12.31.2009

New Dog!

The new prairie dog will be everywhere by the time you read it. It's a special camoflage issue. For no good reason, we used high-tech printing methods to render it invisible at night so you'll want to pick it up before sunset. That's a good idea anyway; we don't want you getting fanged by vampires or chewed by werewolves (full moon tomorrow!!!) on our account. Then again, this issue of prairie dog is so good it's probably worth risking death by supernatural forces to get your copy. Like a luxury car or a killer stereo system or a starship bridge, it's packed with great features. Like for instance:

THE DECADE IN REVIEW: A recap of the top news, arts and lifestyle stories and trends of the last decade with a special focus on politics, film, music and that wacky "high on life" vibe that overtook the province as resource revenues zoomed upwards. Oh, and a fond look back at Regina's dining scene. And music. Lots of music.

MORE DECADE IN REVIEW: And we've got a B-list of the decade's second-tier evildoers, a ranking of six of the crappiest movies, a couple of recaps on America's insane decade and a look at the trends that shaped the "noughties". Plus an interview with News Quirks author Roland Sweet--his column's 35 years old! Who knew?

STILL MORE DECADE IN REVIEW: Then there's LaRose's article on the decade in sports, Paul Dechene's analysis of the zombie revival, a Queen City Confidential that throws out some accusations we didn't bother to verify and an interview with the Grand Dame of Regina real estate.

IS THAT ALL? No, there's more, way more. But you'll have to pick up a copy of to find out what it is. One warning: when you do, don't put it anywhere near your white couch.

12 comments:

Illuminations said...

The Plains was a shithole. You can't possibly be sorry to see it go.

Stephen Whitworth said...

Our writers are divided. The boys want it gone, the girls want it to stay. You tell me what's up with that, I have no idea. Don't think I've ever seen a topic break down on clear gender lines like this.

Also, definitely read Carle's article and let us know what you think!

Stephen Whitworth said...

They can correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is it breaks down like this:

SAVE THE PLAINS
-Emily Zimmerman
-Vanda Schmockel
-Carle Steel

KILL THE PLAINS
-Paul Dechene
-Stephen LaRose
-Greg Beatty (AKA "Gregory", AKA the Iceman)

observer said...

save the plains

Gregory Beatty said...

This is just a hunch, but if you approach the question from a Freudian perspective, maybe the female members of prairie dog's writing family suffer from a form of "tower envy" that has caused them to become overly-fixated on the Plains much vaunted weather tower as a symbol of masculine energy that they covet in their lives and want to see preserved whereas us guys aren't as hung up on that and, while we recognize the cultural value of a place like the Plains in the downtown, feel that it's location on the corner of the most prominent gateway to the city centre (Victoria and Albert) doesn't serve Regina well. Once the Plains is gone, maybe the Empire could step up a bit and fill the niche formerly occupied by the Plains as sort of a down-market bar where a lot of interesting people would feel comfortable occasionally hanging out. Regardless, Happy New Year everyone.

Carle Steel said...

Could be when men (asshole developers and well, I guess, GREG TOO!) see that big ole tower, they want to knock it down to make theirs look bigger. Pfft.

Stephen Whitworth said...

Actually I think the men hate the building but love the tower. And I'm not just saying that because I'm smoking a cigar right now. (puff puff, yum!)

Gregory Beatty said...

It was Dave the panhandler, by the way, who floated the idea of the Empire filling the niche formerly occupied by the Plains in downtown Regina. He dropped by the office the other day to offer season's greetings and pick up the new issue of the 'dog, and when he saw Carle's story he said that if the Empire's owner was on the ball he'd make an effort to spruce things up a bit and see what happened. As Dave rightly pointed out, they've already got a top-notch off-sale operation. Why not look to boost on-premises sales? There was money to be made in Dave's mind.

Paul Dechene said...

It's so true about that tower... I can only dream of having a cock that's 12 feet tall, three pronged, ribbed and can tell the temperature. I'd be a much happier man (with a much happier wife, she tells me) with such a monumental phallus. What's wrong with that?

Gregory Beatty said...

I hope everybody realizes I was joking about the phallus/tower thing, by the way. Freud was a product of his time ie 19th century patriarchal society and all his penis-centred theories have been pretty much debunked. I still feel though that Albert/Victoria is a gateway to the downtown and that primo location, with just the Plains on it now, is severely under-utilized. Was word in the Dec. 31 Leader-Post of a new Condo building in a currently vacant area on 2055 Rose so it's nice to see infill like that

Carle Steel said...

The minute we get a downtown, I will be all for a gateway to it. Until then, unh uh.

Anonymous said...

your magazine really, really sucks.