Austen in Austin December 31, 2007 11:28 AM   Subscribe

Jane Austin Gathering

A few weeks ago there was an Austin meetup to catch an episode of Mythbusters. Anyone up for a PBS Jane Austen meetup? Dates are 1/13 for "Persuasion", 1/20 for "Northanger Abbey", and 1/27 for "Mansfield Park". The biggest obstacle would be finding a bar that would let us watch PBS at 9pm on a Sunday.
posted by camdan to MetaFilter Gatherings at 11:28 AM (42 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

I could, potentially, do the 13th or the 20th.

Also: this is clever.
posted by Pants! at 12:12 PM on December 31, 2007


I think I could do this. But will Austin be ready for yet another meetup on January 30th for the showing of the Mythbusters we were supposed to see last time? STAY TUNED.
posted by bluishorange at 12:16 PM on December 31, 2007


Austin had its feelings hurt at the last meet up and isn't sure if it can trust the lying teevee.

Prediction: There will be a blue screen for several hours that says:

"PBS was not aware that Jane Austen is dead and is thus unavailable for an interview. PBS regrets the error."
posted by Pants! at 12:41 PM on December 31, 2007


I could do this if it happened on the 13th. Fortunately for me this is the date that has already appeared on the MeTa sidebar.
posted by tepidmonkey at 12:49 PM on December 31, 2007


I wish I could go ... But a real Austen meet-up would be a two-part-er, 3 hours each, to see the six-hour BBC miniseries of Pride & Prejudice. (I watch it at least once every year.)
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 2:03 PM on December 31, 2007


I wish I could go ... But a real Austen meet-up would be a two-part-er, 3 hours each, to see the six-hour BBC miniseries of Pride & Prejudice. (I watch it at least once every year.)

i suppose there could be more than one, as there are, er, ten showings. if you grow to dislike someone we can sit in the corner and pretend we don't know him at the next one. here's the link to the sched:

Jane Austen hangs out in bars
posted by camdan at 6:00 PM on December 31, 2007


Oh, I can't really come, ever, pretty much -- I live in San Francisco and have foster kids. But I looove the idea of Austen in Austin. Ausome.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 6:56 PM on December 31, 2007


I wish I could come - great idea.
posted by paduasoy at 2:21 AM on January 1, 2008


I think Third Base down on Sixth is playing Austen on all their wall-to-wall flat panels. $2 well drinks too.
posted by xmutex at 9:19 AM on January 1, 2008


so we've got two down for the 13th, sounds good. i'll find a bar and we'll go from there.
posted by camdan at 11:11 AM on January 1, 2008


From: events@thirdbaseaustin.com
To: camdan@metafilter.com
Subject: jane austen


No im sorry that is incorrect, may I ask from who you
received this
information?
Thanks,
Ben

On Jan 1, 2008, at 1:09 PM, camdan wrote:

> i was told you guys would be playing jane austen on
> one of your big screens during the pbs marathon. is
> there any truth to this?



so apparently third base is out. the hunt continues...
posted by camdan at 6:45 PM on January 1, 2008


Third Base is a sports bar. xmutex was yanking your chain.
posted by bluishorange at 12:50 AM on January 2, 2008


i know and you're no fun.
posted by camdan at 12:47 PM on January 2, 2008


Too bad; I'm still going to show up!
posted by bluishorange at 5:02 PM on January 2, 2008



<whine>
But show up where?
</whine>

Thinking about what didn't work perfectly last time (besides the Discovery Channel) and my own personal experience with hotels: We could always go to a hotel's bar where typically only hotel guests show up. They also typically have TVs. We could go to a hotel downtown, perhaps. Downtown also makes it easier to go somewhere else. That's almost a guaranteed win.

Also: Have we confirmed the 13th?
posted by Pants! at 5:14 PM on January 2, 2008


yes, unless someone's super desperate to avoid the 13th, i think that's officially now maybe the set date. unless olivia williams or kate beckinsale or colin firth or someone turn out to be mefi members and want to attend. then we'll have to negotiate.

i think the hotel thing's a good idea - a friend of mine used to work at the double tree, i'll ask him about bar hours and what the traffic's like. there's also that big fancy hotel on 6th and congress, that would class it up quite a bit.

alternatively i'm going to call the dog and duck tomorrow, they seem odd and relaxed enough that they might cater to us. i'm actually going to call the drafthouse as well, i'm sure they'll say no, but i already asked a ridiculously mannish sports bar, so why not?
posted by camdan at 5:38 PM on January 2, 2008


another possibility - i'm envisioning some dark underground british pub with preferably an old scottish man in the corner wearing a driver's cap. does this exist in austin?
posted by camdan at 6:02 PM on January 2, 2008


Ugh, all these cool Austin meetups that I can't make because I won't have a car 'til February. I am disappointed. :(
posted by lychee at 4:17 AM on January 3, 2008


Sounds like fun! Of course, since they are advertising Persuasion, I will expect to see Emma.
posted by donajo at 9:23 AM on January 3, 2008


Not sure Dog & Duck has any televisions set up for this type of viewing. I can check with the manager of B.D. Riley's on 6th. He might cater to us.
posted by medium format at 2:58 PM on January 3, 2008


Ugh, all these cool Austin meetups that I can't make because I won't have a car 'til February. I am disappointed. :(

jane austen didn't have a car. no excuse.
posted by camdan at 4:10 PM on January 3, 2008 [2 favorites]


the dog and duck guy tells me that it "depends on who's watching what at the time", that doesn't sound reassuring.
posted by camdan at 4:13 PM on January 3, 2008


This from Steve, manager at B.D. Riley's:
"Sundays are generally pretty quiet aruond here. We do have an Irish Tune Session on Sunday nights in the front of the pub, but it's mellow and acoustic. Periodically we have had a football game or even a DVD movie on with sound in the back (65" widescreen HDTV) while the session plays happily up front. The room dividers between front and back and the lower ceiling in the back makes it like two rooms, with very different audio in back,

If this works for y'all, and would not be too big a distraction from Lady Jane, we'd be happy to host what is a delightfully literarily geeky gathering, near and dear to the heart of this long ago English major."
Let me know and I can confirm it with him.
posted by medium format at 5:50 AM on January 4, 2008


Well that works for me at least.
posted by Pants! at 8:37 AM on January 4, 2008


yes, this works for me as well.
posted by camdan at 12:26 PM on January 4, 2008


Make it so.
posted by Pants! at 10:15 AM on January 5, 2008


done and done
posted by medium format at 6:04 AM on January 6, 2008


What time?
posted by bluishorange at 3:04 PM on January 6, 2008


Oh, ignore me, I don't know how to read.
posted by bluishorange at 3:05 PM on January 6, 2008


i'll probably show a bit early just to get settled, shows at 8 so probably 7:15 or so.
posted by camdan at 11:04 PM on January 6, 2008


good, i'm glad i got 'probably' in there twice.
posted by camdan at 11:05 PM on January 6, 2008


Man, I'm so jealous! I wish I could drive down for Austen in Austin.
posted by dejah420 at 10:51 PM on January 8, 2008


Can someone please call a meetup in Austin that doesn't involve television? I'd actually like to, you know, talk to people, if and when I make one.

I know... if you want something done...
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:47 PM on January 9, 2008 [1 favorite]


Yeah, the last meetup didn't get awesome until after Mythbusters was over and we migrated to a place where we could hear ourselves talk.

One of us should organize one of these TV-free meetups, maybe...
posted by bluishorange at 7:46 AM on January 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


The camera came out and people started acting like rock stars. I can commit to the fact that there will be post-television meetp* activity.





*originally a typo, meetp is the same thing as a meetup with web 2.0 goodness
posted by Pants! at 11:47 AM on January 10, 2008


meat pee ewwwwww ;)
posted by camdan at 6:44 PM on January 10, 2008


It's awesome that there were more girls than boys at the Mythbusters meet-up, and more boys than girls at the Jane Austen meet-up.
posted by donajo at 9:25 PM on January 13, 2008


As my first meetup, I'm very glad that my expectations of a bunch of awkward geeks watching TV instead of chatting or huddled over their iPhones/Blackberries was spot on. Heh, I kid! Austin MeFites are all very smart, interesting people, and I've gotten a much greater appreciation for Jane Austen now!
posted by lychee at 10:29 PM on January 13, 2008


I had a great time, sorry I had to cut out early. Meeting all of you fascinating people (some for the second time) was a pleasure, as was the conversation. Austen in Austin was a success.

Do let’s try to try to do this again. (suckit, MarcovFilter!)
posted by Faux Real at 1:20 AM on January 14, 2008


It's awesome that there were more girls than boys at the Mythbusters meet-up, and more boys than girls at the Jane Austen meet-up.

metafilter is obviously full of very dashing men and women who want to see planes fly off of conveyor belts.

i also had a good time, and it was nice meeting the lot of you.
posted by camdan at 3:00 AM on January 14, 2008


i'd like to post a movie comment, which has little to do with all of you, besides your presence :)
i hate it when movies have to openly pantomime behaviors that are expressed more subtler in the book (in this case the father's dislike of those brought into 'undue distinction' by the service, and mary's chronic hypochondria), but i suppose it can be necessary to get the point across.

also my unintentional preparation of only finishing half the book turned out to be a boon, i knew enough to know what was going on, but not so much that the ending wasn't a surprise. i highly recommend it for your novel-cum-film endeavors in the future.
posted by camdan at 3:44 AM on January 14, 2008


Did anyone watch Northanger Abbey? I liked it a lot more than Persuasion. For once, Austen wrote romantic leads that actually said what was on their minds, instead of relying on easily-avoided misunderstandings for tension.
posted by donajo at 9:16 PM on January 20, 2008


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