Sat, 15 Jul 2006 17:47:45
I’m pleased to report that there was nary an old school geek in sight at last night’s Geek dinner in the Quarter. George (Loki) Williams of Humid City fame does however seem to have old school geek potential. He’s the tersest of bloggers but was one of the most garrulous and flamboyant people there last night. That’s quite an accomplishment in that crowd where your humble (?) blogger was one of the shy ones. Thanks to George I violated my pledge of being nicer than nice: he’s an irresistible target. George is one of those people who was born to be teased and I believe in respecting the processes of natural selection. Just call me Shecky Darwin. <rim shot>
I took my life in my hands and rode over with my pal Dangerblond. She drives a big ass Gill-Pratfallesque SUV that she calls an Exploder. I suspect the name comes from past experience. Dangerblond is a very fast driver which is something that doesn’t bother me a bit: I come from a family of leadfooted drivers my 85 year old Aunt is still speedin’ after all these years. Anyway Dangerbroad *is* an excellent parallel parker. She’s not quite as expert as Dr. A who could park a moving van in a space intended for a VW beetle but she was able to find a space not far from the party which in the Quarter on a Friday night is quite an accomplishment.
Our charming host for the evening was Alan Gutierrez computer geek extraordinaire and the driving force behind Think New Orleans. I made the mistake of introducing myself to Alan by my real name instead of by my nom de blog. At some point he came back and said: “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that you were Adrastos?” It’s because I have an unhealthy fear of tar and feathers…
It was fun encountering Oyster Ashley and Maitri again. (My-tri I’m trying o ferocious chana making bad movie loving small world singin’ person.) I met many of the bloggers whose work I admire and whose company I really enjoyed last night: Editor B, Karen, Markus, Ray, honorary NOLA blogger Sophmom, and Gentilly Girl. Anyone whose name I omitted is free to send me a threatening email. I enjoy a good poison pen letter y’all. I’ll post it if it’s particularly spiteful.
I have to single out two of my blogging colleagues and new friends in particular: Lisa and Schroeder. Why? Because I spent much of the evening hanging out with them. Schroeder is very blond and very intense. The only thing I don’t like about him is that he doesn’t sweat, the bastard. And it was steamier than a dime novel at the geek dinner. I enjoyed having the opportunity to thank Schroeder for helping to popularize my blog. Before he Oyster and Ashley began linking to me I had an eeny weeny teeny tiny yellow polka dot bikini readership. Then there’s Lisa who is one of the few people who gets most if not all of my obscure pop culture references. Last night Lisa was the belle of the ball such as it was. We traded music stories and had a profoundly intellectual conversation on the comparative merits of Fee Waybill and Jello Biafra. Neither of them has many merits but it was a lively if somewhat loopy conversation.
It’s quite interesting to meet people who read your blog. They already know certain things about how your mind works and at first greet you like a minor rock star. I got the Rick Astley treatment several times myself. (In the immortal words of Nick Lowe “Do you remember Rick Astley? He had a big fat hit it was ghastly.’) Mercifully it was an indulgent and kindly crowd so I was never threatened with ostracism or being ridden out of town on a rail. Several people inquired as to Dr. A’s health and expressed regret that she couldn’t make it. Dangerblond of course made several crude remarks about our “date.” Back atcha toots.
Thanks to Alan for hosting the party and to all the geeks who made it so much fun. I’ll bring the six pack of live chickens next time…
Adrastos 