Chicagoist: Extra, Extra

smussy

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:26:59 -0600

so, i'm to understand you guys now go and play the trivial pursuit *every* thursday? interesante ...

peacebaby

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:05:49 -0600

The interview was from last week's game, and PlumBum talked about it on the blog on Friday. If you guys are actually trying to raise the profile of the blog, you should have been looking for it. NewCity only comes out once a week.

Amy Mikel

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:36:40 -0600

obviously plum knew that the article was being written, since he was interviewed for it last night. makes sense that was the first to find it. no embarrassment here.

peacebaby

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:50:30 -0600

@ plumbum It wasn't so much harassment in the bathroom as more a one woman show called "Breaking the Seal". Awesome. @ Chicagoist...you should be embarrassed you let a commenter mention the fact you were in the press. It should have been it's own post. With all the banner ads and "brought to you by" lines, you seem to love your advertisers enough, so brag about the fact that people are actually reading the blog.

Amy Mikel

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:53:50 -0600

hey plum, can you email me a recap? include anything you can think of!! if anyone else wants to help me out, too, go for it. amymikel[at]gmail.com does anyone have any pictures?

Spav1

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:53:47 -0600

(Breaking Embargo) I am SO SORRY Matty!! We were event talking about you! We always do bar trivia and then transition into Trivial Pursuit. I feel really really bad, but no worries, we will see you next week! I will make a sign that says "Chicagoist". Hearts! (Embargo Back in Effect)

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:45:05 -0600

@Matty: We play both. The bar trivia gives away free beer. And I know what you look like now. Damn, man, really, apologies...

matty

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:44:34 -0600

i guess it was no one's fault though. :(

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:42:57 -0600

@Amy: It is looking that way. I lost to Spav's roommate last night. And the open mic comedians next door harrassed my friend in the bathroom. I might be going up next week to regulate.

matty

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:42:45 -0600

so you guys go to play trivial pursuit but play bar trivia instead? how was i supposed to find you? i was looking for a trivial pursuit board! i was wearing a white checked shirt and went out to the back a bunch of times looking lost. what a waste of time.

Amy Mikel

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:24:12 -0600

if the thursday night sheffields trivial pursuit is becoming a weekly thing, i will definitely start posting recaps on friday mornings.

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:22:56 -0600

Also, I look like a hipster lumberjack and Spav is a massive six foot tall sorority girl with a sweet rack. She keeps trying to pick up random guys, so I'm suprised she didn't talk to you. We'll have the game out from now on :-(

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:19:54 -0600

Seriously, though... fuck. You seem cool and we were all looking forward to meeting you.

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:15:27 -0600

March 6th was yesterday. And sorry, homey. Spav will be pissed you were there and we didn't know. We played bar trivia in order to win free beer. Then we broke out the trivia while taking turns to heckle comedians. Next week is the last week to enter a tournament to go to London and compete there, which is why we end up going every Thursday.

matty

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:11:29 -0600

i dunno i was there until 8:45 then left. I did periodic walk throughs in the back but they were having bar trivia. probably need to show people what people look like or what they will be wearing next time. anyway, penciled for march 6th. sounds fun!

claimtofame

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:41:23 -0600

@ Margaret, Good call. I didn't notice the left sleeve at first.

stevie

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:31:58 -0600

I think you mean "hooooooooray!" about ATA leaving. They're cheap, but terrible.

plumbum82

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:15:05 -0600

@Matty: Dude! We were in the back! We had the board out and everything! Sorry :-( Also, read this: New City March 6th, 2008 The Pursuit of Chicagoist Sheffield’s hosts a Trivial Pursuit bash Laura Hawbaker “I will play. I will lose,” Lucas Shelton says. He peers over the rim of his glasses at a Trivial Pursuit board. “But I will learn a lot.” It’s Thursday night, and Shelton sits with a raucous group from Chicagoist.com (“Simmer down, Chicagoists!” shouts the waitress). They gather in the candlelit back room of Sheffield’s for a Trivial Pursuit smack-down. It’s a Herculean match that snowballed online, culminating in the brave dismissal of their screen names and treasured anonymity. At long last, they are meeting face to face. Chicagoist is an online community of bloggers impassioned by all things Chicago. The site has a fervent group of hardcore commenters, a “peanut gallery” beneath each article that trade jabs at one another in feisty, often-times divisive debate. They communicate every day and know one another’s ages, genders and political parties, but before last Thursday none of them had ever met. The gathering was initiated by Patrick Brown (a.k.a. Plumbum82) in a blog about Scrabble tournaments. The commenters abandoned Scrabble speak in favor of Trivial Pursuit one-upmanship. “It was an intellectual pissing match. We needed to settle it in the field of battle,” says Brown, who later went on to win the game. Rachael Spavone (a.k.a. Spav1), knew she would get a lot of shit if she didn’t show her face at Sheffield’s. “I comment obsessively. It’s ruined my workplace productivity.” Spavone often goes to war with other commenters. She gleefully trades barbs and posts controversial opinions to incite arguments. “Every blog I comment on gets thirty comments. That’s not by accident,” she smiles devilishly, “that’s by design.” It’s a well-sung criticism of the web; hidden behind an anonymous mask, people are free to drop all pretense of civility. Smussy, a former Chicagoist writer who now comments regularly, believes the advent of online communities is a double-edged sword. “It’s made possible the meeting of minds from New York to Russia, but the level of discourse has lowered to the fifth-grade playground. We say things we would never say if we were face to face.” However, Thursday’s rowdy Pursuit game may have rocked Chicagoist on its virtual axis. Spavone admits, much to Smussy’s delight, that it will be harder to insult people now that they’ve met. Brown has an easy answer for Spavone. When asked what he’ll be doing on the site tomorrow, he replies, “Making fun of all the people who didn’t show.” (2008-03-05)

matty

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:32:19 -0600

oh hey thanks everyone for leaving me high and dry at sheffield's. Guess I deserved it.

Margaret Lyons

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:44:42 -0600

If it were real, you'd be able to see her left sleeve.

Kevin Robinson

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:39:58 -0600

Didn't you hear? There's a new law in Gary - if your name is Thomas, you're under indictment.

biscuitcleaver

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:11:27 -0600

I don't think that was photoshopped. Just a clever use of perspective.