September 21, 2006

Nimby

Mayor Daley wants to put the Olympics in my backyard. All I can think about is trying to drive to work, and how people will definitely steal our parking spot, "resident parking only" sign be damned. Yeah, yeah. I know it's ten years away, and it probably won't happen anyway.

I do like this one: "Designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Washington Park would further benefit from two Astroturf fields for hockey and football..." I wonder what Olmsted would say to that.

Posted by mike, September 21, 2006 11:54 AM
Comments

Obviously Olmstead would say, "Hey! Hockey! That is SO cool! Damn, I had wanted to have a hockey theme for my wedding, but bitch-lump would not have any of that! For goodness sake, what says 'I do' better than Bobby Orr flying through the air like super-dawg or something? Damn, woman! I just wanted friggin' Bobby Orr to be part of the dream! What is wrong with that, I ask you? What... is... wrong... with that?"

Then he would sing "Don't know what you got till its gone" by Cinderella.

Posted by: shane at September 21, 2006 12:08 PM

I had three thoughts.
1) Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.
2) Maybe the Green Line stop will get a coffee shop out of it.
2a) Don't hold your breath.
3) Hey, it's 2016. We'll be living in Thailand by then for sure.

Posted by: rebecca at September 21, 2006 1:08 PM

And you all laugh at me for moving to Belvidere! Who's laughing now, city folk?!

Posted by: Keisha at September 21, 2006 4:48 PM

Sorry Mike, but I'm pulling for Olympics in Chicago. But, see, I live up here in Mi'waukee and I would just love to be able to drive down to an Olympic event or two.

Tangental question - How big a problem is that recent Thai military coup thingy?

Posted by: McCabe at September 24, 2006 1:07 AM

And, I'm guessing Olmsted would be ok with the addition of a few non-19thc recreational venues to his parks. His parks were somewhat "British" in the sense that they were more gardens than recreational venues. But the parks movement was one of the earliest and most durable American contributions to international town planning. Anyting that keeps parks viable in an age when the scale of urban development has swelled to proportions positively unimaginable to the 19thc mind would, I think, be a good thing (to that 19thc mind... maybe?)

Posted by: McCabe at September 24, 2006 1:15 AM

Is it terrible for me to really, really wish that we don't get the Olympics? It just sounds like a huge pain in the ass.

Posted by: Amy at September 24, 2006 6:59 PM

The Olympics in Chicago? Sounds great! I don't live there anymore, of course. ;) Actually, seeing as how I'm a public trans dude I doubt it would bug me anymore than a Cubs game even if I did live there. For your sake, I hope it doesn't happen.

Posted by: Shawn at September 24, 2006 8:52 PM

More like dozens of Cubs game happening all over the city all day every day for two weeks, attended by hundreds of thousands of fans. I'm pretty sure public transportation would be hammered.

Posted by: mike at October 2, 2006 11:31 PM