and god, the post below and its link are classic. when giants walked the earth, people.
this is just the greater occultation, di, a time of spiritual tragedy for all of us.
True RZ story: my friend stripped with her in the early 90s, in Texas. The word on the street was that she would leave with rich guys, who had cocaine.
LB - good one!
ben and alameida - a wise person once told me to live in the moment. You look back you'll be depressed, look forward and you'll be anxious. Live in the moment and you'll be.
I dunno how true this is, but the moment is usually a pretty cool place to be cause it is, like, real dude.
Di,
Even if he came back it wouldn't be him, and it wouldn't be back. There is no him, there is no back.
There is no him, there is no back.
And yet, while there is no him, and no back, the back that is not is nonetheless covered with hair.
My guess is he'll be back if his relationship with bpl ends badly enough to need consolation, and in a way that reminds him of this. Or if enough time goes by that he gets to feeling nostalgic, but in that case he might visit but wouldn't linger. For the people who have been around longer than me, how likely is either of those events? Of course, even you imaginary Internet people might not know ogged well enough IRL to answer those.
ends badly enough to need consolation, and in a way that reminds him of this
Do they have internet access in state prison?
I miss Standpipe. They seldom come around any more.
Do they have internet access in state prison?
Very limited. I mean, so I've heard. I mean, from watching Law and Order.
Yeah.
9 makes me want to live in the moment by killing someone.
He's never coming back, is he?
What do you mean? He clearly still reads the site, and even comments on occasion, albeit under different, one-off handles.
and even comments on occasion, albeit under different, one-off handles
Then he should be BANNED. Rules are rules.
||
Raise a glass, my friends. This is a big deal.
|>
Aww, man, I used to be kinda funny. I think comment 43 in the thread Alameida cites in 1 above may have been the funniest thing I ever done wrote on this site.
Wow, combine 20 with Waxman's win, and it's a good day for good governance.
Are personal congratulations in order?
That thread makes me think that I should masturbate to Renee Zellwiger before I read someday that I'm not allowed to anymore.
Dudes, Ogged isn't coming back. That said, it wasn't Ogged alone who made the blog so awesome at its height.
In short, the old commenters were awesome and the new commenters suck. And yes, I did notice that Walter Sobchek was in that comment thread and I wasn't, so there.
22 -- Not to me, but to a different regular commenter -- I'm not going to violate OBC, so you'll have to congratulate everyone.
Uh, nice work, Sifu, B, will, BG, Minivet, KR, parsimon,
this is going to take awhile, isn't it?
I have no idea how you pulled it off, but way to go, read.
the old commenters were awesome and the new commenters suck
Um, we love you too?
Back in the golden age everything was wonderful but nowadays everything sucks. The book was better. Kids these days. It tastes like chicken.
30: Wait, I thought you were one of the old commenters?
Everyone who's been here longer than me is an old commenter. Everyone who hasn't is a new commenter.
33: Really? Er, then, get off my lawn!
Back when I was young, everything was better but the old people sucked. Now, it's the young people who suck. Go figure.
I'm old, but I have it on Oggedian authority that the blog's demise is totally my fault. I win!
I have it on Oggedian authority that the blog's demise is totally my fault.
Reports of the blog's demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated.
31: Cripe. Back in the olde days, being gone meant being gone.
As for the blog's demise, update the damn blogroll links! (I know, I know, but I'm rolling my eyes here.)
All those links were broken back in the glory days of the blog too. I'm fairly agéd around here, and I never remember the blog roll being any use at all.
26: I like to feel that I had some part in it, B.
25: Mary Catherine has authorized me to reveal that her husband has put in tremendous amounts of time on this.
Do they have internet access in state prison?
I don't know about California, but they don't in Massachusetts.
I'm a mid- to latter mid period commenter. profgrrrl had mostly stopped commenting by the time I arrived. I never saw girl27, and I never saw a post by Bob in real time.
I was not only around for the original posters, but also met both Unf and Ogged in the flesh (along with Ben W-lfs-n). But I'm not a regular anymore because, as the Bitch said, the comments aren't as fun. Plus I've found other, worthwhile things to do, involving real live people I can see and hear.
Adam's so much cooler than the rest of us!
Hey, hey!
Come on now! Sure it has taken some time but I've almost got the whole lot of you in ship shape, with most (but not all) of the rough edges rubbed off.
Granted it has been a tough six months or so but look what I started with - a leaderless rabble of grumps floating hither and yon. So buck up! Sure, we can't be ogged, but we can be what we are, which is better than what we were, and someday we'll look back and think that these are the good old days.
someday we'll look back and think that these are the good old days
No we won't.
I'm not cooler, just luckier. I've been overly reliant on blogs in past eras of my life, and depending on if/where I get a job, I may be again. If that occurs, you can all assign me a suitable penance for my arrogance. And then we can all get together and murder Tripp!
"All those links were broken back in the glory days of the blog too. I'm fairly agéd around here, and I never remember the blog roll being any use at all."
That's a complete lie. It's not like it was ages ago that Yglesias moved to the atlantic.
The golden age ended with Ogged's first comeback.
24: the old commenters were awesome and the new commenters suck
30: Um, we love you too?
Di's a lot nicer than I am. I was going to go with "Fuck you."
Since this is the thread for random nostalgic grumbling, I feel like one of the problems is that unfogged simply became too large (what''s the cutoff? Over 50 regulars and it's no longer possible to keep track of all of the regulars?)
A while back Emerson suggested splitting the blog, which seemed silly at the time but, thinking about it now, it could be an interesting experiment for the proprietors to put up a post at some point saying,
"unfogged is going on hiatus for [X] weeks, but check out some of the following: " followed by a list of blogs run by unfogged commenters that are updated regularly (I disqualify myself to avoid conflict of interest), and that are willing or interested to take on some of the unfogged traffic.
What would happen? Would the commentariat split up onto the various blogs or would most people just be sorry that unfogged didn't exist and go their separate ways?
I don't necessarily think it's a good idea, but I'm no longer sure it would be a bad idea.
Di's a lot nicer than I am.
Not nicer, just less direct. (P.S. I don't actually think Adam is cooler than the rest of us, either.)
Not that I think Kevin Drum's blog is one of the greatest, but the link that says "Kevin Drum" might should be updated to link to him, instead of to the insanely boring and predictable Democratic Party talking points apologist Steve Benen.
56: I think this is already happening to a certain extent anyway.
Kids these days. It tastes like chicken.
I think they're porkier these days.
max
['The good old days of unfogged nostalgia for the goold days of unfogged nostalgia.']
I'm telling you people. Unfogged 2.0 already exists. They've even got a self-proclaimed manwhore posting.
The golden age began when Kotsko quit commenting, and ended...... at some later point.
I'm telling you people. Unfogged 2.0 already exists.
Broken link, but I appreciate the sentiment. I've been slow to add EotAW to my mental list of blogs to read everyday but clearly that is a mistake.
Adam Costco,
And then we can all get together and murder Tripp!
Bring it on, oh unemployed one. Let's dance!
Someone remind me that not everything is all about me, and that brooding about how the fact that Unfogged is less perky and satisfying than it used to be is all my fault is therefore pointless and mistaken? Or, conversely, confirm that it is all my fault, which will at least support me in my gloom.
56: The really remarkable thing about that old thread isn't that those old commenters are so much wiser and wittier like some internet Algonquin Roundtable, but that there's fewer of them, posting over a much longer span of time. Of course that's going to produce a more enjoyable reading experience, when you don't have umpty-zillion random people are trying to comment every other second.
On the other hand, I don't think breaking up the blog would work at all - the loyalty commenters have to this blog is mostly due to its brand, not to anything intrinsic to the people here.* Over time the tone has changed, the content has changed, and pretty much all the commenters and posters have changed, but it remains the Blog of Theseus because we recognize it even though all its parts have been replaced.
68: Don't be silly. It's apostropher's fault.
68: It's everybody's fault! Everybody's! Every single poster and commenter now in existence!
Or, conversely, confirm that it is all my fault, which will at least support me in my gloom.
This blog was way better before it existed.
max
['I know! I was there!']
LB is really vulnerable right now, so no one tell her what you think about what she did to the blog.
Unfogged was better when LB hated her job.
Stupid job satisfaction.
how the fact that Unfogged is less perky and satisfying than it used to be is all my fault
You're perky and satisfying enough, LB.
68: Um, I'm actually still happy here. I realize this may not be at all reassuring.
There hasn't really been a golden age, but good and pretty good periods alternating. Right now isn't the worst period by any means. Was maybe the best period early 05? Or mid 04? I don't completely trust my memory.
The blog as opposed to the comments isn't necessarily worse than it used to.
Unfogged was better back before people started bragging about how long ago they started commenting and complaining about how lame the new commenters are. It's like Williamsburg around here, for chrissakes. "I moved to Bedford back in '99 when it was ghetto, OK?"
Trollblog has a new post up. Previewed in the comments here, as often will be the case.
It also has an RSS feed.
67: I had never noticed the striking similarity between my last name and the name of a popular chain of retail outlets.
On another note, you have ironically caught me at one of those rare moments when I am getting regular paychecks, in addition to the frequent freelance work I do.
But I should clarify: I don't actually want to murder you. I just find your comments annoying, and since I'm an asshole, I do things like write the present comment instead of just ignoring you, as you deserve.
Maybe this is a golden age, of a sort. There seems to be less really horrible threads than ever, even if awesome threads are rare.
68: Well, I think a lot of regular commenters also got jobs/relationships that demand more time, at least compared to when I first arrived (mid '06, as a Google search tells me). It wasn't the "golden age", but it was when the comment threads really started picking up in pace and size, and part of the rapid-fire joy really came because so many people were avoiding their dissertations or jobs.
So yes, it is your fault, LB.
After seeing 80, I now feel really terrible for 84. AWB's right, of course, but this blog has always had a thing for navel-gazing.
David, they don't cancel out. You can choose not to read an existing horrible thread, you can't choose to read a non-existing awesome thread.
When I started selling off my excess books online, my first sale was "Anti-Oedipus" to one Adam Kokotovich. What are the odds of that?
And he complained because the book fell apart immediately and had a musty smell. Both true, but I had priced it really low because of its condition.
Apparently Deleuze and Guattari's American publisher mostly did pulp. It was definitely a poorly done book.
I refunded everything.
navel-gazing
I don't think insulting your friends counts as navel-gazing.
LB is really vulnerable right now, so no one tell her what you think about what she did to the blog.
LB destroyed the stock market!
max
['Poor little slaughtered stocks. All those teeny tiny teensy weensy broken little baby stocks. {sniff}']
"You can choose not to read an existing horrible thread"
Well, yes, but it took people a couple of years to learn that, and not get sucked in in angry pointless confused 700+ comments long arguments.
One thing I have noticed since returning here is the tendency to go negative, which kills things.
If one's intention is to perform improv humor then one should follow one of the few rules of improv which is to build on things, not go negative. The other rule is to not whistle in the wings. I think.
So anyone want to guess how much I've "written" in my current dissertation chapter today?
Answer: two paragraph breaks and two tabs.
Correction: I realized just after posting that one of the tabs was actually inserted yesterday.
Stay positive, Tripp! We kid around about killing you, but you're really a ray of sunshine.
You can choose not to read an existing horrible thread
That sounds true, and yet how many times have I found myself compelled....
I love pointless 700+ comment arguments. I guess I killed Unfogged, and not LB.
Not to take anything away from LB (who after all zinged Language Log just now, besides ruining Unfogged), but it was Obama who destroyed the stock market.
Correction: I realized just after posting that one of the tabs was actually inserted yesterday.
Delete it, then re-enter it. Editing is important.
I ran "svn up" and discovered that I was already at revision 166.
You'll have to take the tabs out in the revision, I'm sure.
Oh, sob, Kotsko. Why don't you tell us all about how you procrastinated on your dissertation by publishing two papers and a novel.
166 seems like a lot of revisions, but I used svn for all my classes and applications last year and some of my grading.
92: What's it about? Maybe we can help.
We obviously could use something to talk about.
I've made some progress already -- I've added a nice throat-clearing sentence, beginning with, "As I hope will become clear...."
99 makes a good point. Technically, Adam's dissertation is his Habilitationsschrift, since he already wrote a book.
Did you see the dissertation-writing text adventure game linked at Crooked Timber? Your girlfriend (you can play as a straight man or a lesbian) will leave you unless you write 1,000 words in a day, but you're in your office and things keep on distracting you. I found it curiously compelling.
92: Assuming that they're well placed (and I presume they are, given the author), that was a good day's work for E. E. Cummings. You should be proud to follow in such distinguished footsteps.
Everyone go to Trollblog and watch the youtube clip. Hilarious.
Someone remind me that not everything is all about me, and that brooding about how the fact that Unfogged is less perky and satisfying than it used to be is all my fault is therefore pointless and mistaken? Or, conversely, confirm that it is all my fault, which will at least support me in my gloom.
Oooh, me too! I'm like a character on the spin-off show that Elaine or George gets after Seinfeld ends Seinfeld at the height of its popularity.
104. Are you confronted by the hazards of undergraduates fucking in your office?
Then go to the unfogged pool and tell me what bird that is.
I played Violet the other night! I found it in some ways all too compelling, in that I couldn't allow myself to really read and enjoy the entertaining distractions because I was too bent on getting some fucking work done.
I find the dangers of undergraduates fucking in one's office to be greatly exaggerated. It didn't happen to me once in two years of having an office, and this is a debauched campus.
90, 95: I considered caveatting my comment to address that point, but pith.
It's like Williamsburg around here
Chuckle.
I thought the golden age of the blog was that SWPL thread that culminated in a long discussion of cheeses.
guess how much I've "written" in my current dissertation chapter today?
So, would you agree with the comment that I made at rhubarb pie (scroll down to the bottom of the post)?
Could someone go to trollblog and tell me if the RSS feed I have posted there(not here on the thread) works? It doesn't for me, but maybe it's because it recognizes me.
but it was Obama who destroyed the stock market.
Nonononono. LB had the hard-working, productive gig at the private firm of assholes and the economy was fine! And then she slacked off and took the government job and BLAM. The entire world economy collapsed.
max
['It's like Atlas and his globe!']
Trollblog's RSS feed works for me.
Only the icon, not the text gives you the feed address.
Only the icon, not the text gives you the feed address.
I've read that fifty years from now the Red Chinese will produce more law than the whole rest of the world combined.
Does an order of magnitude come with a side of fries?
I thought the golden age of the blog was that SWPL thread that culminated in a long discussion of cheeses.
A reminder that Unfogged still retains some utility as a food blog. Speaking of which, I've just deep-fried some tofu, partly out of sheer cussedness.
Unfogged still retains some utility as a food blog.
Speaking of which, I owe a debt of gratitude to whoever suggest using a left-over rind of Parmesan cheese when making soup.
Everyone go to Trollblog and watch the youtube clip. Hilarious.
Seconded. It's even better than I anticipated, and it totally brightened my day. That said, I have no regrets about deep-frying that tofu.
||
If Hannibal Lector made children's toys, I think they would look like this post-op stuffed bunny.
|>
109: Then go to the unfogged pool and tell me what bird that is.
It is almost certainly a Mandarin Duck. Native to China, but widely naturalized in Europe.
129: Looks right to me. The ring-necked pheasant, another extraordinarily pretty bird, is also a Chinese import. (As is the tumbleweed in The Big Lebowski and cowboy movies).
fifty years from now the Red Chinese will produce more law
That's if they don't take the Bard's advice of Henry VI Part 2, Act 4 scene 2.
I fear that the economic collapse will hit China very hard, and that the "troubles" will make la Grande Terreur and the Termidorian Reaction look like a picnic.
When did the blog start going downhill? FWIW, the first comment of mine that I could fine was from Jamuary 2007.
I'll try to figure out how much, if at all, the blog's high and low points correspond to politics or real-world events. Could take a while. Input on what those high or low points are is welcome.
||
Via Wash Monthly, this "you be the judge" feature on challenged ballots from the Minnesota Senate race is both educational and good clean fun.
|>
55: In all seriousness, the original commenting core was golden and depended pretty heavily on the "core group of smart guys giving each other shit" vibe, which really isn't sustainable, and doesn't really have anything to do with believing that X person is better than Y person. I mean, come on, folks.
That said, the eventual decline into humorlessness (ahem) really does sort of make the comment threads less fun to read. And it really is true that Ogged has told me that this was all my fault. So I mean, fuck me is fine, but I *did* sort of point out in my original comment that I was including myself in the bitchier-than-necessary thing I was saying.
everything is all about me,
i think the purpose of this thread was to expel me from here, coz i don't know anyone newer than me commenting here
well, i'm not a real unfoggeder, so i can come and go whenever i would like and my ogged obsession is over long ago, so yeah, whatever
There have been good times and bad times, but the only comment thread that deserves reign on in history involved photobucket, high school friends, potential criminal charges, real sex and potential violence. But it is no more -- it is like we who were there that day dreamed it -- we few, we happy few, we band of botherers.
The read era has been a good era.
136: Don't be silly. I'm the only one being an asshole about new commenters, and I hardly comment here any more anyway. (Because of spending much less time on the internets, rather than because I Hate You All, btw.)
spending much less time on the internets
Mazl tov! You inspire me to
It wasn't really a choice. I just kind of ran into the brick wall of time.
That and the iphone! Games are much more portable than a laptop.
137: I would maintain that in retrospect, he played that one wrong. That was the moment when I started to suspect that the apparent "curse" that follows him around is at least partly self-inflicted.
("He" being a secret person none of you have met.)
I think I can speak for all the differently-enhumored among us when I say: it's not a lifestyle choice, it's not a disability, it's just who we are. Don't hate us because we're different.
Yeah, read, it's important to take it for granted that anyone stroking themselves for having been here longer than someone else is more obsessed with themselves than with any of the people they seem to be criticizing. All threads like this serve to do is make newer commenters paranoid while older commenters get even more invested in their own importance.
That and the iphone! Games are much more portable than a laptop.
The iPhone has the internets you know.
Read, you are one of the good commenters. Most of what people have been saying is joking, and partly it's hot air. Also, you're not very new any more.
it's important to take it for granted that anyone stroking themselves for having been here longer than someone else is more obsessed with themselves than with any of the people they seem to be criticizing
And/or, as JOhn says, deliberately and self-incriminatingly *making fun of* the whole "the blog used to be so great" moan that's been part of Unfogged SINCE FOREVER PEOPLE.
It is best to approach the Internet (and any subpiece thereof) as a found object.
All threads like this serve to do is make newer commenters paranoid
Wait, so the feminists who ruined the blog are now lamenting its demise?
There ain't no good guys. There ain't no bad guys. There's only you and me, and we just disagree.
148: Remember when it was funny to say remember when this blog was funny?
Unrelated: What have you done to my Gmail, you goons!?
(That's goons-not-in-the-room, to be sure.)
I HAVE INVENntED tHE BANGTERRO!?
All threads like this serve to do is make newer commenters paranoid while older commenters get even more invested in their own importance.
How new is new? I think I might have ruined the blog. A little.
151: Just the one feminazi. The other ones are and always were reasonable.
IT'S ALL MCMC'S FAULT. Except for the parts that are mine. I want *some* credit.
I vote for letting a million new Unfoggeds bloom! And more political stuff on the front page. And more Standpipe. Hullo Standpipe!
Unrelated: What have you done to my Gmail, you goons!?
No shit.
Unrelated: What have you done to my Gmail, you goons!?
No shit.
That's really ugly. How do I change it back?
161: Settings -> Themes.
Therein you can also choose "Candy," which will adorn your gmail page with smiling cartoon girls hold ice cream cones and popsicles.
OTOH, if I chose one of the darker themes I may get the benefits of blackle.
God damn, all their themes are ass. Note, if you choose one of the darker themes, you may get the benefits of ass.
Anyway, whiners, you *have the option* of using the old look.
GMail used to be better before bitchphd started using it.
I think I'm coming to like the themes idea.
I may just go back to the classic look, but some of the themes are a perfectly fine change of pace.
And/or, as JOhn says, deliberately and self-incriminatingly *making fun of* the whole "the blog used to be so great" moan that's been part of Unfogged SINCE FOREVER PEOPLE.
This blog was way funnier before you said that.
max
['Where is the Gayatollah of Rock and Rollah, anyways?']
some of the themes are a perfectly fine change of pace.
You're using Ninja, aren't you?
I'm totally using graffiti. I considered teahouse, but the font for Gmail was too annoying.
I use Gmail in HTML-only mode, and it looks the same. All I lose is that I have to refresh manually.
Huh. I might should mess around with my gmail account, given that I never use it because I hate it so. Nevermind the themes business, though, at least initially, the inability* to unthread email exchanges is Just Absurd.
*as far as I can determine
bah i am so newer than read!
I had been assuming that such people as "tierce de lollardie" and "inaccessible island rail" are old-time commenters who decided to change their names. Since my stereotype is that people who are new to the blog generally spend a while as "Bill H" or "Lurkerman" rather than hitting upon a catchy name right off the bat.
i am new here but i am not new everywhere
Unfogged was better when it used real lard.
Ogged's comments in this thread are funny.
Unfogged was better when it used real lard tallow.
Seriously, I've been reading this blog for 4+ years (Fuck!), commenting for most of them, and the "this blog used to be funnier" thing has been here since I first stumbled across the place.
I'd say that the real difference is that there are so many commenters here now, and that makes for a lot less back and forth between individual commenters, plus all of our in jokes are fucking old (e.g.). Plus the focus on being funny as a primary goal for the blog's existence just isn't there--don't get me wrong, there's still hilarious stuff, but it's far more diffuse and interspersed with serious stuff.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but I love a lot of the new commenters. If and when I moan about the old days, it's in part because I miss some of the people who have left the blog--ogged, Weiner, Labs, B for that matter, even Walter Sobchak--because, weirdly, I thought of them as friends, even if we never corresponded outside of the blog--and there's no calling them up and asking if they want to all sit together over a comment thread sometime.
I've always wondered what happened to Isle of Toads.
I'm masturbating as fast as I can, but MY GOD I just can't keep up with this site.
It pretty much takes a Fleshlight these days.
I'm a new commenter, and I suck!
(Am I still a new commenter? How much time have I wastedfruitfully spent here? I suck, anyway.)
You see? It's true. Lack of in-jokes.
I used to think Unfogged used to be better. I still do, but I used to, too.
Nailed by my Simpson's lacuna once again.
I had a Simpson's lacuna once, but the doc caught it before it spread.
It's sad to realize that the Simpsons already sucked by 1999.
198 and 199 are equally weird, metaphor-wise.
Kobe: I've been watching the Simpsons from Seasons, oh, 4 or 5? They were so great. Coincidentally, I remember my friend complaining at the time about how they'd gone downhill.
My point aside, he obviously wasn't talking about the Monorail episode, because that's the greatest work of art the human mind has ever produced.
Much like Unfogged, the Simpsons has always already been going downhill.
To say this same is true for standpipe's blog would I suppose be redundant at this point.
You know, I spent a good bit of time googling standpipe's blog, back in th' ol' days.
202: My brother's also hung up on the monorail episode for some reason. Sure, it's great, but give me Bear Patrol any day.
Sure, it's great, but give me Bear Patrol any day.
Agreed. "Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock." Classic.
Nothing is better than monorail. Nothing!
It's just Nimoy and the song, really. Pudding can! The eclipse! I shouldn't have stopped for that haircut!
So we should come up with a name for this law of always-crappy-already-ness. It applies, at my last count, to unfogged, the simpsons and Burning Man.
Huh, I enjoy all those things. Sifu's law seems natural!
No way is bear patrol better than the monorail ep. Noway, nohow, nosirreebob.
Meh. Nothing I've seen from The Simpsons has ever topped the Guatemalan Insanity Pepper episode.
Really? I thought that episode was kind of average at the time.
Guatemalan insanity pepper was definitely the best freakout scene, but the episode as a whole has been bested many times.
Indeed. It included a surprisingly poor appearance of Johnny Cash.
P.S. Boiler dead, heat off. Freezing balls off.
And actually the Treehouse Of Horror III freakout scene with Homer in Hell is nearly as awesome.
fm you totally should turn the heat on if it's cold out. Is that helpful?
unfogged late night has definitely gone downhill.
I quit watching The Simpsons after bitchphd started watching it.
||
If you give unfogged a Myers-Briggs personality test, it comes out as ISTP:
The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.
The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.
220: The "brain activity" chart on that page is hilarious. Who knew that the brain is divided up into equal-size regions that precisely map onto Myers-Briggs categories? It's amazing!
unfogged late night has definitely gone downhill
Nobody wants to say it, but I'm putting it out there. It's all teo's fault. We all tuned in to hear about the girls that caught his eye, to offer our sorry advice on how to flirt, to share the communal hope. Then he met The Girl, and Mission Accomplished, and he stopped visiting regularly and we just haven't known what to do with ourselves since.
And then, of course, teo's OWN blog went downhill when his application to join Edge Of The American West was turned down.
183: Chopper -
Plus the focus on being funny as a primary goal for the blog's existence just isn't there-
Yeah, totally. Getting all meta for a moment, Ogged was the leader, that was accepted (mostly), and he enforced that tone.
When Ogged left the group had no leader. Usually in that case a leader emerges, and I sorta tried to do that early this year, but without any real authority to back me (and nobody else stepping forward to lend support) the group became a collection of individuals.
There is nothing wrong with a collection of individuals, of course, but then you've got the diverse purposes going on. Also, as AWB so astutely pointed out above, insulting your friends is NOT humor, even though that seems to be the best some can offer. Sarcasm and insults are toxic to group cohesion or any other relationship for that matter.
So, it was what it was, and now it is what it is, and nobody who has the power has changed that, or lent support to changing that.
I made some real connections in the old group, connections that actually helped in my real life, in very surprising ways. Who knew I'd get my script signed by the very guy who originated the Broadway role? For me that was the highlight of how small the world can be and how there are good people throughout it.
But old jazz record stores burn down, towns dry up, and new people come along. Not much can be done about that except keep on truckin'!
Usually in that case a leader emerges, and I sorta tried to do that early this year,
That was what you were trying to do? Huh.
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
i wonder what 'ablutions of mordeh shoor' means
i tried different words to have pronounciation like that, like ablation shore for example but still can't tell what does it mean, the phrase
Do you remember when?
Ah yes, but that was then,
And now is now
And on and on.
I wanted that song to last
Already in the past
Ogged's out the door
Won't comment here anymore....
read,
I believe it is referring to the Iranian custom of the ritual washing (ablutions) of a dead body before burial. The person doing the washing is the Mordeh Shoor.
I'm not Iranian so I could be getting this wrong. No disrespect intended to anyone.
LB,
Bob got it right off. As far as I could tell he actually helped, or at least didn't hinder.
thanks, Tripp, interesting, i thought it's alteration of English words
so the thread was that, washing of the dead body of unfogged? bad luck calling like sounding title imo
coz there is a proverb 'amnu bilgees ashdun bilig'
which means figurally 'what you say happens'
there's no calling them up and asking if they want to all sit together over a comment thread sometime
Yeah, that's the bummer part.
218: I never watched the Simpsons, so watch away.
A man, Sir, should keep his friendship in constant repair.
I never watched the Simpsons, so watch away.
OK, let me know if you start.
224 is kind of hilarious.
When Ogged left the group had no leader. Usually in that case a leader emerges
Well. Well. Not so much, I'd say. Quite a few strong personalities around here, and what registers as insults is often a refusal to let a certain tone be set; that's legitimate. It's like a democracy, see, or so I think in my better moments.
And then, of course, teo's OWN blog went downhill when his application to join Edge Of The American West was turned down.
I'll have you know that my blog went downhill when I got a job. No need to blame Ari. Unless you really want to. Also, I just wrote a new post last night.
