Old Town again? On a Tuesday night, it should be quiet.
Somewhere pubby, with TVs tuned not to sports but to C-SPAN, with somewhere not in the rain to smoke. And male strippers.
Gotta go home to NJ and vote. Have fun though. Slip the stripper a tenner on my behalf.
Let me be clear: if the Dems take the Senate, I'll take my pants off.
Someone be sure and bring a camera, just in case.
So, slip Drymala a tenner on my behalf -- cop me a proxy feel.
Yeah, like there aren't hundreds of those photos floating around the Intertubes.
So my hedging of the bet is that if the Republicans pick up the Senate, I don't have to see you take your pants off? And don't think I'd be tipping you, Mr. Drymala! (Too thrifty.)
Yeah, like there aren't hundreds of those photos floating around the Intertubes.
Well, thanks to YOU there are.
I'm only responsible for the pantless pictures in my head, Joe D. (IRL, everyone calls you either "Joe D" or "Jody," right?)
Just Joe. Sometimes Joey D, if I allow it.
Wait, I thought it was J-Dry.
Jeebus, Drymala. Your friends suck: that's just unrealized nickname potential, sitting there, unused. Makes me want to cry. How could they miss that? (I think it's the drugs.)
There's a condescending director I know who calls me Joey Dry, but the less said about that, the better.
"Joad" is actually pretty good, too. And was it just "Joe," or "Just Joe"?
This is not going to turn out well for me, I fear.
18 -- "Just Joe" is a coffee bar, not an Unfogged commentor.
(And also, a comedy from 1960, starring Leslie Randall and with Jon Pertwee as Prendergast.
20: And Unjust Joe is that bar's nefarious rival café, serving java made by violating human rights and making evil robo-calls.
There's a place I like called "Joe Bar."
Ok, people, so far we've established that our meetup is happening in Joe's pants. Let's start to expand our search a bit.
I'm on this skating kick, but there's a pretty little temporary bar looking out on the Bryant Park rink.
whats the logic behind the nyc-centrism of this blog's fan club?
All the wit tends to concentrate here.
whats the logic behind the nyc-centrism of this blog's fan club?
This, from a commenter who's email is desolationrower?
All the wit does not concentrate in your pants, Joe, no matter what you've been told.
man, doesn't none of y'all live around the Windy City?
All the wit does not concentrate in your pants, Joe, no matter what you've been told.
Au contraire. You should hear the laughter that generates from that region.
Silvana, Idontpay, one of those damn commenters with a pseudonym made up of initials so I can't remember it accurately. Maybe some more?
31 -- one thing Chicago commenters seem to share is an inability to remember when another commenter says s/he comes from Chicago.
The Bryant Park bar sounds very lovely, and it is convenient for me, but I doubt very much it will have C-SPAN, nu?
I think wherever we go, the best we can hope for is CNN.
What about something on the East Side?
And it looks like we're talking about me, LB, Becks, and J/m. No?
I might be in, depending on how far behind I am on actual day-job stuff. I'm pro East side/midtown.
37 -- You mean M/tch's long-lost brother is going to show up? O happy day!
34
harsh, dude, harsh.
I mean, I realize my memory isn't great, but why you got to make it so personal? All I was doing was inviting other Illinoisians to speak up. But some folks *got* to snark.
(e.g. myself)
I'm a lazy bad evil person, but we could sit in the saloon section of the Oyster Bar in Grand Central. I think there may be TVs, although goodness only knows what they're tuned to, but it's pubby and very very convenient for me. (Oh, I'll go anywhere else in midtown, if anyone has an idea.)
I live in Chicago. So does Adam Kotsko, I don't pay, and JAC. Those are all of the regular commenters I know who live here (and now kid bitzer). text and w-lfs-n used to live here, but now no longer do.
That does sound easy, LB. Oyster-eating isn't mandatory, I take it?
Oyster Bar sounds ok; I'm guessing the beers there will be more expensive than beers at a pub. I'm on sort of a limited budget right now.
Do you have any midtown ideas, Joe? I'm pro-cheap beer as well.
I haven't lived around there for too long, unfortunately. I guess Oyster Bar would be fine, if we can't think of something better.
I may show up in my capacity as representative of the lurkers of unfogged.
(I was not elected. They were too shy to vote, even anonymously.)
I have drinking plans for tomorrow already, or I'd be in for any of the above. Last time I was looking for a midtown-ish bar we ended up on 8th Ave in the high 40's, where there was a mix of annoying and fun bars. I can't remember the name of the one we ended up at, maybe Scruffy Duffys or possibly whatever the bar next to it is called. I'm sure one of them will have the elections on.
Has anyone gone to see the Bob Dylan exhibit at the Morgan library? A couple of my friends went on Saturday and thought it was really great; I wasn't there and can't express a first hand opinion. I assume a number of you, but more particularly Clownæ would be really interested.
Oh, I know midtown west very well, if we wanted to do that. I hang out in that neighborhood almost nightly. There are a whole slew of places on 9th in the 40s and 50s.
42
I resent the implication that I'm a regular commenter.
42: Adam Kotsko, God bless him, is a stirer-up of discord. Ask the Valve. You will rue the day, mark my words. Rue the day.
Here's the menu for Oyster Bar in Grand Central (warning: PDF) Looks like beers are in the $5.50 - $6 range. Do they have booth/table seating where we can hang out or would we have to be at the bar?
52 - If people are thinking food, though, that could be kinda pricey.
54: You ritzy city folk, taunting us bumpkins with your fancy meet-ups and your high-priced spirits.
Table seating (I should be explicit . There's the restaurant -- a big huge room with a vaulted ceiling -- and then the adjacent Saloon, which is little and woodpaneled. But there are tables in the saloon.)
But I'll go west if someone's got a place.
I was thinking about bringing chocolate cake, for no particularly good reason except that I'll have some. That would be easier to smuggle into a pub than into a fancy bar.
We might be able to figure out some fun games with that cake, especially if I take off my pants.
Actually, the cake turned out a little weird-looking (though delicious!), so I may be too embarrassed to bring it. I hope Drymala's pants won't be too disappointed.
60: Joe, if you aren't absolutely swimming in women, there is no justice for any of us on this earth. Nice line.
Well, I guess Joe can count on getting some from Tim.
48 -- Yeah, I went. It is pretty great, especially I like his written stuff and the outtake from "Don't Look Back" blew me away. Did you know the Morgan is free on Friday evenings? I didn't either; but it is.
A cheap midtown bar is Tunnel Bar, on 9th Ave. and 41st, right behind Port Authority; but their beer selection is pretty limited, like to Miller and one or two other similar lagers. White Castle burgers.
Also the TV would probably be on ESPN rather than CNN.
Isn't the whole point of this gathering to not watch the election returns?
I might be in, if I don't have a date. This dating thing is fucking exhausting.
What, you can't bring your date along? Are you *ashamed* of your pretend friends?
My honey may show; your date can chat with him about how weird we all are.
While the rest of us throw cake at the tv, and Drymala takes off his pants.
Joe, if you aren't absolutely swimming in women, there is no justice for any of us on this earth.
That's what I'm saying! What the hell, ladies?
Listen, I just started going out with this guy. We're still in the really annoying get-a-room phase. It's for your own good that I might not show.
However: it is quite possible that I will! I'll be checking for final details tomorrow.
Not *my* own good. I can't go to a NY meetup tomorrow. I want to hear all the scandalous details, so if you truly love me, you'll bring the boyfriend and people can gossip about you afterwards.
Have the meetup in AWB's room. "Get a Room" is only annoying if you can't watch.
I have a date as well. Can I bleg for romantic, cuddly bars in the Midtown West area?
Hey I got it -- you guys need to go to 48th and 8th -- there is a really nice, pubby bar there on the northeast corner with a TV and food, not too expensive. I cannot remember the name of it but it will probably come to me.
I was thinking -- if Jackmormon and Drymala are going to be all stressed out and need to smoke, they're going to have to go faaaar to smoke at Oyster Bar.
Gah, I suck with bar suggesting. I'd be fine with the place we went for w-lfs-n's meetup again. Wasn't the best but it was at least quiet and centrally located, right?
Ah -- McHale's is what it's called. It might possibly be on 46th, not 48th; but definitely a northeast corner and 8th Avenue.
Also, if you're coming tonight and don't have my number, email me (becks at unfogged dot com) and I'll send it to you to prevent BrocksLandersing. Or email me for it if you're awesome and willing to send us text messages with updates.
Clown, I just googled McHale's on 46th and 8th, and it appears to have closed in 2006.
78 -- Oh man what a drag. That was a great bar.
73: Flute is spendy but romantic, on 54th between 6th and 7th.
78 -- and, no way this is not the Bush administration's fault.
Thanks. Yeah, my googling just turned up Flute and Hudson Library Bar. I feel not great about suggesting something expensive when he will probably want to pay, though.
It's hard to get romantic in midtown without expensive. I either wouldn't worry about the expense, or I'd embrace the romantic possibilities of some dive on 8th or 9th (not to be sneered at.)
Tia - you could go to Vintage, on 51st and 9th. That's not too expensive; beers $5, cocktails $6-10. There are lots of great couches and nooks in that place.
Also, there's Bar 9, on 9th and 53rd, which is a little louder, but a little cheaper also. And features even more nooks for privacy.
Maybe I will give up the W. Midtown thing. It's just that I'm going to be there to vote anyway. Has anyone ever been to the W. Village Bourgeois Pig? My investigations reveal that it is purported to be cheap and romantic.
Anyone ever read The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz? Yet one more reason not to live in NYC...
I'm all confused -- are we trying to find a romantic place for the meetup or two bars, one romantic for Tia and another for the meetup?
I was scouting locations for Tia. I thought we were set on Oyster Bar, and me and Jack had decided to just bring Nicorette.
I'm not firmly attached to Oyster Bar, if someone's got a better idea. I just don't have one.
Landers, is that the one that tells me I'm miserable because I've got so much awesome shit right at my fingertips, and I can't decide which awesome shit to take part in first?
I've got so much awesome shit right at my fingertips
Be sure to wash your hands before returning to work, Drymala.
Right. If we didn't live in NY, we'd all be drinking happily at an Applebees in a parking lot someplace.
But not too much, because we'd all have to drive home later.
Are you actually planning on bringing your own cigarettes for once, Drymala?
I'm just relieved that so many other New Yorkers are unable to come up with the ideal bar on demand. I had thought it was just me.
So is it Oyster Bar, then? What time? Polls start closing at 7.
w-lfs-n's meetup was at O'Reilly's at 35th and 5th. Nearby is the excellent Ginger Man, where Lemieux does much hanging out. It's on 36th at Park.
And Tia -- Hudson Library is very very nice, and pretty romantic, if you're into the fucking-in-a-bookstore vibe, but ultimately not too private for squiggling.
Bourgeois Pig has been decided upon, ecktually, but thanks for all the recs. It was the one he seemed excited about. I gave up on Midtown.
if you're into the fucking-in-a-bookstore vibe
Who wouldn't be?
Good news - I just got a report from my friend who's canvassing in Virginia. Urban minority neighborhoods have at least an hour-and-a-half wait at their polling places! Lots of people are leaving. And some similar polling places in Maryland haven't even opened yet, because of "technical problems"!
It's a miracle Democrats ever win anything. These guys cheat at every level.
Ok, I actually called O'Reilly's, and the lady said that she was "sure" that the TVs would be on CNN. Let's go there.
Here's the address:
21 W 35th St (Cross Street: Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.)
Who wouldn't be?
Presumably the folks who need to defecate every time they enter a bookstore.
Good news - I just got a report from my friend who's canvassing in Virginia. Urban minority neighborhoods have at least an hour-and-a-half wait at their polling places! Lots of people are leaving. And some similar polling places in Maryland haven't even opened yet, because of "technical problems"!
Oh, man, this makes me want to cry. Why aren't there penalties for the people who screw this up? There is no excuse at all for polling places in poor neighborhoods to be run worse than polling places in rich neighborhoods -- the funding for the blasted polling places doesn't come from panhandling the nearby residents. How the hell does this happen?
Are we decided then? It won't happen until it's posted on the mainpage, hint hint.
What time? Seven? At O'Reilly's?
I'll update the main page when we have a time. Seven? Or six-thirty?
109- is this the thread in which to report being victimized by Republican efforts at voter suppression and disenfranchisement? I went to vote this morning, and for the second straight election cycle my registration had been lost or invalidated or something, even though I've registered and recieved notice in the mail as to my polling station, etc. So it was a provisional ballot for me, which they let me know they'll be "counting" on Nov. 17. November-fucking-17! I ought to have just thrown the thing in the garbage. Very irritating. In '04 I wrote it off as pure fluke (though of course I still bitched and moaned), but now that it's happened twice I don't even know what to think.
Let's just say 6:30, so that everyone will arrive sometime between then and 7:30.
Brock, you can also bitch about it to one of these fine hotlines:
1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683) (website here)
1-888-DEMVOTE (1-888-336-8683) (DNC hotline)
1-888-SAV-VOTE (1-888-728-8683)(voting machine problems)
Landers, it serves you right for having the same first name as a guy who was busted for bootlegging in 1931.
112 -- is defecation not compatible with shagging?
The answer to 121 is no, it's not.
The post has been updated, and bumped up the page.
How the hell does this happen?
By design, LB.
is defecation not compatible with shagging?
Not in my bedroom.
And OT: Sore loser.
6:30! you guys start tying them on early! I'll try to be by later in my role as lurker, but let's see how productive I am this afternoon...
Yeah, LB, do you really think it's accidental? After Ohio?
Post should say 'tonight', now, as today is election day.
119- thanks JM. The first line of 117 was mostly a throwaway- I don't really think I'm being victimized by Republicans so much as run-of-the-mill incompetence.* I think most of the local levers of power here in MA are in Democratic hands, anyway. But it is really very frustrating that this same thing has happened twice in a row. Up front you're assured everything is all fine and then you get there on polling day and are told otherwise.
And not that I'm ashamed of my vote or anything, but it also bothers me immensely that because it's provisional they take my ballot, with all my votes on it, and staple it to another card with my name and birthdate and address and all other identifying info. And then hold it off to the side in a special pile instead of stuffing it in the general voting box. Somehow that just makes me feel violated--the damn thing's supposed to be secret for a reason! Especially given that they aren't even counting it until the 17th, which means it's effectively worthless (since the elections will almost certainly already be conceded), the whole experience just upset me.
*For example, the 127 year old lady who asked me for my name and address and then couldn't find me on the registered list, actually said, "No, I don't see a Brock Landers at that address. I see a [Steve] Landers at [apartment down the street from Brock]- are you sure that's not you?" Um, yes, but thanks for offering me someone else's vote. Jeebus.
If I encountered suspicion and ritual humiliation every time I voted, I would be very tempted to stop voting. Being poor is all about being treated like a second class citizen in your dealings with the outside world. It fucking sucks. It shouldn't happen when you're voting, but it does, to lots of people.
I know that it isn't supposed to start until 6:30, but I'm going to start drinking early, just to be sure.
It's official -- I'm free for tonight. See y'all there!
How late is this expected to go, asks this lurker who has commitments until after 8pm...
I'm guessing at least 10 or so so you should be fine.
Well, I'm not bringing all that much cake. Some of you late-arriving lurkers may have to do without.
Cool. Is anyone easily described for lurkers to recognize? I can't think of anyone who I'd be able to pick out of a crowd based on a verbal description.
Maybe a troll will show up, and bring more cake.
I will be there right at 6:30 and I am easy to describe.
I have blonde, shoulder-length curly hair, a black sweater with a navy T-shirt with white skeleton/balloon heads on underneath, a silver and black ring on my right hand, jeans, and white sneakers. Or you could just say, "Are you a white bear?" to random people at the bar and see what they say. Look for the skeleton/balloon heads. I'm your bear.
Excellent. I'll probably get there around seven.
I'm wearing jeans and a pink sweater. Also, if you email RIGHT NOW, I'll send you my phone number in case you get lost. (Will be leaving soon so act fast.)
JM -- Are you going at 6:30? Who will be there with me?
Look for the skeleton/balloon heads
Hope nobody's shy. "Wander around the bar try to sneak a glance at every woman's chest..."
I'll be there nearish 6:30. I have a gigantic light-olive tote bag filled with books and cake. I wear black-rimmed glasses, and, tonight, rather brightish lipstick.
"Wander around the bar try to sneak a glance at every woman's chest..."
Yeah, that's why they're doing it.
It is my goal to be the last person to comment before arriving at the bar. It is so awesome that we picked a place not a two-minute walk from where I am at this moment.