i wonder what can be read into the fact that both meetups are taking place in bars that have "Town" in the name...
Between Park and Broadway, in case anyone doesn't already know that.
im there but they wont seat us until everyone arrives. Meet downstairs.
Is this the point where the rest of us feel left out?
Someone should ask ogged whether preserved lemons are part of Persian cooking, or if that's more of a north African thing.
I know. How am I supposed to avoid grading like this?
You could grate the papers and then sprinkle them around a classroom like confetti left over from some holiday party.
maybe I'll go to a bar, and then report back on the time I had.
wow -- that bar was totally sweet, what with the drinks and all the fun people. We shared moments that I cannot convey, but only allude to. That one guy, he looked as one would expect, but the other did not. And that waitress -- who would have thought?
See you all next year/whenever!
I could just drink at home, I guess.
That's what I'm about to do. I think I'll fix myself a gin&tonic, because, well, because that's what I've got.
I just went to the grocery store and got some mint, thinking I could make myself a mint julep.
Maybe I'll do that.
Isn't there sugar in a mint julep? That seems weird to me.
I've got beer, whisky, scotch... some kind of cheap-ass chocolate liquer. Hm. I do still need to grade, but maybe if I'm drunk it'll be easier.
Who drinks mint juleps in December??
There is, though not much. Sugar is a component of many classic cocktails—indeed, the original cocktail was nothing more than sugar (or simple syrup), bitters, and hooch. (IOW, it was an Old Fashioned, before they got corrupted by the modern age.)
I didn't go to the store to get the mint, I just saw it there and thought, why not?
I've got Lillet, sweet vermouth, a Cointreau sub, Herbsaint, rye, apple brandy, cognac, gin, maraschino liqueur, ginger liqueur, lemons, limes, and four kinds of bitters.
The liquor store that the Governor shops at is across the street from my house. Tragically, I have no money, but if I did, I'd go over there and buy something ludicrous - maybe Dogfish Head Raison d'Ętre. $9 for twelve ounces of beer.
That's not only gay, it's fucking weird. The only actual alcohol you have is cognac and gin?????
I mean, cowboys drink rye.
The only actual alcohol you have is cognac and gin?????
Whisky isn't real alcohol?
It has been determined in conversation that you just don't know what apple brandy is, too.
Splurge, it's great. A Dogfish Head Alehouse just opened up about 5 minutes from my house, I've been going every chance I get. Excellent beer.
Listen, Raisin D'Etre is too sweet to call itself beer. "Syrup" is more descriptive.
A good time was had by all at the Old Town, at least by all who communicated to me what kind of a time they were having. Fortuna Labs is much too tall. The other people, mostly in an acceptable height range, generally quite friendly. My Ex seemed a little standoffish but I wasn't sitting near her so I could not swear to that.
I missed the rye. And I don't like brandy, and brandy is generally kind of an old person's drink anyway, no?
Fortuna Labs
O Fortuna, velut luna...
Whatever his pseud -- he is too tall. That's my story and i'm stickin by it.
Forget your ex, what's ogged's ex like?
O Fortuna, velut luna
statu grandissima?
We've got three kinds of beer, Kahlua, white zinfandel, champagne, Asti Gancia, whisky, and undoubtedly other stuff I can't find. So by bitchphd's lights, that's only one kind of real alcohol. Of course, I'm a pussy (booze-wise) who doesn't drink real alcohol other than gin.
Beer, whine, champagne are all real alcohol. kahlua's good with coffee. You pass.
I didn't mean "hard alcohol." I meant "things that don't require three different ingredients and fussing over."
The bubbly stuff is reserved for Karl Rove's indictment.
You pass.
That's a relief. Hey, your blog is moldering: no posts in 30 hours. There is no joy in Bitchland. :-(
B., do you drink gin straight? That's hardcore.
No, I don't like gin a whole lot, actually. But I do drink g&ts in summer.
I'm a pussy (booze-wise) who doesn't drink real alcohol
That was apparent from the white zin. ;)
I didn't mean "hard alcohol." I meant "things that don't require three different ingredients and fussing over."
Most of the (potable) things I listed are real alcohol, by those lights.
I celebrated by administering an exam, which I will attempt to grade by noon Thursday. The nearest liquor store is about 5 miles from my house. I have at home two bottles of beer and some wine.
Matt, let's meet in the next non-dry county and grade our end of semester stuff at a bar. Ok?
Why the hell is the Hampton Grease Band on the Nurse With Wound list?
3 kinds of scotch, 2 kinds of bourbon, cognac, vodka, gin, tequila, triple sec (I went through a kamikaze phase a while back), whatever Yukon Jack is...
Plus some beer and assorted wine.
Why does bitchphd's link show up in gray and everyone else's in blue? Is that because she's a girl?
Yeah, we don't fuck around in this house.
Deal. A bar with a staircase, so we can exercise classic grading technique.
I always wondered how my profs graded stuff . . . .
Matt, I suggest we actually exchange papers. It'll make it even more fun.
For some reason that I cannot fathom I have a bottle of Manischewitz Cream White Concord in my liquor cabinet.
I mean, cowboys drink rye.
That's it! That's it!
Now I just have to find the lyrics sheet.
ash
['Another atrocity in the making.']
Well, that was fun.
Labs is way tall, and more bangled than I pictured. Ogged is close to what I'd thought, lookswise, and very welcoming. Good times, though the bar did last call way before folks were ready, say I.
There was a shaven-headed lurker who had some extraordinary stories about large-cocked professors, and he'd better comment sooner or later, or I'll protest in some way of my own choosing.
I'm drunk, it should be noted.
Drymala just told me the experience was terrible.
"There was a shaven-headed lurker who had some extraordinary stories about large-cocked professors..."
I was shocked and appalled. Vaguely alarmed, even. Especially when I learned we had grown up about two blocks away from one another.
No one has said a word about the guest of honor, viz, Emerson.
At the very least I want to know if he hit on IA.
what are the odds that standpipe came, but did not divulge stanpipeself's standpipe status?
I'll bet it occurred.
mystery!
no! no! standpipeself's standpipe status.
I was promised that Emerson would be much crankier than he was.
These recollections are more detailed than I thought they would be.
I have not killed Michael, neither has he killed me.
26 - No, no. Ex was cool. Anyone who not only indulges our discussions of whether mermaids evolved from dolphins vs. fish and the logical evolutionary chronology but goes as far as to contribute supporting diagrams earns their seat at the Unfogged table.
But tell us about blogcrushworthy LB! Ogged's old news.
"Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?
Tell me more, tell me more, like, does he have a car?"
I would say that I got the farthest: LB might be crashing my bridge group. Yay!
awkward pubbing, now it's all past,
awkward pubbing, ends very fast,
[Filler]
Then she left, talking with Labs --
Wonder why they split a cab --
awkward pubbing, shifting awaaayyyyy
to uh all those blo-o-oooggging nii-hiiiighghghghts!
tell me more! tell me mo-o-ore!
I would say that I got the farthest.
FL, I, and others also thought you did.
I dunno. Michael and Ogged shared some special moments.
In arranging further person-to-person nerdy activities...no, I mean really, bridge, for fuck's sake!
I think Ogged was trying to deny the tension between us.
In arranging further person-to-person nerdy activities...no, I mean really, bridge, for fuck's sake!
It could be hot girl-girl bridge or something!
ash
['Nicccceeeee biiddddiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggggg.']
Everyone at the meetup was attractive, like a Greek God. The waitress reluctantly served us out of resentment for our collective sexiness.
Improper use of prepositions is a direct result of washerdreyer feeding my freeloading self more beer. woo!
whatever. we've got all the froogle pictures.
and that "whatever" should be pronounced "what-e-var" and be accompanied with finger snaps, and general sassiness.
gay is the new straight, Michael.
but straight is the new homo, so I'm not quite sure how to act.
besides, alluding to "hot summer nights" is so gay that I've given up any chance of scoring any unfogged chicks. so I might as well gay it up.
Grab a young boy's ass but proclaim celibacy?
but I don't even attend mass very often.
59: If "hella stylin'" is equivalent to: Made me wonder if the "B" in "Mr. B" stands for Brown, Black, Blue, or some other color; because he appeared to have just emerged from the cast of Reservoir Dogs, I agree.
This comment is interestingly punctuated.
well, i think they're all taken there, anyway.
Dis! now mr. b shall insult washerdreyer's appearance. It'll be swell.
I merely report the facts, you can decide if it's a dis.
Joe told my wife B that Labs said I looked like Mr. Pink. Why am I Mr. Pink?
He "tipped" the waitress IYKWIM, AITYD.
Mr. B. knows better than to hassle a waitress.
Wait, Mr. B was there? Was B? What was the roster like?
45 "Why the hell is the Hampton Grease Band on the Nurse With Wound list?"
Definitely a scarey kid.
What are you getting at, bob? I'm doing research.
Hey nobody (myself included) has mentioned the big excitement of the evening, which was that SB sent his ladyfriend along with a package for us all containing... pornography? explosives? lint? No, "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookies. Everyone appreciated the gesture without quite understanding it, as was of course appropriate. The ladyfriend could not be persuaded to hang around and service the table.
coming in very late to defend the joys of Lillet, which is good straight from the fridge poured into a glass, though it's even better with a slice of BLOOD orange.
but: what on earth is sub cointreau, ben?
94 - I would have gone with Mr. Blonde. Appearance only -- he didn't seem like the ear-slicing sort.
94 - I would have gone with Mr. Blonde. Appearance only -- he didn't seem like the ear-slicing sort.
102 has made my day. And it's not even 8am yet.
I mean, cowboys drink rye.
Cowboys no longer work as a "get out of gay free" card.
I mean, cowboys drink rye.
Cowboys no longer work as a "get out of gay free" card.
Jeremy's version of events has that "game of telephone" quality, except Jeremy seemed to be in attendance. Soon, I will make the trip to Starbucks and all will be revealed.
"Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?
Tell me more, tell me more, like, does he have a car?"
Did you ever think about the original lyrics: "Tell me more, tell me more, did she put up a fight?" Sick.
(Psst, Frederick, it's because you've been to bitchphd's homepage. Apostropher is greyed out for me, too, but that's just because he's a Confederate.)
What does "hella stylin'" mean, anyway (other than "[m]ade me wonder if the 'B' in 'Mr. B' stands for Brown, Black, Blue, or some other color; because he appeared to have just emerged from the cast of Reservoir Dogs")?
Thanks, Cala. I see what you mean; I just went to tom's page, and suddenly his name turns gray here. Cool.
What does "hella stylin'" mean
Mr. B was very handsomely decked out in suit and tie.
he's a Confederate
But of this variety, it should be noted.
I'd like to put myself in the Ogged's ex=nice and pretty and smart camp. I don't think she was standoffish. I think she was soft-spoken and perhaps not entirely sure how to interact with this passle of strangers that she didn't know at all and that had oddly-defined relationships with each other.
Also, I think it was ac who provided the cookies.
Mr. B was extraordinarily dapper, and quite the looker (I, of course was extraordinarily rude in giving him a hard time about showing up in a suit. In my defense, I'm such a sloven myself that it simply doesn't occur to me that someone could be wearing a suit when they didn't have to. And I was raised by wolves.) Very informative on mermaids, gyroscopes, and related matters.
Labs is ridiculously tall, and just awfully fetching -- I found myself regretting that fixing him up with Dr. Oops isn't practical, because if it worked out I could end up with a new master race of nieces and/or nephews. They'd be inhumanly outsized and pretty. (Cool earrings, as well.)
The cookies were from ac, who did not show (she wrapped them in paper bearing images of standpipes (unfortunately not Standepipe's)). Drat. Oddly, ogged's ex, who I didn't get much of a chance to talk to, is enough of the same type as ac that I was squinting at her as I was being introduced, trying to figure out if my memory was a little off and that was ac. (Not that I know what ac looks like these days, but the comparison is flattering -- ogged's ex is lovely.).
Ogged is precisely as described -- a skinny Chris Noth with Jeff Goldblum body language, and a goggle tan (I hadn't realised that that would include stripes across the temples.)
Becks and Tia both looked like they blog - I'm not sure what I mean by that, but they looked just like I had expected them to. Jackmormon didn't -- something about her tone, writing, is so level and measured that I expected someone older than I was, rather than my age or younger (and I'm terribly excited about the possibilty of bridge.)
W/d shouldn't listen to any of the advice I gave him about working in BigLaw; I'm too disgruntled. Anything my buddy Idealist said is much better advice.
And I had a delightful time -- spent the evening grinning like a fool.
I can't believe the Ex went. She doesn't even read the site, I think. Unless she was gathering names to turn into Homeland Security, I think it's pretty cool that she showed up.
OTOH, did anyone check her against the Will-Not-Date list?? Also, does FL look like someone who would play chamber music or like someon who might carjack you?
LB,
Thanks for the report! Geez I'm wishing I could have been there, or seen it, or something, but sadly NY is way too far away for me. Chicago I could probably manage . . .
I'm trying to think of something witty and enchanting to say but coming up empty at the moment.
In a world in which everyone has a blog crush on w-lfs-n, I suspect it's to be expected that Labs would not only be ginourmous, but also good-looking.
What about John Emerson?
A very nice guy and not at all cranky -- and indeed he looks and acts much younger than his claimed 60 years. Had interesting things to say about different places he has lived, and an enlightening conversation about life outcomes.
Disappointingly, I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him. Not as I'd pictured him -- I'd envisioned a tall, cleanshaven, Minnesota farmer type (basically a character from Prairie Home Companion) and instead he's short, bearded, and looks very academic.
Also he nominated North Dakota as a location for the next meetup.
I'd envisioned a tall, cleanshaven, Minnesota farmer type
He has remarked on his short stature several times here before.
an enlightening conversation about life outcomes
Sharing is caring, Jeremy. If he gave you the secret to life, give it up. ("Never do business with a Sicilian in matters involving death"?)
Also, did the ex refer to ogged as "ogged"? Or even "my Love Terrorist"?
Yeah, but I just don't listen. Minnesota makes me think of Lake Wobegon, and then correcting the image is very difficult.
Is it too early to schedule a meetup in Hell? I know text will be there, and I understand that a number of other Mineshaft regulars will be there as well.
Maybe sometime in early 2067? At the park benches on the south shore of that big sulphur pond in the Second Circle?
Tim -- it wouldn't be called a "secret" if you were supposed to just tell anybody.
Before Garrison Keillor us Minnesotan's were the Paul Bunyan type.
FL's height probably helps in playing the bass.
I salute every one of you in coming out of the shadows. It must be a little difficult to reveal yourselves in person.
Is it too early to schedule a meetup in Hell?
That would be lovely, what with it being here in town and all. It's a fine place with one of the best jukeboxes in the area, but I don't know how many guests I'm allowed to bring.
There was a shaven-headed lurker who had some extraordinary stories about large-cocked professors, and he'd better comment sooner or later, or I'll protest in some way of my own choosing.
Yeah, who the hell was that shaven-headed lurker anyway? Guy shows up, pretends to know everyone already, and then starts babbling about cocks! But, you know, the only on-record cock observations I remember from him were about FL, who is, we can all safely assume, ginormous.
Re: 132
Wouldn't you know, Hell is members only. And that you are a member.
Apostropher has a devil put aside for me, for meeee, for MEEEEEEEEE!
And I guess that explains the red mullet, too.
I have to admit that "Members Only" has often figured prominently in my imaginings of Hell. But, then, I liked the 80s.
A meetup in hell? Sure! You're welcome to visit my current place of residence any ol' time.
Hey, I came up with a brilliant nom de blog for PK's mouse. Obviously he'll name her whatever he feels like for real, but if you're planning to preserve her pseudonymity online, Mrs. Frisby is a fine mouse name, and an excellent rodent-related book.
Hey did anybody else notice that the so-called "Invisible Adjunct" is neither invisible, nor an adjunct?
Heh, Mrs. Frisby is awesome. We'll surely go with that. Loved that book...
Re:101 Explains it, Ben. Someone who wasn't there and hasn't been looking for years has to be doing serious research into art-rock to know Hampton Grease Band. Not only were they obscure and unlistenable, they were also not very good. Which doesn't keep them off my hard drive. Took me a long time to get them.
Is it too early to schedule a meetup in Hell?
I haven't been to Hell (yet), but my wife and father have. It's on Grand Cayman. My daughter and I didn't go to Hell because we swam with stingrays that day. I have a picture of myself petting one. Very cool.
Cowboys no longer work as a "get out of gay free" card.
You don't say.
I thought the upshot of "Bareback Mountain" was going to be that hot man-on-man buttsex is no longer teh gay.
Yikes. That is the first time I have ever used "teh gay" in a post. I feel so... dirty.
I feel so... dirty.
Not dirty, just erroneous. I notice however, that the pretender has now pulled nearly even with the original. The terrorists have nearly won.
Is there any reason your preferred form is preferred? I mean, "teh" is a typo. "ghey" isn't. What gives?
"ghey" is a typo for "ghee" -- "teh ghey" is blog-comment shorthand for Indian cuisine. Apostropher is just introducing it here to distract our attention from the main point. J'accuse!
Urban Dictionary saith it's an attempt to keep using 'gay' to mean 'lame' without trying to disparage gay people--I agree with definer #n that this is lame. Anyway, it doesn't seem to be how it is used at the Mineshaft.
What gives?
Tradition! [cue Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack]
it's an attempt to keep using 'gay' to mean 'lame' without trying to disparage gay people
Similar to writing "womyn", I guess.
I agree with definer #n that this is lame
Worse than being lame, it's o-earnest.
it's o-earnest.
Which is what Matt F said.
Actually, I can quite easily see Fierstein playing that role. Of course, my relevant expertise runs only so far as the occasional Tevye-quoting, usually something on the order of, "As the good book says, if you spit in the air, it lands in your face."
Where does the good book say that?
Well, maybe it doesn't say that exactly, but there's something in there about a chicken.
Wow you guys take a couple of days off and look what happens to the comments section!