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Two-alarm fire ravages landmark bar
By adamg on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 5:16pm
Inside the bar. Photo by BFD.
The Boston Fire Department reports firefighters are at TC's Lounge, 1 Haviland St., putting out what turned into a two-alarm fire:
Fire behind the bar. Saws in use for opening up and to gain access. No injuries at this time.
The fire, called in at 4:37 p.m., was reported knocked down around 5:10 p.m.
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Comments
that headline got me.
that headline got me.
That headline is not cool!
That headline is not cool!
Definitely not cool, making
Definitely not cool, making fun of the loss of a neighborhood institution! And TCs was always the hottest bar in Boston.
Yeah, you're right
People have probably lost their jobs because of this; not really something to make light of.
appreciate the headline
appreciate the headline change. tcs was an institution, is beyond the fact that boston lost a great bar with a lot of heart, a lot of people are now out of work. rebuild, tcs! ill be there on opening day!
People HAVE lost their jobs, and their livelihood.
The owner and his son have been a staple in Boston for a very long time, this place was their livelihood, along with the bartenders and door staff. I know them all personally and don't see how any of this could be a joking matter. Weather you liked the place or not, everyone knew it and its sad to see it go. Wishing a fast recovery to TC's, Tony and family.
Thank you for changing the
Thank you for changing the headline, respect.
What was the original title?
I am curious what the original headline was. I am a TC's lover as well and just want to get my facts straight.
Obviously, I can tell you
But why so important to know?
It was a stupid, insensitive headline that I promptly changed when a couple of folks pointed out how stupid and insensitive it was.
I work at TC's. I'm here now.
I work at TC's. I'm here now. I want to know
Then register so adam can email you directly
.
Thanks, Jeff
[email protected] if it's really important to know the stupid headline I had up for awhile.
For the record...
...I liked the old headline.
I phase in and out of TC's on a regular basis, and I thought it was a funny headline. Smug, but funny.
No one was hurt in the fire, and (hopefully, with proper insurance cooperation) TC's will be back up and running soon enough. And the 3 or 4 people missing out on their $37 dollars in tips per night will somehow manage to get by. It wasn't mean-spirited. And it wasn't a jab aimed at them anyway. Facts are facts: TC's is one of the loneliest, diveyest bars in the city. Its not like its The Tam or anything.
Saturday night
When is the last time you have been there on a weekend night? Staff make a hell of a lot more than that on those nights. And you're right, it is not the Tam. The Tam is depressing. TC's was always a good time and I never wondered what had gone wrong with my life when I went there.
Divey but not lonely
I've always had fun there and socialized.Best of luck to them.
original headline
The original headline of this article was, "TC's Lounge briefly hottest bar in Boston." It continues to show this headline on several sites redistributing this story.
The author of this article and headline, Adam Gaffin, has responded publicly (as "Adamg" in the above comments), and in personal communication with me, indicating that he has changed the headline as a result of the complaints he received.
Unfortunately, Mr. Gaffin has not actually apologized to his readership or to those affected by this event. While I admire Mr. Gaffin's promptness in addressing this issue on this forum and in personal communication, his comments in response to his readers' complaints indicate a continued lack of understanding of the harm that results from writing such a flippant and careless headline.
I recommend that Mr. Gaffin write an actual apology, rather than continuing to respond to his readership in a defensive fashion.
He has my gratitude for providing a public forum for us to express these ideas. My offer to buy us both a cup of coffee - should we meet - stands regardless.
Sigh
I am sorry for the headline.
I am sorry that my earlier comments, in which I called my own headline "stupid" and "insensitive," were not clear enough in their intent.
Some people are never satisfied
Seemed like a self-abasing confession and apology to me. ;~}
You should change it back
Because, fuck that guy.
I mean, come on, Adam's not gonna send you money for pain and suffering due to you reading a headline that wasn't even out of line to begin with.
Tortious Head
It is clear from your post that you are suffering emotional distress and harm from the very bad mean thing Mr. Addams Gafin said. If you will contact our lawyer's office, we will be happy to proceed with lawsuit on you behalf. A serving of torte will be his just desserts.
First we will have to deal with the owner's claim that nobody was harmed. But obviously you are right and that is not true. Your harm from this headline will be obvious to a jury. We can provide you with chiropractor bills and emotional whiplash collar. Ululation will be extra.
We are happy to have heard of your establishment through this beer cooler failure. Like most people in Boston, we'd never heard of it before. We wish to be becoming and advantageous relationship mutually. We can provide advantageous terms on final financing thanks to an amount of dollars available in our bank upon receipt of cashier's check.
re: original headline
To Adamg, my sincere appreciation, and my apologies that misunderstandings have promoted this comparatively unimportant thing to continued discussion.
Michael K. notes that some people are never satisfied. I had private correspondence with Agamg that satisfied me completely. Continued comments on this story indicated that few others were satisfied - even after adamg's initial actions (changing the headline, and stating that it was a bad choice to begin with).
To Sock_Puppet, thanks for mocking my writing. I suppose it's easy to mock if you have no care about the subject of this story. Unfortunately, your lack of clear purpose in your writing, and misrepresentation of both my comment and the original story, obscure any point you're hoping to make.
Perhaps it is a good idea to write with some precision, even if Sock_puppet's mockery is the risk: when I initially read this story with its early comments, I did take note of Adamg's "Yeah, you're right" post. At that time, it seemed to be just another reader's comment, not a comment from the author. Even Adamg acknowledges that his earlier comment was - for some readers - inadequate in expressing his meaning.
Of course, however precise and careful one is in writing, there is still the risk of gross misinterpretation. If the reader is either unprepared for the level of thought required, or simply looking for more troll-food, then the response from Kaz can be seen in context. Kaz, try re-reading the comments, but this time, take note of the authors and timestamps on them. Or don't, since that's neither troll-food, nor likely to result in any greater understanding for you. I suggested nothing to the author besides apology. He has not only apologized, but acknowledged that his previous acknowledgement wasn't clear (as Michael K unhelpfully observes six minutes later). My offer to buy Adamg a cup of coffee still stands. Kaz, you can buy your own fucking coffee.
The headline was drum roll
TC's Lounge briefly hottest bar in Boston
I think the Hong Kong Boston and TCs are the best bars in Boston and they both burned down within the last 2 years
The TAM should get some sprinkelers installed fast.
Reopen...
I hope to hell these guys reopen as there was not a bar in Back Bay that served such an eclectic, fun clientele. And the staff were always a good time, and killer on the punching machine.
get a grip
It was a clever and eye catching headline. That's the headline writer's job. Most of these people will go on unemployment and more jobs will be created while they rebuild and then those folks will go back to work.
So relax and have a chuckle. You'll live longer.
Fire had nothing to do with the transformer issue, BFD says
Short circuit in a beer cooler.
Don't Take Yourself So Seriously!
I used to "live" at TC's. I drank, played pinball and generally made a nuisance of myself on a daily basis.
TC's was definitely a family bar (the family you make yourself, not the one you're given) and there's no one who feels worse than I do to see this happen. However, I think there are some who are taking the headline way too seriously. It was a play on words and even I have to agree that it was humorous to some degree. TC's was "my" bar because it wasn't well known. If we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at. Forget about the headline and get on with your lives. There are worse things to get upset about. I hope the same people who are complaining about the headline are also complaining to their congressman about more important issues regarding the economic black hole we can't seem to get ourselves out of. Fat chance, because if people are this up in arms over an issue as trivial as this then they obviously do not see the larger picture.
Mandl - with the last post on
Mandl - with the last post on the topic of the original headline having been written last week, and the issue having been already excessively discussed, and - most importantly - a conclusion having been reached, it would seem you're the one taking this too seriously. Whether you've just discovered this article, or you have been monitoring since its original posting, it appears your adding absolutely nothing to the discussion besides an unnecessary and indulgent personal observation.
Humor is one of the most important modes of providing perspective and insight. On finding someone who has a polarized view on topics as diverse as racism, sexual abuse, the Holocaust, human rights, women on submarines - or just about any other topic that causes us to lose our perspective - I will usually start making jokes. My purpose isn't to mock another person's opinion, but to open the discussion to thoughts that would normally be censored or buried. If an idea cannot be entertained - however vile it might seem - a pattern of destruction is engaged, at both the personal and cultural level.
In your opinion, the headline was funny, and this opinion is shared by several people who left comments - most of whom have been "registered users" on this site for greater than three years. However, I don't "get" the humor. Worse, having personal familiarity and history with this bar, it sounded to me like the author was actually trying to be an asshole. This motivated my private correspondence with the author (as opposed to in this public forum, where the author continued to reply to public posts with defensiveness instead of justification). Your attempt to justify what has already been apologized suggests you're taking yourself just as seriously albeit on a topic unrelated to the original story.
I am not sure if I take myself too seriously, but I am aware of the risk - which is why, at the end of my public posts on this topic, I reiterate the private offer I had made to the author: to purchase us a cup of coffee. This is to demonstrate that I am willing to let the issue drop now that we share a mutual understanding - and to demonstrate that it's not that serious an issue to begin with. If you can lighten up, and adopt a less insular perspective, perhaps you can enjoy a cup of coffee too. Feel free to drop this topic from your mind, and concern yourself with more important issues.
Rebuild now!
It is of vital importance to Boston that TC's trashy dive bar be rebuilt immediately, so humorless twits can get back to work pouring frothy swill into pint glasses instead of all over the internets.
Sock_puppet- refer to my post
Sock_puppet- refer to my post earlier today.
Not getting it
He's not getting it, SP. He's just not getting it.
Herbert
Q: How many dive bar ex-employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: I understand that some of you might find that funny, but I don't "get" the humor at all, and frankly I'm offended that anybody here, especially a so-called registered user who has been here for years on end, and has in the past been known to make fun of other things such as car crashes in which nobody was hurt, or people peeing on state troopers, or know-it-alls with knowledge of epidemiology as well as lifeguarding, or fly-by-night city council candidates making fools of themselves, might laugh at such a so-called "joke," in a derisory tone which might be misconstrued as derogatory, or otherwise disrespectful towards myself, or towards any person who has, in the past or in the very far past, been associated with a bar, dive or otherwise, in wise of being a customer, an employee, a relative, or a relative of a customer or a relative of an employee or a relative of an employee of a customer or the teacher of a relative of an employee of a customer, because all such persons are special people with delicate fee-fees. MMkay?
I suppose there is some humor
I suppose there is some humor in this. After all, I discovered this site because it was one of a small number of sites that had information within hours of the fire. And - besides trying to figure out who to contact in regard to material on this site - I have found no particular reason to come to this site again, save to ensure that I followed up with earlier business.
However, I am now filled with laughs, because the site's professional trolls seem to allow themselves to be trolled by just about anyone, even myself. Enjoy yourselves, my dears, for I am laughing well now at the amount of time you spend correcting injustices to Adam.
If you want to have a real comment flame-war, may I suggest registering at theync.com. Not only is there a greater amount of tongue-in-cheek humor, but you'll have something pleasant to watch as you compose your incisive observations.
PS - re-read my earlier posts - the sarcasm fails if you didn't apprehend the original ideas that you're discussing.
oh gosh. your long-winded
oh gosh. your long-winded responses and five dollar words aren't winning you any friends or sympathy here, newcomer.
to quote Strongbad, "you're just makin' yourself look worse, y'know?"