🗞️ Get ready to rock

Good morning, Halifax!

I was tempted to do a full opinion piece on this topic over the holidays, but instead I laid on the couch and played Super Nintendo games while downing red wine like Dionysus. I would apologize, but it was an absolutely stellar time.

What wasn’t so stellar, in my opinion, was the announcement of headliners at this year’s Great Outdoors Comedy Festival. On that list is one Andrew Schulz, a man I find to be utterly detestable, especially considering his adoration for one Donald Trump and his involvement in the manosphere, which is corrupting young men to hate women, people of colour, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and themselves.

Before I get into this, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I love comedy. I love edgy jokes that make people uncomfortable. Comedy can push boundaries that we may not want to be pushed, but it can also open us up to introspection on why we find some thing tolerable and others not-so-much.

The discourse around what is and isn’t comedy has devolved to a shouting match between left-leaning people and right-leaning people about free speech and what comedians should and shouldn’t say. Let me be frank: I don’t care what Andrew Schulz says, good or bad. He’s an idiot—I imagine he would probably agree with me on that point.

What bothers me is that despite his past transgressions, especially at a time where Canada is fervently anti-Trumpism, the festival organizers thought it would be a great idea to bring this dude in from the States to not only rake up some Canadian dollars, but to invigorate young men who desperately need a better role model than a 42-year-old who rocks the haircut of an junior-A hockey player.

You can call what Schulz says comedy, and maybe it’s funny to some. I won’t argue that it isn’t comedy. However, I will argue that it’s dangerous to bring in a comedian who so often prefers to punch down rather than punch up. At a time where comedy should be focused on those in power, guys like Schulz would rather cozy up to them.

Funny or not, there’s a term for people like that: losers.

Below is a YouTube special from a comedian I really enjoy who is both extremely edgy and not a complete asshole. Hope you enjoy it.

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 4°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 2°

Next Day: ☀️ 1°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

MUSIC

Inventions seeks artist applicants for renewed rock orchestra concert series

The Inventions Concert Series is coming back after a six-year hiatus, and its looking for emerging talent in Halifax.

The Inventions Concert Series is a rock concert powered by a community orchestra, featuring local artists who transform their music into complex arrangements with the help of local composers. Some of these artists will have the chance to perform live alongside the orchestra at a rock concert in the late fall, drawing out hundreds of fans.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer explains the new Inventions Concert Series and its application process for emerging artists.

🤔 Need To Know

🚨 A boy has died after being attacked by three large dogs after driving past on his bicycle Saturday evening—the 13-year-old was a Grade 8 student at Shelburne Regional High School.

⚖️ Former IWK CEO Tracy Kitch admitted in court on Tuesday that she did not properly oversee her expense claims to the children’s hospital after being convicted last year of fraud over $5,000—the prosecution during her retrial estimated her personal spending amount on a corporate credit card to be over $30,000.

⚡ Opposition parties are criticizing Premier Tim Houston’s government for not fulfilling the vague campaign promise of capping power rates to the national average—Houston promised to do this during the 2024 election campaign but never followed up with any details, with the Department of Energy remaining silent on the issue.

🚙 Skip the parking, skip the stress. 50% off your first five Lyft rides — max $10/ride. Terms apply.  Discount in, full speed ahead. Hit the link to get it.*

🎸 Classic rock meets symphonic power as Symphony Nova Scotia pays tribute to the iconic music of Journey. Relive the soundtrack of a generation!*

🎤 The King of Crowd Work Returns to Canada: Ian Bagg Live in Halifax at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on January 9!*

*Sponsored Post

🗞️ In Other News

🎮 Employees at Ubisoft Halifax have formed the first video game union in North America—in an industry ripe with abuses, nearly 74 percent of employees in Halifax voted to become members of the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada.

🐄 A slaughterhouse in Shubenacadie and its owner are facing five charges each for what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency calls “serious non-compliance” when it comes to protecting animal health and food safety—allegations include not complying with requirements for handling risk material.

🌿 A judge has ordered the return of over $130,000 to a man in Eastern Shore who was suspected of building an illegal cannabis grow-op—Christian Strickland, 40, was originally arrested with more than a dozen people in a drug trafficking investigation in the Halifax area.

SPONSORED BY LYFT

Lyft offers sweet deal

Lyft is now live in Halifax. To celebrate you can get 50% off your first five rides when you sign up through the link in this newsletter. Max $10/ride.  Terms apply.
Claim your rides

🗓️ Things To Do

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 Yuk Yuks Halifax presents Dustin Searcy: Get ready to laugh the night away with Dustin Searcy, a comedian who has appeared on Apple TV, Just For Laughs Toronto and Just for Laughs Northwest. Hosted by Adam Delorey and featuring Ian Black. | Jan. 9-10 | 8PM | $25+ |

🗓 Trio Seoul : East Meets West: Blending South Korean cultural heritage with contemporary innovation, this concert features violinist Jinoo Cho, cellist Brannon Cho and pianist Kyu Yeon Kim performing at the Stage at St. Andrews. | Jan. 10 | 7:30PM | $30+ |

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The One Grus container ship departed Halifax for New York at 5am.

➡️ The STI Miracle tanker departs Halifax at 9am.

🚢 The Oceanex Sanderling container ship arrives in Halifax from St. John’s at 12:25pm.

🚢 The Algoscotia tanker arrives in Halifax from Corner Brook at 6:15pm.

➡️ The Algoma East Coast tanker departs Halifax for Charlottetown at 11pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍛 R&B Kitchen is delivering delicious shrimp, chicken and goat curry all week. Comes with white rice, mac salad and festival.

🍰 The sweets don’t need to end with the holidays. Check out Dilly Dally Eats’ new Funfetti Chocolate Chunk pastries, a sugary kick to start the day off right.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🏥 On Christmas Day, Mandy Wood died. Wood was a beloved radio host based in Truro. She was also a woman failed—systematically and repeatedly—by Nova Scotia’s healthcare system. Mandy died from a rare form of vulvar cancer that went misdiagnosed for more than a year. Mandy waited for two years to see a gynecologist, and by the time she received an accurate diagnosis, it was too late. In her final interview with Global News, Mandy made a simple, and yet devastating, request: “I need there to be something to come out of this, something positive, because I cannot have gone through this for nothing.” Opinion writer Liz LeClair writes about honouring Wood’s memory by holding our government accountable for Nova Scotia’s failing healthcare system.

🏫 A Dalhousie student had to stop studying and working due to a visa processing error after asking for a study permit extension—the extension was denied due to a missing document, but that document was submitted with the application.

🚒 The Halifax firefighters union says crews are not meeting standard response times due to staffing levels—data shows response times have only gotten slower over the years, with the fire service often missing it’s target of 14 firefighters on scene at the 11-minute mark.

That’s it!

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