Errata: There were a few errors in last week's review of Zeke's Rock and Roll BBQ. We incorrectly identified the business that formerly occupied the space; it was AJ's Café. We also misidentified the location of the bar; it is along the restaurant's eastern wall.
Bikini kill
Last week our Summer Guide cover featured an image of a woman's bikini-clad torso lying in crystal-clear blue water. One reader didn't like our choice of graphics.
To the Editor:
We all know sex sells, but did you have to slap a bikini-clad torso on the cover of last week's MT summer issue? Keeping the back cover out of sight at work is challenging enough; I fear my colleagues already suspect I'm some kind of drug-addled sex fiend, despite my impeccable grooming and wholesome demeanor. I assure them I only read MT for the "Ask a Juggalo" section, but I fear I'll be hard-pressed to defend that if exposed skin keeps dominating MT real estate like a two-dimensional Dan Gilbert.
Have you ever considered that some of your readers might want to advance up the corporate ladder, run for elected office, or potentially be able to someday afford some of the restaurants you review? Indeed, the Wall Street Journal proves that little sketches of people's heads can draw a large readership, at least when combined with stock quotes and ultraconservative editorials. I beg you, for the sake of all your readers' reputations, choose more respectable cover images. Like bar charts, or graphs. Everyone likes graphs.
Sincerely,
Joel M. Batterman
Times of decline
Occasionally, readers comment about the changes that have taken place during the year since Metro Times' merger with Real Detroit Weekly. Reader Daniel Crosato has some qualms with our current coverage and the functionality of our website. He sent in this letter.
I have now reached the limit of patience with MT. Your rag took an immediate and deep decline upon the elimination of the competitive weekly Real Detroit Weekly. The scope and quality of reporting and writing both suffered as has most other aspects of the paper. The pages are now filled with useless and annoying ads. Aside from the Feedback (which is MUCH too short), News Hits, Lessenberry, and Savage entries, the paper is hardly worth the trouble of picking up a copy. Even the Upfront photos, which can be provocative, give the reader nothing to sate the interest they provoke. Who are these people? Why were they photographed? What was interesting about the event at which they were photographed? And what the fuck is the idea behind "Ask a Juggalo"?
I could go on. My present complaint regards your website, however. I wanted to forward the Now Hear This tribute piece about Marcus Belgrave to my nephew, who now lives in Houston, as he was saddened at the loss of this great mentor and musician. But searching the website for the article proved fruitless and frustrating. Searching under Now Hear This, Music, Tribute to Marcus Belgrave, Marcus Belgrave, etc. produced nothing close to the search results I sought. The search device doesn't include an option for Now Hear This or Music. The piece is well written by Larry Gabriel, but he is not on the list of authors that may be selected from the drop-down author menu! Searching by his name produces article written years ago but not the sought article from last week. I may have searched improperly but having tried all these angles, it seems something would have produced the article. I can't understand how this happens at a publication like yours.
So, the readability and value of your paper is in sharp decline from my point of view. This is discouraging for me as a longtime fan and reader of the rag. Sorry to say my enthusiasm has dwindled for the paper I always counted on as an alternative to the other locals. Wish you would fix your paper.
