The Scope

When will Newfoundland Musicians ever learn. The ECMA is a bowling alley, the Nova Scotia musicians are the bowling balls and we Newfoundlanders are the bowling pins. Every year it’s “set em up and knock em down”. The Nova Scotians have the majority of the membership and therefore the majority of the votes.

Ranter: Anon

Oh NTV how often you disappoint me. From “Captain Canada” to “Today in History” I have always had a rough relationship with this station… but since CTV bought out the rights to the Olympics this year, I was hoping that NTV would cover it too… but of course, aside from giving mere lip service to the Olympics – when I turn on NTV I usually see an old movie, crime shows or some doctor-themed drama. With no cable TV and only two channels I was hoping to take in some of the Olympics… but its seems that NTV wishes to stay at the bottom of the list of my favorite channels. Since I only have two, I guess that gives them a silver medal by default.

Ranter: Peartree80

Illustration by Ricky King

Why are there NO public garbage bins in the downtown area other than Water & Duckworth??? I walk my dog, I scoop her poop, and then I carry a steaming stinky bag of shit for 20 minutes from one end of Gower to the other with NO garbage bins in sight. Plenty of garbage though—littered from one end of my street to the other! GRRRRRR. Come on city of St John’s!! provide your citizens with public Garbage bins so that we can dispose of our empty Tim Horton’s cups/cigarette butts/steaming bags of shit.

Ranter: Mara

All this fuss about a new office building… I do think it’s ridiculous that Fortis finds the need to build more commercial place in downtown St. John’s. What about all the vacant buildings on Duckworth? Building after building is vacant – so let’s develop the buildings we have rather than build up some monstrosity which blogs more of the lovely harbour views.

Ranter: Anonymous

Dear Pompous Narcissists,

When you try to justify a MUN Cinema entry’s existence by contemplating the significance and depth of a singing iguana, anyone with half a brain is laughing at you. Sometimes a bad movie is just a bad movie. Accept it and move on.

Ranter: Dances With Stereotypes

What is with Sun Sushi ALWAYS being closed when I want it the most. I know all about how they are closed for the Chinese New Year, but I’m pretty sure the owners are Japanese. It’s closed on Sundays and the odd Monday, then they close for an absurd amount of time in Jan, how do they make money? I even call ahead to the see if they are open and the answering machine message is just their normal hours. It says nothing about how they’ll be closed for CNY, but at least when I get there I can see a rinky dink sign in the window, most likely of green or pink construction paper letting me know the dates they will be closed for. PUT THIS INFO ON YOUR ANSWERING MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!! ARRRRRRRGGGG

Ranter: Yerm Udder

There is an awesome play happening. Awesome like, you wouldn’t see any better on any stage across this country. No one’s going to go see it. Just watch. Sometimes I hate St. John’s.

The play is A Beautiful View, btw.

Ranter: Mr. I-Loath-The-Self-Loathers

I was nauseated enough when MUN decided to put up flatscreens in the UC, clouding the social commons like some bad Brave New World dream… But to put in a screen flashing advertisments at me while I try to study in the library, that is a crime against humanity. If you need the sponsorship money, put up some posters, not some mind controlling full blown technicolour moving images. It is impossible not to be distracted. Get the hell out of my mental space!!!! This is war.

I know, I know, the heritage, the precious bloody heritage. But instead of getting all shrill and self-righteous, couldn’t you get creative? Tell Fortis they can turn one of those empty, rotting buildings by the Sprout into office space. Let them build as high as is already built, and then use the extra tax dollars to turn the old Woolco site into a farmer’s market/community space.

I know there are some of you who believe that new office buildings ought to be built along Kenmount Road, but that’s just silly. Actually, that’s just sprawl.

There are also some of you that believe office space is only for dead-eyed corporate oil mongers. This is also ridiculous. Music NL uses an office. So does WANL. No matter what company uses it, downtown office space gets filled with people who pump money into our beloved locally owned downtown restaurants and boutiques.

So please, please please please, please be rational. Please be creative. And please start thinking about this issue a bit beyond the knee-jerk “no.”

Ranter: Sickuvit

What’s wrong with me? Why do I have a knack for always saying the wrong thing? I’m not a stupid person, but social pleasantries always throw me off.

When my father calls to wish me Happy Birthday, why do I reply ‘Happy Birthday to *you*!’ as if he’d just said ‘Happy New Year’?

When the waiter or the usher at the movies says ‘Enjoy your meal,’ or ‘Enjoy the show,’ why do I always feel the need to say ‘You too’?
When will I learn that small talk isn’t *just* about parrotting back what the other person just said?!
Argh.

Ranter: U2 Forever

The perpetual ootstz ootstz ootstzes are overwhelming.

Nineties electronic base drum sounds are all the time radiating through our parchment of a damn wall, the semi-permeable layer that separates my half-sensible existence from whatever you have going on.

The music, Mr. Oizo or Whigfield or whatever the fuck, ends at five am and starts again at eight am. The same pounding, rhythmic blasts day in and day out. Week days, weekends, holidays, leap years, probably.

Last Tuesday night I decided I had had enough. The hour was nearing 2 am. I was sick of cursing in my bed so I huffed downstairs in my ragged pjs, threw on my coat and beat on your door like I had a Terry’s Chocolate Orange in hand for each thud.

Part Romeo, but more like King Lear, I then squawked at your open window from the street. Alas, the music was too loud for you to even hear me.

Fuck, dude. Next time I’m calling the cops. Shit’s unreal.

Ranter: Your next door neighbour

Every weekend and sometimes during the week I, like many others, like to take in some live music, and what better place to head, to take in some music? The deck! But am I the only person around who is completely repulsed the moment they walk up over those steps? The whole thing seems to be covered in liquid sludge. A mixture of god only knows what. Once something falls onto the deck no one whats to touch it ever again for fear of what they might catch if they pick it up. So is it a little too much to ask for the bar owners, or SOMEONE to please try and clear it off? There are 4 bars that are all connected by this one little area. All i ask is to walk on the deck and not want to vomit at the sight of what is under my feet.

Ranter: Monosyllabic Girl

Has humankind become incapacitated?

Consider surrounding beings, perceptions and interactions.

The ones who know you and don’t, the ones who love you and don’t, the ones who see you and don’t, the ones who feel you and don’t. We are all connected. It all matters. Every minute detail is majestic in some scope. Yes every minute of it, every breath, every person, every bug, every fruit and potato chip, every ingestion, digestion and expulsion.

Bigger than fame, bigger than money, bigger than …

Sight sound light scent. All senses and perceptions. Every child and face, every big and small, green and people, transparent and black, blue and red, lovely and beautiful.

We are all beautiful.

We have discovered the magic of life. The life that brings happiness and joy, the life that brings sadness and pain, the life that brings love, and growth and …

What Have I Lived For?

What is it that we are all doing here? I refuse to believe that Maybelline is that important. Or maybe it is?

What is the culture that we are all sharing? What sought?

Family, friends, fruit, vegetable. Everything has been tampered with.

…But there is a vision.

Consider your effect!

Why is there an abundance of regular/small sized clothing stores in St. John’s, but practically nothing for us bigger women? How is it even remotely fair that we have one of two choices: a) to take our pick from Penningtons/Addition Elle, which carry clothes for women as young as their mid-thirties (at best) or b) order our clothing online and have to pay all of those extremely annoying shipping and duty fees?

I could probably understand this if the demand wasn’t there, but any statistic will tell you that the obesity rate is steadily rising, especially in our province.

We may be overweight, but we’re people too!

Ranter: bbw EVERYWHERE

dear lady in front of me at the dominion checkout today:

yes, please, go ahead, place your full cart of groceries on the counter…never mind that its the express line, there are 2 signs stating “1-10 items”, and that I only have 2 things in my hands, cream cheese and chocolate chips. I must have missed your name tag that said “more important than everyone else”. That’s cool…no really, its fine.

Dear cashier at said checkout:

i forgot it was my job to tell customers that it’s the express line, that must be why you gave me a look that said “that’s definitely more than 10 items”. my bad…apparently.

Ranter: argh

What happened to guys with long hair!? Am I alone? I must be. Myabe that’s why I’ve twice gotten screamed at by the same carload of obnoxious guys with what look like crew cuts in a passing SUV (Stupid, Ugly Vehicle, right?) while walking down University Avenue. HEY. I’m not sure if you’ll be reading this, or if you read, but if you’ve got important fashion advice or a trendy hairstyle opinion you feel you must immediately share with me, at least drive slowly enough for me to catch those numbers on your licence plate, I might want to RUN INTO YOU sometime.

Ranter: From the cold sidewalks

I find it infuriating that people are constantly parked in fire lanes in front of the malls or other stores, cars idling away. Anyone who has ever set foot in a WalMart knows that you can’t just get in and out of there in a couple of minutes, even if you could, just walk a little. I see this in small parking lots too, some folks can’t be bothered to walk a very short distance and in our obesity plagued city, every little step counts.

*I’m talking about able bodied people, like the gentleman who looked to be in his 20’s who hopped out of his car in his pyjamas at Sobey’s to get some cigarettes, leaving his car running right in front of the door.

Ranter: Has yet to be killed by walking 10 feet

okay if something wins “worst new trend” over and over. why are we still calling it a trend? i mean fuck its been on the go for ages now…. too bad i know.  skinny jeans do look pretty foolish.

Ranter: mhmm

I think that while The Scope is informative I always fantasize about a `worse of list` every year…every town, city, young open minded paper strives for difference but in the end..they ALL LOOK THE SAME…..come on we know that there is the worse fish and chip shop, the worse bar service, crappiest newspaper, lets have it!!!!

Ranter: me

The entire world needs to learn that it is not acceptable to tell people that they “look really tired”. It is an insult in disguise. You are basically telling the person that they look like crap.

Ranter: Pugnacious

THIS SIGN IS HILARIOUUUS!!!!! http://autos.sympatico.ca/photos-videos/1620/funny-road-signs/14

Ranter: not so funny

This might have been corrected by the time you click the link. But at the moment is says, “nter fun” as the headline. nter fun!? Come on telegram, missing two letters from a six letter word, in the banner headline? The first two letters? Gosh. Thank god there is the scope.

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=306110&sc=701

Ranter: devro