|
Cat
Piffle
To
the Editor:
The
reason I didn’t pick up last week’s issue when it came out
was the cover. I saw it and thought to myself, “Are you kidding?”
I was appalled by the article you had decided to place as
your front-page headline. Regardless, the small, lightly beige
print telling what the article was about hooked me. It had
to be read as this could be an interesting and smart topic
for someone to share their opinion on.
About one quarter through “Cloying Times” [March 13], I was
having trouble continuing, asking “What is she talking about?
Does this mean anything?” Here and there I came across some
mention of the war in the Middle East, and some Hello Kitty,
and some LOLcat, a little Spitzer, more cat words, hating
Juno, more cats, touching on Japanese pop culture,
with a dash of more hatred towards cats. As I began to fade
out while trying to push on, I began jumping from paragraph
to paragraph, looking for something with depth, or meaning,
to no avail.
By the halfway point I had become incredibly frustrated on
the high count of the amazingly overused big words, which
in an article lacking a point or story only makes the writer
appear pretentious and idiotic, and began asking why I had
continued past the first paragraph. By three-fourths completion
there was no longer any lingering amount of interest.
Prior to this I thought maybe, just maybe, someone in your
staff gave a damn and almost had some pride in honest journalism.
Outside of claiming the title “The Capital Region’s Alternative
Newsweekly,” and outrightly using articles from a mainstream
paper (which, just in case you wondered, does not make you
alternative), placing utter trash like that in your reader’s
faces is completely disrespectful.
Not only was that article poorly written, it was irrelevant
to anything and had no consistency. The trash you fed my brain
jumped from subject to subject of meaningless words strewn
about a few pages. Sharon Steel obviously has her job because
she convinced some pea-brained individuals at the Boston
Phoenix that by using large or rarely used “intelligent”
words, that she was quite qualified to express her opinions
to the masses for pay.
That might be the Phoenix’s way of helping the public
become aware of what really matters, but I expected better
from Metroland. This story did not convey a
single message, other than fact that one individual doesn’t
like some pop culture crap, that most Americans I know don’t
know or give a damn about. Too far and in between were the
tidbits that touched on what Americans supposedly aren’t paying
attention to because of Internet cat nonsense. The article
ranted about not paying attention to the issues, which, with
its beat-around-the-bush writing, only proceeded to waste
a few pages that could have been about real issues.
Sharon Steel’s story of cuteness became the cuteness she hates
and in turn wasted my time; and now your paper is in my trashcan.
I’m not too thrilled about that, because I like to recycle,
but that is just garbage and deserves to be there.
The remainder of the “Newsweekly” was probably just as good
as any other week, but I have too terrible a taste in my mouth
to pull it out from under my used coffee filters and orange
peels to give it a second chance.
P.S. Don’t worry your pretty little heads, I’ll read your
paper again next week.
Trevor
Everts
Albany
Editor’s reply:
While
the letter writer did not specify the article he said we reprinted
from a “mainstream” paper, we would like to remind our readers
that the Boston Phoenix, where the article criticized
in his letter first appeared, also is an alternative newsweekly.
Say
No More
To
the Editor:
Please
stop doing the annual Readers’ Picks issue. Please. It’s become
the written-word equivalent of driving down Central Avenue.
It’s a stark reminder that we are a trash city with a poop
butt. It’s one thing to allow Sirsy to stuff the ballot each
year. We all let that pass because no one has the heart to
tell them it’s over. But when you allow the Capital District
to out itself as the most broke landfill of a city next to
Amsterdam, you are really doing us a disservice. Price
Chopper as the best local florist? Is Taco Bell the best
place to bring a date? Please stop doing the annual Readers’
Picks issue.
Patrick
Kindlon
Albany
Metroland
welcomes typed, double-spaced letters addressed to the editor.
Metroland reserves the right to edit letters for length
or clarity; 300 words is the preferred maximum. You must include
your name, address and day and evening telephone numbers.
We will not publish letters that cannot be verified, nor those
that are anonymous, illegible, irresponsible or factually
inaccurate.
Send
to:
Letters, Metroland
419 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12210
e-mail:
metroland@metroland.net
fax:
463-3726
|
Site
Search 
