Consider also, O partygoers, your duty to make up for last night's utter failure to compromise the sanctity of off-blog communication. Entertain the homebound, it's the greatest commandment.

Just to help counteract all of the talk about hook-ups (which may cause hook-ups not to happen): I predict that there will be no hook-ups whatsoever at UnfoggeDCon tonight.

Patriots forever. Belichick for Emperor. Hail Mother New England! Absent sons have not forgotten thy evergreen kiss.

I'm sick, too. Ogged gave me his disease.

Oudemia should stage a scene where s/he stands naked in Ogged's living room saying, "You put your disease in me!"

fuck the patriots

oudemia should totally do that.

Oh indeed. It would be cute and fun. With my snot covered face and swollen eyes. Ogged would flee.

Sadly, I too, am home sick. I sent Knecht to the party so he would stop sobbing on my shoulder about missing it.
I am very sad not to be there with him meeting everyone. I am now a devout lurker, and I was looking forward to it. I haven't forgotten about your promise, Ogged. There's always next year!

Ogged would recognize you as one of his kind.

As you know, I hate you all.

Wasn't someone supposed to rig up a webcam thingy?

Party gossip: Witt looks nothing like you imagine he would. More party gossip: Apo totally does!

11 gets it exactly right. We missed you in Portland, Fleur.

Even more party gossip: Labs is tall!

Thanks Jesus, I missed being there. But Knecht is so appreciative of me right now, I am thinking of doing my own little meet-up tour! I hope you all had fun. Do you really make wine?

Sifu has the spirit. Unfortunately, I predict that spirits will soon take Sifu away from us.

16: I do; more about it here if you care to know. I brought a bottle for Emerson to take to the party, but we lacked an appropriate package for him to put it safely in his checked baggage. Tant pis; it was delicious.

If teo goes home virgin, I'll blame you, fleur.

7 to 6.

8 to (7 to 6)

Hillary, 5-4

20, 21: Ew. Not even with your, well. My dearly departed and Jet-loving father does not find this funny.

Sifu's supposed "party gossip" is not actually from the party. Only gossip posted from this IP address is party gossip.

I guess some people have the internet on their cellular telephones these days, actually. But! Sifu's gossip is not from the party.

So, seriously, a cold? That's why you're not here, Ogged? They told me you were hard.

They told wrong. Ogged is a complete pussy. You do know that he stalks for dates, right?

M/M/ and I are just blocks away, gin, tonic, and nametags in hand. The suspense builds....

26: only when he thinks of labs

I need orange juice. Does the flophouse have oj?

Sifu's gossip is not from the party.

Sifu's gossip is from the restaurant, at which like 20 of us showed up. We sort of took over the place, I think the waitstaff were a bit annoyed. Leave a good tip, guys!

So, seriously, a cold? That's why you're not here, Ogged? They told me you were hard.

It's a bad cold! But 27 pretty much gets it right.

Party game: Determine the subject of Bulwer-Lytton's Lee Siegel's latest column from its opening paragraph:

Authority in America is something like the picture of Dorian Gray. As democracy stretches its muscles, as increasing numbers of people have "access" to just about everything, as more opportunities are created for resentniks and mediocrities to hurl excrement at niches they covet but cannot breach with talent alone, the face of authority grows more and more decrepit. But a scandal a day keeps honest analysis away.

Landed in BWI 2 hours ago. Working my way to party now. I assume boozy house warming gifts are appropriate. Sorry you can't make it ogged.

I don't think I'll be there until 11. Correspondingly, no one is allowed to leave before then.

I spent part of the evening in a laundromat and am now watching football. With a cold. It's the ideal Saturday night.

I only hate Gonerill, since hating a random innocent is better than hating the truly guilty.

Ogged, you're missing it. First inappropriate nudity already happened.

Is the party fun? Is it m-fun?

Is it m-fun?

The question of the night. When I'm back online on Tuesday I want to see video of at least fifteen things (or people) being thrown off the roof.

Apostropher gave me the best kiss I've had in ages.

Fleur, it's scarcely 8:00, and I have already betrayed your trust and done what you begged me not to do. Yes, it's true: I tried Sifu's eggnog. (Just a taste, mind you. It's pretty good, but I'll stick with beer in the interest of making my 7:20 flight back tomorrow.)

Okay, I hate Knecht too, for his cute wife-flirting.

I'm actually feeling rather awkwardly cocktail-partyish. Of course, it kind of is a cocktail party and I almost always feel this way at cocktail parties. That's why I post on the internet so much!

P.S. This is not meant to reflect negatively on any other attendees, all of whom are witty and delightful

Heebie is wearing a very cool sweater, just as promised.

Right now, my roommate is listening to classical music in the living room, and I'm reading Augustine in Latin. All in all, we're one of the most civilized households in the nation right now -- just doing our part to try to balance out UnfoggeDCon.

Heebie is wearing a very cool sweater, just as promised.

Thanks, but this is not the sort of commentary we had in mind.

I just spilled a beer on BitchPhD.

I just spilled a beer on BitchPhD.

Try to keep it in the hand opposite the leg you're trying to get over.

If the floor joists give way in the living room, it's all the fault of the Patriots.

Ben w-lfs-n likes eggnog. A lot!

(so do I)

Ben w-lfs-n's not even drinking eggnog. He's going straight for the bourbon.

It's to give him liquid courage so that he can act inappropriately and then blame his deliberate and calculating actions on the liquor.

Oh wait, that's me. And I'm not there. Damn!

You people are clearly sucking away the Pats' mojo and I implore you to stop. Don't you have enough mojo on your own?

McMegan and Labs are on the porch sharing clove cigarrettes.

55: are they 16?

Belle, what would you do if you were here? I'll be your proxy.

Heebie is trying to make me go talk to McMegan and I feel bad like a five year old who has to apologize to Mr. Poopy over there.

Go! Go! GO! It'll be great! Come on!

This is heebie.

Heebie is trying to make me go talk to McMegan and I feel bad like a five year old who has to apologize to Mr. Poopy over there.

Just go over, say "You know, both of you are really tall," and see what happens.

Heebie is trying to make me go talk to McMegan and I feel bad like a five year old who has to apologize to Mr. Poopy over there.

Ask Emerson to do it. I promise this will enliven the party.

I have tried all three eggnogs and have to say that NW's is the best, even if it does look like mayonnaise.

I'd also like to steal will's girlfriend.

Touchdown, Giants ! I'm bitter about the fact that I was unable to make it tonight, but at least the football gods are compensating me by providing a good football game.

Amber:

What would I do?

What would you let me do?

You are not only my proxy, you are my conscience.

Damn you.

So, how's hanging out with Ben? What's he wearing?

I am trying to teach my mother how to order coursebooks for my sister on Amazon for make benefit of pocketbook.

I need some bourbon. I am jealous of you all. Except those full of snot.

55: What are the dimensions of said cigarettes?
P.S. Stop sucking our mojo, you pricks.

Except those full of snot.

You say that, but you know it's not true.

I'm laid over at ATL! Hi everybody. I wish I was there, or that failing that, I'd remembered to send you some Scotch, or a mix CD, or some sex.

He's in a jacket and tie. You would approve.

Your diabolical plan is not to be fulfilled.

HOTT.

And, alas.

Unfortunately I don't swing that way, so this is a purely fashion question: what are you wearing? Maybe, despite your best efforts to rebuff, you are wearing something appropriately slutty and irresistible.

Also, drink more. Someone spike Amber's egg nog with rum or make her tanqueray tens. Lots of them.

How do you make a Tanqueray Ten? Open a bottle of Tanqueray ten and pour some over ice?

This is like a graduate school party.

IA made me post this comment.

w-lfs-n says it's nothing like the parties at *his* graduate school. Take that as you will.

I meant "tanqueray ten and tonic."

I just prefer vodka shots with chasers myself. Or bourbon or whiskey. But alas, I am not there, and am pathetically watching a weird show called "How It's Made," chewing bubble gum, looking at a stack of dissertation work that is not being done, and emailing Kieran.

Clearly, Amber is now going to sleep with w-lfs-n just to impress Belle Lettre. How could you ruin innocent lives like this, Ogged? And by innocent, I mean w-lfs-n, of course.

A toast to Fleur!

Who's home sick.

Amber does not need to impress me, as she's one of my best friends.

And that wouldn't impress me, necessarily.

And by "ruined," I hope that you mean "ruined for all future women, such would be the heights of ecstasy never again to be experienced." Such would be his good fortune if he could have her, even if just for one night.

Not that it'll happen. I had Amber and Ben over for dinner a few months ago. No sparks when they looked at one another, only friendly daggers. Polar opposites != frisson.

I'm trying to get IA, Asilon. and/or Knecht to take the helm here. Apparently they're both speechless. Or afraid.

We all know the cure for either condition -- it's being administered as we speak.

Did anyone see that? Where's Emerson?

A surprising percentage of the men at this party are bearded. Not that I've done the math or anything, just an impression. Asilon agrees, and adds that some of them have enough beard for two men.

some of them have enough beard for two men

People are showing up in person as presidential pseudonyms?

They come to DC, and they start thinking about all things presidential. It's a bit scary, really.

What I want to know is, is Ogged too lame to even post a comment about a party he's too lame to come to? A party that is, in a certain sense, in his honor? A party to which Asilon has come all from England?

The hell?

Also: there are too many nogs.

We're at home, and I'm huddled on the couch with a migraine (so I can't even drown my sorrows in vodka, cuz I'd probably just throw up), and the cat is screaming for no discernable reason, and it's raining, and the heater's been running for a solid week.

I hate you all.

A surprising percentage of the men at this party are bearded. Not that I've done the math or anything, just an impression. Asilon agrees, and adds that some of them have enough beard for two men.

This is a generational marker that separates Gen X-ers like me from punks like Yggles and Armsmasher.

82: Too many nogs? Fie sir, fie!

mrh, other peeps, ladies and gentlemen: is this all you got? Is this a party or a gathering of mild-mannered internet dweebs? Hmmm?

Yeah, this is dull. I'd probably hate you all regardless right now, but give me reason to, ffs.

Ogged throws down the mucus-covered gauntlet.

I thought UnfoggeDCon would be more aptly named OrgyCon, but it appears that I am wrong and that this was wishful thinking.

Ok you sick fucks. You want degradation? I'll step up the drinking and soon you'll see me destroy whatever dignity I have left. w-lfs-n: this is your cue.

It would be nice if this football game seemed believably in doubt, instead of pretty much over.

Emerson has been mixing and mingling like a social gadfly all evening. He really knows how to work a room and charm the laydeez.

Actually, the less wild the party, the more I'd probably enjoy it.

Me too, but since I'm not there, I want wild crazy stories reported back to me for my own entertainment.

16-0, bitches. Your voodoo is worthless.

Apparently the Patriots mojo extends to preventing orgies among the young and randy. Tom Brady, is there nothing you can't do?

Now that I know you guys have been watching football and not having sex, I feel less jealous. I can easily not have sex at home, no football required.

Will says, Ogged sucks.

CharleyCarp wants everyone to try the molasses rum, straight.

I've met B's boyfriend. Two years ago, at another unfogged meetup, I met her husband. I've come full circle.

I've got gossip, sure, but I'm too polite to say more.

Don't hold out on us, IA!

IA is pregnant! And Emerson is the father. That was easy to figure out.

Give them time to finish their orgy, for chirst's sake. Would you want to orgy with countless commenters giving helpful tips?

OK I'll be back in 7.3 minutes.

Emerson's "no relationship policy" is just a cover -- he's really saving himself for IA.

Someone should set up a webcam. Use it look a photo booth.

My hotel room has already been designated as the orgy room. All we need now is some orgy-people.

OK, I've moved vaguely past my initi cocktail party awkwardness. I'm pretty tipsy, the party is much louder and more anarchic, inhibitions are loosened. I've talked to over half the people here. Some conversations were strained and awkward (no names....), but there were enough sparkling moments that I feel that I've fulfilled my party duty. The evening is officially a success. But what does it all mean, really? What lasting gain will emerge? Will the giddy moments add up to any new friendships? Do I need to have another drink and try to push things to a more intense epiphany? Will that give me something I can keep?

I know this is maudlin, but everyone in my current circle has informed me that is actually a positive for a comment. Of course, they have nothing to lose if I embarass myself.....

P. S. Parsimon has let her hair down. She looks very different.

Cleveland Rocks! I, however, have just landed in Dayton. Hope the party is fun.

You people suck. By this time last year, we had a live video feed and were streaming the debauchery in real-time.

I have to chime in with Magpie and Ogged here. I'm sitting here with bleeding sinuses and swollen tonsils and I would really like to hear more orgiastic fun so I can properly hate. Is no one blowing rum flames?

No flak jacket this year, I guess.

eb, what they're missing is us. Without non-participants hiding in the corners, they have no one to "record" their voyeuristic fancies.

There is at least one person at Unfoggedlycon interestested the following. You know who you are...

Definitely Polish, and 'Szwab' is a slur used to refer to Germans, the equivalent of 'Kraut', I'd say. Not sure if it is used as a slur against German immigrants.

This evening, my dad and I totally whupped my grandmother and mother at bridge. Now I'm treating a persistent stain on one of my favorite sweaters.

I NEED SALACIOUS ENTERTAINMENT.

Ask FL about his stains.

By hiding the corners and walls by hiding in and against them, non-participants make it possible for participants to imagine themselves in a boundless space freed of all inhibitions.

I need salacious entertainment!

Are you telling me that the local cable franchise in Jackmormonville doesn't carry Cinemax?

Tell me about your stains, Fontana.

Cable? My cheap-ass parents get their reading material at the local recycling center, you think they're going to shell out for cable?

There must be a shitload of Jacqueline Susann novels and the like there -- none of them got slipped into your parents' last haul?

Is that recycling center at the base of a hill on a dead-end street, not far from a junior high school by any chance?

I dropped LB & Buck at their hotel and swung home. Not sure I'm heading back. There is one new photo in the flickr group. It shows the staining.

What a good looking, friendly bunch of people. And the Patriots won too.

I am the only sober person at UnfoggeDCon. This is not necessarily an enviable position in which to be.

120.---Why yes!
119.---No, for some reason my parents only possess high-minded books, thoroughly awful, trashy books, and/or books I've already read.

I don't know why, but I find it amusing that that recycling center still has a book donation area. I haven't been back there since I was a kid.

Apparently that recycling center was way, way ahead of the curve when it comes to the various materials it can handle. My parents assure me that the book exchange is really truly good, but then, they are the skinflintiest people in the world, except for some of my other relations.

I think I'll go back. Can't leave Sir Kraab as the only sober person there. Also, I'm not tied after all.

tied s/b tired.

Unless your parents siphon up all the good stuff on a regular basis, they lie -- it's almost all 30-year-old library book sale rejects. You can practically smell the yellowing newsprint from across the parking lot.

IA is right, Ogged sucks.

Although truth be told, I didnt think about him at the party. My only party regret was that Fleur was not there.

IA is right, Ogged sucks.

Although truth be told, I didnt think about him at the party. My only party regret was that Fleur was not there.

we're all too busy being orgiastic to comment. does that help? seriously, that dance floor....

I also regret leaving before getting to dance with Tia, ethical werewolf, and the Beautiful Boston Ladies.

Oh, and w-lfs-n called me short and fat within seconds of my arrival. Truth is a defense, however.

will was lovely and charming. ben woflson is an ignorant liar man.

Catherine is a charming, beautiful Cavalier. We wanted to take her home with us.

That was quite a party, and quite a dance floor. Wowza.

More notes from the party:

1. Blume refused to sing for me. Sifu seemed willing to sing for me.
2. My gf and Armsmasher are probably second cousins, once removed.
3. Jammies is very protective of his eggs.
4. Asilon should come to the US more often.
5. Neither Apo nor Bitch would lick my cheek.
6. As I predicted, my gf LOVES AWB. Bave, AWB, and BR (as my gf will henceforth be called) are all getting naked at the Russian Baths.
7. Heebie's booty was worth the trip. BR grabbed it for me.
8. Witt is a young, hot girl. Who knew?!?!?
9. Becks graciously said hello and then hid from me the rest of the party. Thus, she has good judgment.
10. I didnt get nearly enough time to talk with Napi, Emerson, and others.
11. M/tch M/ills & Kraab can come play in Richmond anytime.

Will's girlfriend is an extremely good sport. My conversation with Buck was sadly truncated, and I missed LB almost entirely. Bummer.

I nominated Asilon for the door prize for longest journey, but no such prize seemed to be forthcoming. Napi looked just exactly as I had imagined him, and kindly humored my many questions.

I would be madder at w-lfs-n for blocking an interaction I was stage-managing if it hadn't turned out that I was a dope and the management would have been in vain anyway. Ah well.

Jammies did not look precisely as I expected him to look, but at least I was not under the misapprehension that he was Heebie's cat.

And Sir Kraab is wrong; she is not the only sober person. Although I'm a bit punchy from being up at 3 in the morning, an hour I have not seen in donkey's years.

I thought I would never again be in a bare room in a row house dancing to 80s music at 2 AM with dozens of strangers or new acquaintances, vaguely wondering if I might hit it off with one of the dozens of beautiful women in the room. I thought I left that behind in grad school.

Reliving the old mass party experience brought up some old insecurities. There was the knowledge that I'm not actually all that charismatic. Well, not as charismatic as my secret megalomaniacal self wishes to be, which is approximately infinitely so. A weird mix of a little too stuffy in some ways, a little loudly awkward in others...I found myself reliving some long-ago social failures. I've had many, many social successes since then, though, so the memories didn't really have much bite any more.

But the predominant feeling was: wow. I'm participating in an entirely new form of community. The internet is going to allow us to maintain some of the fluidity of youth deep into adulthood, allow us to participate in really open-ended social networks long after previous generations would have settled into closed local or professional communities. This room is full of interesting people of all ages and backgrounds, strangers, but with enough in common that we can build on any connections we decide to pursue. That's just a great addition to life.

Thanks to everyone for putting this together, and for Ogged and others for the site.

Also: M. LeBlanc held court in a prime location, but the choreography did not align for me to be able to fully express my fandom. I was introduced to more Matts than I had met in my entire life to date, but Saiselgy informed me that he is the One True Matt, a distinction I shall keep in mind.

The prize for creative use of costuming goes to Tia and mrh, who re-appropriated the leopard-print hotel bathrobes to great effect.

The award for generosity of technology is shared by Napi and Armsmasher. The former lent his Blackberry for mid-party commenting, while the latter left his beloved Mac alone as partygoers buzzed around it. I fully expect to see a photo of attendees doused in the blue glow of Unfogged in the Flickr group tomorrow.

Parsimon's life path: More eclectic and intriguing than previously revealed. w-lfs-n's manners: More courtly. Teo's modesty: Even greater.

And so, to bed. Night all.

I swear, I didn't mean to block any Witt-managed interactions. I had no idea any were afoot.

There seems to be wine on this computer, and on my tie.

Epic cock-blocking.

Pictures are now posted to flickr

what is the link/(password?) to the flickr group, please?

me too, can i stalk the flickr group?

A surprising percentage of the men at this party are bearded.

The Flickr pics agree.

Ogged and Armsmasher control the gates. You have to have a flickr account, but beyond that I forget.

I am uploading most of my photos, except for the ones with FL & Tia (I need to blur faces there). I might replace them later as I edit for red eye, etc. I might remove some if they are horrendous. If anyone objects to being in the photos, or just doesn't like the way s/he looks in a particular shot I will remove the shots or edit the person out.

Saiselgy informed me that he is the One True Matt

Oh aye? There can be only one.

Also realized from the photos that Napi's face is familiar!

If anyone objects to being in the photos...

I don't object in principle, but I urge that the photos be made friends-only (i.e. visible to members of the Degg-of-Nu flickr group, but not to the world at large).

149:

Certainly. If any of my pictures should be removed, please let me know.

sounds it was a wild party
why the world at large can't see you people
i think i stalked last yrs photos and the was a middle-eastern looking guy who i thought was ogged, wanted even to say your nostrils are weirder than mine, but from the comments i gathered he was not him
actually that page was first bookmarked, but was not read and i did not read unfogged for the whole yr, if i read more regularly like in the last month may be i'd have attended the party, pity
well, it was not meant to be then
wanted to say something about hangover cure, but i'll restrain myself

the middle eastern guy, you look handsome, comparison with my nostrils should not bother you
cheers

+re

Nice pictures, will and md. A pretty nice bunch of folks, and some awfully good sports to come all this way. Wonderfully gracious hosts. PGD and I were talking about what it'd be like if this thing -- not DCon II but DCons altogether -- just continued on and on. Like Heebie's family photo series. Or the Super Bowl. Except better.

It was fun. BR & I were glad we came.

There were lots of interesting people and so little time.

Thank you Becks, Armsmasher, Catherine for your hospitality.

Echoing 155, many thanks to the hostesses and hosts for graciously inviting us random internet people into their home.

ho-ho, wht i found
http://www.avalia.ru/2007-12-30/dzhinsovaya-moda-v-yaponii.html
nice

Ooh. My head hurts. That was fun! At the end, I got all grumpy and sort of mean to 'sMasher. I'm sorry Armsmasher! I'm glad you ignored me. Your music was lovely.

Apparently I talked to Ogged towards the end of the night. I wonder what I said? Mysteries, mysteries.

I had no idea any were afoot.

I rest my case.

Nice pictures. Now I really, really hate you all.

I had that 'hey, I totaaly luff you guyz' feeling toward everyone last night that usually takes half a bottle of vodka to get to. Turns out I actually luff you guyz, or something.

I'm still in Dayton, but I'm headed towards a good brunch outside Cincinnatti. Heebie's sweater is gorgeous. That bit about the sweater is not fooling anybody, is it?

For the record, Kraab never told me that she loved me, but M/tch basically did.

Will, can you make your pictures viewable by friends-only on Flickr? Right now I think they're public.

We luff you too, Sir K.

My paltry contribution of mostly-shitty pictures is now up on the Flickr group. Feast your eyes.

In fact, Will, you can make them private, which will mean that only folks in the Unfogged Flickr group can see them.

In fact, Will, you can make them private, which will mean that only folks in the Unfogged Flickr group can see them.

Sorry, yes, that's what I meant. Brain functioning slowly.

i thought i switched it to private. I'll go back.

For the record, Kraab never told me that she loved me, but M/tch basically did.

M/tch is my authorized spokesperson.

I had a blast, folks. Thanks.

hope brunch is lovely! sorry i can't make it. if w-lfs-n's there, he left behind a sock at the flophouse. if he wants it.

Thanks for the brunch tip, catherine. We're having a great time.

But where *exactly* did w-lfs-n leave his sock?

Fucking w-lfs-n just skipped on his brunch check. md 20/400 is extremely graciously covering him. You owe him, you little bitch.

Alright people, if y'all don't start labeling those pictures, I'm going to do it for you ... and every one of you is going to be Teo.

I'm just saying.

(There's also a wonderful picture of Apo, Teh Horndog, staring wistfully at B.'s boobs. I'd link to it, but, you know.)

There are also many pictures full of lies. (That's w-lfs-n! I know it is!)

ZOMG there was a sacrifice!?! No one told me there'd be a sacrifice!

Thanks for the pictures, on behalf of us, the sick shut -ins.

I'm not at brunch because I'm home cleaning up after the party. Surveying the number of bottles, all I can say is: you alcoholic motherfuckers.

I was going to come to brunch, but then I woke up and realized I didn't know where it was. I didn't realize there would be a post up. Y'all are organized and shit.

Whoever spilled the eggnog on the floor: that shit looks like puke.

My plan to both drink heavily and make my plane was foiled in a way which would be humorous if I were someone else watching it happen. Everyone at the party was great, I spent a little too much time circulating from group to group and not enough talking to any one person, which I regret. If anyone wants to hang out at Dulles between now and 7-ish, it'd be very boredom relieving and I'd be grateful.

Alright people, if y'all don't start labeling those pictures, I'm going to do it for you ... and every one of you is going to be Teo.

On my pictures at least, feel free to use notes and comments to make IDs. I have forgotten some names and never got others' at all.

Four hours to kill at the airport w/d? Better keep drinking.

Apparently I talked to Ogged towards the end of the night. I wonder what I said? Mysteries, mysteries.

Nothing coherent. No worries.

Four from now, but I've already been here an unspeakably long time. One day perhaps I'll learn that the step in my plan "don't go to sleep" is harder to stick to in practice than it sounds like.

If anyone wants to hang out at Dulles between now and 7-ish, it'd be very boredom relieving and I'd be grateful.

Wait, your flight is at 8 p.m.? We thought it was in the morning, which is why we hastily put you in a cab to the airport at 3 a.m. In any event, dude, you were druuuunk.

I'm guessing he slept through it, possibly in the waiting area at the gate.

Isn't it suspicious that Ogged was "home" "alone" "with a cold", and yet went the whole party without commenting, except for one token comment? Isn't the most plausible explanation that he was there the whole time, incognito?

you were druuuunk

You're only saying that because it's true.

188 is right on all counts.

Good party. Thanks to the Flophouse collective for hosting. It was a lot of fun, although I don't think I've heard "Billie Jean" so many times in one night in my life.

whom do i email to be a flickr friend? i feel interested in the pics.

Email me, sybil.

Or me.

Hook 'em everyone woo! That was a blast. Oh, and Sifu and I are totally back together, y'all.

That blackstrap molasses rum that Napi bought (referenced above) was delicious. And I don't even like rum.

Alcohol report: it seems that the partygoers, all told drank a keg of high life, a case of wine plus a few other bottles, several varieties of eggnog, at least two handles of vodka and a handle of whiskey, and probably some other stuff that I am forgetting.

Update to 197: A keg of beer, Four handles of whiskey. Two handles of vodka. A case plus 6 bottles of wine. A bottle of blackstrap mollasses rum. A bottle of Stoli Vanilla. Three six-packs of beer. A 5-liter mini keg. And about 6 other bottles of liquor. That's what I personally picked up, at least.

High Life? High Life?

Has the word that the ironic hipster swill of choice is PBR not reached the East Coast yet?

(picked up, meaning separated for recycling.)

Also, we didn't realize that Ben had gone back to SF until about, oh, a little over an hour or so ago. We kept wondering and speculating where he'd gone after brunch. Wandering the streets of DC in the rain? Seemed totally plausible for w-lfs-n.

He was the very first one to duck out of brunch.

He claimed he had misread his flight schedule, and it was not departing at 3-something but rather arriving in Chicago at 3-something. We were all too distracted/hungry/hungover to grill him. I suspect that is also why he was able to escape unscathed financially.

Witt made us an awesome day-after hangover kit containing things like Tums and snacks and "knuckle sized" bandages. I took a picture of it for the Flickr pool, when I get around to uploading my pics.

That was a tremendous amount of fun; my thanks to the Flophouse for hosting.

Also, the funniest decoration or costume at the party was clearly the car - parked right at the front door - with the big RUDY sticker on the back.

If you look up through the thread, you will see that even though everyone else got drunk, I was clearly the only one with the courage to POST drunk.

I was clearly the only one with the courage motor skills to POST drunk.

Fixed.

Jammies and I also had a super fantastic time. Thanks for opening your home to us!

thank you ogged
i so satisfied my stalking appetite ;)
it's harmless i assure you
browsed almost all pictures, stopped at photos with a lot of hair, thought must be a thread that was themed haircut something
i'm a pretty good physiognomist, i can say A White Bear and Ben w-lfs-n could do a very compatible couple, there was a really nice auraful pic
all other pictures are friendly stuff in my outsider opinion
though nobody's asking it of course
well, enough of unfogged for today

i can say A White Bear and Ben w-lfs-n could do a very compatible couple

That is an awesome idea. I would give a lot to see a reality show based on this premise.

Thanks, Flophouse! We had a blast.

Also, if any of the flophousers see my liver lying around, just forward it to my for repair. I think it fell out.

Isn't it suspicious that Ogged was "home" "alone" "with a cold"......

Very. Maybe he's developed a kinky virus-based set of et names for his beloved and the things they do together.

Stories from the aftermath...

About the time you lot were getting out of bed, I arrived back in Boston. Fleur wanted to see the pictures right away. I fired up the slide show on Flickr, and I was pointing out who various people were on the screen as Fleur and our daughters looked on.

Daughter One asked: "Who are those people?"
"They are Daddy's friends," Fleur tells her.
"They have funny names," says Daughter One.

A few hours later, a neighbor's child was over visiting, and we overheard our girls telling her, "Daddy has a friend named LizardBreath."

"daddy's friends"?!??!? Thanks a lot Fleur.

oh Will, you must realize by now that Knecht has a way of representing me online that isn't always accurate...
What I said was, "those are daddy's friends from the party last night." Our girls knew Knecht had flown off for a party and were excited to see the pictures when he got home. No balloons, not a lot of streamers, but we all thought it looked like a great time.

As you know, I was very sad not to attend, especially after seeing the photos. By the way Will, you are very handsome in real life.

Knecht has a way of representing me online that isn't always accurate

Except for the part about her being hott. That's the god's honest truth.

Offline, Knecht told me that Fleur was fabulous and that she was far better than he deserved. I can completely understand that feeling as I am in the same position.

a lot of cuties in this bunch ....

218: Sanctity of off-blog communication! You think I want that going to her head?

I can completely understand that feeling as I am in the same position.

I'm not in a position to judge the truth of that statement, but BR sure is a nice gal.

Hey, Knecht: thanks!

Cancelled flight liveblogging: fuck you, Delta!

Sifu: sorry about the flight. I told you I'd e-mail you about something but, stupidly, I didn't note your e-mail address. Hit me up at the e-mail below if you see this comment.

I was just looking through some of the pictures, I can't finish the set because I've been blinded by the sheer whiteness.

Yeah but most of the music they played was written by black people, so it's OK.

I can't finish the set because I've been blinded by the sheer whiteness.

Yet another reason to regret the absence of Ogged. He's not bearded, though.

Was it whiter than last year? (I don't have a flickr account, so haven't looked.)

228: Apo didn't get as drunk (by my expert assessment), so: yes.

It was very, very white indeed. I remarked on it both Friday and Saturday nights (more so on Fri). It was especially jarring because no matter how often it gets mentioned here, my brain somehow overlays real-life experience on to my invisible internet friends, and I think of you as more diverse.

It was very, very white indeed.

Particularly the seventy-bajillion Michael Jackson songs.

Who were you, Stanley? Were you the person with the bushy beard who was twirling his mustache? If not, who was the person with the bushy beard who was twirling his mustache?

I pretty rapidly ran into a name memorization issue.

Also, drive home: pouring rain the entire way, several wrecks, lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic as a result. Long and not relaxing.

If not, who was the person with the bushy beard who was twirling his mustache?

That was me.

Who were you, Stanley? Were you the person with the bushy beard who was twirling his mustache? If not, who was the person with the bushy beard who was twirling his mustache?

El bingo. I realize after looking at photos that you and I chatted (maybe) but never formally met. Sorry!

(On preview: funny IA. Now: we deport you.)

Particularly the seventy-bajillion Michael Jackson songs.

Well, some of that impression was driven by the multiple repetitions of "Billy Jean". I think the CIA uses that technique on enemy combatants.

What's freaking me out is that like at least three of you look like people I see every day.

Racist.

I'm a man you don't meet every day

at least three of you look like people I see every day

Bah, that's nothing. Twice last night I did a double-take because a non-Unfogged guest bore a suspicious resemblance to my brother.

It was very, very white indeed.

Doc Slack, we need you next year!

Also, everyone is really handsome and attractive. I would have ended up hiding in the corner getting drunk.

242. Bring a camera. The perfect shield.

Which three is it, Cala?

Well, some of that impression was driven by the multiple repetitions of "Billy Jean".

Hey. I danced to that, to my never-ending amusement. Then I may have danced to it again, though it bore an uncanny resemblance to, um, that other Michael Jackson song, so I can't be sure. I was trying to turn off the TV set around that time as well, egged on by Rah and Sir Kraab, who declared it had all occurred in error anyway. B. saved the day, and we were forced to high-five.

Just so you absentees know just how orgiastic it all was.

w-lfs-n, LB, and m. leblanc.

Evening highlight: I walk in the door and w-lfs-n storms over, pokes me in the chest, and exclaims, "I fucking hate you, motherfucker."

As someone said to me once, "You have a very common face." Um.

Just so you absentees know just how orgiastic it all was

But was it orgastic? Was there a green light?

I missed all the wild stuff. That must have been when I was hiding in the corner.

But was it orgastic?

Orgastic? Hm? There was a green light on the TV, yes, that's true. One found oneself poking at it while being bumped in the ass (there was no point in saying Sorry at that point). What's the question?

Or when you were sleeping on the couch.

So can we safely conclude from these 250 comments that nobody got it on? Lame.

IA fell asleep. I had to take her home.

253: no.

Is "hiding in the corner" the new euphemism for "having Emerson's baby?" IA I figured for the type, but Cala, aren't you newly married? How would your husband feel if he read 242, and discovered the sight of attractive people made you want to have Emerson's baby?

I coulda hid in the corner with IA!

despite not having any truly strong feelings about any of y'all individually, i am feeling distinct twinges of envy at having missed this.

253: no.

So nobody's going to spill? Equally lame.

Plenty of us spilled, Jesus. IYKWIM.

I coulda hid in the corner with IA!

I really wish you had been there.

And I'm not pregnant, and Emerson is not the father.

I thought until this very second that Sybil Vane was my soulmate. Motherfucker. I hate the Internet.

Oh! And from certain angles, Sifu looks like shivbunny.

despite not having any truly strong feelings about any of y'all individually, i am feeling distinct twinges of envy at having missed this.

The whole is not always greater than the sum of its parts.

Wait, IA was the only one in a corner this year? Last year there were at least two of us.

"I am not pregnant, and Emerson is not the father." thrills my cold, logical heart with its paradoxicality.

Cala, this party did not lack for people whose natural instinct is to hide in the corner. Strength in numbers! We overcame.

You should come next year. I suspect shivbunny and Jammies would have hit it off.

and discovered the sight of attractive people made you want to have Emerson's baby?

"Let's regress to the mean, baby."

I will say that Emerson's penchant for People-esque celebrity gossip is less scholarly and more endearing in person.

I'm of two ways at parties. Either in the corner chatting with someone, or being even a little m-fun. Lately though all my parties seem to involve getting drunk while chatting with faculty.

I'm sorry to have missed it. You guys need not to hold it during Christmas when my mother pouts ever so subtly if her babies can't all make it home.

241: Hey, hold the next one in a Canajun location and I'll be there like a shot.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Also: work on your cold prevention skills.

"Let's regress to the mean, baby." s/b "Let's regress to the mean, baby. You have a very common face."

despite not having any truly strong feelings about any of y'all individually, i am feeling distinct twinges of envy at having missed this.

The whole is not always greater than the sum of its parts.

I am still marvelling over the possible profundity of this exchange.

w-lfs-n storms over, pokes me in the chest, and exclaims, "I fucking hate you, motherfucker."

That's so awesome. w-lfs-n just regarded me with a cold gimlet eye while I babbled helplessly about having once opened Aristotle when I was an undergrad. He was like the living, breathing counterpart of his grammer comments. Very intimidating.

despite not having any truly strong feelings about any of y'all individually,

Contrary to the cynical replies above, the Unfogged collective experience *does* transcend any individual Unfogged-ers. It's an entirely new form of social organization! I'm idealistic about it!

On Unfogged, no one dares post idealism under their own pseudonym. Even Presidential anonymity is too dangerous.

I'm idealistic about it too. It is idealism that spurs my envy. Idealism, and curiosity about Walt. And will; I do feel bonded to will.

It's an entirely new form of social organization!

And totally whitebread, by pure coincidence.

OK, 275 was me. I'm not afraid to say it!

And totally whitebread, by pure coincidence.

We could have used a sociologist last night. Probably an anthropologist too. Certainly there was a lot to observe.

The sheer manuvering of bodies would be interesting to study, perhaps with some kind of glow-in-the-dark footprints and time-lapse photography. Who stays in place, who barrels through, who moves out of the way...hmm.

In case there is doubt, w-lfs-n can confirm 275 was me.

235: Glad we met, Stanley. Make sure to let us all know if your band ever gets a show in DC.

Re: shaving the beard, waxing the moustache...think about it. Bushy beards are everywhere these days. Even Armsmasher has one. But waxed moustaches?

Whitebread was a totally new form of foodstuff, one only made possible by technology, so really, it all makes sense.

Sybil, I can tell you this much about myself. I have a beard, like 90 percent of the Unfoggetariat, so if you know what I look like, form a composite of the bearded men in the pictures, and then mentally lacquer on a thick layer of handsome.

We could have used a sociologist last night. Probably an anthropologist too. Certainly there was a lot to observe.

The sheer manuvering of bodies [...] Who stays in place, who barrels through, who moves out of the way...hmm.

Are you sure this wouldn't have been just a painful study? Meta-navel-gazing, as it were.

Differently colored footprint traces for the non-Unfogged participants!

Are you sure this wouldn't have been just a painful study?

That's why the time-lapse! Hours of interaction distilled into an entertaining 45-second You Tube clip.

I'm just thinking, I bet I could predict some of the social dynamics, but others would be a total surprise. Everyone walked to this person? Really?

Eh, maybe not.

[lame joke about white power laws omitted]

285: Actually, it would be fascinating. Surprises, no doubt. The photos definitely don't represent. Yeah, you'd need a bird's-eye view, time-lapse photography. OR: There is no objective reality, you know, only the conjoint subjective. You are an evil person.

counterpart of his grammer comments.

Ahem.

Are you sure this wouldn't have been just a painful study? Meta-navel-gazing, as it were.

Tremendous fun. But prohibitively expensive.

Bwahahaha.

290 to 287.

281: I wax my moustache sometimes. And twirl it too, like I'm going to tie you to the train tracks. It's still recovering from my brief experiment with the Hitler moustache, though, and won't be suitable for twirling for like a month.

Every time w-lfs-n took a drink I got this feeling that he's a little bitch.

The Michael Jackson hijinx were my bad. Mostly I was doing it to aggravate Sifu.

whiteness

I'm not white, motherfuckers.

You're white where it counts, m.

I'm not sure how to take that.

I certainly have no idea what it means.

how to take that

If you're white where it counts? Missionary-style, with some Iron & Wine playing.

I deprecate suggestions that w-lfs-n is intimidating.

Also, we didn't realize that Ben had gone back to SF until about, oh, a little over an hour or so ago. We kept wondering and speculating where he'd gone after brunch. Wandering the streets of DC in the rain? Seemed totally plausible for w-lfs-n.

I told catherine! And it's true about the flight schedule—I made the same mistake aloud to catherine. And is why, in my haste, I left no $ for the bill. I fully intend to make good.

After all the grammar-correcting, it turns out ben can't read?

Hey, dumbshits: be staid. Someone's working overtime.

Cancelled flight liveblogging: any time now!

294: ah HA! Although in context "mmnuh music urgh" was actually code for "I have to go to bed now please."

Was it worth it, Sifu? Two days stuck in an airport for a tiny little party?

Stuck in an airport my ass. Stuck in a giant comfy hotel bed with fourteen pillows and a minibar. So, yes, you bet.

Well, shit, you just lost my pity.

The flight back situation did suck last night. Go go gadget disposable income, for a new flight and a cab! Boo JetBlue, for canceling a flight that United was able to make just fine.

And will; I do feel bonded to will.

I was about to pout about 258. I had copied it and was scrolling down to express my outrage, but then I read this comment. I feel better now.

Sybil needs to come next time!

We could have used a sociologist last night. Probably an anthropologist too. Certainly there was a lot to observe.

The sheer manuvering of bodies would be interesting to study, perhaps with some kind of glow-in-the-dark footprints and time-lapse photography. Who stays in place, who barrels through, who moves out of the way...hmm.

Witt was the sly sociologist at the party. She planted her back to wall and was watching the crowd, checking people out.

Of course, it could have been just reflexive protection from all the butt grabbing at the party. I won't name names....

Apo didn't get as drunk

I decided to stop drinking when I misheard Robust McManlyPants introducing himself as Robust Bananahands and required two full minutes to regain my composure. Hmm, self, perhaps you've had enough.

I was ticked off when I realized that I didn't have any pictures with Apostropher. I had planned on getting shirtless with him.

Also, I would totally have licked your cheek if you'd asked.

Now you tell me.

I totally missed out. BR gets kissed by AWB and her butt grabbed by Heebie. I get nothing! I didnt even get to see Jammies puke.

I thought I was special because w-lfs-n called me short and fat when he first met me. Now, I find out he did that to everyone.

Now, I find out he did that to everyone.

Huh. He told me I was handsome and well-endowed.

w-lfs-n neither complimented me nor insulted me. I feel so snubbed.

I thought I was special because w-lfs-n called me short and fat when he first met me. Now, I find out he did that to everyone.

Is there some sort of 'w-lfs-n is an arse' conspiracy going on here?

No, no. w-lfs-n was perfectly pleasant. He just didnt realize how crushed I would be when he said that he imagined me taller and thinner.

I felt snubbed by IA.

re: 318

Heh. I work the reverse angle [tell everyone I am short and fat in the hope that they'll be surprised and point out that I am taller and slimmer than they imagined].

Wait, IA was the only one in a corner this year? Last year there were at least two of us.

Shit, I could've been in the corner wit womenz!?!. I so chose the wrong year to attend. (Sorry, eb.)

I work the reverse angle [tell everyone I am short and fat in the hope that they'll be surprised and point out that I am taller and slimmer than they imagined].

Good idea. But, I've never claimed to be tall and thin.

How does one write like a tall, thin man?

How does one write like a short, fat man?

You know, whilst looking at the pix of a particular fellow, I thought "Now that guy looks familiar," only to realize via caption that it was Young w-lfs-n, whom I no doubt ran into once or twice as Wee First-Year w-lfs-n gawped confusedly around the Classics Café or somesuch.

re: 321

It's some sort of 'graphopoeia'. You have three thin vertical letters in your name.

oudemia is professor also?

Thanks NattarG. I'll play with the fonts and letters and see what I can do.

324: Grad student at Chicago only overlapping with w-lfs-n's first year, I believe.

hold the next one in a Canajun location and I'll be there like a shot

DS has outstanding arrest warrants in this country?

Robust Bananahands

Creepiest fruit mascot ever.

One of the funniest moments of the whole weekend, I should note, was heebie asking me how apostropher and I know one another and then saying, in response to the explanation that we are fraternity brothers, "What kind of fraternity is this that it has you two in it?"

I am not quick on my feet and thus had no special or witty reply.

Mineshaft,

Discussing a relative's recent frightening trip to the Creation Museum outside Cincinnati, I proposed that Biblical literalism as we encounter it today is a mostly modern phenomenon, with American origins in the 19th century. Then I realized that I had no way to back this up, or even to distinguish it from the Catholic Church's whole millennium of fuck you/eppur si muove thing. Am I off base here?

"What kind of fraternity is this that it has you two in it?"

The funniest part of that is that we're two of the more normal ones.

329 -- I think the early 20th century Afrikaaner leadership (maybe just the head guy) was famously literalist, especially about creation.

The funniest part of that is that we're two of the more normal ones.

You keep telling yourself that, apo.

Thanks. I know I would have known had I made good on the party, but I'm in Louisville with bourbon and ukulele. Hence no "OT". Keep your card and guesses coming.

To add a small bit of data on the w-lfs-n thing, I found him to be the very epitome of gentlemanliness, and exactly the sort of young man I'd like to see coming around to wait on my daughter. (Not that there's anything really wrong with her current guitar player in a rock band fella).

What I thought was weird was how I felt like I already knew a bunch of you. Like, it usually takes a few minutes to adjust to an IRL interaction with an internet person, but, e.g., with apo I felt like, "There's my old buddy apo!" Catherine, too, but she vlogs, so it's to be expected.

If w-lfs-n had come calling on me in high school, my parents would have asked me why I hate them so much.

I was inordinately proud of myself for managing a semi-coherent question when discussing her dissertation with AWB.

336: Would they have liked me?

I mean, it would be like a 90% chance of redheaded grandbabies.

336: Is that because w-lfs-n is

A: Jewish

B: excessively grammatical

C: other

D: all of the above

337: Oh God, I did that, didn't I? A dissertation should not appear at parties. I must have been a lot more drunk than I thought.

338: Actually, you're just their type, apo. They'd be thrilled to find me courted by a funny, red-headed Southerner.

339: I have 3 out of 4 red-headed grandparents (and two of those are Italian!) and mr. oudemia is ginger, as well. We will have our own red-headed step-children!

340: They hate fastidious intellectual skinny people, especially those from the West Coast.

I do feel as though I frittered away most of the party just being delighted at meeting people -- I had essentially the same conversation with a dozen people: "Hi! It's you!" while grinning like a fool.

But it was a lovely time.

I do feel as though I frittered away most of the party just being delighted at meeting people

As opposed to what, though? Spending the whole time talking to one or two people? Running off to a new life with Apo?

You know what? There hasn't been a single comment by or about Labs. He was there. We know what he's like when he's drunk. What are you fuckers hiding?

341a: It sounded fascinating! I enjoyed discussing it.

Also, I thought pretty much every person I spoke to was very nice and very fun, and Sifu from a certain angle looks a tremendous amount like KJ's partner. I am forced to wonder whether Sifu is doing triple duty around the country as various people's shivSteveTweetyBot.

I was inordinately proud of myself for managing a semi-coherent question when discussing her dissertation with AWB.

McManley:

BR's fear pre-party was that there was going to be very intellectual discussions about politics. My fear was that people would discuss dissertations that I wouldnt understand.

I have 3 out of 4 red-headed grandparents (and two of those are Italian!) and mr. oudemia is ginger, as well. We will have our own red-headed step-children!

Of course, the party-goers will remember that BR is a ginger also, right? (Nobody better tell her that she is now blonde.)

Following on 331, now I remember where I read this: in Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World. In 1898 Pretoria, he met Paul Krueger, the president of Transvaal, who was a literalist to a degree not seen even in Cincinnati:

His Excellency received me cordially enough; but my friend Judge Beyers, the gentleman who presented me, by mentioning that I was on a voyage around the world, unwittingly gave great offense to the venerable statesman, which we both regretted deeply. Mr. Krueger corrected the judge rather sharply, reminding him that the world is flat. "You don't mean round the world," said the president; "it is impossible! You mean in the world. Impossible!" and not another word did he utter either to the judge or me. The judge looked at me, and I looked at the judge, who should have known his ground, so to speak, and Mr. Krueger glowered at us both. My friend the judge seemed embarrassed, but I was delighted; . . .

Labs did threaten to murder Buck at one point, but was completely justified. I wandered back indoors around then, because I was getting cold, so I'm not sure how the conversation resolved.

I actually imagined will to be shorter than he is. I just wanted to be cruel to him because he seemed so jolly.

346: Labs is very tall. And he was totally lucid and coherent at dinner.

Lots of post-party car talk was about how incredibly charming Buck is, and how he is everyone's new favorite everything, and I didn't get to talk to him. I feel robbed.

Come on, people, who didn't you like.

Now that he's met people, I should be able to drag him out to NY events more often. He is charming, isn't he?

Come on, people, who didn't you like.

Some jackass who didn't even show up.

355: The party was way too big to waste time hating anyone. The problem was really that it was so big and mingly that there was always someone I wanted to talk to, or something I wanted to do. Sorry that's not helpful, but it was just the case. Had it been a smaller party, there might have been some interesting surprise hookups and a lot more resentment.

Some jackass who didn't even show up.

Hey, I couldn't help it, so screw you, w-lfs-n.

355 -- Here's the thing: the unlikeable people stayed away. Giving one excuse or another.

356 -- A fine fellow indeed.

The whole thing about the whole thing is that this is a bunch of people who are each interesting enough for an hour or two, pretty much anytime. But unless DCon is going to go 80 hours straight, one has to cut things too short. The only thing to be done is to try to catch up over the rest of the year . . .

Pwned, as usual.

We know what he's like when he's drunk.

Labs punched me in the stomach then tackled me and very nearly had sex with Teo on the dance floor.

That sounds more like it.

Oh, I wrestled m. leblanc at the very bitter end of the night! I won, and she thought it was because I'm stronger, but really it's because I'd been drinking water for four hours and was stone sober. She'd kick my ass in the daytime.

Labs threatened to kick my ass for having been a poor student as an undergrad, which was awesome. Where the hell was he fifteen years ago when I needed that kind of talk?

I agree with 358 and 360.

There were a bunch of people with whom I would have loved to speak longer. Counterfly, Parsimon, IA, LB, McManley and bunches of others. (And I never even got to meet Rah, and others.) I kept intending to talk with Napi more, but it never happened. Labs brushed by, rushing to violate Teo, but I never got to witness that or really speak with either one.

I only now found out that Asilon was hiding out with the smokers.

So, the only people that I can hate are the non

sb non-attenders.

I am forced to wonder whether Sifu is doing triple duty around the country as various people's shivSteveTweetyBot.

Hmmm.

I was standing at the bar shortly after serving my egg nog and labs came up to me and whispered in my ear "I love getting drunk."

Sunday we got lost driving around trying to find Union Station. He failed to whisper "I love being lost in DC in the back of a very small car" into my ear, for which I cannot blame him.

I wish I remembered more of the tail end of the party but, well, there was blackstrap molasses rum to be tasted (in some significant quantity), wasn't there?

I wish I'd talked to more people but I very quickly entered my frenetic party mode, which entails moving with seeming purpose from one end of the party to the other and drinking a lot. One of my longer conversations was with McMegan, which, oh well. She's very tall, and of course personable.

Very weird. Last night I dreamt of Joe Hill Beefo Meaty at the party. He off-handedly mentioned his fiancée and got slapped by Blume.

(This was a dream conversation. No fiancée is known to exist. No Beefo Meaty's were actually injured. Blume was not shocked and pissed off.)

368: those other Beefo Meatys are all holograms! I swear! There were secret triplets! It's all a trick with mirrors!

Sunday we got lost driving around trying to find Union Station.

So much for the iPhone.

329: You're correct. "Literalism" isn't even possible until the modern era, because hand-copying is notoriously unreliable -- you need a printing press to establish an unchanging text and then mechanically reproduce it. It was only in reaction to Darwinism that Fundamentalism properly so called arose -- some time around the turn of the century, with the compilation of a list of specific "fundamentals."

In the early centuries of Christianity, it was always the heretics who advanced literal interpretations, while the orthodox argued for the more "spiritual" meaning of the text. The orthodox even acknowledged the existence of errors in the text and said that God put them there on purpose to keep us from fetishizing the literal meaning.

372: the first tip should have been when it wanted to direct us to Union Station in Colorado.

My lokuloku arrived on Saturday while I was in DC. No way I could have travelled with it even if it had arrived in time for the party- I'm sure it's jelly nature would have gotten it confiscated.

375: Is it awesome? Please describe it in great detail.

Sifu, remind me to tell you how well those iphone directions worked at getting me home.

Uh oh.

Someone should have taken a picture of B's shoes. They were great.

Yeah, LB, your husband's a catch, except for his football loyalties and his reluctance to outsource.

his reluctance to outsource

IYKWIM.

376- It's sticky like one of those toy tongue-grabber things, which makes me wonder how long it will last- it only does the cool terminator thing when it sticks to the floor and peels up slowly. Otherwise it's a good stress ball, when you squeeze it, it flows between your fingers, I keep thinking I'm going to pop it or something. I won't let my kids play with it because I'm sure it has some evil Chinese chemicals in it.

On the up side, Virginia is lovely this time of year. In the dark. And the rain.

Buck's shoes weren't bad either.

I had not anticipated the Grace Kelly look that B was sporting. I had also totally not pictured Blume's effortless update on Audrey Hepburn.

There were lots of neat shoes.

383: you'll be glad to know that the iPhone got us to BWI in plenty of time to learn that our flight had been cancelled.

I had also totally not pictured Blume's effortless update on Audrey Hepburn.

I thought that was pretty swell myself.

386: Ow.

Yeah I think that device might be cursed somehow. From now on I'm navigating with my eyes closed and a white-knuckled grip on a silver crucifix.

Maybe there would have been more hooking up if everyone had spent a little less time gazing at shoes. Hm?

Hmmmmmm.

The only shoes that I remember were Megan's shoes. But, she showed them to me for some reason.

Spin the bottle might've also helped with the hookups.

392: "look, no hooves!"

Is it weird to be preemptively disappointed by New Year's Eve, even though I'm going out tonight and have a better than even chance of getting laid?

I probably just need to buy a light box.

Is it weird to be preemptively disappointed by New Year's Eve, even though I'm going out tonight and have a better than even chance of getting laid?

Depends. For you or for your date?

Actually, New Years Eve is my least favorite holiday.

However, it is also my son's birthday. And I LOVE my son's birthday!

384: Wow thanks, Witt, you just made my day.

the iPhone got us to BWI in plenty of time to learn that our flight had been cancelled.

With that much more time to spend in the completely empty restaurant at the Hilton. There were holiday decorations, and they were playing standards over the loudspeakers... I kept getting the feeling we were in White Christmas, and the Haynes sisters would be showing up any moment to play to the mostly empty house.

I may or may not have NYE plans. If I do, they involve watching a lot of people do drugs. If I don't, I'll be at home doing nothing.

If I have NYE plans, they're going to a party hosted by a girl I dated very briefly in high school who would be the only person I know there and who felt the need, on the invitation, to make clear that this year she didn't want any tweakers showing up.

In addition to the fact that I'm still sick (!), you couldn't pay me to go out on New Years. People are crazy, man.

As of right now, staying at home and doing nothing sounds awesome, but I'm pretty sure that I'll experience a profound reversal by around 6pm or so -- too late to make plans if I haven't already.

People are coming to our house for NYE.

That was me. Don't know where my name went.

More crazy fraternity people, Apo? Make sure you don't end up married again or anything.

I am going to this with my crew, preceded by pre-gaming at a friend's house (and possible postgaming if necessary).

However, I was all psyched to party it up this NYE (which I basically never do b/c I am always thwarted), but now after the DCon I just feel tired.

More crazy fraternity people, Apo?

Nearly all of them, yes. Including the ex-wife.

If you are already married, then get married to a second wife, then divorce your first wife, are you still married to the second wife?

I ask because of a scenario from the movie Walk Hard.

399: Do we know the same people? My NYEs are usually spent watching my friends with their fingers up their nose.

Last year, I was in a leather bar in Paris with a guy named Serge.

Tonight? Sitting on my ass by myself being maudlin.

m. leblanc is the party studette: chicago, DC, NYE.

If you are already married, then get married to a second wife, then divorce your first wife, are you still married to the second wife?

In this case, you were never married to the second woman.

Tonight? Sitting on my ass by myself being maudlin.

Come to Richmond and eat birthday cake with us!

When Teo walked by, I was actually a little shocked by how good looking he was. Unfortunately, I did not feel free to say this directly, and instead told him he looked like a lobbyist and should move to DC. Lobbyists are generally pretty good looking. But this was not a compliment that outsiders (or anyone besides me, really) could easily understand. So he seemed baffled and a little turned off by the whole line of conversation.

It wasn't a getting-laid kind of party among the Unfogged people, and I didn't expect it to be. People around here talk a big game, but don't seem like closers.

I think some of the youthful Flophouse-connected guests might have gotten some pickup going.

People around here talk a big game, but don't seem like closers.

That's actually a misreading. Many of us are excellent closers, but terrible openers. Several of my conversations with fellow commenters yield this conclusion.

Anything going on for NYE in NYC tonight? I'll be around with family and some friends, but dunno how the logistics will work out or if I will even have internet connections later today. So not sure if it's worth posting this...anyway, feel free to email me.

I think the most natural interpretation of being told that one should become a lobbyist is that one has been insulted.

I cannot close the deal for the life of me.

412: Thank you! I would! I've actually dedicated today to St. Mary Magdalen, as it were. (FYI: Did you know "tawdry" comes from "St. Audry" in much the same fashion?) I've had a kind of sad year and am engaging in some homeopathy.

413: From the pix, Teo is very handsome indeed. That cleft chin! Mrowr! (Sorry if we are embarrassing you, Teo!)

youthful Flophouse-connected guests

And who might those people be?

My opening and closing skills are both generally adequate to my needs -- my main problem is in discerning whether I should in fact seal the deal.

415: There are... a few possibilities. Email me your phone number and I'll keep you in the loop if there's something going on.

416: exactly. I meant looks only, but as soon as it was out of my mouth I realized I had actually called him a slimeball.

Maybe we can devote the rest of the thread to making fun of PGD's notion that UnfoggeDCon betokens a new era of human community.

417:

I didn't know that.

I have some very important advice. Do not wish "Not to have another year like 2007." You must be specific: "I want 2008 to be better than 2007."

youthful Flophouse-connected guests

I met a couple of them who were very nice. Indeed.

That's actually a misreading. Many of us are excellent closers, but terrible openers. Several of my conversations with fellow commenters yield this conclusion.

Yes, AWB can close a deal. We had barely mentioned Russian baths, and BR and I almost found ourselves naked with Bave and AWB beating each other with little sticks.

Anything going on for NYE in NYC tonight?

High school-style house party with college freshmen!

Heh.

426: Wait, can I go to that?

I don't think I need anyone to convince me that I would love to go to the Russian baths. It seems self evident.

427: I just told my girlfriend the story of how I narrowly lost a recount in a presidential election for a model congress on an internet forum when I was 13. I don't think she's quite ready to meet internet people.

Maybe if you posed as a dealer? Or were a dealer.

Teofilo is sufficiently hottt that I - the wrong age and gender and there with the boyfriend to whom I am completely devoted - felt tremendously intimidated at the thought of speaking with him. I managed to squeak out a lame introduction and keep walking.

Teo doesn't even speak Quechua, people.

Maybe if you posed as a dealer? Or were a dealer.

That made me laugh out loud.

It seems a bit unfair for Teo to be both shy and handsome to the point of being intimidating! Though it's certainly better than being shy and intimidatingly hideous.

429: Actually, since I teach college students, it's probably not good to reset my "this age is suitable for sexual intercourse" button that low anyway.

Teofilo is sufficiently hottt that I - the wrong age and gender and there with the boyfriend to whom I am completely devoted - felt tremendously intimidated at the thought of speaking with him. I managed to squeak out a lame introduction and keep walking.

I had similar feelings. Of course, the Teo line was long by the time I got my introduction. Labs and w-lfs-n were going to fulfill their end of the bargain.

I think I just realized why so many people were heading upstairs.

So far, I've only TAed for classes at seminary, which includes a lot of second-career people -- so my "this age is suitable for sexual intercourse" button has been set to around 55 for the past few years.

392: Megan is awfully personable, isn't she, and was wearing extremely cute shoes that she described as 'libertarian'. This caused me to attempt to hide my feet in shame, as I was wearing dowdy black low heeled pumps that could only be reasonably described as socialist.

I was also wearing boring shoes. I wore my stiletto boots to the party, but after dragging my fucking luggage all over DC in them, I knew I wouldn't make it long. These boots were made for taxis.

437: No, no, no, Elbie! Low-heeled black pumps are definitionally conservative. I would like to plant the stiletto heel of my cherry red shot silk Prada peeptoes for socialism. (Added socialist fun fact! Got 'em for a song at Century 21!)

Ben and I were wearing practically the same outfit, but he bested me with his shoes.

437: Don't go all wobbly on us now.

I think that the fact that low-heeled black pumps are conservative also makes them socialist, actually.

Added socialist fun fact! Got 'em for a song at Century 21!

*Every* *single* *time* I hear one of the NY crew refer to that place, I go "Since when does a realty company sell shoes?"

Libertarian shoes have spiky heels for grinding the grasping hands of the worthless poor into the ground. Socialist shoes are strong and comfortable but for some reason cost $300.

Levellers wear flats.

443: Josh, your comment -- proving confusion -- will now be used in a trademark infringement suit by said realty company.

In further 'people who I didn't expect to look like that' news, Rob Helpy-Chalk? Oddly Hugh-Laurie-esque. And lots of fun, although I believe I was boasting obnoxiously about my kids to him, so the impression may not be mutual.

I had the same thought as Josh.

I was wondering whether the shoes went with the Century 21 jackets.

447: I'd never thought of that. BTW, looking at your pic I spent some time thinking of who you looked like, since apparently I went to school with your sister, even though I don't know who that is! Nothing is coming up so far (and don't worry I am not asking to be told or anything!).

People around here talk a big game,

I suppose, for certain definitions of "people" "around here" and "big game".

the boyfriend to whom I am completely devoted

As well you should be. I nominate Rah for Poster We Need to Hear More from in '08. Funny, smart, insightful...and at first glance I thought he was Apo. Oops.

I briefly considered trying to sneak off with everyone's extremely hot girlfriends, but thought better of it. You can thank me later for my prudence, Mike, Stanley, and Will.

the Haynes sisters would be showing up any moment

The next Boston karaoke meetup: Sisters!

In further 'people who I didn't expect to look like that' news...

I for one had been led to believe that B.'s boobs were a lot bigger.

NickS in North Bend talks elephants.

449: If you were at the relevant school from 86-91, you probably knew her by sight -- she's McArdle-sized. There's apparently a strong resemblance to me, but it's a hard one to describe -- I don't see it myself much, but people have picked me out of crowds as her sister.

And I am continually amazed by how much I hate pictures of myself. All the ones of me were taken before I was terribly intoxicated (not that I wasn't later on, of course), but you wouldn't know to look at them. I can't keep my eyes open with a camera pointed at me, and I look as though I'm passing-out drunk.

456: Huh. I graduated in 91, with helpy-chalk -- so I certainly know her from that tiny place! I am looking again!

457: Oh, God, me too, LB. When I saw a bunch of the pictures from my high school reunion, I made a vow never to get totally blasted at parties where there are cameras ever again. I look pretty terrible in several of them from Saturday, but I still came off better than in the ones from the reunion. I clicked through the pool with one eye closed.

If you're not coming up with her based on her unusual height, looking at pictures of me probably won't trigger anything.

I thought LB would be mean and intimidating. But, it turns out that she is quite nice. (At least, pre-intoxication.)

But a party where we all sat around sober snapping pictures of each other? M-fun, maybe, but not fun.

Hrm. I said something terribly rude to Tweety, I believe (meant in the friendliest possible way, but in retrospect it could have been taken badly), but I don't recall having been drunkenly unpleasant to you. Might have been, of course. I'm generally a mean drunk.

I clicked through the pool with one eye closed.

Oh puh. Leeze.

LB, you said nothing mean to me. In fact, you kept trying to apologize to me for no reason.

I said something terribly rude to Tweety, I believe (meant in the friendliest possible way, but in retrospect it could have been taken badly)

"Now I know what you meant when you wrote that your moustache makes you unkissable."

This Christmas, my Grandma Kotsko gave me and my sister copies of probably the best picture ever taken of either of us. She also got me a shirt that was the only article of clothing I received and actually liked this year. Apparently I need to hire her as a fashion consultant.

Oh puh. Leeze.

actually, she walked around the party that way too. At first, I thought she was winking at me.

AWB is Stev/en D/en Be/ste?

Well, yes. I felt kind of bad about having been hostile on that weird sex thread.

BR:

I have absolutely no idea what LB is talking about. None whatsoever.

I suppose it is sort of horrible to say that you think someone is photogenic when she has said she isn't (implication: you think that hideous thing counts as a good picture of me? just how awful do I look in person, then?!) but AWB, I think you look quite fetching in at least some of the Saturday shots. Your great big fringey eyes photograph well.

466: Given that Tweety's facial hair is a less exuberant version of Buck's, I would never say such a thing.

I suppose it is sort of horrible to say that you think someone is photogenic when she has said she isn't

Actually, I think it's the sought-after response.

474: It wasn't, but thanks if you meant it as a compliment. I did cop to escaping the photographic tragedy of the reunion photos, in which my terrible, hunched-over buck-toothed dancing style was captured for all eternity.

LizardBreath! I think I know! Did your sis drive a cool car? With a -- whaddayacallit? -- jump seat? I have ridden in it -- more than once -- to fetch kegs.

472: I agree with you. The "big fringey eyes" put me in mind of British film stars from the 60s.

I avoid having my picture taken. And I like to think that I am not photogenic (ie, that I look slightly less goofy in real life.)

I would also like to note that the directions I got to get us to the Palomar - a hotel where I have stayed before - were so bad that we got lost on our way into town but the iPhone directions got us back out without a single hitch. The traffic indicator confirmed what we suspected when we saw a sea of brake lights ahead of us just south of Alexandria and its directions for getting us past all that traffic on US 1 and back on the highway were also flawless.

476: Nope, she was carless throughout college.

It wasn't, but thanks if you meant it as a compliment.

Dude, you look like a Rosetti model, as you have surely often been told before. So based on the evidence my initial reaction to the "OMFG I photo teh suxxors!" was perhaps a little skeptical.

474: Nah. The sought-after response is "You're right. While the picture is reasonably attractive, you're much better looking than that in real life." At least that's what I'm always hoping people will say about me.

480: Oh boo. The person I am thinking of had a Checker Cab and was tall and Irish looking. First name began with C. But I am sure it was her car. Ah well.

Rossetti. Meh.

I led group from bar to dinner to the party to U street for a cab with nothing more than a one page google maps printout. Fie on your technology.

thanks if you meant it as a compliment

I did, absolutely!

No, you're right! I'd forgotten the purple Checker! How did I forget the Checker? (I actually totalled the Checker later on.)

It got her mistaken for Arlo Guthrie, who apparently also drove a purple Checker, from behind once.

I was in the same number of photos as Labs (one), and he was intentionally removed from the set. This is what I get for sitting on the couch.

Dude, you look like a Rosetti model

No, AWB has realistic hands.

I was trying to avoid being totally obnoxious with the camera. I now realize that was a mistake.

Apparently, I should have been photographing shoes.

487: I knew it! And, wow, brava, it must have taken work to total a Checker.

Are we really about to hit comment 500 before someone notes that you're all pretty dweeby looking?

481: No, dude, I had not heard that before. Rossetti models would get way more play than I do, but the comparison is kind.

478/482 are correct. One likes to think that, although still images are occasionally non-horrible, one's charming conversational style and graceful gestures constitute some additional attractiveness. In my case, my conversational style is occasionally hectoring and didactic (cf. "AWB talking about dissertation at wild party and bringing us all down" comments above), and my gestures flailing and violent, so maybe I should reverse my position and say pictures are as good as it gets.

No, AWB has realistic hands.

Her hands weren't visible in any of the photos I looked at.

Anyway, to look like a Rossetti model is not to look like a Rossetti painting. Presumably all his models had realistic hands.

I just realized that the only reason Invisible Adjunct was in that picture was because I grabbed her shoulder and forced her to lean to me.

Are we really about to hit comment 500 before someone notes that you're all pretty dweeby looking?

It seems not.

Are we really about to hit comment 500 before someone notes that you're all pretty dweeby looking?

You should have seen the dancing.

It was totally not my fault. An evil little old lady rear-ended me while I was motionless, waiting to merge into traffic. The Checker had a whole lot of body rust, and the back end tore like paper. I felt terrible about it, though -- that was a great car, aside from being kind of functionally terrible.

493: I hadn't thought of it, but the Pre-Raphaelite thing does work for you. It's the combination of the hair and the eyelashes.

482 is exactly right, which is why I felt a little bad about disagreeing with AWB. I have no idea how LB looks in person, but I cannot deny that she looks distinctly (though charmingly!) el-drunko in the one photo that I've found of her so far.

AWB talking about dissertation at wild party and bringing us all down

You mean RMcMP saying that he thought it sounded interesting? Honestly.

Though apparently I managed to make PGD think I was judging him when he was talking about Aristotle. But I don't judge anyone, and even agreed with him (signalling my agreement with words) about it.

(I should note that I'm not denying having been fairly hammered later in the party, but not when those pictures were taken.)

I suspect that most of us only look critically at our own pictures.

The only person's pictures where I thought "wow, they look horrible," were the pictures of me.

Well, except w-lfs-n. Bastard kept getting in my pictures.

Several people have told me that they really liked Will. I'm still trying to figure out who they'd confused him with.

I'm getting a print of BlindMadDog's picture of Becks and me. Thanks to everyone who took pictures.

They meant to write "Witt." Or maybe they left off "'s girlfriend."

Will is nice and cute, too.

Will is the only person I know with any connection to Hobbs (beyond my youngest brother, who was born there).

AWB:

You don't need to butter me up to bring BR to the Russia baths. She's probably already bought the tickets to NY.

508:

Who said that the party was super white? We had at least 3 or 4 New Mexicans there.

Who said that the party was super white?

47yo balding man Witt.

494: I have a realistic hand in the photo where I'm kissing Will's gf. It's so realistic it has a big cup of beer in it.

I was in the same number of photos as Labs (one), and he was intentionally removed from the set. This is what I get for sitting on the couch.

See, you have to make it a game to avoid being in pictures - not only does it give you something to do, but you solve the "I look like an idiot drunk" problem. I was in the background of only two pictures - not bad.

47yo balding man Witt.

You have to give him credit for sending the young cute, witty girl in his place.

If I had known that we could send proxies, I would have just sent BR in my place and stayed home.

454: I know how to dress. Also I have a small ribcage.

You have to give him credit for sending the young cute, witty girl in his place.

I wanted to, believe me.

I have a realistic hand in the photo where I'm kissing Will's gf.

Heebie ruined that picture. I wanted symmetry.

513: OK, I think we can retire the joke now. It should be noted that I am actually 47, at least in my emotional age and writing style. This can be independently confirmed by the fact that among the few people who had not assumed I was male, most mentioned they thought I was "older."

I'm getting younger, though. If I had done one of those mental age tests when I was 20, I would definitely have come out AARP-level.

I wanted symmetry group sex.

518:

I just wanted BR to feel welcome. Would a little groping have hurt anyone?

the iPhone directions got us back out without a single hitch

This was also the case for us every time the one or two times we actually put in the correct start and end points.

514: I'll say. That was a great dress. You looked nothing like I'd pictured, but terribly impressive.

B looked divine, it's true.

Thank you Kotsko for 373.

463: Hrm. I said something terribly rude to Tweety, I believe

Wait, what? Really? What was it? Dish!

AWB's eyes are really pretty. But I had thought she was very blond, and her hair seems to photograph reddish. I covet B's dress. Lots of people have cool glasses.

524: We'd been talking to McArdle earlier, and you'd been mildly apologetic about having been rude to her, in a "You understand that this is just business" kind of way. The conversation continued in her absence, and I believe I said that 'Well, your internet persona is a bit of an asshole', meaning it with the greatest of admiration, of course. But in retrospect, it seemed a bit harsh.

Wait, Sifu's internet persona is kind of an asshole?

The party looked like a really good time, and I was shocked at how little anyone looked like how I imagined them.

Oh no, well, true enough. I remembered that, it just wouldn't have occured to me think of it as mean.

527: Mine too, of course.

A couple people have told me lately that my internet persona is assholish. I was deeply shocked.

Though apparently I managed to make PGD think I was judging him when he was talking about Aristotle.

Don't take it personally, it's my insecurities speaking. Anyone with a grave and thoughtful demeanor and a level gaze can make me feel vaguely flustered just by being themselves. I adjust for it in professional situations.

You're all assholes!

530: No, I think I said you were "a total dick online." Then I talked to someone else who said you were "a total dick online." The phrase seems to be out of spiritus mundi. I meant it affectionately, of course.

I get the feeling that Ogged presence might have resulted in a lot less post-party affection.

I fear my online persona may be less assholish than my actual self.

535:

Other than refusing to go shirtless with me, Apostropher was very nice and pleasant.

I had a lovely time at the party. I thought Teo was quite the conversationalist and wished I had danced with Neil more. AWB--you are adorable and I wish I had talked to you earlier in the night before I got sleepy. Will and BR--Stanley and I had better see you next year at the Garlic Festival. We'll come down and pick you up if that's what it takes! Heebie and Jammers! Awesome! The general day(s)-after feeling from the party is that I wish you all lived closer and we could hang out with you more often. Bave Dee! I want your teeshirt! You should all come visit Stanley and I in the mountains of Central Virginia. You are welcome anytime.

Being ironically internetless as I am, I've only just now been able to read this thread, and rather than wade through over 500 comments I just searched for my name and read the comments that include it, for which I hereby express my thanks and/or apologies as warranted. It was a pleasure to meet everyone who was at the party.

I wonder if all of the getting lost had something to do with a space-time anomaly over the District. My car's GPS refuses to acknowledge that Washington, D.C. exists at all.

mrh's GSP system failed us by not recognizing taht Washington, DC was a city.

I think that I left my cell phone charger at Matt F's which means that I will have to pay $40 to replace it at the Sprint store tomorrow.

Bave Dee was very gracious and let me crash at his place on the way back to Boston. I was kind of out of it when I said goodnight, because I was freaking out about the lost charger.

Overall I had a lovely time though.

I was very tired by the end. mrh can attest that when sleep-deprived, I am unable to complete sentences properly. See my comment above for a mini-example.

Since I'll only be online for a few more minutes, this is probably a good time to request that anyone who has knowledge of the time and location of the New Year's party to which I am allegedly invited give me a call at some point tonight to inform me of these facts.

In person, though, I'm not a total dick. "That's how I get you."

I know how to dress.

Indeed. The dress was totally glam.

I didn't intend to imply that I found B.'s rack in any way deficient; it's just that I had visualized a toes-don't-get-wet-in-the-rain kind of Vorbau.

In person Adam is only kind of a dick.

Also! I've come back from UnfoggedWeekend to find that my wife has decided to start reading Unfogged. (I discovered this when we were both independently guffawing about something we were reading on the internet and it turned out to be the same thing.)

546: oh shit, so she's going to find all those terrible things you said about her?

mrh's wife is quite the looker.

(I discovered this when we were both independently guffawing about something we were reading on the internet and it turned out to be the same thing.)

That's awesome. There's some photo in the Flickr pool of Unfogged up on the screen on Kriston's laptop at the party, and it always weirds me out to see it on anyone else's computer; it reminds me of sitting in the apartment I was in at the time trying to think of a name for the blog, and tinkering with the look. Like so.

548:

Holy shit you found that fast. What, is this internet open for anyone to see???

I am not a regular unfogged reader, but with mrh away all weekend I had nothing to do and basically read the whole rest of the internet. I had no more options but to see what's going on over here.

So when did you replace Opinionated Grandma as an author, ogged?

I'm glad you decided not to go with just "Og."

Mrh's wife! Come to a meetup with him sometime! We'll ply you with libations and/or karaoke!

550: I already knew about the knitting blog, so I didn't have far to go.

We'll ply you with libations and/or karaoke!

She happens to be a hilarious drunk, and we do a fantastically awful karaoke duet of "A Whole New World."

w-lfs-n is stalkerrific.

She did come to one in NYC, and we met her briefly. I decided she was awesome. I think I decided this before I met her.

I'm still bitter that my blood sugar went wonky early on and also immensely grateful to eekbeat, BPhD., and the anonymous kitchen-goers for handling the situation well. Stringcheese works wonders.

We'll ply you with libations and/or karaoke!

More like I'll ply YOU with libations and/or karaoke. (Not really sure what I mean by that, but I am no less committed to the sentiment.)

550: I had no idea you were a knitting blog devoté. I'll bring my knitting needles to next year's UnfoggeDCon.

545: I'm only kind of a dick to you in person.

I'll bring my knitting needles to next year's UnfoggeDCon

...for self-defense.

But I want the total dick, Adam. Why do you deny me?

sitting in the apartment I was in at the time trying to think of a name for the blog, and tinkering with the look. Like so.

This reminds me that the very first version of Crooked Timber in mid-2003 (never publicly seen) ripped off Unfogged's branch image. I can't remember whether it was ripped directly from Unfogged or from a larger version elsewhere. I want to say the latter, because I cropped it, I think.

Shorter Kieran: CT had a better version of your banner image, and it still wasn't good enough for us.

I want to say the latter

But this is unlikely, since it's from a picture my ex took.

I have met all the main-page posters (Bob and Unf! excepted) and mrh's wife.

At Friday's meetup, Jammies showed up wearing a t-shirt with a cartoon of a piece of toast gleefully spreading jam on himself. I complimented him on wearing that for his nickname and he laughed and said it was actually a total coincidence.

566: Since I have probably now reached the pinnacle of my unfogged career by being put -- however superficially -- on the same plane as the main-page posters, I think I shall leave and never return. It can only go downhill from here.

(Except I also want to be real-life BFFs with A White Bear for thinking I'm awesome with no justification for that impression.)

I feel I have sufficient justification. Mrh, a reasonable man of good judgment, adores you so completely that it's hard not to come to that conclusion.

I was at that same meetup, and you clearly appeared awesome during your short appearance.

This thread had me kind of wanting to host an Unfoggedcon West, but after reading the rundown of empty alcohol containers, I'm not sure I want you people in my house.

But this is unlikely, since it's from a picture my ex took.

OK in that case I cropped it and blew it up a bit. I think. Tiens, it was a long time ago. But then, what Ben said.

346: Labs and the height-appropriate McMegan can't afford for the truth to get out. Both have careers and reputations. Tell no one.

408: If you're Andrew Jackson, you kill the first and last person who asks that question.

mrh is my latest blog crush on account of his being so damn funny at brunch. (Dude, you need a better pseud, though.) Sounds like mrh's wife may be next. (I knit, too. We'll be knitting buddies!)

345

Met Apo, lovely man. And there is no army strong enough to get between me and LB. Nor between her and me.

Ever.

351

The conversation went well, so far as I can tell. I merely asked, in perfect seriousness, what philosophers DO, and in all honesty, I expected and got a real answer. Thankfully, I was standing two steps above Labs when I asked, and even more thankfully, I managed to get out of a tight corner by remembering what a mindfuck my first experience with Hume was way back when I was freshmeat at PSU. Didn't hurt that he had just been giving me lots of shit about my poor Nittany Lions only minutes before.

I also explained that when I am President, I want to have a Secretary of Philosophy who travels with me at all times. Labs can have the exit row on Air Force One.

Let us not forget that someone dear to us holds PSU's Paterno Chair of Culture, Sports Trivia, and Fantasy Hockey.

In re: 575 I propose mrh should go by "Marvey".

This is the best New Year's Eve ever. I got a new knitting friend, outside confirmation that my husband adores me, and a fan club of people who have only met me for 45 seconds ever. (I am wondering whether that is, in fact, the key to getting people to like me. Introduce myself and get out in under a minute.)

I am strongly in favor of Marvey as mrh's new nickname. I will campaign for the transition on the homefront.

Did I say I was leaving, never to return? I did. But then you all kept being so nice to me. This is what you do, right? You butter people up with compliments, draw them in, and then spend the next several months/years of their lives exposing their inferior wits and ill-advised party moves.

Make your comments just as long as you like, Mrs. Marvey. It's not like we pay for bandwidth or anything.

Oh, good, because I was feeling a little bad about making my comment too long. Thanks for setting my mind at ease about that.

Banned.

Great. Now someone's got to go find the new-commenter's fruit basket.

I am still waiting for my fruit basket.

Thank god. I'm out of here. Happy New Year, y'all. Keep mrh/Marvey in line in 2008.

580: What is your knitting blog (if you don't mind)? My mother is a scarily accomplished knitter and I am trying to turn her on to such things. She tried to teach me when I was wee, but the mother/daughter dynamic interfered (or perhaps just the oudemia-is-a-bitch-to-teach-cuz-she-is-a-know-it-all-even-when-she-knows-nothing.)
I am trying to turn her on to knitting blogs.

You haven't proven yourself yet, gonerill.

587: Check out the URL linked from her name in 586.

Sir Kraab, you are too kind. You're also right that my current pseud is pretty weak. I'm open to the idea that a new year brings a new name, but first I need a good idea and some assurance that it won't piss off LB too badly.

Aw crap, flounced out too soon. Banned is good? What kind of a backward place is this?

587: Lickety Knit. Have fun drawing your mom into the mad, mad world of knitblogging.

590: Thanks! Wow and I just re-read my comment and see that I dopily repeat myself. I am not even drinking!

very beautiful sweaters, Mrs.Marvey
i too in my youthful days knitted
very slowly, like a sweater/half a yr
overall like 6-7 sweaters with a common problem
after few laundries those all got knee-lenghth long

i wonder how long does it take to get a fruit basket

i wonder how long does it take to get a fruit basket

Me too.

Trust me. The reason I haven't linked to the fruit basket is that you really don't want the fruit basket. Saying that it's not fresh understates it.

Fruit baskets for read and Gonerill!

Trust me. The reason I haven't linked to the fruit basket is that you really don't want the fruit basket.

Yeah, I bet you said that about equal rights for women, too.

wow, that's the best present for a new year!
I'm Happy
from now on i'm going to call home and this evening is complete

Read, Goneril, Mrs. Marvey:

May I be the first to formally welcome you to the blog with our official fruit basket. Wear it in good health.

i'm not sure about saying now on
i think it means something different, but i can't recall
well, just calling home i said basically

Damn, the link to the fruit basket is broken.

"Now on" means you're going to start doing something as a habit, not just once -- "From now on I'm going to eat breakfast every morning." You were close, but just "now" would have worked better for what you meant.

mrh insists that I will be sucked in and will continue posting here; I insist that I will not (too many internet obligations already). I am not sure in which direction that fruit basket sways me, but I am deeply touched nonetheless.

thanks, yeah
these colloquial expressions are the worst to remember, seem too easy confusingly
may be it's not colloquial
anyway, thanks

welcome Ms. Marvey!

I am glad that my impression that Witt is actually younger than I originally thought her to be has been confirmed.

mrh is my latest blog crush on account of his being so damn funny at brunch. (Dude, you need a better pseud, though.)

mrh's pseud should clearly be Mister H.

To the tune of "Mister F" from Arrested Development?

Oh yes. Bonus!

A friend/lurker suggested that I just use a rotating assortment of three-word phrases starting with M, R, and H, and one of her first suggestions was Mentally Retarded Hippopotamus. I kind of like Moral Relativist Hero, except that Apostropher is the hero.

512: I thought I had you tied on the picture count, but it turns out I actually posed for one, violating all sorts of my normal rules.