New York's bid for the 2012 Olympics is disturbing me. I do not want that event here--it will be used as an excuse for all sorts of wasteful, commercialized construction that will erase more of our great city's unique character. It will virtually greenlight the proposed West Side stadium for the Jets (like I mentioned in my last entry, I don't follow baseball). We don't need the attention--as it is, every movie and TV show (not to mention half the car commercials on TV) already take place in New York. I could deal with the congestion the Olympics would bring, but the commercial aspects of it disturb me much more than any feel-good community aspects delight me.

On top of my already sour feeling for the thing, the corporation handling NYC's official bid has launched a publicity campaign in anticipation of the Evaluation Commission's visit later this month. The campaign is just shy of fascistic, with bold, somewhat overbearing, somewhat sinister-sounding slogans. Slogans like: THERE WILL BE NO STRANGERS and EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD WILL CELEBRATE. And if we don't? What happens if the East Village decides to NOT celebrate? They'll kill us I suppose. (Reminds me of the most threatening publicity slogan I ever saw, back in the day, for the musical Cats: CATS. NOW AND FOREVER. Please, please not forever!!). Anyway, the ads are very multicolored, rather than the usual fascist red and black, so at least that's something. But the logo for the thing is also kinda scary, in a big bold see-it-everywhere way. It looks like this:

But my mind sees it as this:

Good luck to Paris and London! Let them get the Games!