I have tried giving you a chance, I have taken every paper your slaves have forced on me on the street, I never cared much for whats inside, but for the most part, whatever, its something to read. City Pizza only opened rather recently, and tragically, burned down. your headline, no matter how clever you feel it was, was NOT funny. “Fire eats top of pizza place” oh, funny, pizza, eating, the fire is eating the pizza place like a fat man eats pizza, um, no, not funny, a buisness got ruined, (I cant imagine Topcuts downstairs is doing well now, and someones home on the top floor is destroyed now) yet instead of reporting it professionally like “Local pizza place in ruins” or “Tragic fire at newest pizza shop” you just HAD to be funny and clever. Well, whoever wrote that headline, fuck you. I hope your house burns down, so I can make fun of it. I can see it now, “Poetic justice for Douchebag reporter, how does it feel jackass?”
This article appears in Apr 24-30, 2008.
while many like the Daily news because it simplified shit, that paper created lots of fucked up situations that make this city look second rate.1) the editor that allowed the headline of the David Roddenheiser article about Celine Dion didnt reflect the views of the commentary but to get a reaction outta people, made the article sound negative towards her announced concert. He actually was speaking about how that wasnt a lot of people’s first choice but that an artist of her stature would be able to draw the masses to fill the park. Of course with GLARING negative headlines, someone’s attention was drawn to it and it got back to her people. 2) that clown Lisa Blackburn tosses out some commentary about boxing day shopping, insulting the rest of the country, saying they got it wrong and that what her family does on boxing day shouldnt be interrupted so her family can stay home together. While that is fine and dandy for her family, $25 million in online sales in a province that only generates a daily average of $1.2 million shows that her opinon wasnt shared. Also, for a paper to make that a headline, spits in the faces of those that do work on boxing day in a non-essential occupation, such as gas stations, drug stores, tv stations, new reporters, bus drivers, cab drivers in the face. She tried to make it seem as though those that work in retail need a break that other occupations do not get.OP’s example is to be expected from a paper that is the reincarnation of a paper that failed in its first form.
i spent a lot of time working in retail as a student, and while i know this is a played out debate, i have to speak for those who make sunday shopping possible. it’s easy for people with a bit of tenure in a professional atmosphere to talk about the employment rights of those working in “sweat shops” and say that if you dont want to work on sundays, you dont have to. it’s not that simple. i worked at a grocery store and EVERYONE, without exception, was either a student or a single mother. we were all working 5 and 6 shifts a week already, but we didnt want to complain and have our shifts cut down to 20 hrs a week. so when they announced that they were doing a trial run of sunday shopping before the holidays, we knew we were saying goodbye to the one day we could plan around, the one day we always had off. EVERY day for me was waking up at 6 to make it to school, doing that all day, rushing to work with no supper, and working til 10:30 or later. by the time i got home on the bus, it was 11:30 and i had 2 hours of homework waiting for me. then i got up at 6 and did it all again. having a day off meant nothing bc you were ALWAYS called in and if you declined, your hours were cut down to less than part time, but on sunday they couldnt make you do anything. they said that it was to be optional for people to work, by volunteer only. but when your store gets no volunteers bc everyone has exams and others have kids that havent seen them all week, guess what? everybody has to work!! i understand that maybe it’s good for the province, i wont argue over that, but it’s hard to feel bad for people who work the same M-F 9-5 job every week, leaving them tons of shopping time, considering that now that i have to work on sundays, i literally dont have a single minute of shopping time. i have to pay my best friend to go grocery shopping for me, and my fiancee has to do all my banking so that i can provide these people with YET ANOTHER shopping day. why cant you people go to the park with their kids or spend a day organizing their house, why do you need to spend money every day of your life?
haha, oh…..oh, BOXING DAY shopping…nevermind, i just wrote a book of a post about nothing. sorry guysprobably helps to READ stuff before you comment on it eh?
I usually don’t accept the Metro when handed to me, mainly because I find it’s articles overly simplified and they never provide enough details on the issue they’re trying to talk about. The choice to go with a “catchy” headline over one that reflects the serious and dangerous matter of a large fire in a locar resturant (which could have easlily spread to nearby homes and businesses causing more damage) is just another strike against an already failing paper.I agree with you Homie, on the Daily News, the only thing that I liked about it over all other newspapers was the easy to read format. I hate having to unfold a two foot long pile of paper like when I read the Chronicle Hearald (which is a much more thorough paper).
curious silver….. have you thought about this……you work in a grocery store, how stupid does this sound, “on the days you suggest stores be closed, holidays or sundays, why is it you can buy a cup or coffee, a burger and fries, but you cant buy the things like an oven or a coffee maker on them same days”You are essentially saying that it is stupid to spend money on a sunday. What about all those that are out working? In order for you to get your food to your store, the farmer worked 7 days a week. The animals have to be fed. Even if your grocery store is closed, many things that affect that grocery store are still working. That is right, at the suppliers of the food, processess for many foods do not get shut down. They work them same holidays that you request off. Long haul drivers take time away from families, just to bring you bananas for you to sell. Yes they do make more money, but you didnt use that as your rationale for the time off, you cited family.Ok, so your family get to stay home on boxing day. What and watch tv? Well, there is somenone that is at the cable company 24 hours, many shows are broadcast live, and those people should be home with family. What if your kids want to go to a movie on a holiday or sunday, you would condone that? what about the workers at the theaters, you arent supporting them having the right to stay home. Have you purchased a newspaper the day after a holiday? Guess how many people it took to make that paper, from the reporter that made some story about a church holding the super easter egg hunt, to the report of the local polar bear dive. Those people all worked. What about the people that worked at the pressess? they start making your paper at 10 pm that night. If family time is the reason for holidays, when the hell does a pressman sleep to ensure that you that had the entire day off to chill with family, and can wake up to your newspaper…….. when are they supposed to sleep.As i stated earlier in another post. All too often, we look at the simple version of something without looking at the implications of the suggestion. Why should it be mandated that someone that works retail be compelled to a forced day off but not other occupations that DIRECTLY affect retail? Also, is it fair to the doctor that comes off 5 consecutive days off and goes back in a couple of days to be forced to jam all his shit that he needs to do into one day? That is the reward for having one of the most important jobs ever? Close shit?
but yes silver…….FUCK that metro paper
I’ve never accepted it. I just don’t understand why we need to waste more paper. I do sympathize with the people handing it out. They look very uncomfortable. I always make sure to greet them pleasantly, and I admire their ability to put themselves out there. Not for the weak of heart. Some people are pretty rude to them.
I like it because I get a free crossword to do. Pabst Blue Ribbon!
but if we look at it like that, why cant banks and government offices be open weekends too? why is it that i try to call my CS number about my phone not working, i have to wait til monday to talk to a real live person? im not saying that i, personally, or only the others in my occupation should get the day off just because we want it, im saying that if the general public has a legitimate NEED for retail outlets to be open sundays, why cant they have the same attitude about government offices? i would have no problem with working a sunday, if i had other days to do my personal errands. but see, that would require govt workers to give up their weekends and we’d have a riot on our hands. it’s hard to look at sunday as just any other day, considering i cant do my banking, i cant go apply for EI, i cant apply for a passport, i cant get my ID renewed after leaving it on top of a toilet at Oasis last night, i cant go to my family doctors office, i cant get a haircut or go tanning in 90% of places, and the list goes on. so why is shopping so high on everyone’s list of priorities?
the answer is simple why we cant force banks and doctors to work 7 days a week. They are private business. You cant compel a private business to open. There is no law on any book saying a business has to open. Just like there is never and will never be a store that has to open on a sunday. They do it because they chose. Just like a store in a mall knew its hours were deteremined by the mall owners. Not your fault as an employee, but part of the bullshit that goes into working in a mall. As for government offices, its a revenue thing. In order to open them offices, you need to hire extra staff or take from the staff during the week, slowing up service on them days, to make for shit on closed holidays. Who pays for those offices to be open? We do. How do we pay that shit…. taxes. Now is it fair to open the motor vehicle place paid for by taxes of people that dont drive? They already pay enough. Not only that, motor vehicle registration isnt a for profit thing. It is a service. It provides you with your annual shit. It is only going to get X amount of dollars from you each year. Staffing costs and shit like that are covered by the fees you pay for these stickers and shit like that….. now if you are prepared for those fees to skyrocket because you want some conviences…….. then go the fuck ahead. You losing your ID and wanting the convience to get it on a sunday or holiday, shouldnt affect my taxes. A store opens, that has nothing to do with my taxes. There is law that protects those that want the time off. The same laws that grocery store workers, and gas station workers must use. If you are afraid to use them, that shouldnt be pushed on me and take away my choices to do shit. If i want to work, i should at least have the choice to. My employer should have the right to give me a shift if he or she chooses. If there isnt enough of us that can work, the store closes. TO suggest they would fire us is stupid as they cant just train 50 people for a christmas rush. Many people are without family here. Many students could make the extra cash and be cool with it. I mean look at how many people go for a family skate at the local arena…….. are those people forced to work? Look how many hockey tournaments are held boxing day. All the hotels and food places that serve them….. they are all working. Lets look outside the box. Those workers have to use a labor law to get outta work….. so should you.
OP, I agree strongly that any media attempt to make word fun with someone tragedy is in extremely poor taste…It reminds me of a certain smug-faced potato-headed asshole on the 6PM TV news who a couple months ago came on with a lead-in line that went something like:”Well today this ladydriver didn’t quite make it a drive-thru…” Cut to the picture, it showed a totalled car driven halfway under the middle of the trailer section of a T.Horton transport truck…Yeah really fucking funny…. Last day I ever watched that newsshow…
the metro is the worst paper ever!
Oh, Homie, I didn’t say anything against Sunday shopping, that was Anony. Personally I don’t care either way whether people work on sundays or not. Where I work and where my hubby works, there has always been a 7 day work week, we just end up working whatever 5 days the bosses decide we work. I’m kinda happy that retail outlets and grocery stores are open 7 days now because if by chance I’m off on a sunday and need to pick something up, I no longer have to wait until the next day I’m off that isn’t sunday to get whatever item I need.Oh, and while it would be awesome if a government business would be open on weekends…. can anyone really think that the government would willingly give away it’s weekend off… I highly doubt it.
I’d like to add my two cents to the Sunday Shopping debate, since that’s what this thread has turned into.Whe I was in high school, I worked at a certain fast food outlet. Almost every single Sunday, I graced its arches and went to work. People wanted the food I served them, even though it was “the Lord’s Day”. When I was in college, I worked summers at the local pool as a lifeguard. Again, every single Sunday, I went to work. People wanted to frolick in the pool, even though it was “a day of rest”. Then, after I graduated from college and was looking for my first real job (one related to my career, that is) I took a job waiting tables. Lo and behold, I worked every Sunday so people could have a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine, even though it was a “day for families”.Not once did anyone (including those in retail) EVER express concern for me having to work on Sunday. They had no problem taking advantage of the services I was providing. No one ever cried foul, insisting I get a day off to rest my feet and spend time with my family.So, my question is: what makes retail workers so special? Why do we (as a society) go to bat for them, but not the hundreds of others who work every single Sunday?
Good points. I think the real problem with introducing sunday shopping was that it was a big change to the status quo. The people it was going to negatively impact the most, was people working in retail, so they cried foul. Here we are now, Sunday shopping intact, not too many people bitching about it anymore, families are no more dysfunctional, the parks are no less empty on sunday from everyone hanging out at the malls. Crisis averted. I can understand why the people working in retail were complaining….they were uncertain of how their schedules were going to change, or whether they would get their hours cut if they refused to work on sundays…But I haven’t heard much from them since Sunday shopping came into effect.
While I hate to tread down the sunday shopping path again, Jennie’s post highlights a bigger problem with society. Why are we so concerned with what other people have and expect fairness so long as we are the judge of what’s fair. Every job has its perks, benefits and downsides. Life guards may get better wages, waiters may get tips, some jobs get paid sick days, etc. As individuals we decide these variables going into the job, and can choose to fight to maintain the variables we like at the job, and fight to improve our work situation. Society worked out some of these concepts during the industrial revolution. But my gosh, if we continue down this road of “everybody else has to” it’ll be a matter of time before companies realize they can pay their employers ten cents an hour because that’s what the Majority of the World earns. After all why should we be any different. They have to do it. Please people, quit trying to paint the world with your version of equality. Celebrate other peoples success and fight for your own.
You make some good points CC.I think maybe you’ve missed my point, or maybe I didn’t make it clear. This is what I was trying to say.We decided as a society we wanted Sunday Shopping, and the government made that happen. All of a sudden there was enormous public outcry. How dare we take away the rest time of these workers! When on earth are those in retail going to see their families? It was though we were suggesting something that had never been done before, when in reality thousands of Nova Scotians were already going to work every Sunday.The question no one has ever answered in a satisfactory manner is why the sympathy for retail workers, but not all the others?P.S. Lifeguards made minimun wage (with no tips) when I did the job. I don’t know if it’s changed since then.