Toronto Tenth a triumph

July 18, 2009 10:48 PM

Kudos – especially to Gman, who apparently does not ride on his looks after all – for pulling off a beautifully executed and amicable MeFi 10th.

That is all.

Except for the likely hit job in that alternative newsweekly. Thursday’s going to be an important day for us.

posted by joeclark to Toronto, ON at 10:48 PM (74 comments total)

yes, thanks very much gman! the bar was awesome.

thanks to everyone who came -- what a great time!
posted by gursky at 11:07 PM on July 18, 2009

Hooray gman! And everybody else. Good times all around, even if only two of you could say my username.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 12:05 AM on July 19, 2009

Yay Gman! Hurray Toronto!
posted by SassHat at 12:17 AM on July 19, 2009

Hurf durf why do I come in here before passing the hell out

I just don't know man
posted by tehloki at 12:21 AM on July 19, 2009

Good meeting everyone!
posted by ODiV at 12:21 AM on July 19, 2009

oh yeash, good thing btw
posted by tehloki at 12:21 AM on July 19, 2009

it is funny because odiv and i are in the same house
posted by tehloki at 12:22 AM on July 19, 2009

Congrats to us. I loved and was fascinated by everyone. I hope only a little time passes before we meet up again. Sleep well :)
posted by cranberrymonger at 12:42 AM on July 19, 2009

An excellent evening. A fantastic group of folks. Hope to do this again sometime. Thanks for putting this together. Ow my head.

Not necessarily in that order.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:36 AM on July 19, 2009

I have a crazy headache right now. What the bloodclot?

gman FTW! Oh hells yes.
posted by chunking express at 5:08 AM on July 19, 2009

Yes, thanks gman. That was a most excellent party.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:42 AM on July 19, 2009

Thanks everybody. That was fun! Sorry I didn't get to meet everyone.
posted by typewriter at 6:56 AM on July 19, 2009

I was expecting to be clubbed to death by a mob of strangers - that didn't happen.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 7:00 AM on July 19, 2009

Thank you again to gman for finding such a nice location and organising a great party. I really enjoyed meeting everyone, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:03 AM on July 19, 2009

Favourites all around! Bit tired and hungover this morning, but it was worth it...
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:33 AM on July 19, 2009

Ditto to all that.
posted by Casuistry at 7:41 AM on July 19, 2009

Thanks again, gman!

(I said this in the details thread last night, because I couldn't figure out how to post a new thread in here.)

I took just a few pictures last night, and put the best of those few onto the Toronto meetup page in the usual way. Sadly, it was too dark for a lot of picture-taking without flash (which means it's also too dark for a lot of picture-taking *with* flash, since it hurts when everybody's dark-adapted).
posted by FishBike at 7:48 AM on July 19, 2009

I had a great time! Wicked crew. Kudos to those who made the trip (this includes those from Hamilton). I really do wonder what I said to the EYE WEEKLY girl who showed up after I'd already consumed copious amounts of alcohol.
posted by gman at 9:10 AM on July 19, 2009

Hope your dog is better, gman. Thanks for making the party happen.
posted by anthill at 9:19 AM on July 19, 2009

I really do wonder what I said to the EYE WEEKLY girl who showed up after I'd already consumed copious amounts of alcohol.

Won't it be fun when we all find out together! Just curious, was the attendance of said reporter a planned thing, or did she crash the party?
posted by FishBike at 9:24 AM on July 19, 2009

This was fun, thanks gman, and to the wonderful people at the Troubadour. It was an excellent venue.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:42 AM on July 19, 2009

Excellent time! Thanks gman and everyone!
posted by the dief at 9:59 AM on July 19, 2009

I put up my photos; They were so strange and psychedelic I had to put on animal collective while I was editing them
posted by tehloki at 11:18 AM on July 19, 2009

What a great meetup! Thanks, gman, you pulled together a great shindig. (How's the puppy doing?)

I don't think I foisted myself on quite everyone there, so I probably missed a few people, but it was great to see the stalwarts and the newbies. But I think the next time we have anything large like this, we should go full tilt dork and hand out nametags.
posted by maudlin at 11:26 AM on July 19, 2009

Fun party. Nice to meet more people. Thanks gman!
Plus we discovered Vesuvio, where we ate an awesome dinner.
posted by chococat at 12:09 PM on July 19, 2009

good fun! thanks gman for organizing
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:45 PM on July 19, 2009

Photos. Please add your name or other details as desired.
posted by joeclark at 12:53 PM on July 19, 2009

Christ that was fun. Random thoughts:

tehloki needs to stop being so fucking cute.

maudlin proved once again that her username is MADE OF LIES AND DECEPTION.

jacquilynne is bistitchual. who knew?

randomination's wife is lovely.

Go Banana is as awesome in person as online.

tehloki really needs to stop being so fucking cute.

chunking express is smaller than I had imagined.

Phire is gorgeous!

I probably talked a load of tosh to the eye reporter (who was apparently invited, not a crasher).

5_13_23_42_69_666 has a gorgeous house and hooray 3am martini in the fantastic backyard! (thanks!)

tehloki really fucking needs to fucking stop being so fucking cute.

gman rocks. Thanks!
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 1:48 PM on July 19, 2009

I managed to hardly be in any pictures :)

It was a great place, and a great time.
posted by Chuckles at 1:58 PM on July 19, 2009

BAGELBOY I WISH I COULD FAVORITE YOU IN HERE
posted by tehloki at 2:19 PM on July 19, 2009

that just ruled, gman!
Yay hangover!
posted by kuujjuarapik at 4:10 PM on July 19, 2009

Just got back home after a weekend with marginal net access.

I will practice pronouncing my nick so that it's intelligible in a crowded room.

Everybody I met: Glad I met you! Everybody I didn't meet: Sorry I didn't get to meet you! Kudos especially to gman for the hard work, SassHat for the beer, a whole lot of people for the good cheer, conviviality and just plan all around great evening.

If I had to do it again, I would. Toronto gives good party.
posted by ardgedee at 4:50 PM on July 19, 2009

Despite the fact that I am much of a lurker, and so, of course, never properly rsvp'd to the invite, I managed to have a great time. Thanks, gman, for your gracious hospitality! Until next time...
posted by Cheeto at 5:47 PM on July 19, 2009

chunking express is smaller than I had imagined.

When I tell people i'm skinnier than anyone they know, i'm not just talking smack. Everything else I say on the other hand...
posted by chunking express at 7:18 PM on July 19, 2009

Oh that was a fucking brilliant party, gman. Thanks for pulling everything together - and thanks for ardgegee for getting my awesome-tastic MeFi shirt to me!

Now I wish I lived in Toronto so I could harass you people more often. I loved everyone I met and mourned everyone I didn't meet. Now I'm off to stare at photos.

/Just got off a miserable 5-hour Greyhound ride after being on my feet for 10 hours, so I'm probably not totally coherent.
posted by Phire at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2009

Chunking Express, where are your photos man?!
posted by Phire at 7:35 PM on July 19, 2009

On my computer. I haven't even looked at them I was out and about all day. I'll put them up after work tomorrow. Hopefully they turned out. I won't lie: I was pretty drunk. That was a nice night out.
posted by chunking express at 7:39 PM on July 19, 2009

Good Times!
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 7:46 PM on July 19, 2009

BAGELBOY I WISH I COULD FAVORITE YOU IN HERE

If only you'd said that last night!
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 7:54 PM on July 19, 2009

I'm sure there are at least some good ones since you took so many.
posted by Sargas at 8:39 PM on July 19, 2009

Great party! Wish I could have stayed longer. FishBike--many thanks for the lift home. dirtynumbangelboy--you're way cuter in person than you are online (but you're really cute online too). Phire--you are a lovely person all around! Thank you gman for organizing. Lovely venue.
posted by Go Banana at 8:55 PM on July 19, 2009

tehloki's photos are awesome and crazy. I think we all have the ring virus.
posted by chunking express at 7:28 AM on July 20, 2009

Yeah, some of those look like "last known photograph" material.

Either that or we're getting de-atomized.
posted by ODiV at 7:55 AM on July 20, 2009

So...was there any sort of an afterparty?
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:15 PM on July 20, 2009

When Eric and I bailed at 3 AM, dnab was heading off with Barb (she of unpronounceable usernames, aka 5_13_23_etc). Not sure if anything came of that.
posted by Phire at 2:47 PM on July 20, 2009

Here are some photos. Sorry if they aren't so good. I don't know if you guys noticed, but I was pretty loaded. Great seeing all you beautiful peoples. I don't think I met everyone. Next time!

Booyaka!
posted by chunking express at 4:29 PM on July 20, 2009

yea, I invited people over for an afterparty, but I guess it was a bit late, so it just ended up being me and dnab drinking cucumber martinis in the backyard.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:46 PM on July 20, 2009

chunking express, the pics look good to me. And I'm even in one of them. Proof I was there! ;) Thanks for posting 'em.
posted by FishBike at 4:51 PM on July 20, 2009

MY BEERSHIELD: LET ME SHOW YOU IT

also tehloki I am reasonably certain I told you to stop doing this
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 5:36 PM on July 20, 2009

Wow...did I somehow avoid the chunking-cam all night? Great pics, though!
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 8:29 PM on July 20, 2009

No we saw each other. I vaguely remember saying hey. I took 186 photos, or something like that. I'll do another look through them all to see if I have photos of people I didn't put up. My guess is that if I do have a photo, it might be kind of so-so or something. I have a shit load of photos of tehloki, blane, sargas, and gman, who were all sitting next to me at the back of the patio for a long while.
posted by chunking express at 4:58 AM on July 21, 2009

Also, I forgot a bunch of peoples names so if you see someone you recognize make a note please.
posted by chunking express at 5:11 AM on July 21, 2009

I think the photos are rad, chunking express.
posted by Phire at 5:44 AM on July 21, 2009

Haha, yeah, I know I ruined at least one photo of me by dodging because you walked by and put the camera right in my face. I'm not offended or deprived or anything; merely amused.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 7:11 AM on July 21, 2009

Nice Photos, chunking express! I'm the guy with the big beard (go figure) and happy face t-shirt.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 7:35 AM on July 21, 2009

If you don't like scrolling through Flickr pages, you can view the photos on I Hardly Know Her, which is a much cleaner interface I think. (You can view everything big, for starters.)
posted by chunking express at 10:51 AM on July 21, 2009

I like that I Hardly Know Her interface. I didn't attend the meetup, but thanks for the site. Flickr pages have always annoyed me.
posted by purephase at 6:08 PM on July 21, 2009

Can I also just add that you are all quite rad and I want to hang out lots more.

Big ups to Ardeegee for bringing my beloved MeFi shirt across the border! And I have like ten new favorites including cheeto, gursky, cranberrymonger, odiv, the card cheat, and more whose names elude me right now. And of course to my old faves like Maudlin, Chuckles, jaquilynne, orange swan, and obvs, dnab (when I left you were in the midst of an ode to grilled cheese, if I remember correctly).

If I asked you your user name a thousand times, I apologize. Especially to Multicellular Exothermic. That was a toughie.

I'm sorry for the assumptions I make about men with beards. Sorry, beards.

Gman, you are the best, even though I couldn't really tell if you were being sarcastic or sincere most of the time. Thanks for proving there is no need to be scared of the Junction.

Let's not wait another ten years for the next one, ok?
posted by SassHat at 6:59 PM on July 22, 2009

Anybody have any news re: the EYE article on the meetup, yet?
posted by tehloki at 7:18 PM on July 22, 2009

Doesn't look like we were HIP and ALTERNATIVE enough. Wasn't in the paper.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 3:38 PM on July 23, 2009

Doesn't look like we were HIP and ALTERNATIVE enough. Wasn't in the paper.

Or maybe they didn't get a picture they could run with the story? As I understand it, their photographer didn't show up. I got a business card from the reporter and a question about whether I would consider having any of my pictures published with the story.

As it turns out, I took very few and none of them seemed worthy for that purpose. Also it seemed potentially un-cool if people were not aware they might "get their picture in the paper".

Anybody else get that offer? Anybody else take them up on it and send something?
posted by FishBike at 4:33 PM on July 23, 2009

oh, cad timmit.

Whose friend was the reporter again? Maybe we can get confirmation
posted by tehloki at 5:16 PM on July 23, 2009

Pretty sure that she was joeclark's idea.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 10:57 PM on July 23, 2009

Yep, she was a friend of Joe Clark's. It's possible it might be in the next issue? That or we are way too boring. Or she felt intimidated since whenever she mentioned she was a reporter someone asked if she wrote the (great) article in the Globe and Mail.
posted by chunking express at 6:12 AM on July 24, 2009

Kate Carraway is not my “friend.” Her boss is. He couldn’t cover the meetup.
posted by joeclark at 3:06 PM on July 26, 2009

Sorry. Didn't realize you wouldn't help her move.
posted by chunking express at 8:24 PM on July 26, 2009

Chunking Express, quit being a dick.
posted by joeclark at 9:02 AM on July 27, 2009

I try Joe. God knows I try.
posted by chunking express at 9:55 AM on July 27, 2009

I try too, but it's wicked hard sometimes.

Congrats, Toronto! You can all take out your trash now. Sure will make the next meetup more pleasant smelling.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 2:25 PM on July 27, 2009

It's the Junction, kuujjuarapik. It always smells like that.
posted by maudlin at 2:48 PM on July 27, 2009

ouch.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:54 PM on July 27, 2009

I didn't notice a smell! honest
posted by tehloki at 4:47 PM on July 28, 2009

Smell? I did notice a certain fragrance. Oh, that smell... No, despite what you may have heard elsewhere, Toronto was fragrant, but in a delightfully good way.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 7:24 PM on July 30, 2009

Months later, Kate Carraway wrote about MeFi 10th in a largely-inoffensive portion of a blog post.
posted by joeclark at 1:05 PM on October 17, 2009