Friday, November 21, 2008

Oh Snap - Chicagoist disses NYT

So on Wednesday I posted this story from the venerable New York Times talking about Chicago's recent blossoming. Well today I just read a great post by the Chicagoist taking issue with the article:

Have you ever heard a song by a band and totally been turned on to that band, rushing out to buy their record, listening to it, and then excitedly telling your friend all about your "discovery", saying, "Hey, have you ever heard of this band called The Rolling Stones??? They ROCK!" only to have your heart crushed when your friend tells you that band's old news? We hate to be "that friend," but...

Yesterday, the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny looked at the "renaissance" of Chicago in his cheekily titled article, "A New Wind Is Blowing in Chicago." One doesn't necessarily envision Zeleny and his colleagues (Maureen Dowd, perhaps?) sitting around a computer looking at pictures of Chicago with wonder and saying, "They have...buildings! And...parks!" but judging from the article it feels like they haven't actually stepped foot in Chicago in quite a while. It's all O'Hare, Obama, and Oprah to these people, isn't it?

Funny and maybe a little true...but to be honest, the Chicagoist is playing into the "inferiority complex" that most Chicagoans tend to have. We'll always be the second city, whatever that really means...

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