Comments on: April Fool's circle jerk

April Fool's circle jerk

luser — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 12:08:06 -0800

April Fool's circle jerk. I know that you know, but do you know that I know?

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 13:08:50 -0800

Like most April Fools stuff, I don't get it. I guess my answer is "no, I don't know." Is it a UK joke?

By: iconomy

iconomy — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 14:00:54 -0800

You think you know, but you have no idea.

By: rocketman

rocketman — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 14:30:35 -0800

I no know.

By: bunnyfire

bunnyfire — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 14:36:26 -0800

Who the heck IS she anyway?

By: crunchland

crunchland — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 14:39:37 -0800

yes I no.

By: jpoulos

jpoulos — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 20:02:09 -0800

knope.

By: rodii

rodii — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 20:32:05 -0800

*cries*

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 20:38:01 -0800

no,no,no..no,no,...no,no,no..

By: baby_jessamyn

baby_jessamyn — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 20:52:07 -0800

* cries *

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 01 Apr 2002 20:58:24 -0800

Now look at what you've done!

By: salmacis

salmacis — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 04:37:49 -0800

It's probably a UK thing. There are too many specific references for international readers.

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 08:21:45 -0800

Yeah, us bothersome international readers ruining it for everybody, as usual. When I studied in England I was considered "overseas", "continental" and, best of all, on my little green permit a "resident alien". You guys sure know how to make a guy feel welcome. Specially your oldest feckin' ally. Chip on my shoulder? You bet.

So could someone please explain to us parochial, uncosmopolitan lumpen what this is all about? It's not a take on the Fast Show's "you haven't seen me" is it? :)

By: luser

luser — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 08:36:37 -0800

It's nothing. It's less than nothing. I just thought it was weird that somebody posted a fake article about a fake person, and then the thread filled up with people pretending it was real, even though at the time I posted to metaTalk, there was nobody there fooled by it, so for whose benefit was the whole frigging thing? Each others'? It was meta-stoopid. So I'm coming out. Fake story, fake comments. I knew. I propagated it.

But I did tip my hand secretly within my comment. Go find it, kids!

unless everybody in metatalk also knows it's fake, and they're still not letting on

*wipes skull bits/brain tissue off monitor*

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 09:18:27 -0800

Ha.
Stoopid.

*resumes getting drunk on the big bowl of plain Hi-C which he is convinced has vodka in it*

By: feelinglistless

feelinglistless — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 09:49:35 -0800

1: 'The Guardian' runs a fake interview with a fake (but judging by the photo, no less attractive) person which is a parody of their own Monday interviews with similar persons (think Elizabeth Wurtzel) who have such and such a project out.

2: Post said article to Metafilter in the style of a typical heartfelt post about such things (propogated no less by myself and others). Pretend the person really exists and hoping that the article is well enough written for everone to be in on the joke. Throw some off the scent by including a link inside to something found on a Google search, hoping that people know me well enough that I couldn't be in that place at that time listening to that concert.

3: See if other Mefiers would stay in with the joke and pretend that they know of their work to continue things in the manner of the normal thread, even though everything in their is entirely fictional, hoping that no one could believe that any of it is true.

4: Sit back, relax, enjoy, marvel at other Mefier's inventiveness and ability to fish out a hoax.

5: Amazement that some think it's real. Wonder if it's been too cruel. Shock at seeing that someone has posted a metalk thread about something *I've* posted (a first I think).

To be honest I didn't think this would run like this -- I just thought that since it was April Fool's Day it would be fun to post an April Fool and carry on with the joke.

It certain opens up the debate about how a global culture reacts to localised hoaxes. For example, a local newspaper in Texas could publish an April Fool on their website and written well, there is the possibility that globally we could all take it as truth. This interview is an example of that, with people from the US and elsewhere assuming, that all the British references are correct and by turns that the interview is truth not fabrication. This assumption being continued because of it's appearance at 'The Guardian' website which has some integrity. Sorry guys, 'The Guardian' has always been trickster. Just before Diana's death they published a spot-on comment which was poported to be by her. The other media assumed it was an ran with the story as though it was a scoop ...

By: iconomy

iconomy — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 09:50:58 -0800

Don't sweat it, luser, I think almost everyone knew it was a fake. I was amazed by how everyone played along in the thread. When I first saw the post, my very first thought was "Who the hell is Harmony Cousins??" and then I read the posts and I was too embarrassed to post my first thought, which, for people with really short memories, was "Who the hell is Harmony Cousins??" so I googled the name, and of course, Harmony Cousins never existed until the Guardian article. Those wacky brits ;)

(I think I may have exceeded my daily comma quota with this comment)

By: bunnyfire

bunnyfire — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 10:20:41 -0800

well, i can always justify my existence on this planet as a professional butt of jokes.

The pay could be a little better, though.

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 10:26:34 -0800

Why, iconomy! Stone me if you don't use commas in an utterly Portuguese way! *ducks and resumes* There's not a comma too many. Although if you're planning on becoming perfectly Lusitanian, there would be a full stop after Luser; no comma after "saw the post"; a full stop after both instances of "Harmony Cousins??" and, to achieve absolute glory, the last sentence would read: "So I googled the name and, of course, Harmony Cousins...etc."

[This message brought to you by Irrelevancy International Trivia Consultants, Inc.].

By: luser

luser — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 11:28:40 -0800

bunnyfire, I think you were overpranked to the point of shame on the part of the pranksters. What was it, like 15-3 innies vs. outies? Not only is that not sporting it's near pathetic. Don't feel too bad.

By: feelinglistless

feelinglistless — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 11:33:36 -0800

Oh and sorry that I made baby_jessamyn cry...

By: feelinglistless

feelinglistless — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 12:25:56 -0800

Look I genuinely thought everyone was in on the joke ... and was marvelling at the ingenuity ...

By: iconomy

iconomy — Tue, 02 Apr 2002 20:05:02 -0800

Aw, Miguel, you're so cute when you're anal ;)

By: groundhog

groundhog — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 09:05:49 -0800

At the time I made my comment, I really didn't know whether the article was genuine or not, but, what the hell, I was awash in the holiday spirit and commented anyway. (Was that enough commas?).

Now 'fess up: did anybody really buy into my story about the 'unfortunate grouse incident'?

By: iconomy

iconomy — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 09:29:08 -0800

Groundhog, I love the way you work a comma!

By: bingo

bingo — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 11:19:39 -0800

I thought it was a joke when I read the article, but when I read the thread I thought it was serious, and didn't realize that the thread was part of the joke until just now, when I finally read this thread. So...ha ha I guess. How tricky. Next thing you know, some of those mean older kids will be dropping ice cubes down the backs of our shirts.

By: luser

luser — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 12:12:23 -0800

I have to cop to this - I tried to create a MeFi username HarmonyCousins to post to this thread but the secret registration backdoor is shut. How funny would that have been though!!!!! Har.

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 13:12:29 -0800

I found that out the hard way as well, luser, when I wanted to create "baby lucifer" so I could giggle when certain other deity/members bawled.

Ah, well.

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 13:44:08 -0800

Wait... were you being sincere just then? Crap.

By: luser

luser — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 13:56:49 -0800

Gotcha.

By: th3ph17

th3ph17 — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 14:27:19 -0800

before i googled the name [hard to pick a name that doesn't bring up a single real person, that was impressive] i saw the name in the article...Gregory McEwan, which was just too close to Ewan McGregor to be real. I then saw it as a parody of celebrity interviews in general.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Wed, 03 Apr 2002 18:59:03 -0800

Hey, wha - the secret registration back door is closed?!?

*runs, checks*
*looks around all paranoid and worried*
*hides, shuts the fuck up*

By: baby_jessamyn

baby_jessamyn — Sat, 06 Apr 2002 00:05:14 -0800

* wipes eyes *
* sniffs *
* smiles, a little *