FREE CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISE BLOGS
HALIFAX ENTERTAINMENT JUL 4, 2008

ENTERTAINMENT

Search
JUL 4, 2008
The Path to Glory: General James Wolfe and Louisbourg
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Prints and maps describing the assaults on Louisbourg in 1745 and 1758.

Kyla Mallet: Marginalia
Mount Saint Vincent Art Gallery
Photographs by Vancouver-based artist Kyla Mallett

 Tom Forrestall: Paintings, Drawings, Writings
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Retrospective exhibition chronicles Forrestall’s works in oil, watercolour and egg tempera

ENTERTAINMENT

Neptune Announces Directors for 2008-2009
Halifax, June 27, 2008 – While the next official Neptune Theatre opening night is more than two months away, the behind the scenes team has been busy hiring artists, actors and directors for what promises to be an exceptional season of theatre at Neptune in 20... Read More.

Shakespeare By the Sea's Cinderelly is Wild West wonderful
Shakespeare By the Sea has kicked off its 15th season with revamped staging of its ensemble-written family show, Cinderelly. A Wild West musical retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella, it’s ideal entertainment for kids and adults alike. Jammed ... Read More.

Perfect Bookmarks
Leila the librarian behind Bookshelves of Doom found an emery board -- evidently it had been used as a bookmark -- inside a Barbara Taylor Bradford book called Heir. I, and at least one other person who commented, thought from her photograph that it was a preg... Read More.

Reality TV is junk, but can it save television?
I don't like reality television. I'm not talking about traditional reality programming like talk shows or game shows, although I do typically dislike those. I'm talking about reality programming that focusses on taking ordinary people, puts them in mildly extr... Read More.

The warm up drawings of John Martz
Before I put pen/pencil to paper I tend to do some warm-up, nothing formal just some casual drawing to loosen my creative side up a bit before plunging into whatever I’m doing. John Martz, of robotjohnny.com has taken the warm-up to it’s own end and posts them... Read More.

Robot Musem Page Two
And here's page two. I'm putting up earlier than I meant but I'm pretty excited about it. There is text in the bottom panel, Quentin says: Hi Feebot, have you seen Nora. Read More.

Wall-E
The first line of A.O. Scott’s review of Wall-E for the NY Times; The first 40 minutes or so of “Wall-E” — in which barely any dialogue is spoken, and almost no human figures appear on screen — is a cinematic poem of such wit and beauty that its darker implic... Read More.

The Frequent and Vigorous Quarterly, Issue 2
I picked up a copy of this in a coffee shop in Antigonish months ago, stuck it in the front pocket of my laptop bag, and forgot about it until I was rummaging for something to read on the bus the other day. It's Issue 2 of a creative writing collective endeav... Read More.

Covers. In Which I Talk About A Book Everyone Else Was Talking About Three Years Ago.
So on the weekend we finished painting the bedroom in a blue-ish grey colour inspired by this cover of Henry Roth's Call It Sleep. As soon as we moved the bed back in and made it up in the new palette, I crawled into it with The Sea, by John Banville. Read More.

Bic pens as art
A more expected title might have been Bic pens creating art, but here we have Bic pens AS art. You’d be surprised where this simple ballpoint turns up. Take a look at this link for some neat examples. Read More.

The Panopticon.
The doc Eastern State Penitentiary is about the famed prison in Philadelphia. A little slow, but very interesting and accurate. Especially good viewing for those of us who have read Discipline & Punish by my buddy Foucault. Read More.

Dang, I'm old
Skippy, in a post about the elusive new Guns N' Roses album: Here’s a little bit of context on how long W. Axl Rose has been out of commission. When his last albums or original material, Use Your Illusion I & II were released in September of 1991, Stone Templ... Read More.

Paper, Paper, and Paper.
Three quick links having to do with paper: first, you can download patterns to make working paper locks from the amazing Flying Pig, a site dedicated to animated paper toys. Read More.

Make Mine Music?
I want to write and record two songs by the end of the summer. That will make me feel accomplished this summer. I'll probably need to start learning how to play an instrument of some sort. I'm assuming that would help with the whole composition bit. Luckily ... Read More.

Catons Island; an excerpt from Steve Vernon's Wicked Woods
This is an excerpt from Wicked Woods, by Steve Vernon and published in 2008 by Nimbus Press. There Will Be Blood Catons Island In the first month of 1611, a pair of Jesuit missionaries, Pierre Biard and Enemond Masse, set sail from France and arr... Read More.

Revolving Blog
As a bit of a stop-gap measure I've started a new blog that will act as a temporary portfolio site. I can't really afford a designer right now and I want a nice site but the one I have now is full of older pieces and stuff that probably shouldn't be on there. Read More.

The Interimaginational Institute for Fantastical Exploration and Cartography
This map of Mysteria is the work of etsy seller Alison Whittington. She's also done maps of The United Kingdom of Jubilation (sounds like the name of a funk band or perhaps a charismatic church), Strange Island, Unicornia, the Sea of Laughter, and many more. Read More.

Shake It Baby........
I was painting page two of the Robot Museum late last night and Julie came into my studio on her way to bed. I was painting a panel of Quentin levitating a bunch of robot parts while smoke billows out of the robot. I was listening to Tom Waits album Real Gone ... Read More.

Mystery on Fifth Avenue
An architectural designer called Eric Clough takes a wealthy client's fanciful request to hide a poem about his family in the walls of his New York apartment (during its renovation) to extremes -- he develops an elaborate hidden mystery, complete with cryptic ... Read More.

New Painting: Sturm & Drang
This is the second last painting of the exhibit. One left to go! The exhibit is at the Black Duck Gallery, in Lunenburg NS. July 13th-August 8th. Opening reception, Sunday, July 13th from 2-4pm. Read More.

Powered Speakers
I’m not a techno guy. Although I’m a bit more far removed from the musician who just plugs the stuff in and turns it on I don’t memorize specs and spend hours talking gear. Read More.

TopFive Video Game Add-Ons That Actually Didn't Add Anything But Frustration
From one of the former 'Big Three" of Bringing it to the Table, Josh Webb, comes a special guest post. Look for more from Josh in the upcoming months. For today's topic Josh brings us the Top Five Video Game Add-Ons That Actually Didn't Add Anything But Frustr... Read More.

WALL-E: Robot Movie Becomes Robotic
Some critics have gone gonzo over the new Disney/Pixar animated flick WALL-E. That only proves that if you throw in a few references to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece 2001, film snobs eyes tend to glaze over. The reality is that WALL-E does indeed ha... Read More.

Celebrating the Nineties with Ghost Rider
Over at the Invincible Super Blog, Chris Sims is having a contest to celebrate the most nineties-looking covers of all time. Although you basically can't top any cover in the Marvel 2099 universe, I feel that issue #15 in the oh-so-90s Ghost Rider/Blaze Spiri... Read More.

Beauty: Sophia Bush
Every week Danny takes a look at one of the many beautiful women in the world and tells you why she falls into the category. If you would like to read his blog, check out DannyPress. Read More.

Melty building
I have no idea where this building is located, but I love it. Everyday architecture is usually treated in such a traditional manner, It’s good to see a unique spin things. Must have been a nightmare for to actually build. Read More.

Vote for Cuzoogle
I submitted a picture for a photoshop contest over at The Epic Carnival. It made the final five, so if you would, please go vote for it or one of the other four if you prefer. Read More.

Wicked Woods: Is New Brunswick haunted?
Who isn’t scared walking alone in the deep woods? We tell ghost stories around the campfire in an attempt to make some sense of our fear and horror of the unknown. Steve Vernon’s collection of ghost stories from New Brunswick includes spellbinding tales of ... Read More.

Happy, unhappy and surprised
I’ve got a story in my head that I’m very faintly considering putting to paper in a series of illustrations or something similar. I’ve started drawing locations for backgrounds, and people in various poses and expressions just to sort out who’s who and what th... Read More.

First two Panels, And Colour Notes
These are the first two panels in the Robot Museum graphic novel, unless I rewrite it at some later point. The first page is all done and I'm well into the second. After I'm done page two I have to get back to the Scholastic story, so there will be a long paus... Read More.

Canada Days!!
Canada Day in Lockeport takes a very long time - in fact it covers about a week and a half. Lockeport is the Canada Day centre for this part of Nova Scotia and boy do we have events. Officially, the celebration started last Friday (the 20th) although so far t... Read More.

Favorites to win Miss Universe 2008
Okay so beauty pageants are far from being considered a sport but they offer two very important things that the male sports fan can appreciate. Hot women and betting. Miss Universe 2008 will take place in Nha Trang, Vietnam at the Crown Convention Center on Ju... Read More.

Let George Do It!
George Carlin maintained he had a name that never ended: geor - ge - or - ge -or ge. What George Carlin did for comedy transcends any of his peers or predecessors. He studied the masters and could do great vocal impersonations - Ed Sullivan for one. Read More.

Initially About Camping, But Really About Books.
I wrote a long post about how Josh and I are looking forward to going camping this coming weekend, and I willingly deleted it because all I talked about was books. I decided that since I had reading and books on the brain, that I’d better just write a book po... Read More.

RIP George Carlin
There is a big smoking hole left in the world of comedy with the departure of Mr. Seven-words-you-can-never-say-on-TV. And just looking at some of George Carlin’s zingers makes you realize that it’ll be a long time before that hole is filled. Read More.

The Last Campaign: 82 days that inspired America.. Check it out
I just finished “The Last Campaign: 82 days that change America” and it was one of the best political books I have ever heard, maybe just one of the best books I have ever read. The cynics will says “well Keith, that is only because you have read three books i... Read More.

A restraining order waiting to happen
This morning, I am posting from the comfort of my own apartment. Usually, that wouldn't be worth mentioning but up until yesterday morning, the plan was to be camped outside the box office with friends. We would each have a cell phone for calling and each have... Read More.

Museum Pencil Roughs
I am not going to tell you all about how I inked the first two pages of the Robot Museum on high quality water colour paper only to find I was working on the wrong side and how the paint smeared and bubbled on the paper. Read More.

New Coldplay worth it
Earlier this week I picked up Coldplay's new effort Viva la vida or Death and all is friends and I have to say it is great. It is full of tracks that continue to grow on you the more and more that you listen to them. Read More.

ba-na-na-na-na-na-na-naaaaaaa!
Um ok…Gallery Page and Strange is living up to it name, well the “strange” anyway, by displaying a new art installation by local artist and NSCAD faculty, Michael Fernandes called “Banana Installation” According to Mr Fernandes artist statement: Read More.

My Dinosaur Summer
And here's a slightly blurry photo of the other painting I sold. The painting in the last post was for a little girl and this one was for a little boy. this was actually a book cover for Orca books. Read More.

Kyle’s Six Pix - Vol. 45
Thanks to the musical ear of a man simply known as Kyle, every week Cuzoogle will feature six songs/videos that you should check out. This week Kyle is liking the sounds of The Brighton Port Authority, Octopus Project, Mates of State, Ladyhawk, The Hispital Bo... Read More.

Series Premiere: Secret Diary of a Call Girl - “Pilot”
Billie Piper, best known to audiences as the Doctor’s first companion Rose on the rebooted Doctor Who, took her time away from that series to take on a very different role. Secret Diary of a Call Girl, a British series, is airing on Showtime after their acquis... Read More.

Tanya Davis Releases “gorgeous morning”
Says Tanya: I made a record, over one long Halifax winter. I invited all of my talented musical friends to play on it with me. I arranged some grandiose songs, and some simple ones. I sang words both forthright and true. Read More.

RIP Humphrey Lyttelton
I’m not normally one to make a hero out of someone, but if I ever had a hero, this guy would be it. He died 25 April at 86. And somehow I missed his passing. I must have been busy that week and didn’t tune into BBC Radio 4 as I normally do. But when I clicked... Read More.

A touch of culture
So, the Nova Scotia Multicultural Festival happens this weekend (June 20-22). Cokebaby and I have plans for a puppy playdate at Shubie Park with Ben so we're still trying to figure out how to juggle the two. Read More.

A Voyage Long and a People Strange
Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange, a history of the discovery of the New World, starts with his trip to L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. L'Anse aux Meadows is a tiny fishing village in northern Newfoundland and the site of the first known Viking settle... Read More.

I Need Your Help
I'd like an opinion on which painting I should use to advertise my upcoming exhibit with. I've narrowed it down to five choices. If you could leave a comment, or vote (if I get my polling application to work), that would be awesome. Read More.

The Marmer Files, Vol. II
Because it annoys my critics, and pleases my fans, I shall now follow a serious UFO post with another installment of the Marmer Files. Read More.

I love this record, baby, but I can't see straight anymore
I'm big big big into music. I've been to Dolly Parton and Alicia Keys concerts. My playlists show Bloc Party rubbing elbows with Armand van Helden. Like Deutlich, I like it in all musical shapes and sizes. Read More.

Clouds
Sorry for reposting an old picture but I still don't have a scanner and this painting just sold.. I find it so hard to sell originals and I have no idea why. Maybe I paint and tell stories for myself? And have a bit of a shock when I have to let something go. Read More.

Season Premiere: Weeds - The Birds Are After Her
If I were to make a list of the things I enjoy about Weeds, which began its fourth season tonight on Showtime, at the end of last season, it would have included a number of things. It would have included the most infectious theme song since The O.C., the no-no... Read More.

This Week's Haul...Is Not Happening.
Alright, so it's pretty clear that I'm not going to get my reviews up this week. I've been all busy, what with school, wedding preparations (less than a month away!) and preparing for my trip to Charlotte this weekend. Read More.

A view from the search engine couch - Alba time
Every Monday we will take a look at the top keywords that have brought people to Cuzoogle and list them for you. Alba-solutely Fabulous Last week one of Canada’s and Cuzoogle’s favourite girls climbed to the top of the keyword charts and I am sure these pict... Read More.

Just One More Book Contribution
The web site Just One More Book is celebrating its second anniversary and 400th episode promoting children's books and literarcy. They are redesigning their site and wanted to include artwork to promote the love of reading. Read More.

Concerts Announcement: Summersonic Festival
We're excited about this! I, personally, am excited for Wintersleep to come home and to see Black Keys again. For two dudes, they can certainly make themselves heard. Read More.

Martian Manhunter Week: Earth Girls Are Easy
Let's see what happens when Detective John Jones, the Manhunter from Mars, faces his greatest challenge yet...the charms of a female! Read More.

Official Halifax poetry slam competitions
One of the perks of working in the field of all things book-related is that I get invites to local events. No, my life isn't that exciting. The fact is most of the invites are often out of province and there's no way that my jet-set life would be in the public... Read More.

Young People F**king
Last night I went to the Oxford with a friend to check out the much-buzzed-about indie flick, Young People Fucking. For a movie with such an NC17 title, it was actually pretty light on the fucking. Read More.

Martin Backpacker GuitarI was in Arizona about 13 years ago and a few of us were sitting around the
I was in Arizona about 13 years ago and a few of us were sitting around the pool on night when I guy came out with a strange-looking instrument that featured a guitar’s neck and a triangular body like a shaved balalaika. Read More.

The Happening: A Brisk and Economical Chiller
Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest flick is an environmental thriller that would make a brilliant B-Movie if we still had those kinds of categories. Instead, The Happening is getting a pummelling from critics fed up with the Indian-American’s ... Read More.

Tomcat Combat: New Album, release show, FREE CDs
Quickly as the show is upon us….TOMCAT COMBAT have a new album out on Noyes Records. It is excellent. The recording done by Charles Austin and Dave Ewenson at the Echo Chamber does the band proud. This album simply sounds great [I find myself enjoying instrum... Read More.

Back in the Studio...thank God.
3 days in a row. Open 12 – 5. Even had a few folks drop in. I think one person was a bit weirded out by my red church prayer votive candles and the Gregorian sounds of Mysterium- the brothers of San'Antimo performing a mass. Read More.

13 Reasons to Read Resisting Command by Jennifer Leeland
I took one look at this cover and knew I had to read this new release by Jennifer Leeland. I can't resist a man on his knees. Read More.

Hans Christian Andersen's Paper Cuttings and Children's Literature Inspired Travel
This tiny paper rocking chair was made over 125 years ago by Hans Christian Andersen. Apparently he used to construct elaborate paper cuttings while telling his stories. You can view some of them in the Digital Collections of the Odense City Museums site. Read More.

Alien Worlds #3
The third issue of Alien Worlds magazine will be hitting stores on June 19th. You can get the low-down on what's inside here, but I think it's a safe bet to call this one the "issue most likely to annoy Alfred Lehmberg", as Stuart Miller has included an interv... Read More.

A code to crack from Pulitzer winner Brooks
I should start by saying that this is not the kind of book I would normally pick up. I will also risk losing the reader entirely by saying that this book reminds me of The Da Vinci Code. If you’re still with me, I can elaborate. People of the Book is in m... Read More.

Kyle’s Six Pix - Vol. 44
Thanks to the musical ear of a man simply known as Kyle, every week Cuzoogle will feature six songs/videos that you should check out. This week Kyle is liking the sounds of The Old 97’s, Radiohead, Kevin Drew, Dr. Dog, The Gutter Twins and of course his No. 1 ... Read More.

10% of nothing is still nothing!!
I get so pissed off with film and TV people. I’m sitting in the PaperChase Cafe this morning. I’m a regular and see and hear lot of stuff go on, and I know that a lot of theatre, film, and television types go up there for meetings. Read More.

Today's Painting
Like my teachers, Fritz Brandtner and Lucy Jarvis, I have always been interested in "social realism" and the plight of the working class. Here's my version, untitled. Read More.

Martian Manhunter Week: Play Ball!
Due to the recent death of a beloved DC character, I hereby declare the next seven days at Living Between Wednesdays to be MARTIAN MANHUNTER WEEK Read More.

Follow a Stand In on the Sets of Films and TV Shows
I'm a big fan of Twitter, which is the beautifully simple text-based update community that allows you to share the mundane and profound details of your life as it happens. Read More.

The seven: More shows you should watch
Every Wednesday Cuzoogle will feature The Seven which is a list of whatever we feel like. Submit your seven on whatever theme you want today and it will be posted in the coming weeks. Read More.

Live Review - Islands: The Man is an Island
The May 29th Islands show at the Phoenix Theatre was hottly anticipated for several reasons: it would be the first show I’d attend in Toronto, I’d tried and failed to see both Islands, and the Unicorns in the past and I just really loved their last record “Ret... Read More.

Quick Hi and a Few Reading Notes
Sorry for the radio silence from this end. The house has been sitting on my head. It's a big house. And apparently my computer is jealous and upset that I'm no longer paying any attention to it -- it's moving v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y (talk about passive-aggressive... Read More.

Maritime Beatle Event Fulfills the Fans
Last weekend’s Martime Beatle Event thrilled all the lovers of The Beatles and those forever in tune with 1960’s music. Again Hal Bruce filled the stage with eager performers who combined a huge Beatle repertoire with songs from other groups of the 1960’s for ... Read More.

Happy Drawing Day 2008
This is image is my contribution to Drawing Day 2008. It is all in ink. I have not illustrated in ink since art school so it was really nice to try this way of working once again. It was a challenge to show the bird in flight without actually drawing anything ... Read More.

This Week's Haul: Grab Bag Week
Every four to five weeks or so I hit what I call the 'grab bag week.' This was one of those weeks. The big titles this week were, of course Buffy and Dark Tower, but since I don't read those I get an odd selection of sidekicks and minor characters. With a coup... Read More.

New Painting: Breakaway
The paintings are finally starting to pile up! Hope I'm done in three weeks, I'm running out of time. This one has a much-needed looseness and brightness, it was time to lighten things up a bit. Read More.

Thanks for nothing, Samantha Jones
Why is it that some people still think that fighting stereotypes with stereotypes is okay? Read More.

beautiful games
it’s the eve of euro 2008, and oh boy am i excited. this afternoon i convinced myself that i have (1) the time and (2) the money to subscribe to all the canadian sports channels in order to get my fill for the next month. Read More.

Bookworms' delight
Everyone who knows me, knows I'm an avid reader. And it's not just because of my kick-ass job. So, I can't help but get excited when I get press releases like this one: Read More.

To die in your own wee, or on your own wii?
I bet Martin McDonagh never thought there'd be a Wii when he wrote that brilliant passage in A Skull in Connemara about dying in a potty of wee. Read More.

Blog shout-outs
I've been under the weather the past couple of days. Between a bad cold and the cold loneliness from Bryan going away for the whole summer, (haha, I'm not that pathetic. No, really! Okay, maybe a little), I haven't been up to blogging. Not wanting to leave all... Read More.

Fewer Emergencies: Opaque & Fascinating
The Halifax-based theatre company Angels And Heroes has delivered the work of yet another playwright previously unknown in Nova Scotia to the live stage. This time out it is the ferocious British absurdist writer Martin Crimp, whose three-part play Fewer Emerg... Read More.

green tree green lamp
Here's a thing from a series that I've been sort of working my way around for a while...I might still work more on this. We shall see! Read More.

13 Reasons to Read Law of Averages by Wylie Kinson
Law of Averages is Wylie Kinson's second Ellora's Cave release, and I was squealing like a fan girl when I got a chance to read it. With a British rock star as the hero, I knew I'd fall in love with him even before I read the first sentence. Read More.

I am a Canadian Idol virgin
OK, I admit it. I am no longer an American Idol virgin. I watched the show this year beginning-to-end. And I must say, I enjoyed it, thanks in no small part to the excellent and hilarious post-show deconstructions of BeckEye and Chancelucky. Read More.

Did Lost’s Flashforwards Spoil Its Own Finale?
As you may have read, earlier this week I had the privilege of being a guest on the second episode of the /Filmcast, the official podcast of SlashFilm.com. Read More.

Steve Nash got one, where is Cuzoogle’s?
Talk about getting snubbed. This year’s inductees to Canada’s Walk of Fame were announced and we did not see Cuzoogle on there! Steve Nash, comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, singer kd lang and filmmaker James Cameron are among the latest inductees. Read More.

The Dreaded In-Between Time
I once watched a documentary on a Canadian artist who stated that she tried to work on projects that lasted in increments of 5 -10 years so that she didn't' have to face, as often, the depression that usually sets in post project. Read More.

But my plan was so good...
The Brewery tour on Saturday was a blast. I've never been thrown into a party environment where I knew so few people and discovered one at a time how awesome they all were. That says something about the type of people Mojo gravitates too (tooting her horn here... Read More.

The Strangers: It's nothing terribly original but surprisingly effective
Texas cinematographer Bryan Bertino has knocked one out the park with The Strangers, his first directoral effort. Tense, creepy and minimal, it’s the definitive contemporary scary couple attacked by weirdos in a remote cheepie house. Keeping the cast small,... Read More.

The Real: The Young Buck and The Chainless
The Young Buck and The Chainless from jeff on Vimeo. I can't believe how fast they put this together. LOL @ "With all of Curtis' enemies it could have been Jeffery, or Joe, or Jason or Jayceon with a Y" Read More.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I make it no secret that I'm a huge fan of Indiana Jones. From the time Raiders of the Lost Ark came out through the awful mess of The Temple of Doom and the redemption that was The Last Crusade, I loved every crooked grin and cheesy moment. Read More.

The Peer Gallery of Contemporary Art
I’m not sure that I’ve ever mentioned it here, for it’s a failure that somehow hits very close to home. But years ago, my first web design project was to create A Gathering of Artists, a site to promote the wonderful artists and artisans who live in Atlantic C... Read More.

Rabbits! Spoiler Warning (or, Stick To The Small Screen)
And in the end, The Sex and the City movie was like a knockoff handbag; cute, cheap and painfully unsatisfying. Read More.

Lars and the Inflato-Chick
I have to thank the Bad Tempered Zombie for putting me onto the flick Lars and the Real Girl. Had it not been for her review and encouragement, I probably would have given this flick a miss. I mean, come on. A movie about a guy who falls for an inflato chic... Read More.

Cautious Optimism: Awaiting the Return of “The Mole” to ABC
I loved The Mole. It was a reality show that did a lot of things right, many of which I could list for hours on end (And that my Elder brother waxes nostalgic about in this old blog post, although the YouTube videos are dead), but there is one that needs to b... Read More.

New Painting: Devil's Paint Brush
This was my favorite wildflower when I was a kid. It looks a lot like a dandelion, only red and orange around the edges, and smaller. Unlike a dandelion, it was a real treasure to find one. Read More.

3rd Maritime Beatle Event Picking Up Steam
The 3rd Maritime Beatle Event is only a week away and ticket sales have been going quite well. headlined by the Hungarian-based band The Blackbirds it proves to be an awesome event. Read More.

"Rock Band" versus iTunes
Single sells five times as many copies in “Rock Band” versus iTunes Following a recent report that many bands were signing on to Guitar Hero and Rock Band as a new way to distribute their music comes the news that singles released in the games are outselling ... Read More.

Halifax's Maddison Avenue: Maroon 5 Meets Steely Dan
Halifax-based rock quartet Maddison Avenue are the lastest entry to the East Coast's musical sweepstakes. And while the band has been around for a couple of years - they managed to score a much-desired showcase when the Junos were held here two years ago - ... Read More.

13 Reasons to Read Loyalists and Layabouts by Stephen Kimber
Once upon a time, twenty-three years ago actually, I worked as the daytime babysitter for Stephen and Jeannie Kimber. At the time he was a journalism professor at the University of King's College in Halifax, and together they also published a magazine called C... Read More.

Dance baby, dance
Speaking of events, do I ever have one for you. One of the cult classics will be gracing Halifax screens this week - Dirty Dancing. Read More.

Back to Work
As I write this I am procrastinating. I can see my studio from where I am sitting but I have thought of a dozen things that need doin' before I go there. First of which is update my blog. The second is update my i-pod with more Andrea Bocelli. Read More.

The Lolita Effect
Dr. Gigi Durham has written a book called The Lolita Effect, The Media Sexualization of Girls and What We Can Do About It. For reasons that are very near and dear to our hearts, Tempest and I have read several books that talk about teenage sexuality, body ima... Read More.

Not Jones-ing for another fix.
Over the weekend, I was forcibly dragged taken out to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was never a huge fan of the original Indy flicks, but since it's one of the boyfriend's favourite series and he is abandoning me going to spend the ... Read More.

An evening with Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett was on stage Monday night at a new restaurant in town, and I was lucky enough to get a great seat. It was less a concert and more like being invited into his living room for a performance for friends and family. Read More.

Paul Kimball - Communist??
A certain wacko in the Czech Republic has been braying lately about how I'm a communist because my company is called Redstar Films. Of course, this charge is patently ridiculous... Read More.

So You Think You Can Do This?
I have a guilty Reality TV pleasure (ok, quite a few - but this one's my favourite) in "So You Think You Can Dance". Although it's still in the kind-of-boring audition stage, THIS was on last night and I can't stop watching it. I honestly have trouble doing a ... Read More.

Comics Are For Everybody!
Hey y'all. There's a new blog for you to check out. This one is written by my pal/bandmate/comic shop co-worker, Tiina Johns. It's over at the Shameless Magazine site (a Canadian feminist blog/magazine) and it's called Comics Are For Everybody. It aims to intr... Read More.

New Painting: Lift
A good painting day! I love this one, and though I've been told over and over that my paintings are gloom and doom, I really feel that the gloom enhances light and colour. An artist only has so much control over how their work is interpreted, but as the artist... Read More.

Where Are the Publicans?
In Victorian England the word “pub” was short for “public house.” In small towns the pub, alongside the church, was a meeting place and there were even a few hangings from the beams. In other words the pub was “public.” The MC of the pub was called a “publica... Read More.

Indiana Jones: Marvelous Filmmaking and Massively Entertaining
The long-awaited fourth Indiana Jones flick has arrived, and it offers further proof of the franchise’s enduring potency. Indiana Jones And the Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull is edge- of- your- seat filmmaking from Hollywood’s leading producer and directing t... Read More.

Where Is the Music?
I constantly hear people my age (around 45-50) say that “Music has gone to the dogs, man!” They bemoan rap and dance music, as well as the drugstore cowboys who wail about their own favorite topic: “My baby done gone.” Well, Sparky, as an oldtimer who remember... Read More.

If Bob Dylan were on American Idol...
Randy would have said he could sing the phonebook. Paula would have said she loved him for who he is. Simon would have said he had bad song choices. All I can say is thank god there was no American Idol back in ‘63 when Dylan started out. Read More.

Thunder on the Mountain
The man's voice is ridiculous. I have been describing it as what an elderly Muppet would sound like if it swallowed a dirty sock. Throw in a pack of smokes and I'd say I'm damn accurate. The concert last night was a lot of fun. Dylan's band was great, and lean... Read More.

Robert Frank, Fashion Photographer?
I knew Robert Frank used to work in advertising, he was Walker Evans assistant, and worked for Harper’s Bazaar, but I was completely unaware of his fashion photo output of the late 80’s and mid-90’s The great photo-book blog site 5B4 has and interesting comme... Read More.

"Swept" away
"May Sweeps" have just wrapped up, making this TV addict say "so long!" to many shows as they wrap up for the (short) season. In case you did not know, "May Sweeps" is the time when the Nielsen ratings group takes the networks' audience inventory. This is typi... Read More.

Poetry "Slam"
Poet Paul Vermeersch just wrote a scathing post entitled Rant: Why I hate “Spoken Word” poetry. I think that heading kind of gives you the jist of what it's about but here's the first paragraph: "Call it whatever you want – spoken word, performance poetry, ... Read More.

Storytelling is a Music Art
It’s a chicken-and-the-egg question: Which came first, the music or the lyrics? I guess you’d have to get a good definition of what each word means. If music means a cave man imitating animals or pounding on a long and lyrics means grunting to some thought the... Read More.

The Special Collector's Limited Anniversary Edition
You know one thing I really dislike…re-releases of DVDs. I know why companies do this; I mean really, they already have a digital copy of the movie, why not press it again with fancy packaging, and sell it again to the stupid ass public? Like do people actuall... Read More.

Guess: Is It Flash Fiction or Liner Notes from the 60s?
Guess whether the following is a) a bad piece of flash fiction I found on a pseudo-literary erotica site or b) the text on the back of Nancy Sinatra's 1966 album Boots. "How should I sing this?" "Like a 16 year old girl who's been dating a 40 year old man,... Read More.

Animafitti?
Check out this for an amazing work of imagination - stop motion animated graffiti - made in Buenos Aires and Baden. MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo. Read More.

Everyone’s Gone to the Moon
One of my favorite all-time songs of the ’60’s was Jonathan King’s Everyone’s Gone to the Moon. It peaked at #17 in 1965. In fact I liked it so much I recorded it in 1985. However, I never released it. It was actually a big hit Noel Harrison, Rex’s kid. Kin... Read More.

Four Random Rants
Sometimes I don't even have a purpose for posting. Sometimes I don't have enough content to fill a Word document. So sometimes I just want to rant about any random sh*t that bothers me. Sometimes they don't even bother me, they're just generally stupid. So wit... Read More.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian has more battles, less magic
The second installment in the big screen adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series is actually a little bit better than the lead-off movie, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian is darker and grander, and director Adam Adamson has a surer grip o... Read More.

Here's a man still working for your smile
I had my worries. The troubadour was older and out of practice. The range of his voice was in question, and I didn't think a long set was in store for us. I did not know what to expect from Leonard Cohen, last night, and in turn he and his band blew me away. Read More.

Iceland’s national export = MUGISON
Mugison I went to the QOTSA show last night and left with something I haven’t had in a while…a true excitement about a new band. I’m not entirely sure what more I can say other than this band were awesome and for me, the highlight of the entire evening (sorry... Read More.

Metallica's Mission: Take Your Money
I've been a Metallica fan for a long time now, just a bit longer than NIN. I've seen them 5 times, in three different provinces and one U.S. state, in the span of just over a year. I was a member of their fan club for 5 years. Today, I shake my head in disg... Read More.

Five Guv'ner Movie Classics
OK, I know what you’re all thinking. You’re thinking the words “Guv’ner” and “classics” can never coexist harmoniously in one sentence. But you’d be wrong because you see I have the most discerning taste in just about everything, especially when it comes to m... Read More.

Getting Ridiculous
I swear this is the last time. It still wasn't sitting right with me, and now I'm finally happy. Dandelions will most likely resurface in a different painting, but the hues between the yellow and blue just didn't have the kind of chemistry I wanted. What an ep... Read More.

Divorce Records - Obey Convention - Nadja Profile
Last year’s Obey Convention was excellent, but this one looks as if it’s going to overshadow it by far. Darcy Spidle, owner of Divorce Records, has been pulling some strings and has managed to pull in a variety of very excellent local and national acts. I’m go... Read More.

Iron Man Flies High
The first of 2008’s big budget summer blockbusters, Iron Man is shockingly good. Powered by a tight, economical script - by two of the team who wrote the riveting sci-fi flick Children Of Men - that cleverly doubles back on itself, delivering a doppleganger... Read More.

The Queen has a slight cold
It was the dogs’ fault Alan Bennett is an award winning writer and actor perhaps best known for having been a member of the legendary comedy group Beyond the Fringe, and for his play and screenplay The Madness of George III. His latest work, although a nov... Read More.

Snow Angels: Breaking up is hard to do
David Gordon Green’s Snow Angels is a powerful and haunting drama about contemporary families falling apart. Filmed in Halifax a few years ago, it represents a shift for the young indie filmmaker from his previous three films, all shot in his native America... Read More.

The dreaded invitation.
Do you know that it’s a well documented fact1 that the image you put on the invitation is not only used to peak people's interest in an exhibit, but at a commercial gallery is likely the first painting to sell? It's true! Read More.

Final Project
My professor for modelled forms kicks ass. His name is Scott Price, and he is one of the funniest, sweetest guys I've met in a long time. He opened me up to conceptual art in a way no one's been able to do, so cheers to him for coaxing an appreciation and enth... Read More.

Cause(way) and Effect
Causeway: A Passage from Innocence, by Linden MacIntyre is part history, part nostalgia and part coming of age. This non-fiction work chronicles the construction of the Canso Causeway that joined Cape Breton Island to mainland Nova Scotia. MacIntyre employs th... Read More.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall: a sprightly sex comedy that sings
The Judd Apatow movie machine just keeps rolling on. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a sprightly sex comedy that is - surprise, surprise - both funny and tender. The Hollywood Megaproducer (40 Year Old Virgin, Drillbit Taylor) seems to release a new film these da... Read More.

Smart People: A cinematic misfire
Fans of Halifax actress Ellen Page who are expecting the sparkle of Juno in her follow-up film Smart People will probably be disappointed. In a rather typecast role as a cranky Republican Youth high schooler - and the daughter of an even crankier and suprem... Read More.

Halifax lawyer Anne Emery chases mystery with prose
The seedy underbelly of contemporary Halifax comes to life in this trio of suspense thrillers by local author Anne Emery. Protagonist Monty Collins is a Halifax lawyer and amateur blues musician whose personal life is as complex as the mysteries he unravels. ... Read More.

The Clean House: Risky stuff but it pays off marvelously
It’s not often that a crucial new play debuts in New York City and manages to show up a mere two years later in Halifax. Well, not exactly Halifax; Sarah Ruhl’s acclaimed The Clean House is actually playing at the Dartmouth Player’s theatre across the harbo... Read More.

The Bank Job: A fine piece of Olde World cinema
Kiwi director Roger Donaldson's heist flick The Bank Job is a slick and entertaining robbery film that revisits a notorious Baker Street bank safety deposit break-in from 1971. Building in concentric circles of intrigue and suspense, the movie follows a bun... Read More.

Stop Loss: A Powerful, Haunting Film
Kimberley Peirce’s long-awaited follow-up to Boys Don’t Cry, Stop Loss, is getting the same short shrift that almost all Iraq war fictional flicks have received from the antsy American movie going public. That means that like Home Of the Brave, Redacted, In... Read More.

Katherine Barber: Facts about the Language from Canada’s Word Lady
Six Words you Never Knew had Something to With Pigs and Only in Canada, You Say are two small books by Katherine Barber, the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. She may be better known as “Canada’s Word Lady” and is a frequent guest on both CBC ... Read More.

Traffic Box Murals in Halifax
My next mural project will be painting traffic boxes at two intersections in north Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The two locations I will be painting are at Windsor at Kempt Road , and at Joseph Howe at Scot Street . I will take up to a week's time to com... Read More.

The Ventures Make Hall of Fame
It always interests me how history is re-interpreted by each new generation. For example, a month ago in Russia Vladimir Putin began rattlings that Joseph Stalin was a great leader and wanted to resurrect his memory. What that means is to reinvent the man and ... Read More.

In Bruges: A collision of irony, violence and wit
The opening night film of this year's Sundance Festival, In Bruges is the feature debut by London-based Irish playwright Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, The Lonesome West). Utilizing his trademark collision of irony, violence and wit, McDonagh - who won an ... Read More.

Juno: Page Is Great; Juno Is Just Good
The long-awaited arrival of Halifax actress Ellen Page's starmaker-film Juno can’t help but be a bit of a letdown. Page is brilliant in the film. Without her, neither Jason Reitman’s paint-by-numbers direction nor Diablo Cody’s pre-fab indie movie script wo... Read More.

Atonement: Another Book To Screen Mismash
There are any number of reasons why the big-screen cinematic adaptation of the popular post-modernist novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement, doesn’t really work. One could be that old saw that great literature rarely makes good movies. The many post-modern effects... Read More.

RFM's Best Films Of 2007
Year-end Best Of lists are always a bit suspect. They tend to shortchange the first part of the year due to chronological distance; acclaimed films that haven’t opened yet further mess up attempts to keep the catalogue in some kind of decent order. That sai... Read More.

My Top 10 Christmas Tunes!
A nasty flu has been keeping me from actually seeing any live music over the past week (or live people, for that matter), however working in a mall full-time assures me that I get to enjoy more X-Mas music than is recommended for any one person. I swear, the h... Read More.

Hidden Cameras bound for hibernation.
The Hidden Cameras had a stop over in Halifax on their recent East Coast tour, helping to end 2007 with a brilliant performance at The Attic. Though the Cameras have been debuting some newer material into their set and Joel Gibb claims to have started demoing ... Read More.

I Am Legend: Good But Not Quite Great
Director Francis Lawrence almost gets the third screen version of Richard Matheson’s enduring sci-fi story I Am Legend to home base. After all, the film sports a fine performance from Will Smith in an eerily deserted New York City for the first two-thirds o... Read More.

Golden Compass: Not So Golden
American Pie producer and director of About A Boy, Chris Weitz, has made a mess of British author Philip Pullman’s new fantasy movie franchise The Golden Compass, adapted from Pullman’s novel Northern Lights, part of his popular His Dark Materials series. T... Read More.

Control: One Man’s Isolation
Control, beautifully and skillfully shot in stark black and white by well-known music director Anton Corbijn in his first full-length, is a film about the band Joy Division. Fans of the group will consider Control the definitive Joy Division story ever put to ... Read More.

Antigone: an interesting bit of a mess
Angel And Hero’s production of French dramatist Jean Anouilh’s World War Two rewrite of Sophocles’ Antigone is a bit of a mess. Mind you, it’s an interesting - if exceptionally uneven - mess. The chief problem is with Tyler Foley’s herky-jerky direction. Wh... Read More.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead: Veteran director Sidney Lumet at the top of his game
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is a low-key but potent triumph for longtime director Sidney Lumet. It’s a late-in-career revival for a man who’s already committed a clutch of classics to the American Cinema Cannon, including masterworks like 12 Angry Men, ... Read More.

No Country For Old Men: Larded with black humour
The Coen Brothers have returned to the glories of their greatest films, Fargo, and Miller’s Crossing, with their latest work, a screen adaptation of novelist Cormac McCarthy’s book, No Country For Old Men. Dark, taciturn and yet larded with black humour, No... Read More.

Beowulf - Pride, Lust, and 3D
Much ado has been made in regards to Beowulf, the adventure-fantasy that was shot to be seen in 3D IMAX. While 3D is something that adds to the movie going experience, the visual gimmickry can just as easily take away from the storyline. In the case of directo... Read More.

Where is Jason Collett?
It’s been close to two hours since the guy was supposed to call me to do this interview. Sipping tea and reading Illich, waiting on a phone call that just ain’t coming, like some poor heartbroken schoolgirl (minus the Earl Grey and anarchist social theory). Do... Read More.

Afterlife Bar & Grill 2
Afterlife Bar & Grill - Episode 2 Read More.

A Mecca of intense indie rock
Last Friday at the Marquee wasn’t just a release party for the Medium Mood CD, it was a powerful testament to the diverse and unique sounds that the Halifax indie scene has to offer. It was shocking to see the club I associate most with hip-hop and thug life i... Read More.

The Mist - A study in mist-ifying circumstances
Whatever form it takes, be it zombies, a super virus, or a massive meteor, the apocalyptic disaster movie hinges on one question that almost all of us who have seen one of these flicks have asked ourselves: what would you do in the same situation? Now, I’d... Read More.

Wintersleep Bring It Home
Halifax's Pier 21 is a Canadian landmark, its fame grown from a history steeped in immigration, when in years gone by it acted as a gateway to Canada for those from far away. Last night, however, the Cunard Centre, situated right behind the historic landmark, ... Read More.

Sci Fi Play, Doing Time, To Get Halifax World Premiere
Halifax will be the site of the world premiere of a new Science Fiction-themed play in the last week of November and the first day of December. Kansas City, Missouri’s Mac Tonnies - a world-renowned author of After The Martian Apocalypse and controversial p... Read More.

Delahunt Dazzles with SNS
Pianist Walter Delahunt dazzled in a concert with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax Thursday. Delahunt, a native of Wolfville who has performed with many of the world’s great classical musicians, was the soloist for Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A mino... Read More.

Rancid: Oldies But Goodies
Say what you will about the attack of the sell-outs, Rancid rules. I bought the self-titled album when I was, like, 14, and used to dance around listening to "Rats In The Hallway" thinking I was soooooo hardcore. I had this major crush on Tim Armstrong and whe... Read More.

August Rush: A hyperventilating musical with eye-candy aplenty
August Rush is one of those films that seems so unbelievable you can’t imagine how it actually got made. A rhapsodic melodrama with a plot that could only fit into a lumbering 19th century opera, it takes the term ‘musical’ into a hyperventilating place that m... Read More.

The two "Schus" with Symphony Nova Scotia
Canadian pianist Walter Delahunt will be playing Schumann's brilliant Piano Concerto Thursday Nov. 23 with Symphony Nova Scotia. Also on the program is Schubert's Symphony no. 4 (the "Tragic") and Respighi's suite The Birds. Delahunt is a magical perfo... Read More.

Celine Dion Feels Unwelcomed In Halifax
Celine Dion was scheduled to play at the Halifax Commons next year. She later backed out because she felt that she was not wanted in Halifax. An article in the Halifax Daily was singled out which was titled "Like her or not, it's good news" There are some n... Read More.

Medium Mood To Light Up The Marquee
The hot ticket for this weekend is at the Marquee that is hosting the CD release show for alternative rock band Medium Mood on Friday, November 23rd at 10 pm. According to band member Adam Hartling, the group has hired a team of live audio professionals to ... Read More.

Elliott Brood: An interview with guitarist Casey Laforet
The last time Elliott Brood played Halifax, guitarist Casey Laforet was floored by the response. The Brood are known for their raucous shows, but last year the reception they received was one that the hard-touring Toronto band deserves each time they take the ... Read More.

Band Troubles
I never thought it would be so hard to get a band together in Halifax, yet now I feel like it's not worth the trouble. I've been a sort of abstract drummer for years, with my own style and technique, playing with bands incorporating genres ranging from bluegra... Read More.

Picnicface Are Bringing The Funny
There is no question Picnicface is the best thing to happen to Canadian comedy since The Kids In The Hall. Call that a bold statement if you want but I stand behind it. Their steady run of hilarious videos including Powerthirst, Hey Africa, and their aweso... Read More.

Meet Me At The Seahorse
Last night the Seahorse Tavern on Arygle Street bore witness to some fantastic talent and some, uh, other. Construction and Deconstruction opened. This would be the "other". Yeah, um, not so much. I'm always wary of "bands" that only feature two members, e... Read More.

Shotgun Jimmie and his Solo Songs
Moving into a farmhouse at the onset of winter; writing songs about sleeping the days away or about life in cities now abandoned; recording a solo album in seclusion. It could be the plot to one hell of a Canadian singer/songwriter biopic, but this is what Jim... Read More.

Jimmy Rankin Is Cool
The best way, in my opinion, to start an interview is with a simple "hey. How's it going? What's up?" I'm sure that there are some purists out there who would disagree with me, but I didn't go to no fancy-ass journalism school. Luckily, Jimmy Rankin isn't terr... Read More.

It's No Joke. The Comedy Scene Is Growing.
If there is one thing that appears to be growing in this town it's the Halifax comedy scene. With a Yuk Yuk's club having opened inside the Westin Hotel, local audiences have been treated to performances by a number of well known national names including M... Read More.

Lars And The Real Girl: Ryan Gosling in a sentimental stew
London, Ontario-born actor Ryan Gosling has