Thursday, May 31, 2012

Maija Zummo Wanted a BLUE Pony, Cincinnati!

Get out the big box of tissues! CityBeat's Maija Zummo is upset about the Pony she got. Her pony, in this case, is the vibrant Downtown/OTR we had last weekend, with about a thousand things to do. She had two things she wanted to do and didn't seem to be aware of the other 998 things going on, and therefore is pissed that traffic and parking were problems for her.

She lammented that it's fine if you live Downtown, but she doesn't, and appears to have no plans of moving here. I sensed a longing for a pity party was just beneath the surface of her words.

Maija wanted a blue pony and is mad. She didn't ask for just any old pony, she wanted one that was just for her. Damn all others to hell, as long as she gets her blue pony.

I find this type of attitude about as disappointing as it is unsurprising. Far too many people want the place they live to be cool and vibrant, but as soon as it starts to get that way...BAM...they complain about it being too much. This is what I would call My Little Hipster Pony Syndrome. A younger hipster wants things to be "cool" and dare I say "hip," but as soon as the cultural engine starts moving a fast pace, they want to jump ship, because its not what they wanted. To this type of person things are only cool as long as they are exclusive and admired. As soon as the exclusivity wears off, it sucks. Trendy for Trendiness's sake is no way to experience life.

This article comes on the heels of the Bill Cunningham's comments about OTR recently. I find the juxtaposition of opinions very interesting. I really don't like whinny rants about the personal inability to stay informed about ongoing events masquerading as column. I hope Maija instead takes the leap of moving downtown, gets used to mass transit, or buys a bike. That's the future of America and she can't drag her feet in the Suburbite lifestyle and still maintain credibilty in a Urban centric newsweekly.

6 comments:

  1. Yeah, this is pretty fucking annoying to read. Can you find it on CityBeat's website? I want to comment on it without having to email anyone.

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  2. The article is now available online: http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-25556-dear_downtown.html

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  3. What a bizarre article. Does she realize Hyde Park is part of the city (she calls it a suburb)?

    There's no city in North American in which parking wouldn't have been an issue the weekend of a festival the size of Taste of Cincinnati. (Believe it or not, though, I came down for Taste on Sunday evening and parked--for free-on the street at Fourth near Walnut.) She didn't take a bus because she doesn't like them; she didn't take a cab because . . . ? She wouldn't have paid much more for that than she would have for parking south of Third.

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  4. That article is so over the top, I wonder if it's an attempt at comedy.
    hole #1 - If you want to plan your evening out using the bus, you quickly realize you can get there but getting home is tricky to impossible. A cab is usually the only option.
    hole #2 - If you plan in advance to go to a show with reservations, why wouldn't you plan on reservations for dinner? (ok, maybe I'm just old fashioned)

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  5. The biggest absurdity of all was the conceit that she had to wait in an hour and a half of traffic to get from Central Parkway to US Bank arena. There was plenty of cheap parking in the lots along Central Parkway and the walk is what, 15 minutes? Is it a Cincinnati thing or just a human thing to cram into the closest lots possible and forgo parking in lots just a few blocks away for way less money?

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  6. I think Maija was simply trying to point out that our parking and public transit could be better, and then events downtown would be smoother for the majority of people who attend them.

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Don't be an idiot or your comment will be deleted.