It is difficult to express the loss of Helen Hill. It’s like Tinkerbell at her very best, murdered. Her middle name was Wingard. Helen Wingard Hill. In death most everyone gets talked up, becomes bigger and better, becomes kinder, smarter, gentler, funnier. There is no need to talk up Helen Hill. It may not even […]
longreads
Posted inArts + Music
Heavy rotation
January continued the trend of never having to leave the north end when Hot Wire My Heart, a classy evening of garage music, debuted at Charlie’s Club. While it was short-lived, it was also a rousing success. CKDU’s Final Fridays began at the Khyber, and was host to varied music styles, for one magical Friday […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sleazy money
On Halloween night, six people gather in a Spring Garden Road cafe and trade horror stories. “I’ve lost all my money and I live on credit. In the past 13 years, I’ve lost $250,000 at VLTs. Somehow I’m $30,000 in debt again.” “I’ve always tried to tell the truth, so I knew I had a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Allyson Mitchell Does Triple Duty at the Khyber, NeoCraft Conference and FemFest
It’s Friday afternoon, a week before her installation at the Khyber Institute of Contemporary Art is supposed to open, and some of Allyson Mitchell’s luggage from Toronto has gone AWOL. Imagine what those helpful WestJet employees must think when they find a bag filled with staple and glue guns, and lightening-bolt costumes embellished with pink […]
Posted inArts + Music
New waves
While you read, have a listen to our Nine months ago, i see rowboats held an emergency meeting. They had recently played their first show and were still without a name. Their second show was coming up and they didn’t want to be listed as “and TBA” again. The band hunkered down in fiddler Luke […]
Posted inLifestyle
Paddle to the medal
She has a dry, firm handshake. Her smile is brilliant, white-toothed, her skin tanned from all the outdoor training. On her left wrist is an oversized sports watch and dangling beneath her throat, a gold medallion of a kayaker, a gift from her parents after she won her first gold medal. The evidence of an […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Claw Enforcement
Out he trots, no matter the weather, my cat Ralphie. He likes to sniff at the weeds, dig in the garden a bit, drink from puddles, sleep half-falling-over on top of the fence. He barely comes in between May 1 and the end of October. We offer him toys, four pairs of hands to scratch […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Lost Children
“I feel like Jesus,” Tina announces to no one in particular. We are sitting on a hard wooden bench outside courtroom one in the Dartmouth law courts building. We’re waiting for Tina’s lawyer to finish up another matter in another courtroom, so the wheels of justice can finally grind through the business at hand—Tina’s formal […]
Posted inArts + Music
Tripping the light fantastic
More pop explosion:Tonight’s Listings | Blog | Playlist | Photo Blog | Public photos | Video | CD Reviews | Stories If there’s one Halifax Pop Explosion performance that Julie Doiron will never forget, it’s the 1994 Eric’s Trip show that felt like it would never end. “I didn’t come out for the encore, because […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
State of confusion
Read a first-hand description of the Beddawi Refugee Camp in Tripoli, and you’ll understand why Mohammed El-Hassan wanted to stay in Halifax. Take this one, written by Tina Wolfe on the website yalibnan.com, describing the scene in June: The camp is mayhem: a mire of wires and hanging cables, dusty roads, narrow alleys, disheveled buildings, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Double life
Twins. Dykes. Canucks. There hasn’t been an article published on Tegan and Sara where a variation of these labels isn’t present. Over the past decade, the 27-year-old Quin-kin have been constantly pigeonholed in some shape or form. But it’s their epic release The Con, that brings them to Halifax. The ex-pat Calgarians—now a Montrealer and […]