Book Launch: take a trip with Mike Holmes
Before Coast cartoonist Mike Holmes started turning all your stories into comic gold, he drew his own true story, This American Drive. The serial comic about Holmes’ road trip with his now ex-girlfriend Jodi first appeared in The Coast in 2007 and is now available in graphic novel form, through Invisible Publishing. The Halifax book…
Vancouver’s Ninjaspy sneak up on Halifax this week
Vancouver’s Ninjaspy and Montreal’s What’s He Building in There? play two Halifax dates as part of their “Throw it Down” cross Canada tour (Friday October 16 at the Pavilion and Sunday October 18 at Gus’ Pub). Both bands appear to enjoy unconventional hairstyles, hats and an energetic live show.
Busta Rhymes hasn’t forgotten about you: New concert date
If you bought tickets for Busta’s original concert date (September 19), they will be honoured at this show, if you can’t attend the new date, refunds will be available at point of purchase. Advance tickets until November 1 are $54.99 at Ticketpro outlets, Ticketpro call centre (1-888-311-9090) or online at www.ticketpro.ca
community bus driver
to the new(ish) women driver that does the grand dessert run, thanks for being you, for getting to know us and our stops and for making a bus drive more than that. you rock—bus pass
to the famous halifax north end bus drivers
I cannot wait until the next casual friday as it is a turn on to see all the hot bus drivers in their tight jeans, etc.!!!!!— ffrom a very satisfied N.E. RIDE-HER
It’s 6:30am
I have a headache. —simple minded
Boutique Joliette
Just opened in the past couple of weeks, Boutique Joliette (1870 Hollis, 405-4057) is a stylish, new addition to the NSCAD district of downtown. “It’s been a life dream to do something like this,” says owner Alexis Mahoney, who left her office manager job working in the financial sector to open her new store. She…
Men’s Section …Really ?
What is up with clothing stores in the mall? Is it just me or are the men’s sections in most stores looking more and more like the women’s section? I even had to ask in one store if they had a men’s section at all. Guess I will have to stick to Sport Chek and…
A can of potatoes from 0.99 to 1.39 in a year
okay….I buy food in cans….DON’T JUDGE ME….my question is how can a large supermarket chain justify increasing the price of a can of potatoes from 0.99 to 1.39 in a year…..and EVERYTHING else ios going up….yet according to BNN inflation is non-existent in this country….why are we be lied to? mislead? last year oil was…
A Beacon of what?
Although I am one of the very fortunate people to still have their job in this tough economy, I’m always on the lookout for something better, to move my career along. So I went to a local Beacon website that posts lots of jobs. Sounds good right? Especially when I click on Marketing/Communications (my field…
To my daughter’s “friends”…
Why do the neighbourhood kids have to be so heartless? They are all a couple of years older than my 4 year old daughter and when they have no one to play with, they play with her. They’ll bike around, play with dolls, play with Hot Wheels cars or just act silly together. I watch…
Montreal’s Barn Burner seek brewsky, fair maiden
Gordon Ball Da Burners Montreal’s Barn Burner ride into town on a wave of sick riffage for the Pop Explosion, and they guarantee you will be pulled into their undertow (October 20 at Gus’ Pub with PIG, Straight Reads the Line and Architects. 9:30pm, $8/$10). Kevin Keegan (guitar, vocals) paints a rather atmospheric picture into…
Minstrels gastropub closes
Citing lack of business, Cheryl Doherty, owner of Minstrels Gastropub on Spring Garden Road, has told The Coast she is closing the business, effective immediately. “I’ve never had to close a business before,” Doherty writes in an email. “I suppose it’s like any investment, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I have to break the…
I want you, to shoe me the way
okay, i’m sick and tired of the lack of decent shoe stores for guys in this town. i’m forever looking and looking, and all i find in a decent guys shoe is either a skate sneaker, a combat boot, or something that looks like perez hilton shat out and spray painted. i mean really, why…
my sisters rock
sending love to my sisters. this was the first year we were all together in one house and a violent fist fight or argument didnt break out, your making it be way to much fun to be around you, i love growing up and maturing with both of you and im sure as we grow…
dartmouth is in no way a “darkside”
to all the fake ganstas in the “darkside” do you honestly think the north end dartmouth is a ghetto? you wouldnt last a day in compton or any other real ‘hood’. fake losers, with your really lame darkside tats. dartmouth is a fucking haven when compared to other places, there isnt a single home with…
roadside litter
i am curious to why people throw garbage out of there car onto our planet, your pretty much driving a huge garbage can that can be emptied at your convenience. dont you think its an asshole things to do when you can just chuck the trash behind you until you get home, or return the…
Thanks for making me late
To the bus driver that forgot to change their bus number this morning, and then went around the entire route again, thanks for making me late. Not only was I late for my 10am shift, but now, because of you, I am not eligible for my Stat pay. Thanks for making my oh so wonderful…
free tv cable providers
I’ve had free cable tv the past few days here in Halifax – is this a promotional thing tv cable companies do annually to entice new subscribers, or the localtvmatters.ca lobby giving the middle finger to the greedy tv cable companies by providing us with free tv cable ? Anyone know ?—:)
“Junior” Role
I wonder what comes before “junior” or “entry level” when “2 or more years experience… and a University degree or 3 or more years experience” are required to apply for the role. This reads to me like, “we want experienced professionals but we’ll pay only BOTTOM dollar. SOMEBODY will work this cheap in a shitty…
What Remains goes to camera this weekend
Eva Madden-Hagen will direct her new short, What Remains, this weekend, Saturday through Monday. The project was one of the winners of the 2009 Bridge Awards, receiving 20 thousand dollars in equity funding from Film Nova Scotia and an equal amount in the form of licences and services from the CBC, which will broadcast the…
Suitably excellent
In the local world of men’s formal wear, Raad Daniel occupies a special place. His may be the only business in Halifax selling suits where the owner is also the tailor on staff. His store The Suitor Clothing Company (1535 Dresden Row, 429-7979), open since August 2008, offers brand-name suits—Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole,…
In the spirit of giving: Free download from In This Style
In This Style have thoughtfully provided you with a soundtrack to eat your Thanksgiving pizza and drink your pumpkin ale to. Their album, , is available to download for free at www.inthisstyle.ca.
Gambling and Obesity
I realize that gambling for some people is a terrible addiction. However, I am getting sick and tired of hearing all this bitching about a certain comercial, showing athletic programs, sponsored by a certain government run organization. It would be different if it were advertising gambling with minors in it, but it’s not, it’s just…
Happy Thanksgiving
To the people on Agricola St. who gave me 2 free cobs of corn even though I forgot my money at home and couldn’t pay for them, you are so sweet. I’m having my first Thanksgiving with just me and my man and your cobs will surely make it a tasty one. Thanks so much!—Corn…
Employment Inequity
I just got hired permanent full-time in the department I’ve worked in since April 2007…2.5 years. Sounds great, right? HR started me at the beginning of the salary scale for my job because according to their employment equity hiring formula, I would need two full years of full-time directly related experience to meet the criteria…
Farmer’s; I salute you!
The Farmer’s Market rocks! A big THANK YOU to all the Farmer’s of this province for keeping us city-slickers well fed with delicious farm fresh food!—A shameless produce addict
The Coast won’t put up my “Love the way we love”
Damn it I wrote out a long heartfelt “Love the way we love” and YOU people at the Coast didn’t even post it. I did not break any of your rules and I was really hoping it would get put up. Especially considering you only put one or two new “Love” things up every day,…
Flower Power
To whomever put that huge, lovely pot of mums on the “bench” by Maynard lake on the trail, thank you! I was walking by and caught the red hues in the corner of my eye. I left a thank-you note in the pot, hope you got it!—Trail Treader
New txt message
A text message??? You break up with me in a fucking text message?? And not only that but when you KNOW I’m at school and in a class?! What the fuck?! We were together a week shy of a year, and this is how break up with me, you fucking asshole?!—fuck you
hellooooo
What is the deal with people driving their ATV’s on the roads and highways?! Where are the police? I live inTerrence Bay , what a nice spot except for the the hicks that have to make more noise than a freight train speeding up and down the road. Then there are our neighbors (nice folks)…
Damned InterWeb Thingie
This is for all you jackass corporate types who put together committees on creating committees to set up your “customer-friendly” websites, and refuse to let the experts build you something useful… FUCK OFF! Maybe people would use your online customer service applications if you let the developer build them right! FU-UCK! Seriously, I can’t register…
When will you seek medical attention.
First off how could you be so stupid, I think there are scientists out there who could benefit from studying how your brain works or rather doesnt work. How could someone with such a lack of education and such a lack of street sence cause so much shit. You dont seem to realize the words…
putting up with idiots
To the asshole who thinks that he had the right away after passing me at a intersection turning left then cutting me off as i am in mid turn on his peddle bike, you’re a fucking ignorant dickhole buddy. When i told you to obey the traffic laws like the rest of us on the…
Beat the Bank
I give up! All year long, I wake each morning to the music on this rock station. And, every so often, I call in when they have their contest to beat the bank. Only, I can’t through. Why? Because all the blue-haired, shaky-voiced, about-to-have-a-coronary seniors who turn to this station to grab the money and…
Not Actually A Park
So when they were fencing in part of the vacant land at the triangle of Cogswell and Rainie, I dared to hope that it might actually be a useful substitute for taking my pup to the Commons in the summer and having everyone yell at me for having a dog who needs to run. And…
Thanks Alot Metro Transit.
I really love it when I am waiting for the bus and it drives right on by me without stopping and I end up being 45 minutes late.—Pissed my day off.
More Ellen Page: actor to write “hipster comedy” for HBO
No doubt Ellen Page will be calling in a few editing favours from Diablo Cody when she writes Stitch N’ Bitch, a single-camera comedy for HBO. Page will be co-writing with fellow actors Sean Tillmann and Alia “Maebe” Shawkat, who co-starred in Whip It with Ellen Page, and also had a great performance in Amreeka,…
Influential artist Gerry Ferguson dies
From the Dalhousie Art Gallery: Gerald Ferguson, 9 Drain Covers, 2006. Acrylic enamel on canvas Photo: Steve Farmer Retired NSCAD prof and influential conceptual artist Gerald Ferguson passed away at the age of 72. For almost 40 years, up until 2006, Ferguson taught at the art university, staying true to the conceptual spirit, while maintaining…
East Coast Punk Fest ’09 brings the power and fury to Dartmouth
Total Bastards The Old Mill Upstairs (200 Wyse Road) is any self-respecting punk fans’ only location next weekend, front row centre for East Coast Punk Fest 2009. Presented by Fight to Live Productions, it’s the fest’s second year since the 1990s Cafe Ole days. Organizer Earl Joudrey is eager to keep the tradition alive. “It…
The Coast is free, so STFU!
To anyone who has the audacity to complain about cigarette ads or beer wraps in The Coast, I ask you: How much does your weekly subscription cost? How much do you pay for your weekly rundown on the latest goings-on across town? Unless your answer is anything higher than the low, low price of $0,…
what’s the deal?
to the guy working the bar downstairs at that pachederm themed place, what is your problem?…I’ve never been served with actual contempt ever before; I’m not generally too put out if someone’s just having a bad day but the look on your face was pure hatred, what the fuck?! be a sociopath on your own…
If you don’t like it, don’t go!!
Why the fuck would you go to an off-leash dog park if you don’t like dogs??!! I mean, seriously, if you are looking to go for a stroll around a park in peace and quiet, don’t go to the fucking Seaview Park!!! Choose one of the other many parks in the HRM. I feel that…
Ferry Terminal Tims
All summer I’ve been frequenting your location for my caffeine fix- every morning and break. I truly enjoy the quick talks in the morning, the smiley faces you draw on my lids, the daily freebies, when you come out to share my breaks, and when you have my order ready and waiting by the time…
Is nothing sacred, or, not a rant about concerts on the common this time
There is a “glow” sign at the corner of North Park and Cogswell, located on common lands. Is nothing sacred anymore? those things are butt ugly, and now we have one in a park???? This city drives me nuts sometimes. —Common lovin’ sign hater
Church singing girl
You were hotter than Tabasco on hot toast on a hot summer day in Hotbhagistan . And your singing was sublime too . It took ovaries of steel to sing that song in front of the camera like that over and over again, with the rest of us looking on. I would have fainted. Twice.…
westerner
Dear Westerner; You all have a number of very nice qualities, and I am happy to have you here. But, I don’t understand why some of you are here since you seem to hate it so much. Every day you complain about the rain, the temperature, lack of entertainment for your child, the driving conditions,…
Grow Up!
To all of you who laughed at me when I danced in the common room yesterday, I give you a hearty FUCK YOU! I tired not to be bitter, but I can’t help it. I guess I should not even care. Why should I let the words of drunken fools bother me? I was doing…
Porter’s is happening
Opened since mid-August in the old Boomerang’s location in Dartmouth is Porters Steakhouse and Sports Bar (590 Portland Street, 407-8787). General manager Barb Matthews reports that the place—it’s big, with 135 seats in the dining room, another 80 at the bar, plus a patio—stresses the local: “Porters owners, Chris Boyd and Scott Mitchell, are both…
It’s Just a Jean Jacket!
Sputter!!! Jjjust a jjjean jjjacket! It’s not JUST a jean jacket. That piece of history has accompanied me on my travels for over 30 years! It’s a classic! A goddamn artifact! In the history of me, it is the one thing that symbolizes everything I am about. Every rip, every stain, every worn patch tells…
Something for my “best friend” to chew on…
So it’s been 13 years that I have been your doormat. I’ve listened to you crying, showed up with flowers and icecream when you’ve had a shitty day. Was with you through you endless amounts of fucked up relationships, and situations.I’ve dealt with it all with you and for you. But where have you been…
A Bitch for bitchers
Everyday I read a few newspapers online, and what I have discovered time and time again is peoples’ incessant need to complain/bitch about everything, varying from the new smoking ban, or why people are obese, anything really. I know, bitching about a bitcher, is bitching…right? so from this point on I will just stop reading…
Dear PC
Thank you so much PC for hosting your job fair of all the “major”business’s ( if thats what you wanna call them) – in Halifax?! Thank you for not posting it in the news or on our local radio station Thank you for advertising only on the Halifax section of kijiji -and not the New…
I have dreams and you dont
I tell you about some of the goals I have and dreams I see my self striving to reach. You do your best to try and shit on any thing I want to do with my life because you have committed yourself to a life of nothing better than you have today. You are a…
grow up road hog!
So its raining and I know when you were a little kid it was fun to jump in the puddles…but guess what jerk you now drive a car and that puddle you “jumped” in splashed me, soaked me…grow up – now I have to sit at work wet because I walk to work and you…
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam has built a fanatically loyal following on the backs of legendary live shows and great public relations, but the past three records haven’t sustained the quality of its first decade. Things are better here: “The Fixer” marries The Cars and Tom Petty to excellent effect, while “Just Breathe” is a gorgeous little number…
Ghettosocks’ tasty Treat
Halifax-based MC Ghettosocks went from updating his Facebook profile and Twitter account with his “treat of the day,” to basing the concept of his new album, aptly titled Treat of the Day, around the idea. “I was kind of compelled to do this treat-of-the-day thing,” says Ghettosocks, AKA Darren Pyper. “For albums I get on…
Wat Pomp
I don’t understand a word Die Antwoord is saying, nor do I care. If the cast of Looney Tunes was South African and took on hip-hop (or rap-rave, as they’ve described it), it would almost sound like this. Music that could only be made in this day and age—and thank god we’re here.
Rae Lutz talks turkey
This Thanksgiving, Haligonians are gobbling up turkeys. “We’re really crazy right now, prepping turkeys,” says Rae Lutz of Pasture Hill Farm, near Waterville. As of Tuesday, Lutz has received 400 orders for holiday turkeys, up from last year’s 350. She attributes the increased demand to new interest in Pasture Hill’s grass-fed and free-range turkeys. It’s…
Smoking banned at outdoor rec centres
Halifax council voted Tuesday to ban smoking at outdoor recreation facilities where children tend to congregate, including ball fields, beaches, pools and skateboard parks. Violators face a potential $500 fine. The ban will be implemented in about two months, as signs designating the smoke-free areas are posted, and a “social marketing” campaign informing residents of…
Doolittle, Darwin and the Deeply Dumb
[Editor’s note: this story is one of five Coast articles selected as finalists for the 2010 Atlantic Journalism Awards. All five stories are collected here.] Because it is both the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of author Charles Darwin’s birth, 2009 has been dubbed the Year…
Halifax celebrates Darwin
Biologists, philosophers and historians from around the world will gather in Halifax from Wednesday, October 14 to Saturday, October 17, for a four-day workshop on Charles Darwin. Most of the discussions are academic in nature and by invitation only, but each night there is a free public lecture or event. Check them out below. [Disclosure:…
A creationist primer
Realizing that my Canadian audience may not be much familiar with the American creationist movement, I’ve compiled some videos to give you the rough idea. Peanut Butter, The Atheist’s Nightmare! This is apparently a real creationist, showing that your typical jar of peanut disproves evolution. Banana: The Athiests Nightmare Creationist Ray Comfort shows that bananas…
Rah Rah on the road
When I reach Marshall Burns, he informs me that he’s currently in a 16-person van, barrelling down a highway somewhere in northern Ontario. It’s indicative of the exciting new changes for the Regina guitarist and his band, Rah Rah, who are in the midst of its very first coast-to-coast tour in support of a very…
This One’s Going to Last Forever, Nairne Holtz (Insomniac)
Young Montreal anglophone explores sexuality, finds self, maybe. The novella that makes up the bulk of this short-story collection is Holtz’s addition to that particular genre of young CanLit. But the Montreal-based writer doesn’t limit herself geographically in the other stories here, with plots spanning from Vancouver to Sudbury right down to Spryfield (and, charmingly,…
Going Upstream Jazz
A call reaches Dave Moore on his cell, in the rain. “I’m going to walk and talk with you at the same time,” he says. Walking and talking: it’s a kind of multitasking taken for granted in this connected, roaming age. Like many musicians in Halifax, Moore is involved in multiple projects. He plays in…
Daniel MacIvor explores a love unlimited
Daniel MacIvor found inspiration for his latest play, A Beautiful View, in the sex lives of people in their 20s. The writer-director found that 20-somethings were more polyamorous and less likely to define their sexuality than older generations. “That shows some sort of social evolution,” says MacIvor. “People are just more open to a living…
Zombieland brainless fun
It’s to Zombieland’s benefit that it pays no mind to the most obvious questions it poses. 1) Didn’t Shaun of the Dead already perfect the zombie comedy? 2) Is Jesse Eisenberg’s career relegated to playing neurotic 20-something virgins in movies with the suffix “-land”? Zombieland uses its redundancy as attitude—even the poster tagline wants you…
Dartmouth Common anger
About 100 Dartmouth residents who came to a city planning session Monday night appeared unified in their position: They have no love whatsoever for the imminent expansion of Metro Transit’s bridge terminal into an adjacent wilderness area. Residents charge that Common land has through the years been improperly sold to private developers and eaten away…
Marry straight, then donate
Q My partner and I have a dilemma. We’re a straight couple and we want to hold a ceremony to make public our commitment. That said, we support marriage equality and are considering joining the marriage boycott (unmarried.org) until DOMA is repealed and every state allows gay marriage. Our friends and family say we should…
Doing it right, finally
Graham Murphy’s cell phone is ringing.It’s inventory time at JA Snow Funeral Home and the number of caskets and urns isn’t adding up. “Sorry about that,” he says, hanging up with well-whaddya-gonna-do? expression. Murphy is the general manager at JA Snow, Halifax’s oldest undertaker, now owned by Alderwoods Group Canada, Canada’s second-largest funeral home operator.…
Pipa pops up
Halifax doesn’t exactly boast a broad scope of South American, Portuguese and Spanish cuisine, so the mere existence of Pipa is a delight for those who are looking to broaden their gastronomic horizons. Pipa is a clean, simple restaurant with pops of bold colour through the cozy, homey dining room and the expected soundtrack of…
Coast cover a disappointment
I am writing in regards to the cover of the latest issue of The Coast (October 1, 2009). While I understand the financial pressures of running a print publication in this day and age, and the siren song of any extra advertising dollars that can be found, the cover of this week’s Coast was just…
Hints of downtown development
Hotels, condos, apartments—it looks like something big may be sweeping into a lucrative little pocket of Halifax’s downtown. Luigi Benigno is the proud new owner of the building that houses Mosaic Lounge on Argyle Street and the former Seven Wine Bar on Grafton Street. Without divulging any concrete details, Benigno is hinting at some “big…
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
“Jeff and Cyrus believed in their hearts they were headed/For stage lights and Learjets, and fortune and fame/So in script that made prominent use of a pentagram/They stenciled their drumheads and guitars with their names…” That’s a Mountain Goats lyric—but sub in “Lips and Robb Reiner” for “Jeff and Cyrus” and you have the story…
Downtown Halifax is TOO underdeveloped?
Save downtown Halifax! Send in the high rises! More Scotia Squares! More Aliant buildings! Lots more office towers—they add so much to the street life and block out those pesky bits of sidewalk where the sun still shines and the outdoor cafes flourish. And the wind tunnels they create…sublime. Away with Historic Properties (it’s OLD)…
WHY?
With Alopecia, art-rap group WHY? released my favourite album of 2008. That record is devastatingly emotional, radically melodic and ultimately fresh. While Eskimo Snow is modelled after its predecessor, it lacks real thrill and inventiveness. Singer Yoni Wolf has totally abandoned his rap origins for tuneful indie-pop, and the record suffers from the lack of…
Channelling Jonathan Torrens
“The challenge with making a show in Canada,” says TV’s Jonathan Torrens, “is that everything you shoot goes on the TV, so people are watching your learning curve week after week after week.” In conversation with one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian television about his new show, TV with TV’s Jonathan Torrens, the…
Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin want you to know that they’re all grown up now. The Toronto dirt-rock band’s first full-length album Fino + Bleed is a slick, polished affair, with the now-foursome’s sound filled out by big shiny keyboards and extra guitars. The biggest change is lead singer Care Failure’s voice—although she still maintains a slight rasp,…
Star-studded Rage too awesome for your cellphone
Sally Potter’s new film Rage is promoted as the world’s first feature-length film shot for mobile phones (currently only in the UK, but available on babelgum.com as online chapters, updated every Thursday), but technology is the last reason to watch this experiment. Shot as a series of one-sided interviews in front of glorious-hued backdrops, Potter…
Brutal Knights
The best part of each new Brutal Knights record are lyrics like “Draw a picture of me stealing your slice/While I eat a pizza slice” (from “Fight You in My Mind”) or ” One of my probs is your face/Please tell me how to solve it/Can I solve it using math?/My solution is to punch…
The Office Season 6, Jim and Pam’s wedding, Thursday, NBC
Rewatching the entire series thus far of The Office is a reminder of the show’s considerable strengths and sets the bar exceedingly high for this season. The writing team has poured creativity and emotional heft into plot stunts that would have stopped the momentum of a lesser series: the Michael Scott Paper Company, Jim and…
Slow-going bridge construction.
What’s wrong? Slow-going bridge construction. Who’s responsible? Alison MacDonald, Halifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission, 402-0773. REMARKS Erection of the euphemistically named “safety barriers” on the Macdonald Bridge should have been completed by now, but so far reach only about halfway across one side of the bridge. Blame the manufacturer, says MacDonald, but the work will still be…
Older, Not Wiser
So 20 years ago you married the guy you now hate with a passion and who is the father of your two children. That didn’t last 10 years and you tell everyone your mistake was to marry a pretty boy who was great in the sack but a creep otherwise. Then about 10 years ago…
Older, Not Wiser
So 20 years ago you married the guy you now hate with a passion and who is the father of your two children. That didn’t last 10 years and you tell everyone your mistake was to marry a pretty boy who was great in the sack but a creep otherwise. Then about 10 years ago…
Sour milk.
I do wish that you would place yourself in a mature situation for once. You are attempting to play house to save your spoiled relationship instead of just giving up like the responsible adult should. You are aware that “3rd time’s a charm” doesn’t apply in every situation, specifically ones as far gone as this.…
Rainy Rider
Hey Gitbag on the bike crossing Quinpool @ Vernon. I watched as you yelled and held your finger extended at that car that ‘cut you off’ while having I was having a coffee at Perks. Yeh, he cut right in front of you as you were going through the intersection. Yep, you had every right…
Barrington Bail
I’d like to send a big “fuck yooooou” to all the people on Barrington Street who saw me face plant today, and then rather than, oh I don’t know, asking if I was okay, proceeded to walk over me and all of my stuff. Thanks. Highlight of my day.—Fally MacTrippy
