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The Nephew
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: People
- Hits: 1872
I'm leaving and he's doing less and less. Less, even, than before, and it was never much. Never.
A regular customer, philanthropist, wealthy, switched his schedule from Monday evenings to Tuesday evenings. No reason, but no small coincidence that my schedule changed as well, it's not me, I know, it's the avoidance of the other. He typically tips 22%. The week before, he'd come in with a party, the Nephew served, he tipped 5%. The Nephew, inattentive, preoccupied with his phone, he's fucking lousy. We've now the new waitress, the hostess, the nephew, none of whom will take orders or run food, all of which whom are paid, more or less, as equals. It's bullshit in the extreme. No, really, if you've worked in a restaurant, or anywhere else in the world, anywhere at all, with someone that leaned on their shovel the entire day and told you how hard they were working and how rich they should be you'll understand. He's that guy.
Tonight...3 men, older, spenders. They ask me about him, what's his role, what's he doing? I tell them..."He's (the bosses') nephew"...
...they laugh, family, they get it, and rib me with "you'll be fired before he is...", and I jest in return "I already have...". The last, they don't get, it doesn't matter. I do.
He thinks he's hard working. He defends himself by mocking me, offering to mop my beleaguered brow, "Worker of the Year" he says, no one is fooled. Damn me all you want, but I'm on my feet, still keeping up, his only currency is the internet and all the "Immigration/Islam is Awful" the internet can spew, but oddly no mention of the Italian problem, and when I address it, postulate that Italians immigrate to Canada through manholes left open upon the street, he sort of gets it.
But not really.
It's like the owner showed me, that internet meme - The oft quoted Ricky Gervais:
"When you are dead, you do not know you are dead. It's only painful & difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid."
The Presidential Debate
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 2428
I missed the debates, went to CIFF instead, but have seen enough of the recaps and meta-analysis to get the gist. There were no surprises.
Yeah, Donald. No, Donald.
And, Hillary, good, very good, much better than the Donald, but still no.
Donald, he's not better, he's the end. He's the end of the financially empowered aristocracy that rules the US. He's the end, period, overdue, he's the "OFF" switch for the United States of America. And despite all urging by the reasonable people of the US, I see no offer to put a better selection of candidates on the table. I mean, fuck, why, any TV presenter hosting the news-satire shows would do better. Think Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, and even John Oliver. They know what's going on. But the people that know what's going on - not Donald, think Hillary - they're too invested in the system to make a change. They represent the continuation of a system that will continue to exploit and develop the class and income differences that are destroying both America and the world...
Vote Donald. Someone will kill him soon anyways. And then let's see how the world develops...
CIFF - SHORTS
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 2381
Late Monday, saw "Shorts" at CIFF. Seemed the best way, an averaging of short films would guarantee that my limited time would find some reward, rather than chancing it all on a single film (and there were a few that piqued my interest) I would see Shorts and be done with it.
The standard mixed bag, some OK, none really bad, an astonishing amount of manpower and work went into the simplest of them, credits as long as a feature film...
2 stood out: CURVE - by Tim Egan - a girl above a dark void, clinging on for dear life, and 90 DEGREES NORTH (90 Grad Nord) - About a German Pedestrian stuck at a traffic light (on a traffic Island in the middle of nowhere) - evoked "Waiting for Godot" and a lot of other surrealist/absurdist films. Well done.
SO 2 hits, fuel for nightmares to come, worthwhile, and maybe, fingers crossed, I'll find time for another film...
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