Trooper York: Commenter Memories Number 13

Friday, June 11, 2010

Commenter Memories Number 13

There was some talk of a "Whiskey Summit" so some people of divergent viewpoints can get together over a drink and some road kill.

It has to beat the last commenter get together I went to.

40 comments:

chickelit said...: It has to beat the last commenter get together I went to.

Savor the whine. :); June 11, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Trooper York said...: Yeah can you pick out your favorite commenters in the photo?; June 11, 2010 at 9:47 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Well Troop, I'd say that's CrackMC sitting next to garage while it appears that Darcy and rhhardin and not pleased with the driving skills of evilbloggerlady.; June 11, 2010 at 11:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Actually, that's Palladian next to Crack.

I was going to put up a scene from a Rameau opera that has our favorite blogger lady doing a little ballet with a chorus (actually, a "corps," but that sounds bad) of pudgy gay commenters.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.; June 11, 2010 at 11:24 PM
john said...: Troop, did you ever post on that "commenter get together"? Was it one of those early blogger lady meet ups?

I don't think I would go to one. The pressure to be as interesting and funny in person as I am while commenting would be just too much.

I'd like to take my missus and visit you at Lee Lee's some day, maybe the next time we get to NYC. Which is, well, we have never been to NYC yet.; June 11, 2010 at 11:30 PM
john said...: One other thing, try to get Garage to either take down his blog or start writing on it.; June 11, 2010 at 11:33 PM
chickelit said...: Actually, that's Palladian next to Crack.

I agree. Those should all be legacy commenters* in that old jalapee. That should Meade instead of rhhardin and dare I say reader_iam instead of Darcy?

*the term "legacy commenter" belongs to Theo Boehme; June 11, 2010 at 11:33 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Hey I call em like I see em.; June 11, 2010 at 11:43 PM
Trooper York said...: I never blogged about the two meetups I went too in Brooklyn.

And by the way, that's Mort not Crack MC. Mort actually went to the first one and didn't say two words. At least to me. But I got there a little late and was concerntrating on drinking and torturing one of the Althouse kids who was there.; June 12, 2010 at 11:52 AM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: I don't think I would go to one. The pressure to be as interesting and funny in person as I am while commenting would be just too much.

Everyone can be more interesting in their pajamas or while watching the hours go by at work than while sipping on cocktails and eating pieces of cheese with toothpicks in them.; June 12, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Actually at hoity-toity parties I don't find it hard to be too entertaining. But you almost have to make it a point to be irreverent. With some exceptions here or there, this makes for better seduction of other bored party-goers than for establishing actual, heartfelt comity and friendship.

Althouse's willingness to host "commenter parties" just goes to show how truly bad some of her ideas really are. It's fine if there's already an established group among some of them IRL. But she just did/does that thing because she actually thinks cyberspace can be molded into a "real" community.

Note to Ann: Mark Zuckerberg already tried that - to much greater effect and way more successfully. And it's still all bullshit.; June 12, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: "established group" or bond, in any event. Lord knows there are ways of establishing real-life bonds from interactions in cyberspace. But you have to know what you're doing, how to go about finding them, and how to avoid the, well, the pedophiles for one.; June 12, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Trooper York said...: The blogger meetings that I attended weren't "bad" but they were kind of awkward. But that is a tribute to the blogger lady's personality so to speak.

I did enjoy meeting Evan(Palladian) who is a very cool dude.

The second meetup was basicly just me and him and my wife.; June 12, 2010 at 3:30 PM
Trooper York said...: I would love to have a drink with all of you guys. Well a couple of drinks. I think the crowd at Trooper York is a self-selected group with a higher hell raising qouitnent than you normal everday computer nerds.; June 12, 2010 at 3:31 PM
Trooper York said...: John I hope you make it to Lee Lee's. I hope all of you guys do. We will hit the wine and cheese for some quality vino and bullshitting.; June 12, 2010 at 3:35 PM
john said...: Montana,

Close, but not exactly what I was getting at. It's more like you showing up and everyone realizing you're not really black.; June 12, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: I'd hate to think people took the symbolism behind avatars that literally, John. If I'd kept the old one, perhaps they'd be shocked to find out I wasn't green.

And then before that, it was a photo of John Rockefeller. Don't ask me why.; June 12, 2010 at 6:35 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: I'm sure Palladian is pretty cool in real life. I do get that vibe. And although I don't want to disrupt the camaraderie here, it's kind of odd to see Theo trashing the guy. It's true that he doesn't shy away from taking some pointed shots at people (and usually only when something really irks him), but I've long ago learned to not take it personally - especially since with him it's more about the humor than about any real ill will or anything. I mean, for chrissakes - one time he even called me the herpes simplex of commenters and then claimed that his personal knowledge of that came from my dad!

Oh wait, on second thought, what an asshole!

Just kidding. If I can get over that then anything's possible.

Anyway, it would be cool to meet a number of you in person. But as per John's observation, Trooper would have to show up wearing a mask of John Wayne.

Trooper actually deserves kudos for showing his face on-line. But Theo probably went about it the right way - with a little artistic blurriness and such. Everything in stages.; June 12, 2010 at 6:46 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Also, Trooper had/has good taste in Hawaiian shirts.

I've been meaning to get myself some linen or cool summer fabric blend of a Tommy Bahama, but can't work up the nerve.

This aim of mine goes back at least a few summers, when a coworker and I kept trying to find the ideal Tony Soprano-style of bowling shirt to buy. Never got around to that either. I think it was all the pictures of Charlie Sheen wearing them. Damn, does that guy freak me out.; June 12, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Trooper York said...: Well Ritmo I am pretty easy to find. When I blog I blog about my real life. Several people who read the blog have come into the store. Stangely enough, they were lurkers and not commenters.

Once long ago I got into it with luckyoldson and we went back and forth pretty strong. I told him "hey I am easy to find. If you want to settle it just come on by and we can take care of it man to man." Last I heard of it.; June 12, 2010 at 6:52 PM
Trooper York said...: Is that John Wayne enough for you?

Hee.; June 12, 2010 at 6:52 PM
Trooper York said...: Palladian and Theo would get along just fine. They are both a lot more artistic minded than me. They can converse on the finer points of art and opera and such.

Me I would just be talking about how big the opera singer tits were.; June 12, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Re: luckyoldson, that took some balls!

Yeah, I'll have to drop by when I'm in Brooklyn time.

Theo and Palladian are smart and seem to share some common interests, but I just wish Theo would lighten up a bit. He's a good guy who means well, and is just very sensitive. Artistic types can be very emotional, and I think that if he integrated his feelings with his intellect a bit more, things would be smoother - at least on-line. None of us really know how the other really gets on IRL. But he's obviously got a lot of responsibilities that he takes very seriously and he might not be in the best position to use on-line schmoozing as a form of socialization and self-exploration, the way the rest of us do.

He's very smart and very sensitive, and sometimes it's not easy to get those two things to work together. But I wish him the best.; June 12, 2010 at 7:03 PM
Trooper York said...: Funny you should mention the Charley Sheen shirts. I just bought a shitpot full of them.

You can look like Tony Soprano!

On the cheap too!; June 12, 2010 at 7:06 PM
Trooper York said...: You never know someone unless you walk a mile in their shoes.

Which is really hard for me because I wear size 14EEE.; June 12, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Trooper York said...: I know I am always telling people to lighten up.

If Mort were awake he would say that is racist.; June 12, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Maybe this big?

Someone named Charlotte Church seemed to "pop" up among the first few hits. That makes me wonder... Hmmm....; June 12, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Thanks for the advice. And damn, you wear big shoes.

And I wonder about that Mort guy. Seemed he always had some interesting contrarian-liberal point to make, and in a way that never really pissed people off. I hope nothing bad happened to the guy. Just like we've been wondering what happened to Bissage.; June 12, 2010 at 7:14 PM
Trooper York said...: I think Mort just changed his name and still comments. He had done that before but left a clue.

He was very quiet at the meetup but I was late so I didn't even know who he was. One of the commenters was just as boring as his posts and that is saying something. I don't want to say but it was pretty funny.; June 12, 2010 at 7:16 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: IRL, my shoes are smaller than a 14EEE. And my hair is brown and eyes greenish-brown. Ok, that's all you'll get. For now. Other than that, you'll just have to trust the guy who walks in and says: I'm Ritmo Brasileiro.*

*This will not be followed by: "You killed my father. Prepare to die!"; June 12, 2010 at 7:17 PM
Trooper York said...: It is very hard for me or you to really comment under another name Ritmo because our styles are too recognizable. The only way to do it is to conciously write in a totally different style.

I did that for a while under the name "Baron Zemo" just to bust balls. It was fun but very tiring.; June 12, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Trooper York said...: And even then blake sussed me out and knew it was me.; June 12, 2010 at 7:18 PM
Trooper York said...: Come by anytime man and we will hit the wine and cheese. It will be a lot of fun.; June 12, 2010 at 7:19 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; June 12, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Yeah. That would suck if all these hitherto-unintroduced commenters met up from cyberspace and didn't have anything interesting to draw you in. As far as your assessment of Evil Lady Blogger's idea behind it, though, I guess she deserves credit for trying. Myself, I don't find it too hard to turn on the internal entertainer, and you're right to encourage it on your blog. But I'm not sure how others would take it. My philosophy behind meeting people you've only interacted with briefly or in a limited way is to not let them down. Sure, their interests or ideas or even their humor might differ from yours. But if you let them know you're as open to making an enjoyable time of it and in wanting them to show you something interesting about themselves as you are (and vice versa), then there shouldn't be any regrets.

Other than that, it's too bad that awkwardness can be as common as it is. People come from all different paths in life and there should be obvious and universal ways of showing people that your intentions are good and that your interest in each other is sincere and nothing worth blowing off.

Some people really like their privacy but we could all realize its limits.

I'm sure I wouldn't pick up any awkward vibe from you in person or vice versa. I'll look forward to meeting up.; June 12, 2010 at 7:27 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: Remind me to tell you about my brother sometime. That guy meets people as easily as anyone and always leaves a very positive impression. He's pretty easy-going and accepting, but the way that plays out in his Northern California surroundings can be pretty... er, interesting.

Before buckling down and deciding what he wanted to do in life, he would spend months at a time accompanied by whichever girlfriend he was seeing driving across the U.S. and sending out dispatches to his sixty closest friends and relatives (and these were in the days before Facebook) describing the scenery and surroundings he encountered in a level of detail that would make a writer for Lonely Planet Travel Guides jealous.

These days, he might phone me to let me know he's headed up to Portland with a girl he met while the two were sunbathing nude in the river by where he lives. But apparently that's everyday life in Northern CA for you...; June 12, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Trooper York said...: Well my problem is that I know I can dominate the conversation and tell jokes and stories and keep everybody entertained. But I am finally old enough and I have to say wise enough that I let other people carry the ball for a while. I don't look at it as a contest so I wouldn't sweat it. I am pretty much like I blog. In fact one of my friends said reading my blog is like sitting and having a conversation with me. So we can let other people talk and not sweat it.

Your brother sounds like he is enjoying his life.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.; June 12, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Trooper York said...: The real problem at the get togethers are not the people with personality, it's the people with no personality. They want to be part of the fun but really fall short. Not their fault of course. I guess they feel shy or don't want to say something out of turn. But it makes for a dull meet-up.; June 12, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Ritmo Re-Animated said...: It's pretty hard for me to relate to the possibility that someone is too busy (whether due to shyness or anything else) contemplating their situation or the consequences of their actions to just say "fuck it", and go ahead with things, let a sociable personality come out, and do their best to enjoy the interaction regardless, come what may.

Life is too short.; June 12, 2010 at 9:59 PM
DaddyO said...: Hello please.

I will tell you what is pissing me off. It is all this talk of getting togethers and no mention of inviting Mr. V. S. Gupta.

Okay, I am knowing that Trooper he is not a fan of the Indian foods. This is a no problem matter. I will not make the insistence that anyone eat curry or tandoori or any other Indian foods.

And so I am one of you, I will happily eat the American foods, even the steaks.

I have once tried the fishy tacos, but did not find the appeal.; June 13, 2010 at 5:07 PM

Friday, June 11, 2010

Commenter Memories Number 13

40 comments:

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