Education with your host, DaShiv.

Over the last few months one of the Metafilter regulars has produced a number of comments demonstrating an above average grasp of the democratic parties political process as well as an above average ability to articulate that understanding in to language that highlights the substance of the comments.

DaShiv has consistently provided an educated viewpoint that concisely identifies the conversational issue, personally I've become more educated about the process within my own party from his comments and thought maybe you'd enjoy some of the same. One of his comments was highlighted in the most recent podcast, but there are certainly others.

On the path to the nomination and campaign strategy.

On the tone of candidate conversation and historical context of commentary.

How a democratic candidate wins the nomination, superdelegates, pledged delegates, perception.

Just in case you think he's a one trick pony, he's got at least one other trick.

There have been a number of FPP's about the election in general, but this is about the substance of a commentary beyond what we usually experience in MeFi. Thanks DaShiv, how you find time to put posts like this together while playing TF2 all the time, I'll never know.

posted by iamabot to MetaFilter-related at 3:12 PM (100 comments total) 37 users marked this as a favorite

Note: Posted with the permission of DaShiv, athough he did not preview it.
posted by iamabot at 3:14 PM on June 7

I usually miss the previews, as I'm too busy buying six boxes of Raisinets and a Diet Coke.
But I like what you said about DaShiv, iamabot.
posted by Dizzy at 3:18 PM on June 7

Dude is also an excellent Soldier, using his rocket jump with an ease and flow I only wish I had.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 3:24 PM on June 7

I knew who you were talking about before clicking on the more inside. That motherfucker is genius.
posted by puke & cry at 3:30 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]

Yeah - TMFIG. I'd be reading the comment and going holy @#%...holy @##@! So much so that I clicked through into his profile, into his flickr page, just staring at his head, wondering how all that knowledge doesn't make it the size of a file cabinet.
posted by cashman at 3:34 PM on June 7

TF2 and attending lots of meetups to take awesome pics. I've learned a lot about the Democrats from his comments. Salut, dashiv.
posted by goo at 3:44 PM on June 7

Also, it's strange because I've always known DaShiv as being the photography guy. Like, you should kiss your own ass if he's taken a picture of you because he'll make you look like a god damn super model. And then I start reading these comments and it's just like god damn man, when do you stop being awesome?
posted by puke & cry at 3:44 PM on June 7 [10 favorites]

I support this post wholeheartedly.
posted by danb at 3:46 PM on June 7

Agreed, very astute posts from which I've learned a great deal. Thanks DaShiv.
posted by Miko at 4:07 PM on June 7

I've shaken my head thinking the same thing about his postings. More than once, while previewing my own post, I see he's covered every angle I was addressing, but in more coherent language and with better linkage.

It's almost enough to make me forgive his utterly dominating me in TF2 (to the point where even when he's my medic, I get frazzled, because I see his name, and the pavlovian response is to run).

ROTATO
posted by Busithoth at 4:17 PM on June 7

Ladies love DaShiv.
I am a lady. (usually)
Therefore (and for other reasons) I love DaShiv.
posted by jessamyn at 4:24 PM on June 7

I agree, let's BURN HIM... oh wait, sorry I should probably read before I speak.
posted by blue_beetle at 4:24 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]

And then I start reading these comments and it's just like god damn man, when do you stop being awesome?

You want awesome? Dude, when my boyfriend and I moved in together last fall, DaShiv volunteered to help, and then drove for more than an hour to show up. He hauled my bed and a Heywood-Wakefield dining table and countless boxes of books down two flights of stairs in the middle of a heatwave, and managed to keep my bf and me from having a fight when tempers started to flare. He's a god among men.
posted by scody at 4:26 PM on June 7 [5 favorites]

I touched the hem of his garment and it cured my scrofula. The amazing thing was I didn't even know I had scrofula. Dude is indeed awesome.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:29 PM on June 7 [8 favorites]

I touched the hem of his garment and it cured my scrofula. The amazing thing was I didn't even know I had scrofula. Dude is indeed awesome.

What you don't know even now is that he actually transferred your scrofula to one of your enemies.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 4:49 PM on June 7 [2 favorites]

Ladies love DaShiv

Or as he is also known, the rapper LLDS.
posted by lukemeister at 4:51 PM on June 7

DeShiv once performed CPR on my cat.
posted by found missing at 4:52 PM on June 7

it's just like god damn man, when do you stop being awesome?

I heard once, when he made chocolate chip pancakes breakfast in bed for all the users above 14K, he made kind of a mess in the kitchen.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:52 PM on June 7

I don't even know what TF2 is, yet I am in awe of DaShiv. Long may he photograph, explain politics, and cure scrofula!
posted by languagehat at 5:01 PM on June 7

DaShiv touched my camera at a meetup, and now all the pictures I take are GOLD.

I mean, how fucking useless are GOLD pictures! Thanks for nothing, DaShiv!!
posted by Koko at 5:03 PM on June 7

and it's just like god damn man, when do you stop being awesome?

He kicks puppies.
posted by cortex at 5:03 PM on June 7

Dear Penthouse,

I never thought this would happen to me, but one time, I had this photoshoot with Dashiv....
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:08 PM on June 7 [5 favorites]

ZOMG POLITICSFILTER IS KILLING THIS PLACE MAKE IT STOP WHAAAAAAAAH!
posted by bardic at 5:08 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

I mean, how fucking useless are GOLD pictures! Thanks for nothing, DaShiv!!

i'll relieve you of that goose of a camera if you like. you pay the postage, though.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:11 PM on June 7

He kicks puppies.

But he does so for exceptional yardage and accuracy!
posted by wendell at 5:15 PM on June 7 [17 favorites]

Those are some impressive comments. Nice to see it IS possible to have a nuanced opinion about American politics that consists of something other than:

"OMG did you see Obama's speech last night- it was like MLK and Churchill had sex and the child made a speech except better because it was Obama OMG OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA!!11!!11! one"

or

"it doesnt matter because he's not gonna win anyway even though everything is to his advantage America is so terrible DIRTY TRICKS RED STATES FUNDIES HALLIBURTON OMG LOOK AT THIS LINK TO THE INVASION OF IRAN PLANNED FOR NEXT TUESDAY AT 10 AM!!!!!111!(0.5*2)
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:24 PM on June 7

I am not a lady.

But I love DaShiv.

Therefore, I am a lady.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:28 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]

I would pay real money to see DaShiv debate MetaMan, but then people in hell would like a tall sweating glass of pure ice water.
posted by dawson at 5:41 PM on June 7

You don't debate MetaMan, it'd be like debating the speaking clock.
posted by Artw at 5:48 PM on June 7

Long live DaShiv.
posted by Sailormom at 6:02 PM on June 7

DaShiv gave me a chemical abortion once - it was awesome.
posted by tristeza at 6:23 PM on June 7

DaShiv is a son of a bitch.
posted by knave at 6:40 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

FPPs: DaShiv 0, MetaMan 0

Let the shootout begin!
posted by lukemeister at 6:41 PM on June 7

I hate that guy.

jealous photographer
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 7:46 PM on June 7

Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears DaShiv pajamas.
posted by theora55 at 8:00 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]

Yep, fully agreed

Great, great comments
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:06 PM on June 7

Some women who love DaShiv
posted by beagle at 8:06 PM on June 7

Where is metaman, anyway?

And if I say his name three times fast while looking in the mirror, will that summon him?
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:07 PM on June 7

I think he moved to S. California or something, but he's pretty quick with answering mefimail iirc.
posted by iamabot at 8:33 PM on June 7

Despite knowing DaShiv in real life (and he is indeed fabulous and full of win) I've never been included in the "Women Love DaShiv" pictures.

What gives?
posted by Space Kitty at 8:48 PM on June 7

Space Kitty, I think you'd just left when we took this the other night.
posted by scody at 9:03 PM on June 7

Where is metaman, anyway?

Metaman was treated like shit for having an unpopular opinion around here. Yeah, yeah, I know, he was a pain in any Obama thread for a while there. What he wasn't was a troll, and the (frequently repeated) assertion that he was some sort of clandestine conservative fifth columnist were beyond ridiculous. I wouldn't hang out here any more either.
posted by nanojath at 9:22 PM on June 7

Well he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
posted by homunculus at 9:28 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

re MetaMan, the thing that amused/frustrated me about him was his...who was that guy in Iraq early on who always gave news accounts that sounded like things were peachy keen in Mesopotamia.
That and 90 plus comments in one thread. And the total rejection of any disagreement.
However I have communicated with him via MeMail, and he is a decent sort and I wish him well. He's just become 'more than his name', as in shorthand for "my eyes are closed and my fingers are in my ears and I'm humming so whatever you say is nah-nah-nah" zealousness.
But I'd sup with the man anytime, and pick up the tab.
posted by dawson at 9:35 PM on June 7 [1 favorite]

I love DaShiv too. It's ruined my chances of parole, but nobody blocks my sun during exercise hour, fuck the warden's rules.
posted by gsteff at 9:49 PM on June 7 [3 favorites]

Yeah. I'm better for his contributions, which is neat.
posted by Pax at 9:50 PM on June 7

He kicks puppies.

I wish I had a picture of DaShiv napping with my dog (from when he crashed with me during the last NYC trip). So cuuuuuute, the two of them all cuddled together.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:55 PM on June 7

Woah. I was all "meh" until I saw the "Ladies Love" flickr group. Damn. To DaShiv I can only say:

DaShiv woos women with his sensuous and godlike trombone playing, he can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and cook Thirty Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. He is an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

The police often question him just because they find him interesting. His blood smells like cologne. When he orders a salad he doesn't get the dressing on the side. He gets it right there. On the top. Where there is no turning back. He is a lover, not a fighter. But he is also a fighter, so don't get any ideas.

I would write (plagiarize) more but at this point DaShiv got more than my wife did in her birthday card. Can we get anonymous comments?
posted by GuyZero at 9:55 PM on June 7 [9 favorites]

"He is an expert in stucco"
Now THAT is impressive!
posted by Cranberry at 10:35 PM on June 7

I wouldn't hang out here any more either.

So why stay?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:13 PM on June 7

Some women who love DaShiv

Bastard. /yet another jealous guy
posted by Devils Slide at 11:35 PM on June 7

So why stay?

If people started repeatedly calling me a troll and implying (or stating baldly) that they believed I was being paid to subvert the discussion I doubt very much I would. But please, I feel guilty perpetuating this derail, this thread should stick to DaShiv.
posted by nanojath at 12:41 AM on June 8

He knows how to party
posted by spork at 2:55 AM on June 8

DaShiv is favorited by many, yet DaShiv favorites no one.

Because DaShiv does not play favorites.
posted by Shepherd at 3:16 AM on June 8 [1 favorite]

DaShiv gave me a chemical abortion once - it was awesome.

Dude, you totally missed out. Why do you think he's called DaShiv? Once you've felt his Shiv as he does a D and C, you'll never touch contraceptives again.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:53 AM on June 8

He spayed my kitties AND my mail carrier.
Thanks!
posted by Dizzy at 5:08 AM on June 8

sounds like a cuddle puddle is in the works.

metatalk: way twee-er than it seems.
posted by Hat Maui at 5:37 AM on June 8

Just imagine how this presidential race would play out if DaShiv photographed Obama for all his marketing materials!
posted by dobbs at 6:51 AM on June 8

His comments are thoughtful, friendly, non-patronizing, completely educational and backed up by just the right links. A beautiful balancing act.

*raises Sunday morning mimosa to DaShiv*
posted by mediareport at 7:43 AM on June 8

Or as he is also known, the rapper LLDS.

Li'l Latta Day Saint?
posted by jonmc at 8:08 AM on June 8

Ladies Love Daryl Sunderson
posted by cortex at 8:12 AM on June 8

Oooh, DaShiv! I am forced to love him from a distance now, as he has moved away and acquired a restraining order, but I will still love him, and someday I will track down his secret hidden location and resume my morning serenade of DaShiv, followed by my mid-morning serenade, and then the noontime karaoke, the afternoon ballad, the early evening reading of the phonebook, the evening serenade, the late evening singing of songs, and the late night caterwauling. Then, then he will truly know the depths of my love for him!
posted by gingerbeer at 8:37 AM on June 8 [2 favorites]

DaShiv
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
posted by Sailormom at 8:46 AM on June 8

I made the mistake of arguing with DaShiv about TF2 map sizes/layouts.
It ended with us both measuring the amount of time it takes a given class to get from the spawn to the first point and from the first point to the second and other statistics for like five maps. He put the same amount of "you're incorrect and here are all the reasons why plus six more I just thought of off the top of my head and here is the information to back them up" into it, and it turned out he was right.

This is why I don't argue with DaShiv anymore. But that is also why I really enjoy his political education comments. I guess everytime I turn into a pile of gibs from one of his rockets it's a sort of thank you to the service he provides. Or something.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:01 AM on June 8 [1 favorite]

If you drop a phonograph needle on DaShiv's nipple, it plays the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
posted by Ragma at 9:08 AM on June 8 [2 favorites]

DaShiv once re-clawed my cat.
posted by found missing at 10:02 AM on June 8 [2 favorites]

DaShiv once uncircum... wait... let's not go there.

DaShiv's comment about superdelegates is the most lucid treatment of the subject matter I've ever come across.
posted by Kattullus at 10:33 AM on June 8

Li'l Latta Day Saint?

DaShiv is the only rapper who wears sacred underwear (though Donny Osmond was almost as awesome in White & Nerdy).
posted by lukemeister at 1:21 PM on June 8 [1 favorite]

Those comments were really informative. I say we send him to the conventions for full coverage. Screw CNN.
posted by Tehanu at 1:22 PM on June 8

I say we send him to the conventions for full coverage. Screw CNN.

This is an awesome idea. DaShivTV!
posted by scody at 1:34 PM on June 8

I'm the 200th favoriter of the photog comment.

Suck it, haters.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:36 PM on June 8

This is an awesome idea. DaShivTV!

The great thing is that he will use his personal megawattage to transmit crystal clear signals all over the world without any equipment.
posted by lukemeister at 2:07 PM on June 8 [1 favorite]

DaShiv rocks. He's smart, he's urbane and suave, and he gives cookies to children.

Really, he's awesome. Some day, I hope to be photographed by him, but until then I just keep favoriting his posts.
posted by misha at 2:20 PM on June 8

This is an awesome idea. DaShivTV!

I was thinking he could just post here or on a blog. But that is a lot of knowledge to channel through typing fingers, and I bet they would get all tired and cramped. I like lukemeister's version where DaShiv just beams knowledge directly to us all, equipment-free.
posted by Tehanu at 4:05 PM on June 8

Shocking fact: DaShiv likes to eat.

I know, I know.
posted by Skorgu at 4:20 PM on June 8

I'm the 200th favoriter of the photog comment.
Suck it, haters.

Hey, cool! What's it like to be so far behind the curve on something like that?
posted by Partial Law at 4:53 PM on June 8 [1 favorite]

When Chuck Norris was a boy, DaShiv taught him the roundhouse kick.

Thanks everyone. It's a bit surreal to me that my perverse interest in the arcana of the nomination process would find an audience at all, but that's yet another odd wrinkle in this year's topsy-turvy battle. I really wish more commentators would have dug more deeply into the rich history of primary lore: for instance, it was Harold Ickes himself who successfully lobbied for the much-ballyhooed delegate proportionment system back in 1988 on behalf of Jesse Jackson's campaign (cf. Clinton's "I would've won under the Republican system" argument). And this year's Michigan fiasco? In the 1980 unsanctioned primaries in, yes, Michigan again, you had the sitting president and the brother of John F'ing Kennedy being obliged by the Democratic party to pull themselves off the ballot, resulting in Uncommitted winning Michigan that year with 36,385 votes -- but few if any commentators this year have discussed the Michigan situation in that context (it's really a testament to the lasting power and influence of the Clinton machine within the party that Hillary could get away with staying on the ballot without suffering repercussions -- and even parley the resulting skewed outcome into a delegate advantage -- when Carter and Kennedy could not). These are issues and drama that have been decades in the making. Many people have been understandably and passionately caught up in having two such exciting frontrunners this year -- and 2008 will indeed be a hugely historic year for Democrats -- but it's frustrating to see how quickly the last few decades are just being flushed down the memory hole. He who forgets history, etc.

This year's election coverage by the cable news networks has been a depressing case study in how entertainment and opinions have replaced much of the news industry. Here's a great summary of how the nomination battle actually went down without all the ridiculous Wright/Tuzla/"bitter"/RFK tabloid theatrics: a handful of charts and graphs crystallizes the electoral landscape far more clearly than the endless "Oh no she din't!" noise parade ever could. When it comes to this year's elections and other significant topics over the years that have been clogged by endless garbage and bloviation, I'm grateful for sites like MetaFilter to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thanks again for making this place what it is, everyone!
posted by DaShiv at 5:30 PM on June 8 [8 favorites]

Thanks for that link, DaShiv. Between your comments here, The Green Papers, and DemConWatch I feel like I've been learning more about how the primaries work this election cycle than I ever did from tv coverage.
posted by Tehanu at 5:49 PM on June 8

Those comments were really informative. I say we send him to the conventions for full coverage. Screw CNN.

That would be awesome.
posted by homunculus at 6:05 PM on June 8

and he's cute, too!

oh, swoon!

look out, leif garrett!
posted by CitizenD at 7:27 PM on June 8

DaShiv News Network
The Singularity is Here
August 25, 2008
Day 0, DST
posted by lukemeister at 7:30 PM on June 8

You haven't really gotten the full DaShiv experience until you've heard him talk, I think. So I whole-heartedly endorse the coverage idea.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 7:38 PM on June 8

When I was in prison DaShiv baked me a cake with a camera hidden inside it.
The camera was ruined.
posted by From Bklyn at 9:09 PM on June 8

Fresh from the SF MeFi meetup where DaShiv was much missed. Again thank you for the commentary throughout the last few months. Cheers.
posted by iamabot at 10:06 PM on June 8

Those comments were really informative. I say we send him to the conventions for full coverage. Screw CNN.

That would be awesome.

You know, can we actually consider doing that? They give out passes to sundry blogs and internet websites that can claim importance. We have enough (disproportionate?) media coverage in the NYT and so on that I imagine we could make an argument for ourselves. In logistical terms, I just made a hundred dollar bet that, while I'm serious about, I'll probably never have to pay out, so I can certainly chip in towards costs. So, hey, if DaShiv feels like a trip to Denver, and the mods are willing to throw some support behind that, and the community consensus is willing, let's send a Metafilter correspondent to the convention and give him a chance to make even more insightful comments. Fuck the media; how about we replace them a bit in a truly grassroots fashion.

Basically, I think when you have the idle idea that "hey, it would be cool if I/we could do this," it's important to realize that sometimes you really can do this and sometimes it really is cool.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 10:26 PM on June 8 [10 favorites]

Maybe you should MeMail DaShiv and, if he's game, make a separate MetaTalk thread about that? I think it's a great idea, but it does sort of hinge on DaShiv or someone else being willing and able to go to the convention.
posted by Caduceus at 11:35 PM on June 8

They announced the credentialed blogs for the Democratic convention at the end of May, so it's probably too late unless DaShiv breaks out some of his superpowers.
posted by lukemeister at 11:46 PM on June 8

I remember when DaShiv came back through time, and he was all like "Come with me if you want to live." There was this scary robot dude, who was shooting at us and shit, and DaShiv totally fucked him up with this industrial press.

I'm gonna write a documentary about it one day.
posted by quin at 8:02 AM on June 9 [1 favorite]

"Is ~~Barack Obama~~ DaShiv the Messiah?"
posted by davejay at 12:46 PM on June 9

He'll save children. But not the British children.
posted by The Bellman at 2:34 PM on June 9 [1 favorite]

~~Obama/DaShiv 2008~~

DaShiv/Obama 2008

Who's with me?
posted by Mikey-San at 8:34 PM on June 9

DaShiv!

-only $14.95-

* Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to Happy Fun Ball.
* Caution: DaShiv may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds.
* DaShiv Contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.
* Do not use DaShiv on concrete.

Discontinue use of DaShiv if any of the following occurs:

* Itching
* Vertigo
* Dizziness
* Tingling in extremities
* Loss of balance or coordination
* Slurred speech
* Temporary blindness
* Profuse sweating
* Heart palpitations

If DaShiv begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and cover head.

DaShiv may stick to certain types of skin.

When not in use, DaShiv should be returned to its special container and kept under refrigeration...

Failure to do so relieves the makers of DaShiv, MetaTalk, and its parent company MetaFilter Chemical Products, of any and all liability.

Ingredients of DaShiv include an unknown glowing substance which fell to Earth, presumably from outer space.

DaShiv has been shipped to our troops in Saudi Arabia and is also being dropped by our warplanes on Iraq.

Do not taunt DaShiv.
posted by iamabot at 8:44 PM on June 9

Education with your host, DaShiv. June 7, 2008 3:12 PM Subscribe

Education with your host, DaShiv.
June 7, 2008 3:12 PM Subscribe