Notable MeFites

July 3, 2006 5:19 PM

Notable MeFites - who are they? I know everyone's special in their own little way, but which MeFites are really special - popularly famous or notable in their field. I've always wondered this...

Obvious examples excluded.
posted by bjork24 to MetaFilter-Related at 5:19 PM (118 comments total)

There goes net neutrality.
posted by found missing at 5:23 PM on July 3, 2006

I only ask so I can adulate excessively upon them.

Pretty gross, huh.
posted by bjork24 at 5:28 PM on July 3, 2006

You know who else was popularly famous or notable in their field? That's right: Hitler.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:29 PM on July 3, 2006

Some of my perl code was featured on slashdot.
posted by boo_radley at 5:30 PM on July 3, 2006

I used to make kites that someone said I could probably get people to buy. Nothing ever happened with that...
posted by Pacheco at 5:36 PM on July 3, 2006

Both jscalzi and cstross are nominated for the Hugo for best novel this year. Mefite vs. mefite!
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:40 PM on July 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

i am a legend in my own mind
posted by keswick at 5:41 PM on July 3, 2006

So, you say asavage is obvious. I totally read some of his ask mefi threads without making that connection, and he may like it that way :)
posted by JZig at 5:41 PM on July 3, 2006

also delmoi has that web2.0/ zombo crossover mp3 thing going for him.
posted by boo_radley at 5:43 PM on July 3, 2006

So, you say asavage is obvious. I totally read some of his ask mefi threads without making that connection, and he may like it that way :)

Woops! I didn't mean to out him. I thought it was common knowledge...

I guess that myth just got busted!
posted by bjork24 at 5:43 PM on July 3, 2006

I made a pretty awful horror flick, for which I haven't seen a dime. Don't worry. You've never heard of it.

on preview: holy shit, PST! That's crazy!
posted by brundlefly at 5:43 PM on July 3, 2006

I did some modelling in the first grade...
posted by mds35 at 5:45 PM on July 3, 2006

These threads always go like this. I won a contest and got to read my essay about age discrimination at my sixth grade graduation.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:49 PM on July 3, 2006

I am also a legend in keswick's mind.
posted by cortex at 6:04 PM on July 3, 2006

Also, Allentown <3 me!
posted by cortex at 6:08 PM on July 3, 2006

My moustache was a minor internet celebrity for awhile.

Plus my music is big in Japan.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:15 PM on July 3, 2006

Isn't everyone big in Japan?
posted by Cyrano at 6:17 PM on July 3, 2006

:`(
posted by ludwig_van at 6:20 PM on July 3, 2006

dong resin wrote screenhead.com, but Nick Denton closed it up yesterday.

OH! I don't know how many people know this but at the first NYC meetup ever (early 2001?), Nick Denton happened to be in the same bar as the meetup, recognized Anil Dash in a crowd, and walked over to talk. Denton got introduced to all the early NYC meetup folks, one of which was Elizabeth Spiers, who went on to be the first writer of Gawker.com, launching the whole Gawker empire. Then she bailed, move on to New York Metro? and I don't know what she's up to now.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 6:28 PM on July 3, 2006

Barney told me I'm special.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:29 PM on July 3, 2006

Welcome to high school, how much do YOU matter?
Check one.
A) The next incarnation of a major religious figure.
B) International Fame.
C) National Fame.
D) Regional Fame.
E) City Hero.
F) Block captain.
G) The darlin' of mamma's eye.
H) Own personal hero.
I) Deluded freak.
J) Monica Lewinsky.
K) Jeffy Dahmer.
L) Nobody loves me, guess I'll go eat worms.
posted by edgeways at 6:36 PM on July 3, 2006

Barney is a liar and a drunk.
posted by cortex at 6:36 PM on July 3, 2006

I'm naked and special.
posted by loquacious at 6:36 PM on July 3, 2006

we have tons of famous people here --the best ones are the ones that we post about, and then they join. : >

Isn't the (ex---sadly)sploid guy from here too? And liz is doing the wall st blog thing now i think.

Do we have any politicians?
posted by amberglow at 6:37 PM on July 3, 2006

I am the Lizard King.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:37 PM on July 3, 2006

Oh, I am reminded because she just posted something: MeFi's own Scram is a music writer who authored an excellent volume on NMH's classic In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:39 PM on July 3, 2006

I have kissed three famous musicians. Bonus points for anyone who can name them all.
posted by scody at 6:46 PM on July 3, 2006

I'm pretty sure that I have the most kick ass collection of balisongs of any of the thousands of members here.
My special snowflake has razor edges.
posted by Balisong at 6:47 PM on July 3, 2006

Do we have any politicians?

You mean other than Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens ? (btw... that is his lovely wife in the photo, not his daughter.)
posted by R. Mutt at 6:49 PM on July 3, 2006

It's Raining Florence Henderson for best username.
posted by mischief at 6:59 PM on July 3, 2006

I'm naked and special.

I thought it was "naked and famous".
posted by sbutler at 7:00 PM on July 3, 2006

Nick Denton happened to be in the same bar as the meetup, recognized Anil Dash in a crowd, and walked over to talk.

This is true. He bought me a beer.
posted by jonmc at 7:04 PM on July 3, 2006

I have kissed three famous musicians. Bonus points for anyone who can name them all.

Bono, Mick Jones & Ethel Merman.
posted by jonmc at 7:05 PM on July 3, 2006

Both jscalzi and cstross are nominated for the Hugo for best novel this year. Mefite vs. mefite!

What did they write?
posted by sourwookie at 7:05 PM on July 3, 2006

it's my understanding that george w bush was a member here but you bastards got him banned
posted by pyramid termite at 7:06 PM on July 3, 2006

I have the best damned collection of ceramic ashtrays shaped like states.
posted by marxchivist at 7:08 PM on July 3, 2006

No, jon, that was Nick Drake, and it was more than one beer.
posted by Tuwa at 7:08 PM on July 3, 2006

What did they write?

Scalzi's up for Old Man's War which was pretty good, and Stross is up for Accelerando which I haven't read.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:17 PM on July 3, 2006

Famous?

Let's just say that every time I move, the townspeople have already had a town meeting or two about me.
posted by graventy at 7:19 PM on July 3, 2006

that's not famous. that's infamous.
posted by crunchland at 7:25 PM on July 3, 2006

My first-grade class voted me "Most Likely To Be Seen On The News Some Day."
posted by Gator at 7:29 PM on July 3, 2006

I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
posted by Ryvar at 7:33 PM on July 3, 2006

I once wrote a post about Marlon Brando that a couple people liked.
posted by dobbs at 7:39 PM on July 3, 2006

Okay, okay, it's true...I am exactly who you think I am.
posted by briank at 7:39 PM on July 3, 2006

Yeah, dobbs, but then that post got fat and egotistical.
posted by brundlefly at 7:41 PM on July 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

frasermoo got married immediately after Charles and Camilla. He and the Mrs. had wellwishers and some attention from the BBC.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:59 PM on July 3, 2006

They have the internet on computers now days?
posted by oxford blue at 8:32 PM on July 3, 2006

Producer/director/writer John Brownlow (aka unSane) wrote the movie Sylvia, among other things. He also did the amazing photos of burn survivors linked recently.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:35 PM on July 3, 2006

So, the long and short of it is that none of us are even remotely famous.
posted by crunchland at 8:36 PM on July 3, 2006

but, crunch, you're famous too (mefi-famous, that is)
posted by amberglow at 8:45 PM on July 3, 2006

also delmoi has that web2.0/ zombo crossover mp3 thing going for him.
posted by boo_radley at 8:43 PM EST on July 3 [+fave] [!]

err, I think that was brownpau
posted by blasdelf at 9:00 PM on July 3, 2006

I went to the farmers market and bought enough plants that they threw in a free bunch of basil, so I went home and tried to make pesto and of course it turns out that pesto consists of more than just one bunch of basil sworn at and beseeched to become pesto so I walked all over creation and assembled the other ingredients (listen to this, at a loss for how to punch up/thin out your pesto? white wine and lemon juice, you need a citrus reamer, also you need a citrus reamer so you can scream at the top of your lungs, 'dammit, where is the citrus reamer for the love of god!') and made a damn fine pesto, although next time double the cloves of garlic (I picked the first recipe off of google and of course it was some damn midwesterner who thought three cloves of garlic in a fucking pint of pesto was like snorting DMT off of the Pope's rockhard abs wildness-wise) and double the cheese because we only live once (no matter what his holiness says), anyway the next day I was at the supermarket and the produce dude (nice fella) recognized me from my pesto mission and says didn't you want basil (once again you need at least two standard farmers market hippie bunches, not one) and I said "Hey man, thanks, it's always great to be recognized, if it wasn't for the fans we couldn't do what we do, you make it all worthwhile." And he said "You wanted basil?" and I said "Nah man, I'm cool."
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:03 PM on July 3, 2006 [4 favorites]

I heard dios was really George Clooney, totally punking all of us.
posted by todbot at 9:05 PM on July 3, 2006

Stross is up for Accelerando which I haven't read.

Worth noting that Stross was particularly gracious to Scalzi when the nominations were announced. And Scalzi recently pointed out that it's still not too late to join WorldCon and vote - $50 for a supporting membership before the Con gets you a ballot, if I'm not mistaken.

Haven't read Old Man's War or Accelerando, but just finished Stross' Singularity Sky a couple of weeks ago; it's pretty good hard sci-fi, worth a read, with enough really neat ideas to get you through the slightly pointless plot and vague background the book hangs on, and to help you ignore the over-obvious hammer-over-the-head "See? Decentralized systems really are better!" stuff you get with the technogasm crowd these days. Still, it was generally impressive and interesting; I'll probably read the sequel Iron Sunrise and have heard only good things about Accelerando.
posted by mediareport at 9:11 PM on July 3, 2006

Also, rcade, who popesquatted, and formerly worked for professional douchebag shithead Dave Winer
posted by blasdelf at 9:14 PM on July 3, 2006

Oh, and rcade made international news for squatting on the new pope.
posted by mediareport at 9:16 PM on July 3, 2006

*does jinx dance*
posted by mediareport at 9:16 PM on July 3, 2006

My head just blew up upon learning that Adam Savage is on MetaFilter. That's just goddam awesome.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 9:16 PM on July 3, 2006

Stross is a damn good writer.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:19 PM on July 3, 2006

Yah, and if your grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon. /scottie
posted by Lynsey at 9:42 PM on July 3, 2006

In addition to the Zombo/Web2.0 thing, I was once quoted in Washington Post's free Express publication the day after Hurricane Katrina, that "New Orleans is spared becoming New Atlantis, for now at least."

The next day, the levees broke.
posted by brownpau at 9:45 PM on July 3, 2006

Man, that has got the makings of a great post:

Squating to poop is good for you; squating the Pope too. Mark 2:16.

posted by Chuckles at 9:57 PM on July 3, 2006

Dave Pogue is here. All one comment of his in a thread about HIM.
posted by pwb503 at 9:58 PM on July 3, 2006

I was in a tv commercial for the Gumby boardgame. When I was 6. That's it for me.
posted by tula at 10:02 PM on July 3, 2006

tula, that was you?!!?
posted by dobbs at 10:08 PM on July 3, 2006

Serial Killer Slumber Party is the new 'it' Mefite that everyone is talking about. His posts are catchy and his name is hilarious.

He's not my favourite Mefite. I just think he's good.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 10:15 PM on July 3, 2006

I co-starred in a movie with Sam Raimi, and I've got the IMDB listing to prove it. And yet the phone does not ring...
posted by BinGregory at 10:33 PM on July 3, 2006

are you kidding me? the other gated community has three senators, a handful of sketch comedy show veterans, two NYT best selling authors, the dood who blows the horn in the ricola ad, Crispin Glover (!!), 3 nobel laureates, plus 5 former playmates - one from the early 60's.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 10:53 PM on July 3, 2006

professional douchebag shithead Dave Winer

Winer is also a member here, of course, though he hasn't used his account (like most of the others mentioned) since it was supercool to be a MeFite (for about 5 minutes in 2000, I think it was).
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:57 PM on July 3, 2006

oh, stav! As long as you are here, being a Mefite will be cool. Those of us with no claim to fame will be glald to bask in your reflected glory.
OK, that is too humble. Actually, my mother thinks I am funny.
posted by Cranberry at 11:17 PM on July 3, 2006

These "who's who in metafilter" ("who's famous?" "who's a sockpuppet?") are all the same. I read 70 comments and the only thing I learned is that It's Raining Florence Henderson is back from his vacation. Hey Florence, does this mean you finished alla your chores?
posted by nanojath at 11:32 PM on July 3, 2006

dobbs, yes, I was the adorable one in the pigtails. Thanks for noticing.
posted by tula at 11:39 PM on July 3, 2006

MetaTalk with Linda Richman night tonight is it ?
posted by y2karl at 11:45 PM on July 3, 2006

I've had two article in Wall Street Journal Online.

Actually, I didn't write one of them, exactly. James Taranto created it by quoting pieces of several posts from my blog and sticking them together with duct tape, and asked if he could post it. I never really thought it was very good. But I did write the other one myself.

For whatever it's worth (i.e. not damned much). But I do have a fond memory as a result the second one, because I received a special fan mail after it went online. The Lt. Colonel in charge of the 3rd Division's signal battalion in Iraq was sent the link to my article by the chief of staff of the 3rd Division, and the Colonel felt motivated to send me a thank-you note after having read it.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:29 AM on July 4, 2006

Everyone I know knows me.
posted by armoured-ant at 12:36 AM on July 4, 2006

I'd think at least part of the attraction is some anonymity.
posted by Smedleyman at 1:03 AM on July 4, 2006

Everyone I know knows me.

But they wish they didn't!

Oh snap!
posted by ludwig_van at 1:08 AM on July 4, 2006

Those diarrhea songs back when we were kids? "If you're comin' into home / And your pants start to foam / DIARRHEA!!!."

Yeah, every one. That was me. Call it juvenalia.
posted by bardic at 1:09 AM on July 4, 2006

Kidding, kidding, of course. But seriously folks. Don't drink and drive.
posted by ludwig_van at 1:10 AM on July 4, 2006

Rcade is my new mefi hero. That popesquatting interview was class.

My short film featured at a festival once.
posted by slimepuppy at 1:34 AM on July 4, 2006

i once let one of the dudes from the pet shop boys into my apartment building so he could take a leak

i did not realize it was him until the next day.
posted by fishfucker at 1:46 AM on July 4, 2006

Don't drink and comment on Metafilter.
posted by Pacheco at 1:55 AM on July 4, 2006

i can pretend im someone famous so metafilter wont feel so tedious and mediocre.
posted by naxosaxur at 3:16 AM on July 4, 2006

I'm 'Man At Bar' in Come Fly With Me Nude. But I've never seen it so I don't know whether I made the final cut.
posted by MrMustard at 3:51 AM on July 4, 2006

I got a "fuck you" from quonsar
posted by johnny7 at 4:34 AM on July 4, 2006

Is no one going to mention that Lore of Brunching Shuttlecocks (and other internetty goodness) fame has been much more active around here lately? Okay, I will then. Need to keep the man happy, after all.
posted by yhbc at 6:00 AM on July 4, 2006

I am outraged nobody has linked to me yet. Does it mean nothing to be Omaha's most successful playwright?
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:44 AM on July 4, 2006

I thought that was Astro Zombie 2
posted by jacalata at 7:13 AM on July 4, 2006

Pfft, you and your Astro Zombie 2. Discover the new reality (zeitgeist, why not) that is Astro Zombie 3. GRR UHN UGH GRR 4 EVAH, baybeee!
posted by hangashore at 7:33 AM on July 4, 2006

Oh, and since nobody else has noted that diarrhea songs and popesquatting were mentioned two comments apart, I won't either.
posted by hangashore at 7:37 AM on July 4, 2006

Plus, of course, Jeff Rowland.
posted by cortex at 7:52 AM on July 4, 2006

Great. My sock puppets are more famous than I am.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:11 AM on July 4, 2006

R Stevens too.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 8:58 AM on July 4, 2006

And that adorable scamp Kaycee!
posted by cortex at 9:06 AM on July 4, 2006

"Stross is a damn good writer."

Charlie is one of the best writers currently working in SF, and all things considered, I feel qualified to say that.

(As an aside, the Hugo novel field is pretty good this year all the way around; aside from my book and Charlie's, there's also Robert Charles Wilson's Spin, which is one of his best so far, Ken MacLeod's excellent Learning the World, and George RR Martin's NYT #1 bestseller A Feast for Crows. As I've said on my own site, I wouldn't mind winning the Hugo, but I'd be fine with losing to any of these guys, for any of these books.)
posted by jscalzi at 9:38 AM on July 4, 2006

StickyCarpet won an Academy Award for inventing morphing, which is pretty freaking cool. But really, he should have a party-throwing Oscar.
posted by CunningLinguist at 9:54 AM on July 4, 2006

I had a dream last night that armoured-ant would collaborate with ludwig_van, and that collaboration would be called armouredvan. They would have t-shirts featuring a woodcut silhouette of the A-Team van. And they would be famous.
posted by Eideteker at 9:55 AM on July 4, 2006

Best to preview one's links, no?
posted by Eideteker at 9:58 AM on July 4, 2006

Am I supposed to know who Adam Savage is? I'm out of the loop apparently.

As for me; you have no idea how important I am in the MMORPG community.
posted by ODiV at 10:38 AM on July 4, 2006

At least we know there are plenty of crappy musicians on mefi now.

(I keed. Partially.)
posted by bardic at 10:40 AM on July 4, 2006

I'd think at least part of the attraction is some anonymity. - Smedleyman

/accuses Smedley man of being (insert most loved/most notorious personality here)
posted by raedyn at 11:01 AM on July 4, 2006

Appearantly I was the alter ego of Professor Edgewise in Shazam, As seen here.


Edgewood Smith
posted by edgeways at 11:11 AM on July 4, 2006

Am I supposed to know who Adam Savage is?

Adam Savage is the prime minister of Canada.
posted by found missing at 11:15 AM on July 4, 2006

Adam Savage was a successful professional wrestler for years under the stage name 'Macho Man.' He also starred on TV's The Wonder Years.
posted by box at 11:45 AM on July 4, 2006

And he writes an irreverent sex column, when he's not doing talk radio.
posted by cortex at 11:47 AM on July 4, 2006

Thanks. Now I'm better informed!

(also, after looking him up, it seems like I've just posted the equivalent of "Is this something I need a TV to know about?")
posted by ODiV at 11:51 AM on July 4, 2006

Well... I don't like to toot my horn, but I am the owner of Fanny, the Famous Farting Dog. Her ability to snore AND fart at the same time (which enthusiasts refer to as fanorting) has earned her the praise and adulation of a nation, and I, as her humble caretaker, am allowed to bask in the brilliant light of her glory. I am ever mindful not to let this go to my head.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:51 AM on July 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

My dubious claim to MeFi fame?

I posted the link to the Harry Pootter 'this broom, it vibrates?' Broom - unwittingly creating a whole new MeFi meme.

No - really!
posted by metaxa at 12:10 PM on July 4, 2006

FWIW, I collect beer cans from foreign countries.
I already have four.
posted by sour cream at 1:16 PM on July 4, 2006

You and twenty others, metaxa.
posted by crunchland at 2:19 PM on July 4, 2006

I had a dream last night that armoured-ant would collaborate with ludwig_van, and that collaboration would be called armouredvan. They would have t-shirts featuring a woodcut silhouette of the A-Team van. And they would be famous.

You're hired! When can you start?
posted by ludwig_van at 2:58 PM on July 4, 2006

I can eat corn without fully digesting it.
posted by horsewithnoname at 4:01 PM on July 4, 2006

I could tell you what I'm famous for, but then I'd have to kill you.
posted by scalefree at 5:32 PM on July 4, 2006

Don't you even know how famous I am on the internet?
posted by Eideteker at 6:06 PM on July 4, 2006

You and twenty others, metaxa.

There's no honour in being first? Ah well.
posted by metaxa at 3:20 AM on July 5, 2006

Sure it does! Far be it from me to spirit away your claim to fame.
posted by crunchland at 6:05 AM on July 5, 2006

How about Gus, of Star Wars obsession fame?
posted by smackfu at 7:02 AM on July 5, 2006

This thread wouldn't be complete without an honorable mention of the short-lived fame of Todd Lokken.
posted by grateful at 8:11 AM on July 5, 2006