Let me be the negative first to suggest Fresh Salt.
let me de-lurk from my bed of agony to warn ajay and others: fresh salt is a million, but, like, a million blocks downtown. fresh salt is south of the staten island projects where wu-tang came up back in the day. I'll stop looking at the front page now and go back to looking at photographs of kitchen fixtures so I can continue my scale drawing. shut up! I'm not wearing my glasses! (yes, it makes a difference.) it's not as if I can sit upon cushions, and sew a fine seam, and eat upon strawberries, sugar and cream! well, because the dr. said no sewing. when I got the ok to draw I'm not sure I mentioned it would be scale drawing on graph paper with a sharp 3B. none of you snitch bitches rat me out, either!
fresh salt is a million, but, like, a million blocks downtown.
Yeah, this is the main disadvantage of Fresh Salt. It's hella far south and pretty inconvenient from Midtown. On the other hand, bars in Midtown tend to majorly suck.
It really isn't that far from midtown on an express line - three stops on the 4-5 if you're on the east side, four stops on the 2-3 if you're on the west side. It's nothing special, but it is cheap, generically pleasant, quiet, and five minutes walk from all the subway lines. But I'm fine with a midtown or village location if anybody knows of one that would be good for a meetup.
I'm actually in NY this week, so I'll be there.
Will try to make it.
OT: Taking her to dinner this week with one of my oldest friends and his wife. Have to coach them in amusing yet flattering anecdotes about self. E.g., "He saved those kindergarteners from a stampede of animal-nicknamed Morning Zoo radio sidekicks but forgot to wear socks all sophomore year!"
I can't help feeling that we should be having regular Narnia meetups just because it's the only way we can hear from al without causing her pain. Rather like those whaling expeditions where they'd get landed on a remote island with six months of food that would last them till the next steamer could make it through the ice, the meetup would provide al with a supply of unfogged that she could eke out (with a silver-plated Regency eking fork) for months if necessary.
And I'm pretty sure that the place I'm staying in doesn't have a hotel bar. It might have a hobo with a bottle of something in the doorway, but unlikely he'll be willing to share.
6: Nobody will believe the socks story.
Speaking of hobos in doorways, I'm going to SF next week, although I'm not staying in the Tenderloin this time so I probably won't be stepping over quite so many drunks.
I am enthusiastically pro-Salt on work days, as it's a ten minute walk from the Lemonade Society. (My work: it haz a pseud.)
Let me be the only one to suggest The Algonquin.
Let me also suggest the Algonquin and then get all embarrassed and withdraw the suggestion.
Let me be the first to suggest the Algonquin.
Let me be the first to salt the suggestions.
Careful, Eggplant, we don't want the moisture draining out of you.
17: If it will make Eggplant less bitter, I'm all for it. In Wisconsin. Dot com.
CSU Vice Chancellor Robert Turnage said Monday only eight campuses will admit students for the spring 2013 term and admission will be limited to community college transfer applicants.
CSU isn't taking any graduating high school students next year? What are they supposed to do?
19: Bye, bye, California. Idle the engines of the economy! Good plan!
19: also, they're really going to kill off their atheletics.
Nothing yet about the big Fall term. But that 6% cut (if) will be big.
Oh, I guess I didn't see that it was Spring admissions. But I'm still freaked out at the notion. Seriously, what are high school graduates supposed to do if the giant state college program just isn't taking them for a year or more?
Seriously, what are high school graduates supposed to do if the giant state college program just isn't taking them for a year or more?
Go to community college, presumably.
Make stuff cheaper than the Burmese can?
I can't tell if this is honest or a Washington Monument ploy. It is a hell of a threat.
(Washington Monument ploy no longer applicable for that site as the darned thing is still closed because of earthquake damage.)
I've heard that particular con referred to as "the gold watch"
We are having a mini-meet-up in Oxford next Tuesday, if anyone is passing (????), or any Oxford lurkers want to delurk.
Good point! I'd have forgotten.
Sadly not passing Oxford next week -- but putting in a sidebid in for a London-ish meet sometime soon?
19: In tangentially related news, a friend of mine who has been heavily involved in the protests at Berkeley has been given a "stay away order" banning him from every UC campus. The judge granted an exception for going to campus for "lawful purposes" (specifically teaching -- friend is a grad student), with the clear implication that protesting on campus would not be considered one of those purposes.
I'm always up for London-ish meets, too.
Well, in more positive legal news for protesters, the Urewera raids trial* is over, and the four accused are guilty on the arms charges, but a hung jury on the organised group charge. Mostly I am telling you this to brag about how I called it here at the time.
* quick summary: cops bust heaps of indigenous rights activists with weaponry and camo gear, charge them under all the mad anti-terror laws possible, find out that the Solicitor-General won't allow those charges to be laid, then find half the evidence is inadmissible (and illegal!), then drop charges against all but four of the original sixteen, eventually try four people for offences under the Arms Act and organised criminalness.
Yes, generally happy to come to London. Stranded in Lubbock is visiting in the middle of May (which seems like a way away, but I know I'm pretty busy up till Easter).
Just thought as I was in Oxford sans children that I would make C leave work early and see if we could nab ttaM. Parenthetical is probably off gallivanting.
Redelurking/
How long do these shindigs generally last? I'd love to come but unfortunately I have a prior in engagement in Queens till sometime after 9. I could probably make it by 10ish.
It wouldn't be implausible that there might be people there after ten; on the other hand it's not a guarantee. Comment when you're thinking of heading over, and someone should see it and tell you if we're still around.
Thanks LB, will do. Also, I'll be driving my car and it's been a very long time since I've driven in lower Manhattan, any parking tips?
Someone should make an executive decision about the location and post it by tomorrow morning, please. If I go to manhattan I would like to spend the day doing touristy crap and I don't have phone Internet.
Sorry, Fresh Salt it is -- I'm a 5'7" white woman with rectangular glasses and rumpled shortish brown hair.
Also, L.!
37: Oh, man, no idea other than don't do that. There must be garages around the Seaport, but damn if I know any offhand closer than down by Battery Park.
37, 40: It's actually not that crazy. There's a decent amount of street parking, and if you can't find a spot and are willing to pay, there are at least three surface lots within a couple blocks of Fresh Salt.
Jealous. Have fun. Apologies to L. for a specific harshness way back when. Don't give ajay a specific time and place recommendation for breakfast.
I have managed to meet visitors in Dublin a couple of times, with one near miss, and one NY meetup. When my brother eventually finishes clearing his stuff out I will even have a spare room!
No choice on taking the car I'm afraid. But thanks for the parking advice Mr. B and I hope ajay and y'all are still around by 9:30 or 10.
Anyone in San Diego the first week of April?
While we're on the topic of meetups, I'm coming to SF next week. I land on Monday at 1335 local, off again Thursday 1630.
(Also, if you're going out tonight, this will probably be great.)
I'll probably be at Fresh Salt right at 6:30, and can only stay until 7:30ish. In case I'm the first one there, I'll be the guy in a brown shirt reading Debt or futzing with iPhone. If I'm not the first one there, I'll probably be talking to LB, but I assume the brown shirt will still be in effect unless things have gotten really out of hand.
29, 31, 34: Yikes, sorry to have missed these. We'll definitely be in London--staying in Pimlico--the week of May 14-19. I've heard from a couple of people so far, but if anyone else is interested in meeting up for dinner/drinks/etc. then, please let me know at the address below, and I'll send out further feelers in April.
Note to self: arrive early, tear off Smearcase's brown shirt.
Note to jackmormon: it's buttons, not snaps, so I think that process is not going to be like in the movies.
Note to Smearcase: throes of etc. not discriminating re: closure.
Note to self: Check proper functioning of phone camera; arrive early to set up good angles.
Scrap the descriptions: look for people writing an excessive number of notes to themselves.
Note to Jackmormon: I see you also suffer from pseud confusion issues.
54: So you'd like to think, he said with an unconvincing leer.
Sorry, have to go to a museum with somebody tomorrow night. But our dinner with my oldest college friend and his wife went very well; when she excused herself, my friend's wife leaned across the table and stage-whispered "She's fantastic!"
Note to Flippanter: The meetup is tonight.
Didn't it used to be tomorrow? Did the thread change it?
Well, I'll see if I can make it tonight.
Note to self: Any mention of days other than the day of the week on which a meetup is actually scheduled to happen should be avoided, even if such mentions seem transparent in context.
Will it only confirm my reprobate status if I cop to envying Flip?
For his louche insouciance, his new girlfriend, or the fact that he may be able to make it to a dullish bar to hang out with us tonight? Presumably the last of the three, but I could be wrong.
You take my place in a Midtown conference room tomorrow listening (languidly, louchely, insouciantly) to the same 100+ page PowerPoint presentation I've heard many dozens of times before if you like, neb.
In the grim future of midtown Manhattan, there are only muffins.
I don't give a damn about your President. Or your damned muffins.
63: Showed up today to present at a meeting. The item before ran an hour long, then they took a break, then they cancelled my item. I don't care, in that I'm paid either way, but I wouldn't have chosen to spend an hour listening to people trying to craft definitions of federally vs. non-federally recognized tribes for a glossary.
When are you going to introduce her to the blog, Flippanter? Soon, right?
There are unusually many people at Fresh Salt.
There are unusually many people at Fresh Salt.
Woo meetup!
71:
And the one reading Shackleton is me.
Let me be the first to suggest liveblogging.
Two words: unimaginable depravity.
We found Ajay and L. Flip didn't show, the reprobrate.
It is everything I ever dreamed and so much more!
Désolé, chums. Some work that I had postponed has caught up with me.
By which, I meant to click Post and forgot.
oudemia, you're the slacker. You could have gotten yourself, your husband and child there. I mean, so what if he's not in the same state all the time.
I'm having a private meetup of me and a crossword puzzle. I think the crossword might win: I don't know enough pop culture names. My wine is excellent though.
You guys realize that my whole duty to retreat argument in the other thread was designed to encourage you to knife fight, right? Do it! Go ahead and stab each other, and if you're the last one standing you totes won't get convicted of murder.
Just because ajay is visiting from knifecrime island doesn't mean that a knife-fight must happen. Although it would spice up the liveblogging.
Yeah, this is America, Halford. They can use guns.
Has anyone had the macaroni and cheese? That was good
I hated to leave so early but I had to get my spare keys back from my cat-sitter. At karaoke. Where I did a fairly successful rendition of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" but chickened out on doing a Kelly Clarkson song.
What were the alternate working hypotheses?
So I guess "Work" in the title of the OP = "Comment on the Blog".
97: AFAICR, 'something from Oklahoma!' was actually our best guess.
There wasn't a knife fight, really. I didn't kill the blog IN REAL LIFE.
That's because in IRL ajay stands ten foot tall with a knife.
Everyone knows you are taller run faster with a knife.
Bald eagles are surprisingly large, and also surprisingly present in New Jersey.
102: We have them around here too, and they really are enormous.
102: Sounds like someone had an interesting post-meetup!
One or two bald eagles make regular appearances over the swampier parts of my own New Jersey suburb. A neighbor was traumatized when one started visiting her backyard birdfeeder, not for the birdseed but for the robins and/or mice who hang out there. Apparently it left a bloody mess. The nest is within a mile of a major oil refinery on the Delaware River.
105.last: There is a nest (with an "eagle cam") on the grounds of an aluminum plant along the Mississippi River in Iowa.
There is generally one seen here in the CBC along the Allegheny River. A fair number in the surrounding countryside, but not as common close in as I might have thought given the rivers.
Oddly enough, war owls did come up in conversation...