Simple Sentiments
Five years in this city can really do a lot for a person. Thanks, Halifax for the vibrant people you’ve introduced me to, the delicious food you’ve provided me with, for forcing me to have some semblance of a social life, and giving me lots of hiding places when I want to get away. I…
Dear Retailers:
For the love of all that is sacred, please stop advertising your Christmas crap in September. Including the post-holiday advertisements in January this equals four months of being bombarded with tinsel, trees and toys and all the trimmings. FOUR MONTHS! All other holidays come with a few WEEKS of ads and merch being shoved down…
Kudos for standing up for your rights
I assume the young man wearing the “no bullying/intimidation” button that was standing beside the bus and a police car today, had the good taste and moral integrity to stand up to the bus dictators. Good for him. —Appreciative
F U DRUG COMPANIES
I had the misfortune of dating an abusive prick for over two years. Thankfully, I got away two years ago. But today I’m reminded of how much I friggin hate his goddamn guts. Why? Because that prick cheated on me and gave me herpes. The drug company decided they weren’t going to let another company…
Transit appreciation—seriously
Senior moments. I’m still about seven years shy of the official line, but they are occurring with greater frequency these days. For instance, on Tuesday my prescription sunglasses slipped out of my coat pocket on the 72 and I didn’t notice until I got to the gulag. Some kind person found them, gave them to…
Still want you so bad
Wish things were different. —Despite you being a total shithead
I want you…
I just don’t know how to tell you —…A simple truth, not so easy…
Motown night angel
To the kind fella who paid me all kinds of nice compliments and gave me some spookily timely advice at a north end dance party recently; you warmed my heart! I haven’t called the number you gave me or looked you up online because I’m too afraid to find out that you’re a real person…
I’ll just get a cat
To all the guys I’ve dated and got either fed up with or board of; thanks for the cuddles and the resounding disappointment. To the guy who will finally steal my heart (and have the common sense to hold onto it); hurry the fuck up. I’m tired of waiting and buying a dozen cats is…
To a biker from Ontarians
Your girlfriend likes to share her mouth. —is just sayin’ old yet?
Half-heard, chapter 7
On the television a local anchor on a low-quality camera was fumbling through a piece. He was clumsy, and was hired because he was clumsy. That made viewers tune in to the down-home pieces about remote control boat races, demolition derbies and the canine that joined the Citadel High wrestling team. Tonight he was participating…
Frank & Folly wants to give you presents
“I’m the type of person who goes into a shop with the intent of buying one card and comes out with seven,” says Kasey Chaulk, the brains behind Frank & Folly a soon-to-be source for stationery and gift ideas that’ll launch online, and in pop-up form, this fall, with a physical store to follow.“The art…
Stuck in the system with no fucking Assistance!
I would like to know why the workers in the Community Services (Welfare) office are hiding behind two windows of bullet-proof plexiglass as if their clients are criminals or second-class citizens requiring segregation. I also saw a large double mirror and a large sign warning the premises was under constant video surveillance. This is an…
Council Review: Waste not, want not
[Image-1] “Waste management systems are a complex beast. It’s like a cake, once you bake it…” —CAO Richard Butts. ”It’s a nice accent to the area, provides warmth and ambiance.” —Councillor David Hendsbee, on patio heaters. “I don’t like the process, but I love the vision,” —Councillor Tim Outhit, on Dalhousie’s new bike lanes. BAG…
Handsomest guy I’ve ever laid eyes on
I see you turning your head to check if I’m looking at you =) I actually planned to stop being a lame ass and finally say hello today. One of us has to do it!! 😉 ahhhhh —Way too shy for this!
Indoor Voice Please!
We were at a little place for lunch today but had great difficulty carrying on a conversation due to the dude two tables over incessantly spouting inane blather at his lunch guests in a very, very loud voice. Please folks, when indoors, use your indoor voice! You only have to be heard by the people…
Mmmmmmwahhhh!!!
Babe, I’m so lucky and grateful to have your love. I feel incredibly happy every minute we’re together. You’re my favourite! I’m on cloud 9 because you’re my person. Forever, too. 🙂 Love you so much! —Your person
I actually value my time
Believe it or not continually being inconsiderate of somebody’s time is not acceptable. It’s not a rare occurrence with you, it’s an expected thing now. The worse part is you act totally remorseless about it. I don’t know if it’s because I put up with it, or if it’s because we’re best friend and you…
You.
I do work at that location now. We’d appreciate it if you went elsewhere for your coffee. Please and thank you. —Me.
Whirlwind of Wakenings
Chill? Chill. Hanging High in the Hammock A is for armpit, Z is for zygomatic arch. When I’m with you, I feel incredibly light. —Oops at work
transit signs, signs everywhere a sign – yet so few seem to comprehend
I have some mobility issues and this is the reason for my bitch I don’t give a rats ass if you don’t agree with me – I just need to get this off my chest. – signs that say “Please move to the rear – Exit by rear door” yet majority of people push through…
Buyers and Sellers Take Warning
You had a month to collect my things you left behind. You had another month to make it right. Thanks for shinning me on with the lies and empty promises, leaving it long enough to make me start sounding petty. Maybe you just couldn’t face up to the mistake and hoped I’d just go away…
Settling Africville: Powerful poetry brings history to light
George Elliott Clarke is a conductor of words. He commands, cajoles and coaxes them to make beautiful music. In his new play, Settling Africville, Clarke brings history to life and light with his trade-mark poetic, heightened language and witty word play. Settling Africville is not a verbatim history of the founding of the black community…
Daddy Issues
Makes me crazy the way a certain young bitch throws herself at my man. She is well aware he and I are living together and in a serious relationship but her 20 something ass feels it is appropriate to text and privately message my 45 year old man. Can you say daddy issues? Go resolve…
Ya Buncha Litter Bugs!
Dear Fall River teenagers. It’s bad enough that I have to try to time walking my dogs around when your giant, young, testosterone driven, degrassi episode reenacting swarms take lunch/skip classes, but god damnit! STOP THROWING ALL OF YOUR TRASH ON THE FUCKING GROUND!!! This is a COMMUNITY Center, douche bags! Children play here and…
Dirty Fat horrible loud homecare worker!
How can you possibly help others with heathcare at home, if you are so dirty, fat and unkempt yourself? If you cant even get a uniform that fits you…… —Heathcare should be healthy.
Looking back on Alimentary Ideas
When Alimentary Ideas took place in Chester in last weekend, chefs, food producers, writers and literary-minded food fans congregated at the Chester Playhouse for a series of talks that explored food and words through the experiences of a handful of people who have shaped the things we eat and how we see them, through producing…
Sobering times for Nova Scotia’s film industry
[Image-1] The morning after the Atlantic Film Festival’s closing gala is always one of strange beds, wicked headaches and feet sore from dancing. How to best cure that hangover? For film industry professionals, the province’s tax credit review could jolt them to their senses faster than even the strongest cup of coffee. Back before the…
It’s More Than Buses
[Image-1] A blueprint for redesigned transit in Halifax was released tonight, but in case you missed the event by It’s More Than Buses at the aptly-named Bus Stop Theatre, you can read the group’s full proposal here. As we’ve covered, the citizen-created advocacy group has been working since 2011 to try and improve what Halifax…
The Seahorse is moving to Hell
UPDATED: The last show at The Seahorse’s Argyle Street location will be December 27. Last month when we chatted with The Seahorse Tavern’s owner Victor Syperek he made it clear that the iconic bar wasn’t closing, and any rumours that it was being kicked out of its current location at 1665 Argyle Street were completely…
30 things to do on Quinpool Road
1. Celebrate Quinfest The annual street wide, family friendly festivities honouring the one of Halifax’s busiest streets, returns this Saturday, September 20 from 11am-3pm. “It is important for the [Quinpool Road Mainstreet District] Association and its members to host Quinfest every year because it gives us a chance to show appreciation to our many customers…
Seadogs pulls the plug (UPDATED)
Seadog’s Sauna and Spa (2199 Gottingen Street) is all washed up. The doors are locked, the voicemail is full, the Facebook page has disappeared and the website reads: “SeaDogs is closed until further notice. Thank you for your patronage over the years.” The bathhouse maintains an unassuming storefront and is identifiable only to those in…
Stranded by Halifax Transit
A wheelchair user and frequent transit critic is again calling out Halifax Transit after he says the bus system stranded him in Dartmouth overnight. Last month Daniel J. Towsey took the bus out to Maynard Lake to photograph the sunset. The bus he took had four-point tie-downs to secure his wheelchair, but when he tried…
Literary awards season
the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia presents both The East Coast Literary Awards and the Atlantic Writing Competition, each geared towards celebrating local talent and exceptional reads. The East Coast Literary Awards jurors sifted through 64 submitted titles from all over the Atlantic provinces to come up with this tight little list of nine. Winners…
Halifax Transit’s problems are more than buses.
A good transit map is identifiable, elegant. It’s why you can probably picture Montreal’s or London’s in your head, but still not know which of Halifax’s buses go over the bridge. The map’s not the real problem, though. Halifax’s cobbled-together transit system is hostile and unusable. The city, and the public, want to dismantle the…
El Jones, poetry and power
El Jones stands in front of a banner that reads Black Lives Matter. Her left hand is raised in a fist. Her right holds a mic into which she chants: Malcolm, Huey, Angela, Assata Dead, prison, exile, murdered Revolution, protest, programs, marches Can you live up to what they started? What do you feel in…
Who to see at Word on the Street
Though it’s only one day long, the Word on the Street Festival packs in the special guests and artfully highlights local talent. Ending with the East Coast Literary Awards, this is an unofficial literary week in Halifax. Our powerful poet laureate El Jones releases her debut book Thursday night, and reads at WOTS on Sunday.…
Half-heard, chapter 6
“Yeah, well, here it is: These people, they all go to so many support groups, AA, NA, CA-type meetings. Because they can be real reality checks, you know. And create such a strong sense of awareness for others around you. You can recognize yourself in others, themselves in you, ex-etera (sic), and they go for…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Vigro (August 23-September 22) I rarely waste my time trying to convert the “skeptics” who attack astrology with a hostile zeal that belies their supposed scientific objectivity. They’re often as dogmatic and closed-minded as any fundamentalist religious nut. When I’m in a tricky mood, though, I might tell them about The Crawford Perspectives,…
Word on the Street
Though it’s only one day long, the Word on the Street Festival packs in the special guests and artfully highlights local talent. Ending with the East Coast Literary Awards, this is an unofficial literary week in Halifax. Our powerful poet laureate El Jones releases her debut book Thursday night, and reads at WOTS on Sunday.…
Unicorn discovered
Q I’m the bisexual everyone loves to hate because I want to be in a poly relationship with both a man and a woman. I am a woman who is into commitment, loyalty, love, trust and honesty. I am not looking to cheat on anyone. But I discovered after one failed marriage to a man…
Chefs of Halifax, up your veggie game
Let me begin by saying that no, no, I’m not a vegetarian. But I do love eating at many of the casual, sustainable and local-conscious restaurants and bars that have been popping up like wild, forageable mushrooms around Halifax over the past few years. You know the ones: open concept and lively, innovative cocktails plus…
One people deciding another’s destiny
For two years, journalist Chris Benjamin has been working on Indian School Road, examining how the government set out to solve “the Indian problem” through the horrific residential school system. The Halifax author, and occasional writer for The Coast, spoke about his new book prior to its launch. Why did you want to write this…
Letters to the editor, September 18, 2014
The frack you say Last issue’s article “The fracking wisdom of Nova Scarcity” states much that is lacking in the mainstream press and is helpful in developing the dialogue that is needed in NS (Voice of the City by Karen Foster and Brian Foster). I applaud the Fosters for making their case, especially when I…
Sheep preview: Meet Harrier Hill farm
“Ever since I’ve been here, in the summer afternoons there would be a harrier—a marsh hawk—that would fly out of the meadow below and circle around the hill. It’s something that stuck with me,” says Dave Hachey, who bought farmland in Scotsburn, just outside of Pictou, with his partner, Christine Whelan. “We were trying to…
Pick your (dance) poison
“I remember when I first started listening to electronic music in 1999-2000, my opinion was that it all sounded the same,” says HelmFest organizer Sidney Elwood, laughing. “That’s what I remember thinking. But of course there are subgenres, and from those genres there are sub-subgenres.” When planning the lineup, Elwood and his team tried to…
Living on the veg
Get ready to veg out this weekend: Saturday, September 20 sees Halifax’s very first VegFest. Seth Graham and Jessie Doyle from Fruition and Diandra Phipps from enVie spent the past year putting together the festival, which features an exhibition of the best of vegan culture in Nova Scotia. “We’ve always supported each others’ businesses, and…
The end of the Microgallery
A small but seismic change has rocked NSCAD, a tiny difference that had enormous reverberations and elicited emotional responses from students—in short, never underestimate the power of a brick. NSCAD’s Microgallery was a mini gallery in a hollowed-out brick in the stairwell of the 5163 Duke Street. A few months ago, it was ticking along…
