July 24, 2004
Blogger Party
I returned a while ago from the Minnesota Blogger Party hosted by The Northern Alliance. Thank you, gentlemen, for a wonderful evening! I talked The VP, my brother, and my dad into going as well, and we all had a great time.
I'm sure Mitch Berg will do a bang-up job describing the whole thing so I won't go into much detail, but I must say that this group was full of friendly, gracious, intelligent, and good-looking folks.
I was looking forward to meeting Mitch, and I accomplished that. Proof below. First person who comments on my chipmunk cheeks gets banned. Trust me, I've heard it before.
I also had a chance to meet King from SCSU Scholars:
And my favorite radio personality, Mr. Bob "You're An Idiot" Davis:
Furthermore, Mitch indroduced me to Captain Ed from Captain's Quarters and three of the handsome lads from Fraters Libertas...the ones who "write withering and anonymous social commentary in their underpants". (Laura Billings quote...not mine.) Another treat was meeting The Big Trunk (Mr. Scott Johnson) from Power Line.
In addition to bloggers, there were many attendees who are avid blog readers. We met Joe and Chris (Kris?) from Maplewood. Joe's t-shirt caught my attention. It had a picture of the Eiffel Tower with the red slash through it. Given the recent French behavior towards Lance Armstrong, I didn't think it was too overboard for a non-political party.
Oh yeah...Lileks was there too. He was surrounded by so many fans that we didn't try to break into the inner circle. So all I can tell you is that he is indeed quite short.
We had to leave around 7, so I'm sorry if I missed some of the other bloggers I was hoping to meet. Maybe next party, Dan and Natalie and Andy.
Thank you, again, Northern Alliance. I enjoyed the opportunity to finally put some faces to these authors.
Addendum: My brother recaps the evening as well over at Three Sheets to the Wind.
Posted by Cathy at July 24, 2004 10:27 PMDamn good thing you didn't get me on camera. I'd hate to be responsible for replacing an expensive lens ...
It was great to meet you -- we definitely have to do this again on a regular basis!
Posted by: Captain Ed at July 25, 2004 09:42 AMCathy, it was great to meet you. I agree with Ed, we need to meet up more often round here. Best to Wright from Stearns!
Posted by: kb at July 25, 2004 02:06 PMYes, I suck. I wasn't able to make it, due to family visiting and overstaying their visa (a welcome development, but it meant not making this particular shindig).
Sure do wish I could have met Lileks, although I probably would have been just one more annoying twit in his way, so it's probably just as well.
I'll make a stronger effort to make it if they decide to call another gathering. It would be fun to do something like that at the fair. "Clog your arteries with cheese curds while being regaled with stories of heroism and dread by the Northern Alliance and assored hangers-on!"
Later.
Posted by: Dan at July 25, 2004 04:31 PMDan,
Great idea to have the next get together at the fair after the NARN show.
Cathy,
It was nice to meet you. We didn't stay long either, but I'll be hanging out longer next time.
Posted by: DC at July 25, 2004 07:26 PMYou know, there are some bloggers on the other side of the river, *gasp* neighbors in Wisconsin who would be interested in meeting up with you Minnesota bloggers sometime, too! Well, at least one of us would since we haven't stumbled across any local bloggers to meet. Perhaps I could snag an invite someday?
Posted by: Keri at July 26, 2004 05:53 PMHi Keri!
Oh I wish you had come! The invitation wasn't clear enough, perhaps. I thought Mitch posted that the party was designed to get MN bloggers together, but anyone from anywhere was welcome to attend.
DC from Brainstorming is also from Wisconsin, and she made the trip over.
Another WI blogger for you to check out is Mark Hasty over at The Bemusement Park. (He's on my blogroll) I believe he lives somewhere near Madison.
Next time there's a blogger bash over here, consider yourself pre-invited.
Posted by: Cathy at July 26, 2004 09:28 PMActually, I just found your blog today, so no worries... I'm thinking for the NEXT party. Thanks for the info on the other Wisconsinites... I'll definitely check out their blogs! And get you on my blogroll!
Posted by: Keri at July 26, 2004 11:49 PMIt is nice to be able to now associate a face with the posts.
Posted by: Matthew at July 27, 2004 11:25 AMHi Cathy,
I'm VERY new to the crazy world of blogging and might not ever had the fortune of stumbling upon yours if it were not from the Northern Alliance guys.
Your stuff is hilarious and you'll definately be a bookmark in my blog file.
If you feel the need to torture yourself by browsing a baby blog, mine is:
www.citizenjo@blogspot.com
Thanks! Jo
Handsome? The Fraters guys?? That's obviously a compliment they've never heard before--you'll note they're headlining it on their newly-redesigned site. Sorry I couldn't make the blogger bash, we'll have to do it again soon.
Posted by: Rocket Man at August 4, 2004 09:56 PM