Tu eres mi heroe! (d’oh!!!)

editor’s note: The above threads were added as advanced publicity for Progressive Happy Hour which takes place every Tuesday evening after 9:30pm at Kenny’s Red Rock on Capitol Avenue. Of course Luis loves the Hartford Advocate and it’s top notch reporting and more than satisfactory arts listing.

D’OH!!

how is a venue that sends in one thing a year going to get recognized when a hundred other things are sent in daily? its not penalization, its numbers. would someone get elected if they made one speach a year? its reality, not penalization.

luis, why take time from my “tryin” to tell me about “countless happenings in Hartford which get no play in the sAdvocate”?? Don’t tell me, tell the listings editor!!!!

how will things ever change? to me that’s as bad as not voting and complaining about who’s in office! sorry you have given up. i haven’t, but i’ll stop trying to get la paloma in the paper since you see me as only a cog in the wheel of the establishment and the powers that be. sorry if my “trying” offended you.

and yes, obviously, there is only so much room for listings because of ads. the advocate sells ads to produce the paper. and we need enough ads to pay for rent, etc, just like a coffee shop sells coffee to buy beans and pay the rent so they can have poetry readings.

ohh well. we certainly see things differently. hope we can still be friends. you fight your battles your way, and i will fight them my way.
best of luck to you. i will only continue this over a beer at kenny’s!

I see events routinely miscategorized (since when is a boating safety course a literary event?), I see businesses that’ve been closed for months remain listed–even if it shares the address with a business currently open (Vietnamese Bistro and Cafe Verde, a few years back, Alley Cat and Center Squeeze, more recently), and I see tired excuses made for subpar writing.

The West Hartford Advocate (thanks Luis, I’m gonna start calling it that now) represents the stereotypes of Hartford that my students are familiar with–the constant bad news and the bar scene. How about something sustainable for people to make their homes here? How about something that recognizes, rather than mocks, the vibrant social justice community?

I tried not to personalize so I would expect you not to. This isn’t about La Paloma or Brianna. There was a live Hip Hop Show at Kenny’s Red Rock on Saturday night…any mention in the sAdvocate? Don’t think so. If you were able to take time away from your ‘trying’ I could list you countless happenings in Hartford which get no play in the sAdvocate. This is not a Brianna thing…she is but one in a line of many overworked employees who have come and gone. She works via a process put forth by the powers that be. I’m sure that if you sat with her in the midst of your ‘tryin’ she would most likely give you numerous examples of how the listings could improve.

“for any business/organization/person to get stuff listed requires sending it in regularly.” The only thing that i can say to that is: That…Makes…No…Sense. One shouldn’t be penalized because they don’t send in regular submissions. If one meets the requirement set forth by the Advocate, the listing should get listed. Could it be that too many listings get in the way of revenue producing ads? Idunno…I just pour coffee for a living.

I don’t wanna ‘work things out’…that would show the hypocracy in the system and it would only solve my problem…not the overriding issue with the process.

i had a conversation with brianna friday and she didn’t remember receiving many announcements, schedules or information about la paloma. every week i see the massive stacks of flyers, printed emails, snail mails, faxes and press releases the listings editors (past and present) must go through to pick out stuff. many people send in stuff weekly, its a MASSIVE amount. for any business/organization/person to get stuff listed requires sending it in regularly. she gets crap from the new inertia like 3 times a day dude, how many times a month do you send in stuff to be listed? like most things in life, you have to make an effort, things aren’t just given to you..well except from parents, they’ll even wipe your own butt for a few lucky years!

anyways, it seems like the problem is you expect the listings person to put in la paloma because you want them but don’t send in your events schedule on a weekly basis like everyone else.

too bad. that really sucks for everyone. it doesn’t get la paloma the exposure it deserves and it certainly leaves a gap in the advocate’s listings. neither is going to be much of a help to our city with that happening. i think brianna is going to email or call you. hopefully all will work out. i know she wants to improve the paper…as do i. but things can’t improve when there is more complaining and grandstanding than conversation and actual effort to improve things.

luis, please don’t just give up on stuff because you don’t like the deadlines and paperwork. i hope if elected, you will learn how things work and make great things happen and improve the city. you’ll have my vote.

chillywilly

ps. sorry about the long freakin’ post, but this seems like something that coulda been easily worked out and made things better all around. i hate how sometimes our community condemns and complains so easily about certain things, rather than trying first. i am trying, i am sure you will too.

I would love to discuss the Advocate with you sometime. Any chance they’ll take you up on the renaming, I wonder?

um….alittle help getting off this high horse.
Thanks

I try not to resort to name calling in whatever I post…I just did a quick skim and nope…no name calling. I try to do everything tongue in cheek so that’s where the bad humor/sarcasm comes from.

I understand your frustration over people who complain but don’t try to do anything about change. One of the big reasons I’m even running for council is because I don’t want to be one of those people who sit around complaining about the city. Difference with the Advocate is that I believe to the marrowest marrow (that’s right marrowest marrow) of my being that there can be no changing the Advocate.

The Advocate is in business for one reason…to make money. The vehicle they use is this supposed front of “Arts & Entertainment Weekly” They have smart people who work for them that have done the math and know the best way to get the most money. It’s not rocket science. Believe me…if it made financial sense to be more Hartford friendly (whatever the #$% that means) than the Advocate would have done that by now. One can only like it or not…I don’t.

peace

ps, tried to take you up on your suggestion to go to Carla’s. Got stopped by the wethersfield cops for “driving while brown” (really…they said that…driving while brown.”) They searched my car, planted a ton of ecstacy in it, kept talking about my mama, and turned off their camera’s while they smacked me with their batons.

I’ll try again next week…maybe you can drive this time

{insert ominous music her}

see ya at kenny’s,
chillwill

ps, don’t just read about carmela’s pasta shop, stop in for lunch. its family owned and pretty dang tastey….even if its in wethersfield.

pps.
hartford advocate
121 wawarme avenue
hartford, ct 06114