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Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006
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12:11a
A follow-up on LiveJournal's announcement(s) of sponsored communities that did not exactly make the masses jubilant:
There's a merry gathering in a post in the  scienceofsleep comm, which is the first sponsored community to be featured by LJ.
It all begins with  yellowdello2112's announcement that the movie "made [her] a different person".
There is some agreement.
Then it starts with insomnia's comment (oh, how fitting a username).
And we are off with insults hurled towards those who said they liked the movie, discussions about boycotting it, the obligatory calls of No Myspace!, questions as to who is a sockpuppet and who isn't, people advising others to download movies featured in sponsored comms from torrent sites, a user pimping an alternative community, which is not being taken kindly by those who feel the user missed the point, enlightening insights in the movie industry, questioning of the OP's motives, Arabian proverbs.
This thread finally gets down to the core of the problem: now we cannot tell who is real on the internet anymore:
Of course, this is the worst thing about "sponsored communities": they destroy trust. We can no longer trust that a user is a real user, not a corporate sock puppet. We cannot tell who is an actual emo kid and who is an astroturfer.
But what about the nurses and the Pakistani Ladies?
Also, I learnt a new word: Astroturfing.
ETA: Comment deletion has begun.
(55 comments |comment on this)
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11:07a - San Francisco restaurants and Michelin stars
I was really hoping I'd find some fallout from the newly released Michelin ratings for San Francisco restaurants. It took a little digging, but I think I've found some good stuff.
The San Francisco Chronicle says, "OMG they just don't get us. We're better than New York!" (Also, I didn't see this until I went out after work, but this story was on the front page. Food is serious business.)
"I'm disappointed by not getting two stars," said La Folie's Roland Passot, who has a four-star rating from The Chronicle but got just one from Michelin. "I was not expecting to get three stars, but I was hoping to get two. I don't know how they judged.
"Some of the one-stars have no tablecloths and people waiting in line outside. I know we're better than those restaurants," Passot said.
The Chronicle's restaurant reviewer says, "The French Laundry is TOO GOOD." (Comments are still growing on this entry.)
Maybe we should blame it on the French Laundry. I wonder if our restaurants are being handicapped because it's much better than any of the other restaurants here and the three stars in New York, including Per Se.
eGulleteers weigh in with mixed reactions.
I'll bite. After living in San Francisco for a number of years, I was eagerly awaiting the announcement, and to be honest, it left me extremely apathetic to the whole thing. I don't mean to discredit those who have earned their stars (and congrats go out to you!) but the whole Michelin Guide seems to me at least, to be a bit lost here in America.
But for the ultimate explosion, we turn to Joy at Confessions of a Restaurant Whore.
All I can say is: What the fuck?
I have been waiting for this announcement with the anticipation of a virgin on prom night. Sadly, like the aforementioned, I have ended up with nothing but the disappointing knowledge that the real thing can never live up to the fantasy.
Range, an excellent restaurant, is totally worthy of it's one star, but why then why no Delfina? Why no Zuni? And how do you put Range and The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton in the same category? The Ritz should have two at least, in my opinion. They are making some bad ass yums over there. And Bushi-tei? Really? Because I just don't see it, folks.
Don't even get me started on Michael Mina's two stars. I just about puked on my keyboard reading that shit.
Isn't that fabulous? And all over restaurant ratings!
ETA: I forgot to check Yelp. They've got a big thread about it. It basically comes down to, "Michelin sucks, and our reviews here at Yelp are much better!"
ETA2: Oh yeah, and then there's Chowhound, too.
And an excellent quote from Clark Wolf in the San Jose Mercury News (registration required):
"It shows Michelin is anachronistic and doesn't know what it's doing," Wolf says about the Bay Area list. "The message is that this guide is for French people who want to visit San Francisco in 1960. To give Fleur de Lys and La Folie only one star and to give Aqua two means they're smoking funny cigarettes. This is all just a waste of paper."
VERY LATE ETA: This person has found every blog everywhere complaining about the Michelin stars.
current mood: hungry (67 comments |comment on this)
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3:43p - Someone's wanking in the Quad!
On the seventeenth of September, my college was visited by the group Tradition Family Property, who stood right outside the Student Memorial Center and played the bagpipes badly. I took pictures and video, since I love my digital camera and will take pictures of almost everything, put it on my LJ, it was over.
Wrong. The student newspaper, The Snapper, ran an article about it, with someone who agrees with their principles. And they cite the Facebook group that's against Tradition Family Property.
In tune with my own beliefs, I also think that those who oppose the TFP should do so in a more respectful fashion. This was not the case last Monday. Irate verbal attacks on the organization included calling the group Nazis and “Aryan Wackos.” A stroll around the dining halls that day would have revealed a number of anti-TFP conversations. I even stumbled across a Facebook group called Coalition against the Red Bagpiper. If you visit the group, you will find that their posts are full of cynicism and hate. One writer complains, “They’re destroying everything I love, including baby killing.” The worst part about such opposition is that it is usually in the name of tolerance, respect, and freedom. Yet, it seems people of this opinion are intolerant of any views opposing their own.
Why they would take the 'baby killing' comment seriously, I don't know.
The comments asplode.
( Abortion, God and Hitler all in one thread. )
And there's going to be another article sometime, probably next week, as I've been asked if the paper can use my photos.
(136 comments |comment on this)
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9:07p - Attention shoppers! Troll in Aisle Five!
Over at ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif) customers_suck, orphenzidane posts a story:
( Full text in case of deletion )
Most of the commentors call bullshit.
However, others take it upon themselves to warn the OP of her illegal behavior:
You're lucky you didn't go to jail!
I hope you get charged with assault. Also, what nice restaurant serves chicken nuggets?
If you put your hands on an adult, you could expect an ass-beating. Don't think you can put your hands on A fucking CHILD to teach an ADULT a lesson.
Mini-wank about the definition of sexual assault!
Also, there's some congratulations:
Awesome! You are a hero. It's about time someone made a parent wake up.
And flameprincess wins the understatement of the year award:
It's not bad for a story but it's a little loose in places on the believability factor.
Bonus:
o_o
うそつき.
>_> by the way, あしゅり would have to be written as アシュリ since that name isn't naturally Japanese and all, but I'm sure you and your hardcore self already knew that.
EDIT: stupid_free and cf_hardcore weigh in.
(233 comments |comment on this)
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