Awesome. I put it on my calendar, and Jupiter's sounds perfect.
To suggest Zeitgeist would be gauche, wouldn't it?
Jupiter's is in Berkeley, yeah? Oddly, I've been there. Perhaps loud? I can't remember.
Apparently, there's no apostrophe "s" on the end.
The picture of me on the stanford philosophy department website was taken at Jupiter's, it turns out, at a metafilter shindig.
Will you guys let us SoCali types crash?
Good, because I was going to yell at you otherwise.
No one who says "SoCali" will be allowed, though.
How about people who say "stop being such a little bitch, Ben"?
I am, of course, using the Governatorial spelling of "Calafornyah"
I like Jupiters and would happily go there, but I've always found it was loud enough to make conversation difficult.
Where better for an unfogged meetup than a former opium den?
Not that I'm going to go, I just have a weird obsession with where other people are going to go drink.
The combination of "Li Po" and San Francisco makes me think of this man. Be careful all you meetupers./
20: ahh, I suspect he just had some of that bar's storied ginseng liquor. Tastes like burning!
I think Jupiter's should be fine as long as we get an outdoor table; Raleigh's is a bit further from BART, less loud, and a little collegiate. Has anyone done anything meet-up-y at Luka's Bar & Grill in Oakland? It seemed promising as a meetup spot, and is slightly closer to the rest of you.
My sister reports that her friends go to Luka's a lot. Big beers, good expensive burgers. Her friends know a good thing, so it is probably fine.
OT: in the mean time, does anyone want to W00t! with me? In a few minutes I shall be done quitting my job and finished with corporate slavery for the forseeable future!
w00t! Bear in mind that 'between jobs,' 'freelance' and 'consultant' are all useful synonyms for 'unemployed.'
Just say you're doing it for tax purposes.
"Between jobs" is in fact, perfectly correct---gainful, non-corporate, employment has been procured, starting a few months hence. But I will also be freelancing, consulting, and--hopfully--blogging.
Just spend the time playing chess in cafés and reading. Loads of fun.
Oh yeah, forgot, 'blogging' can also mean 'unemployed.' You could do a post on which synonyms are preferred by the laptop-wielding hordes you'll be hanging out with at the coffee shop.
You could do a post on which synonyms are preferred by the laptop-wielding hordes you'll be hanging out with at the coffee shop.
Isn't that essentially the NYTimes article from here?
It would be, except that article wasn't in the Times.
Yeah, let facts get in the way, w-lfs-n. If that doesn't seem like a Times article, I'll eat my hat.
Plus, some of the people in the article had other reasons for not being at work. 'It's my day off' and 'I'm in hospice' may be lame excuses, but they don't really mean 'unemployed.'
So should we take transit into account when picking a location? And is this a day or evening thing?
I've heard good things about the food at Luka's but have never been. And while I've been to Jupiter a bunch, I don't think I've ever actually sat inside.
2: Hmm... the dictionary on my computer says "gauche" means "lacking in ease or grace", two attributes that practically define Zeitgeist.
Might be crowded on a Saturday, but the meetup can always start at 4pm, the way all good Zeitgeist evenings do.
Outdoor's okay as long as it's not freezing. Which, y'know, it might well be.
as long as it's not freezing... You SCalifanians are such wimps.
Well, come to think of it, my layers of fat might keep me warm. Let's sit outside so we can watch skinny Ogged freeze.
I must admit: NorCalafrians are pretty much wimps about weather, too.
You should meet on Sproul plaza and pass out literature trying to get people to join your collective.
I'll come if I'm in town. And I also vote for Jupiter, particularly if it's during the day. (It gets crowded at night, and a lot harder to get an outdoor table.)
I believe Luka's is where the Drinking Liberally crowd goes. Amazingly, I haven't been, despite my status as an avidly drunken liberal.
Oh - and just for those not satisfied with Jupiter, another possibility in Berkeley is the Albatross on San Pablo. It's a little farther away from BART, but it's one of my all-time favorite bars.
Outdoor's okay as long as it's not freezing. Which, y'know, it might well be.
It probably will be starting at about 3:00, which is why I suggested an indoor/outdoor place.
Suggestions so far for location:
* Jupiter (right next to Berkeley BART, has big outdoor seating area in back, possibly with heaters?)
* Luka's Taproom (2 blocks from 19th St. BART, indoor-only, has amusingly pearl-clutching "but isn't downtown Oakland dangerous?" question in FAQ, has a ton of stuff on tap but no apple cider for B and me)
* Zeitgeist (far from BART, outdoors mostly w/heaters, built-in opportunity to mock w-lfs-n -- but at what cost??)
* Triple Rock (3 blocks from Berkeley BART, patio is small, can get noisy, esp. when there's a game on)
* Li Po (totally doesn't count because Beefo Meaty's not even gonna bother to show up. Next!)
Zeitgeist is only 4 blocks from 16th/Mission BART, but as near as I remember lacks heaters. But has cheap pitchers and fantastic Bloody Marys. And it's on this side of the bridge (or tunnel...).
I recall Jupiters having a big outdoor area but it being sort of discontiguous. Never been to any of the others.
Not gonna happen. This is hippy libertarian consensus decisionmaking. PK will be married by the time you agree. You need a firm hand, a Hitler if you will, if you ever hope come to conclusion here. (Maybe a Mussolini, OK.)
I gotcher firm hand right here, old man. Aren't you due for a colonoscopy? On a benevolent blog, you hear people out first, and then make a decision. I don't know how they do it in Fargo.
Fine, patchouli man. These hippy planning processes take longer than the event planned. But have it your way.
Megan. My guess is that Megan could whip you stoners into shape.
Not to say that she is Hitler.
You guys should go to Jupiter. I have excellent memories of snorting the smooshed-up crumbs of 3 or 4 Extasy tablets out of the bottom of my backpack there. People are very polite if you occupy the bathroom for ten minutes!
I actually left my co-op because I could not go to one more consensus house meeting about conventionally grown bananas. I solve the venue problem by picking one ahead of time and inviting everyone to that spot.
Jupiters and Luka's are probably equivalent. I don't think it would matter which we chose.
Since it didn't get much love last time, I wasn't going to say anything, but is the bonfire idea too much work for people? It really is a lovely location, with a smaller grill and long picnic table and the huge fire pit and benches. It would definitely require driving, and some effort to bring our food and wood. But it we would likely have it to ourselves. And all the foodies in the crowd could show off.
Too much work, some people will be cold, we'll all smell like smoke, and it sounds too much like m-fun.
OK, Fargo it is. The Steak Palace in Fargo. There's a non-smoking area behind the restaurant by the dumpster for people who want to non-smoke. Vegetarians have the choice between between Thousand Island, Blue Cheese, and Italian.
Too much work is a good reason, but I really was thinking of a small gathering suited to the participants. I think your notions of m-fun are much more fixed than the range of get-togethers I enjoy.
Dude, you're talking about bringing wood. What kind of party requires wood? An m-fun party, that's what.
Ok, unless someone is mortally opposed, it's going to be Jupiter, on the 7th. (How Magpie managed to rope us all into the East Bay, I don't know, but well done.) Now we need a time! Evening is fine, obviously, but if folks want to start earlier, which would mean quieter, better seats, more time spent inebriated, etc., that would be fine too.
Hitler didn't need to be prodded.
A barbecue with a fire? In a fire pit, for a dozen people to gaze into as they chat quietly and then look up at the East Bay hills?
Look, I don't even care that much. Jupiters sounds good. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.
gaze into as they chat quietly and then look up
Gay.
I think that your firepit should be oriented to Brad DeLong's house, like a Mecca.
Megan,
FWIW, I thought your idea was great.
But I'm away then.
So, somebody write it up. Anyway, if Emerson's right, you can do that in advance.
Zeitgeist (far from BART
There's a bart stop at 16th and Mission, half a mile away.
We've moved on to considering the time of the gathering, Ben.
I like to get to Jupiters before it gets very busy. And their food is good, so it would be easy to stay a while.
Wednesday at 2 pm.
See how easy that was?
Is that when the weekend starts for you alcoholics in North Dakota? Not much to do on the Great Plains, is there?
Hitler's getting huffy now. Forget I ever said anything.
It should be observed that ogged's extreme reluctance even to contemplate sitting around a bonfire tends to vitiate his claims that he likes outdoorsy types.
This thread has made me vow to dedicate my life to m-fun.
No it doesn't; go back and look at the original formulation.
Dude, you're talking about bringing wood. What kind of party requires wood?
All the best parties require wood. Thankfully, I always have lots available.
No it doesn't; go back and look at the original formulation.
Hey. There are people who dedicate their lives to even the original formulation.
Frick. I do not want to have this conversation all over. But I still think you guys latched onto a couple examples that sounded extreme to you, and missed the state that I meant. But I've lost that conversation, haven't I?
Not in any substantive sense -- it's just going to be impossible to talk about it here.
77: Just to note that both w-lfs-n and I were referencing a prior post of ogged's in which he noted that he was attracted to outdoorsy women but was, if anything, anti-outdoorsy.
Oooooh! 75 was to 73, not 74. And here I thought everything was about me all the time!
Hm. That's twice I've read and responded to the wrong thing in the past few hours. Maybe that's a sign that I should go outside and do not-finicky work. Good thing y'all are patient.
Even when I'm its victim, w-lfs-n's mental decline simply makes me sad.
Megan, I think it's too cold this time of year to do the firepit idea. We should revisit it for a daytime gathering in September or early October, though.
I'd be interested in the firepit idea, even in July, but I won't be there, so it doesn't matter.
Another fan of the firepit idea. Staring in the fire is the best way to tide over awkward silences. I would think this crowd would be sympathetic to that problem when meeting strangers. And I don't understand "too cold" in July. But it's ogged's blog, he gets to pick the place.
I'm so over the firepit. Jupiters will be great.
Nothing spices up the evening like a drunken party goer falling into the fire.
No firepit. I'm with Ogged. Firepits, like shared bathrooms, are for people who are already pretty well acquainted. Being physically uncomfortable with people you're struggling to find conversational topics with is awful.
Plus you can't wear heels to a beach bbq. The horror! (Although I could wear the ridiculous straw hat with the damn cowrie shells I bought at Disneyland today to keep the sun out of my eyes. Hm. Maybe I'll wear it anyway, so Ogged has something to make fun of.)
You absolutely should have a firepit.
87--
you bought cowrie shells to keep the sun out of your eyes?
i may have to fly out to sfo to see this. was there earlier this spring and ate some good chinese food. can't tell you where.
Oh my, BPhD should try to wear heels to a bonfire thingumbob dance. People will glance nervously at her and say, "Yeah, well, she's weird." Shrug.
I bought the cowrie shells b/c that was the only hat that didn't have Mickey Mouse on it.
Also I ADMIT IT. I kinda *like* that sort of thing.
i think i'll try to make it! i will need copious amounts of advice on the bay area, though, given that i've never been.
Just stick with me; you'll do fine.
I warn you, if it's July 7 then I may be able to come.
i won't leave your side, ben. promise.
The only way I'm down with a bonfire is if it's at Ocean Beach on Labor Day weekend. And if we build a 10-foot-tall wooden human figure.
Careful, Josh,
next thing you know you're in the middle of the desert with 35,000 freaks high on a fairly frightening array of substances running around searching for the blinky.
For what it's worth, I'll be in town on Sunday, July 22nd, if anyone wants to come out for a second round of Unfogginess.
