A lone voice cries out in the darkness

March 16, 2005 12:45 PM

February 13 - March 12, 2005: A lone voice cries out in the darkness, and Jim Jones's tale of woe and madness is born. (The saga of his plight was unearthed here.)
posted by naxosaxur to MetaFilter-Related at 12:45 PM (73 comments total)

Oh man. How did I miss that? Jim, if you're still around, thanks.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:52 PM on March 16, 2005

The plight of the modern man, black comedy gold.
posted by sciurus at 12:54 PM on March 16, 2005

pass the koolaid.
posted by quonsar at 12:55 PM on March 16, 2005

A dark month of the soul there.

Classic.
posted by xmutex at 12:56 PM on March 16, 2005

Poor guy got the lyrics to "Mac the Knife" wrong.

Oh, they do get woolly,
Little girls they do get woolly,
'Cause of all the stre-esss!
posted by coelecanth at 12:56 PM on March 16, 2005

So, is Jim back in GenPop, or is he still in the hole?
posted by Verdant at 12:57 PM on March 16, 2005

That thread reminds me of everything Pearl Jam has made in the last ten years. A lot of noise in one small area but nobody else notices or cares.
posted by Arch Stanton at 1:00 PM on March 16, 2005

Outstanding.

Pish, tosh, old man. Who cares?! Keep going to till the bitter end. That's what I always say.
posted by OmieWise at 1:05 PM on March 16, 2005

[this is good]
posted by Quartermass at 1:07 PM on March 16, 2005

This pretty much guarantees that no metatalk post will ever go uncommented again.
posted by iconomy at 1:13 PM on March 16, 2005

Jim is also a man of sympathy towards other futile threads.
posted by Arch Stanton at 1:18 PM on March 16, 2005

funny.

And of course Mack the Knife has a Loong history of performers

congrats JJ
posted by edgeways at 1:20 PM on March 16, 2005

You all remember how Jim Jones was set to uncover the lofi bug a couple months back? Recall how a string of bad luck kept him from doing so?

Seems things are still bad for him. When I saw this post in MeTa I contacted him just to check in and see how things were going. He's in a bit of a bind and I hope it doesn't embarrass him, but I thought there might be a few MeFites with a little extra pocket cash. Anyone feeling altruistic?
posted by casu marzu at 1:26 PM on March 16, 2005

I once almost scored a comment-free MetaTalk post, but SpecialK screwed it up.
posted by yhbc at 1:28 PM on March 16, 2005

Roffle, casu.
posted by trharlan at 1:33 PM on March 16, 2005

casu marzu,

Excellent. Thank you.
posted by OmieWise at 1:33 PM on March 16, 2005

I (and probably a couple other people) have had this idea, but a complete lack of self-restraint and a strong desire to not get banned forced me to reconsider.

I'm amazed that he managed to start and run with a completely comment-free MeTa thread. That's really awesome.
posted by Ryvar at 1:33 PM on March 16, 2005

how fun that is! you go Jim! : >
posted by amberglow at 1:35 PM on March 16, 2005

posted by breezeway at 1:37 PM on March 16, 2005

It's like a perfect storm of metafoolery. We will not see the likes of such a thread again.

On preview: well-deserved.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:38 PM on March 16, 2005

To Jim Jones!!!
posted by greasy_skillet at 1:42 PM on March 16, 2005

casu marzu, you had me going there for a minute...

excellent. /mr. burns
posted by naxosaxur at 1:44 PM on March 16, 2005

oh man
posted by matteo at 1:50 PM on March 16, 2005

/bows deeply and gravely.
posted by Jim Jones at 1:56 PM on March 16, 2005

This deserves a place on the "just when you thought you'd seen it all" wall of honor.
posted by Cyrano at 1:58 PM on March 16, 2005

Quite probably the coolest neatest spiffiest thing I've seen in the MetaRealm for a long time.
posted by Wulfgar! at 2:06 PM on March 16, 2005

Brilliant. This can do nothing but improve MeFi's stock price.
posted by theFlyingSquirrel at 2:11 PM on March 16, 2005

You know I'm an old-timer and not much for the fooling around and the rap music and the hey-hey...but this was a hoot. Go JJ!
posted by frykitty at 2:13 PM on March 16, 2005

Jim, I saw it, finally. Too funny!
posted by caddis at 2:19 PM on March 16, 2005

That's awesome.
posted by grouse at 2:20 PM on March 16, 2005

Sublime work, Jim Jones.
posted by safetyfork at 2:29 PM on March 16, 2005

*raises glass of kool-aid*
posted by scody at 2:40 PM on March 16, 2005

posted by Quartermass at 2:51 PM on March 16, 2005

Ahh, Jim, I'm so proud to call you my scholarship student. *cries a few happy tears*
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:04 PM on March 16, 2005 [1 favorite]

JJ in the future just do what the Brits do when the post scrolls of the page: have someone start a second thread for you.
posted by mlis at 3:15 PM on March 16, 2005

Ooh! That reminds me...
posted by dash_slot- at 3:40 PM on March 16, 2005

The best part is that since #1 is away, this may roll off the front page with JJ still not getting any resolution.

To futility!

/drains glass
posted by Man O' Straw at 4:20 PM on March 16, 2005

Man O' Straw, that occurred to me, as well. I can't decided if I'd be amused or irritated.

I've also wondered if I'm going to check mefi today or tomorrow and find out that I've been given a week's "vacation."

Also, thanks everyone for the checking out my mefi-blog. I'm glad y'all enjoyed it.

/blows kiss to ThePinkSuperhero.
posted by Jim Jones at 4:40 PM on March 16, 2005

the absolute tops!
posted by foot at 4:59 PM on March 16, 2005

the punch line's too long.
posted by atchafalaya at 5:10 PM on March 16, 2005

Stunning. A tour de force. The closest MeFi has come to an art installation this side of the "drama queen" debacle. Two thumbs way up!

Oh, and coelecanth?

Oh, they do get woolly,
Little girls they do get woolly,
'Cause of all the stre-esss!

It's not "woolly." Nobody gets woolly. Women get "weary," they don't get woolly. Nobody's got "stress" - they're wearing a "dress." I hate it when people get the words wrong.
posted by gompa at 5:16 PM on March 16, 2005

I like it!
posted by orange swan at 5:33 PM on March 16, 2005

that was heartbreaking, it felt like JJ was stuck in there and couldn't get out.
applause!
posted by mr.marx at 5:52 PM on March 16, 2005

HEY, #MEFI ISN'T SO BAD.

WHAT GIVES?




free quonsar
posted by brownpau at 6:13 PM on March 16, 2005 [1 favorite]

I (heart) Jim Jones.

But dude, you have to hear Ella sing Mack the Knife live in Berlin. The one where she forgets the words and then just makes up new and better ones. Greatest rendition of a song evah.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:28 PM on March 16, 2005

brownpau, they banned me because I was discussing one Oscar movie--in particular--on the night of the Oscars.

CunningLinguist, the only Ella song I've heard is As Time Goes By. I wasn't impressed so I haven't listened to anything else she sings. I'll go look for Mack the Knife, though, and give her a second chance.
posted by Jim Jones at 6:59 PM on March 16, 2005

I wasn't impressed so I haven't listened to anything else she sings.

*head explodes*
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:19 PM on March 16, 2005 [1 favorite]

*head explodes*

/puts some fava beans on to cook
posted by Jim Jones at 7:36 PM on March 16, 2005

Billie's Blues (Real Audio) and dhartung's awesome analysis in this thread. She also sang Strange Fruit. The sound in this version isn't great but the lyrics are haunting.
posted by caddis at 7:45 PM on March 16, 2005

Wait, you can get banned from #mefi? OMFG, I thought the only rule of #mefi is that there are no rules.
posted by caddis at 7:50 PM on March 16, 2005

Lotte Lenya does the best Mack the Knife--she's the original.
posted by amberglow at 8:36 PM on March 16, 2005

I've got an earworm.
posted by Tarrama at 8:52 PM on March 16, 2005

/applauds, tosses carnations at stage
posted by mwhybark at 9:02 PM on March 16, 2005

/applauds, tosses carnations at stage, invites Ella to offer congratulatory rendition of "Live in Berlin" Mack the Knife, watches Jim Jones break out in huge smile
posted by mediareport at 9:21 PM on March 16, 2005

I'd have to agree with the CunningLinguist here. Ella Fitzgerald is excellent, and that version of mack the knife is excellent. Also, that MeFi thread was the best MeFi thread I've seen that doesn't feature people bitching at one another. A serious accomplishment.
posted by chunking express at 12:06 AM on March 17, 2005

*bitches at chunking express*
posted by matteo at 2:27 AM on March 17, 2005

*ignoring others, taz kisses Jimmy*

*then slaps him, just in case*
posted by taz at 3:18 AM on March 17, 2005

Lotte Lenya does the best Mack the Knife--she's the original.

Even better when the knife is in her shoe [James Bond].
posted by page404 at 4:01 AM on March 17, 2005

And naxosaxur is a goddess among women!!!
posted by jasper411 at 10:19 AM on March 17, 2005

...when someone would get to this.
posted by nobody at 10:45 AM on March 17, 2005

JJ, naxosaxur, I am currently in voicemail/waiting for tech support hell trying to find out why my Visa # is still being billed for Everquest even though my son cancelled his account three months ago, and even under such trying circumstances this thread has made my day.

*builds shrine to JJ's thread, throws flowers for naxosaxur*
posted by jokeefe at 2:57 PM on March 17, 2005

This thread is set to roll off of the gray any minute. . . .
posted by caddis at 7:25 PM on March 17, 2005

And, we're gone.

But to be frank, I don't believe mathowie hasn't seen the threads. I mean, since the 'Name my Cat' AskMe was deleted, we know he's been watching. Therefore, the rational conclusion is that he doesn't want lofi to be available unless you're logged in. *shrug* C'est la vie.

jokeefe, good luck. Have you tried talking to your credit card company and reversing the charges? I don't know if you need to show them proof but usually the credit card company is really good about refunding unauthorized charges.
posted by Jim Jones at 1:36 AM on March 18, 2005

Not to worry, Jim Jones, we got it sorted, and the account is now closed. Next on my hit list is World of Warcraft, but we're in negotiations over that one.
posted by jokeefe at 2:43 PM on March 18, 2005

Nice work, Jim.

What's next for you?

Do you see yourself on Metafilter in, say, five years?

What would you like to be doing at that time?
posted by dfowler at 8:10 AM on March 23, 2005

Jim?
posted by dfowler at 8:14 AM on March 24, 2005

Hey, what are you doing here? Now I'm going to have to check all the old threads to see if I'm being paged. Heh.
posted by Jim Jones at 8:37 AM on March 24, 2005

Do you see yourself on Metafilter in, say, five years?

What would you like to be doing at that time?
posted by dfowler at 8:10 AM PST on March 23

Well, it depends on what Mefi becomes and how I change.

I doubt Mefi will be around in 5 yrs. I mean mathowie is expanding his family and that takes a lot of money. What if they want more than one child? Not saying that stuff's any of my business but I see this as a single person's hobby. kottke, for instance, is single isn't he?

Also, when, not if, Mefi goes to a monthly pay structure I'll probably leave. If there's a separate area for paying customers then everyone else is ghettoized. If you're paying for extra features, things might shake out differently, but who knows.
posted by Jim Jones at 8:49 AM on March 24, 2005

Well, Jim, I think Mefi might be around in five years. After all, I quit twice and I still came back.

I see what you mean about the pay structure and that could be the kiss of death. But it's certainly not the people-- the ones who keep me coming back. If they're around in five years, I will be too.
posted by dfowler at 9:35 AM on March 24, 2005

Teh thead sitll ope.n



thRed stilt 0P3N



thiss THREAD si OPEN!





posted by dfowler at 8:21 AM on March 28, 2005

*craps own pants, flees*
posted by dfowler at 8:38 AM on April 4, 2005

Still open, I guess.


Eh, hi!
posted by AwkwardPause at 10:27 AM on April 14, 2005

*lampshade on head*
posted by dfowler at 1:36 PM on April 14, 2005