Small Talk: Chili's

[Pixel]

I've run out of things to do on the Internet.  True story. I feel like there was more to read over at TWOP than there is over here.  Not that I don't like it here - I do. I appreciate having a place to continue to meet you guys. I just need to be entertained more, dammit!

[Kalliste]

haha yes. I am currently sitting for a bit on my lazy ass.

I've run out of things to do on the Internet.  True story. I feel like there was more to read over at TWOP than there is over here.  Not that I don't like it here - I do. I appreciate having a place to continue to meet you guys. I just need to be entertained more, dammit!

Me too! It doesn't help that I'm in a somewhat different timezone to everyone else.

 

I've found that the game Townsmen on ios or android is a good time filler.. if you like city/world builder games.

[Too Late Kev]

I was on tumblr today and happened to click on National Geographic Found, where I spent hours looking at all the pictures back to the beginning of that account. So if you're looking for a time-filler, there you go.

 

And I'm here today specifically because I just looked at my calendar and it's...somebody's birthday!! Happy birthday, someone of a certain age. Or in true Office form, I suppose I should say...

 

 

"Statement of fact." /Dwight

 

Hope it was a good one!!

[Glory]

I've run out of things to do on the Internet.  True story. I feel like there was more to read over at TWOP than there is over here.  Not that I don't like it here - I do. I appreciate having a place to continue to meet you guys. I just need to be entertained more, dammit!

True story. I joined tumblr yesterday. So I could feed my Dragon Age addiction. It's... a rabbit hole deeper than pinterest. I'm scared for my sanity. And yet... I cannot look away. 

 

Anyway, my 100 class starts up again today so that means I'll be busy lecturing and grading papers. And it's summer... so I shouldn't even need more things to waste my time on the internet. And yet...

[King of Birds]

It's... a rabbit hole deeper than pinterest.

Wow, that must be some hole. (I've only seen one, maybe two pinterest pages and I couldn't take it.) Hell, I abandoned tumblr too, it seems endless. Not sure how Pixel has reached the end of the internet. Have you checked out reddit?

 

eta: I should update y'all! I hung in and finished watching S1/S2 of OITNB. I still really don't like Piper/Alex/Larry etc, but grew to like that incredible supporting cast. There's still plenty of "how stupid can these people be"-itis but I guess I just have to think of this as the "comedic aspect" where it seems like there should be 3 cameras and an audience there.

 

Also I had no idea that my timing would be that S3 starts this coming weekend. Except I'm not a binge-er, I could only take 1 maybe 2 eps at a time. (the only show I've ever binged was S1 of Lost, in a single ...lost weekend). Next, I may revisit Lilyhammer. I caught some of that on dvd but it seems so long ago.  Or maybe watch Bloodline.

Edited June 8, 2015 by King of Birds

[smrou]

I started Sense8 over the weekend. I'm only four episodes in but I'm really liking it. Actually, I wasn't really sold for the first two episodes, but episodes three and four hooked me and I can't wait to watch more when I get home. I guess my goal is to get through the rest of it this week so I can binge on OITNB this weekend.

 

And then there's World Cup tonight, USA vs. Australia. 

 

I joined tumblr yesterday. So I could feed my Dragon Age addiction. It's... a rabbit hole deeper than pinterest.

I don't have pinterest, but tumblr can indeed be an amazing time suck. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to see everything. I don't have to scroll all the way back to where I last left off. 

[Too Late Kev]

I always scroll to where I left off on tumblr, but I don't follow that many accounts, so it's not too bad generally. And one of the people I follow lives in Australia, so that's kind of fun because there's stuff to see in the morning here that she posted while I was sleeping. (Does that make sense, timing-wise? I'm not sure, but it tends to happen.)

 

One thing I prefer about Pinterest is that you can follow a person or you can just follow a few of their boards. Or you can follow a person and unfollow the boards that don't interest you (so then if they add new boards, you'd automatically follow those boards so you could choose whether to continue). Tumblr, on the other hand, if you follow a person, you see everything they post. At least, I think that's how it works, although I might be missing some nuance of it.

 

I don't have to "catch up" on Pinterest, though. I follow a lot of people and boards and there are weeks that I don't look at it at all, so catching up would be impossible.

[ColtRedwine]

(I apologize for a minor digression, but I can't resist posting a thought or two about my experience with TWoP and The Office...)

 

Nine years after the early, glory days of The Office forum on TWoP have passed away, I still struggle to understand why the story of Jim and Pam captivated me on such a deep emotional level, and occupied my thoughts and daydreams with such compelling force. The story shook me up in the first season, absolutely soared like a comet across the sky in the second, and finally began to calm down for me somewhere in the third season. But for more than two seasons, my heart was torn to shreds, and my mind was constantly trying to understand why a story involving two people like this could mean so much to me. I wondered what it meant about who I was, how I wanted to love and be loved, and what my deepest views of life really said about me and my place in the world.

 

I was lucky to stumble across my first forum of any kind at TWoP, and it was sheer luck that the forum participants wrote so well, and thought about things quite deeply and with sharp insights that had real value to me. I have since assumed that every forum would be like that one, but that has not been the case.

 

Somehow, the story of Jim and Pam, at least for a period of time, managed to walk the tightrope between love as an ideal, with all its heart wrenching beauty and longing, and love as a reality, with all its compatibility, warmth, and struggle, and many at TWoP understood this on a deep level. I will probably always have a warm spot in my heart for all the wonderful posters I remember at TWoP, who created a really exceptional environment to share thoughts, emotions, and ideas.

 

The "27 Seconds of Silence" will always be much more than just a forum topic to me. It mattered in some important way, and it enriched me at a time when I needed to share these ideas and overwhelming connections with like minded people, who felt  "The 27 Seconds..." mattered to them as well. I miss those people, and I hope they are still out there somewhere, sharing their articulate and deep thinking ideas with someone who also benefits from those thoughts.

Anyway, I've thought a lot about the posts and pages from those days, and with the benefit of the number of years that have slipped away since then, I have become quite certain that it was a special time, and I'm lucky I was part of it.

[Pixel]

Lovely thoughts, ColtRedwine.  I felt the same way about Jim and Pam. It was pretty all consuming. Now, knowing the end of it all (happy, but still...end) it doesn't compel me like it once did. So yeah, the 27 Seconds people are still around.  

 

I always forget about Reddit, and I must be old because Tumbler confuses me.

[Too Late Kev]

Tumblr doesn't seem to have much structure, which definitely confuses me. I use it anyway, mostly to be able to see pics from a family member, but I don't know how to find things like I can in most blogs, for example. And Reddit just seems like a crazy rabbit warren that just keeps going and going, plus it seems to be in NSFW mode most of the time.

 

Colt Redwine, The Office was the thing that really brought me into the online world, too. I spent many nights in the summer after Casino Night lying in bed thinking about how those two crazy kids were going to get together. I saw lots of spoilers so I knew Jim was going to be in Stamford, so I knew we wouldn't just start S3 with them together.

 

I think Jim and Pam pulled us in so much because in the first couple of seasons, The Office's characters, and especially Jim and Pam, were so well-written. They seemed real.

[Kalliste]

Tumblr and pinterest make very little sense to me. I would categorise them as much the same thing except tumblr is for copying/liking/whatever pop culture references and memes and pinterest is for the perfect craft mom's who have little angel children that allow them to have beautiful white, clean houses and they're perfect at anything they try be it cooking/baking or crafts and DIY. 

 

That's my snarky feelings about them anyway. I could go as far to say that they both contributed to ruining the old school blogging world because tumblr was convenient and pinterest meant everyone had to have photos that were perfect so people would notice and pin them.

 

And then there is reddit... reddit that looks like it's 20 years old and the layout is confusing as hell and it's full of a lot of trolls. There is some useful information to be had from reddit but it's laid out so poorly that no one who has anything to do has the time to follow the train of thought.

 

/end snark.

 

ETA:

1. the forum just ate my post.. screw you forum!

2. I also enjoyed early Jim and Pam, but it also made me feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable because in some ways it mirrored how my current relationship came to life and while we all love Jim and Pam, Pam still had feelings for Jim while being engaged to someone else. Fortunately, I can say I found my Jim.. pre season 3 Jim anyway, because Season 3 Jim is such a jerk.

[Glory]

Man, Jim and Pam still get to me. To this day, when I watch The Dundies I get all the feels and just... don't know how to explain it. It's not like it is with my first ship (Buffy and Spike) at all. It's so sweet and tender and heartbreaking all at once. The heat is there, too, which just makes it all the sweeter. 

 

Remember "Canary"? I think that was the name of the fic? It is still one of my favorite pieces of fanfic ever. 

[Too Late Kev]

Kalliste, the thing about Pinterest is it's whatever you want it to be. I have boards for entertainment (some shows have their own boards, some go on miscellaneous boards according to category), boards about my specific weird health issues as well as a general health board, and then boards for any other things that interest me. I pin things for me, and organize it for me...if other people follow, or like/repin my pins, great. But it's just an enormous bulletin board for me to play with.

 

I won't put my Pinterest name here, because it's associated with my real life accounts, but if anyone I know here wants to know it, just PM me (or whatever it is we do here).

 

Glory, I definitely remember Canary. There were some really good fics, weren't there?

[King of Birds]

Hey - been slammed with work. Need to reply about Colt Redwine's post.

 

But y'all need to hit the DVR tonight, to record CNN documentary The Seventies. I read that tonight's ep is about TV in the 70s. 

 

They're gonna have sections on Bionic Woman, Captain Caveman (and the Teen Angels!), jumping sharks, and Fernwood 2Night and the Partridge Family. Because, that's what you think about when you think 70s TV, amiright?

[Glory]

Yup! The car has arrived. And is already getting a tune-up in the shop. Nothing major, a new starter and parking brake. Hubby is happy and we're planning our first "road trip" this weekend. 

[Pixel]

Remember "Canary"? I think that was the name of the fic? It is still one of my favorite pieces of fanfic ever.

 

Oh my god, yes.

[possibilities]

Pixel, have you considered attacking boredom with Hulu? More passive than a discussion board where you can actively post, but lots of stuff to divert attention if you just need something to fill your brain.

 

When I think of the 70s and TV, I think of All in the Family.

 

The Office early years were amazing.

 

So whose birthday was it? Was it happy? Did you have cake?

[Glory]

Oh my god, yes.

Did you save it anywhere? I'd kill for a copy. Maybe the wayback machine would have it?

Found it. Fuck.

http://mtt.just-once.net/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=426&warning=5

Edited June 12, 2015 by Glory

[MichelleAK]

I remember 70's TV as watching MASH, Fantasy Island, Welcome Back Kotter, Days of our Lives, Happy Days, All in the Family, and Baretta, among others.  Also, watching them a week after they broadcast in the Lower 48, since this was before live (or near live) TV up here, except for some sporting events.  Fortunately, since there was no internet, we didn't have to worry about being spoiled.

 

Less than two months until my vacation trip!  I don't want to wish away the summer, since it's so short up here anyway, but now that it's paid for, I'm getting antsy.  

[King of Birds]

Ugh, when I got to the man parts part from the copier, I knew where it was headed.

HA!!!  I don't know the piece but now I can figure out PART of the story. (ba-dum!)

 

Sorry to check again so late , but The Seventies ran from 9-10pm tonight. But- it's CNN, it'll be rerun.  First 10-15 min has mostly been All in the Family, Good Times (Lear shows) and now some MASH and MTM.

 

So whose birthday was it? Was it happy? Did you have cake?

 

It was mine. The Big 5-0. I met up with some different friends, it was good times, and my friend S. made me get a slice of chocolate cake at a BBQ joint- it was not great, but we split it, and so it was okay. (Cause she got her chocolate fix too)

[Kalliste]

I'm reading this fic and I'm assuming this is meant to be written from the perspective of Pam's thoughts.. I too, am also at the 'man parts' section and I just feel like Pam was never this ditzy.. perhaps it is the punch speaking.

 

ETA: Ok, I made it through.

 

Hmm. I haven't read fanfic in a while but.. hmm. 

 

He breathed out like she'd punched him, then he was cradling the back of her head and being really careful of her barrette. He kissed her for real and his tongue tasted like punch and also like one of those Listerine cinnamon strips that freaked her out when it clung to the roof of her mouth.

 

He kissed her for real yo. Argh, I'm sorry I felt like it was majorly clunky and written by a 15 year old. I read one of the reviews which referred to it as the Legendary Canary.. may I ask what makes it so legendary?

[possibilities]

It was mine. The Big 5-0.

 

5-0! I'm headed there in a couple of months. Weirdly, I'm looking forward to it. I've been fantasizing about it giving me some kind of street cred. Don't mess with me! I'm old enough to be your grandmother!

 

Also, I just this minute realized I could, theoretically, kick down a door and yell "5-0!" (if I had the strength or balance to do that, which I do not) and it would be er... totally legit? No?

 

Well, in my mind anyway, it's a great year and gives me all kinds of cultural legitimacy, even though probably no one else thinks so. I mean, no one else will really even KNOW, but in my head, it's giving me authority. People tend to think I'm much younger than I am, and I always think it means they don't take me seriously. I know some women like it, but I never get the feeling it has to do with thinking I'm hot, it always seems to be people who want to talk down to me or de-legitimize me in some way.

 

Of course, being 50 means no longer being in the 18-49 demo TV likes to appeal to. But there's nothing we can do about that.

[Glory]

Dude no! You guys can all go away. 

That fic was THE fic back in the day. Like, the fic all fics aspired to be. It was hot and amazing and you all... JUST LEAVE ME ALONE WITH MY FIC! 

[Kalliste]

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday KoB.. no poll for it?

 

I was so scared when I turned 30. I was feeling a bit insecure because I felt like I'd wasted a lot of my 20's and should have accomplished more and etc. Then I found out that most my peers were the same age or older and it was a little better. Now I manage people who are older than me.. although I'm fairly certain my co TL is younger but he's also a terrible manager so that also makes me feel better.. maybe it's because today I passed my 6 month probation period with my current job and my boss said I've done awesome and he'd recommend me for any team I wanted to go to and would definitely expect my 12 month contract to be renewed. yeah!

 

The fic made me go back and read the few fic I wrote back in the day for Veronica Mars.. other than my excess of commas (I've moved onto ellipses now obviously...) I think it was ok.. I would have been 22/23 when I wrote it. I guess it's ok :P

 

And being that you loved the fic Glory, what did you (and the masses) find amazing and hot about this fic? I found it odd that Pam would just submit to Roy that way and just take his flaccid penis and think of Jim. I would expect Pam to be more of the "I have a headache" or "I'm tired" excuse maker rather than let him do what he wants to her and wait for it to be over.

[King of Birds]

Of course, being 50 means no longer being in the 18-49 demo TV likes to appeal to. But there's nothing we can do about that.

You can watch shows like you're still a teenager?

 

Okay so I took 3 minutes to make a poll instead of working.

Edited June 12, 2015 by King of Birds

[Pixel]

Just re read, wondering if it didn't hold up based on comments here. Nope. It's still awesome. Canary is the bomb. I love how they talk awkwardly to each other, and it's super hot.

[Too Late Kev]

I'm afraid to re-read Canary, especially since seeing the excerpt...I'm gonna stick with watching for the occasional Terminator fanfic, which should actually tick back up soon with the new movie coming 7/1.

 

KoB, I chose rain for you, but not rain that would cause flash-floods or hill collapses. Maybe just a nice bit of rain every day at 2 AM? Or maybe twice a day at first (midnight and 6 AM?) to get you to where you should be and then daily at 2 AM.

[Glory]

Pixel is my soul mate.

[Kalliste]

I voted for the time bomb cake and also replace instances of Jim in Canary with KoB.. can we also remove the Roy related parts?

[Glory]

He's a she. 

[Too Late Kev]

Well since he is a she: 

 

I voted for other to be discussed in the thread. I would give you a free pass to walk your dog around my turkey farm. She would probably go nuts with them and the hay field and the deer and bears and rabbits. And I think her being happy would make you happy. 

Pfft. You're not fooling us with the "turkey" farm, Dwight. We know it's you, and we know it's beets.

[possibilities]

How do we send rain? We use that song, right?  They say it never rains in Southern California, but man, it pours.

Also, cookies! How about some pecan sandies? Choc chip vs oatmeal is a classic, but there are too many cookies out there to limit choices to just those two.

 

What? You think I'm not doing my part for teenage demos by watching Degrassi? And Faking It? And The Fosters? I put in my time! I even suffered through the most recent season of Awkward. I don't think I can do more than that. I try to balance it with Grace and Frankie and other Old People Drama, though. So maybe I cancel myself out.

 

The "part" on the copier in Canary is just

Michael's ass

. Not really an erotic element. My thing with the whole J/P situation is that I got impatient with Pam after a while. I thought he cluelessness eventually was just plain faked. There was just no way she didn't know what was happening after a certain point, and I lost some respect for her for gaming it and gaslighting both guys because she was what? Just that scared of change? The possibility of being alone? Facing the fact that Roy was a jerk to her? I get being slightly risk averse. But eventually she just seemed like a drip. And then later, when they did get together, she took crazy risks, like quitting her job or blowing off art school, and left Jim to be the stable one. It's like she never really took responsibility, and always had an excuse. I wanted to like her, but in the end I thought she was awful and it made me like Jim less because he just faded into her background, too.

[King of Birds]

Pixel is my soul mate.

How very facebook of you. I think Pixel's soul mate is Elsa, from Frozen.

 

Maybe the wayback machine would have it?

MTT closed? I thought Jammers would keep that going til the 23rd century.

[Kalliste]

To me it was more that Pam was trying to convince herself that nothing was going on. She was engaged to someone, she should be following that through and getting married because that's what engaged couples do (even if it was the longest engagement ever) and yeah, Roy is a jerk but he's been there, with her, for a long time. Probably also a fear of change and also the repercussions that a change like breaking of an engagement and a relationship with someone she also works with and then starting something up with someone else she works with.

 

I never really thought of Jim as the responsible one. I mean.. he bought a house without telling her about it! To me, the art school thing was about trying something new, embracing that change she had been so scared of before and Jim was allowing her to try it while helping support her, the same as she supported/ran the family while he went to Philly.. and completely ignored her pleas for help because he didn't want to take responsibility and come back home.

 

I like Jim.. except his season 3 jerkdom (and the Philly jerkdom) and bringing back Karen when Pam so obviously called off her relationship to be with him and pretending nothing happened but I don't think he was more responsible or stable than Pam.

[Too Late Kev]

MTT is still around, both the forum and the fanfic. It's very quiet, has been for a while, and keeps getting quieter. Every few months I remember to check in, never finding much. It was hopping for a time, though, with many immigrants from TWoP.

 

It might have been that Canary was removed by the author at some point, I don't know.

[sacrebleu]

I'm with Too Late Kev, I don't want to re-read it, I just want to remember Canary as being hot and awesome.

 

Paris was fantastic, people. And Copenhagen, wow, I've never seen a prettier city. And I come back to see on this very site- a plug for a Danish crime drama which raves about the beautiful scenery. (so, I've watched two episodes of Dicte on Netflix)

 

What I learned in my travels. The French love ham. (seriously- we were offered ham for breakfast, lunch and dinner). I think they're like the Indians with Buffalo, they use every single part of the pig.

 

 

Photos!? So we can live vicariously through you

 

Well, Hateballers can see my FB posts-- but other pictures are here: 

Edited June 13, 2015 by sacrebleu

[Kalliste]

Photos!? So we can live vicariously through you :P

[EllieH]

KoB, you've never been to Chili's?

[Pixel]

I honestly think the difference in perspective on Canary is that when we originally read it, it was way before we ever knew Pam and Jim would ever get together. When I went back to reread it, I put my mind back to that time, when I was pretty obsessed with Pam and Jim admitting their feelings to each other. If the first time you read it is now, when we know the outcome, you don't have the same emotional gut investment as you would have then.

[King of Birds]

KoB, you've never been to Chili's?

Oh, I've been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run

... But I ran out of places and friendly faces

Because I had to be free

I've been to paradise but I've never been to {chilis} ...

 

eta: LOL, top of the page AND I am cracking myself up with this reply. I should karaoke this song and change that last line as "chilis..."

 

FINE, I'm my own favorite audience. What did Glory say about her canary? "GO away! shut up!"

Edited June 13, 2015 by King of Birds

[King of Birds]

Anyone here watch Game of Thrones, and can shortly explain why the world is grumbling about it? I know ZILCHO about GoT (well, except that everyone calls it GoT).

 

Glory, where are you and Guts taking the hot-rod? Like, just a short trip around Chitown or are you hitting the highway up to Milwaukee, something like that? (or just heading to Pixels to burn some donuts?)

 

Oh, and lookie here. Y'all happy about this?

Edited June 15, 2015 by King of Birds

[sacrebleu]

 

Anyone here watch Game of Thrones, and can shortly explain why the world is grumbling about it?

well, without spoiling anything, they've run out of source material-- and many people are upset at some of the deviations from the GRRM story, Mainly that violence done to one person in the last book- was left uncertain as to whether that person survived, and was not left uncertain in the show.

 

And there were a few other plotlines that deviated from the book that (many think) were poorly handled.

[MichelleAK]

As sacrebleu stated, there were some changes to the source material that were not improvements, IMHO.  I still think the violence to one person noted above (if referring to

Jon

) is still not set in stone, despite what the show runners say, but I was not happy with Sansa's or Jaime's storylines at all.  

 

On the other hand, I am happy with Tyrion's and Varys' storylines. Much better than in the 5th book.

 

We set a temperature record today--83 degrees (F)!  It was even warmer on my side of town, by a couple of degrees.  Fortunately, there is a bit of a breeze, which is helping here in town. Unfortunately, there are two forest fires burning (one north, one south, of me) which are not under control at all, in part because of the wind.

[Pixel]

I have never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones. Not one dirty boob has graced my screen.  Also, I find George R. R. Martin to be an offputting weirdo.

[King of Birds]

So happy that no dirty boobs have been on your screen! I assume you have a wall sized, 80" TV... that would be some dirty boob, eh?

 

Pixel, have you binge-d through the new OITNB yet?

 

Any of you part of the Jurassic World record-setting weekend? Did you plunk down your dough and see humans get all wacked out by dinosaurs?

[Too Late Kev]

I've finished 8 out of 13 OITNB episodes...speaking of boobs on screens. It's very good and we're getting backstories of some secondary or tertiary characters, which I love (as one of the few Office fanfic writers that wrote about Stanley, Andy, Meredith, etc...)

 

The Kev family was part of Jurassic World. It was decent "of type," but I wouldn't really say it was a must-see in the theater.

[Kalliste]

I wasn't part of it.. I haven't really been into the hype. I'll probably watch it when it is on dvd, maybe.

 

I just had breakfast covered in honey.. honey should always come in squeezy bottles, it's so much easier! Most of the local suppliers (are beekeeper/sellers farmers?) here just have it in massive tubs.

[Kalliste]

Oh yeah, I saw one of those last week.. do people still use them? My question then is, how do you clean one of those?

[smrou]

I used to have one of those, but I find a regular spoon easier. But it would be nice if honey always came in squeezy bottles. The honey I get always comes in jars, but now I'm thinking I should buy a squeezy bottle and just pour the honey from the jar into there.

[Glory]

I think the honey spoon thing is easier. I prefer it to squeeze bottles which always seem to junk up. 

 

KoB, no major road trip planned. We were going to visit some friends about an hour away and stay for the day. But car's back in the shop just to look over a few minor things. My husband is definitely baby-ing this thing. 

 

I did not see Jurassic World and am sad because I have no one to go with. Pixel, want to go with me? LOL