Friday, April 30, 2004
This pinhead is now on notice. Bill O'Reilly, next time you call for a boycott of Canada, and for reasons that leave a lot to be desired -- two deserters seeking refugee status here...spare me -- put your money where your mouth is: stop using your gas-guzzling limo. Oh, sorry, you do realize that Canada is the single largest exporter of crude oil and petroleum products -- when combined; third largest when just crude oil -- to your country, right? Please, by all means, boycott your largest -- and NAFTA-guaranteed -- supplier of energy; for the oil component, I'm sure that Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC will open the taps for you, and at reasonable rates. Don't worry, boycotting your largest trading partner will benefit other pro-American regions, not just the Middle East.
Right about now, I could assign you a much-deserved moniker like some other pompous gits in the conservative press, but I won't; instead, I'll say that you have now deprived your fellow citizens of the right to ever complain about Canada's anti-Americanism. Next time I'm asked why many Canadians dislike or distrust the U.S., I just need to say two words: "Bill O'Reilly." I don't need to mention the constant barrage of accusations, lies, and threats from you and the rest of America's right-wing media -- I just need to say your name; that will encapsulate our feelings. Canada thanks you for the exemption: your country's favorite whipping boy need not explain any contempt it may feel from now on.
How's that for pithy, asshole?
Follow-up: And Fox News wonders why the CRTC rejected the network's application to broadcast in Canada? One would think that it would be obvious to anyone with an ounce of intelligence that continually shitting on Canada -- or lying about it, as O'Reilly did when he claimed that marijuana had been either legalized or decriminalized here -- and trying to set up shop here are mutually exclusive activities. Then again, maybe that's the problem with Fox News: what intelligence?
Follow-up: The following November, Fox News finally got its wish, which begs the question: How about that boycott, eh? I would have thought that threatening nonintercourse, on the one hand, and broadcasting -- making money -- in the embargoed country, on the other, would be mutually exclusive. Ah, but this is Bill O'Reilly, and a hypocritical loophole for one's employer is but a mere trifle for such a sanctimonious prick.
Follow-up: You're not going to believe this, but O'Reilly and I see eye to eye on the fate of the deserters.
posted by media_dystopia @ 08:33 [ link | top | home ]
Thursday, April 29, 2004
How can this possibly be a bad thing? Many thanks to Canadians for Equal Marriage for eloquently summarizing my feelings with its Equal Marriage Statement:
For many Canadians, marriage is a profoundly meaningful way to demonstrate love and commitment. Denying anyone that choice is simply not fair. Same-sex couples should have the freedom to marry in a civil ceremony and to have that marriage legally recognized, and religious communities should have the freedom to perform or not perform such marriages.
While I'm at it, I should also thank campaign partner Egale Canada for its comprehensive tracking of the same-sex issue. My gratitude stems from the fact that this is a cause that just makes sense to me; let's face it, giving people rights they should already have is a no-brainer. I don't know about you, but I find it unconscionable that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms currently allows for separatist hatemongering -- Canada being the victim -- but not same-sex marriage. (Gee, I wonder which is better for the country.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 07:21 [ link | top | home ]
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Go home, Richard Clarke. Go home and piss on your own government -- again -- instead of insulting ours. We don't need you coming here and patronizing us by pointing out what we already know: Canada needs to tighten its security and boost its small and neglected military. (Pointed out the day before the government is set to announce a new national security policy, of course.) But saying that we've gotten a free ride and haven't contributed in the last few years, that's when you earn a big "fuck you" and inclusion on the list of arrogant Americans who, seeing their neighbor through the blood-red-colored glasses of the world's only superpower, think that shaming Canada will fix that which they think is militarily wrong with it. (Condescension is a poor -- and small-minded -- substitute for constructive criticism.)
I can think of some other folks who might take offense, Mr. Clarke: the families of the overworked and overextended Canadian soldiers serving tour after tour with UN and multinational missions around the world, especially those whose loved ones came home in flag-draped coffins -- some thanks to your country. The way I see it, if what you say is true, and our troops' near-death experiences really are part of some exotic sightseeing program funded by the Canadian taxpayer -- I'm paraphrasing, of course -- then we should bring them home; that way, they won't be in harm's way while not contributing. Asshole.
Oh, and shame on those of you in Ottawa who lined up to get an autographed copy of his book.
posted by media_dystopia @ 09:03 [ link | top | home ]
Thursday, April 22, 2004
We have a superiority complex? I just caught John Gibson on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. According to the Fox News gasbag, Canada is part of the "the Axis of Envy." Huh? I think he should do himself a favor and look up the word "envy"; applying it to Canadians in regards to Americans proves that he has no clue what it means -- unless, of course, the definition is, "thank God we're Canadian."
Also, it should be explained to him that he's just proven why there's anti-Americanism here: a steady stream of disparaging bullshit flowing from the mouths and pens of America's right-wing blowhards (never mind the actions of the Bush administration). Hey, asshole, you can't stir the shit -- say, by writing and promoting an inflammatory book -- and then complain about the smell. Treat Canada and Canadians with respect, and we'll return the favor. (Not even your ambassador has been able to do that.) If, as you so effectively demonstrated tonight, you're going to continue to play the arrogant bully, then expect a negative reaction. Duh.
Oh, by the way, Jean Chrétien is no longer prime minister; pinning our attitudes towards the U.S. on a leader after his political rival has succeeded him and purged his supporters from cabinet makes you look all the more ignorant and petty -- not that lying on the air tonight by saying that Canada opposed America's right to self-defense didn't already do that.
Follow-up: Congratulations, John "Axis of Envy" Gibson, you've earned yourself a moniker and a place on my ever-growing roster of Canada-bashing media pricks; Pat "Soviet Canuckistan" Buchanan, Robert "Wienies" Novak, and Jonah "Bomb Canada" Goldberg welcome you. (Read the condescending, denigrating, threatening words of these conservative zealots and tell me that they don't have a hand in Canada's growing distrust of America.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 02:33 [ link | top | home ]
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Television for real men. I've been watching a lot of W Network and HGTV recently; in fact, I'm flat-out hooked on the former's The Shopping Bags and the latter's (and Life Network's) Real Renos. I'm also developing a fondness for the seemingly ubiquitous host of Debbie Travis' Painted House and Debbie Travis' Facelift, although more for her delicious accent and alluring face -- you can tell she was a model -- than for anything to do with painting and the like. As far as hosts go, though, I still prefer the beautiful "bags"; journalists Kristina Matisic and Anna Wallner have a great rapport, making their well-written and informative consumer-affairs program all the more entertaining. As for the video-verité show about the renovation process, its lack of estrogen is proof positive that I don't just watch these sort of programs for the attractive women. Truth be known, the journalistic or documentary-style presentation of information is my thing; I especially like it when the entire package works well and feels right, as is the case with each of these shows. (The hotties are just a bonus.)
Follow-up: Add HGTV's Holmes on Homes to my list of favorites. The physically imposing host again proves that I'm not just into these sorts of shows for the women.
Follow-up: Even the cartoon version of Debbie Travis in the animated title sequence of Painted House is sexy!
posted by media_dystopia @ 23:02 [ link | top | home ]
Sunday, April 11, 2004
You're joking, right? According to the National Geographic Society's Almanac of World History, Kim Campbell is one of the 50 "most important political leaders" in history. (Feel free to snicker for a moment or two; I certainly did.) The society does know that being likened to Kim Campbell during an election campaign is the kiss of death of Canadian politics, right? Yes, she's historically significant as Canada's first woman prime minister, but we turfed her on her ass after four and a half months and decimated her party at the ballot box, in case that's any indication of how important a political leader she was. The two seats left of her majority government didn't even include her own; gender aside, how much more politically insignificant can you get? Sheesh. (If anyone needs proof of how little the U.S. knows about Canada, this is it.)
Follow-up: Say, wasn't she the minister of defence during the Somalia Affair? Leadership, indeed.
Follow-up: I would have scoffed at her inclusion had National Geographic narrowed the list to the last century or even decade, let alone all of recorded history. What an eye-roller.
posted by media_dystopia @ 05:14 [ link | top | home ]
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Gee, it's worse there than I thought. Apparently, Alanis Morissette's fake nudity on the 2004 Juno Awards is making waves in the U.S. Are they riled up because of her reminder of Janet's "wardrobe malfunction" and the country's prudish reaction to it? Or was it was her reference to the "true North strong and censor free"? The fact is, though, her statement is a truism when Canada is compared to the U.S. Thankfully, we generally have a liberal attitude towards nudity, sex, and so-called "foul" language on our airwaves. (Depending, of course, on context and time of day; Sexual Secrets opposite Sesame Street doesn't go over well with anyone.) If folks south of the border have any doubts, they should sample some of our basic cable after 9 p.m. -- the soft-core porn is great. If Ontario and Quebec's television schedules are any indication, late-night Fridays are the raunchiest in English Canada, while nightly T and A is a given for French-Canadian viewers (who also get to watch dildo infomercials if they stay up late enough). Speaking of which, I suspect Americans would be a lot more blasé about risqué programming if they'd had years of exposure to the likes of "Bleu Nuit" as those of us in and around Quebec have had.
Follow-up: Oh, I forgot about America's looming war on porn. (There's a lot I could say right now to express my utter dismay; however, I'll leave the derisive commentary to those who've had these puritanical zealots foisted upon them.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 02:47 [ link | top | home ]
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Infuriating and depressing in both official languages. Although I have no desire to comment on the shudder-inducing sponsorship scandal -- or, as I like to think of it, Jean Chrétien's poison pill -- there is one thing that struck me as I watched Marc LeFrançois's testimony to the public accounts committee today: the procedural bilingualism. It pleases me when English and French is so intermixed: everyone speaking their mother tongue; everyone wearing translation earpieces; everyone able to communicate without the need to butcher one of the languages. Today's witness, the recently sacked VIA Rail chief, was questioned in both languages, but usually answered in French, that which he was most comfortable with and would allow him the greatest accuracy and specificity.
Had it been a press conference, reporters would have asked questions in the language of their publication or network, and the minister or civil servant would have had to answer in that language, so as to be quoted. (Hence, notable answers in one language are usually repeated in the other, whether requested or not.) The committee, on the other hand, felt linguistically relaxed (for lack of a better description) and had a verbal interplay between the two languages -- question in one; answer in the other -- that made me feel good about Canada. I just hope viewers in Quebec felt the same way.
(As usual, I switched between the English and French news channels; I may not catch everything in French, especially when heavily accented, but at least I don't get translator rage.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 23:54 [ link | top | home ]
Coming soon to a city near you. Those fuck-wits at Protesters for Egregious and Tasteless Advertising are at it again, this time in Canada (as if they haven't offended enough people in their own country). The "neither of us is meat" campaign in a nutshell: the eating of meat can be equated to the killing of women. This, of course, being the sort of message that really endears me to an organization and its cause. If I see PETA's ads in Ottawa next month as planned, I'm going to stop by the Central Experimental Farm and pick up on some cow dung -- bull shit, actually -- so that I can fling it at the billboards. I think I'll also buy some nice, bloody steaks to whip at the ads. Because of my low-fat diet and culinary laziness, I don't buy meat (I guess that makes me a de facto vegetarian); however, it would be worth the time and expense to visit a butcher, if anything, to see the blood dripping down between the shit spatter.
Alternatively, although nowhere near as viscerally satisfying, I could submit a complaint to the Advertising Council of Canada.
posted by media_dystopia @ 14:31 [ link | top | home ]
Be still my heart! I'm a little out of the loop being in Canada and not having access to VH1, so I wasn't aware that Rachel Perry, the best-looking woman to come out of Canada's MuchMusic -- although current VJs Jennifer Hollett and Sarah Taylor are very strong contenders for the title -- had joined the American music network, becoming a star as host of All Access and Top 20 Video Countdown. I was even oblivious to the fact that she posed seminude for Maxim and Stuff. (Any more ignorance on my part, and the other guys are going to ask me to turn in my manhood membership card.)
I still remember the day that she did a stand-up on Queen Street, in front of Toronto's landmark CHUM Building, wearing a tight shirt and a thin bra, if one at all, and it was obvious that she was sporting either a bar or a ring in one of her nipples. Although I'm not usually a fan of such piercings, I am a typical male pig and was already intoxicated by her beauty, so I just about fell off my chair. (Don't worry, I won't mention any other physical symptoms.) Ladies, trust me when I say that it's little things like that -- little...protruding...things -- that make a man's day.
Now, if you'll excuse me...
Follow-up: Sorry, I forgot to mention that this post wouldn't be politically correct.
posted by media_dystopia @ 12:04 [ link | top | home ]
Monday, April 05, 2004
Not to be a defeatist, but... Although I agree wholeheartedly with the city's "Leafs suck!" mantra, and hope that the Ottawa Police Service targets drivers flying the blue and white -- I saw one of those bastards this morning -- I'm not feeling overwhelmingly confident about Ottawa's chances in the "battle of Ontario" starting three days hence. I hate to say it, but I think the 6-0 rout in Saturday's regular-season finale was a foreshadower of the Sens' eventual -- and, sadly, not unusual -- trouncing by Toronto. (For those in Ottawa who are still counting, that will make it a five-season playoff four-peat for the self-described "underdogs.") If it's any consolation, though, I don't think our blood rivals are going to get anywhere near the Stanley Cup once we're out of the way, no matter how overdue everyone down the 401 has deluded themselves into thinking it is. And before anyone sends me hate e-mail, please note that I will be happy, nay, joyous to be proven wrong about Alfie and the boys. (Besides, shouldn't my pessimism be allowed some leeway given the team's history of post-season choke artistry against the Leafs?)
Follow-up: I may be a fair-weather fan overwhelmed by an inferiority complex when it comes to my home team, but even I was filled with pride when the Ottawa Sun had the unmitigated gall to fly "LEAFS SUCK - GO SENS GO!" past the CN Tower and over Air Canada Centre. (Now that's classy.)
Follow-up: Hey, asshole, do you really need three Leafs flags on your car? Are you completely devoid of community pride? (It's either that or you're trying to cause a traffic accident; either way, you're a jerk.) I'm a Sens doomsayer and you don't see me eschewing the red, white, black, and gold. Sheesh.
Follow-up: No matter what, though, it's great to see five out of the six Canadian teams in the finals, especially provincial rivals like Ottawa and Toronto. The cities, the fans, and the game itself -- Canada's national winter sport -- all benefit from having such rabid, warlike rivalries (as evidenced by the two preceding follow-ups).
Follow-up: I was incommunicado during the April 8 series opener, so it was with a deep sense of foreboding that I tuned in to the local news after the game, waiting for word of a depressing defeat. Imagine my surprise -- and glee -- when I heard the wonderful news: the Sens beat the Leafs 4-2 in Toronto. Despite the initial win, though, I'm still a naysayer about the team's prospects. (Sorry.)
Follow-up: Two days later, I started watching Game 2, but switched it off after Toronto scored halfway through the first period -- I figured that was a good indication of things to come; I couldn't bear to watch the rest. Sure enough, it was a 2-0 shutout for the Leafs. The series is now tied 1-1. Sigh.
Follow-up: For some reason, the Sens decided to let the Leafs repeat their 2-0 shutout two days later during Game 3, this time in Ottawa. (Please, by all means, lend credence to my portends.) Toronto now leads the series 2-1. Double sigh.
Follow-up: Did someone slip Ed Belfour a Mickey before Game 4, or were two days of media reports pointing out the 138 minutes, 21 seconds the Sens couldn't score on the Leafs' goalie enough to spur them on? Whatever the reason, Ottawa won 4-1 on home ice and tied the series 2-2, staving off elimination a little while longer. (No, I don't dare get my hopes up.) The best thing about the game, though, was seeing the smirk wiped off Hugh Burrill's face the next morning.
Follow-up: Another 2-0 shutout? (Apparently, two days were enough for Belfour's Mickey to wear off.) Thanks to Game 5, Toronto has taken a 3-2 lead in the series -- one away from the Leafs moving on and the Sens hitting the links -- and, worse, the smirk is right back on Burrill's face.
Follow-up: I will say this for the Sens: they really pulled it out of their ass in Game 6, winning 2-1 in double overtime and forcing a seventh and deciding game. It's just too bad that Ottawa fans will have to wait until next season to see their team in action at home again. (I'm nothing if not consistent in my cravenness.)
Follow-up: A city dejected...again.
Follow-up: Fucking Leafs and their arrogant, boisterous, flag-waving, parasitical fans infesting Ottawa. Screw provincial pride -- regional, even -- I'm rooting for the Flames for the rest of the playoffs. (A forty-minute stopover at the Calgary airport trumps a couple years spent in Toronto and three times that in the Montreal area.)
Follow-up: Now that I've vented about those blue and white pricks, I can turn my anger inward. So, who's head should roll first? (I don't know about you, but I don't think I could handle a Toronto five-peat next year.) Using Belfour's performance as a yardstick, I'd say that a certain Marvin the Martian-sporting goalie should contact his realtor -- he may be offloading some Ottawa property soon. In the meantime, I'm going to try to resist taping the word "choke" -- all caps; maybe an exclamation mark -- on my Sens flags. (Just because it was expected, doesn't mean it wasn't infuriating and depressing.)
Follow-up: Firing Jacques Martin and two other coaches will do -- for now.
posted by media_dystopia @ 14:11 [ link | top | home ]
"What are you, nuts? Fish talk ain't sexy!" Corner Gas has supplanted Conspiracy as that which I watch over and over on tape. The show rocks -- period.
Follow-up: I've heard some critics compare Corner Gas to the now-defunct Seinfeld, the self-described "show about nothing." Although I agree that some elements of the CTV show are very Seinfeldian, I think its most important feature -- besides being laugh-out-loud funny, of course -- isn't: hope. Unlike fellow stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Brent Butt has created a feel-good show which has an overwhelming sense of hope to it. It may be about a small, Saskatchewan farming community in the middle of nowhere, but I think all Canadians can identify with it to some degree, and that makes it all the more uplifting and enjoyable. Seinfeld, on the other hand, leaves me feeling unsettled and drained of hope as I see the characters trapped by the asinine goings-on of their lives. Yes, I know, it's a bizarre reaction to a sitcom; still, it's the reason why I can't watch it anymore.
Follow-up: CTV is making more episodes of Corner Gas, right? Right? Oh, come on, you can't make something that funny and leave us hanging at 13! That's cruel!
Follow-up: You know you love a show when the first and only season is barely over and you're eager to buy the as-yet-produced DVD...and you don't own a DVD player.
Follow-up: Corner Gas is one of those shows I have to stop everything to watch because of the spasms in my diaphragm.
posted by media_dystopia @ 06:57 [ link | top | home ]
It must be spring. In case the blowing snow and -21 C (-5.8 F) wind chill weren't enough to remind me that it's April in Ottawa, having to pull over on a major road to beat the ice off the driver-side blade so that it could clear the blinding slick of wiper fluid off the windshield certainly was. Don't get me wrong, I love this kind of weather; it's just that it's more wintery now, over three months into the year, than in December -- and that's just plain depressing.
posted by media_dystopia @ 06:15 [ link | top | home ]
Friday, April 02, 2004
Let the clubbing begin! Ah, there's nothing like the sight of seal blood on an Atlantic ice floe. It's nice that they're such docile creatures -- makes it easy to trudge up and club them. One swift stroke to the doe-eyed noggin or soft, furry neck and it's lights-out for harpy. It's just too bad that sealskin and blubber muffle the metal-on-bone sound.
Said tongue in cheek, of course, for the benefit of the Humane Society of the United States, which had the audacity to put the following headline on one of its news pages: "Seal Protestors Tell Canada to Give Peace a Chance." I just about fell off my chair when I read that. Are protesters from the country that invaded Iraq -- to name but its most recent target -- telling us to give peace a chance? Are protesters from the country that has turned to unilateralism and arrogantly thumbing its nose at the world pressuring us to heed the wishes of others and to compromise? Are protesters from the country led by right-wing zealots, warmongers, and gay-bashers criticizing us for not being progressive? Are protesters from the country home to the world's largest weapons manufacturers; where the NRA and its ilk hold away; where countless animals are gunned down for sport every year (at least we have that in common); where -- never mind, the irony and hypocrisy are just too overwhelming for me to continue this paragraph.
Say, these people do realize that an overpopulation of seals, cute and cuddly though they may be as pups and even adults, eat a whole hell of a lot of fish, and that parts of economically depressed Atlantic Canada depend on catching what's left of these already rapidly depleting stocks and, alternatively, on the seal hunt itself, right? They do realize that Canada-U.S. relations (including wars we don't join), currency fluctuations, communicable diseases -- which are able to shrink Canada's vast distances, making Vancouver as close to Toronto as Mississauga -- and other factors beyond our control negatively affect the Canadian tourism/ecotourism industry, the economic alternative they're pushing, right?
Oh, that's right, these people don't live in Canada, much less Newfoundland and its vicinity. Isn't it amazing how people far removed from the seal hunt, both geographically and economically, can call for a boycott of Canada or Canadian products as a result of it? (I especially like how Hollywood actors and other rich celebrities can raise a stink about it.) I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time the U.S. does something protest-worthy and the rest of the world is told to mind its own business. And for the record, I don't hunt -- killing a rabbit with a pellet gun snuffed my hunter's instinct years ago -- and would rather not see these admittedly adorable creatures slaughtered; however, I live in Eastern Ontario, where economic pragmatism doesn't have to trump ecological idealism. (Please note that although I'm tolerant of the hunt when it's necessitated by economics and supported by science, I'm considerably less so when it's prompted by tradition -- "in their blood" -- or, worse, enjoyment.)
Follow-up: This post started out just fine, but then it degenerated. It's any wonder why I swung at this pitch in the first place; it's subject matter like this that reminds me why I have the blinders on. It doesn't help that half the post was accidentally deleted and I had to rewrite it from memory. (Serves me right for stumbling out of bed and making a few nagging edits without my glasses on.) The fact that I was able to word for word is a pretty good indication of how intensely focused I was on it.
Follow-up: Whether a fish-boosting cull or an alternative industry -- fur, for instance -- the largest seal hunt in 50 years is underway a week and a half later. Note to the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and his well-to-do, self-righteous protester ilk: clubbing and other "barbaric" practices are being replaced by shooting (something Americans can identify with) and government-imposed measures that are undeniably more humane, and Greenpeace is not campaigning against the hunt this time around. However, if they still don't like it, they're welcome to financially assist the unemployed and underprivileged of Newfoundland and its vicinity.
Follow-up: Proof positive that everything is relative: watching file footage of past seal hunts, including fervent clubbing, disturbed me a whole lot less than seeing Chef John Pritchard, host of Red Hot & Ready, chopping two live lobsters in half lengthwise, sprinkling and pouring ingredients on the still-moving halves, and throwing them, spasms and all, on the barbecue. I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. (Fucking sea bugs.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 05:57 [ link | top | home ]
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Asked while rubbing my chin, furrowing my brow, and squinting. According to Milkman UnLimited, there have been rumors circulating recently about an impending format change at Ottawa's HOT 89.9 FM, which may or may not explain why the hip-hop/new-music station's Web page was hacked a few weeks ago. If indeed the rumors are true, could there be an alt/new-rock savior in the city's future? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. (I'd try crossing my ears as well, but my head already hurts from XFM withdrawal.)
posted by media_dystopia @ 06:09 [ link | top | home ]
A slippery slope. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean I'm going to do it; as I've said before, I don't swap music online -- yesterday's ruling doesn't change that. Perhaps I'm an obstinate prude or some sort of neo-Luddite, but I still can't shake the feeling that I'm being larcenous and robbing the artists of their just rewards. In addition to having professional musicians in my family, I'm a writer -- I use that word in its broadest sense -- and it disturbs me to think that, if ever published, a work intended to support me financially could be duplicated and distributed for free, outside of my control. Yes, books are artistic endeavors, and there are those who argue that art should be free, but the term "starving artists" exists for a reason. Speaking of hunger, do swappers also think that everything at Loblaws should be free and that farmers and other food producers don't need to be compensated for their products? After all, isn't mixing music like cooking?
Point being, your copyright -- emphasis on "right" -- is rendered moot if anyone can infinitely copy your hard work and share it with the entire Web. I have no problem with downloading music when the artists have control of their work and choose to distribute it freely; it's another thing altogether when people who did not contribute, financially or otherwise, to the creations and their creators declare themselves lord high swappers of the Internet. I can sympathize with those aficionados who, like myself, have spent many years paying -- and paying well -- for music, but not with tweens, teens, and even 20-somethings who've grown up with the Internet and have come to expect digital music for free. Let me put it this way: if the amount of file-swapping one could do was proportional to the amount of money one put into the music industry, today's computer-savvy youth would be shit out of luck.
posted by media_dystopia @ 05:21 [ link | top | home ]
The appearance of competition, mall-style. U.S. consumer electronics chain Circuit City is buying Canadian company InterTAN and, therefore, its well-known stores across Canada: RadioShack, BatteryPlus, and Rogers Plus (which it operates on behalf of Rogers Wireless). The only thing that phased me about this cross-border, 990-store deal was the realization that if you visit Ottawa's Carlingwood Shopping Centre, for instance, all three of those InterTAN brands are located around the center block of the mall. Gee, and I thought Future Shop and Best Buy on Merivale Road were examples of synergistic proximity.
The InterTAN properties are similar to those big-box chains in that neither the stores nor their staffs advertise the corporate sisterhood; however, unlike them -- at least, in my experience -- if you go to, say, RadioShack and it doesn't have the battery you want, the clerks send you around the corner to BatteryPlus, whose clerks, in turn, ask if you've checked RadioShack for the out-of-stock battery. (No one at Future Shop has ever sent me across the street to Best Buy, and vice versa.) Sadly, I'm one of those naive shoppers who has a healthy respect for apologetic employees who dare to send customers to their employer's competitors -- until now, that is. Next time someone in Store A asks, "Have you tried Store B?", I'm going to skeptical about their motives and ask whether B is affiliated with A. "So, are you guys instructed to send us to your sister store in hopes of making your company look good? If so, do you get kickbacks from that store, or just a bonus from this one? Just wondering."
posted by media_dystopia @ 01:51 [ link | top | home ]