Perhaps a city is a living thing. Each city has its own personality, after all.
Los Angeles is not Vienna. London is not Moscow. Chicago is not Paris. Each city is a collection of lives and buildings and it has its own personality.
So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams.
-Old Man from "The Sandman" by Neil Gaiman
The Advocate lying on a bench in Rudy's
The New Haven Advocate is a little tempestuous free paper that circulates all over the city. It has Fairfield County, Valley and Hartford cousins, neither of which I like half as much. On the regular, it comes out on Wednesdays, suddenly appearing in almost every establishment I frequent. It has listings of stuff that's going on around town--from who's playing at Cafe Nine or Toads to the newest gallery opening. I first used it to find a good restaurant, as navigating the New Haven eating scene is as precarious as the club scene. The Advocate attempts controversial article writing, which sometimes succeeds and usually hooks me in.
Chris Arnott, Mark Oppenheimer and Carole Bass are the main contributors. One of the bartenders at Rudy's, Craig, usually has an article in it, too, about music or bars. The Advocate tries to give everything a scandal ring to it, but when you're at Rudy's drinking a beer waiting for your boyfriend to show up or looking for something different to do, the Advocate is useful.
Becky likes the horoscopes, which are always a little silly and off-kilter. The personals probably keep the thing going, along with all the ads. At least it's anti-Bush, which is its saving grace. It's fairly anti-almost-any-politician-who-sucks. As many of the Connecticut politicians are found guilty on counts of corruption, the Advocate has a field day in this arena. I do have to say that their point of view is at least different, which is a nice change. Sometimes they're funny, too.
Now, never mistake a copy of PLAY for the Advocate. You'll be sorely disappointed. PLAY is free, too, but only because no one would buy it if they charged for it. It's the "club" paper, I suppose, attempting to make itself out to be the place to find entertainment. But if you're in New Haven and don't know where the clubs are (Crown Street, mostly), then get out. It's for college kids who can't use a map and like having their pictures taken while they're sweaty, then plastered in full color in next week's PLAY.
So, drink a beer, read the Advocate. It's good for your health.
About me
- I'm Starry Saltwater Rose
- From New Haven, Connecticut, United States
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