Tramps Like Us
Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. My new renter is none other than...Jesus or more specifically, Emails From Jesus. If you haven't checked this site already you don't know what you're missing. A relatively new addition to my blogroll, I feel blessed to be amongst the chosen disciples. Yes it's true. Jesus loves you, you and even YOU. All he wants is a comment or two.
This weekend marks the first year anniversary of the New Jersey Bloggers Carnival. You might have one of these for your state, too. Then again, between The Sopranos, acid wash and Bon Jovi, the New Jersey inspired topics sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.
Take this one for example. In New Jersey, there is an ongoing debate over finding a new state slogan. For years, our slogan was the lame New Jersey & You: Perfect Together. But the problem with picking such gee whiz, honky dory catch phrases is they are like the fat kid at summer camp; often open to public mockery.
As it is New Jersey takes a lot of "hits", some that are and some that are not mob related. Then again, it seems that certain states are the brunt of jokes more than others. I guess they are just easier targets.
For instance, you never hear anybody putting down Montana or Virginia. If you lived in Montana or Virginia your whole life perhaps you'd disagree, but I'd be willing to bet that even if you lived in Montana or Virginia your whole life you still know a Jersey stereotype or two. So there.
So New Jersey and their "squeaky clean image" apparently held an online contest to pick the new state slogan. The winner was an equally lame replacement, "New Jersey: Come See For Yourself"
New Jersey: Come See For Yourself?
I know I didn't enter the contest but, someone really dropped the proverbial Pat Benatar ball on hitting me with their best shot on that one.
As if the corny slogan choice wasn't bad enough, it's already being used...by West Virginia. I don't know which is worse, that New Jersey considered it to begin with or that it's already taken.
A few years ago a similar debate occurred over the selection of our state song. See somehow over the last 25 years, people from New Jersey have mistakenly confused Bruce Springsteen with God. It's a simple mix-up really. They both have been known to sport facial hair and they both have well known "posses". Bruce has the E Street Band while Jesus had the Apostles.
Yes, New Jersey had to pick one song, above all others, to define them as a state. Finally, this was their chance to prove the naysayers wrong. We are bigger than The Sopranos. We are more than acid wash. We are better than just Bon Jovi.
So what does New Jersey do? New Jersey turns around and chooses Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run as the leader of the pack. For those of you who are not familiar with the song, let me include here a clip from the refrain:
It's a death trap. it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Now I don't know where you come from, but in my mind, the words "death trap","suicide rap" "get out" and "tramps" should not be anywhere near each other when describing a state you want to work, play or even say VISIT one day.
Ok, fellow New Jersey residents. We get it. You dig Bruce and Born to Run is a killer song. But it's also a surefire way to lose ground in terms of credibility. The more you go picking songs like that the more you are saying you can take the hairspray from the girl, but you can't take the girl from her hairspray.
Since I live in New Jersey I can freely call it like I see it. Thems just the rules. It's you visitors that really need to watch your backs.
Hey, maybe I just came up with our new slogan after all.
This weekend marks the first year anniversary of the New Jersey Bloggers Carnival. You might have one of these for your state, too. Then again, between The Sopranos, acid wash and Bon Jovi, the New Jersey inspired topics sometimes seem to take on a life of their own.
Take this one for example. In New Jersey, there is an ongoing debate over finding a new state slogan. For years, our slogan was the lame New Jersey & You: Perfect Together. But the problem with picking such gee whiz, honky dory catch phrases is they are like the fat kid at summer camp; often open to public mockery.
As it is New Jersey takes a lot of "hits", some that are and some that are not mob related. Then again, it seems that certain states are the brunt of jokes more than others. I guess they are just easier targets.
For instance, you never hear anybody putting down Montana or Virginia. If you lived in Montana or Virginia your whole life perhaps you'd disagree, but I'd be willing to bet that even if you lived in Montana or Virginia your whole life you still know a Jersey stereotype or two. So there.
So New Jersey and their "squeaky clean image" apparently held an online contest to pick the new state slogan. The winner was an equally lame replacement, "New Jersey: Come See For Yourself"
New Jersey: Come See For Yourself?
I know I didn't enter the contest but, someone really dropped the proverbial Pat Benatar ball on hitting me with their best shot on that one.
As if the corny slogan choice wasn't bad enough, it's already being used...by West Virginia. I don't know which is worse, that New Jersey considered it to begin with or that it's already taken.
A few years ago a similar debate occurred over the selection of our state song. See somehow over the last 25 years, people from New Jersey have mistakenly confused Bruce Springsteen with God. It's a simple mix-up really. They both have been known to sport facial hair and they both have well known "posses". Bruce has the E Street Band while Jesus had the Apostles.
Yes, New Jersey had to pick one song, above all others, to define them as a state. Finally, this was their chance to prove the naysayers wrong. We are bigger than The Sopranos. We are more than acid wash. We are better than just Bon Jovi.
So what does New Jersey do? New Jersey turns around and chooses Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run as the leader of the pack. For those of you who are not familiar with the song, let me include here a clip from the refrain:
It's a death trap. it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Now I don't know where you come from, but in my mind, the words "death trap","suicide rap" "get out" and "tramps" should not be anywhere near each other when describing a state you want to work, play or even say VISIT one day.
Ok, fellow New Jersey residents. We get it. You dig Bruce and Born to Run is a killer song. But it's also a surefire way to lose ground in terms of credibility. The more you go picking songs like that the more you are saying you can take the hairspray from the girl, but you can't take the girl from her hairspray.
Since I live in New Jersey I can freely call it like I see it. Thems just the rules. It's you visitors that really need to watch your backs.
Hey, maybe I just came up with our new slogan after all.
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