The staff recommends this! [redacted thread] February 28, 2011 8:14 AM   Subscribe

Is that the first time a comment from a deleted thread was sidebarred?
posted by Bonzai to MetaFilter-Related at 8:14 AM (175 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

I'd like to say "I meant to do that!" but I think instead I'll just say "Hey isn't scody great?"
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [4 favorites]


Hey, isn't scody great?
posted by loquacious at 8:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


scody IS great!
posted by peachfuzz at 8:21 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


HAIL SCODY
posted by schmod at 8:23 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


Oh, and it might be helpful to link to the comment in question.
posted by schmod at 8:24 AM on February 28, 2011 [4 favorites]


scody is not just great; scody is awesome!
posted by rtha at 8:27 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Scody: Right for America. Right for Metafilter.
posted by special-k at 8:28 AM on February 28, 2011 [24 favorites]


What's your favorite color, scody? Mine is a three-way tie between red, white and blue.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:29 AM on February 28, 2011 [13 favorites]


Scody's so totally hireable.
posted by carsonb at 8:30 AM on February 28, 2011


Let's see that suit.
posted by fixedgear at 8:31 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


I don't trust her personally, too damn smart and witty, writes well, tells a good story, has many interesting ones to share. They don't make people like that, I tell you, it's not possible!!

She's an advance scout from an alien race, designed to distract us before they land and fill our heads with delicious stories, then suck out the squishy brain matter.

WAKE UP SCEEPLE!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:36 AM on February 28, 2011


scody is pretty great.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:39 AM on February 28, 2011


I was expecting the exchange upon meeting Roger Ailes to go more like this.
posted by rocket88 at 8:39 AM on February 28, 2011


scody's OK, I guess.

Aw, who am I kidding? scody's great.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:42 AM on February 28, 2011


And today scody is.....(wait for it)....Megyn Kelly!
posted by briank at 8:46 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


For the next ten years, sidebarred items will come exclusively from deleted threads.
posted by rikschell at 8:47 AM on February 28, 2011


I want to know if the suit had shoulder pads.
posted by desjardins at 8:48 AM on February 28, 2011 [7 favorites]


Scody is so great! I loved that story.
posted by kate blank at 8:49 AM on February 28, 2011


ScoDy is one of the less successful candidate specimens in the genetic-algorithms-driven process used to evolve the SyFy rebranding.

But she's also great.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:50 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Now I feel like I should trade stories with scody about the time I was working for a company that had connections with Robert Abplanalp.

I made friends with one of the admins at the parent company, who told me once that she collected autographs as a hobby and got to know Richard Nixon's assistant - and somehow, through Nixon's assistant, she somehow managed to get a copy of All The President's Men personally inscribed by Richard Nixon for her collection. To this day I wonder how the hell that happened.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:52 AM on February 28, 2011 [7 favorites]


...and so that's the story of how scody became Greta Van Susteren.
posted by naju at 8:53 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


Wow, naju, I've seen some people say some mean things in the heat of an argument here. But that's harsh.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:03 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Scody is great.
posted by OmieWise at 9:05 AM on February 28, 2011


I dunno... she shook his hand. Is Lizard People infectious?
posted by shakespeherian at 9:08 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


♥ Team Scody! ♥
posted by katillathehun at 9:09 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Scody is great. I just wish she'd babysit Scassidy more often so Skathie lee and Sfrank could go on a date every once in a while.
posted by mintcake! at 9:10 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


The throwaway reference to the Crying Indian led me to this article, which probably deserves a FPP, if it hasn't already happened. If you want an exposition about why the Ad Council and Keep America Beautiful are evil, this is a good place to start.
posted by norm at 9:13 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


Scody sucks!

Am I doing this right?

Just kidding around there, Scody is actually better than great. Carry on folks.
posted by marxchivist at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2011


I've favorited scody on several occasions.
posted by Sailormom at 9:22 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


I don't think it's the first time, didn't this comment get sidebarred? And if not, WHY NOT?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:23 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]


Pfft. Scody is no Quonsar.

But she is pretty great!
posted by JeffK at 9:26 AM on February 28, 2011


"So why Metafilter," he asks me.

"Why Metafilter what," I say.

"Not why Metafilter anything, just why Metafilter," he says. We're having lunch in a Mexican place near the office. The only Mexicans I can see are behind the grill.

"Is this some sort of existentialist thing, or are you just fucking with me," I say.

"Yes?" he says. I give him a long, level look.

"I'm curious," he says, "because you keep talking about these people like they're, like, real."

I stare at him.

"They are real," I say, through a mouthful of BPA-infused canned enchilada. I've already regretted the restaurant choice, and now I'm working towards despair.

"I've never met any of them," he says, "and we've been working together for six years."

"You've never met my parents, either," I say, "and I'm pretty sure you believe in them."

"Everyone has a mom," he says blithely, and loads up a Tostito with enough nuclear-green "guacamole" to make it audibly creak. "But imaginary Internet friends are a little weird."

"These people are not imaginary," I say, "and I resent the implication."

"Whatever," he says. "Prove it."

"Prove it?" I say. He raises both eyebrows, as if to say look what kind of mentality I have to deal with here.

"Okay, fine," I say, getting annoyed, "whatever you want."

And I tell him about scody. There's this woman, I say, she's like this amazing person to begin with, we all love reading her stuff. Totally brilliant, lives in LA, killer writer. Very liberal.

He watches me skeptically. I find myself getting annoyed. So okay, I say, so she told us all this amazing story the other day about interviewing at Fox News way back when and she, like, met Roger Ailes, you know, THE Roger Ailes, and the punchline was that she'd had all of these terrible interviews and this one went really well and it's ironic and ANYWAY scody is totally amazing.

I am slightly disturbed to find myself leaning over the table with my tie in the enchilada.

"Okay, well, that was kind of intense," he says.

"These people are real, goddamnit," I say, and he holds his hands up defensively.

"Look, I know you're into this Metafilter thing..." he starts, and I sit back, knowing where this is going.

"You're kidding me," I say.

"All's I'm saying is that, you know, it's the Internet, and, I mean," he says, and kind of waves his hands vaguely.

"SCODY IS REAL AND WE ARE FRIENDS," I hear myself saying. I'm a little loud for the space, and a couple of heads turn.

He stares at me.

"I mean, like, on Facebook we're friends..." I say.

"Have you ever met this person?" he asks.

"not exactly," I say.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that," he says.

"Not. Exactly. Met." I say, biting each word off.

"Not exactly met," he says.

"No," I say, "I have not met my friend scody from Metafilter."

"Your imaginary fr..." he says.

"I will cut you," I say, and realize I'm not entirely kidding.

"Fine," he says, "your Internet friend."

I make an inarticulate sound of frustration that would probably look like nrrgh.

"I rest my case," he says.

"Fuck off," I say. He gives me an indulgent look.

"You're a funny guy," he says, "even if you are kind of a weirdass."

I flap my hand at him in resignation and call for the check.

I wonder if scody's written anything today, I think to myself as we walk out of the restaurant to the car.
posted by scrump at 9:27 AM on February 28, 2011 [116 favorites]


scrump, do you need me to call your friend? Because I will.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:29 AM on February 28, 2011 [50 favorites]


I'm sure scody will too, come to think of it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:29 AM on February 28, 2011 [20 favorites]


Can we delete this post, and then sidebar Scrump's comment?
posted by schmod at 9:30 AM on February 28, 2011 [10 favorites]


I am not imaginary.

I am also apparently not as good a writer as scody.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:34 AM on February 28, 2011


For the next best post contest, can the winner get jessamyn and scody on their voicemail? Like, "anotherpanacea can't come to phone right now. We've never met him, personally, but we know him from the internet. And we're TOTALLY REAL."
posted by anotherpanacea at 9:39 AM on February 28, 2011 [13 favorites]


Scody's great.

I'm pretty sure she's got Paul Weller tied up in her crawl space, but nevertheless: great.
posted by padraigin at 9:44 AM on February 28, 2011 [8 favorites]


Scody is awesome! :)

...and so is scrump!
posted by zarq at 9:46 AM on February 28, 2011


I think we should all call scrump's imaginary office friend until he tells us to stop.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:51 AM on February 28, 2011 [12 favorites]


Metafilter: TOTALLY REAL
posted by The Whelk at 9:54 AM on February 28, 2011


So Scody, did you take the job? Did you take the job and sabotage from the inside? Oh, say you did!
posted by Decani at 9:55 AM on February 28, 2011


I LOVED that comment so much. I literally stopped breathing when she was taken in to meet Roger Ailes. Such an awesome mix of "oh no" "oh my god" "LOL" and "wtf" ALL AT ONCE.
posted by Nattie at 9:56 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Like the Gods of Discworld, we'll vanish if you stop believing in us.

IF YOU BELIEVE IN SCODY CLAP YOUR HANDS
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


What I want to know is if the interview led to a job offer.

Scody, you are awesome but WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

Mark of a great writer, always leave 'em wanting more...
posted by TooFewShoes at 9:57 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


And Scrump I totally want to be your friend.
posted by TooFewShoes at 9:58 AM on February 28, 2011


Scrump ..if you ever need us, even a little bit
posted by The Whelk at 10:00 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


This t-shirt still turns up at gaming conventions from time to time. (For those too lazy to click, it says "Hi, My Name Is ________ And I Do Exist".) Owners are meant to write their username in the blank with a sharpie.
posted by Karmakaze at 10:03 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's not so much a lazy thing but rather a fear of committment to click and follow through.
posted by Sailormom at 10:13 AM on February 28, 2011


scody is indeed great. And my favorite aspect of the story is the previous interview where she tells the hiring person that - when asked why she wants to work for the widget company - she doesn't really *want* to work for their widget company, since she's gonna be a novelist etc, but of course she would work hard etc. I have so been there, and it warms the cockles of my heart to read that scody was there too.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:18 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


The anecdote also fits with my experience. While I wouldn't recommend the approach to anyone for an important job, it seems like semi-blowing off an interview is often interpreted as "this guy is so confident in his abilities that he doesn't even need to try to impress me. So Hired."
posted by naju at 10:28 AM on February 28, 2011


I actually kind of like the idea of being an imaginary Internet person. It's like being a unicorn or something.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:34 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


We should have periodic MeTa threads where we praise a specific member. We could go by user number. Start with, say, 37800.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:38 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


Clearly the starting point is 80648
posted by The Whelk at 10:41 AM on February 28, 2011


Scody rules!
posted by clavdivs at 10:44 AM on February 28, 2011


scody is really the best.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:55 AM on February 28, 2011

scody is really the best.
YOU LIED TO ME

*sobbing*
posted by scrump at 10:56 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


scrump, that time you picked me up at the airport and took me to a meetup in Mountain View was totally awesome and you are great. You're downright scody, is what you are.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]


a company that had connections with Robert Abplanalp.

There's something so right about the fact that the aerosol valve was invented by a man named Bob Abplanalp. Not as right as scody, but still pretty right.

But it should have been called the "abplanalp valve" and aerosol cans should be called abplanalps.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:22 AM on February 28, 2011


I've met and been friends with a lot of people on the internet, going all the way back to my 2400bps modem and local LA BBSes, and scody's the best of the best. Srsly.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:42 AM on February 28, 2011


Let's admit it. We have never met our internet friends because we are ashamed of our ugly interview suits.
posted by Cranberry at 11:44 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


I have shaken the hand of scody*, who has shaken the hand of Roger Ailes. Ipso facto re-arrango I have shaken the hand of Roger Ailes, who is very real. Or real enough to get his own Wikipedia page.

* If I didn't shake her hand, at least I was once in the same restaurant/area. And nobody can take that away from me.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:45 AM on February 28, 2011


Huh. I have literally never been on a job interview. I just noticed that. So I have no ugly interview suits.
posted by The Whelk at 11:46 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


then we need to see the suit.
posted by The Whelk at 11:47 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


If Abplanalp didn't have a Bachelor of Arts degree, his last name is a waste of a good palindrome.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:48 AM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]


Love scody.

Love her lots.*
*Jessamyn took this picture. Jealous?!
posted by ColdChef at 11:57 AM on February 28, 2011

But it should have been called the "abplanalp valve" and aerosol cans should be called abplanalps.
This also explains the sound it makes when you put the valve against exposed skin and fire it.

*clonka clonka clonk*
*cloink*
*whssh ABLANALPALPAALPABLANALPABLANALPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLPLAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaarpl*
posted by scrump at 12:04 PM on February 28, 2011


Would this be a good place to mention that I'd like to see the deletion reason at the end of the thread as well as at the start of it?
posted by theichibun at 12:05 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Scrump, I feel ya. Whenever I mention to one of my friends that I'm going to go meet someone from Metafilter, they look at me like it's the last time they expect to see me alive and ask if I need them to call to see if I'm "OK" every 30 minutes.

I guess what I am trying to say is, thanks for not axe-murdering me, mefi friends.
posted by prefpara at 12:12 PM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]


It's even more frustrating when it's your wife giving you that look. I'm finally going to be able to make it to a meetup this week, and I'm getting no end of sarcastic eyerolls and "imaginary weird people" comments.
posted by nickmark at 12:27 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Um... "oh wow."

Okay, so when I got the MeMail from Brandon that I was being discussed in MeTa, I have to admit my first thought was "Okay, shit, I'm sorry I got so snippy the other day in that other thread. But it was a few days ago! Why am I getting called out now? *sigh* Well, I am totally going to go in there and apologize. *deep breath* Aw, fuck it, I'm going to go eat some coffee cake first."

So I did (eat some coffee cake). And... *blushes furiously* Oh wow! Srsly, you guys... thank you for your kind words. I am not worthy!

Well, there are a few pressing questions to answer, I guess.

I want to know if the suit had shoulder pads.

Yes. Yes, it totally did. And not only that: it was a double-breasted yellow-and-white pinstriped suit with shoulder pads. I looked like a tall, tragic jar of mayostard.

did you take the job? Did you take the job and sabotage from the inside? Oh, say you did!

Okay, well. After I stopped crying I talk it over with the homeless guy. (Seriously, he was cool.) He agrees that it was a conundrum: I desperately need the money (and my boyfriend had just been laid off from his job) but it would be the dirtiest of dirty money. "But I guess beggars can't be choosers, right?" I say. Pause. He looks pointedly at me. "OHMANI'MSOSORRY!" I say. Then he smiles. "Actually, sometimes beggars can be choosers," he says mysteriously (I realize I am making him sound like Ladies and Gentlemen, In the Role of the Wise Homeless Man: Morgan Freeman, but... it sort of was like that). "You can choose to do with what comes your way."

"I know what you mean," I say.

I have no idea what he means. But I thank him anyway and head home. By the time I arrive back at our apartment (in beautiful Paramus, NJ, where we moved after his layoff) I have resolved NOT to take the job. I have choices. Principles! Solidarity forever! We shall not be moved!

My boyfriend is livid. "Of course you are taking the fucking job," he says.

Buh... buh... PRINCIPLES! Solidarity forever! We stood on the picket lines protecting Planned Parenthood and demanding our college divest from South Africa together, right, honey? It's where we fell IN LOOOOOOOVE.

"We. Need. The. Money. I. Do. Not. Care. About. Politics. Any. More."

Now I am livid. "Well, I do!" I say passionately, finally working up to that speech I meant to give to Roger Ailes. "I will always care! I will always be on the side of the worker, the downtrodden, the oppressed! You were laid off because of the injustices of capitalism! As Paul Weller says --" (and I should point out that my bf at the time was as massive a Weller fan as I was) (well, almost) "-- 'They take the profits, you take the blame!' You know what that means! It means we are at the mercy of capitalism and it's, like, totally unjust! I have made a vow to topple our racist-sexist-classist-homophobic power structure if it's the last thing I do, and AS GOD IS MY WITNESS --"

"Then. Go. Topple. It. From. The. INSIDE."

Silence. My eyes widen. It is a total Lucy and Ricky moment. "Darling! That's a wonderful idea!"

"Luuuuu-cy!"

Yes! It's a marvelous idea! I will sabotage the system from the inside! I will feed Roger Ailes bad information, and smuggle out good information, and insert subliminal Marxist messages into newsfeeds to trigger a revolution, and Fred and Ethel will do an old vaudeville number and Paul Weller will want to hang out with us the next time he's in New York and IT WILL BE AWESOME.

I eagerly await the phone call for the second interview, spending days flitting from room to room listening to Billy Bragg and laughing maniacally at my genius plan. Count your days, capitalism! For yea, surely they are numbered.

THE CALL COMES. They love me! They want to see me for a second interview! If they make me an offer, I should be prepared to sign a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement and to be prepared for stiff penalties (both civil and criminal) regarding the misuse of information! Also, I will need to pee in a cup for the drug test!

Oh wow.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I can't make it."
posted by scody at 12:34 PM on February 28, 2011 [108 favorites]


scrump: It's too bad you weren't talking about ColdChef. It's pretty great to try and explain to your parents that you're listening to a Christmas mix made by your friend the undertaker who comes from the internet.
posted by sonika at 12:36 PM on February 28, 2011 [11 favorites]


My imaginary Internet friends rule. We had to put our cat to sleep about a month ago, and it was one of the most grueling, miserable, lie down and wait to die experiences I've ever had. All my poor Twitter followers got a week-long play-by-play of kitty misery as she got sicker and sicker. I started to feel bad subjecting all those nice people to it.

But you know what? My Mefite Twitter friends were so wonderful and touching and sympathetic, it was honestly the only thing that brought any light into my world for days and days. It was like getting warm, genuine hugs from all over the world. I got all teary when I tried to explain to my mom about how I didn't know how I would have made it through those awful days without the support of my Internet friends. She looked at me like I'd lost my mind a little, but I didn't care, 'cause at least my invisible friends in the computer understand me.
posted by mostlymartha at 1:10 PM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]


All I know is I've had some wicked imaginary hangovers after having drinks with my imaginary internet friends.
posted by rtha at 1:14 PM on February 28, 2011 [4 favorites]


I have known scody's greatness far longer than you.
posted by exlotuseater at 1:17 PM on February 28, 2011


Part II of this story *needs* to be added to the sidebar as well. Our unborn descendants demand it.
posted by kyrademon at 1:23 PM on February 28, 2011


it was a double-breasted yellow-and-white pinstriped suit with shoulder pads. I looked like a tall, tragic jar of mayostard .

Were you under 25 when this happened? Because my theory is that when you turn 26, all your previous sins are wiped clean.

FOR EXAMPLE: When I was in high school, I had a black pair of Keds and a white pair of Keds. I'd frequently wear one black and one white shoe, with socks and laces in the opposite colors. Plus white jeans, a black top, a vest and a red necktie. (This was c. 1990)
posted by desjardins at 1:35 PM on February 28, 2011 [11 favorites]


I fully support your "formal PeeWee" Look desjardins
posted by The Whelk at 1:37 PM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]


Metafilter: my friend the undertaker who comes from the internet.
posted by Devils Rancher at 1:55 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


For the next best post contest, can the winner get jessamyn and scody on their voicemail?

[jessamyn] This is jessamyn...
[scody] and scody!
[together] We don't live here, but leave [winner's name here] a message!
posted by ODiV at 2:09 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


scody is far more awesome than most of you could possibly imagine.
posted by dg at 2:10 PM on February 28, 2011


sco-sco-scodio
posted by clavdivs at 2:19 PM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


I absolutely detest it when folks I know from the internet are referred to as imaginary anything. No one thinks it's weird that I have work contacts who I've only ever emailed with. Hell, I've never met my insurance agent IRL.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:35 PM on February 28, 2011


schmod: "Oh, and it might be helpful to link to the comment in question."

My theory was: "It's on the sidebar already"
posted by Bonzai at 2:41 PM on February 28, 2011


In the past six years I have gone from lurker fan of scody's to mefite contact of scody's to friend and colleague of scody's. It's a good yardstick, ain't it?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:58 PM on February 28, 2011


it was a double-breasted yellow-and-white pinstriped suit with shoulder pads. I looked like a tall, tragic jar of mayostard .

I'll be in my bunk. Maybe two bunks.
posted by loquacious at 3:07 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Scody is grape!

whoops, off my meds again. time for more dimetapp!
posted by Eideteker at 3:27 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wait, we're being asked to prove the existence of members now? Because I'll be totally honest, I don't know if I can do that for myself.

I mean, I'm pretty sure I exist; if I punch someone on the street, like 3 times out of 10 they sort of react in a way that makes me think that they noticed it, but you know, beyond that I've got nothing.

My coming in here to talk about the wonders of scody has led me to an existential crisis!

scody is wonderful though. That much I can say without question.
posted by quin at 3:42 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wait, we're being asked to prove the existence of members now? Because I'll be totally honest, I don't know if I can do that for myself.

This is why, back in the days when I used AOL Instant Messenger, I kept myself on my contact list on the assumption that if I ever died/ceased to exist without realizing it I'd see that I wasn't showing up as on-line even when I thought I was and that would tip me off. As far as I know, the system works!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:52 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


> For the next best post contest, can the winner get jessamyn and scody on their voicemail?

That might even be as awesome as having Carl Kasell's voice on your answering machine...
posted by booksherpa at 4:04 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


OMG. chucknorris scodyfacts.com is still available!
posted by special-k at 4:25 PM on February 28, 2011


I don't exist... but if I did, I'd think scody was the best!
posted by languagehat at 4:39 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


scody, I favorited your comment in the deleted thread, and I favorited your comment in this one, (and I hardly use favorites, for whatever-the-hell-favorites-are-supposed-to-mean) just because your quasi-stories of late 20th century sorta-pinko social consciousness vaguely resonate with mine, from the mid-20th century, in which I met various elderly (to me, at the time) gentleman, who fondly recalled the labor/capitalist/communist/AFL-CIO inspired fervors of the 19 "teens", '20s, and 30s while I, as a young and draft aged man, was worried about the Vietnam War, and the Eisenhower identified "military-industrial complex," and the distortions of those issues being promulgated at the time by opportunistic gadflys like the Socialist Workers Party, and all their disaffected ilk.

But it was precisely the politicos in the SWP, and the various other left wing organizations I had contact with in the late '60s and early '70s, that convinced me that whatever was wrong with the American Right, was a lot less objectionable to the morals and lives of individuals, than the very least of what was being talked about on the Left. The bullshit put about by supporters of the Weather Underground, in that time, and of the Panthers, the SDS, and similar groups, was still, apparently, alive and well, passed down mouth to hand from the intellectually bankrupt of one generation to the next, in the '90s, from the testimony of your comments.

I can imagine that the very prospect of working for Ailes must have raised your bile, in that time, as much as you describe, but what I'm left wondering is, if in fact it did so, to the level you so sympathetically relate, what the hell were you doing were an "interview suit," in the first place? People committed to the struggle between capitalists and workers don't typically go on job interviews in capitalist's strongholds, you know, without a serious hit to their revolutionary cred.

Ailes looked at you, dressed as you were in your puff-shouldered chicken suit, and was willing to think "outside" his "box," apparently. But you, dressed completely against your values, out on a mission you never bothered to check before going, thought you held the moral upper hand?

Puhleeeeeze.

I "favorited" your comments only because I want a good path to first hand descriptions of hypocrisy, that I never, otherwise, might have stumbled across. Especially ones told, first hand, in all their self-sacrificing glory, 20 years after they occured, that end on whether or not the principal could possibly pass a drug test.

I salute your innocence in that long ago time, your then "boy friend's" pragmatism, and your willingness to discuss your moral universe with an otherwise unknown homeless guy, and to shift your thinking based on re-viewing yourself as a potential inside operative.

You were nothing, if not plastic fantastic.
posted by paulsc at 4:40 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wtf, paulsc? That was entirely unnecessary.
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:52 PM on February 28, 2011


The second paragraph works pretty well as T. Herman Zweibel, too.
posted by RogerB at 5:00 PM on February 28, 2011


What a shame you didn't bother to read scody's original comment, paulsc. Perhaps you'd have saved us all from your bilious rant.
I must stop here for a moment and explain that I had been on a lot of interviews in that awful suit by that time -- editorial assistant gigs, museum office assistant gigs, marketing assistant gigs for various businesses -- and I had botched every single interview in one way or another. I screwed up the typing test (which is pretty much the main requirement for an editorial assistant), or I'd show up late after having left my resume on the train, or I'd be asked why I wanted to be a marketing assistant in a small manufacturing firm specializing in heating coils and I'd answer honestly that, actually, I didn't want to do any such thing; I was on my way to becoming a Famous Writer but that I needed a job in the meantime to pay off my student loans. I did not get any second interviews.

So I show up in my terrible suit at the address. And it's the Ailes Production Co.

Now, I was enough of a dyed-in-the-wool lefty at the age of 22 to know who Roger Ailes was; I was the kind of girl who had a Lee Atwater dart board in her dorm room, for god's sake. I grew up in a household where, when I was a small child, I was told that it was Nixon personally throwing garbage at the feet of the crying Indian.

I considered simply not going to the interview, but then I wouldn't be sent out for any other interviews by my job agency. So I decided that I would go in and fuck up. You know, just be so obviously poorly suited (and not just because of my bad interview suit!) for the job. Fine. It would be over, I would maybe go poke around the Strand for awhile, then go home. So I squared my shoulders, took a breath, and walked in.

posted by zarq at 5:03 PM on February 28, 2011


...wait, what?

You either need to start taking more or less of a something. Possibly multiple somethings.
posted by scrump at 5:06 PM on February 28, 2011


Wow, paulsc, you really know how to kill a party, mate. And what's up with all the scare quotes? Also, what's up with your conviction that anyone cares why you favorite things?

But I guess now you do know what the hell favorites are supposed to mean: they mean "remind me to tell everyone how much I loathe this comment and how much better I am than the commenter, so much so that I was forced to use a site tool I disdain, an act of moral failure redeemable only by an expulsion of pure bile." So, mission accomplished?

It's ok, buddy, someone will throw you a MeTa praise party any day now, I'm sure of it. Just gotta wait for your genius to be recognized. It might be a while, but isn't that always the lot of the true visionary?

Oh, by the way, scody's awesome and has really good taste in books. Plus she made out with Paul Weller. I didn't even know who Paul Weller was before scody, and now I want to meet him just so I can ask, hey, I heard you made out with scody one time? And he'd be all, yeah, that made this all worthwhile. And I'd be like, yeah. Then I'd leave him to his remembrance of things scody.
posted by Errant at 5:08 PM on February 28, 2011


Didnt somebody in the electoral college vote against Washington because he thought it shouldn't be unanimous? Maybe paulsc's comment is like that!
posted by shothotbot at 5:09 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Errant: "It's ok, buddy, someone will throw you a MeTa praise party any day now, I'm sure of it. Just gotta wait for your genius to be recognized. It might be a while, but isn't that always the lot of the true visionary?"

Um. He's already had one.

Sorry.
posted by zarq at 5:12 PM on February 28, 2011


"... So, mission accomplished? ..."

Mission? Mission? Is that some veiled Elton John/Bernie Taupin reference from 1970?
posted by paulsc at 5:14 PM on February 28, 2011


paulsc, scody told a self-deprecating story about being inexperienced on the job market. Your response is to... deprecate her? Because of some people you met in the 1960s?

scody "didn't even bother to check out" the job, when she said that the hiring agency wouldn't tell her what it was in advance?
Ailes was "willing to think outside his box", because he was willing to hire a young person in a suit?

You baffle me.
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:16 PM on February 28, 2011


"I'm sorry," I say. "I can't make it."

You dodged a bullet. Any company that takes random interviewees to see the president of the company seems really really dodgy to me.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 5:20 PM on February 28, 2011


"... You baffle me."
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:16 PM on February 28

Sorry. I'm often baffled by this place, too, and understand, deeply, what that feels like.
posted by paulsc at 5:20 PM on February 28, 2011


.......Ignoring that, I read through the thread in which scody's comment was written on Sunday morning, and commented that I thought a sidebar might be in order, and was devastated to find out that as soon as I hit Post Comment that the thread had been closed. So I'm delighted to come home sick today and find out that it actually came true anyway.

And scody is awesome. One of the first mefites to welcome me here, however brief an exchange it might have been (back in one of those threads about the TSA in November). And also for wearing a suit the color of "mayostard."
posted by Existential Dread at 5:21 PM on February 28, 2011


You baffle me.
It's pretty much par for the course with paulsc. Just ignore him, as you should do with all trolls.
posted by dg at 5:25 PM on February 28, 2011


Mission? Mission? Is that some veiled Elton John/Bernie Taupin reference from 1970?

I'll give you this, my friend, you apparently believe me to be smarter and more well-educated than I am, and that's the sort of thing that always preens the old ego.
posted by Errant at 5:35 PM on February 28, 2011


Well. Wow.
posted by rtha at 5:40 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


"... that's the sort of thing that always preens the old ego."
posted by Errant at 8:35 PM on February 28

Happy to help, when I can, Errant, and a big "Achoo!" to you, you plastic fantastic, um, adventurer...
posted by paulsc at 5:43 PM on February 28, 2011


In real life, I can like do Burns' voice and it is frikkin weird man. As the last Republican on Metafilter, I would not question the scodios' creds nor her story, after all, i am the one, yes, the one who conveyed through private channels that Clinton should hire Sam Nunn and Eliot Janeway even if he was dead. (screw respect, the man could pull some moves)

'Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Logosi's dead'

scodo-rama-scudisorous-GRARIO
....scodo:)




posted by clavdivs at 5:43 PM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


scodious-non-GRARist- postO'rama
posted by clavdivs at 5:45 PM on February 28, 2011


You were nothing, if not plastic fantastic.

Hey, here's a shiny new whiffleball bat. Your old one seems to be whistling and swinging a bit wide.
posted by loquacious at 5:54 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Tall, beautiful, dynamic, engaging, friendly, thoughtful, accessible, intelligent, passionate, conscientious, strong, brave, clever, wry, fun at parties and a goddamned hypocrite.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:03 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


The comment doesn't matter, scody is still great!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:04 PM on February 28, 2011


There are people who I have had strong political and personal disagreements with over my years at metafilter; a few of them I have even gotten into fairly nasty spats with. Several of them have reached out to me with tremendous compassion and kindness over the past year, and I have been moved by their loving wishes, and humbled by their generosity. These are people who I wouldn't really have expected to hear from -- who would have been perfectly within their rights (I guess that's the correct word) to ignore what I was going through. But they didn't. Their ability to be bigger than our disagreements made me realize that I have ways of behaving in a small manner that I am not proud of, and that I have a lot of failings that I want to improve.

Not because our disagreements don't necessarily matter; not because I do not care passionately about politics; not because there is nothing at stake; but because despite these differences we share our imperfect humanity, and therefore we can try to behave as well and as kindly to each other as we can at any given moment. And why not? I have become acutely conscious of the fact this past year that each moment really could be our last. These friends embodied the words of Marcus Aurelius: "waste no more time arguing what a good person is. Be one." Their kindness to me, who had not been so kind to them in the past, was a reminder I needed, and have been grateful for.

In your own way, paulsc, you have reminded me of this lesson, too. And for that, I thank you.

As for this...

Were you under 25 when this happened? Because my theory is that when you turn 26, all your previous sins are wiped clean.

...all I can say is WHEW. I was 22, and I had a lot of fashion sins to atone for at the time. Thank you for the absolution, desjardins.

And finally:

Mission? Mission? Is that some veiled Elton John/Bernie Taupin reference from 1970?

Say, that reminds me. I was a fanatical Elton John fan at the age of 6 (not kidding) and have an elaborate self-deprecating anecdote that I could pull out at any moment involving the Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road album, my grandfather's hobby of constructing elaborate "mint machines" for me (basically, gigantic toys that he made in his workshop that served as delivery systems of chocolate prizes, including a mad scientist's laboratory in the dining room, a "silver mine" that took up the living room, and a pirate ship that took up the backyard), and my first grade show-and-tell.

But perhaps another time.
posted by scody at 6:11 PM on February 28, 2011 [15 favorites]


I, for one, am now trying very hard to figure out exactly how scody managed to join the Black Panthers as a result of all this.
posted by kyrademon at 6:17 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Happy to help, when I can, Errant, and a big "Achoo!" to you, you plastic fantastic, um, adventurer...

Hey, if the sentence "Prophylactic admonition may trigger novel mischief" doesn't turn your crank, I don't think we'd agree on much aesthetically anyway.
posted by Errant at 6:18 PM on February 28, 2011


Oh, come on! You can't just leave us hanging like that? Mint machines?! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I MUST KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE CHOCOLATE DELIVERING MINT MACHINES

P.S. While it goes without saying that scody is great&superfantastic, I have to say that the thought that I have met someone who has met someone who has met Roger Ailes is a bit disturbing... those are far too few degrees of separation for comfort.
posted by Kattullus at 6:21 PM on February 28, 2011


Pssst, Kattullus - my mom knew Ailes, back in the day. Said he was an asshole.
posted by rtha at 6:38 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


scody is great
scody is good
let us thank her
for our food

and yes, everyone needs a hug, as noted below
posted by dancestoblue at 6:40 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


"... I was a fanatical Elton John fan ..."
So is/was my brother. The last time I saw him, in December '10, under a bridge over I-95 a little north of Daytona Beach, he had a machete, a 2 week beard and a 2 month old haircut, and a decent coat; I put my name and phone number in his coat pocket, and told him I loved him, and asked him again, if he wouldn't rather come home with me, than stay there, but he wouldn't. We sang a chorus of his EJ favorite Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road, over the six-lane early evening I-95 traffic noise that bounces off warm concrete under Federally funded bridges crossing major Defense Highways, and then he moved off, waving his machete at me.

"But perhaps another time."
posted by scody at 9:11 PM on February 28

Yeah.

Perhaps.

So many "perhaps" and so many "favorites" in this life, no?
posted by paulsc at 6:44 PM on February 28, 2011


I've met Ailes, too, although just two or three times in passing. (We're everywhere, Katullus!) ;)
posted by zarq at 6:48 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


.......I wouldn't want to be in charge right now.
posted by The Whelk at 6:53 PM on February 28, 2011

Tall, beautiful, dynamic, engaging, friendly, thoughtful, accessible, intelligent, passionate, conscientious, strong, brave, clever, wry, fun at parties and a goddamned hypocrite.
And that's the way we like it.
posted by scrump at 6:54 PM on February 28, 2011


I am in charge now.

hey, the liqour cabinet is locked! Wth?!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:00 PM on February 28, 2011


You get the key when you prove yourself.

(or when I am done)
posted by The Whelk at 7:02 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


HEY GUYS I HEARD YOU WERE HAVIN A PARTY I BROUGHT A CASE OF BEAST WHATS UP
posted by scrump at 7:21 PM on February 28, 2011


Guys I am just drinking the blood of my enemies it's pretty intoxicating is what
posted by shakespeherian at 7:22 PM on February 28, 2011


Funy, I was hearing the lamentations of their women.
posted by The Whelk at 7:23 PM on February 28, 2011


Where's the mod car? I want to try out its hovering abilities.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:23 PM on February 28, 2011


My late 90's bad interview suit was horrific too. It was an ungodly plum purple (not a good color on me at all but my mom bought it for me. Purple is her color.) and came complete with jacket, mini skirt, and flared pants. It didn't come with a shirt, just some kind of faux silk dickie-type thing that buttoned in to the front of the jacket and looked like a harlequin button down shirt.

I donated the suit a long time ago but I found the dickie in my drawer yesterday. I'm honestly not sure what to do with it.
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:27 PM on February 28, 2011


AND shoulder pads. Of course it had shoulder pads too!
posted by TooFewShoes at 7:29 PM on February 28, 2011


You said "dickie".
posted by scrump at 7:34 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


Oh, by the way, scody's awesome and has really good taste in books. Plus she made out with Paul Weller.

wait what? where was this? was it awesome? i bet it was awesome
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:41 PM on February 28, 2011


I just so happen to run a reform school for wayward bad 80s and 90s powersuits and related 80s and 90s fashion. Or I would if I could.

No, seriously. I can't explain myself at all. I've tried. There's no, uh, suitable excuse. I just have to accept myself and the fact that I think shoulderpads and boxy suits are hot for some inexplicable reason.
posted by loquacious at 7:44 PM on February 28, 2011


Hi scody. You rock.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:13 PM on February 28, 2011 [13 favorites]


Well this is getting pretty weird. Weird in that I've been grinning throughout a long-ish MeTa thread that I read from start-to-comment and have started to have flashbacks of an era I didn't really live through, not really.

scody, you're awesome. You can make me flashback anytime.
posted by neewom at 8:32 PM on February 28, 2011


IRFH!
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:36 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


*waves... writes "scody 2012" on the window with soap... slips back into the shadows*
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:54 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well now *Puts on wizard hat, sits down* Who's for dinner?
posted by The Whelk at 9:02 PM on February 28, 2011


IS THE ANSWER GHOSTBUSTERS II
posted by scrump at 9:23 PM on February 28, 2011


OMG It's Raining Florence Henderson is back!
posted by special-k at 9:25 PM on February 28, 2011


Scody, the second half of the tale went pretty much like I expected. :-)

Very entertaining. I trust it wasn't too long before you found something less ideologically troubling to keep the wolf from the door!
posted by Decani at 2:47 AM on March 1, 2011


So so good to see IRFH!
posted by OmieWise at 4:27 AM on March 1, 2011


As we used to do in chatrooms:

IRFHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
posted by desjardins at 5:17 AM on March 1, 2011


Shoulder pads on suits are very hot. I always wanted them, but my father, a John T. Malloy acolyte, trained me to avoid such extremes of fashion, along with things like the colour red and heels over 1.5".

So I love the mayotarde suit, and wish I'd had the courage to wear something requiring that much Aqua Net.
posted by QIbHom at 5:32 AM on March 1, 2011


Whenever I hear Paul Weller, instead of thinking "Oh. He's the singer from Style Council," I think "Oh. He's that guy that Scody's always talking about."
posted by schmod at 6:59 AM on March 1, 2011


I always think about Robocop.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:00 AM on March 1, 2011 [3 favorites]


Especially then. Though I try to leave the "dead or alive" preamble off because that just makes things weird.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:31 AM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


'Thank you for your cooperation. Good night.'
posted by shakespeherian at 7:43 AM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


Whenever I hear Paul Weller, instead of thinking "Oh. He's the singer from Style Council," I think "Oh. He's that guy that Scody's always talking about."

Calling Paul Weller the singer from Style Council is llike calling Joe Strummer the guitarist from the 101ers.
posted by nasreddin at 8:17 AM on March 1, 2011


That's not quite the same. The Style Council were phenomenal. Personally I feel that Weller's body of work in The Style Council is just as strong as his body of work in The Jam. His songwriting is just as good, his only crime was looking a bit naff.
posted by Kattullus at 8:32 AM on March 1, 2011


Oh, I'm not really dissing Style Council--have you heard the 101ers' "Keys to Your Heart"? I've had that song stuck in my head for five years.
posted by nasreddin at 8:43 AM on March 1, 2011


> have you heard the 101ers' "Keys to Your Heart"? I've had that song stuck in my head for five years.

I've had it stuck in my head for far longer. Glad to know a fellow 101ers fan!

And paulsc, taking a shit (a long, smelly one) in the thread is one thing; following it up with pseudo-clever commentary ignoring your lousy behavior is another. Have some decency.
posted by languagehat at 8:52 AM on March 1, 2011


Pardon me, but I've been remiss, and have to do this:

MORE LIKE LANGUAGE FAT AMIRITE

LOL

Okay, now we can go back to discussing scody and Paul Weller.
posted by scrump at 9:08 AM on March 1, 2011


"Oh. He's the singer from Style Council..."

Kick out the Style, bring back The Jam!
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:20 AM on March 1, 2011


nasreddin: Oh, I'm not really dissing Style Council--have you heard the 101ers' "Keys to Your Heart"? I've had that song stuck in my head for five years.

Ah, my mistake. One of my pop-culture knee jerks is when people treat The Style Council as some kind of horrible aberration in Paul Weller's career. I'll go readjust the jerk trigger on my knee.
posted by Kattullus at 9:23 AM on March 1, 2011


You didn't know there was a greasemonkey script for that? It's awesome!
posted by rtha at 10:24 AM on March 1, 2011


My adjustable jerk trigger is steam powered, with brass fittings and leather trim. Also, it seems to be stuck on eleven.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:59 AM on March 1, 2011 [2 favorites]


I hope you're around more regularly, IRFH. I understand about Life and Stuff, but we miss you around here.

Regarding the adjustable jerk trigger, I read somewhere about being able to jailbreak it. Anybody got any hints about how to do that? The current OS crashes on me all the time.
posted by rtha at 11:13 AM on March 1, 2011


Thanks. I miss you all too. I just re-opened my account to sing the praises of scody. But I may stick around for awhile if certain Mefites promise to write their books.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:26 AM on March 1, 2011


I didn't know how much you wanted my 5-volume set of cowboy poetry IRFH
posted by The Whelk at 11:35 AM on March 1, 2011 [4 favorites]


Metafilter: an adjustable jerk trigger
posted by scrump at 11:39 AM on March 1, 2011


Commenting in the fantasticgreathappymakingwonderfullyscrumpyscodyliciousrainy thread!
posted by iamkimiam at 11:56 AM on March 1, 2011


I just want to thank everyone for a really wonderful thread. I had gotten a break off of work and was (knowingly) getting into the riled up bike thread, which I thought prudently to put down before popping a blood vessel, and then picked up the Saudi thread, which once again got my blood boiling, rinse, repeat...

and I run in here and all of a sudden "FWOOOSH!" it's a wonderful happy place of marmalade and magic and merriment. Thanks everyone for being who you are and thanks scody and scrump for the great reads!
posted by cavalier at 1:05 PM on March 1, 2011


I trust it wasn't too long before you found something less ideologically troubling to keep the wolf from the door!

I did; I wound up getting hired soon thereafter at an academic press in NYC (which paid juuuust enough to keep the wolf away) till getting snagged in their own layoffs, at which point I went to work in a department store in Paramus (which was eventually featured, years later, on an episode of The Sopranos, which was oddly exciting) whilst getting together my application for grad school. Oh, the glamorous early '90s!

posted by scody at 3:18 PM on March 1, 2011


I didn't know how much you wanted my 5-volume set of cowboy poetry IRFH

I wish I could quit comment stalking you, The Whelk.
posted by atrazine at 10:59 PM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]


Am I the only one sittiing here wondering what the hell "plastic fantastic" means?
posted by Ortho at 9:56 PM on March 2, 2011


Nope.
posted by Errant at 2:16 AM on March 3, 2011


IRFH! Welcome back, it's great to see you!

I assumed it was paulsc's way of calling scody superficial, using a reference to Barbie Girl. Caution, the music on the video may make you want to claw your ears off.
posted by zarq at 6:27 AM on March 3, 2011


No one disses dance-pop masters Squa in my house without getting a blast of Cartoon Heroes. or Happy Boys And Girls
posted by The Whelk at 6:28 AM on March 3, 2011


The Whelk: "No one disses dance-pop masters Squa in my house without getting a blast of Cartoon Heroes. or Happy Boys And Girls"

I FEEL LIKE DANCING BUT....
posted by zarq at 6:56 AM on March 3, 2011


Squa is an excellent typo and would be an excellent band name.
posted by SpiffyRob at 8:56 AM on March 3, 2011


Am I the only one sittiing here wondering what the hell "plastic fantastic" means?

I had figured it was a reference to Plastic Fantastic Lover by Jefferson Airplane.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:17 AM on March 3, 2011


Devils Rancher: "I had figured it was a reference to Plastic Fantastic Lover by Jefferson Airplane."

Oh, right. Of course!
posted by zarq at 11:04 AM on March 3, 2011


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