Comments on 3678 | MetaTalk

You all look so happy and friendly I almost suspect there was alcohol involved.

I hope Fes sees his message (and I loved the fish stew!). Many thanks for the highly cheerful pictures, anathema.

Can these pics of Crash be used in a court of law?

MetaFilter: Looking Good!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:04 PM on November 22, 2003

Damn, you're fast, anathema!

I'm still trying to convince my pictures to come off the camera onto some type of - oh, I don't know, sharable medium - so that'll be later. In the meantime, once the Maine women get back home and log in, here's the Croquet article I was telling you about.

Really, it was great finally meeting everyone. Good time!
posted by yhbc at 10:14 PM on November 22, 2003

Two meetups this week and no wonderchicken shoutouts?

*cries*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:29 PM on November 22, 2003

stav, don't you know? Each and every beer drank at a MeFi meetup is a stavros shout-out!
posted by yhbc at 10:30 PM on November 22, 2003

Heh. Thanks, commish. I gotta get me some kinda kickbacks for that!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:32 PM on November 22, 2003

There is something kind of strange about coming home and looking at pictures of where I was a few hours ago. But I second anathema -- it was indeed a blast.
posted by JanetLand at 10:54 PM on November 22, 2003

Haha! Cute shoutout by Janet! filmgoerjuan, attackthetaxi and I just went out to have lunch at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Looks like you guys had fun! Sorry we kept taxi for driving out to Boston, but the poor guy needed a break, 3 (maybe 4) meetups in 1 week is too much for even the die-hard MeFi members like him.
posted by riffola at 10:57 PM on November 22, 2003

er from not for
posted by riffola at 10:58 PM on November 22, 2003

Hey, you guys went to the Border Cafe. I miss that place. :(
posted by PrinceValium at 11:08 PM on November 22, 2003

Two meetups this week and no wonderchicken shoutouts?

*joins wonderfowl in group sulk*

None for me either, dawg, but me, chicobangs, vidiot and our women had a migratory mini-meetup of sorts tonight complete with duck soup, rice pudding, & espresso.
posted by jonmc at 11:20 PM on November 22, 2003

You Noo Yawkers get too many shout-outs as is.

Here's my mini-album, assuming I did it right.
posted by yhbc at 11:50 PM on November 22, 2003

It crashes on Safari, Commish - at least for me.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:01 AM on November 23, 2003

Or commishes on Safari, Crash.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:02 AM on November 23, 2003

it crashes in IE too.
posted by jonmc at 12:03 AM on November 23, 2003

Flounder-Merkin? Is that what that says? You people are so very, very odd.

I really wish I could have been there.

(And I can't get yhbc's pics up in Moz or IE for PC)
posted by Salmonberry at 12:48 AM on November 23, 2003

assuming I did it right

As per usual, his honesty saves him. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:12 AM on November 23, 2003

Thanks for the shout out, JanetLand! It's nice to know that *some* people remember us little folks [even if it's to diss us about the relative quality of our respective meet-ups ;) ]
posted by filmgoerjuan at 2:47 AM on November 23, 2003

Great photos! You guys did good. (more! more!)
posted by taz at 3:29 AM on November 23, 2003

Wow, I didn't realize that Boston had so many monkeys*. A lot of people there were those I met when I first joined MeFi. Kinda wish I had the funds to travel. Next time.

*Reference to 9622.
posted by BlueTrain at 5:40 AM on November 23, 2003

Here's a few more. Sorry about the lack of variety-- the place was crowded so it was a chore to move around.

We enjoyed meeting everyone very much!
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:04 AM on November 23, 2003

I can't believe I missed the mystery goop!
posted by anathema at 6:33 AM on November 23, 2003

Maybe you didn't miss the mystery goop -- check the bottom of your shoes.
posted by JanetLand at 7:29 AM on November 23, 2003

Yeesh. Sorry for the crashage - try this link instead. Apparently, you can't link directly to "view as slideshow", or something.
posted by yhbc at 8:38 AM on November 23, 2003

Aargh. Alrighty then, don't try that link - try this one. Third time's a charm, right?
posted by yhbc at 8:40 AM on November 23, 2003

I'm getting really tired of this.
posted by yhbc at 8:44 AM on November 23, 2003

great slide show yhbc
posted by ginz at 8:48 AM on November 23, 2003

Wow, thanks for all the sweet shout-outs, guys - how cool! Made my morning. Sorry I missed the event, particularly with a visiting VIP, the illustrious Mr.C.D. And I love that a women's contingent traveled down from Maine, that musta been a fun trip. I used to be a Mainer, too ;-)

Great photos - looks like a fun time was had by all - and what an attractive group y'all are! I'm so pleased to see what a nifty local *chapter* I have defaulted into.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:51 AM on November 23, 2003

The special last night was "Portuguese Fish Stew," naturally. You can never escape from those damn Portuguese!
posted by anathema at 8:53 AM on November 23, 2003

My slideshow includes the shot of you trying the stew, anathema. It came out pretty good.
posted by yhbc at 8:56 AM on November 23, 2003

Well, in the "better late than never department" I tried to post these last night, but my internet connection chose that particular moment to crap out completely

As a caveat, I also took some really good photos, but then got to messing about with the movie feature on the magic camera and accidentally deleted all those. So, you're stuck with these I'm afraid:

Metafilter Boston 2003

Wild thanks to anathema for setting this all up, and to JanetLand for driving. Meeting all of you was a wonderful experience, and tell Chris that I look forward to seeing 'Soap Opera' on an internet near you quite soon. Hope Crash got home safe and sound!!
posted by anastasiav at 9:46 AM on November 23, 2003

And I love that a women's contingent traveled down from Maine, that musta been a fun trip.

358 miles round trip from my place in Augusta. Whew!
posted by JanetLand at 9:47 AM on November 23, 2003

Janet, should we reimburse you at $0.31 per mile?
posted by anastasiav at 10:01 AM on November 23, 2003

Someday I'll finish working out that beer/mile scale.
posted by JanetLand at 10:02 AM on November 23, 2003

Y'all think the bonomie was due to MeFi fellow feeling, the witty banter and jokes, the booze and them good Boston vibes - but, mark my words, it wuz that fish stew! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:03 AM on November 23, 2003

Yes, but Miguel, was it a real Portuguese Fish Stew?

Jose's interpretation of this Portugal classic. A combination of fresh fish, vegetables and tomato accented with ??seiewyo ?? peppers to add just enough skovul units to warm you up
posted by anastasiav at 10:10 AM on November 23, 2003

The special last night was "Portuguese Fish Stew,"

and anathema, the countenance of pure delight you wore when you savored it is unforgettable!

so, i have had some excitement here too!

i became an official grandpa at 1:14pm est, at 5lb 7oz and 18 inches long, Aden James was 3 weeks ahead of schedule but mother and son are both doing fine.
posted by quonsar at 11:58 AM on November 23, 2003

mazel tov q and post a pic! Aden James Quonsar--i like it! : >
posted by amberglow at 12:04 PM on November 23, 2003

Crats, q!

It came out pretty good.

The stew? Already?
posted by rushmc at 12:23 PM on November 23, 2003

Grandpa quonsar! Congratulations.
posted by anathema at 12:33 PM on November 23, 2003

Wow, congrats to you and yours, quonsar! It is good to know that the House of Blort has an heir.
posted by homunculus at 12:38 PM on November 23, 2003

Absolute best wishes to all your family, q. Three weeks early? Sounds like an "early adopter" to me. I was born two weeks early and it didn't hurt me... uh... well...
posted by wendell at 12:50 PM on November 23, 2003

Congratulations and hugs all around, quonsar! Don't forget that the most important jobs of a grandfather are unconditonal love and surpise forbidden snacks!
posted by anastasiav at 1:46 PM on November 23, 2003

Thanks to the New England folks for letting me monopolize the conversation, which I tend to do. I had a wonderful time, and you all made me feel very welcome.

Pictures of the possible future Iglesia de Davis will be posted shortly.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:06 PM on November 23, 2003

Congratulations, quonsar! And, thanks to crash for starting to explain (in his own cryptic way) why he was in New England in the first place (I think the rest of us didn't want to spill the beans). Yes, mr_crash_davis may not only be moving to New England, but buying an old church to live in as well. (Really!)

Sing a few bars of Crash's Restaurant, anyone?
posted by yhbc at 2:42 PM on November 23, 2003

"...thanks to crash for starting to explain (in his own cryptic way) why he was in New England in the first place..."

Oh, yeah, it might have helped if I had mentioned that. Thanks for the tip!

Anyway, here is the property under consideration. It's old, poorly-maintained, and in need of serious structural and cosmetic work, so it's basically just like me.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:04 PM on November 23, 2003

Sing a few bars of Crash's Restaurant, anyone?

Sang that while driving home last night, yhbc. :)
posted by JanetLand at 3:09 PM on November 23, 2003

Warmest - nay red hot! - congratulations, quonsar, on your netinho - may he become an "internetinho" soon! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:15 PM on November 23, 2003

quonsar is being celebrated on Metababy.

grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa grandpa QUONSAR QUONSAR!
posted by homunculus at 3:59 PM on November 23, 2003

Remember, Mefites:

When in Boston: Crash at Crash's...

When in Outer Peninsula, Michigosh: it's YOUR turn to change the baby.
posted by wendell at 5:38 PM on November 23, 2003

crash: it's a cool space....r u moving to the civilized part of the country for real? (and rogerbush.com--is he related?) ; >
posted by amberglow at 6:07 PM on November 23, 2003

[massive but irresistible derail]

so did anyone see the Simpsons episode with Tony Blair that aired tonight?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:56 PM on November 23, 2003

"...and rogerbush.com--is he related?"

*screams, claws eyes out, performs self-lobotomization*
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:03 PM on November 23, 2003

Isn't Roger Bush the illegitimate son of George the 1st? The one that got locked away in an institution?
posted by theora55 at 7:12 PM on November 23, 2003

We had a very fine time. Thanks for the pictures, Anathema, Anastasiav, YHBC & Mayor C. And thanks for driving, Janet.

Extreme Croquet looks pretty cool, but I'm sticking to Extreme Channel-Surfing.

Quonsar, Mazeltov! If you are still going to visit Beantown, I hope we can pull together another meetup.
posted by theora55 at 7:27 PM on November 23, 2003

quonsar - congratulations!......when your new grandchild hits the age of 10 (or so) it's your solemn duty to commence teaching bad habits. And, if you want more - tell your other children that they cannot, under any circumstances, have kids of their own. It works like a charm.

mr_crash_davis - that's a great space (the church) , but..........beware Fitchburg ( Mass State Police have a nice site on comparative crime stats in Mass. and Fitchburg's bit gloomy , and the perpetual yard sales and 40 oz. malt-liquor stores around the town make me wonder a little) and beware heating bills ( $ katchiiiiiiiiiiinnnng ! )

You can get 1-2 acres w/ a decent sized house south/southwest of Fitchburg for $200K or under, and the upper Blackstone valley is undergoing a real estate boom at the moment - but Fitchburg will likely appreciate more slowly. This, by the way, is advice I'm passing along from a successful Mass. real-estate agent.
posted by troutfishing at 8:50 PM on November 23, 2003

Anathema - thanks for putting the meetup together. Do another 15 on the elliptical for me.

theora55, Mayor Curley, JanetLand - I apologize for the accident of seating. I would have liked to talk more. Many voices in my aural range just turn to mush in my brain, especially after a few of those odd yellow beverages with all that salt and stuff.
posted by troutfishing at 9:05 PM on November 23, 2003

Troutfishing, in retrospect, we should have played musical chairs a few times and swapped around. I would have liked to speak more with you and that lovely lady that was there with you....

... but we were making life tough enough for that waitress as it was ....
posted by anastasiav at 9:13 PM on November 23, 2003

perpetual yard sales and 40 oz. malt-liquor stores

shit man, you just closed the deal!
posted by quonsar at 10:13 PM on November 23, 2003

"...in retrospect, we should have played musical chairs a few times and swapped around."

Yeah, yeah, I suggested a swap but lost, due to a massive wave of apathy. anastasiav, you are hereby put on notice that you need to guard your chastity (definition (b)) the next time our paths should cross.

:)
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:47 PM on November 23, 2003

So, quonsar is now grandquonsar? Congratulations, q!

crash - that place looks like something right out of a novel - I'm just trying to put my finger on what novel. I don't know - but it could work nicely as a setting for a John Irving tale. Good luck!
posted by taz at 11:03 PM on November 23, 2003

So he really is fifty. Harumph.
posted by The God Complex at 11:07 PM on November 23, 2003

Crash, quit it ... you're making me blush and you'll make Miguel jealous!

Plus, whoever said I had a virtuous character??
posted by anastasiav at 11:12 PM on November 23, 2003

posted by quonsar at 12:00 AM on November 24, 2003

I was an uncle when I was twelve. There's a fair chance I'll be a great uncle before I'm a father. Why I mentioned that is beyond me, but it's written and I refuse to delete it (I'm like a modern-day, virtual Henry Miller, sans any talent to speak of).

MetaFilter: It's like hanging out with my parents and their friends.
posted by The God Complex at 12:33 AM on November 24, 2003

Plus, whoever said I had a virtuous character??

I sincerely hope you don't, anastasiav - just remember you promised! :)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:39 AM on November 24, 2003

speaking of henry miller, i saw richard nixon saying "sock it to me baby!" on laugh in. so a few years later we did. why i mentioned that is beyond me, but it's written and i refuse to delete it (i'm like a modern-day, virtual The God Complex, sans any godliness to speak of).
posted by quonsar at 1:07 AM on November 24, 2003

Looks like a fun time...I especially like Crash's Jedi outfit ;-)
posted by i_cola at 2:22 AM on November 24, 2003

I can't believe I missed the mystery goop!

insert complimentary Massachusetts Bukkake Transportation Authority
joke here

posted by matteo at 3:53 AM on November 24, 2003

Massachusetts Bukkake Transportation Authority

"Charlie's wife goes down to the Kendall Square station every day at quarter past two..."
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:21 AM on November 24, 2003

That MIT bukkake is the best. Not that I would know.
posted by anathema at 5:06 AM on November 24, 2003

Massachusetts Bukkake Transportation Authority

Which is why I stopped taking the Red Line years ago.
posted by yerfatma at 6:55 AM on November 24, 2003

Congrats, q! Me, I'm becoming a grandpa next May. It's a weird feeling.
posted by languagehat at 8:30 AM on November 24, 2003

anastasiav - Likewise. Another time.....hey, isn't Quonsar passing thru next week?

metafilter - "Web-amok grandparents" (WAG)

Quonsar - you ass, you just outed my cunning plot to boost Fitchburg real estate values by finding someone to take on the old "Overlook Hotel" of Fitchburg.......

Crash is going to quit his job and start a Beer and Pizza movie house!..........weel, maybe not, but maybe he'll let some enterprising out-of-work Mefista do it.

It's a big place. If you cleared out some of the non-strucutral walls and opened it up, you could start an indoor petting zoo or an Emu-ranch.

Crash - I was serious about that dinner offer. As long as you like tofu cleverly pressed into tasty cutlet-like shapes (well, fish is a possibility too. Sara won't let red meat into the house, unless it's shaped like her husband.)

Mayor Curley - When my father was a singing antiwar protest minister, he used to croon that out on acoustic guitar (and how else?). It seemed, at the time, as if it actually meant something. Maybe it's because of that earnest expression he would get on his face, like a dog in delicto......then, he launch into "If I had a hammer....." (he always went for the snappy, up-tempo numbers)

The-God-Complex - Oh yeah? Oh yeah?.......Well, I was my own grandfather before I was born how is this pssible, you may ask? - well blah blah blah.........
posted by troutfishing at 9:05 AM on November 24, 2003

Mondo congrats to quonsar the magnificent on reaching grandparenthood! Thanks to all for the nifty meetup photos, makes us left coasties look like laggers!
posted by Lynsey at 11:04 AM on November 24, 2003

Separated at birth
posted by Kafkaesque at 11:25 AM on November 24, 2003

Although I'm strongly against the very concept of human reproduction, I'll throw in a congrats to the q. *throws gang sign*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:13 PM on November 24, 2003

Troutfishing - me, too. All the more reason to meetup again.
posted by theora55 at 2:15 PM on November 24, 2003

Troutfishing-- did your dad sing The MBTA Song with the original candidate's name? Do you remember who he was? I know that he was 1940's progressive, but I want to know the whole story.

(background: the Kingston Trio's version has a fake name because the actual Boston politician for whom the song was written was too controversial.)
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:37 PM on November 24, 2003

COMMENTS: Written by Jacqueline Berman (now Steiner) and Bess Hawes as a campaign song for Walter F. O'Brian, the Communist Party candidate in Boston's mayoral election. When Will Holt recorded the number as a pop song for Coral, the record company was astounded by a deluge of protests from Boston because the song made a hero out of a local "radical". The record was hastily withdrawn an a new version recorded which eliminated O'Brien's claim to musical fame. In the later Kingston Trio release, Walter F. was changed to George to avoid advertising Commies on the air.
from here : >
posted by amberglow at 3:43 PM on November 24, 2003

More pics!
posted by jpoulos at 6:07 PM on November 24, 2003

I'd just like to point out, for anyone that cares about these sorts of things, that I don't smoke anymore. Nope, quit cold turkey almost a year ago now, but there I was, when theora55 ran up and slipped one of the nasty things in my hand, and jpoulos snapped the picture just before I decked her. It put a little bit of a damper on the evening, but it was about time to call it a night anyway.
posted by yhbc at 6:34 PM on November 24, 2003

That's not the way I remember it. And I was drinking Coke.
posted by anathema at 6:44 PM on November 24, 2003

Note that I was burning laser-vision holes in yhbc's head in that picture anyway, so any smoke he would have attempted to inhale would have escaped through his open cranium, thus sparing his lungs.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:45 PM on November 24, 2003

Mayor Curley - I wish I could say yes, but no - I think....although I remember the "George O' Brien" version , but I was knee high to a hedgehog at the time ...... (thanks to Amberglow for the background). That's a funny background to the song....It was a pinko song!!! I'll have to ask my dad when he gets out of surgery.
posted by troutfishing at 9:03 PM on November 24, 2003

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