New York Meetup

May 26, 2003 1:19 PM

I will be visiting NY in June and I am invoking my god given right to demand a MetaFilter meetup! MeFiNYC June 6, 2003. You may now all squabble over the locations, because I do not know the howfors or the wherewhys.
posted by eyeballkid to MetaFilter gatherings at 1:19 PM (98 comments total)

I'll be there. Prepare yourself for (in your own words) "real-time real-life pinging"
posted by riffola at 1:21 PM on May 26, 2003

Woo woo! I'll be there. I'd also like to open up the possibility of that Saturday, instead, but I should be able to make either one.
posted by adampsyche at 1:26 PM on May 26, 2003

You know I will be there, brotherman...
posted by jonmc at 1:36 PM on May 26, 2003

I'm not even taking my bells off. Bring thy bad self on, Mr. Kid.
posted by chicobangs at 2:01 PM on May 26, 2003

Any thoughts on where? I'm a stranger in that town.
posted by eyeballkid at 4:09 PM on May 26, 2003

We can suggest several places in the East Village or thereabouts for a pubcrawl...or the VidPad is available if you want to have a cookout.
posted by Vidiot at 4:28 PM on May 26, 2003

Count me in as well.
posted by bshort at 5:23 PM on May 26, 2003

EBK, just get to Manhattan, walk out to the nearest street corner, and start shouting out our names. Everyone here knows us. Hell, we own this town!

...

Oh, alright.

So do we want to show the dude some new places or are we gonna go with what we know?

(How do we feel about Soho or Chelsea/the West Village?)
posted by chicobangs at 5:56 PM on May 26, 2003

I know a guy with a broken leg who had to postpone his previously-scheduled vacation this year. Maybe he'll show up, too.
posted by yhbc at 6:22 PM on May 26, 2003

Tell him he'd be welcome, Commish. And Mrs. Comm--err, the wife of the guy with the broken leg and postponed vacation would be welcome too.
posted by Vidiot at 7:01 PM on May 26, 2003

I wanna go.

Give me dates! Maybe I can swing a plane ticket.
posted by brittney at 8:30 PM on May 26, 2003

I think if you came to NYC, brittney, you'd have lots of dates--OW! I mean, June 6.
posted by Vidiot at 8:39 PM on May 26, 2003

June 6 is brilliant -- please, oh, please keep it on a Friday. Much easier for this bridge & tunnel girl. :) (I work in Manhattan -- would rather not do the 2.5 hour commute in on a weekend...)
posted by metrocake at 9:12 PM on May 26, 2003

*seethe*
posted by ColdChef at 9:26 PM on May 26, 2003

*double seethe*
posted by sgt.serenity at 1:57 AM on May 27, 2003

*seething from Tokyo*
posted by gen at 2:22 AM on May 27, 2003

*seething from Cambridge (UK)*
posted by adrianhon at 3:13 AM on May 27, 2003

*Seething Wells*
posted by i_cola at 3:35 AM on May 27, 2003

Seether is neither loose nor tight.
Seether is neither black nor white.
I try to keep her on a short leash.
I try to calm her down.
I try to ram her into the ground, yeah.
Can't fight the seether [x3]
I can't see her till I'm foaming at the mouth.
Seether is neither big nor small.
Seether is the center of it all.
I try to rock her in my cradle.
I try to knock her out.
I try to cram her back in my mouth, yeah.
Can't fight the seether.[x3]
I can't see her till I'm foaming at the mouth.
Keep her down, boiling water.
Keep her down, what a lovely daughter.
Oh she is not born like other girls,
but I know how to conceive her.
Oh she may not look like other girls,
but she's a snarl tooth seether. Seether!
Can't fight the seether.[x3]
I can't see her till I'm foaming at the mouth. Yeah!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:43 AM on May 27, 2003

I'm not so much seething as frothing a bit....oh, hell, why not?


*seethes from Seoul*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:46 AM on May 27, 2003

Now....how much is a flight to New York from seethes-ville, UK?

Damn...I'm DJ'ing that night....no good!
posted by mattr at 4:21 AM on May 27, 2003

*yawns, gazes yearningly at sky, dozes off thinking of that great day somewhere in the future when he can finally let the truth be known and invite his newfound human friends to an antares meetup*
posted by quonsar at 4:30 AM on May 27, 2003

*fires up google, searches for "deals to antares," finds nothing applicable, decides to go to a hotel antares in milan instead*
posted by amberglow at 5:34 AM on May 27, 2003

I'll be on an overnight bus to NYC, friday night. Next time, I guess.
posted by Marquis at 6:05 AM on May 27, 2003

Might. Might not. Will depend on my psychosis level.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:34 AM on May 27, 2003

Well I'm not going. Not only do I not like EBK, I don't like anybody in NYC. SCREW YOU ALL!

*seethes from London, Ontario*
posted by ashbury at 6:42 AM on May 27, 2003

*seethes from here*
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:43 AM on May 27, 2003

Let us begin the discussions of wheres and whens. Mo Nickels, you have the com.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:58 AM on May 27, 2003

Can we please pick a place with more than one light bulb this time?
posted by riffola at 7:21 AM on May 27, 2003

I'm seething, para poly, and I won't even mention that the possibility exists for a meetup on a Greek island in mid-late-July for anyone in Greece, or anyone island hopping in the Aegean/Mediterranean round 'bout that time...
posted by taz at 7:23 AM on May 27, 2003

From the floor so far we have:

-- "More than one lightbulb"

-- a tradition of East Village-ality

-- a request for "Soho or Chelsea/the West Village" (no, the West Village is out.)

What about Half King? Smoking in back, party in front (like a reverse mullet).
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:32 AM on May 27, 2003

strangest thing, friday night i walked into a bar in the east village about half a block from where i was staying and bumped into all manner of strange familiar people. those monkeys in NYC throw a good party with all manner of strange junk food.
posted by th3ph17 at 7:55 AM on May 27, 2003

Hey, I'm going to be passing through NYC the same day. Drop me a line if you get anything planned and I'll try to meet up too.
posted by brownpau at 9:01 AM on May 27, 2003

if half king is still allowing smoking, i vote for there (barring that, anywhere with a patio/alley/outdoor space where you can drink and smoke at the same time)
posted by amberglow at 10:00 AM on May 27, 2003

if half king is still allowing smoking...

Yes indeed. The lanai/veranda/patio/ashtray is open.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:47 AM on May 27, 2003

One of my favorite Who songs, and multi-level appropriate: "I can seethe for miles, and miles, and miles, and miles..."
posted by wendell at 1:21 PM on May 27, 2003

Hmm, ebk you may want to check out the fine print before visiting NYC in the hopes of a good time.

*sits and seethes*
posted by Salmonberry at 1:22 PM on May 27, 2003

My fellow Angeleno mefite EBK is visiting New York in June, and I am invoking my God given right to demand photos of the meetup that I will be very jealous of!! And plenty.
posted by jonson at 6:23 PM on May 27, 2003

I live a couple of blocks from the Half King, but will ironically be seething on a flight to LA June 6.
posted by liam at 6:34 PM on May 27, 2003

Liam, you obviously have your priorities out of order.
posted by adampsyche at 6:43 PM on May 27, 2003

*seethes upside-down from Australia*
posted by dg at 8:50 PM on May 27, 2003

Damn it! Where's my f'ing meetup?

Stupid lazy San Francisco MeFites.
posted by padraigin at 9:55 PM on May 27, 2003

Appreciate the Veruca Salt quote, stav. You get another shoutout.
posted by Vidiot at 10:12 PM on May 27, 2003

Jonson: I will take photos.

Liam: I'll try and clean up the place a bit before you get here.

So... Half King? That cool with everyone? Is there food, or will I have to bring a lunch? Is there some kind of MeFi Field Trip Permission slip I need to distribute? (Will one of the Star Belly Sneetches create a Field Trip slip?.... Stan? Stan?)

Most of all, what time (I've got all day) should we gather and where is this fine smoking-allowed establishment?
posted by eyeballkid at 11:53 PM on May 27, 2003

You get another shoutout.

Hoopla! I live for them!

(which proves perhaps that I oughta get out more...)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:52 AM on May 28, 2003

Is there some kind of MeFi Field Trip Permission slip I need to distribute?

You just need to bring a copy for everyone of every Damn Fine swap mix you have ever done.
posted by adampsyche at 4:26 AM on May 28, 2003

If you people dithered anymore this would turn into a conversation about pointilism.

Sorry, but even though the New York Metro review says Half King is good for groups, it isn't. But I'll include it in the nominations anyway. Event to be held at whichever of the following receives the most votes, Friday June 6, 8 p.m. starting time. Voting closes noon EDT June 1.

1. Half King. 505 West 23rd at 10th Avenue. Irish art bar and resto in the far fucking west of Manhattan, at least two avenue (translate: long) blocks from the nearest subway. Does have an outdoor space. May allow smoking. Pretentiousness may induce vomiting. Art for sale may induce guffaws. Close to Chelsea for post-libation cruising. Not a shamrock in sight, so not touristy Irish. Fails to have a picture of the Pope or Kennedy over the bar, so not an authentic outer-borough Irish pub, either.

2. Siberia. 356 West 40th at Ninth Avenue. Way the fucking west of Manhattan. Used to be on the downtown side of the 1/9 train at 50th Street, but then they moved it because too many financial analysts who fifteen years ago thought they were hip for listening to REM were showing up to relive their imagined wild days. Still midtown's most accurate architectural rendering of a downtown bar. A hole, but spacious. Unmarked door lends you street cred if you can find it. Bands downstairs sometimes. Nothing on tap. Uncrowded.

3. Sweet Ups. 277 Graham Ave, Williamsburgish, Brooklyn. Kind of close to my apartment. No, you cannot come over. Velvety red wallpaper. The bar, not my apartment. Far enough from the anus of Williamsburg so you Manhattanoids will feel adventurous, but close enough so you won't feel in danger. Included here in order to point out, gently, that the center of mass of New York City nightlife has, when you weren't paying attention, begun to straddle the East River. We should, if we were sticklers for accuracy, be having this rendezvous on a police launch anchored in the currents just off the city's rive droite.

4. Seville Lounge. 2130 7th Ave at 127th Street, Manhattan. Wake up, bitches! Harlem is prepared to eat you alive. I guarantee you that if this bar wins the voting, fewer than ten people will show up. Step up and meet yer biases. No downtown slouchers, please. Bring a date, and make him/her look like your trick, or else you may not get past the door. As the saying goes: Seville Lounge at night; no corduroy in sight.
posted by Mo Nickels at 4:50 AM on May 28, 2003

Mo, I am totally making out with you.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 4:56 AM on May 28, 2003

I'll vote for the Seville Lounge, despite the unhappy fact that I am and will continue to be more than 7000 miles away from the festivities for the forseeable future. Sounds like my kinda place, though.

Some pictures of Mo and RJ making out are expected.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:01 AM on May 28, 2003

1,2 or 4 for me! (i like my coffee like i like my men...)
posted by amberglow at 5:28 AM on May 28, 2003

Let's see. [RUMMAGES THROUGH FILES].

Ah, here we are. “Fantasies and Fetishes of the Swedish-Australian girlfriend”. [TO HIMSELF] Hmm, thick file. [READS ALOUD] A, G, N, here were are. W and Watching. Watching abalone mate. Watching boyfriend watching girlfriend. Watching boyfriend watching Osmonds mate. Watching boyfriend rollerskate. Hmm, how about that. No "Watching boyfriend make out with art gallerist cigarrette fiend."

[WRITES APOLOGETIC NOTE TO RJ AND STAVROS] Dear Sirs, I regret to inform you that I am unable to fulfill your request at this time...
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:45 AM on May 28, 2003

Mo, I am totally making out with you.

*cuts open skull, removes mind, scrubs furiously with lysol to remove mental image*

3 maybe, Brooklyn might be refreshing. I haven't been outta Manhattan in a while.
posted by jonmc at 6:20 AM on May 28, 2003

I vote for Half King or Siberia
posted by riffola at 7:04 AM on May 28, 2003

Sweet Ups.
Plenty of other stuff in the neighborhood too, in case we want to hit a couple spots.
posted by anathema at 7:22 AM on May 28, 2003

Well shit, if we're gonna get people to come all the way out to the third L stop, why not make it Daddy's, which is about as far from the train as Sweet Ups, only in the other direction, has a great jukebox and happy hour until 9, and is pretty spacious.

Also it has Ms. PacMan

But since you've presented us with *choices,* Mo, I'ma hafta go with Siberia, even though it's teeming with rats. Friendly rats, but still. I have particular affection for the new location because as I walk down 40th St. I am often asked if I need a date. This warms my cockles.

And afterward we could retire to the Bellevue!
posted by cowboy_sally at 7:27 AM on May 28, 2003

Half King or Siberia....though apparently Siberia is Jayson Blair's hangout.

Or the Bohemian Hall and Czech Beer Garden in Astoria.
posted by Vidiot at 8:06 AM on May 28, 2003

My vote is for Siberia.
posted by bshort at 8:32 AM on May 28, 2003

Definitely not Seville Lounge, as it is only a few blocks from me--and the last thing I need is this group ruining my street cred.

I vote Siberia.
posted by witchstone at 8:34 AM on May 28, 2003

How come the New Yorkers get to have all the parties?
posted by timeistight at 8:40 AM on May 28, 2003

TisT, MeFiVancouver was held last Sunday.
posted by riffola at 8:46 AM on May 28, 2003

Damn it! Where's my f'ing meetup?

Stupid lazy San Francisco MeFites.

i'm usually down, but things are always oddly quiet on this side of the nation.
posted by fishfucker at 9:53 AM on May 28, 2003

TisT, MeFiVancouver was held last Sunday.

Story of my life.
posted by timeistight at 10:07 AM on May 28, 2003

Siberia. This bridge & tunnel girlie must stay *somewhat* close to Penn, so Brooklyn's out -- and faux-Irish bars owned by semi-famous writers don't really do it for me. I'd need to leave the group early if we went to Seville's (see "somewhat close to Penn," above) -- trains back home only run once per hour after 8:00pm.
posted by metrocake at 10:11 AM on May 28, 2003

This thread condensed for those with short-attention spans (and/or ADD):

45% of Mefi is meeting in NYC, 45% of Mefi is seething, the other 10% couldn't give a flyin' one.
posted by Shane at 10:22 AM on May 28, 2003

What's a brother gotta do to get some MeFi-T-dot?
posted by Succa at 10:51 AM on May 28, 2003

Siberia.

And, ye fucker of fishes, you may be absent from our dinner table, but never from our hearts.
posted by adampsyche at 11:08 AM on May 28, 2003

We better bring a lotta napkins.
posted by jonmc at 11:12 AM on May 28, 2003

Siberia's two blocks from my swingin' pad, and it's fairly well lit and cheaply boozed (not to mention my street cred needs all the help it can get), so it gets my vote.

But really, anywhere this side of, oh, Antares would be fine.

Note: My pad only swings because the buses drive past it real fast and the building shakes. But what the hell.
posted by chicobangs at 12:19 PM on May 28, 2003

Cool Mo. Thanks for picking up the thread. I have no preference. I stood up on the roof of my apartment building and looked in the general direction of each location, but didn't see much.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:24 PM on May 28, 2003

Succa, for starters, stop referring to it as T-Dot. ;)
posted by dobbs at 8:48 PM on May 28, 2003

Whatever happened to Hogtown?
posted by timeistight at 8:53 PM on May 28, 2003

Sure, Siberia sounds good — but if anyone calls, we're in West Virginia. (It's a Jayson Blair joke. Never mind.)
posted by nicwolff at 10:56 PM on May 28, 2003

oh fucking christ. siberia again. i went to the blogger bash there and nobody even knew who jason kottke is. that is not a joke. if you move it to the east village, i will show up. what good is a party without me? did you know that it was at an east village mefi meetup where i introduced nick denton and liz spiers? it's me, mefi, meetups, and magic that made gawker. and nick's money.

don't you people fucking care?
posted by anildash at 12:38 AM on May 29, 2003 [1 favorite]

anil sealed it. siberia it is.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:31 AM on May 29, 2003

Jason who?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:45 AM on May 29, 2003

Succa (and dobbs),

Sign up here and start talking one up.
posted by mcwetboy at 4:45 AM on May 29, 2003

i thought he was like a radio show host or a politician like that ed koch.
posted by sgt.serenity at 4:46 AM on May 29, 2003

crap, schiesse, and merde.

Is is possible to have the NYC mefi meet on the previous day, June the 5th? I fly out of New York on the morning on the 6th.

And I live on the other side of the continent, and everything. I'm in NY for one week, and I'd hate to miss this....
posted by jokeefe at 6:49 AM on May 29, 2003

Oh come on, everyone loves T-dot as a nickname and nobody is sick of it. Sean Desmond says jump, I say how high.
posted by Succa at 9:11 AM on May 29, 2003

Wasswrong with the West Village? My roof deck needs a party.

Stavros, I'm shouting out to you, too. Seether is a great running song. I wanna hear it in Korean.

What are you guys gonna do, wear name tags? How about funny hats?

Siberia. *sigh* Fine.
posted by divrsional at 10:35 AM on May 29, 2003

Page Six has the Jayson Blair/Siberia scoop.
posted by PrinceValium at 11:47 AM on May 29, 2003

Hmm. Seethers, I find there's both a Howard Johnson's and a Comfort Inn close by to Siberia (along with several other choices, of course), each of which has surprisingly affordable (for NYC) rooms available for the night. Hey locals - would either be discouraged?
posted by yhbc at 2:22 PM on May 29, 2003

*cries*

If I were at home, I would be whining on #mefi right this minute. But I am in Halifax, the other side of the country... Is it impossible to change it to the day before?
posted by jokeefe at 5:55 PM on May 29, 2003

nah, not discouraged, but not fab, yhbc
posted by amberglow at 6:37 PM on May 29, 2003

Am I mistaken in believing that far fewer would be able to make it on a work night?
posted by adampsyche at 6:52 PM on May 29, 2003

I couldn't make it on a *weekend.*
posted by metrocake at 7:32 PM on May 29, 2003

fridays are always the best option. there would be far fewer "mefi hookups" on a weeknight. which means fewer mefi babies.
posted by witchstone at 7:44 AM on May 30, 2003

fewer mefi babies.


ah witchstone, what is that city going to do without you? sandy eggo betta get ready....
posted by th3ph17 at 11:04 AM on May 30, 2003

*I'm* a mefi babe, and if it's moved to Thursday I can be there.

Or were you referring to the actual making of mefi babies?

Sigh.
posted by jokeefe at 5:42 PM on May 30, 2003

Oh, come on. As long as we remember the Tang, the petri dish and the bras for our heads, we can make mefi babies anytime.
posted by jonmc at 9:58 AM on May 31, 2003

Come back from short holiday. See thread. See very importent comment. Taz and I demand a meetup. Well, sort of.

p.s. I'll be in Oz (WA) May-July 2004. Barbie anyone?
posted by ginz at 10:40 AM on June 1, 2003

ginz, if you could find your way to the civilized side of Australia, you might be in luck.
posted by dg at 4:16 PM on June 1, 2003

Commish, I've never stayed at either of those, but I've heard good things about the Apple Core hotels -- it's a company that runs a few hotels in Midtown that aren't terribly expensive. (I haven't stayed at any of these either -- the only time I ever stayed at a hotel in Manhattan I got a $105 room at the Wellington (55th & 7th) via Priceline.
posted by Vidiot at 8:56 PM on June 1, 2003

Voting is closed, and Siberia wins by a landslide, despite Anil's threat, which, coming from a teetotalling PR shill, carried little weight.


Start the phone trees! Begin the letter-writing campaigns! Fire up the open relays!
The Next MefiNYC circle-jerk is at Siberia, 356 West 40th at Ninth Avenue, Friday, June 6 at 8 p.m.
Bring yer own rat traps and antimacassars.
Besides sending email to your Metafilter Amigos to alert them to this event (since many people do not read Metatalk because it brings on sensations similar to those of keelhauling), please alert the following: People who left Metafilter in huff and swore they would never come back. People you have a crush on. People you want to neck with. People who want to neck with you. People you want to kick in the head. People who you met once at a conference who might be able to offer you a job. People with jobs who will buy rounds. People with jobs who will shut up already about HMOs, vacation time and their impending promotion. People who smoke the same brand of cigarettes as you. People who will appreciate your company when smoking in the rain. Someone to fill in for Anil by telling jokes about the semantic web. People you like even though no-one else does. Celebrities who are, surprisingly enough, just like everyone else. Non-celebrities who act like celebrities. Particularly welcome are: Lexicographers, statisticians, teamsters, seamstresses, longshoremen, pianists, jugglers, spinach-eaters, bicyclists, haberdashers, milliners, plinth-modelers, chicken-killers, spinsters, virgins, old maids, madams, biddies, frolicsome women, Catholic girls, hoopy froods, confirmed bachelors, men-about-town, playboys, socialites, lieutenants, greengrocers, plumbers, immigrants, starting forwards, Kiwis, batsmen, heads of state, your opposite number, and ministers without porfolio.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:15 AM on June 2, 2003

The calendar has been updated.
posted by mcwetboy at 8:33 AM on June 2, 2003

excellent.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:42 AM on June 2, 2003

I *heart* Mo. Bring your Palm, boy, so you can best me at Scrabble.
posted by metrocake at 9:56 AM on June 4, 2003

We had cameras.

And where were ya, Mo? Set it up and don't bother to come?
posted by Vidiot at 7:40 AM on June 7, 2003