blog.sinden.org

I sort of enjoy reading Houstonist, even though I haven't regularly lived in the Bayou -- that's BI-you (not BAY-you) -- City for six years.

What does this have to do with Indiana? Good question.

I would definitely read an "ist" about the capital city of Indiana. You know, because it would be interesting, and probably a good way to discover some of the riches of what appears to be an austere, unfriendly city.

This immediately raises two questions.

1. What to call the capital city of Indiana.
2. What to call the "ist" about said city.

Let me propose some answers.

1. This whole Indianapolis thing is really a bad idea. Aparently an Indiana Supreme Court judge combined Indiana with polis (Greek, meaning city) to create the word.

   Coupled with the city's abundant boringness, Indianapolis is an unfortunate choice. In fact, we at Sinden.org find Indiana's capital so painfully boring that we refer to it as "naptown."

   An equally (if not more) successful term would be Hoosierville. It's more memorable, I think.

   However, why do we need to go this route at all? The state government has shown a clear preference for all things Eastern (as in Eastern United States) with the latest bout of Indiana's Daylight Saving Time confusion, so why not try on their naming conventions? It's not New Yorkapolis, it's just New York, as in New York, New York (full disclosure: this is actually only a valid mailing address if you're sending something to Manhattan).

   How about Indiana, Indiana? Or Indiana City, Indiana?

   Just a thought.

2. Should the Crossroads of America somehow join the illustrious Gothamist network, Indianapolisist, doesn't exactly roll off the toungue. But I for one would be glad to read and/or contribute to Hoosierist. Hmm, okay, it looks weirder than it sounds. And, it looks as if Hoosierist would not be rolled out until after the launch of Dallasist and Phoenixist.

Is there culture in the heart of Hoosierdom? I suspect there is, I just wish that the internet made it more apparent.