fling93

Buzz was also at the first blogger meetup I went to, and I recall chatting with him briefly. I had only just started blogging a couple of weeks ago, my hair wasn’t yet blue, and I rather doubt I said anything particularly memorable. But the next time I saw him was several months later and yet he still remembered me. How cool is that?

He’s always a treat to have around. Insightful and thoughtful and funny, yet unassuming. He also has much better taste in music than I do, but that isn’t saying all that much.

Best of all, he is so refreshingly down-to-earth and real. Which is not really what you’d expect from somebody named Buzz (hmm, maybe that’s why he turned down my name suggestion of Buzzalicious for his Cocoal.icio.us app).

Courtney was the organizer of the South Bay Blogger Meetup group when I first showed up (and yes, I have my wife to thank for finding out about that group). I remember that day just like it was yesterday. It was snowing frogs, with mohawked unicorns brewing a strangely pungent mixture that they called fruitcake but actually bore closer resemblance to Italian architecture. Courtney, as she is often wont to do, parachuted from a Boeing AK-47 and executed a perfect 5-pointed star on the Hackensack walk of cauliflower. And then when she saw me for the first time, she turned to me and said, “You’re wearing your tourniquet inside-out.”

Hmm, come to think of it, my memory isn’t what it used to be. Anyhow, if that blogger meetup group was the only impact on my life Courtney ever had, I would still owe her an unrepayable debt. But I also got invited to her housewarming where I met a bunch of cool and talented people, and of course got to bask briefly in the glorious presence of the one-and-only Eris Stassi. So I think Courtney owns the rights to my soul by now (not that it’s worth that much, what with inflation and all—too bad there aren’t any hedge funds for souls).

We do miss her so in the lame wasteland that is the South Bay, but at least we can still vicariously get our Courtney fixes via our highly exclusive paid memberships in her Flickr fan club. Oh, and I did I mention that she is ridiculously hot? I know I tend to throw around those words a lot lately, but I actually mean it this time. Not to say that she’s the only one who’s ridiculously hot, because there’s obviously the hotness that is Natalie Portman. And Eris too, of course, but this ISN’T a story about Eris now, is it? Why the hell are you trying to distract me? What do you have against Courtney? For shame!

So where was I again? Something about helicopters, I think. Whatever, it couldn’t have been that important or they would’ve left a message.

Mackinaw is one cool cat. He’s so cool that I flew all the way to Montreal for the sole purpose of updating my XFN entry for him to say rel=”met” (well okay, not quite). But a great night of drinking was had, and he let me crash at his place when I couldn’t get back into my other friend’s friend’s place cuz it was too late.

He also invited me and my sister to a birthday dinner for another friend of his, and another great night of drinking and socializing topped off by an absolutely unforgettable free jazz improvisation that opened my eyes to new artistic possibilities.

Not to mention he’s the founder of Librivox and is married to a redhead. How cool is that?

fling is the original user of delicious for commentblogging, something i got interested in just as i began blogging. i read his blog, he sometimes read mine. he was in montreal summer 05, and we had a great time after dinner one night playing improv free jazz.

I was at CourtneyP’s housewarming party. Fling93 & I made up a foursome playing Settlers of Catan.