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Death of the Neighborhood Bar

bostonmagazine.com

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131–140 of 164 posts

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#131

Post by llamathrowaway »

futureastronaut wrote: post #46
rexgallorum2 wrote: post #14

Looks like the usual hatchetators are here to play. Bars and pubs are not the same. Bars just serve alcohol, but pubs are public living rooms and centres of communal life. A pub is where life's milestones are celebrated, the departed are grieved, friendships are cemented, matches are made, and revolutions are plotted. And some of us prefer the pleasures and pangs of gradual self-destruction to the quasi-religious cul…

> I for one never trust anyone who doesn't drink. And if they can't drink for medical reasons?

They don’t have to deal with someone who are incapable of seeing people beyond their well-reasoned sobriety. I, for one, consider it a win.

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#132

Post by llamathrowaway »

rexgallorum2 wrote: post #129
futureastronaut wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I for one never trust anyone who doesn't drink. And if they can't drink for medical reasons?

Medical and religious reasons are totally exempt in my book. Though I strongly recommend getting wasted on Raki with (Muslim) Turks. They have hollow legs. And it totally breaks down any preconceptions or irrational prejudices one might have. I once had a Pakistani Muslim over for Christmas dinner, and I offered him some single malt scotch. He said his duty to accept my hospitality outweighed his duty to abstain from…

What’s your opinion on recovering alcoholics?

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#133

Post by nunez »

jefftk wrote: post #7
thinkingkong wrote: post #5

If we remove alcohol from the equation I think whats more pertinent is the death of the “third place”. Churches are dying. If the article is to be extrapolated then smaller local bars are dying. Where do people go other than online to socialize. Thats important to understand.

In my life contra dancing fills this role. It's a place I can go to socialize with friends and strangers, dance, and listen to live music. There are dances all over the country, and when I'm traveling for work I often look up the local dance ( https://trycontra.com ) and drop in. Wherever I am I have a good time.

highly depends on the person but i hate dancing with strangers and would never do this

in contrast, i absolutely enjoy drinking tasty beer and cocktails with people i don't know

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#134

Post by rexgallorum2 »

talleyrand wrote: post #118
rexgallorum2 wrote: post #14

Looks like the usual hatchetators are here to play. Bars and pubs are not the same. Bars just serve alcohol, but pubs are public living rooms and centres of communal life. A pub is where life's milestones are celebrated, the departed are grieved, friendships are cemented, matches are made, and revolutions are plotted. And some of us prefer the pleasures and pangs of gradual self-destruction to the quasi-religious cul…

"And some of us prefer the pleasures and pangs of gradual self-destruction to the quasi-religious cult of self-improvement." Bravo!

Hope I run into you in the pub! Cheers!

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#135

Post by nunez »

gambiting wrote: post #87

As a 28-year old, I never understood the appeal of a pub as a meeting place. I think my main issue is that in loud places I just cannot for the life of me understand what is being said. I've had my hearing tested and it's absolutely fine, better than it should be at my age actually, and yet it's as if my ability to decode human speech goes to zero as soon as I'm in a loud environment, especially if there's sport even…

not all pubs are loud; the best ones are not

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#136

Post by rexgallorum2 »

llamathrowaway wrote: post #132
rexgallorum2 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medical and religious reasons are totally exempt in my book. Though I strongly recommend getting wasted on Raki with (Muslim) Turks. They have hollow legs. And it totally breaks down any preconceptions or irrational prejudices one might have. I once had a Pakistani Muslim over for Christmas dinner, and I offered him some single malt scotch. He said his duty to accept my hospitality outweighed his duty to abstain from…

What’s your opinion on recovering alcoholics?

Known many, and that I respect as well. True alcoholism is an absolute monster, and the truth is that some people simply cannot stop once they start. Don't assume I think everyone should drink just for the sake of it--many people have excellent reasons for not doing so. Totally understandable. Many people who do not drink are beyond reproach.

And then some others are, well, Cathy/Kate from Steinbeck's 'East of Eden'.

Might change my original position to 'I don't trust anyone who doesn't drink without a good explanation such as a medical condition that precludes the enjoyment of the drink, religious convictions, or a history of or proclivity towards alcoholism. Sounds rather like an American prescription drug ad though.

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#137

Post by nunez »

I don't think Netflix and (maybe) chill explains this wholly. Here's my guess: {Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, $CITY} isn't as cheap as it used to be. Bigger, more corporate bars can afford the rents required to stay near where the people are. Consequently, smaller, neighborhood pubs close and force people to commune near bigger bars (and sometimes pubs) to get their fix of community through delicious alcoholic drinks.

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#138

Post by sokoloff »

AdrianB1 wrote: post #92
Thriptic wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Drinking in public is OK. > Being drunk and a nuisance in public is not OK. In my experience, this is basically the way it already is in many places in the US. As long as you put even a modicum of effort into complying with the letter of the law in front of cops (ie using a brown paper bag, putting alcohol into a non-obvious container, etc) and you're in compliance with the spirit of the law (ie not being a loud an…

Drinking from a brown bag is not "responsibly consuming freely", it is "covertly consuming".

At a summer "Shakespeare in the Park" type of event up here in Puritan Massachusetts, it seems totally appropriate to bring some wine along if you like and judging from the throngs of people around me, many people agree. It's not "freely" in the sense of "you can't get hassled for it", but it is "freely" in the sense of "you likely won't get hassled for it" which is probably what GP meant.

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#139

Post by rexgallorum2 »

rexgallorum2 wrote: post #24
thinkingkong wrote: post #5

If we remove alcohol from the equation I think whats more pertinent is the death of the “third place”. Churches are dying. If the article is to be extrapolated then smaller local bars are dying. Where do people go other than online to socialize. Thats important to understand.

Any good neighbourhood needs a little public green space, and a few pubs and coffee houses. To hell with zoning or other rules that separate living spaces from public drinking spaces.

(The green spaces are for drinking too. Possibly with guitars and snacks.)

Re: Death of the Neighborhood Bar

#140

Post by pixelrevision »

freehunter wrote: post #76
Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> coffee shops Central Europe is losing the vibrant cafe culture it used to have, where people could sit together for hours and chat. Cafes today often blast loud pop music and send staff around more frequently to pester clients who seem to have finished their drinks, as owners believe this will prevent people from loitering. Instead, customers will quickly drink what they ordered and then get out, freeing the table…

Speaking here in the US, if you don't have a local coffee shop your neighborhood is probably not very vibrant, and lots of business happens in these local coffee shops. I host meetings at my local coffee shop all the time and see others doing the same thing. Even if all you have is Starbucks, there's still tons of meetings that happen at Starbucks and you're not likely to be hassled to leave. I'm much more likely to…

Huh. My experience in nyc is that most of the coffeeshops tend to have hordes of people on laptops with earbuds on ignoring each other.
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