Before we get to today’s feature presentation, how about a couple of shorts as the audience settles in…Grocery price-fixing: Specifically, the price of bread, more specifically, the long-overdue settlement announced last week for fixing the price of bread. How is it that Canada is still so anti-competitive in so many industries? For decades there were essentially a state airline and a state telecommunications company—as well as the state broadcaster. You could argue that there’s still not enough competition in these industries—especially telecommunications. Aren’t we still paying the most for simple cellphone service of any developed economy? I was reminded of all this over the weekend when I went to buy eggs. Have you noticed the price of eggs over the last few months? A dozen large eggs are $3.88. What a curiously memorable price, $3.88. Even more curious, it’s the same price in every supermarket we shop in. The house brand eggs at Zehrs, $3.88. House brand at Food Basics, $3.88. House brand at South Pelham Sobeys, $3.88. WTF—what the frittata! Now, granted, this is a lower price than was the case back a year or two ago, so on one hand, yay. On the other hand, hello? Is this not self-evident price-fiddling among different chains? Google is of no help. If you have the $3.88 answer, let me know...Speaking of Canadian cheaters: Don’t worry, I’m not going to drone on about L'affaire du drone. Except to say that like most of you, I’m sure, it was unpleasant and unusual to feel ashamed of Canada. We’re supposed to be the good guys and gals and non-binaries. Anyone involved in this Olympics soccer spying scheme should be severely sanctioned, which happily looks to be well underway, with a year’s ban for the team coach and other penalties. After Ben Johnson was caught juicing steroids in Seoul back in 1988, a federal commission was convened to investigate the use of banned drugs in Canadian sport. Sad story short, turned out there was plenty of it. Are we about to see another Dubin Inquiry, this time focused on cheating idiots and their dumbass soccer spycraft?...Before we entirely leave bread behind: I was driving along Pelham Street last Friday, looking to pick up a widget at the hardware store. As I pulled in to park, the gratingly over-familiar lyrics of Billy Joel’s Piano Man bubbled from the radio. It’s one of those songs that must surely be on the list of CSIS/CIA torture—sorry, enhanced interrogation—tools. For some reason, though, I let it play this time, and as I went to turn off the ignition, a bizarre lyric in one of the verses jumped out at me. You know the one:
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, “Man, what are you doin' here?”
I seriously sat there, looking quizzically at the radio, hand frozen on the ignition key, asking myself, wait, what was that? Why is someone putting bread in a jar? Isn’t this song about a piano player in a sad dive bar? When did baked goods show up? I’m relieved to report that this confusion lasted maybe three seconds. Then, of course, because I do still have a few marbles left, I remembered that the song was old, about five-generations-of-teen-slang-ago-old, and that “bread” was slang for cash. Duh. The Benjamins, the bacon you bring home, clams, simoleans, smackers, and yes, dough. That said, when the song was released in 1973, I suspect that “bread” was already on its way out, but I was a mere Grade 8 student that year so I’ve no idea.
On to the main attraction this week: We want to hear from you about how we’re doing and how we might improve. PelhamToday is now a little over a year-and-a-half old. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear from someone that they still miss the Voice, which printed its last edition at the end of December 2022, an unwelcome but inevitable conclusion in this unwelcome and unpleasant modern media landscape. I hear what you’re saying about preferring to hold something in your hands, and that this something should be paper not an iPad. But the economic reality is that it won’t be long before all newspapers are history. To recall another 1970s pop culture reference: that was then, this is now.
Our website, drawing on the strength of our parent network, offers you exponentially more news and feature content than any printed paper possibly could, and exponentially faster. But is it the content that you want to see?
Since PelhamToday launched, I’ve continued to receive tips and feedback from a group of what I like to think of as our most dedicated readers—dedicated, that is, to the ideals of journalism, and to the welfare of our Pelham community.
I’d like to increase this feedback, and I’m asking for your help.
Our goal is to report what’s happening in Pelham through stories about interesting people, events, businesses, municipal politics and more, while also keeping you apprised of relevant news from beyond our borders. I think we’re striking a fairly good balance, but like anything in life, we know there’s always room for improvement.
PelhamToday is creating a community advisory board to assist in our pursuit to be the best we can be and to strengthen our role in the community. The advisory board will be an informal body of citizens that our editorial team can use as a sounding board to help us make our coverage more relevant and inclusive.
We’re looking for six to eight people from different parts of the community and from varied professional and personal backgrounds to provide new perspectives—residents who represent a range of voices and diversity, including age, income, occupation, ethnicity, ability, and gender.
(This does not include current or previously elected office holders, members of special-interest groups, or political organizations.)
Some areas we would like to draw from include non-profits, well-known public figures, visible minorities, people from the news industry or with a journalism background, the business world, law enforcement, youth, and differently-abled people, as well as healthcare and education professionals.
You don’t need to be a member of an established organization, but you do need to be willing to share your opinions and engage respectfully with a diverse group of people to provide unbiased insights and ideas from a third-party point of view. In short, we want to help build better relationships with people and groups whose information needs may not be being met at the moment.
We want to hear more voices about what we are doing right as well as highlighting areas where we could do better. Journalism is a craft and that means always learning and consistently wanting to improve.
And you don’t even need to leave the house! We’re asking you to commit to attending two virtual meetings over the next several months. Those interested in applying may email me at [email protected] highlighting your background and the reasons that you want to join the board. I look forward to hearing from you.
Now treat yourself to some unexpected music: Would you believe California Dreamin’, in Serbian? It’s excellent.
So is this wonderful French version of Sukiyaki, the huge 1961 Japanese pop hit that became one of the best-selling singles of all time. The original Japanese title, by the way, has nothing at all to do with sukiyaki, and is I Look Up as I Walk, about a man trying to hold back tears remembering a lost love. Even more unlikely, given how upbeat the lyrics sound when you don’t understand them, is that the song was inspired by a failed 1960 protest to stop a US-Japanese security treaty. And there’s your trivia contest nugget to file away for future pub game use. See you next time.
