Keep your head up
When I was a kid I was hit by a car on Dunbrack. I was on a crosswalk and to this day there is something I do that is also taught to every child in the Canada. I LOOK BOTH WAYS before I cross the street !!. When a 2 tonne vehicle is heading your…
Christmas’ Commercial Cashgrab
The false sentimentality of the holidays is already being hawked at the bovine masses with their fistful of credit cards twitching. Poor fools. While I celebrate the spirit of the holidays (which should be all year round), all the stress of the season can kiss my rosy red rump humps. There won’t be a tree,…
Dingbat Drivers
When two vehicles meet at a merge, if one of them reaches the dotted line before you, you should yeild and lets them it. If you do so, the merge point would run very smoothly, almost a perfect text book merge where the two lanes interweave and become one. But sure enough, some dingbat driver…
“Taxing Times”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) quietly dropped a bomb in its October Fiscal Monitor Report. Titled “Taxing Times,” the report paints a dire picture for advanced economies with high debts that fail to aggressively “mobilize domestic revenue.” It goes on to build a case for drastic measures and recommends a series of ESCALATING INCOME and…
Danse Lhasa Danse—one night only
Live Art Dance’s latest production, Danse Lhasa Danse is a multi-discipline tribute to platinum award-winning songwriter and performer Lhasa de Sela. More of a music show than a dance performance, and slightly out of the ordinary compared to Live Art’s regular fare, Danse Lhasa Danse features vocalists Alejandra Ribeira, Karen Young, Bïa and Alexandre Désilets and…
Santiago’s cinema
Acclaimed Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Giralt will be in Halifax for a month starting Thursday, November 7, and if you don’t make the most of it, may god have mercy on your filmmaking (and/or film-loving) soul. The lauded independent filmmaker, actor, playwright and novelist was invited by AFCOOP and Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery to share…
Budget Cuts
So I read in the paper that the Navy won’t be lighting their ships in the dockyard this year. It’s budget cuts by the way. Hmmm, the lights are sitting in storage and the manpower is on salary and sitting alongside not doing much of anything. But hey, sailors need their soup and coffee, why…
Wonderful Looking
To the Richard Brautigan looking guy in the Duncan/Allen/Lawrence street area and at the GFE: Hello. Your presence brightens my day always. —Can’t say hello so I’ll just say thank you.
Raleigh
I used you for soo long my friend. You were the cheapest and most easily maintained. Every where I needed to go and everything I needed to do, you were there for me. I treated you bad once in awhile. Well, only when you deserved it. But being that you’re an inanimate object, maybe you…
To the couple with their two dogs at Fort Needham Park
To the couple that took their two dogs to Fort Needham park on Monday morning…fuck you. If you know that one of your dogs is aggressive then don’t take it to an off leash park! Not only did your little brown dog bite my dog, it also chased her all the way to my car.…
No cycling initiative
I am too busy sorting my garbage into clear bags, blue bags, black bags, green bins, blue bins and lets not forget that fruit fly infested icecream pale that I’m afraid to touch without gloves. Who has time to cycle to work? —looking for a freeway
We talk too much
I recently saw a movie titled All is Lost the movie probably had less than 20 words in it. It was nice. Next time you go to talk… don’t. —berd
Grocery store Stalker
To the freak lady who decided to rub against me, stand in front of me with her arms crossed like some sort of security guard and THEN took pics of me on her cell phone in the dairy aisle of the grocery store….then followed me to the coffee aisle and once again stood in front…
You are so vain
Something I’ve noticed over the years….If I like your ass and you have a great body, you are more likely to turn around and make direct eye contact with me as I drive by… ….me….a complete stranger….why is it that you turn your head so often at the sound of a vehicle? Could it be…
East-West
I left the east coast for the west and we still talk almost every single day. But I miss you. I miss being us. And I know we both want this summer back. I wish things were different for us, I will always wish things were different. Forever missing you, always loving you. —love J
Accidental Incest
So, yeah, I just found out that the girl I’ve been fucking for the past two months is a long lost cousin of mine. —Scarred for Life
Bicycle built for two?
Why do you steal bicycles only to leave them on the bus bike rack? They keep pilling up at Metro Transit. I assume they are stolen because anyone forgetting their expensive bikes on the bus would soon remember and the bikes would not be at MT for more than a day. These bikes have been…
To the men who tried to get the plate of the person who killed my dog
Thank you for coming and finding me at the vet and doing the best you could —YukonToHfax
If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all
So what if I put. weight on in the last couple y aears. I’m happy, I’m loved and most importantly I’m comfortable in my own skin. Then you came into my work and made a huge scene about how much weight I’ve gained! The initial comment wasn’t the worst. I laughed it off and tried…
A reminder to live, love and create joy
your light will be missed…shine bright and dance in our dreams. —admirer
Thank you this morning. November 1, 8:22 am
I was standing in the bus shelter battling the rain and wind. I heard one of those crazy seagulls in the crazy wind. Looked up, no seagulls. It was a human scream. Looked across the road and saw someone crumpled, 6 lanes across with HUGE tractor trailers screaming up and down Barrington at Cornwallis. It…
Hallowe’en in the 90’s
Holy dance party Batman! You rocked princess bubblegum like a champ, but you disappeared too early! I guess there was an emergency in the candy kingdom. —Caped
Best of Halifax, Doctor and receptionist
Big love to my amazing doctor and her equally amazing receptionist at a certain Fenwick practise. The receptionist if always so friendly, quick and efficient and knows us by name. The doctor always has a smile on her face and genuinely cares about your well-being. I’ve had doctors before whose bedside manner sucks and they…
If I had words
You fight against animal cruelty yet your favorite movie is Babe? Not angry what so ever just realllly confused. —Farmer
Greedy Self-serving City Council
I’m really sick of city council voting themselves raises. Don’t we have a huge debt? If you ran a business that was losing money, would you give yourself a raise? These greedy incompetents are pretty free with our money .. I am sure they aren’t as foolish with their own money, or they would all…
cyclist on portland street
YOU ran a 4 way stop. ON the SIDEWALK. So don’t go giving me the stink eye when I STILL stopped for you, you dumbass. You nearly got yourself hit because you’re an idiot. Of the two of us, I was the only one obeying the law. — tired of stupid
Side walk hogs
I see you and your two friends are pretty special hipsters, but that doesn’t entitle you to walk side-by-side, taking up the entire sidewalk. And please don’t inconvenience yourselves by moving slightly to accommodate anyone trying to walk single file, you are far too important to give a shit. Next time you may get a…
Just Desserts
If you’ve every tried the croissants, cookies or various other baked goods at Two If By Sea you know baker Tara MacDonald is a certified genius. Kelsey McLaren is also a certified genius for bringing you a hard copy of MacDonald’s recipes (complete with beautiful prep pics from our own Melissa Buote) via The TIBS…
Blinded me with séance
Be prepared for a scary dose of magic. An official Harry Houdini séance will be held in the Garrison Room on Citadel Hill on October 31 (7pm, $45). The death of Houdini still mystifies fans. Houdini died on October 31, 1926 from appendicitis, which may or may not have been caused by two McGill University…
Getting Creative
I didn’t think that there would be any way to top last year’s rockin’ Creative Nova Scotia Awards event, but it happened. Original Species (Art. Official. Selection), held at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History last Friday night, was presented by the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council and Arts Nova Scotia with artistic direction…
Halifax Water wants $5,220 to comply with Freedom of Information law
Halifax Water says it will be happy to process a Freedom of Information request filed by The Coast, so long as we pay a $5,220 processing fee. Effectively, the fee kills our effort to examine public records. At issue is the proposal to put a sewer pipe beneath the entire length of the 7.25 Chain…
Bike lane initiatives plagued with problems
The new Windsor Street bike lane is experiencing growing pains. Since Thanksgiving weekend, drivers have parked in the bike lane, and last week thumbtacks appeared, puncturing several tires. Cyclists have snapped photos of licence plates and called 311 to report herds of vehicles parked illegally in the lane. Parked cars in bike lanes force cyclists…
Newly constructed parking garage for Irving Shipyard blocks views, say residents
Residents living near the north end waterfront will have to live with a multiple-storey parking garage diminishing their view of the harbour as part of the $300-million Irving shipyard modernization package. Construction on the 520-car garage will be completed by early 2014, says Deborah Page, spokesperson for Irving Shipbuilding. “The parking garage will not accommodate the entire…
no words
http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/First+Nations+artists+decry+fashion+brand/9097914/story.html
Should always say hello
You were the best reason to come back to the bar Tuesday night but I didn’t get the nut up to come keep you company. Stylish, red hair, septom piercing, what’s not to pique a guy’s interest? Come back in sometime – if I see you, I’ll make the effort to find out what you’re…
Adultery
To the wife who was caught in the act of sexual intercourse with her boss in our house with our baby boy asleep. You should be ashamed. And to her boss… thanks… in the long run I guess you did me a favor. You are supposed to be teaching elementary kids values in your respective…
To all the Mizz Shallowz of HRM
My cousin is not just family, he’s also a really good friend of mine, dating back to when we were both born about 30 years ago. He’s the sweetest, most generous, hard working guy one could meet. He’d do anything for anyone! He’d treat any woman with the utmost respect and make her feel special…
My Halloween Nightmare
I have come to a time in my life when my love for Halloween is not reciprocated. I am too old to trick or treat, but don’t have kids to take door-to-door. I am too young to have friends hold home costume parties, but not young enough to head downtown clad in costume. And not…
Jacob’s Folly
My vote for oddest literary fiction of the year goes to the story of Jacob, an orthodox Jewish street peddler from 18th-century France, who becomes ill, dies and is reincarnated as a housefly in modern-day Long Island. As a fly, he quickly realizes he can read the minds and desires of the odd strangers he’s…
Ender’s Game
Space high school sucks for teenage fascists in the gripping sci-fi flick, Ender’s Game. Based on the popular novel by famous homophobic bigot Orson Scott Card, this lofty adaptation follows young Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (Asa Butterfield, holding it down) as he’s trained in an orbiting military academy to lead the next war against hostile “Formic”…
A Bird’s Eye
This minimalist novella from the iconic Cary Fagan demonstrates the author’s talent for making every word count. Like a poet, he curates white space, the silences between words, every fleck of punctuation. The story follows Benjamin, a young Jewish boy growing up in Depression-era Toronto, through a transformative life event: he discovers magic and love…
Songs That Remind Us Of Factories
The work of New Brunswick poet Danny Jacobs is compulsive. It blends beautifully a kind of academic ascendancy with an overpopulated, everyday existence. His first book is ripe with intensely lyrical pieces about malls, call centres, houseflies and…the Higgs boson. Whether mundane or elaborate, Jacobs treats his subjects with great concentration. His description is gobsmacking,…
Room 237
If someone asked you about Stanley Kubrick’s movie The Shining, you might say it’s a horror film set in a creepy hotel. That’s fine, but what the movie’s really about is the genocide of Native Americans. No, wait, it’s about the Holocaust! No, it’s actually a shrouded confession from Kubrick about faking the moon landings!…
Letters to the editor, October 31, 2013
Cycle snit In response to Ben Wedge’s opinion piece on walking in the October 24 edition (“I love to walk around town, but there are safety issues facing pedestrians,” Voice of the City): It is interesting that he failed to mention the hazards pedestrians face from rude and aggressive cyclists. I have experienced many close…
Little Comets
I like everything about British indie-rock trio Little Comets. I like the catchy beats, the theatrical enunciating of lead singer Robert Coles and I really like that their second single off of Life is Elsewhere is the domestic violence/rape-themed ballad “Violence Out Tonight.” (If you haven’t seen the powerful video yet, YouTube that shit, I’ll…
Free Birds
Fine. Owen Wilson turkey is smarter than other turkeys because his voiceover says so. He gets pardoned by the President and somehow lives at Camp David ordering pizza. After being kidnapped by Woody Harrelson’s turkey freedom fighter (terrorist?), the two break into a top secret military bunker and steal a time machine. Now 400 years…
Heaven For Real
On its contribution to the new batch of Craft Singles, Halifax’s twin-powered trio offers the listener two salient sides of the same smirk. Similar to its nomenclature, the A-side— “You Are One With The Iron-heart Device”—pokes sardonically at the idea of paradise. Singer Mark Grundy hints at several different moods and interpretations by peppering small…
Modern tarot cards have ancient power
Reading tarot cards is a cool party trick or a fun Sunday afternoon activity, but it’s also an ancient form of divination is designed to uncover the deepest, darkest parts of the mind. “There is actual power to be had through the tarot deck,” says tarot reader Christel LeBlanc. This year, the local graphic designer…
CFCF
Montreal multi-instrumentalist Michael Silver, known as CFCF, changes it up a touch on his second full-length album. Rhythm is now more an atmosphere inducer than a stoker of physical response. Opener “Beyond Light” throbs with tribal, primeval power to a make a little electronic noodling much more entrancing than it would otherwise be. Silver sings…
Halifax’s Ghostbusters
Ever been by yourself at night and get the eerie feeling you’re not alone? Your heart races. Your hands sweat. You scan the darkness to quash your panic. You feel uneasy and unsettled. What was that noise? Quickly turn on a light. Is someone there? They might be. Several times a week, Light Workers Paranormal…
Dennis Ellsworth
If you remember Dennis Ellsworth from his rock band The Rude Mechanicals, you’ll find Hazy Sunshine less saucy but more melodic. Having moved from PEI to Ontario and back again, he has been prolific. Along the way, he co-wrote “Coke Machine Glow” with Gord Downie. It’s included here, with Kinley Dowling’s somber viola and lush…
Just like DIY Halloween costumes
The best Halloween costumes are often the most creative. Silly word puns, elaborate mechanics or an outfit from a sci-fi movie set are usually the winners at costume contests. But if you’re like me, you wait until the very last minute to whip something together. What’s a ghoul to do? Luckily Halifax has a number…
Last Vegas
Sexy heartthrobs Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline, Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman join together for AARP’s The Hangover in old people comedy Last Vegas. Joining together in Sin City for Douglas’ bachelor party, the four childhood chums bicker, don’t understand youth today and forget their pills. Lazily, Freeman wins $100,000 at blackjack, resulting in a…
Make ‘Em laugh
“My favourite thing is that the audience we attract has a great suspension of disbelief. An improviser will say something like, ‘I’m just drinking this glass of warmed-up peanut butter,’ and the audience goes, ‘Ewww.’ They’re totally on board,” says comedian Brian MacQuarrie. This year, MacQuarrie joined Halifax’s hottest improvisational group Make ‘Em Ups, a…
Ghosts
The ghosts of Ibsen’s 1881 tale of moral cowardice are not the spooky, spectral kind, but rather echoes of past misdeeds and unfortunate decisions that haunt the life of the play’s protagonist Helene (Martha Irving). Irving gives a quietly masterful performance as the widow who tries in vain to exorcise the demons of her husband’s…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Scorpio! (october 23-november 21) What if you had the power to enchant and even bewitch people with your charisma? Would you wield your allure without mercy? Would you feel wicked delight in their attraction to you, even if you didn’t plan to give them what they want? I suspect these questions aren’t entirely…
Divulging sibling secrets
Q Two years ago, I found a letter in my sister’s car informing her that the blood she gave during a charity blood drive had tested positive for HIV. I didn’t say anything to her at the time, because it was a really bad time, I wasn’t supposed to find out and I didn’t know…
Mix media
On November 4, Halifax’s best bartenders will be pouring their affection into the hundreds of booze aficionados who will be milling around the Seaport Farmers’ Market at this year’s MadeWithLove. Started in 2009 in Montreal with an audience of 100, MadeWithLove is now an event with fans in 11 cities across Canada and the US.…
Night group
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Who else is up right now? Where’s the party?” ReelLifeFam, the brainchild of Trevor Walter and Courtney (C-Note) Simmonds, hopes to answer those questions with the launch of the Midnight 6 Society. “Midnight 6 Society is basically a movement, our whole case we’re pushing with that is owning the…
Dancing dead
I don’t tend to go for sexy-noun Halloween costumes, but with Port City Events teaming up with dance-party impresarios Heavy Petting for The Zombie Hop, it might be time to break out the glitter-bra. Why should Halloween revellers should come out to the Company House this Friday? “To see me try to dance in six-inch…
Season of the Witches’ Ball
Like so many of Halifax’s beloved traditions, CKDU’s Witches’ Ball started out as a house party, a place for folks to dress up, dance and have a good time. Though not originally associated with the radio station at all, the Halloween party has been a CKDU fundraiser since 1997, and has grown leaps and bounds…
