suck it sony!
why can’t things just get along? I have a mac, I have final cut (editing suite for mac) and I have a brand new super awesome hd harddrive camcorder from sony. should all be great, right? BUT NO! apparently sony decided that THIS incarnation of their camera could not possibly play with…well any editing suite…
Metal Show Meltdown
Dear tiny girl bouncer who works at the basement metal venue in the North End: Just because I have blonde, trendy hair and no metal protruding from my face does not mean I’m not a big metal fan. The next time you grab my arm and ask for my bracelet after letting my unbraceleted friends…
train pain
so I took the train recently. and now my back hurts. WHY? because the designer of said train decided that clearly no one would want to sleep on a train unless they paid the extra money for a sleeper car. oh how wrong. and just like in so many airports who created rows of chairs…
ah must be quota time
to the asshole cop who pulled me over and issued a ginormous ticket by the airport the other day: fuck. you. when you approached my window and asked for my license and registration, I clearly told you I had sold the car, and was actually signing it over the NEXT DAY. that I was moving…
yellow vested stalkers
listen all you red-cross-amnesty-international-whatever-the-cause-of-the-day cretins: I. Do. Not. Care. I do not care the first time you ask me for just a moment of my time. I do not care the second time. and the third time I really do not care! for the love of god it’s like a charity gauntlet just getting down…
Just sayin….
I know that there is already a bitch about facebook and kids, but a completely separate issue has caught my attention. I’m a ‘live-and-let-die’, I don’t get my panties in a bunch over people’s slutty photos or the stupid kiss face because i think Facebook is a really cool way to display your personality and…
Ethical procurement
I received a press release today: On September 16, JUDES (Just Us! Development and Education Society), NS BALLE (the Nova Scotia Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) Oxfam Canada, TransFair Canada, and the Ecology Action Centre Food Action Committee sent a two question survey to all the candidates running for HRM council. The purpose of…
Internet vote this weekend
The internet portion of the municipal election runs this Saturday through Monday, Oct 4-6. But the “real” election day, the day the polling places are open, isn’t until two weeks later, Oct 18. This unfortunate scheduling presents The Coast with a pickle—when do we publish our mayoral coverage? Many community organizations and the candidates themselves…
Exactly my point!!!!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a bitch about being at a wedding being targeted by the RCMP for seatbelt violations. I was pretty pissed off and well…….. fuck it, I’m still furious over it, but life goes on I guess. I was reading the paper today and happened to notice a story coming…
Stars adds all-ages show
Montreal love-pop outfit Stars will play a second show in Halifax for the kids on November 2 at The Grawood. Tickets go on sale Friday here.
Are there laws in Halifax?
Sat night, I was downtown on my way to a concert. There were cops everywhere, probably because of the Grand Parade concert and Elton John concert. And of course, there were many bums begging. I have no problem with someone asking for a little help, but for the two little bastards bumming money outside Tim…
Election season
One after another, councillors spent an entire hour last night facing the camera and boldly condemning speeding through neighbourhoods.
My Wish…
I like the Coast. I really do. I read it faithfully every week. I derive plenty of giggles from Love the Way we Bitch. I just wish the Coast didn’t have to be soooooooooooooo lefty all the time. Not everyone who reads the Coast is a cycling-vegetarian-eco-warrior-indie-music-loving-bleeding heart. Some of us – gasp – drive…
“Homeless” People with Dogs
What is the fucking deal with these bums who beg and bother people for money and own dogs!!!! They “supposedly” don’t have money for food and or shelter but have the privilege to take care of living being. Is this not animal cruelty or some shit? Ditch the dog, get a job like EVERYONE ELSE…
Kids these days
To the bratty, loud, obnoxious teenage girls on the bus this saturday, who decided to fight each other while the bus waited at the bridge terminal: because of you, the bus left 20 minutes later than it should have. Thanks, I appreciate not being able to view an apartment and find a place to live…
Parking in the South End
My street has has construction for THREE months now, and we have been out of a driveway. The notice we got saying there will be construction came one week after it started (yea like i didn’t notie your tractors digging up my road dumb fucks) anywaayyy, this was supposed to be only for 3 weeks.…
Omarion show moves to November
We’re not gonna lie—we didn’t even know there was an Omarion scheduled for October. But it doesn’t matter, since the Halifax Forum appearance with Marques Houston just moved to November 22. Omarion is young—21!—and multi-faceted, but his main game is hip-hop. Houston, a former child actor (Sister, Sister) and teenage boy-bander (Immature) is now a…
MOVE ………. please
MOVE , why won’t people move out of the way when I’m jogging. And I’m not talking about busy streets, its usually just you and me on the sidewalk pal. You stand side by side and force me to run into places screaming “come on roll your ankle”. I want to drop kick you in…
Shut up small people!
listen, I respect your choice to spawn. more power to you you baby factories you. but why must you inflict them on the rest of us? long trips on public transport (train plane or automobile I don’t care) are not the places to teach your kids manners or allow them to run amok! a recent…
Waterside vote delayed
Halifax council was scheduled to vote on the controversial Waterside development Tuesday night, but earlier in the day word came that developer Ben McCrea had asked that council put off the vote until after the election and consider buying him off—in return for tax gifts, he has offered to consider reducing the building height from…
Internet voting foul-up
Sure, it’s a small thing. All the same… Neal Alderson of Dartmouth was surprised Monday to receive two e-voting cards, and two separate personal identification numbers, in the mail. Just as surprising, his wife Carla also received two. While he received one for “Neal” and another for “Neil,” hers differed in the spelling of her…
Common Sense
Listen people, I know how annoying it is to be on a mission to get something/go somewhere in a store or on the street and someone is in your way and doesn’t realize it. But there are two little words that you say – EXCUSE ME. You don’t stand there silently getting pissed off at…
I am BLUE
I cannot understand why it is so difficult to get in touch with the appropriate governmental department(s) when you have a complaint and/or question. I began my search today and have just ended a call with the TENTH person I’ve asked for help regarding this matter. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW ANYTHING. I was in…
bouncer bitch
It’s pretty fucking disgraceful when a straight girl can flirt their way into one of the only gay bars in the city with an expired ID card of over 10 months and her very gay looking friend didn’t even get a second glance with only one month expiry on her card. Fuck the asshole bouncer…
So much for self esteem
Thanks for pointing out that my friends smaller then me. Like I didn’t know that already asshole. a size 8
snot cool
This is directed to the female who spreads her boogers on the public bathroom stall walls in the Brewery Market building. Could you stop please? Maybe you think it’s funny, or you’re trying to “stick it to the man”, but I’m tired of looking at your mucus all over the walls, and I’m sure I’m…
Vote for Arts this Friday
Looking for a way to show ol’ hair-in-the-fridge Harper (thanks to Globe writer John Doyle for that bang-on gem) that you care about the arts? On Friday at 12:30pm head down to Grand Parade to join other ordinary people for a Rally for the Arts. Organized by ACTRA Maritimes vice-president Sherry Smith, this is a…
crazy drivers
Published September 30, 2008. crazy drivers To the crazy bitch that almost killed me and my 18 month old son in a Bayers Rd crosswalk yesterday, FUCK YOU!!! As i got half way across the street i noticed you speeding down the hill so i turned back and you sped through the red light and…
Petro Pass
To the mutant pawning Canadian Tire visa’s on Quinpool Rd : I would rather pay 10 cents a liter more every time I fill my tank than to listen to your lame speel about visa benifits. You might also want to button up your shirt because your the sight of your chest hair left me…
Ugh
To the queer guys who do their thing in the window, can you get some drapes? My gf gets off on it WAY too much Hants County Dude
I knew Alberta was bad, just didn’t know it was that bad!!!
So I’m reading the paper today and an article caught my attention, which I’m sure some of you are aware of it by now. A trucker, East Indian descent, who lived in ON for 6 years after marrying, and still married, to a Canadian, decided to work in AB. While driving on a highway at…
IFS for NDP
Indie-poppers In-Flight Safety have been quiet since their Summersonic appearance in July, but you’ll be able to see them on Saturday, October 4 at…noon…in Saint Mary’s University’s McNally Auditorium? “I don’t know how these things happen,” says keyboardist Daniel Ledwell of the quartet’s appearance at this weekend’s rally in support of the New Democratic Party.…
Just want to get in and get off!
to a certain lesbionic bookshop with a dildo wall……when I come in to buy aforementioned dildo, I do NOT want to talk to you! just because I’m in your store doesn’t mean I am a hippy bisexual lesbian who wants to eat granola off my tattooed girlfriends nipple ring…I just want a dildo. and whilst…
can the nice guy bullshit
alright i’ve fucking had it, i’m sick and tired of every woman i have ever met calling me a “nice guy”. you are all fucking stupid, i don’t want to be your “advice friend” i don’t want to be your crying shoulder. so piss off with the misleading shit, and stop with the “oh i…
The same telemaketer every fockin’ night
Every night around supper time I get the same call: “Hello, we are calling about your credit card. Although there is not a problem with the interest rate you are currently paying…” When I press the 1 button to talk to the call centre flunky I get cut off….I am getting sick of this harrassment.…
Getting sick of it!
I’m getting tired of my friend using my computer for his gay/and trans-porn…and asking me and my boyfriend what gay friendly spots to hit in your trip to montreal (where you say to your girlfriend its a business trip) You are always bugging us to come out to the local gay clubs with us….this isn’t…
Elevator woes.
What is with the elevators at the QEII? I was trapped on one for 20 minutes at the New Halifax infirmary. I was told by the security that the technician was notified and that they have no idea when he would get there. After 3 more calls about 5 minutes apart he could offer me…
Scott Logan
I’ll just leave this one out there with no comment… From allnovascotia.com: An associate deputy director in the Intergovernmental Affairs Department scored the largest pay raise in the Nova Scotia civil service last year. Scott Logan earned $202,822.98 in the year ending March 31, 2008. That was 19% more than the previous year, and 45%…
Ca you afford to vote for Harper?
So I’m seeing all these anti Dion adds, I thought I’d try one… Stephen Harper wants to allow 16 clean lakes to be turned into toxic waste dumps.. Stephen Harper wants to give as many of Canada’s natural resources as he can… Stephen Harper doesn’t care if you’re Canadian, you’ll still be extradited/ held indefinitely…
Crack-berry Whore
I went to the Elton John concert on Friday night… it was phenomenal! Sir Elton is a classic and is still in VERY fine form. His voice, scrumptious… his piano playing, brilliant! As we were thoroughly enjoying the show, my sister nudges me to show me what her ‘neighbour’ is doing… busily berry-picking and what’s…
the not so green party
Ms. May graced our presence in Halifax recently arriving in a 22 car special election train in order to greet 80 supporters. I hope she threw in a train food lunch for them and offered pillows and blankies… my color wheel looks a lot different apparently than hers. Her ticket appears to be not the…
a real WTF? moment
Anyone else think the ‘Horton hears a Who’ domestic violence joke in Family Guy tonight was disgusting, or is it just me? I consder myself a fan of the show and can normally laugh at the questionable or cringeworthy stuff because its usually couched in actual jokes based on unprovable stereotypes (that in most cases…
Sue Uteck and Beverly Miller interviews
I interviewed both candidates in the District 13 (Northwest Arm- South End) council contest. You can hear them both here, unedited: Sue Uteck Beverly Miller Also, Andy Murdoch, our web editor, has complied a thorough district profile that’s of much interest.
Free Hedley? Free Jerks!
I was stoked when I found out that Hedley was headlining a free concert on the Grand Parade on Saturday night. I even went down there early and listened to some okay artists, in support of democracy, just so I could get a decent spot near the stage. However, as soon as Ill Scarlett left…
Nothing Burns Me More…
What I REALLY HATE is when retail workers put those stick-forever price tags directly on the product you are buying… If you are really lucky and the product is fresh, it might be just a simple peel and toss, but that is the rare instance… So when I buy a $285 Zildjian cymbal, it really…
asshole security guards.
To select security guards working the big show a few weeks back: I hope someone makes you feel as shitty someday as the several patrons you belittled that night. Just because you’re a HIRED security guard doesn’t give you the right to be a fucking douchebag. Your job is not to do everything in your…
Cyclist = Pedestrian?
So I read in the paper this morning that a 14-year old boy was hit by a car yesterday morning, while riding his bicycle. The incident happened at a crosswalk on North Park Street, and the driver was issued a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian. WTF!!!???? If the boy was riding his…
Keith’s fest is a crock of shit
So this year unlike any other year the only way to enjoy what used to be free music (or a small cover) you now have to win ticket’s or get a pin code and that’s the only way your getting in, it’s nice to know that a somewhat local celebration i’ve been going to for…
Greatly Disappointed
I went to the hedley concert tonight, and well i didnt even get to see them, because ppl cannot stand in a crowed area without getting snotty and rude and pushy.Its a pop punk band and there is gonna be touching and pushing, just chill the fuck out, your not the only one that is…
Democracy 250 Is A Steaming Pile of Expensive Excrement
So we taxpayers are $10 million plus in the hole to celebrate 250 years of democracy for white male landowners. Women did not get the vote until after World War I and Aboriginals didn’t until the goddamn 60s. We all should be outraged by this celebration of shit. If this committee thinks it can convince…
limo lame-os
to the immature ignoramuses driving in what seemed to be a circle around the metro centre during the elton john concert on saturday. grow the bloody hell up, i understand you’re young and you’re in a limo, but come on, yelling obscene remarks at me while i wait for the bus, then yelling to your…
no big deal
To the stuttering asshole that goes to NSCAD and likes to try and hump as much leg as he possibly can: you aren’t good in bed. You’re awful. Your penis is nothing but average at best and what you can do with it, well, not a whole lot. Get a clue, girls don’t sleep with…
Media bitch
I’m bitching to the Canadian media for not covering what is probably the most important event since the confederation. THE AMERICAN UNION!!!!! please, please, someone grow some balls and do some REAL reporting! Benoit
Democracy 250
I’m curious what people think of Democracy 250. My take is that the whole thing is part tourism promotion, part get-out-the-vote, part, well, graft. But even if you don’t agree with that last part (and I’m open to persuasion), I’d like to know how we measure the first two. I called Democracy 250 and asked…
‘Sensitive’ ears
The next time some pansy ass painter, or anyone for that matter, tells me to watch my language on a CONSTRUCTION SITE, when I only let ONE FUCK fly, I am gonna kick you right where it hurts. We are on a job site, there is NO ONE else around, with the exception of the…
I know where you live
to the dumb c*nt who dumped his 3 BAGS of trash on Lawrencetown Beach last week. your pay stub was in there, the trusty crows hauled it out, and it blew right into my hand… I dont plan on reporting you, however, i do have your name and address, so if i wanted to, i…
dont pull it!!!
why do ppl pull the string on the bus when coming up to a major bus terminal, like sportsplex or say…mumford. i dont understand. they stop there anyways!!! DING!
I’m poor too.
I am sympathetic to the people on the streets asking for change, and I know they will probably never read this bitch (unless it is published in paper form). I also know said people can’t TELL I’m poor, but it really bothers me when someone asks me for my money. I am a poor student.…
Vote for mayor
Who do you want for mayor? Let us know via The Coast’s on-line survey, found on our home page. We’ll keep this poll up until at least Wednesday, Oct. 1. It’ll be interesting to see if and by how much Coast readers differ from the final overall results.
Elton John at the Metro Centre review
I don’t know where my memory of Elton John begins, but it’s around the time I stuck my finger in my parents’ Tom Collins mix, thinking it was a Lick ’em stick, and when Nina, the kid down the block, peed on the front lawn. In other words, he’s been around forever. Other than a…
Cry baby Americans!
As far as it goes for me, Im friggin glad the American economy is failing. Why? Because theve all been a country of make believe fortune! This is what you get when to many houses, to many cars, to many companies are created and no one is buying. Its not rocket science. The American life…
Shut the fuck up already.
Yeah, i got tickets to the Elton John concert. I was lucky enough to be logged into ticketatlantic.ca at the proper time, and therefore was able to purchase them. So please don’t try and pull a pathetic fucking guilt trip on me just because you weren’t as lucky, and didn’t get any for yourself. You’ve…
Why is it so hard to find an apartment in Toronto
Moving to Toronto – Nuff of this place.. I will pay my high rent in a bigger city thank you…. (waits to be mobbed by the hippy happening anti toronto halagonians and dodges the tomatoes). Anyways, why is it so hard to find something there, every aprtment that is listed is for RIGHT NOW, obviously…
Election resources
There are some pretty nifty web-based election resources out there, which some people might find useful. First, our web editor Andy Murdoch points us to a compilation of census data applied to local election districts. I’ll be using this information for all sorts of journalistic purposes into the future. It’s really quite incredible, and I…
prick on someone your own size
to the person and their penis who wrote ‘urine’ in what I assume is urine on my car – what great talent you have. If I had a penis and knew who you were I would come and write something as equally as insightful on something that belongs to you…try and piss on my bike…
Rain Again
The weekend is here and apparently the rain will be too……. I wonder if China will lend us their weather changing thingy that they used for the Olympics???? wish it wouldn’t rain
It’s a turning lane dumbass
See that thing? Yeah, that big line in the middle of the road? It’s not there to tell you where to put your car, or a convienent guide for staying straight on the road. It’s the line marking two lanes, dumbass. Yes, it’s narrow right there (North Street and Windsor). But the turning lane is…
Yuppies, Yuppies everywhere
As I’m sure some of you have noticed, there has been a sharp rise in the local yuppie quotient recently. To be fair, that’s a pat descriptor. I’m not trying to paint all young urban professionals with the same brush, I’m just talking about a certain sub-variety. What bothers me is not the tacky clothes…
ECMA deadline extended
The deadline to apply for East Coast Music Awards showcases has been extended, which is not a great sign, frankly. You’ve got until midnight on Sunday to throw down the app for a spot, which you can do here. Do it before the “hurricane” hits on Sunday. You can apply for awards until October 15.
Come on pretty mama
The Beach Boys had the idea back in 1988, though Kelly Dow and Raymond Davis , owners of Rock Island Café (6289 Quinpool), will bring the riches and flavours of Bermuda to Halifax, finally. Last Saturday the restaurateurs hosted their opening in honour of Bermudian premier Dr. Ewart Brown . “It is very fortunate to…
Shoptalk-lets
Rogue’s Roost Brew Pub (5435 Spring Garden) is now available for private parties –just 15 bucks an hour for a private bar and outside patio. A bartender is included, but drinks and grub are extra. Call Deanna at 425-1593…Brick Oven Pizzeria (5982 Spring Garden) isn’t just a pizza joint; the recently opened restaurant, owned and…
Foxy Moon
After four years in business, Foxy Moon (2393 Agricola) is moving on up –the street, that is. Owner Evyeneia Monolakos is in the midst of styling hair by day and painting the new location (2725 Agricola) by night. It’s a good thing she’s got her four-legged friend Tia, a mixed lab, to keep her going.…
Freshwater blues
Though they’re still recovering from a drop in business related to Harbour Solutions construction, south end shops are facing yet another round of street closures, noise and dust. This time around it’s a water commission project to enlarge a pipe containing long-buried Freshwater Brook. Since July, crews have been replacing the section running down Fenwick,…
Free bowling to celebrate Khyber winfall
Go to the Khyber ICA this Saturday at 1pm, for the Free Bowl Championships, as part of Michael Coolidge’s exhibition, which deals with art and play in public spaces. Free Bowl is like Bocce, but played in the streets. The tournament, which started out with 22 participants, is now down to four potential winners: David…
HRM’s Finest?
Is the Halifax Regional Police seriously understaffed? Or are they having a having a ‘racist-alcoholic-sexist-incompetent cop’ recruitment drive?? The other day, I’m sipping on my dark roast, flipping through my morning Herald when I come across a story that involves a cadet cop (web nazi says i can’t name him, sorry) who basically got a…
The bitch is back!
Tonight I’m heading off to see Elton John. Honestly, in all cheese, I can’t think of the last time I was this excited. I may look calm from the outside, but inside all I can hear is “Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenie, Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenie…” Will “Rocket Man” live up to my diva-jumpsuit, giant sunglass-wearing, piano-playing fantasy? Let’s hope so. I’ll…
Reflections Double ID Take
“The Mayor says so” was all the bouncer would say. Two pieces of ID needed to get into Reflections. In about two minutes, a dozen people turned away on Friday night! The government issues one piece of legal ID, a driver’s license or identification card. That is the piece of ID. What a goddamn stupid…
Idiots’ guide to voting
I’m not sure which aspect of this is more ridiculous: That someone who can’t navigate through a simple internet vote probably won’t be able to figure out how to get the city’s web site to watch a video showing them how to vote, OR That the video takes six minutes to explain a 20-second voting…
Sally Anne Thieves
What a bunch of maggots we have in this town, stealing used goods from a charity organization. Using fishing rods and kids held by the ankles, you bunch of cunts have sunk to a new low. You fuckheads must be so proud of yourself for ripping off stuff from people who truly need it. I…
wrong name wrong place
To whoever scrawled the following message: “Dear Peter, go fuck yourself. Thanks for putting a nice scratch in my brand new used guitar you pothead peice of shit. Grow the fuck-up .” on my green bin, I would like to point out that nobody by the name of Peter lives at this address nor anywhere…
Mayoral debate notes
After Peter Kelly gave a milquetoast “everything’s fine and getting better” opening statement, Sheila Fougere came out swinging, saying that “back room chats and the lack of a strong leader” had left HRM taxpayers paying 2/3 of the harbour solutions cleanup costs (as opposed to the 1/3 that the city had originally hoped to pay),…
keith urban
Published September 24, 2008. keith urban this has probably already been bitched about but it needs to be repeated. STOP RUINING THE COMMONS with your CRAPPY concerts. its disgraceful that the city of halifax spends their art budget on super star top 40 ‘artists’ to ruin public space, giving the rich more money, and not…
‘its just a little sore throat. youll get over it’
fuck you september germs! why must you make me suffer? september is NOT flu season. come back in 3 months. saw throat
What then?
This is a open question to all Harper haters. Who you will bitch at once the NDP wins the election, and Obama ousts Bush and his Palin McCain crew in Washington? I’m betting you will find someone to complain about. To Vote or Not To Vote
Picture whores
This is for all you picture whores out there, stop fucking taking 300 pictures of yourself daily and then pissing yourself to get home and upload them to the internet. Also stop fucking taking pctures of yourself looking up at the sky, puckering your lips, making weird faces and worst of all of you and…
Racist and sexist
I’d like to know who would go to see a band whose members are openly racist and sexist. I was at a party for two of my friends and a local band was there (bday boy’s roommate’s band), and all I heard from the lead singer was n-bombs and jokes about Jewish people. He even…
CBC Radio Information Morning
I’ll be on CBC radio tomorrow at 7:15am to discuss tonight’s mayoral debate.
I hate World of Warcraft!!
Why the hell would you want to play an online game for 6-12 hours a day, or some I am sure play this stupid game longer!! I have a bf who is in his twenties and a brother who is in his thirties who play this game all the time. It’s like they have no…
Gloomy Biker
To the goth girl riding her bicycle on the crowded sidewalk of Brenton Street, Friday evening, September 19th: Thanks so much for the hysterical beginning to our evening. Even though you were in the wrong by being on the sidewalk in the first place AND almost planting your front tire in my crotch, I still…
Make a difference Tom
Hey Tom Bousquet. Shouldn’t you be out in the real world reporting the news instead of posting dumb comments here? There’s an Election Out There Tom
Gratuitous sex pic of the week
A press release trumpets Jenna Thibodeaux, a Halifax resident and model who won Peta’s “I’m Too Sexy for Leather” photo contest. The picture is here. Before you send the angry letters, understand that I’m big on meat that’s raised correctly (I’m an enthusiastic supporter of two local farms that raise and butcher free-range poultry, pigs…
Vote Arts!
This was sent to me by Anthony Black of 2b Theatre. The instructions are easy: print out here and then place it in your window, car, bulletin board, fridge, door, local MP, etc., to show your support. If you’re still not convinced, read Peggy Atwood’s essay in today’s Globe and Mail. It’s one of the…
Live shot of the week
Tom Fun OrchestraSaturday, September 20, 1:26am
Westcliffe’s good, cheap eats
An unassuming little storefront at the intersection of Oxford and Bayers hides one of HRM’s best-kept secrets. The Westcliffe lunch counter, with the blinds perpetually drawn, serves up fast, affordable food in a room distinguished primarily by Beverley and Tyler’s personalities. They’re the people who make the Westcliffe tick—Beverly, motherly and friendly and “yes hon”…
Dance dance evolution
Though I can’t recall exactly when I last stomped my feet like this, I don’t think I’d be too far off in guessing that I was of tantrum-throwing age. Back then, I was probably sporting my size-two tap dance shoes for maximum impact; on this night, I’m stomping around in a pair of heels and,…
Ghost Town
Ghost TownThere’s so much unassuming likeability to Ghost Town, I can understand the temptation to believe it works better than it does. The new feature, directed by prolific screenwriter David Koepp, is about the transformation of a grinch. Dentist Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) isn’t good at hiding his contempt for the ordinary people around him.…
Peter Allen’s brainstorm
There’s little sitting room in Peter Allen’s office on the fifth floor of the Dalhousie Arts Centre. The piano, a Yamaha C7, takes up most of the space, pinning desk with computer and a couple of chairs against the near wall. Besides teaching piano in Dalhousie’s music program, the Halifax-born-and-raised Allen is an accomplished composer…
Lakeview Terrace
The best that can be said about Lakeview Terrace is that it’s never boring. This episode of Neil LaBute’s misanthropic hysteria moves from the fear of powerful women in his other movies to racial paranoia. Yes, racism is a subject of Lakeview Terrace, and LaBute aims to provoke by making his aggressor an educated black…
Cockroach
Rawi Hage (Anansi) Following up his IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-winning debut novel, De Niro’s Game, Lebanon-born, Montreal-based Canadian novelist Rawi Hage storms back with Cockroach, another probing, intriguing and powerfully thrilling immersion into the mindset and mores of mainstream Middle Eastern agnostics. This time, however, Hage pitches his compelling story not in sectarian violence-ravaged Beirut,…
Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains
Just as Diane Lane reunites with her Cotton Club love interest in Nights of Rodanthe comes the long-awaited DVD release of another movie from her youth. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains barely opened in 1982, and was only seen on late-night cable afterwards. Lane, Laura Dern and Marin Kanter play the teen punk band…
iVote: Can electronic voting save democracy?
Halifax elections are going hi-tech, but while election officials hope internet voting is the cure for voter apathy, skeptics say it is a threat to democracy itself.by Tim Bousquet | photos Aaron Fraser he three weeks from October 14 to November 4 are something of an election marathon: The Canadian federal election is October 14,…
Keeping score
Today’s (September 25) Globe and Mail: Number of A-Section news stories about the federal election: 5Number of stories about political strategy and who’s winning/losing: 5Number of stories about substantive issues: 0
Tough tofu biz
At the Soy Deli stand at the Halifax Farmers’ Market, George Pickford points to a sign taped to the counter: “Notice! Our produce is still available at Pete’s Frootique in Halifax and Bedford.” “We just want people to know they can still get our tofu,” he says. George’s wife, Anna Anderson, started Acadiana Soy in…
Zap! Will the joke be on us?
Will Stephen Harper’s “a carbon tax is crazy economics; it’s crazy environmental policy” turn out to be the 2008 election’s version of “Zap! You’re frozen”? During the 1974 federal election campaign, earnest, awkward Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield—the Stephane Dion of his day—proposed a policy of wage and price controls to put a lid on…
Spaced: The Complete Series
Directed by Edgar Wright (BBC Warner) Early on in British series Spaced, procrastinating writer Daisy (Jessica Hynes) manically suggests the idea of throwing a party to her new roommate, Tim (Simon Pegg). “We could have a glitter ball! I could make one out of tinfoil!” she enthuses. The hilariously lame party that results has a…
On the willow tree corner
Some rogue electioneer has taken political postering into their own hands at the corner of Quinpool and Robie. Who did it? I like the ‘no-left turns’ sign below it. Harper’s taking flack on all fronts these days. Canada’s first lady of literature, Margaret Atwood, wrote a deadly comment piece in yesterday’s Globe and Mail.
Mall man
It’s hard to relive the thrill of witnessing the wild antics of born showman B.A. Johnston for the first time. He’s like James Brown on a shoestring budget, where the shoestring is re-used every gig. There are costume changes, funky aromas, pools of sweat, playful confrontations with the audience and spastic verging-on-rhythmic dance moves. And…
The smog of electoral war…
Is a carbon tax a good idea? What the f*&^ is a cap-and-trade policy anyway? And why has the media—for the most part—abandoned its traditional role of trying to make sense of it all for us? Perhaps the simple, unhappy answer is that our journalists are so busy reading the leavings in the bottom of…
Otherworldly media
Just after 10pm on October 4, 1967, 12-year-old Chris Styles spotted something weird through his bedroom window overlooking the Dartmouth side of Halifax Harbour. “It was a round object, glowing orange, the colour of iron heated in a forge,” Styles writes. He ran down to the harbour to get a closer look. From a distance…
Empty frames
One Halifax summer, two guys sat across from each other at the Economy Shoe Shop and decided to start a business. “You do your thing, I do mine,” says Michael-Andreas Kuttner, over a beer with his soon-to-be partner, Steven Comeau. “Any conflict, we’ll settle with a coin toss.” Thirteen years later, they’ve never tossed a…
The joke’s on us
The joke’s on us Will Stephen Harper’s “a carbon tax is crazy economics;it’s crazy environmental policy” turn out to be the 2008 election’s version of “Zap! You’re frozen”? During the 1974 federal election campaign, earnest, awkward Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield—the Stephane Dion of his day—proposed a policy of wage and price controls to put…
Going to the candidates’ debates
I happened to be in Boston last weekend for a conference, which is how I ended up watching the first U.S. presidential debate Friday evening (September 26) on a big-as-my-house widescreen TV with several hundred of my new closest friends in the atrium of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. It was fascinating,…
Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine
It starts with a violent coup by dictatorAugusto Pinochet September 11, 1973. The Chicago Boys, a gang of Chilean economists trained by free market guru Milton Friedman, are uncannily prepared with a manifesto of economic policy, “The Brick.” It lands heavy on the left-leaning populace, inducing a state of shock. The Chicago Boys have somehow…
Cameron Ells
Email: halifax@excells.ca Website: excells.caTelephone: 422-3895 About Cameron Ells is a civil engineer, environmental consultant with 20 years experience in the private sector. He has worked (as a volunteer, he notes) on public-private partnerships. He describes himself as “pragmatic, constructive and persuasive.” He also grows grapes. Goals and Issues Cameron, like all the candidates downtown, wants…
Makin’ sense of it all…
Still puzzling over how to cap carbon, or trade a tax, or emit a greenhouse gas, or… The Ecology Action Centre will host a primer entitled “CARBON JARGON: MAKING SENSE OF CAP & TRADE AND CARBON TAX” on Monday, October 6 at the Dal Law School (Room 105) from 6-7 pm. Meinhard Doelle, who teaches…
Being Here
The scene: Guelph, July 2006. The Toronto mega-band Broken Social Scene is onstage at Hillside, the yearly music festival held at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area. I’m cold and tired after two shitty nights spent folded up in a friend’s pup tent like a lawn chair. Blinking and shuddering near the stage, I stare up…
James Stuewe
Email: james@stuewe.caWebsite: stuewe.caTelephone: 425-8171 About Stuewe’s campaign website describes the candidate as a “natural born leader.” He also “thrives on making a difference for those around him.” Sounds like good traits for a politician. Actually, James has dealt with councillors in a small organization before. About 25 to 30 to be exact, as the Director…
Julia MacPherson
Email: electjulia@eastlinks.caWebsite: juliamacpherson.comTelephone: 488-6758 About Born in New Brunswick, MacPherson grew up in Lawrencetown, and graduated in 1997 from Cole Harbour High. She’s educated, with NSCC certificates in Small Business Management and a diploma in Construction Administration Technology. She’s a project coordinator for Salter’s Construction Management, and lives in Cole Harbour with her nine-year-old daughter.…
Sure Thing: Treaty Day
The Mi’kmaq community of Nova Scotia will gather in Halifax on October 1 to celebrate Treaty Day, commemorating the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752. This treaty has great historical importance to both Mi’kmaq and non-Mi’kmaq communities within Nova Scotia, as it marks the day the Crown and the Mi’kmaq nation used treaties to settle…
Jerry Blumenthal
Email: email JerryWebsite: none found. Telephone: 444-3841 & 444-3842 (headquarters); 830-1654 (cell). About Jerry Blumenthal is like Rocky Balboa – he’s the aging champ who had to get back into the ring (except we’re in Halifax and Jerry doesn’t use growth hormones). Originally a teacher, Blumenthal first appeared in local politics as Alderman of Ward…
Julia McPherson
Julia McPherson, District 4, Cole Harbourelectjulia@eastlink.ca488-6758 Born in New Brunswick, MacPherson grew up in Lawrencetown, and graduated in 1997 from Cole Harbour High. She’s educated, with NSCC certificates in Small Business Management and a diploma in Construction Administration Technology. She’s a project coordinator for Salter’s Construction Management, and lives in Cole Harbour with her nine-year-old…
Broken windows
Broken windows Gee, thanks, Rudy. Rudolph Giuliani last week told Vancouver the way to clean up its act and decrease crime is to follow hislead in scrubbing graffiti and punishing petty crime on the streets of New York. (Funny, considering Vancouver’s violent crime rate is half New York’s, but I digress… .) It’s called the…
Andrea Hilchie-Pye
Email: andrea@hilchiepye.comWebsite: andrea4thepeople.comTelephone: 431-3929 About Andrea acquired her political acumen in the Texas Legislature, as an aide to Democrat Bob Glaze. She grew up in and around the peninsula, attending Tower Road, Gorsebrook and Queen Elizabeth high school. Since moving back to Halifax, she has been politically active women’s leadership issue, participating in several campaigns…
Lorelei Nicholl
Email: Website: engagingcoleharbour.caTelephone: 830-1626 Critical issues: community development, transportation, youth engagement and the environment About Lorelei has lived in Cole Harbour for 22 years, has been a Beavers Leader, and participated in other volunteer activities, including chair and organizer of the Cole Harbour Harvest Festival and Auburn Drive School Advisory Council. Goals and Issues She…
Downtown’s four-way fracas
For local politics, downtown Halifax is the place to be this year. In the battle for media attention, Halifax elections lag behind coverage of the American and Canadian federal elections, and what press coverage locals do get is mostly focused on the mayoral race between Peter Kelly and Sheila Fougere. But the most dynamic and…
Ross McLaren
Email: voterossmclaren@gmail.comWebsite: voterossmclaren.caTelephone: 460-8167 (cell) About Like many former journalists, Ross works in public relations now, for Communications Nova Scotia. He is currently the communications director for the Nova Scotia Department of Energy. He coached minor hockey in Spryfield and raised money for NSCAD (Off the Wall) and Clean Nova Scotia. He uses the bus…
Barry Smith
Email: Barry SmithWebsite: noneTelephone: not provided. About Barry Smith has spent the last 20 years raising kids in Cole Harbour, and grew up in the area. With that, he says, came “PTAs, Parks and Recreation, youth leadership programs (Dartmouth Boys and Girls club),” various fundraisers, and the Provincial Bowling Team. He’s a businessman, and mentions…
Savage Love
Q: My boyfriend and I are in our mid-20s, love each other and have been living together for two years. We have good sex once a week. I have a low libido, and I always have. But my sweet boyfriend needs more than once a week. Every once in a while, he brings up the…
Bill Forbes
Email: Bill Forbes Website: none foundTelephone: 453-9074 About Bill is a dark horse. He did not respond to our questionnaire and he doesn’t have a website. So we at Coast Election Central had virtually had no sources we could draw from to cull information about Bill, his goals or political positions. None that is, but…
Hannah’s moving pictures
Hannah Minzloff’s camera looks like a robot. The Russian-made LOMO Horizon is smooth and bulky, with a convex viewfinder on top that looks like the Honda robot ASIMO’s head. The panoramic camera has shot over 400 black-and-white images of subways and their travellers in Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, Munich and Barcelona. Twenty of those images…
Jennifer Watts
Email: jenniferwatts@ns.sympatico.caWebsite: jenniferwattshalifax.ca Facebook group.Telephone: 425-7997 About Jennifer has a Masters degree in urban and rural planning from TUNS. Her neighbour on Duncan street is Sean Phillips. Her paid employment and volunteer experience includes working with children and seniors. She has worked as a planning consultant on municipal issues, developing wind turbine bylaws and watershed…
