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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

The Secret J-Blogger Meetings

As readers of both DovBear's blog and my own are aware, we've both invited others to guest post on our blogs this week. Before I discuss the intriguing timing of this, it is interesting to note the similarities and differences between our respective guest posters.

DovBear's usual #2, so to speak, is his liberal Cousin Oliver. My #2 is my somewhat conservative sister-in-law, SIL. DovBear added a kofer (Mis-Nagid), who deserves Post of the Day status for this post; I added a friend (MordyS) who used to be called one. He added a mystical man (Akiva) who is part of 4 blogs; I added a very grounded young lady (Pobody's Nerfect) who is part of none. He added an already-working, married with a kid liberal lawyer who loves sports (Noyam) while I added a desperate-for-a-job, about-to-be-married conservative medical student wanna-be (FrumDoc) who hates sports. Finally, he added a token normal, clear-thinking conservative to be a bit different from the rest (Nephtuli), while I added a crazed nutjob who lives in a compound and goes on strange nighttime trips (Jameel).

The obvious question is... why? Where did we go? Is it just happenstance that two of the more prolific J-bloggers - often on opposing ends of the spectrum of opinion - suddenly hand the keys to their blogs to a group of strangers? While I was tempted to answer yes, I feel compelled to spill the beans to all of you, so here it is:

This week is the annual Super Top-Secret Big J-Blogger Meeting in *********, ******. Normally, we'd all bring our latops and blog from the meeting so as not to arouse suspicion, but alas - Serach wants the computer, and DovBear actually blogs only from work because his wife is a staunch conservative and can't know he has a blog. She thinks he's visiting the godol hador, not the Godol Hador. Ha!

So many of you are probably wondering why Jameel is guest-blogging for me, if he's probably really busy at the meeting and all. Well, the truth is... he wasn't invited. Yeah, you heard me right. We just weren't comfortable having him do what he did last year, which was walking over to everyone's laptops, turning them, and typing "Whatever is being said at the Super Top-Secret J-blogger Meeting, my blog faces Jameel's computer." It just gets annoying after a while, ya know? Things got so bad that though they've since patched things up, RenReb even called him a "cockyhead", and David got so annoyed, he almost overreacted - but thankfully, he kept his gun holstered and baked cheesecake instead.

I can't reveal who else will be there - after all, it is a Super Top-Secret Meeting, and if you're wondering why I didn't list you, of course it's to protect your identity - but I will note with sadness those who won't be there this year. One Psycho is throwing a huge rock concert (as if that were somehow a big deal - hmph!), while another sadly has a tragedy to deal with. We'll miss them both. Also, Orthomom sadly couldn't afford the trip after buying a stroller for her youngest.

Okay - looks like its time for the next presentation by GH - "Why stay Orthodox?!!?" I'm sure this will be markedly different from last year's "Who's right: Gil or Mis-Nagid?!" and bring in never before discussed ideas and approaches that don't go on ad nauseum. Of course.

38 comments:

  1. Ezzie: Call me a nutjob again...and you'll face the wrath of the Muqata.

    1. I'm also guest blogging for DB.

    2. I'm crashing the Super Top-Secret Big J-Blogger Meeting again this year, like it or not. Actually -- I'm already writing this from the ELAL flight over the Atlantic.

    3. I assume you're still upset I didn't ask you to guest blog at the Muqata this past January. Get over it already. I'll see you at the meeting, and DON'T forget the top secret handshake.

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  2. I do not understand - what is the purpose of guest blogging? To increase exposure for a blogger so other readers get exposed to him? What does the host blogger gain from allowing a guest blogger?

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  3. Jameel - LOL!!

    1) I figured. It was our way of keeping you occupied.

    2) Ha! You'll never find us!

    3) :P Moi? Noooo... We changed the handshake, even if I was wrong in (2)!!

    Rafi G - Honestly, none. People feel a little more freedom, have a little more fun, whatever when they're writing on someone else's blog. Sometimes it's just a different person's perspective that's interesting. In my case, I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing what my friends are going to write. So far, so good (see the post before this one).

    It also keeps the blog filled when someone will be busy. This really shouldn't matter, but some of us now have ads on our blogs. Because there are people who pay for those ads, it wouldn't be right for us to not have material up as we normally do, or it might be a question of false advertising on our part in attracting those advertisers.

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  4. the ad reason is good. Also if the guest blogger is not someone with his own blog. But to have a different blogger (like Jameel) is not the same. I mean it's enough that I have to read his propoganda on his own site, now I have to read about the Muqata on yours and Dov Bears as well???
    lol

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  5. Super Top-Secret Big J-Blogger Meeting?

    Wow.

    Is it in Australia? (I want to sneek in...)

    Or else perhaps video conference (anyone got iChatAV?)!

    Enjoy and looking forward to the guest posts (and the regularly programmed Serandez posts of course!)

    It's all just so amusing... *chuckle*
    ;)

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  6. Ezzie: Hello??!

    Just because YOU didn't tell me where the meeting is, doesn't mean that my REAL friends didn't tell me.

    See you in the AM. Bring Coffee.

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  7. Jameel - by REAL friend do you mean someone outside of the blog world? Weird. I mean, I remember those things used to exist but I thought they have been obsolete and outdated since, like, forever..

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  8. RafiG - Yes, there are always drawbacks... :)

    Jameel - Ha. You're going to be on the wrong side of the world... and you fell for it! (But I'll bring the coffee just in case.)

    Sarah - !? You didn't get the invite?! I thought that when you said you were going on a "roadtrip" that meant you were joining us! Oy.

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  9. Sarah - in America "roadtrip" always means California. The again, Ezzie is from NY and NY'ers think nothing exists outside of NY and the roadtri would be in NY(but he is really from Cleveland so he might be different, it is getting very confusing -= maybe that is why his roadtrip is to somewhere other than California)

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  10. Ezzie: Atlantic...Pacific...makes no difference. That was the only way I could fly using my frequent flier points.

    See you soon!

    Rafi G: Real friends, mean friends that would tell you where the super secret meeting is...despite having a different viewpoint than Ezzie's right-wing radical Republican one. Uh oh...just guest blogging for DB has already fried my brain.

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  11. "Ezzie is from NY"?!?!?!?!?

    Wow, I may have to ban my first commenter ever.

    Where I come from, "roadtrip" means getting in a car and having a ridiculous time going to random places all over the country. Like, every baseball stadium or something. And it NEVER includes New York.

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  12. Ha! See what happens when you hang around DB?! I warned you about this!

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  13. I guess I just don't speak American so well, got the codes confused... I had a feeling that things were going on in the Jblogosphere while I was away ;)

    Rafi - the difference between NY and CA is confusing! I'm not from either, I don't even try to figure it out!

    I'd be very happy to hop back in the car and go elsewhere! Although it might be a leeeeetle bit far for my old car. (Hence my suggestion of videochat.)

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  14. LOL at this all!

    (But we did go to some random places... photos coming soon!)

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  15. Jameel - as long as those real friends are bloggers (or IM friends) it is ok.

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  16. Rafi - Jameel makes all of his friends into bloggers, don't worry.

    Sarah - LOL. Ah, Aussies...

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  17. Ezzie: No, it's "makes all bloggers into friends"

    (not the other way around...)

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  18. i'm with jameel on that last comment! ;)

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  19. And here, all this time, I thought you guys were going to surprise me and show up at my show. Oh well, 19,998 more seats to fill...

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  20. POLEOB

    Protocols of the Learned Elders of Blogspot.


    Dag

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  21. Jameel, I wouldn't bother showing up if I were you. Orthomom and I finished all the cookies and ice cream already (she was able to finance her trip through BlogAds; works out well).

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  22. Jameel, Sarah - Amen on that. :)

    PT - Well, if more people buy Blogads... :P

    DAG - LOL

    RenReb - At least you guys made it out of the parking lot this time! Last year was soooo messy...

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  23. I added a crazed nutjob who lives in a compound and goes on strange nighttime trips (Jameel).

    Truer words have never been spoken.

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  24. Steg, come on. Every time someone started to tell you, you started correcting their dikduk! After a while, they gave up.

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  25. I was there in disguise. MuHAHAHAH!

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  26. RenReb: Cookies and IceCream? I was hoping there would be garlic salami and pringles....

    Thank G-d for blogads.

    Steg: Its OK...you can come to the secret Muqata Meeting this summer...and EZZIE is NOT invited. It will be on a Thursday evening this summer between midnight and 4 AM.

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  27. Jameel was the only one man enough to keep out the Palistinian Wedding blogad so he may be short on funds and unable to access the secret locale.

    Ezzie, did you want the sushi platter delivered at noon?

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  28. Sorry Steg. Mis-Nagid - that was you!? That explains SO much...

    Jameel - How could I *not* be at something between 12 & 4? That's MY time!

    David - Who's up at noon!? Midnight, more like it! :)

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  29. 'And it NEVER includes New York.'

    When I was attending college in the Boston area "Road Trip" often meant New York.

    Say, can we have a J-Blogger shabbaton sometime?

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  30. Charlie - only a liberal would *want* to go sit in traffic for a roadtrip. :)

    I'm up for a shabbaton, but I think it'd be rough with the anons...

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  31. I was there in disguise. MuHAHAHAH!

    I thought those peyot on "Ren Reb" looked strange. Now it all makes sense.

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  32. Mystical man??? I resemble that remark!

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  33. HH - ROFL

    Akiva - I always thought you resembled the guy from Ushpizin, actually...

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  34. lol @ this all.
    guess the meeting isn't so secret any more :P

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  35. When I saw the description 'crazed nutjob' I thought for a second you were refering to someone else.

    Whom you did not even mention.

    His little feelings are hurt.

    Sniff.

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