RTFA

December 6, 2007 12:55 PM

The worst of MetaFilter

The post on tracking down the "Ron Paul" spam botnet, while light on links, is still an interesting look at the technical forensics of tracking down the origin of the Ron Paul mass-spam mailing, worthy of discussion in its own right. Unfortunately, the comments were hijacked early on by people dead set on arguing with each other on the merits and drawbacks of Ron Paul as a presidential candidate, with equal doses of arguments on the philosophy of Libertarianism and Constitutional law, none of which has anything whatsoever to do with the content of the post.

Folks, you can argue about any of these topics in any number of other forums on the internet. Instead, you've seen fit to ruin an otherwise perfectly good thread, either by not reading the content of the post, or by deciding that you didn't care about the topic, and deliberately derailing for your own pleasure. Either way, it's a disappointing thing to experience.

posted by Brak to etiquette/policy at 12:55 PM (110 comments total)

Also, I have spent a lot of time and effort in cultivating high-quality Kentucky bluegrass there. I wish you younger people would not tread on it.
posted by GuyZero at 12:58 PM on December 6, 2007 [12 favorites]

More seriously, you really can't control what people discuss. Trying to do so is ultimately a waste of time.
posted by GuyZero at 1:01 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

Yeah. As I mentioned in the thread it probably would have went better had I edited the title of the post to not mention Ron Paul.

Also, I don't like padding posts with extra links. That's the story I wanted to link to so I linked to it.
posted by chunking express at 1:01 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

So, people shouldn't comment about Ron Paul in a post with "Ron Paul" in the title? Less then a year before the election? I've seen worse.
posted by Brocktoon at 1:04 PM on December 6, 2007

I love beans! Woo woo woo!
I love beans, how bout you?
High in fiber, low in fat.
Hey, I betcha didn't know that!

When I overthink a plate of beans I sit in my own little cloud.
Nobody comes to visit me in my little cloud.
I don't know why. Maybe it's 'cause I'm cuttin' muffins.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:08 PM on December 6, 2007 [5 favorites]

No one is preventing anyone who wishes to discuss the technical aspects of the botnet from doing so.

Granted, it's more difficult to follow one of several intertwining conversations in a site with "flat" comments like MeFi than on a site that has threaded discussions. But we've (we being both the mods and the MeFi community) repeatedly discussed and rejected having threaded conversations.

Folks, you can argue about any of these topics in any number of other forums on the internet.

You can also discuss the technical aspects of the botnet in any number of other forums on the internet. That's not an argument against also discussing them in that thread, however.

MeFi discussions often go off on tangents which were not forseen by the original poster. That's OK, and that's why we discourage OPs from policing their threads with, "no I wanted you guys to talk about this."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:09 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

The worst?

Really?

Really??
posted by BobFrapples at 1:12 PM on December 6, 2007

Mentioning Ron Paul on the Internet is fast becoming the web's equivalent of saying Bloody Mary into a mirror. Only difference is, it actually works.
posted by dw at 1:13 PM on December 6, 2007 [15 favorites]

Isn't there a sexism thread a few doors down? That was worse.
posted by GuyZero at 1:13 PM on December 6, 2007

I dunno, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.
posted by Skorgu at 1:16 PM on December 6, 2007

Thinking is hard!
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:20 PM on December 6, 2007

ALL HAIL BRAK!
posted by klangklangston at 1:22 PM on December 6, 2007

While I agree that you can't control what people discuss (and I don't think that Chunking Express was really trying) and agree that threaded discussions make for crap discussions, I wish that thread had gone a different way. Hey, I did my part!
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 1:22 PM on December 6, 2007

I promise not to comment in that thread.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:22 PM on December 6, 2007

The worst?

The hyperbole was not intended as such; that was an unfortunate choice of words. The tangential comment barrage in that thread is below the standards I hold for MetaFilter (which are pretty high for an internet forum, and generally met, if not exceeded).
posted by Brak at 1:23 PM on December 6, 2007

People like to discuss things you don't like. Discuss.

I said, DISCUSS!
posted by blue_beetle at 1:24 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

No way is that the worst of MetaFilter. Have you seen what MeFi looks like the morning after a night spent cock-bucketing lines of China White off the thighs of expensive genetically engineered degenerate furry pancake chefs?
posted by sciurus at 1:27 PM on December 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

you like ron paul, don't you?


or do you want a ride on the blimp?
posted by Stynxno at 1:27 PM on December 6, 2007

Is this where I go to argue about Ron Paul?
posted by Partial Law at 1:28 PM on December 6, 2007

Yeah I only posted a couple comments in the thread, one to point out the conclusion of the article, one to say who Ron Paul was, and then a couple throw away comments when things fell of the tracks. It's a futile effort trying to get people to talk about the things you want to talk about. I should have known people would talk about Ron Paul and not about Spam, but it doesn't bother me when people discuss things off topic in something I post. I mean, pretty much all the comments in my Africa Aggregator post are lame puns using the names of countries in Africa. C'est La Vie.
posted by chunking express at 1:29 PM on December 6, 2007

I'm annoyed too—I find the botnet situation fascinating, and I haven't been jonesing for another round of BigSky Defends Ron Paul's Candidacy or anything—but, yeah. It's a thread that went in a different direction than the poster and some readers would have liked. Such is the metafilter.

My hope is that the Ron-centric argument will die down soon enough and leave more breathing room for the botnet discussion to recommence.
posted by cortex at 1:29 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

I should have known people would talk about Ron Paul and not about Spam

if you had mentioned that it's delicious with pineapple and cottage cheese, perhaps people would have discussed spam instead
posted by pyramid termite at 1:32 PM on December 6, 2007

I haven't been jonesing for another round of BigSky Defends Ron Paul's Candidacy or anything

I will say that while I appreciate him being polite, thoughtful, and willing to engage the argument, what I really want is a Spectacular Flameout by a Ron Paul True Believer.

Maybe I just have a hankering for popcorn.
posted by dw at 1:38 PM on December 6, 2007

if you had mentioned that it's delicious with pineapple and cottage cheese

So is Dr. Paul.

Fyi.
posted by dersins at 1:40 PM on December 6, 2007

So is Dr. Paul.

Eh, he's just the flavor of the month.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:43 PM on December 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

I think you messed up the link.

I'm pretty sure that, in referencing the worst of Metafilter, you intended to link to the obnoxious first comment in the thread which is just an unfunny, self-referential injoke.
posted by dios at 1:51 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

The worst of MetaFilter? Bah!

I've seen posts you wouldn't believe. Mushroom threads on fire off the shoulder of mathowie. Orange juice posts glittering in the dark near cortex's BBQ. All these posts made me cry at the time, like tears in rain.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:00 PM on December 6, 2007 [11 favorites]

Is this where I go to argue about Ron Paul?
No, it's being-hit-on-the-head lessons with Ron Paul in here.
posted by boo_radley at 2:02 PM on December 6, 2007

I didn't actually read this post, but I thought I'd come in here to say that I AM SO FUCKING TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT RON PAUL.
posted by empath at 2:05 PM on December 6, 2007

Is this where I go to argue about Ron Paul?

Yes. This is the internet.
posted by ND¢ at 2:09 PM on December 6, 2007 [7 favorites]

I didn't actually read this post, but I thought I'd come in here to say that I AM SO FUCKING TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT RON PAUL.

Which is the exact combative thought process generated by most the individuals who commented in the original thread, which is why this thread is here, which is why... oh god, did you eat all this acid?
posted by prostyle at 2:13 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

Metafilter is not about the discussion.
posted by tkolar at 2:16 PM on December 6, 2007

President Ron Paul will pardon the Thanksgiving Spam.

The turkey will get the axe and be served with cornbread stuffing.
posted by SteveTheRed at 2:20 PM on December 6, 2007

I agree that it doesn't really set the ...ho ho ho... GOLD STANDARD for threads.

Oh dear.
posted by Artw at 2:20 PM on December 6, 2007 [14 favorites]

"The tangential comment barrage in that thread is below the standards I hold for MetaFilter"

Two things.

First there is a pretty clear stance in Mefi against attempted editorial control of discussions on a post.

Second, there is no such thing as a tangential discussion on MeFi. The greater number of people in the discussion wanted to talk about something you didn't want to talk about, tough. If you want everyone to stay rigidly on-topic, with respect to what you think the topic should be, go to Ask.Me and stay there.
posted by oddman at 2:23 PM on December 6, 2007

I didn't actually read this post, but I thought I'd come in here to say that I AM SO FUCKING TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT RON PAUL.

Seconded. I'm not American and the first time I read about him was on Metafilter [something about a blimp] - I actually thought it was about Ron Jeremy. Now whenever I read about Ron Paul I picture Ron Jeremy.
posted by meech at 2:30 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

You know, I would love if that sexism thread had come attached to a set of links on the blue worthy of the conversation. I hate that instead it was attached instead to a post on the gray that could have been better served with a simple flagging.
posted by absalom at 2:47 PM on December 6, 2007

Less then a year before the election?

Heck, it's only a month until the primaries start. And then they'll start dropping like flies.
posted by smackfu at 2:47 PM on December 6, 2007

I didn't actually read this post, but I thought I'd come in here to say that I AM SO FUCKING TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT RON PAUL.

Can I say that I think Metafilter has done a pretty good job keeping the Ron Paul madness in check. The blimp post was deleted, wasn't it? I mostly found out about him from Digg and Reddit (where it's pretty much non-stop), I haven't seen much on Metafilter.
posted by PercussivePaul at 2:48 PM on December 6, 2007

Oh, and I love grilled cheese! Who's with me?

I mean, seriously, am I the only one that thinks the only RIGHT way to make a grilled cheese is with an iron? Take some foil, putter it up. Take some bread, butter it up. (Because REAL grilled cheese is not about the BREAD or the CHEESE at all, amirite?) Take out your cheese. In this case, I prefer boring, cheap old Kraft singles. Honestly, I find high end cheeses get too oily and make the sandwich soggy instead of crisp. (especially cheddar, which other than american, would be the only thing to put on grilled cheese) Slap that bread - I prefer honey grain, one man's opinion - and cheese together and wrap it in in the foil. Plug in your iron. Probably best if you don't put water in it, since if you wanted soggy grilled cheese, you'd be using cheddar or some hoighty toighty vermont cheese (a state which I have shown my unrestrained love for in many a thread). Press the iron down into the grilled cheese. Listen to that beautiful, bubbly music. Let cool, unwrap, cut (diagonally, natch). Enjoy.

Christ, I'm hungry now.

I'm really interested in hearing other grilled cheese recipes. I wouldn't even be offended if we expanded the discussion to BLTs, since I'm about to get about 5 pounds of President Clinton's favorite bacon.
posted by absalom at 2:53 PM on December 6, 2007

absalom - I hear grilled cheese can make you fat.
posted by Artw at 2:56 PM on December 6, 2007

Sparta!
posted by shmegegge at 3:00 PM on December 6, 2007

All you had to do was add that you thought Ron Paul was a hottie to the end of the original post, chunking. It would have nipped that derail in the bud.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:04 PM on December 6, 2007

I wonder if you can cook bacon on an iron.
posted by puke & cry at 3:09 PM on December 6, 2007

You can cook a fucking chicken with an iron, I have that on authority, JAZZ HISTORY PROFESSOR AUTHORITY!
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:11 PM on December 6, 2007

Heck, it's only a month until the primaries start. And then they'll start dropping like flies.

you spelled turds wrong

I wonder if you can cook bacon on an iron.

only if it's cordless - otherwise the pig runs and unplugs it
posted by pyramid termite at 3:16 PM on December 6, 2007

absalom writes "'m about to get about 5 pounds of President Clinton's favorite bacon."

Is this some obscure way of saying you're involved in some kind of pork-barreling project with the Clintons?

Some kind of scandal afoot! Alert the media!
posted by never used baby shoes at 3:24 PM on December 6, 2007

what an interesting bit of nerdly investigative reporting! Thanks, MetaTalk Callout!
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:27 PM on December 6, 2007

I too have noticed that triangular sandwich halves are tastier.

I like to melt the butter first and brush it on the bread before introducing it to a hot dry skillet.

Also, feta cheese, tomato, basil and black pepper on whole wheat bread is awesome. I'm going to go eat one right now.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:28 PM on December 6, 2007

If I had a nickle for every time a MeTa thread turned into people dismissing or downright ignoring the OP complaint, well I'd have a hell of a lot of nickles.

Also triangular sandwich halves are tastier. Fact.
posted by nola at 3:34 PM on December 6, 2007

there should be a comma in there. . .
posted by nola at 3:35 PM on December 6, 2007

Wow, Ron Paul and boyzonefilter in a two-day period. We're on a roll! Anybody want to bring up Israel/Palestine for the trifecta?
posted by Afroblanco at 3:36 PM on December 6, 2007

I thought the post was about Mojo Nixon.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:43 PM on December 6, 2007

If not, the post could use some fixin'.
posted by cortex at 3:45 PM on December 6, 2007 [4 favorites]

One of the things I love about the internet is the way it magnifies and amplifies the perceptions of public opinion, so that we get so invested in whatever our little electronic community is saying, that we believe that it parallels the outside world.

It's in this universe that hard-core Ron Paul enthusiasts live.

They spend their time reading his literature and communicating back and forth trying to get a buzz working on different sites, and sometimes it works, and other times it creates hostility (here on Metafilter, fersinstance), but they are sure that because of their actions, for better or worse, Ron Paul is on the hearts and minds of everyone walking around America today.

Which is why I found it terribly funny, when walking through a Walmart, I noticed someone had placed a Ron Paul sticker on one of the metal racks in the pet food aisle. That was weird enough, but the fact that someone had taken a Sharpie, and very carefully written "Who?" at the bottom of it made me have to chuckle.
posted by quin at 3:47 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

In truth I'm still not sure if Ron Paul exists or is just a large performance art project.
posted by tkolar at 3:52 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

I'm pretty sure that, in referencing the worst of Metafilter, you intended to link to the obnoxious first comment in the thread which is just an unfunny, self-referential injoke.

I came to the conclusion that the only way to thoroughly irradicate that injoke (which I don't like myself) is to use it myself in the most annoying manner possible, turning it against itself, and discouraging others from taking my lead, especially those who don't like wendell, the MeFi personality, a group that overlaps those who'd be most likely to use the joke, a lot.

Besides, both wendell and ronpaul are seven letters and end in L. I could never have done that with Huckabee or Obama.

Also, I judge the success and failure of my humor not just on who laughs, favorites or comments favorably, but also on who complains about it. +1.
posted by wendell at 3:53 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

trifecta? - let's go for the gold!

i fucking hate fat ron paul supporters who drive suv's, taze their children and shoot their neighbor's burglars because their republican party chairman and their local baptist minister told them to while tapping each other's shoes in the airport bathroom and trading sexist, misogynist jokes about drug dealers' wives and what the police like to do to them after eating a meal of beans and mushrooms on vibrating chairs

there - that ought to keep y'all occupied for quite a while
posted by pyramid termite at 3:53 PM on December 6, 2007 [7 favorites]

pyramid termite, you made me laugh OJ out my nose. (lol).
posted by never used baby shoes at 3:56 PM on December 6, 2007

*quickly reached for an OJ Simpson joke...*

*decides to just let this one go*
posted by quin at 4:02 PM on December 6, 2007

quin, don't stop believing.
posted by nola at 4:19 PM on December 6, 2007

There’s no way that guy was safe, his foot was off the plate when the catcher tagged him. And I hope your insurance is going to cover the damage to my bumper. This canker sore is killing me and I keep probing it with my tongue, but that’s only making it worse. A thread is an intellectual process, commenting is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes. That was never five minutes just now. If you RTFA nothing happens, you may as well not bother. Look at these shoes. I've only had them three weeks and the heels are worn right through. Oh my back hurts, it's not a very fine day and I'm sick and tired of this comment.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:28 PM on December 6, 2007

...and, Ron Paul is cute!

*runs away*
posted by everichon at 5:00 PM on December 6, 2007

I too have noticed that triangular sandwich halves are tastier.

I have a theory about this. Which I will share with you. Here it goes:

Triangular sandwich halves are tastier because you can see the best part of the sandwich filling -- the "filet mignon" of the sandwich, if you will -- oozing out a bit, in the seconds after you've cut the square in half but before you bite it. So, your brain sends your stomach that short extra burst of additional "mmmm look at all that TASTY melted cheese / liverwurst / egg salad / peanut butter and jelly, I'ma eat that RIGHT NOW" nom nom nom.
posted by pineapple at 5:37 PM on December 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

mmmm look at all that TASTY melted cheese / liverwurst / egg salad / peanut butter and jelly, I'ma eat that RIGHT NOW"

Wow, that sounds like a really disgusting sandwich.
posted by tkolar at 6:00 PM on December 6, 2007

That's why you have to cut it in half.
posted by pineapple at 6:07 PM on December 6, 2007

All you had to do was add that you thought Ron Paul was a hottie...

But didn't he used to be a "fattie" and want to circumcise and declaw all those stray cats?
posted by ericb at 6:32 PM on December 6, 2007

I had a really great comment about this but it wasn't very pc, so this is the modified version.
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:24 PM on December 6, 2007

Also the shape is easily held in one hand and presents a biteable portion that is smaller than your mouth, unlike a perpendicularly bisected sandwich, where the first bite is essentially pressing your face into a bite that extends beyond the confines of your mouth. It's easier to eat.

What's the difference between braunschweiger and liverwurst, anyway? Oh, I see. All braunschweiger is liverwurst but not all liverwurst is braunschweiger.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:27 PM on December 6, 2007

Sasquatch is homeopathic.
posted by Artw at 7:32 PM on December 6, 2007

Also the shape is easily held in one hand and presents a biteable portion that is smaller than your mouth, unlike a perpendicularly bisected sandwich, where the first bite is essentially pressing your face into a bite that extends beyond the confines of your mouth. It's easier to eat.


Good point. They are also more easily dipped into yummy soups.
posted by inconsequentialist at 8:23 PM on December 6, 2007

You won’t be laughing so much when Ron Paul starts throwing shit at you from his blimp.
posted by mathowie at 8:27 PM on December 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

I don't know guys, triangle sandwich halves are tasty, true. But have you had circular sandwiches? That's some shit right there.
posted by oddman at 8:31 PM on December 6, 2007

I like my Reubens non-orientable so the sauerkraut and dressing can’t spill out of it. I also drink Klein’s Beer. Well, I try to.
posted by Smedleyman at 9:02 PM on December 6, 2007

Give this a Paul.

It may be the Paul of your life.
posted by blacklite at 9:05 PM on December 6, 2007

                                                              ____________                  
                                                             |                             |
                                                             |                _____|______
                                                             ↓               |                            |
No, it's being-hit-on-the-head lessons with Ron Paul in here.

Fixed that for ah, fuck it.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:18 PM on December 6, 2007

Ron Jeremy is classy.
posted by flabdablet at 10:44 PM on December 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

See, if that Reuben is sliced diagonally you have delicious corned beef goodness immediately, whereas if it is sliced down the middle the chance of oozy Reuben goodness escaping (due to face-pressure on an unstable sandwich matrix) is increased.

And it is easier dipped into yummy soups, as noted above.

Circular sandwiches are a sign of cultural decline.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:50 AM on December 7, 2007

In truth I'm still not sure if Ron Paul exists or is just a large performance art project.

You still don't get it, do you? He'll find you. That's what he does. That's all he does! You can't stop him. He'll wade through you, reach down your throat, and pull your fucking heart out.
posted by psmealey at 3:09 AM on December 7, 2007

Sorry if I helped derail. I was trying to understand the smooth memeyness that was all over my MetaFilters.
posted by Eideteker at 4:15 AM on December 7, 2007

Ron Paul Threads: Circular sandwiches
posted by Artw at 7:11 AM on December 7, 2007

Future metafilter with nested threads laughs at present metafilter with comment technology older than newsgroups.
posted by garlic at 7:55 AM on December 7, 2007

Anyone who sticks to yellow cheeses for grilled cheese doesn't really know what 'grilled cheese' means.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:10 AM on December 7, 2007

Anyone who sticks to their grilled cheese sandwich ought to try putting the cheese on the inside.

Tel Brak eye idols are ancient and mysterious.
posted by breezeway at 9:18 AM on December 7, 2007

Anyone who sticks to yellow cheeses for grilled cheese doesn't really know what 'grilled cheese' means.

Damn right! I always make my grilled cheese with Stilton on rosemary and bulghur foccacia dipped in ghee, washed down with a mulberry lambic made by blind monks who are also physicists.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:22 AM on December 7, 2007

OH GOD I FORGOT THE GHEE HAS TO BE MADE FROM YAK BUTTER. YAK. IT'S IMPORTANT.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:28 AM on December 7, 2007

I like to melt the butter first and brush it on the bread before introducing it to a hot dry skillet.

Yes. This is the One True Grilled Sandwich. Damn. why did I already eat lunch?

Who the fuck is this Ron Paul guy, by the way?
posted by languagehat at 10:43 AM on December 7, 2007

Ron Paul prefers a heady mix of Jarlsberger and Gruyere, always on rye. If you look close you can usually see some on his shirt or lap.
posted by breezeway at 11:22 AM on December 7, 2007

But during campaign trips in Wisconsin, he goes straight for the domestic cheddar. Who says he's not a politician like all the rest?

And what's with these "panini" things, anyway?
posted by wendell at 11:59 AM on December 7, 2007

I had a grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup and a glass of milk for lunch. Yum. The Perfect Meal!
posted by ericb at 12:20 PM on December 7, 2007

I never post in MetaTalk, and rarely otherwise, but I needed to say this:
The only correct cheese for grilled cheese is muenster.
posted by chowflap at 3:17 PM on December 7, 2007

The only correct cheese for grilled cheese is muenster.
chowflap, if your real name weren't the same as my (declared legally insane so I can say this) Crazy Ex, I'd immediately ask you to marry me. But then, that would also be both sexist and foodist, extremely creepy (even for me) and rather impractical, unless you have a Costco near you like I do that has 2lb. packages of imported sliced muenster under 8 bucks. (Muenster for two - yeah, that sounds extremely creepy too)
posted by wendell at 3:37 PM on December 7, 2007

a long time ago my sister made grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone and they were kind of really weird when we tried to eat them - at which point we started taking out the plastic wrap from the melted cheese - she forgot to unwrap them
posted by pyramid termite at 4:53 PM on December 7, 2007

GuyZero: Also, I have spent a lot of time and effort in cultivating high-quality Kentucky bluegrass there. I wish you younger people would not tread on it.

Clever phrasings aside, "you kids keep off my lawn" is just not a very useful contribution to any discussion, once you think about it for more than about 1.6 seconds.
posted by lodurr at 4:36 AM on December 8, 2007

lodurr: Useful and this thread don't really go together. Unless you have the Grilled Cheese aspiration.
posted by absalom at 5:45 AM on December 8, 2007

Oh, well, since this thread seems to be chock full of sandwich prescriptivists, I'm keeping hands well and thoroughly off the whole cheese issue. Though I will invoke the words of a sage* on a vaguely related topic: "Pizza is like sex. Even when it's not very good, it's still pretty good."
--
*variously given as Mae West and Joe Torre.
posted by lodurr at 9:08 AM on December 8, 2007

I just want to say that the first time I saw Ron Paul's name (also on the internet, probably on MeFi), I thought it said Ru Paul.

And I was sad when I realized that no, Ru Paul is not running for American president.
posted by librarylis at 4:41 PM on December 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

lodurr, whenever I've seen/heard that bon mot, it's been credited to Woody Allen. (Joe Torre? Really???)
posted by GrammarMoses at 12:53 PM on December 9, 2007

Hell, it's probably been attributed to Ben Franklin at some point.
posted by cortex at 1:12 PM on December 9, 2007

Hell, it's probably been attributed to Ben Franklin at some point.

Well, ol' Ben was a legendary pork-swordsman, bald and portly as he was, so that's not totally out of left field.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:26 PM on December 9, 2007

Franklin? Yeah, except instead of pizza, it would have been ... what the hell was the 18th C colonial equivalent of pizza? Coffee? Absinthe? (You know, Absinthe does make the tart grow fonder...) Rum? Iceberg lettuce soup?

(Woody Allen, strangely enough, I've never heard it attributed to. I can remember hearing it attributed to Tommy LaSorda, though.)
posted by lodurr at 7:25 PM on December 9, 2007

Woody Allen, Tommy LaSorda and Joe Torre... three guys I really don't want to think about in the context of having sex.
posted by psmealey at 3:56 AM on December 10, 2007

Bleah. Icky wilted lettuce soup. I mean, I've experienced some substandard sex in my day, but damn.
posted by GrammarMoses at 5:57 AM on December 10, 2007

My natural tendency to stick up for the underdog is fighting with my sense of disgust. I'm so, so sorry I brought it up.
posted by lodurr at 11:08 AM on December 10, 2007

first of all, the quote is "sex is like pizza" not "pizza is like sex."

secondly, it's from the movie "Threesome."
posted by shmegegge at 11:18 AM on December 10, 2007

shmegegge, man, no offense, but I totally refuse to believe that such a deathless line sprang from the brain of Threesome writer-director Andrew Fleming (you may remember him from such films as Dick and Paranormal Girl).
posted by GrammarMoses at 1:25 PM on December 10, 2007

What's wrong with Dick? I like Dick? You don't like Dick?
posted by psmealey at 1:47 PM on December 10, 2007

hey, I'm open to someone showing me an earlier citation. It's entirely possible one exists.
posted by shmegegge at 1:50 PM on December 10, 2007

Well, according to this authoritative source, a version of it can be heard in that 1984 Kristy McNichol classic, Just the Way You Are.
posted by GrammarMoses at 2:57 PM on December 10, 2007

I suppose I don't qualify as "authoritative" in a Wikipedia sense, but I do for me: I first heard it in the late 1980s. So I think that lets out Fleming as the author.

Though I think schmegegge's formulation of it does make a bit more sense. And is funnier.
posted by lodurr at 2:58 AM on December 11, 2007