Could somebody please tell me that somebody is going to unobtrusively crash, just for the ol’ fly on the wall view? Or would it be too sad? Just a complete downer for all involved parties?

That being said, I consider the “upstate” thing a population density issue rather than one of geography. Everything that’s not NYC or LI is upstate to me, just like anything south of I-80 is southern Illinois (where I did my undergrad).

I’m willing to grant Yonkers a reprieve, because as was once pointed out to me, there’s no way DMX is from upstate NY. But that’s it. Everything else is upstate.

And hell, there are dairy farms in Hyde Park. Or at least there used to be when I was growing up. So Dutchess is upstate.

Speaking as a fellow Vasshole, I disagree with your contention that Poughkeepsie is not “upstate.” As I understood it, the term referred to anyplace north of NYC that could not be considered either a suburb or dedicated feeder community for Teh City. Yeah, I wouldn’t call Westchester upstate, but (pulls on Vasshole identity politics beanie) if a Poughkeepsie native says that Poughkeepsie is upstate, that’s good enough for me.

Syd, I’m confused.

I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man. The Jungian thing.

And working right in the shiny place where Southie meets the Financial District is interesting. Where to take the expensive clients for lunch? The Irish bar for a mix of locals drinking on a weekday afternoon and the posh business jobbers. That’s my spot. Although there are plenty of Ace-esque people in an around the city.

So not really *that* upstate, but it’s still upstate. And so is Westchester, damnit.

You call them wingnuts, yet you call us commie hippie freaks??

And seriously, I think there’s no question who has a better time.

You are the best. What an incredible essay. I really like it.

He even has his own wiki page.

I was rather tickled to know that he reads Sadly, No! At least I’m not the only Linux/open source geek here.

But it was good enough for the summer. I could ride my bike everywhere from there. The rent was affordable to a college student. And, c’mon, Toscanini’s! Ah, good times.

Nice point, noen!

She corrected her initial sentance, and as Righteous points out, it’s still incorrect!

We are out here too though certainly not in Bloomington so much. More downtown Minneapolis and thereabouts because the first thing you learn when you transition is the pay ain’t so good. The area around me is pretty diverse what with Ethiopians and the Somalis at the Starbucks, and the Hmong and the Laotian restaurants and the expatriot Russian women at the food shelf… it’s… interesting.

The only time I go to “The Mall” would be to go to Ikea for some cheap crap. Other than that it’s… just… a… mall. The lady you’re talking about would most likely be from Edina (Every Day I Need Attention) or some other suburb. The suburbs are indeed insane and they bring their violence with them when they visit the city. Nothing screams privilege like the drag shows at the Gay 90′s where the suburbanites are in full tourist mode and get into drunken fights should they get hit on or that the woman they are talking to is clearly not “into” them or not quite who they thought she was. I don’t go there any more, it isn’t my “space” anymore, thanks assholes.