Thursday, April 5, 2012

MKM Open Thread (April 4, 2012)

Welcome to your MKM Blog open thread for April 4, 2012, the day reality finally became muthaphuckin' awesome.

Good morning, everyone.  Who's got two thumbs and is feeling less suicidal than yesterday morning?  Okay, one thumb.  Let's move on.

I feel like things have slowed down here and elsewhere of late.  I'm hoping that's temporary, at least as to Deadspin.  There have actually been some really good comments lately, I made two excellent jokes that went almost entirely unappreciated yesterday, for example.  But, overall, commenting seems less ... energetic.  That's just my impression, but I don't feel like there's the energy we all had even a month or so back, where there was just winner after winner, everyone was feeding off each other, and +1s were flowing like the Salmon of Capistrano.

I think I know just the thing that will change this: a Youtube clip to get you started.


48 comments:

  1. IMG Likes a Fifth of SomethingApril 5, 2012 at 10:43 AM

    You of all people should know today's the 5th.

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    1. wake up wake up wake upApril 5, 2012 at 6:55 PM

      The only day IMG cares about is the FIRST OF DA MONNNNNNNTH

      Delete
  2. Poor, poor Lionel. Check his comment in the Francona post, if you're wondering what I mean.

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    1. It would seem just following up these types of things with "+1" is just not getting the point across.

      Delete
  3. Live long enough you're bound to find
    moonshine'll make a man go blind
    Never can tell what the brew will do
    but there's times you'll wind up feelin' so fine

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mangini In A BottleApril 5, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    Relevant: the first day of the year that I realize how much I hate being a Cubs fan when I see ~9325 new pieces of Cubs apparel being worn by sorority girls from the suburbs who couldn't identify Ernie Banks if he came up and introduced himself as "Mr. Cub."

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    1. This is the 97th day of the year that I realize how much I hate being a Cubs fan, because we (yes "we", FIGHT ME!) are going to suck horribly this year. I'll still be watching whenever possible, however. Because I love pain.

      Delete
  5. Pink comment of the year. Where can this bro get a Dwight Howard Jersey?

    Are you happy now, link nazis?!?!?

    ReplyDelete
  6. You know what sucks? I have a ton of nice Dwight Howard jerseys and theres virtually no market for me to unload them on the cheap.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unaffiliated Third PartyApril 5, 2012 at 3:56 PM

    Poor Same Sad Echo. Guy left a frigging hilarious Perfect Strangers joke in that umpire thread, only to get no love because BBAM selfishly dropped a much better joke immediately afterward.

    Don't worry about Echo though. Luckily he has grace, dignity and aplomb that comes with having an enormous penis to see him through.

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  8. So Will and his buddy are just going to review movies from any fucking time in the history of cinema whenever they feel like it? That's like the purest definition of self gratification ever. Masturbate away, fellas!

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    Replies
    1. No shit. Maybe tomorrow they'll review No Country For Old Men. Can you believe its been FIVE years already???!!

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    2. Yeah I complained about this on here last week, it is fucking lame and completely unreadable.

      "20 Years Ago, Hollywood Became Self-Aware; Or, How A Robert Altman Movie Helped Create TMZ" Nothing about that sounds interesting in the least bit.

      Delete
    3. 2+ hours after going up, no comments on the Grierson post. Take a hint guys.

      Delete
  9. I know some of you enjoy my work over at Jezebel, so here's a link to today's work, which was one of my better attempts.

    http://jezebel.com/5899319/stop-using-cavemen-as-an-excuse-for-your-fad-diet?comment=48616813#comments

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know I fucked up that link -- sorry moderator who isn't IMG

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    2. I dunno...I've enjoyed some of your stuff over there thoroughly, but that one came across kind of like lazy Jezebel-trolling.

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    3. I don't know. That kind of comes off as something my brother would do. He the kind of guy who thinks deliberately pissing people off is a virtue. Not that I don't like your stuff, it's always pretty good. But bragging about riling up the Jezzies is kind of chickenshit.

      Delete
    4. I can't tell if SbV8 is being serious, but I thought this was funny and horrifying. Ray might have been trolling a little bit, but it was no more overwrought than the typical Jezebel comment - didn't seem out of place to me. I'm really worried about the guy calling him a cheetah and "Situation", though. That was something to behold.

      Delete
    5. I was being serious but didn't mean to say it was out-of-place or inappropriate. I'm just not a fan of trolling (anywhere) without a joke and just am not really feeling that one.

      For the record, I don't think of myself by any means as a obesity-apologist. Just didn't get that one.

      Delete
    6. I thought you actually made some good points, Ray. Up to the whole top 10 law school thing. I double-checked, and there are no top 10 law schools within several states of Florida, and the most successful law school grad in the state is still Tony La Russa.

      Delete
  10. Ray, your points were much tighter and on point than those who "debated" you, but this feels eerily like my infamous dalliance over at Gawker last month. I don't know if the ninja wrote to you like he did to me, but let me paraphrase his sanctimonious advice - "it just isn't worth it."

    Every Gawker site has a subculture which takes itself far too seriously (I include Deadspin in that list - witness the thread above complaining because one of the best new unstarred commenters attempted to make a joke in response to another joke). Attempting to row upstream against that culture is a fool's endeavour, and no amount of logic or dissection of others' arguments will convince the local illuminati to take up your side of the argument.

    I actually don't think you were trolling, any more than I was trolling back then, but it just doesn't do any good to stir up the prejudiced masses with anything approaching an alternate point of view. And, as I learned, inviting them over to compete on the much more difficult Deadspin commenting turf does nothing but spur allegations of elitism.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Um, crazy person? You weren't advocating "an alternate point of view." You were busting on people publicly because you thought their comments weren't very good. That's trolling. That's all it is.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, I've got to agree with Anon here. It's not like you were making some well-reasoned alternate argument on a particular subject and getting shit on; you were straight up trolling, which serves no absolutely purpose. I think Ray was trolling here too, but probably to a lesser extent.

      Also, I'm pretty sure Uwe was lamenting the "Hershisher...didn't even know her" tack-on to Lionel's joke.

      Anyway, I do agree that it just isn't worth it.

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    3. And no, I don't proof my comments before posting.

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    4. You were busting on people publicly because you thought their comments weren't very good. That's trolling. That's all it is.

      I'll take your word for it as the local anonymous expert.

      Delete
    5. Ah, so publicly busting on people because their comments aren't funny enough for your tastes is OK... but actually refuting someone's argument is bad bad baaaaaad if you do it anonymously?

      Thanks, Logic Man!

      Delete
    6. @Echo

      It really does depend on your definition of trolling. As I've said multiple times since then, both directly and as part of multiple apologies - I was drunk and ornery at the time and I went after a few idiotic posters.

      But, by the standard definition of trolling ("saying something you don't actually believe just to get a rise out of others"), I wasn't trolling. I said exactly what I meant and I backed it up when challenged. But, it was a waste of everyone's time, which is why I apologized in the morning.

      Delete
    7. @anon

      Starting a dialogue with "Um, crazy person?" and then retroactively characterizing your comment as "actually refuting someone's argument" is a pitch-perfect Gawker parody. Well done

      (Adding a "Thanks, Logic Man" probably took your satire over the top.)

      Delete
    8. @Echo You are correct on my intentions in the above post.

      Delete
    9. @Uwe @Echo

      My fault. Will Clark also made a tack-on joke in that thread, so I though you were referring to him.

      Delete
  11. (edit to my last comment)

    "One of the best new STARRED commenters" -- congrats "Triumph of the Will Clark"! Well deserved

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    1. Mangini In A BottleApril 5, 2012 at 7:44 PM

      GODDAMMIT. (Kidding.) That's actually excellent to hear - throw me a link?

      /whitlock'd

      Delete
    2. Triumph of the Will ClarkApril 5, 2012 at 7:52 PM

      You know, this took a lot of shirking and avoiding responsibility. I'd really like to thank my boss for paying me despite my shoddy work, my girlfriend for tuning out my prolonged absences in the computer room and most of all myself, through whom all great things cum.

      In all seriousness, this is pretty cool. I've actually been gunning for one for a while now. I still don't quite understand how all this shit works or the etiquette but I will eventually figure it out. Maybe.

      Oh yeah, and thanks to Dubai for steering me this direction.

      Delete
  12. BBAM:This was magnificent.

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    1. Touche.

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    2. Who you callin' a touche, tough guy?

      Also, I just wanted to mention that the money I've spent on the How To Over-React forum down at the Learning Annex has been very well spent.

      Delete
    3. @both:

      Thanks! I haven't been funny in about a week so I decided to try "weird, long-form David Hume" style.

      Delete
  13. Commenter Bashing That You Can Really Get BehindApril 5, 2012 at 8:18 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Commenter Bashing That You Can Really Get BehindApril 5, 2012 at 8:46 PM

      Well, IMG, you're consistent - I'll give you that. Fair enough.

      Delete
  14. Sorry for dropping the Jez link and then bailing for a few hours -- a few thoughts:

    -- I totally understand that few, if any of you, will enjoy this. No one should enjoy it, but I do. So no hard feelings if you don't like it.

    -- Although what I am doing is certainly within some form of "trolling" category, in that I'm clearly looking for a reaction, I don't do it just to be funny or to make fun of people. I just occasionally drop sarcastic comments that in some form or fashion reflect my true beliefs, and then if someone responds irrationally, I play with them a little bit.

    -- In no way do I think my comments fall outside the bounds of what is accepted at Jezebel. I've never been warned or had a thread moved, and I never make fun of people (well, directly, anyway). I enjoy that site and appreciate their culture, and in a lot of ways I embrace it (and, yes, exploit it for my own entertainment).

    -- 9 times out of 10, the thread ends up with women jumping back in and defending me from the first-movers who are just blinded by rage. So I actually have a couple of fans over there.

    -- And for IMG's benefit, neither I nor anyone in my office went to law school anywhere near Florida. They furlough the best of us for grad school.

    -- Congrats to TOTWC -- well deserved!

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    Replies
    1. Your argument was laid out concisely and coherently. Have you ever thought of becoming a lawyer?

      Delete
    2. STUARTSCOTTSEYE GOD DAMMITApril 6, 2012 at 12:58 AM

      They're weird over there, bro. You should have told them to start running like you. You're definitely a "supremacist" and elitist in that arena.

      Also, I was hanging out at a Nike store. That place makes me want to run, but I hate running because it's just the worst. What's the secret to liking running?

      Delete
  15. Does anyone know where Always Winning has been? He hasn't been on Deadspin, or Twitter, but he'll always be in my heart.

    Seriously, I hope nothing happened to him.

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