You may call me an old fart but I really and truly miss the good old days of downtown Halifax. With all the bar scene now and the way the younger crowd dresses today. I get real sentimental when I remember when I used to go downtown with my Mom and Dad on a Saturday night. We used to go window shopping, have an order of fries at the Met, buy a bag of candies and we really enjoyed ourselves. You can’t do that today on a Saturday night because of all the New York type of nightlife that takes place now in downtown Halifax. All I have now is my memories of good old downtown Halifax. Oh well I guess I will just have to forget about it because downtown Halifax will never be laid-back anymore. —Missing The Good Old Days in Halifax
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2012.
New York style nightlife? You mean the ground zero-ness of it all? The empty, shattered facades maybe? Was downtown an uphill walk, both ways?
Nostalgic for good, old-fashioned, spontaneous, sock puppet shows eh?
I’m pretty sure in downtown NY you can do all that stuff. Last time I checked all you can do downtown is drink overpriced booze and wait for shitty transit.
Downtown croaked when the west end malls (Hfx. Shopping Center, Bayers Road Shopping Centre, Simpsons et al)offered free parking and a chance to shop at a variety of stores indoors – then along came the big box stores which, in turn, took a lot of business from the malls. So, if Bayers Lake ever goes tits up, where will we be? Probably back to Barrington St. – what a delicious irony that would be.
While I appreciate your nostalgic pinings (mine happen to be for the fjords), the 60s are over and, to be perfectly honest, I’m pretty content to be in 2012. Now excuse me while I go load up my iPod and e-reader – Netflix awaits.
“The Good Old Days”
I think that this has the potential to be the most important post in living memory on this site which, frankly, is not saying much. Anyway, the reason why I say this is twofold:
(a) “Missing” clearly does not understand the totalitarian “youf culture” which is the preponderant, unquestioned and celebrated orthodoxy on this site. You must not “Missing,” underestimate the power of this received orthodoxy and the rage of those who feel that it has been traduced. You must be “cool” which, in shorthand, means little more than to be young and hip. There is an unspoken yet terrifying burden among all the commenters here that they will fall short, that they will be exposed as being uncool and unhip. This, “Missing,” is not trivial. On the contrary, it is online death.
(b) Having said that, I find that your post lacked specific details about the “good old days” in downtown Halifax. The only way your bitch can escape the usual outrage and superficial rebukes of the usual regulars is to give concrete instances of just what the “good old days” in downtown Halifax amounted to. You must remember that you are talking to people whose life-experience does not extend beyond the big box stores with their surface pragmatism, their money nexus, and of course, their unconscious skin-surface hedonism. You must remember “Missing,” that they are without reflection, without philosophy, and without thought. I know it will not be an easy task but, while I fear that they will mock you, you must pay them no attention.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Moman, I gotta ask: how long does it take you to come up with these responses? It kind of scares me to think that you can roll these off like nothing…You can probably write them quicker than I get pains in my brain from reading them…isn’t the bitch boards supposed to be low info responses designed to piss off (or back up ) OB? Why must you make me use my BRAIN? *shakes head, dusts off cob webs*
and two movie theatres. One on Barrington st. and one in Scotia Square.
and two movie theatres on Gottingen st. as well.
Getting shit faced at Dick Turpins, what was the name of the fancy bar in the middle of Scotia Square?
Downtown just doesn’t offer any benefits to shopping there imo. Its a pain to get around, its a pain to get parking, you pay for parking, and most of the time you pay more for less. Theres are only three stores i shop at downtown and they are the only reasons i go there because there is really no alternative. Little mysteries, the black market and venus envy.
I like you, Kontee. A piece of advice. Just scroll through it. It saves on eye strain.
Crammed on a trolley with the smell of Moir’s Chocolate in the Air….ahh Childhood.
RSVPs
: Kontee McArseholz (07/18, 9:28PM)
“… isn’t (sic) the bitch boards supposed to be low info responses designed to piss off (or back up) OB?”
Yes, Kontee, that is true but if you look closely you will note that I have satisfied both criteria, i.e., I backed up “Missing” while I pissed off people like you. I believe that in bowling that would be called a “perfect strike”. (I could be wrong there because I don’t bowl. It’s just so, well, down-market.)
: Senor Campana (07/19, 8:14AM)
I’m glad to hear that scrolling through my post saves on your eye strain, Senor. That is because, unlike Kontee, you have no brain to strain.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
I wasn’t pissed off. Moman. I was just poking fun @ you. I enjoy straining my brain on your informative posts (sometimes)…PS: Kontee McArseholz is my maiden name…how did you know??
So “missin”,get your cameras ready,do your best FB pose,duck lips a poutin’,(no socks and sandals) and head for the dome,post your best hangover wikiquote and refer to your timeline for the good ole days .
yep, I bet fries n candies would make more than beer n spirit sales to the over-abundant university crowd we have… yeah, ok.
I can see that ‘fun time’ happening during the day… but a saturday night? wtf?
you’ve confirmed one thing… you’re definitely getting old
The times are-a-changin’ Grandpa. Get used to it.
MM. I’d rather have no brain than pretend to be an intellectual know-it-all, thinking that they are better than everyone else.
You sound like the type of person that won’t settle responding with a simple yes or no but rather spew out an entire fucking thesis.
Love,
Babboon
“Downtown” NY is full of fat waddling tourists and overpriced sodas… just like Halifax lol. Though I’ve got to say, The Patriot on Chambers is all sorts of fun, if only they had a bar like that here 🙂
RSVP Senor Campana (07/19, 2:07PM)
A (fairly) interesting post Senor, but containing some intellectual and/or academic difficulties. In fact I see four:
1. While confirming the fact that you “have no brain,” you then go on to claim that I “pretend to be an intellectual-know-it-all.” But Senor, if you have no brain, how could you possibly know what I pretend to be? Whence, as they say, is the source of your insight?
2. In similar fashion you go on to claim that I “think I am better than everyone else.” But, lacking a brain Senor, how could you possibly know what I think? You do see the contradiction here, don’t you Senor?
3. You next go on to deplore the fact that I do not respond with “a simple yes or no.” But Senor, you yourself have failed to respond with a simple yes or no. This is called a self-refuting assertion, Senor, and is to be deplored.
4. Finally, instead of replying with a simple yes or no you claim that I “rather spew out a fucking thesis.” Well Senor, this suggests, unsuprisingly, that you are not familiar with academic theses. While I agree that my posts might qualify on the grounds of depth of insight, their length would definitely fall short of minimal thesis requirements. But I must say that the suggestion of writing a thesis on my posts does have considerable merit. I shall have to reflect on a possible unifying structure. What about entitling it: “A Pleasure as Always: The Best of Montrealman.”
Write back with your thoughts.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
Dick Turpins….that brings back a memory or 2.
My Cousin Hugh was a bouncer there way back when !
RSVP
: Kontee McArsholz (07/19, 9:09AM)
I do apologize for not including you in my response to Senor Campana but the intellectual depth of his post distracted me. Yes, in Quebec the female always, even if married, uses her maiden name on official occasions. I’m not sure if this is the case in Nova Scotia.
So, on those occasions, you can proudly step forth as “Kontee McArsholz” without shame, retribution or recrimination. Once again, I do apologize if I have misconceived your appropriate nomenclature.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
I like that Moman…it kinda has a nice ring to it. Don’t you think?
Here, enjoy a wholesome Halifax evening of times gone past:
http://youtu.be/4PX0FFJh4Fs
I’m confused as to why you think a family can’t still have a nice dinner downtown today. How late are they staying out exactly!?
MM. Looks like I struck a nerve.
RSVP
: Senor Campana (07/20, 6:46AM)
Sadly Senor, you seem to have failed to grasp the salient points of my previous response to you where I took you, step by step, through a masterful deconstruction of your incoherent and uninformed post.
If any “nerve” of mine was struck, Senor, it was only my “boredom nerve”. Now, run along.
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
That’s funny, the good “old” downtown to me IS going to a club and getting drunk… Different strokes for different folks. I don’t know where it is you’re trying to buy candy on a Saturday night where drunk young people are guarding the shelves, slapping your hands away when you reach for something.
PS: Video Difference on Quinpool is open 24/7 and they have a wide assortment of candies. They also have a lot of older films you can RENT, located in the basement if you really want it to feel like the “old days”.
But can you get a good halal meal there after sundown, without having to rub shoulders with a bunch of intoxicated khufars and their shameless harlots.