2.17.2005

The World is Your Campus, The World's Second Home is in NYC

Not long after being accepted into Kalamazoo College, I received a white t-shirt with all the flags of the world arranged in neat rows across the front and back of the shirt. Across the top it read, "Kalamazoo College - The World is Your Campus."

I remember feeling quite special until I arrived on campus and saw that everyone got a t-shirt. Apparently, I would be sharing the world with the rest of the class of '97.

Now, I live in NYC and I read today that Mayor Bloomberg is applying to trademark a new slogan for my new home . . .

NYC Seeks to Trademark a New Slogan
Thu Feb 17, 5:58 AM ET U.S. National - AP
NEW YORK - Forget "The Big Apple." New York now wants to be known as "The World's Second Home."
The city has filed an application to trademark the slogan, "The World's Second Home," giving the city exclusive rights to use it to promote business and tourism.
The phrase is likely to come up often as New York makes its push to host the 2012 Olympics.
If application No. 78484751 is accepted, the city would have exclusive rights to attach the phrase to a list of more than 200 products and services, according to Thursday's editions of the New York Times.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire, has been much more aggressive about filing for city trademarks and patents than his predecessors. One such application includes licensing the phrase "Made in NY."
In the 1970s, the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau officially gave New York City the moniker "The Big Apple." Around the same time, the state took on the "I (Heart) NY" slogan.

Apparently, slogans are very important to the national identity. How else would we know how to define our friends in North Dakota? Miss Hag. welcomes any and all new slogans her readers may like to submit for New York City. My vote . . . New York City: Can't Handle the Dirty? Stay out of the Martini.

Studio Apt.


STATE MOTTOS
Alabama: At Least We're not Mississippi
Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't be Wrong!
Arizona: Dehyd-rific!
Arkansas: Litterasy Ain't Everthing
California: As Seen on TV
Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother
Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only Dirtier and With Less Character
Delaware: Who Needs a Motto When You're Barely a State?
Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids
Georgia: We Put the "Fun" in Fundamentalist Extremism
Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death to Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money)
Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes... Well Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good
Illinois: Gateway to Iowa
Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free
Iowa: Land of James T. Kirk
Kansas: First Of The Rectangle States
Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names
Louisiana: We're Not All Drunk Cajun Wackos, But That's Our Tourism Campaign
Maine: Not Part of Massachusetts Since the Missouri Compromise
Maryland: A Thinking Man's Delaware
Massachusetts: Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's (For Most Tax Brackets)
Michigan: First Line of Defense From the Canadians
Minnesota: For Sale
Mississippi: Come Feel Better About Your Own State
Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars at Work
Montana: Land of the Big Sky, the Unabomer, and Very Little Else
Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest
Nevada: Whores and Poker!
New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone
New Jersey: You Want a #$@%#!@ Motto? I Got Yer #$@%#!@ Motto Right Here!
New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets
New York: You Have the Right to Remain Silent, You Have the Right to an Attorney,You Have the Right to Make Fun of People From New Jersey
North Carolina: Tobacco is a Vegetable
North Dakota: Um... We've got... Um... Dinosaur Bones? Yeah, Dinosaur Bones!
Ohio: Don't Judge Us by Cleveland
Oklahoma: Like the Play...Only No Singing
Oregon: Spotted Owl, It's What's For Dinner
Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal
Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island
South Carolina: Remember the Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender
South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota
Tennessee: The Educashun State
Texas: Se Hablo Ingles
Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus
Vermont: We All Smoke Pot!
Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?
Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds and Slackers!
Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?
West Virginia: One Big Happy Family -- Really!
Wisconsin: Come Cut Our Cheese
Wyoming: Wynot?