But I was offended when he dissed the Garbage Plate.

Monk is hopping mad about an article mocking the high speed ferry project that would connect Toronto, Canada to Rochester, New York. The tagline for the article --"The good news is that Torontonians are getting an exciting new car ferry. The bad news is it's going to Rochester"-- gives you an idea of the columnists opinion of Monk's and my hometown. In a quasi-related post, Chico links to a Times article on the growing cultural rift between Canadians and Americans in general.

Not to fan that fire, but I gotta say...a ferry connecting Toronto and Rochester is, as my grandmother would say, as useless as a screen door on a submarine. To put it in a more local perspective, imagine if New Jersey created a high speed ferry connecting Newark to the West Village for the purpose of tourism (as opposed to commuting). The idea being that the powerful draw of NEWARK would entice all those hip families. artists, and fabulously wealthy gay couples away from a neighborhood filled with world-renown restaurants, theaters, nightclubs, and parks --into a long weekend of abandoned factory and crack house tours.

If the ferry ever does get underway, the only urban renewal Rochester will see as a result will be increased gasoline sales at the disembarking point, where our Canadian friends will fuel up to continue on past Rochester to the Finger Lakes, or the Catskills, or New England, or New York City. Maybe hit a few Reservations for a bit of gambling and cheap cigarettes on the way.