New York: Good, Bad, and So Bad It's Good

Today marks a milestone for New York States of Mind — we’re officially a year old. In the countdown to our launch last year, my co-founder, Silda, and I joked a lot about how founding a company was like having a child: full of anticipation that builds during a nesting period, rife with intense anxiety on virtually every level, and, ultimately, overwhelmed by utterly biased pride at the beauty of our baby. (We also like to think that, objectively, it has turned out to be something that plays well with others.) In that vein, I frequently ponder the concept that an anthropomorphized New York State would take the form of that relative whose quirks and stubbornness drive everyone to madness, but also to whose defense everyone rises against maligning outsiders. Family runs deep. Such are the familial ties that bind. New York’s many idiosyncrasies synthesize into a unique charm. Silda and I have dubbed some of these eccentricities, “So bad it’s good.” An Adirondack high peak called “Nipple Top”? So bad it’s good. The most iconic structure in the State’s capital skyline shaped like, and named for, an egg? So bad it’s good (and an architectural marvel). Next week, Lucille Ball fans will converge in Jamestown, her home city, to replicate a famous scene from “I Love Lucy” in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for “Most People Grape-Stomping.” So bad, and also so, so good. The annual State Fair commissions a sculpture made of butter. And just the other day in New York City I saw a man taking his turtle for a “walk;” absolutely captivating. I love that I live in this weird, wonderful state.

It’s all part of the spirit of New York, at turns an acquired taste and yet broadly appealing. When sunrises and sunsets paint an arresting canvas across the expansive Southern Tier sky, or when the Hudson River sparkles as it weaves through the State, or when the sun throws dapples of light through the Adirondacks or peeks between Manhattan skyscrapers, or casts the Catskills into silhouette, I think of the extraordinary people who rose from this land in generations past (including six U.S. presidents), and who stood under that same brilliant sun. This is our legacy. Even when spotted, that’s simply “so good.” In this spirited month of Oktoberfest and Halloween, we embrace the New York zeitgeist by celebrating what’s ‘So Bad [it’s] So Good.’ The two often go hand in hand, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We hope you’ll share what’s #SoBadItsSoGood about your New York State of Mind. And now we’re blowing out our celebratory candles, and wishing for an incredible Year Two.

From New York City,

Christine Murphy
Co-Founder, COO and Editor in Chief