My sweet brother died and you keep sending my poor bereaved parents letters full of lies. I don’t know why you would do this but I promise you I will find you. —David’s Sister
Telemarketers and Spammers
Even though my number is on a “do not call list” I still get these annoying calls. I had the number put on the list to avoid these pesky companies calling. The most recent spammer that called was another one that was claiming to be calling from Windows. Ironic thing is when I said Windows…
Hard Times in the Maritimes
You have the biggest heart I know, you give out so much pure, radiant love to people without even knowing it. I can’t see you sad anymore, you’re my best friend, and I think you deserve the universe. Don’t let that caveman get you down, we evolved decades ago. —Curly
NS Work Culture
Have you guys noticed that most work related bitches on The Coast tend to have a narcissistic quality to them? OP will be pissed at a coworker that doesn’t work. Or OP will be upset with the way they are treated. Or OP will be upset about decisions made by management. I have rarely seen…
David Clark wins Lieutenant Governor of NS Art Award
David Clark’s 88 Constellations for Wittgenstein (to be played with the left hand) captured the $25,000 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Arts Award at a gala dinner in Halifax’s Cunard Centre Friday, October 28. The winner was selected by an arms-length jury of five: Lorraine Field (photography/ceramics), Halifax, jury chair, and herself a finalist for…
Sexy Nurse Girl
This goes out to the cute blonde girl dressed up as a nurse at the bar Saturday night. I must say for being one fine homosexual you brightened up my night. We just randomly approached eachother and danced like no tomorrow followed by some drunk kisses! I hope we meet again sexy nurse girl! —Bi…
Dear Haligonians
To everyone who needs a little extra love, prayer, hope, or that extra coffee to keep warm this I send to you!! —XO
Shit That Annoys Me
Neck tattoos. Pleather. Expensive towels that fray after one wash. Anything I have to iron. Bench. Payphones that don’t work. Sudoku. Dog shit on sidewalks. Anne Hathaway. Coach purses. Sloppy Big Macs. #52 bus. Wrist tattoos. LED lights. Dust. Wire hangers. Spitting. Patchouli. Unsalted fries. Women that can’t walk in heels. Gel nails. My creepy…
Warm Blankets From the Dryer
We were warm and all bundled up, watching Charlie Chaplin at the Square, what a wonderful moment that was! Thank you for the watermelon tourmaline stone, it was in my glove all night, and your sweater kept me warm. You are my sun. Keep on keepin’ on! —Moon
Backtalk
It is so true–what we share is rare and extremely beautiful. You are not naive or a fool, I feel exactly the same as you do. You don’t have to keep it to yourself–please don’t wait to tell me what I have been longing to hear–my love for you grows exponentially with each passing moment.…
Bryson
Happy Halloween everyone! What a treat to see this number coming towards me! Bryson was on his way home, I assume, after a Friday afternoon at NSCAD. The second year student likes to shop vintage and got this sweetness of a sweater from Salvation Army. I really love the hat, but it was definitely that…
Chelsey
As soon as I called it a day at work, I saw Chelsey walking down South Park and asked for her photograph. Her tights reminded me of the knee socks I used to wear when I was a kid. You know the ones—the ones that NEVER, no matter what, stay up to your knees. Chelsey…
Sheila
I loved how Sheila looked just as laid back as she did put together. Sweetness. Sheila gets her clothes to work overtime—her ‘drobe is full of casual-but-work-wearable pieces. I can relate to this—gotta make those clothes work! If the bag didn’t give it away, she likes to shop at American Apparel (for the basics! we…
Foolish Walkers
So you decide to cross a 4 lane road. Ok, nothing was coming one side and the other was stopped because of a light, not the right thing to do, but you did it, whatever. That’s not the issue. You cross one side and failed to anticipate the people who were turning right and were…
Karma Only Has One Life
I’d just like to give a big FUCK YOU the inconsiderate fucking moron who decided the other day was a GREAT day to leave a cat in a cat carrier in the entrance way to my apartment building on Windsor St. Not only is that cat lucky that I actually give two fucks about other…
Neo-Nazi Neighbours
I am exhausted. I was in a good mood today but it was completely ruined by waking up to Swastikas drawn outside of my apartment door. They were in the hallway and by the elevator in this “ocean view” apartment complex. The best part of this whole experience was when I told the building reps…
Liars
My iPhone was stolen in May and three of your lovely employees tracked it down with the serial number, right to the man using it as I type up this Bitch. After nearly six months of back and forth with your customer care line, your loyalty line, your fraud department, and the police, I was…
To the Asshole Who Egged Me Last Night
I thought it was a rock because it hit me so hard, and I have both a bruised leg and ego. I guess that was your goal so congratulations. What a cherry on top to have you scream out your window that I’m a bitch. Since we don’t know each other, I can only assume…
“Repairing” the Sidewalks?
I appreciate the city wants to repair the unsafe holes in the sidewalks in my neighbourhood. They’ve had some paint white lines around the main offenders. Every couple of feet it looks like a shite grafitti artist tagged the sidewalk while crawling home from something. The holes in the sidewalk are a very real danger…
Occupy What?
As much as I applaud Occupy Nova Scotia I believe that they should leave the Grand Parade Square for Remembrance Day. Perhaps they could go to the small park across from Public Gardens. After all Spring Garden Road is where a lot of the money is made/spent and it is on major bus routes so…
To the Ignorant, Hasty, Disrespectful Motorists
Firstly, I would just like to express my utter outrage by how disrespectful motorists are of cyclists. Yeah, yeah, another cyclist bitching, you’ve heard it all. Today I was biking along, and a green Jeep, kept honking at me because apparently he found my presence on the road to be abhorrant. Unfortunately, unreasonably disgruntled motorist,…
Keep Talking
Words cannot express how I feel about you. What we share is exceptionally and extremely rare and it is because of this that I am unable to reveal these feelings. Perhaps I am just some naive fool for thinking you feel anything close to the same, but if this was to be the case I…
My Sbux Hunk
You may be second best Barista according to the Coast, but you’re my favourite. I love how charming you are and sexy smile, I know you see lots of girls every day but I wish you’d notice me. —Tall Peppermint Mocha
Colin
I really liked the cut of Colin’s jib. I don’t know if I’m using that saying properly—but I know you all get what I mean. Colin is decked out in the classics from head to toe. I love his sweater (those buttons!), his burnt-orange pants and of course, as we all know, I was BORN…
To Mr. “Rah-kleus”
We haven’t spoken in a long time. Maybe months or a year. And the last time I tried to contact you I got no response. I actually don’t think you were even interested in being more than friends with me but I always had a huge crush on you. Anyway, I saw you last night…
“Job Creators”
Please, arrogant mouthpieces of the Canadian Conservative party, please stop parroting your (only) slightly wackier Republican brethren south of the border. It’s not strategic – or smart – to get your talking points from the Rick Perry campaign. I’m talking to you Mike Lake. —Dartmouthy
Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!
Roses are red, violets are blue In every way every single day! I fall more and more in love with you! Happy Birthday darling gorgeous incredible beyond perfect husband of mine!! I hope your wish comes true (Thank you for making all of mine!! XOXO!) —TLF XOXO
Move Your Shit and Get Out!
While I do applaud your overall protest sentiment — how fucking disrespectful is it to not vacate on November 11th? It’s ONE DAY. Pack up your shit and leave for one day so the vets can have their day. They’ve earned it! The protestors say they will accommodate as necessary. What fucking bullshit! You shouldn’t’ve…
A Peculiar Stopping Place
To those of you who have let their vocabulary drop to that of a fourth grader in a 90’s sitcom, we would like to remind you that paper-bound dictionaries still exist. Who ever would have thought that something so natural to the human intellect as a flowing, animated, two-way conversation between consenting adults would merit…
All Yours
You are the bacon to my eggs. The nin to my tendo. The bra to my boobies. Hot damn I love you! —Last Sunday
You’re a Bad Boss, Plain and Simple
None of us like working for you, you’re a complete hypocrite, you promise the world to customers and NEVER follow through so I take it upon myself to deliver YOUR promises. But I’m sick of getting no recognition for cleaning up your mistakes. Our old boss didn’t sit in the office all day, he worked…
I Love You
Thank you for kissing me so softly and warmly, holding me like you’ll never let me go. Making me not afraid. And even when I’m losing all of my hair, looking me deep in the eyes and telling me that I’m beautiful, and making me feel it too. I love you so much!! —Thank You
Bad Words
I don’t know if there’s anyone else out there who cringes at the word “asylum” or “mental patient” maybe it’s just me. I don’t understand how a society that’s come so far with acceptance, still finds room to add these two words not just in Halloween, but all over the place. People: teachers, doctors, lawyers,…
I Miss Home Right Bad
Every day I miss Cape Breton… so badly. Makes me want to cry almost. I can only see the stars in the commons at night and well it’s just not very safe for a little blond girl to lay in the commons at night. But in Cape Breton, BAM every night. I can also see…
Mixed Signals
What’s going on between us? Are we friends? Are we more than friends? As of right now I can’t freakin tell and it’s driving me insane! Man up! Make a move or back off and we can be like we were before. —I’m Going to Snap
Smelly Bitch
To little Ms. M on the 52 the other day… FUCK YOU! You sprayed cheap stinky perfume all over my friend and I. Not only did I reek like Lindsay Lohan for the remainder of the day, I spent the night with a big fucking headache solely because of your vanity. Buses are scent free…
Scooby Doo Fetish
You came in looking for Scooby Doo plush toys because “you have a scooby doo fetish” and wanted something nice for your lovely because she did well on her midterm. I just have to tell ya you’re the most adorable thing I ever did see, really made my night. P.S. Your girlfriend’s a lucky gal.…
Arrogance Fueled by Diesel
Dear Halifax Metro Transit (especially the double buses): I understand that you have this neat new by-law that says you have the right of way and when the left blinker is on, all other traffic must yield to you… but that doesn’t mean you can cut people off when they’re halfway done passing you. Yes…
Thank You
To the incredibly kind gentleman who took time out of his day last week, crossed the street and helped me carry my bazillion bags to the bus stop so that I could hold my little girl’s hand on our way to a sleepover at Nanny’s. I Hope that good karma finds you! Thank you! —Bag…
Dumb Canadiens Fans
I love it when they chant “Leafs Suck!!” and then the Leafs end up winning! C’mon Habs fans! Does it really make sense to say that a team which is now better than yours sucks? You guys should probably stick to picking on teams that are lower in the standings than the Canadiens like the…
Blue Eyed Beauty
You work on the waterfront and have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. I found myself thinking up questions during the day just to come in a talk to you. —Pretend Tourist
Two Tattoo Artists and a Great New Shop!
Just wanted to give a little shout out to the phenomenal new tattoo shop at the top of Spring Garden. You guys left a bad situation and made something great come out of it. You’re both fantastic artists and great people. I look forward to many more tattoos to come. —Loving It
Maybe I Should, Maybe I Shouldn’t
Would have bought your coffee this morning, then again, I don’t even know your name. —It’s Always Too Damn Early
Be Still My Heart
I have not been out to the Metro Transit Mumford Road bus terminal since april 2009. I had to do some banking business and there you were, my favourite bus driver. You were driving the number 14. You were a joy to see. I was so overwhelmed when you gave me a little wave. I…
Lap dance for Poppies
It’s unbelievably appalling and disrespectful that a particular sleazy establishment in HRM is asking women to strip down for cash on Remembrance Day, a day when Canadians are supposed to be remembering those who gave their lives to fight for our freedom. This couldn’t be more of a slap in the face to the veterans…
To my ‘Halifaxian’
It’s coming up on our three years, and I’m so glad you came here to live with me in the land of overpriced records and weird weather. You mean a lot to me, and I love you so much. Here’s to more years of making it work. —Babe
Is your left hand sore, broken or disconnected from your brain?
I realize turn signals are in an extremely inconvenient spot, hard to reach and maybe the most confusing part of your vehicle but they do serve a purpose. Use your fucking signals assholes!!! Your turn signal is used to warn other drivers when you “will be” turning, not that you “are” turning. I’m not sure…
The Atlantic Ocean Couldn’t Keep Me Away From Halifax
I love you, I hate you, you’re the best, and you suck so bad. But every time I leave you I remember why I always come back. I’ve got a home with you, it’s in your streets, in your house shows, and in your people, the best friends I could ever ask for. I’m so…
Mannerless Transit Rider
I was on the way to work on a Transit bus, carrying 2 bags of groceries and a large brief case, trying to keep my stuff out of the aisle. On gets a father (with a British accent) and daughter, and she sees a friend sitting to the right of me. To the left were…
Blue and Yellow
I have known you for more than half of my life. I don’t remember much before you. We’ve gone through so much, without ever even touching. We acted as a support system, through breakups, deaths, anxieties. We went through our awkward adolescent stages together. I went to meet you, and got too nervous, and hid…
Honesty
So if you can tell me where you lost 20 dollars, and be specific about it I will give it to you. The same goes for the 15 bucks I found the other day. You’ll have to tell me exactly where, and on what night. Just post a comment. If not it’s going to a…
Bad Tattoo
I got two tattoos done back in Aug and they bleed blue under my skin. The female owner has tried to tell me that it is bruising. I went to other tattoo artist and they said it was bad ink and it bled. I told this woman that this was the opinion of many artists…
I love to be in the middle!
Kudos to the new Middle Eastern restaurant across the street from another great popular restaurant on the corner of Lady Hammond and Robie Street. Keep up the good work boys! —Food Lover
ATTN OCCUPY PARADE SQUARE HIPSTERS
GTFO. Enough is enough. This is a space for EVERYONE and you hippies are camping out there. Yes, great, wonderful cause. I totally, entirely support this movement… But it’s time to MOVE. Continue your protest, but stop using the space as your campground. Go back to your apartments, your homes, your couch surfing, etc! Give…
Tarek’s opens third cafe
The Feed has learned that Tarek Kostek—founder of Tarek’s Cafe and Tarek’s Cafe 2—and his family, spearheaded by son Corey Clamp, are opening a new licensed eatery at the former location of Rock Island Bistro on Quinpool Road. 308 South by Tarek’s (6293 Quinpool Road) carries over the popular dishes from the other cafes—including soups,…
What is up with the transit schedule?
I’ve just moved to Halifax and have found out the hard way about the transit schedule. How come the schedule doesn’t reflect rush hour times? I’ve lived in other cities where the transit schedule reflects the busy times. However, here, the same bus that leaves it’s destination at 8am is supposedly going to reach it’s…
Captain Caveman Heaven
I worked there for 5 years never refused a shift, kept flexible with my schedule worked from the time I walked through the door until I left, I recently had an agreement to sell jewelry for 10% of the retail which equals 20-25% 0f my profit recently she sent me this “If you wish to…
Hospital Staff are Illiterate Smokers
Perhaps it is the over 400 toxic chemicals that are killing you slowly that has damaged your ability to read or maybe you never knew how to read but the blue labelled uniforms of Housekeeping staff please hear this… the NO SMOKING in bus enclosed areas is what it says NO SMOKING… it does not…
A tip for all you single men out there…
Although I fall squarely on the “lesbo” side of the scale, I’d like to help out some of those poor suffering bachelors out there. I’ve recently taken a position that requires me to enter dozens of apartment units a day and I have noticed a disturbing trend. Units rented by bachelors have the smelliest bedrooms.…
It’s getting cold out but we’re still on the road!
Yes, some of us continue to commute by bicycle even as the temperature drops. We are not typical fairweather cyclists and, speaking as one of them, we are more likely to observe the laws regulating cyclists on HRM roadways. That said, even though there are fewer of us, drivers never cease to amaze me with…
GAMECHANGER
Why is this phrase suddenly everywhere? It’s all over the fucking place. Everytime I turn around I hear it used in some inane context. CBC radio now has an entire segment devoted to this. WHY, GOD? —Just Got Over ‘Jumping the Shark’
HPX 2011: Wednesday treats
Fresh from finishing up our HPX guide, I booked it over to the CKDU lobby to see The Weekend Dads and Cold Warps play live (on radio and in person). I missed Weekend Dads because I’m a worky workerson but got there in time for The CWs. New songs were amazing (“Slimer”! OH MAN), it…
Elements commits to local
The upcasual Westin Hotel dining lounge Elements (1181 Hollis Street, 496-7960) has a whole new approach to it’s foody delights: It’s now promoting the “eat local” movement, offering a 50-mile sustainable menu featuring local food with a global inspiration. That it’s located steps away from the Seaport Farmer’s Market makes it an easy and obvious…
Final Nocturne thoughts
It was shoulder to shoulder downtown last Saturday night for Nocturne 2011, a magical night of lights, bubbles, stars, gum, music and art. Nocturne organizer Rose Zack breaks down Saturday night’s attendance: “Based on perfect weather, increased attendance everywhere, large crowds and lineups at galleries and installations, increased ferry traffic, social media numbers, increased media…
Obladee—A Wine Bar turns one
Obladee—A Wine Bar (1598 Barrington Street, 405-4505) is celebrating its first anniversary this week, with surprise deals every day. Obladee is the creation of sister and brother team Heather and Christian Rankin, and yep, that’s that Rankin family, mostly hailing from Mabou, many of whom are working at the bar. “I was envisioning a quiet…
Margolians to close
Though Truro is a little outside the range of The Coast’s Shoptalk, we thought it prudent to mention the end of a Nova Scotian institution: Margolians, located in the heart of downtown Truro, will shut in January 2012. Margolians has been a family-owned and operated department store since 1923. “Four generations of my family have…
Fuck Facebook
I hate the way Facebook is trying to creep into my life. My Facebook friends list is probably bigger than it should be, but I do try to be careful what I share and scrupulously update privacy settings to limit what I share with, say, my in-laws. It seems that Facebook just isn’t taking no…
Left Out Youth
Fuck you Halifax for being such a dead city for all those underage. Who says that youth don’t enjoy music just as much as adults do? Is it really necessary for the majority of the Pop Explosion to be 19+?? We can’t get into clubs/bars, so at least let us enjoy some good music! We…
Local pizzeria Pizzatown continues to grow
Pizzatown has been servicing Halifax and its environs since 1990, when it opened its first location in Timberlea. Today the company has multiple locations in the HRM, including a new one at 3450 Joseph Howe Drive, 444-3344 or 450-0000 open 10am – 3am. The pizzeria offers a variety of pies, including a gluten-free menu, chicken,…
Nuance Hair Studio opens
The hair salon over Moda Urban Dining, called Nuance Hair Studio (1518 Dresden Row, 429-1576) opened at the beginning of October and had its grand opening last weekend. It offers the skills of five stylists, including owners Cody Fryday and Kim Ward. “We do a whole range of styles,” explains Fryday. “We specialize in everything!”
Rob MacArthur starts A Quiet Revolution
A Quiet Revolution (aquietrevolution.com) is the new venture by Rob MacArthur, former guy at the Rock Garden, the rehearsal space below the Olympic Centre on Hunter Street. He describes it as “a social disruption agency,” a kind of consultancy firm for Halifax businesses looking to best utilize social media. “We choose the descriptor social disruption…
Poutine eatery to open downtown this month
Smoke’s Poutinerie,an Ontario-based “quick-serve” poutine operation, is opening soon on Blowers Street. The Feed understands the place will be open by Halloween. In its many other locations the business offers some 22 varieties of poutine.
Some of Us Have Jobs
My neighbours are constantly doing laundry. Why? Because, as far as I can gather, they constantly forget that they’re doing laundry. So the machines are always going, same loads over and over, like a demented groundhog day. And the laundry room is starting to smell like moldy clothes and BO. More annoying still, every time…
Hotel-Going Penny Pinchers
To all you hotel-goers in Halifax. If you book your hotel room through a discount LAST SELL ROOMS website, don’t check into the hotel expecting a suite/all inclusive stay, then bitch and beg to have your meals discounted and comp’d because you were put into a shoebox of a hotel room. Remember this…. you paid…
30 Minute Hit Halifax opens in downtown
A new cardio kickboxing and boxing gym for women has opened downtown. 30 Minute Hit Halifax is the locally owned—by Stefanie Pielahn and Philip Osborne—franchise of a national chain of gyms, specializing in kickboxing and boxing. It’s a circuit-based gym, so members can show up as often as they want, when they want (within opening…
Oh those Russians! Laura’s Cafe opens
It makes all kinds of sense that a cafe offering authentic Russian cuisine made by Russian Canadians would open in Halifax, if you consider the climate. What’s the temperature in Vladivostok this week? Highs of 19 Celsius, lows of 4. Sounds familiar. Started by married couple Alex Bagyulia (who grew up in St Petersburgh) and…
Paul Royter
Q: Who are you? A: I am Paul Royter and my main job is to entertain. As a child I always wanted to be able to do things that nobody else could do. I received a magic kit as a boy in grade 1 and actually pursued a career as a magician for many years…
A Thousand Ways to Hug
I was coming down the escalator at the airport today and tears started streaming down my face… knowing you would not be there. I sat where you used to sit for the longest time. I am so sorry to have caused you hurt. I think about you constantly, about our summer, the secret beach, that…
To the Kind Looking Guy Who Liked the Pogues
You were at the bar and said how much you liked the music I chose on the jukebox. Thank you for taking the time to offer a simple, genuine compliment. That made my night. —RH
Dear Hali-Haters
I’ve been in your shoes and there is a grounds for hating Halifax, especially when it comes to some of the petty bullshit that goes on and the fact that there are some people on power trips here and there. It’s easy to get fed up. But once you leave, visiting the rest of Canada…
You Forgot Something
It costs money for me to have to call to find out when you’re open. Put your hours of operation on your website. It’s 2011 for christsake. —Taking My Business Elsewhere
FU Halifax
This bitch would actually be written by Matt Good if he had the time. Did anyone notice how pissed off he was during the concert? For multiple reasons. 1st – the venue sucks, it was like a sauna in there. 2nd – During slower songs you could hear every asshole talking over his music. 3rd…
Priorities
People are always complaining how high their power costs. I think power is very cheap compared to everyday non-essentials. We can live without cellphones. We can live without cable TV. We can live without computer access to the www. But I rarely hear of people complaining about how much cable, tv, and internet costs. Power…
Vagabonds Without Quality Begging Techniques
I understand you’re homeless. Shit happens. But considering the number of bums downtown on Spring Garden some of you have to step up your game! Why am I going to give you money when you quietly whimper for change when there’s another person who has at least gone to the trouble of putting a blue…
Bus B.O.
To the people on the bus who don’t wear deodorant: The term ‘no scents is good sense’ applies to body odor as well!!!!! —Have a Shower
Take the Blinders Off
You may be eating three meals a day, but many Canadians are not. Our “favourable economy” has not offered a solution to the continuously widening gap in pay equity, or provided relief from skyrocketing food, energy, and housing costs. Our public healthcare is under threat of stratification; our “unbiased education” is exorbitantly priced at the…
Occupy Nova Scotia takes to Grand Parade
Occupy Nova Scotia kicked off its occupation of Grand Parade today, joining hundreds of like-minded occupations around the globe. “This is a new dawn, a new beginning and a new way of doing things,” explained Billy Lewis, a Mi’kmaq elder who opened the event. “Our way of doing things is going to be very confusing…
La Trinidad opens on Salter
It turns out our sources were right on the money. As we’d heard, what was the MIX Fresh Kitchen is now a club and bar, offering DJs every night and cocktails. La Trinidad Lounge & The Listening Room (5171 Salter Street) is now open, Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm until late. Along with dancing, fancy…
