Looking for a little help here. I received the following comment and wondered if anyone could verify this information:
"Jim, unrelated to any of your posts, but word on the street is that a representative of The Flint Journal/Community Newspapers appeared at a Clio Chamber of Commerce board meeting this week with an announcement that this Sunday's editon of the Clio Messenger will be THE LAST one printed, period. Henceforth, the "paper" reportedly will be available on-line only. No knowledge as to whether others in the Community Newspapers group would be similarly dumped in their dead-tree form, but, if true for one, that would seem likely. Have you seen one lately? Scary bad example of "community" journalism at best. Oh, and here's the kicker, I'm told that this announcement was somehow presented to this particular group of local business owners as "good news." Supposedly, this was already reported on MLive, but I have not been able to find it?"
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Bawston: You're my home
Well, not really, but it is the home of my stepdaughter, Elin. We have been there several times and I can attest to many of the things on the following list, which was sent to me by my father, who received it from a friend in Burlingame, California. So, a good source.
"For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin",this is a good guideline.
I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future.
Information on Boston and the surrounding area:
There's no school on School Street , no court on Court Street,
no dock on Dock Square , no water on Water Street .
Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah": Arlington , Berkeley , Clarendon, Dartmouth , etc. So are South Boston streets:A, B, C, D, etc.
If the streets are named after trees (e.g.Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill
.If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley
.
Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave ; Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave ;
South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End.
East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End .
The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named
Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.
How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly:
**Say it wrong, be shunned**
Worcester : Wuhsta (or Woostah)
Gloucester : Glawsta
Leicester:Lesta
Woburn : Woobin
Dedham : Dead-um
Revere : Ra-vee-ah
Quincy : Quinzee
Tewksbury : Tooks berry
Leominster : Lemin-sta
Peabody : Pee-ba-dee
Waltham : Walth-ham
Chatham : Chaddum
Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset!
Definitions:
Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't.
If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is CLUB SODA.
"Pop" is DAD.
When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for TONIC WATER.
The smallest beer is a pint.
Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid
more than $7/pound, you got scrod.
It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah..
It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel.
It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub.
It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage.
It's not a purse; it's a pockabook.
They're not franks; they're haht dahgs;
Franks are money in Switzahland.
Police don't drive patrol units or black and whites they drive a "crooza".
If you take the bus, you're on the "looza crooza".
It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic. It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary.
"Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.
The Sox = The Red Sox
The C's = The Celtics
The B's = The Bruins
The Pat's =The Patriots
Things not to do:
Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd .. they'll tow it to Meffa
( Medford ) or Summahville (Somerville) .
Don't sleep on the Common. ( Boston Common)
Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.
Things you should know:
There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses,
two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).
The colored lights on top the old Hancock building tell the weatha':
"Solid blue = clear view...."
"Flashing blue, =clouds due...."
"Solid red, =rain ahead...."
"Flashing red, =snow instead...." -
except in summer;flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out!
Ahtha Impore-int Stuff
Most people live here all their life and still don't know
what the hell is going on with this one:
Route 128 South is I-95 south. It's also I-93 north.
The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it
doesn't run all night (aftaawl, this ain't Noo Yawk)..
Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a
kettle full of beer.
Bostonians.. . think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
Bostonians.. think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's)
except in "idea".
Bostonians.. think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.
Bostonians.. refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting."
Bostonians.. .always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green,
and oncoming traffic always expects it.
Bostonians.. believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.
Bostonians.. .think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.
Bostonians.. think Rhode Island accents are annoying.
Bostonians.believe that Connecticut is a suburb of NooYawk.
Send this to your friends who don't live in Boston (and the ones who do!!)
"For those of you who have never been to "Bawstin",this is a good guideline.
I hope you will consider coming to "Beantown" in the near future.
Information on Boston and the surrounding area:
There's no school on School Street , no court on Court Street,
no dock on Dock Square , no water on Water Street .
Back Bay streets are in alphabetical "oddah": Arlington , Berkeley , Clarendon, Dartmouth , etc. So are South Boston streets:A, B, C, D, etc.
If the streets are named after trees (e.g.Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill
.If they're named after poets, you're in Wellesley
.
Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave ; Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave ;
South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End.
East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End .
The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named
Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.
How to say these Massachusetts city names correctly:
**Say it wrong, be shunned**
Worcester : Wuhsta (or Woostah)
Gloucester : Glawsta
Leicester:Lesta
Woburn : Woobin
Dedham : Dead-um
Revere : Ra-vee-ah
Quincy : Quinzee
Tewksbury : Tooks berry
Leominster : Lemin-sta
Peabody : Pee-ba-dee
Waltham : Walth-ham
Chatham : Chaddum
Samoset: Sam-oh-set or Sum-aw-set but nevah Summerset!
Definitions:
Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes don't.
If it is fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is CLUB SODA.
"Pop" is DAD.
When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for TONIC WATER.
The smallest beer is a pint.
Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish. If you paid
more than $7/pound, you got scrod.
It's not a water fountain; it's a bubblah..
It's not a trashcan; it's a barrel.
It's not a spucky, a hero or grinder,... it's a sub.
It's not a shopping cart; it's a carriage.
It's not a purse; it's a pockabook.
They're not franks; they're haht dahgs;
Franks are money in Switzahland.
Police don't drive patrol units or black and whites they drive a "crooza".
If you take the bus, you're on the "looza crooza".
It's not a rubber band, it's an elastic. It's not a traffic circle, it's a rotary.
"Going to the islands" means Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket.
The Sox = The Red Sox
The C's = The Celtics
The B's = The Bruins
The Pat's =The Patriots
Things not to do:
Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd .. they'll tow it to Meffa
( Medford ) or Summahville (Somerville) .
Don't sleep on the Common. ( Boston Common)
Don't wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.
Things you should know:
There are two State Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses,
two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).
The colored lights on top the old Hancock building tell the weatha':
"Solid blue = clear view...."
"Flashing blue, =clouds due...."
"Solid red, =rain ahead...."
"Flashing red, =snow instead...." -
except in summer;flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out!
Ahtha Impore-int Stuff
Most people live here all their life and still don't know
what the hell is going on with this one:
Route 128 South is I-95 south. It's also I-93 north.
The underground train is not a subway. It's the "T", and it
doesn't run all night (aftaawl, this ain't Noo Yawk)..
Order the "cold tea" in China Town after 2:00 am you'll get a
kettle full of beer.
Bostonians.. . think that it's their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
Bostonians.. think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's)
except in "idea".
Bostonians.. think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.
Bostonians.. refer to six inches of snow as a "dusting."
Bostonians.. .always "bang a left" as soon as the light turns green,
and oncoming traffic always expects it.
Bostonians.. believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.
Bostonians.. .think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.
Bostonians.. think Rhode Island accents are annoying.
Bostonians.believe that Connecticut is a suburb of NooYawk.
Send this to your friends who don't live in Boston (and the ones who do!!)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wait a minute! I thought Canada had the better health care system
A rich Canadian premier (Newfoundland) turned aside his own country's primo health care system, you know the one we're supposed to emulate to go to Florida to have a heart procedure that apparently isn't offered or that he would have had to wait too long to have.
Newsosaur: Miami "tip jar" quietly disappears
An interesting article about the vanishing "tip jar" on the Miami newspaper site.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
One thing wrong with newspapers: Stupid polls
A series of polls on MLive.com have been running comparing four relatively distressed cities, Midland, Bay City, Saginaw and Flint.
A faithful FFE reader sent me a link to one poll on which has the best police departments, but I guess the comment thread got so blue, the MLive folks took it down.
The rest of the questions are equally inane and ridiculous, but some of the comments are pretty rich.
My favorite question (so far) is the one on where I would seek medical attention regardless of where I live. I'm going with whichever one is closest depending on whether I minutes to live depending on my condition.
Polls are a lazy way to present news and to prompt comments. Want to prompt real substantive comments, unleash a reporter to look into political corruption and wrong doing.
A faithful FFE reader sent me a link to one poll on which has the best police departments, but I guess the comment thread got so blue, the MLive folks took it down.
The rest of the questions are equally inane and ridiculous, but some of the comments are pretty rich.
My favorite question (so far) is the one on where I would seek medical attention regardless of where I live. I'm going with whichever one is closest depending on whether I minutes to live depending on my condition.
Polls are a lazy way to present news and to prompt comments. Want to prompt real substantive comments, unleash a reporter to look into political corruption and wrong doing.
Monday, February 22, 2010
A parable about Basicland: A tale of financial ruin
Over on Slate.com Charlie Munger, an longtime business partner in Berkshire Hathaway and to Warren Buffet has some chilling words about the direction of our finacial system.
For those who think the burgeoning debt isn't a problem, this is a good read.
For those who think the burgeoning debt isn't a problem, this is a good read.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Arkansas Democrat: One Newspaper Prospers
Fortune did a video piece on the success of one newspaper during this time of print collapse.
As I have blogged before many of us old and out-of-touch career reporters were called naive when we questioned the decision to let MLive.com give away the newspaper content for free.
More than one "hip" editor told us, and me personally, that we had no choice but to go online for free to save our audience.
The example in Arkansas seems to prove them wrong. So to those former editors, "We told you so." Interestingly, they are still working in the business and many of us with the smarts to question their decisions are not. Go figure.
As I have blogged before many of us old and out-of-touch career reporters were called naive when we questioned the decision to let MLive.com give away the newspaper content for free.
More than one "hip" editor told us, and me personally, that we had no choice but to go online for free to save our audience.
The example in Arkansas seems to prove them wrong. So to those former editors, "We told you so." Interestingly, they are still working in the business and many of us with the smarts to question their decisions are not. Go figure.
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