Poster power

Excellent article by Pohanna Pyne on the city's new postering pilot project ["Off the Wall," Aug. 18]. While I think the city's has noble intentions in setting up public postering billboards, the idea is hopelessly naïve. Starvin Hungry's John Milchem is absolutely right in saying that the notion of people going out of their way to visit poster sites is moronic. Also out of touch is the city's plan to only erect billboards in the downtown core, between Sherbrooke and René-Lévesque, when a great deal of Montreal's indie music and art culture takes place north of Sherbrooke on the Plateau. Read the addresses on posters around town and you'll see that they point to places outside of the so-called Quartier des Spectacles more often than not.

Anti-poster people can keep whining about the clutter and garbage that comes from these indie ads, but they're not going away, and we'll take them over ugly corporate billboards any day.

» Jonah Schulmann

The ethanol alternative

It was interesting to read about motorists looking for alternative fuel sources in the wake of soaring gas prices ["We heart biodiesel," Aug. 18]. But why not look to Brazil, for example, which has embraced renewable energy with gusto? Ethanol makes up up to 40 per cent of the fuel pumped into Brazilian vehicles. The Western hemisphere's second largest economy manufactures its ethanol from sugarcane plants. Reduced petroleum consumption has consequently helped reduce Brazil's air pollution problem. Since ethanol can also be made from corn or barley, why not push for a greater number of ethanol-powered cars in North America?

» Manish Patwari

Pork sandwich satisfies

After reading Mark Slutsky's review of Sandwichmania ["Raising the barros," Resto, Aug. 11], I thought it would be a good idea to pop by this Chilean place. I was not disappointed by the sandwich - I bought the Rex one with pork. Personally I don't like cheese, which probably explains why I thought the artichoke empanada tasted funny. The beef one was quite satisfying though. Thank you very much for the review, I'm looking forward to discovering new places - if your reviewers could scoop around the downtown campus of Concordia, it would be greatly appreciated.

» Sebastien Chow

More pit bull pressure

Regarding recent letters about pit bulls: the tragedy of these dogs is in part that they are very tense in the wrong hands. Well trained, they can be great pets, but how many people really know how to properly train their dogs? Fewer than one might imagine.

Dogs have been bred and trained for specific duties, such as hunting, herding and guarding. From foxhounds to sheep dogs, none can be successful in their natural inclinations without proper training. It should be noted that the more aggressive the role a dog is bred for, the more intense its training must be. Pit bulls, historically speaking, are bred to fight other dogs - not to be guard dogs, shepherds or foxhounds. So if a pit bull is not given the serious, intense training to curb its appetite for natural aggression toward other dogs, it can escalate its natural inclinations towards cats and to humans (many times, children).

What isn't a myth about some pit bulls is that they are abused to the point of becoming a weapon - one that seems to serve some macho insecurity their master suffers from. It isn't the dog that is bad but rather the ignorance of those who take on the responsibility to care for them, and then turn on the pit bull because of the natural intensity they were bred to possess. These are not lapdogs. Pit bulls have 1,500 pounds of pressure in their bite, enough to seriously harm anyone.

» Gilles Chaisson

Escort discount for seniors?

The other evening, I was sitting home alone. Mish Mash, my cat, had left me. Gone out the back lane. And I was feeling pissed off with life in general when I picked up the Mirror and turned to the escort section. I phoned. Someone quoted me a price. Which was like a down payment on a yacht. I would have had to mortgage my walker.

In some countries in Europe they have this service for seniors. Have you not been fucking us for years? In one way or the other.

Mirror, you can also get involved. Suggest to your advertisers a discount for seniors. Another discount for vets. I think Smokey Smith would have approved of this. He was, I'm told, very open-minded.

I have a pre-arranged funeral. I will have a plaque. Memorial Gardens. On it will say, "A Sociable Socialist." Who had preferred to go out with a bang rather than a whimper. How did he go, they may ask? He simply came and went at the same time. With a smile. God bless us all.

PS. Mish Mash has returned. Where she went I do not know. She will not say.

» John C. Underwood

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