Eh, I would hang out with you people, but nobody except me likes beer.
We've had discussions of art outings, a trip to some beer keller, and drinks at McManlypants' fancy hotel bar. I'm up for anything or everything.
3 is me. Now I'm out of pocket for the rest of the day. I expect you all to have everything solved yet aligned with my whims when I return.
I'll be on the road all day, so I enjoin you to bear my interests in mind and reach a conclusion with which I too will be satisfied.
Ben, keep the handjob pleas offline, okay?
You're really shit at reading signals, apo.
Just tell me what you want next time, sailor.
I am a terrible organizer and planner so I'm just going to say I'm cool with whatever. I am very interested in having my Arms mashed re: art and I'm of course cool with not having to go further than downstairs to have a drink. I'm also up for trying this beer keller even though I don't like beer.
My travelling companions and I won't be in DC until after dinner-ish, I think, so we'd probably miss any artism? How late them museum dealies stay open?
Sir Kraab and I are also members of the annoying "whatever someone else decides is fine" camp. What we all need is a benevolent but iron-fisted dictatorcruise director.
I would like to add that I do indeed like beer. Pity that Sifu is such a jackass though.
Robust, in which hotel are you staying?
museums generally close around 5 or so. kriston said he'd had some art stuff planned out for friday daytime, but he hasn't sent the details. i'm inclined to suggest solly's on 11th and U for beering (same place we started last year). it's right next to a metro stop (u street green line) and has a big upstairs that we could take over with relative ease, depending on how big our group is...becks, what do you think?
I think Solly's sounds like a good place to start, if only because Cath and Kriston and I know the neighborhood well so we should be able to come up with places for the group to adjourn for dinner.
The one thing I wasn't crazy about at Solly's is the long skinny tables that don't make circulating particularly easy. A hotel bar sounds better for that (although I haven't been to the Palomar).
17: that's true...i'm just concerned space could be an issue. seating and space are always abundant at solly's. but i'm up for anything.
Either is fine. I think we were only downstairs at Solly's last year, though. The upstairs has seats and standy-mingly spots.
19: No, we went upstairs at Solly's last year. Did we forget to tell you and you wandered out of the bathroom and thought we'd left?
18: That sounds like a reverse of the old Yogi Berra line "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded".
i might have time to pre-scout the bar at the palomar tonight and see how it looks - if so, i'll report back!
It's worth noting that I loved my room at the Palomar when I was in DC in April but never stepped foot inside the bar. If it's judged unworkable I will in no way whatsoever be bothered. Oh noes, going to DC and having to go to new places, teh painz.
I'll get into Dulles on the 28th at 4:20. Something may happen at Marcus's but I'm not sure about details.
Has anyone else not yet booked a room for the night of the 29th and interested in splitting one? I know I'm late on this, but I was out of the country for two weeks.
25: I haven't. (I don't have as interesting an excuse as being out of the country, though.) Sure, I'd be interested in splitting one. E-mail me at vermont underscore voyager@hotmail.com (with the character instead of the word "underscore") or call me at 1-802-989-9/3/9/1.
I've switched pseuds, but since Emerson referred to me by name I'll go with that. Emerson will be staying at my place, and I had planned a cocktail-party type thing (but with plenty of food) at my house on the 29th prior to the party (late afternoon). I think I have 5 RSVPs for that and I'll be emailing people back with the info soon. I could probably handle about 3 more people coming if there is interest. Email me at the link above.
I hadn't really been planning anything special for Friday evening, but if enough people wanted to then I suppose I could switch the cocktail-party type thing to the evening of Friday the 28th. That would be fine with me. I'm open to suggestions on that either in email or in this thread as it continues.
Alas, we shan't be attending. But a Salud! to ........the demise.... of Little Kissinkger
The Palomar is awfully close to the beer place, so it ought to be easy enough to ditch one for the other, if it comes to it. I'd really like to stop over for a drink right now, but have to head along home, and deal with a Situation. My son has done something harmless but stupid, and run afoul of Zero Tolerance. I need to instill the proper attitude of contrition for our interview with the authorities tomorrow.
I'm just glad we're not Icelandic.
Good luck with that, Napi. And next time just cut up her steak before she heads off for school so she can leave the knife at home.
It's a more modern problem. Having, apparently, to do with the naming of file folders of his school internet account.
I'm staying at the Palomar under an assumed identity. I'd be interested in getting some food before the party (on Saturday the 29th, that is).
I think I have finally determined that I will not be attending.
IA, I'll leave notes for you between the couch cushions in the lobby if you like so you can get more into the incognito thing.
after checking out palomar, i'm going to say that i still think brickskeller (in dupont) or solly's (u street) would be better locations for casual friday night hanging out. personally i prefer solly's, but brickskeller could be cool too. anyways, clearly, i think what we need here is an executive decision so if you all don't think it's too dictator-ish, i'll chat w/ becks and smasher and come up with an official location and time and report back.
Jammies and I will head to the brickskeller then, after we get in and get situated.
Don't do it, heebie! Question authority! Resist the dictators! To the barricades!
We'll miss you, eb.
I have made my travel reservations but not the hotel. Is the Palomar kind of trendy or is that my imagination?
We are known for our docile obedience, Sifu. Please issue clear instructions for us to execute.
Keep a red card in your shirt pocket Sifu. If she starts acting up, look her directly in the eye and pat the card.
42: I was always kind of fond of it.
39: The Palomar is a little satisfied with itself but the room I had in April was very nice, spacious, comfy chair for sitting, good desk for working and an extremely comfortable bed.
The Brickseller is someplace I am delighted to have heard about. It's around a corner on the same block as the Palomar but I didn't walk that way when I was at the Palomar before and thus never saw it. Can't wait to try it!
43: Finding that reminded me of this oldie but goodie.
All right, room booked. I'm holding you responsible if it's insufferable, McManly Pants.
(Six preferences for hotel rooms? What kind of world do these people live in? Foam pillow, feather pillow, near elevator, far from elevator...accessible? One of these things is not like the other.)
My only caveat would be that the food isn't that great quality when ordering room service at like 3am. Otherwise, pick your pillow and shut yer yap.
Dude, I'm a low-maintenance hotel guest, really. I'm just messing with you.
cant we at least pick better contestants??
will's right. Plus, I don't think McManly swings that way.
I'm just razzing you, Witt. Razzing!
Witt is a Northerner??? He/she seemed so nice and helpful.
53: It's funny and telling that in a post accusing us Southerners of being illiterate, you can't even get the word order right Witt.
56: That's Yankee ingenuity, dumbutt.
You too, M/tch? I thought you were just temporarily abiding in the South, while actually a D.C. native. Why did I think that? (Or are you by some bizarre Mason-Dixon logic defining Washington as a fully Southern city?)
Yeah, see, this is why I shouldn't try to be funny in this crowd. I don't know you well enough to be entertainingly silly, and the sophisticated wit bar is too high.
(All sorts of low-hanging fruit there, folks. Go for it.)
yay brickskeller! like 1 billion beers!
I was born and raised in Texas.
Sir Kraab, on the other hand, spent many years in DC before her move to Austin several years ago, and travels there often for work.
It's true, you really can't circulate at the bar at the Palomar, as it's really part of a very dark and crowded restaurant. Not recommended for meetup.
We Southerners, in our timeless decadence, take great and terribly cruel pleasure from refusing to get Witt's jokes.
McManly, now you're just showing off your literacy.
I'm a-going Christmas shopping now, so the pillow fight will have to wait.
Well y'all have fun, now.
Feliz navidad a todos! Hast' al' aňo que viene.
Unfortunately it's looking unlikely (although still possible) that Magpie and I will be able to make it for UDC. OTOH, Jackmormon was making noises about being in the Bay Area next week. Is that still on?
It's true, you really can't circulate at the bar at the Palomar, as it's really part of a very dark and crowded restaurant
True indeed, but heading to the free(!) wine happy hour in the lounge from around 4-6pm is a quite recommendable pre-meetup activity.
That is true. My mom and I kept going back down for drinks so we didn't have to mingle. The radio in the hotel had a plug for my iPod, so we had our own little party during the happy hour.
I actually liked the hotel a lot, but the super-sexy shower didn't drain and the whole bathroom ended up wet every time.
Jackmormon said to email her for Bay Area meetupping.
69: Mitt Romney's dog is named "Seamus"? As if he didn't have enough problems appealing to Protestants already.
Also: If his name is Mitt, and his son's name is Tagg, what are the names of his other four kids? I'm thinking Hekk, Fugg, Lipp and Godd.
Yay for executive decisions! See y'all at the Brickskeller. (If anyone wants a contact # in case you get lost or can't find us or whatever, e-mail me at sirkraab at gmail.)
Yay for executive decisions!
Fascist.
Why, I bet that even now she's planning to launch a putsch from the Brickskeller.
Gang, I can't make it. I cancelled my flight this morning. Have lots of fun for me, and I'll try to make the next big event.
Tips for the Brickskeller- hopefully be able to drop by:
Someone should specify upstairs or downstairs.
There's hundreds of beers available and they don't always have the one you want, so give your waiter a couple choices if you're picking randomly.
The upstairs room has ~10 taps, which always have interesting things. Otherwise everything is bottles.
With many exceptions, if a country is represented in the menu by only one beer, i.e. Iceland, don't get it. It's the same boring old lager. That said, I've had nights there where all I drank was Viking, just 'cause I could.
But without Chopper, who'll take tons of photos?
Chopper: not just a cool guy, but an awesome photog.
Sleep! That's where I'm a viking!
Sorry to hear it, Chopster.
Too bad, Chopper. Have fun with your family or whatever lame alternative plans you're pursuing instead.
Sorry to hear it, Chopper. Hope all's well with you and yours.
At UnfoggeDCon II, we'll encourage people to do various things by intoning "Come on, ______ one for the Chopper!"
Alas, poor Chopper!
I'll bring a camera, so every bring your pretty faces.
Thanks guys. I'm bummed, but marital harmony is important.
I guess.
Yeah, marital harmony is more important than a party. I'm still sorry you won't be there.
Is Romney's dog named after a Pink Floyd song? If so, does it mean anything?
He saw his dog play with Pink Floyd, Nápi.
I saw Pink Floyd once and he told me he likes dogs quite a bit.
With many exceptions, if a country is represented in the menu by only one beer, i.e. Iceland, don't get it. It's the same boring old lager.
This cannot be overstated. And applies to every other beer bar on earth, as well.
I've never seen a beer worth drinking from a country that doesn't have snow. This includes Italy and Mexico.
I guess Italy has snow. But still.
You've never seen a Mexican beer worth drinking? Which ones have you seen?
I guess Italy has snow.
Enough to hold the winter Olympics, even.
The ones that are available in Pennsylvania.
Corona
Dos Equis
Negra Modelo
I shouldn't say "not worth drinking". Just not different from standard American beers like Busch or whatever.
Corona Lite is good for a lite beer, not to say that it's good.
97: Fair enough. Mexican beers are a lot like American beers because most of the breweries in Mexico were started by the same sorts of German immigrants who started most American breweries at around the same time. Light, not very hoppy lagers, for the most part.
And here's an 1883 NYT account (in pdf) of climbing the snowy peaks of Mexico. If only they'd had more beer.
Mexico might well be called the Switzerland of America on account of the number, size, and accessibility of its mountain peaks. On approaching Vera Cruz the first thing that gladdens the eye of the weary voyager, as he peers over the bow of the steamer in search of land, is the snow-capped peak of Orizaba . . .
I always forget that sometimes places have mountains that are so high that there's snow on them even when it's hot in nearby non-mountainous regions. Never having seen such a place myself.
I was quite startled the first time I saw the LA skyline framed by snowcapped mountains.
Theoretically I could attend, actually, but it would mean bus rides Saturday and Sunday and only making it to the party.
Mexico might well be called the Switzerland of America on account of the number, size, and accessibility of its mountain peaks.
Um, Peru?
Beefo Meaty, they're looking for you, or why your blog is down, or something, over at ObWi and claim that you're not "over at Unfogged", either.
I note this to congratulate your on your autocomment bot, since you are not here.
ObWi, top post, Ugh in comments.
Where have you gone, Beefo Meaty Fish
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you
(woo hoo hoo)
I see Greyhound's prices are the same as last year. I actually have taken the bus on the same route a few times - opposite direction round trips - but those were Friday-Sunday trips. Anyway, the meetup type stuff is much more interesting to me than party stuff.
That's so sweet. I love it when the internet misses someone who is in internet hiding.
You got your meetup in my party!
You should go, eb, though I can see why the bus schedule would be a pain.
You got your meat up in my party!
eb, please come. I'm arriving Friday, staying through Sunday afternoon. There's time for meetup stuff! Bus terminals are fun! Greyhound is entertaining!*
*This courtesy of my brother, who informed me that on today's NY-Phila run, the driver announced at the beginning of the trip that he needed a passenger to give him directions.
I guess it would've been worse if he hadn't asked at all.
Or if 15 hours into the trip, the driver says "Anyone know if we're in Mississippi yet?"
Negra Modelo is not a standard lager, at all. Corona does indeed suck, hard, as does Sol (although in Mexico itself the Corona brewery makes some other beers that aren't bad, for example a Christmas beer, and a brown ale. The latter, the last time I had it, came in these cool stubby bottles made out of heavy returnable glass with a built in opener in the bottom of each bottle, i.e. you use the bottom of one bottle to open the next one, kind of like chain smoking. ) Dos Equis is okay, but nothing to get excited about. I like the amber better than than the lager. Bohemia is probably the best Mexican beer that's at least somewhat widely available.
Yeah, Negra Modelo is an exception, and I like it a lot. The Modelo brewery is the one that makes Corona, Negra Modelo, Modelo Especial, and (presumably) the other beers M/tch mentions. I've actually never had Bohemia, even though it's widely available here. What's it like?
on today's NY-Phila run, the driver announced at the beginning of the trip that he needed a passenger to give him directions.
Holy crap! There's budget travel and there's budget travel ('We'll get you there, eventually, but you'll have to help us out'). And what if a passenger deliberately misdirected the driver, just for kicks? They could end up in Selma, Alabama, or who knows what godforsaken place.
Hmmm, I hadn't been paying attention to the Mexican breweries lately, but as with everywhere else in the world, there's been a lot of consolidation in the last decade or so.
As for Bohemia, it has some nice little floral hoppy notes, almost apricoty, that are refreshingly unique. Although I had one a couple of weeks ago that just tasted like your standard lager, so perhaps it's been assimilated by the Beerg (I'm hoping I just got an off bottle).
I hadn't been paying attention to the Mexican breweries lately, but as with everywhere else in the world, there's been a lot of consolidation in the last decade or so.
As far as I know, Cerveceria Modelo has always made Corona.
And thanks for answering my question about Bohemia. I should try some and report back.
I third the approval of Negra Modelo. It's probably in my top-five keep-it-in-the-fridge-for-whenever beers.
The second time I took Greyhound from DC to NY the driver made a correct turn, then (thinking it was a wrong turn) a u turn, then a stop to ask for directions, then an announcement apologizing and explaining that it was their first time on that route.
The first time I took Greyhound from DC to NY it turned out to be possibly the best form of transit that day because the flights were delayed or canceled and the trains were overloaded. We arrived early. The driver ignored the signs on the highway recommending people drive more slowly in the snow.
eb, you should take the bus down, party all night, and bus back the next day. I think some other NY people are doing that, too. You'll totally get points for being hardcore. You shouldn't not come just because you can't make it to the other stuff -- UnfoggeDCon's where it's at. The rest is just gravy for people coming early.
eb--mrh, and I, and maybe Bave Dee will be drivign down from New York on Saturday. I think that I'm taking the bus back though. There might be space. E-mail me or mrh. I'll forward it to him if you send it to me.
And, eb, I'm not a huge partier, so I'll need some time to be quiet and would love to have someone to be mellow with. Please come.
