McSweeney’s List (18 September 2024)
This one is for the workers. Not the CEOs or majority shareholders, not the landlords or millionaire influencers, but the workers. This is for the phone jockeys, the hustlers, the baristas, and the cubicle dwellers: I see you.
Hard work used to be noble. Or, that's what we were taught to believe, so that we would happily join the ranks of the nine-to-fivers. Sure there are still jobs that I perceive as wholly noble: farming, building, repairing…(ok, so I believe in old school jobs. Shout out to the bakers, awake in the dark so that we might eat our daily bread). But it seems we’ve lost all sense of treating workers with dignity and respect.
All the workers I speak to feel ground down right now in a way I've never seen before. People who work with the public are getting treated with a new level of disrespect from the folks they're trying to serve, while management tries to justify their own existence by telling their underlings to work harder. Companies are losing employees and simply shifting their workload over to existing positions with no added benefits. No job is safe, and no amount of early to bed, early to rise will catch the worm it once did.
And yet, the workers remain essential. All the positions that couldn't work from home when everyone else did, remain just as important -- vital, in fact -- as they were at the time. And as companies try to force people back to the office, we can all agree that we did not get the new normal we were promised.
We’re all barely holding our finances together. At some point paying 50% of your income for housing became normalized, probably around the same time McDonald's started charging as much as real-food restaurants. We’re overworked, underpaid, and somehow constantly being yelled at. What we need to do is stick together.
I'm not suggesting a general strike. (Well, I'm not not suggesting it, but one thing at a time).
I'm suggesting that when you step away from the job you hate to go grab a coffee, remember that the barista probably hates their job too. They probably have a notebook in their bag, a craft they truly love, and extra-curriculars they're looking forward to like a light at the end of a tunnel -- just like you. They feel underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated, just like you. I know that we're all stressed and really just want to yell at whoever will listen, but these are not the people, folks. These are the people in the damn boat with you, whether you see it or not.
In the grand scheme of the class war, if you're reading this, you are working class or middle class. The vast majority of us are grasping at middle class while the middle class feels like the floor is crumbling beneath them. We all hope for a sense of financial security while really craving financial freedom, and the fact is, our odds are scarce. And I promise you, it is to the benefit of Fat Cats and spaceship owners (Elon’s ‘bout to hit trillionaire status, dontcha know), that we squabble and bitch among ourselves, scratching for crumbs.
The most powerful thing we can do (short of a general strike…y’know, the more I think about it…), is stick together. We must remember that as much as we want to rail against whatever company is fucking us at the time that it's not the fault of the secretary or service rep. Don't yell at them, they are you. Yes, tip the barista for that overpriced drink, because the profits don't go to her, but your dollar does. Don't start an argument with the clerk over the price of bread, because they need bread too, and corporations clawed back their bonuses when they were deemed no longer “essential”. If we can manage in spite of our leaking frustration and rage to stick together with our working Brothers and Sisters, we can make the grind easier for them, and maybe, when you're at the job you hate, they'll do the same.
We must see through the scam and stick together. It's the only real power we have. (And if you have any ideas about a general strike, hit me up.)
THERE'S NO FIREPLACE
TONIGHT catch Daniel "Lilah” Carin hosting his podcast Advice By The Fireplace live! I've listened to this pod, I've guested on this pod, and it's a good damn time. Comedian Dan Carin chats with guests and they all put their brains together, offering up advice to those at a crossroads. It's filled with heart, humour and uh, another H word for sure somewhere.
Featuring the hilarious guests Andrew Khoury, Mason Terry plus a surprise guest or two!
WHAT: Advice By The Fireplace Live
WHERE: Notre Dame Des Quilles, 32 Rue Beaubien E., Montreal, H2S 1P8
WHEN: Tonight, September 18, 9 PM
METRO: Beaubien (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
I'VE BEEN COUNTING DOWN
The day the comedy scene has been waiting for is upon us. Walter J. Lyng and Troy Stark are recording their albums in one fantastic doubleheader. I chatted with them right here if you want the whole scoop, but suffice to say, this will be one for the ages. Bring friends, bring enemies, bark people in from da streets. Comedy folks, bring your laughs, support, and congrats to these fine gents as they level up. People who dig comedy, one day you will tell your kids that you saw this, and your kids will be like “what are you talking about, you're so old” and go back to their holographic games or whatever. These jokes will never be heard again…’cept maybe in Ontario.
WHAT: Walter J. Lyng & Troy Stark Double Album Taping
WHERE: Montreal Improv, 3716 Notre-Dame St.W., Montreal, H4C 1P7
WHEN: Saturday, September 21
Doors @ 730 PM, Show @ 8 PM Troy Stark - Walter Lyng
Doors @ 930 PM, Show @ 10 PM Walter Lyng - Troy Stark
METRO: Place St. Henri (Orange)
FTB’s first workshop! MASTER Spoken WORD!
Submissions are still open for Forget The Box’s FIRST EVER workshop! The Poetry Performance Workshop is a pilot project, facilitated by Tara McGowan-Ross and Andrew Jamieson.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
This two-day, eight hour poetry performance workshop offers intensive and personal instruction from two of Montreal’s leading artists in their sectors. The first day (four hours) will be led by Tara McGowan-Ross, author of Nothing Will Be Different, and focus on the text of your work. The second day (four hours) will be led by Andrew Jamieson, writer, director, and creator of Who’s Afraid, and Bed of Nails, and will focus on the performance of your work.
The workshop will then culminate on the third day with participants performing at a spoken word event, presented by Forget The Box, at a venue TBA.
NOTE: This workshop is aimed toward those writers with a specific in-process OR finished piece they would like to develop further.
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ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Tara McGowan-Ross
Tara McGowan-Ross is an urban Lnu/Mi'kmaq author and theatre school drop-out who has been setting precedent for poetry performance in Montreal since the Printemps D'Erable. Her poem A SIMPLE INSTRUCTION was first runner-up for the Pacific Spirit poetry prize, her memoir NOTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust prize for nonfiction, and she has been anthologized in BEST CANADIAN POETRY and Anthologie de la poesie actuelle au femmes du Quebec 2000-2020. She draws inspiration from the continental tradition of Western philosophy, Mi’kmaq cultural traditions, hip-hop, dance, stand-up comedy, and ecstatic religion. Her approach is warm, funny, and tough-love, with the intention of breaking your work into the next level of its true potential.
https://taramcgowanross.substack.com/
Andrew Jamieson
First onstage at age five, Andrew Jamieson’s inevitable formal theatre training led him to directing his first professional stage production at the age of 16. Since then, he has directed dozens of projects from professional theatre, to short films and music videos, as well as his own experimental “Immersive Reality” productions. Through the latter, Andrew has developed an adapted approach to performance through text, based on David Mamet’s Practical Aesthetics, and Metamodern concepts. He has continued to refine and perfect this method while regularly coaching both professional actors and spoken word performers.
Currently developing his next immersive project, MONUMENTUM, Andrew also serves as the Creative Director and Editor-in-Chief of the local Montreal arts magazine Forget The Box.
www.whothefuckisandrewjamieson.com
DETAILS
Dates: September 22nd and 23rd, 2024
Time: 2-6PM
Performance: September 24th, 2024 @ 8PM
Location: Plateau Mont-Royal (Exact location will be provided to those selected.)
Cost: $150
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2024. THOSE SELECTED WILL BE NOTIFIED THE NEXT DAY.
SUBMIT HERE:
https://forms.gle/Hq9pVTcGFhBVJ91EA
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This workshop is part of a pilot project by Forget The Box to provide accessible high-quality workshops to Montreal's creative community.
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Forget The Box is committed to equity. If you feel comfortable, please indicate if you bring a perspective to the workshop that has been historically marginalized by mainstream arts and culture (for example, if you are Queer, Trans, or BIPOC).
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