Shots Across The Bow

BlogFest !

VS Knoxville is a gaming center in downtown, and they're holding a blog party from 7-9 on Saturday May 10th. The Sunsphere is Not a Wig Shop provides a review.

If you're into gaming at all, here's a place where you can play to your heart's content and still be social.

Check it out!

BlogFest is a Blast!

Once again, a good time was had by all as several of Knoxville's most brilliant bloggers gathered at the Wild Wings Cafe on Campbell Station Rd for some good food and lively conversation.

Besides me and LissaKay, BlogFest stalwarts Doug and Cathy McCaughan were there with their son Tommy, along with brother bloggers Joe and Victor Agreda. Star 102.1 gave Frank Murphy a rare Saturday off, so he was able to attend and brought along his son, Frank Jr. Rounding out the group was Jon Katsiros, along with his friend and campaign manager. Yes, Jon is a political candidate, although, in his words, he isn't running against Stacy Campfield for the District 18 seat, he's beating him. It was a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces, which shows how quickly the Knoxville blogging community is changing and growing.

The conversation was quick and interesting, ranging from whether or not WBIR should have run with the story of Mike Ragsdale's divorce (No), to why Cathy refuses to run for the school board (her career as an internet sex goddess), to an incomprehensible to mere mortals discussion of web applications between Doug and Victor(Insert technobabble here).

The Wild Wing Cafe, despite it's deep West Knoxville location, proved to be an excellent location for the BlogFest. The restaurant itself is smoke free and family friendly, but they do allow smoking outside on the patio. It's tricky finding a venue that serves adult beverages, permits children on the premises, and has a way to accommodate those who wish to smoke, and has good food at a reasonable price but the Wild Wings Cafe fit the bill. Apparently, it fit the bill for a lot of other folks as well because the place was packed when we got there.

We're still looking for the ultimate site to hold a BlogFest so if you have any suggestions, let 'em fly.

We're BlogFesting Again!

The BlogFest will be held at the Wild Wings Cafe in West Knoxville. They are family friendly, and have a smoking area on the patio outside for those who wish to puff away. We will start on Saturday at 6:00PM and end when they kick us out or the last blogger gets arrested.

Incidentally, there is a mailing list for BlogFests. You can sign up here.

Blogfest Moving

Sorry for the late update, but it's been one of those weeks.

Due to unforseen circumstances, ie there's some kind of basketball tournament going on or something, and the fact that several notable bloggers will be taking care of personal hygiene issues, I'm postponing the BlogFest to a quieter weekend.

So, the revised schedule is next Saturday, April 12, at Wild Wing Cafe in Farragut. They seem to meet all our requirements. The restaurant/bar is smoke free. There's a smokers area on the patio outside. And they serve adult beverages.

What more could a blogger ask for?

Besides a twig and berries waxing, I mean.

The Chasm Grows Ever Deeper

katie notes that there is now a bracket group for liberal Tennessee bloggers up at yahoo. The following is my response:

w/ apologies to Tom Hanks

Politics! In Basketball? There's no politics in basketball. There's no politics in basketball!

Running separate brackets for liberals and conservatives would be like holding separate Blogfests for liberals and...oh wait.

Carry on.

So, in the latest, and almost certainly futile attempt to bridge the deep divide between left and right, I announce the next BlogFest. We will be festing on Saturday, April 5th, starting at 6PM at a location to be named later.

One that allows children.

And childish behavior.

So Barry can come and stay this time.

I'm thinking maybe at Borders by West Town.

Any other ideas?

Only a Few More Minutes

Meetup at Ray's ESG

Barry and his band, the Atomic Horns will be playing at Ray's ESG this Friday starting at 10PM. I know, I know, that's a bit late for us blogging grandparents to be out and about, but we must support one of our own. Besides, this is one of the first chances we've had to hear Barry and the guys play in a bar that only has animals on the inside, not as part of the name!

Incidentally, after the last blogfest, I created a mailing list to send out notifications about upcoming BlogFests and related events. You can sign up here.

I look forward to seeing everybody there. By the way, you might even see me dance!

You Asked For It

Some folks didn't get the word about the BlogFest, which shows you just how effective TV advertisiing is,so, in response to a request, I've built a mailing list for announcing future gatherings. You can sign up here.

Also, due to Knoxville's new smoking policy, Baileys is no longer family friendly so we're looking for a new location. Suggestions include Calhoun's in Bearden and Mandarin House on Gleason.

Lissa has an excellent roundup of the BlogFest attendees, and some incriminating pictures here.

On the List of the Top Ten Signs You've Hosted a Successful Blogfest...

Number One: You get the following Twitters:

Lissa: Blogfest!

Cathy McCaughan: Stripping naked and boiling my clothes.

As Seen On TV

Blogfest.

This Friday.
6:30PM
Baileys in West Knoxville.

Pass it on to anyone and everyone.

Don't Forget BlogFest and Blogathon Today

Cathy has her towel and her webcam on, although one of the two seems to disappear intermittently, and I will be starting my stint in just a few hours. It's not too late to sign up to sponsor us.

And in an attempt to bring in more money,I'm making another announcement. In addition to writing a story live at Baileys from 3PM to 9PM, based entirely on suggestions from sponsors, (By the way, the sponsors have left no suggestions yet, which could make for an interesting story. Maybe I'll write a story about nothing. Naaah, it's been done and it stunk the first time around.) I'll also perform requests for money. You come to Baileys and sponsor us there, and I'll perform your request. I won't do anything that might get me arrested, might get me committed to a mental institution, or might result in physical injury to small farm animals, but anything other than that is on the table. I do reserve the right to make the donation amount match the ridiculousness of the request.

So come out to Baileys for the BlogFest at 6PM, or come earlier to watch me type.

BlogFest-Where is Everyone ?

BlogFests and Blogathons (oh my)

First of all, it's not indecisiveness; it's flexibility in the face of constantly shifting expectations.

So here's the New Deal on BlogFest Rev 2.0

The BlogFest for this weekend is unchanged. We will be meeting upstairs at Barley's in the Old City on Saturday, July 21st at 6PM for food, fun, and lively conversation.

The second BlogFest will still be held on the 28th, but not at Barley's in the Old City. Instead we will be at Bailey's in West Knoxville. They have WiFi access there so all participants in the Blogathon will still be able to come to the BlogFest, as long as they are less than 30 minutes away.

We'll be starting at 6PM, just as before, but it looks like I'll get to Bailey's around 2:30. I've been invited by Barry to join him on Cathy and Doug's Blogathon Team, and my shift is from 3PM until 9PM. We're blogging for STAR, The Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding. STAR teaches special people how to care for and ride horses, activities that provide tremendous benefits to their clients all in a fun, enjoyable setting.

Here's how I am doing my part to help them.

For my six hours, I'm going to pull a Harlan Ellison/Drew Carey mashup. (Now there's an ugly picture.) Early on in his career, Ellison would write short stories sitting inside the front window of a local bookstore. I'm going to do the same thing, except I'll be doing it in a noisy pub. As for the Drew Carey portion of the mashup, the story will be based on suggestions and contributions from the sponsors. When you make your pledge, leave a comment on this post, giving me a suggested title, a genre, a character name, or first line, and I will incorporate at least one suggestion from each sponsor into the story. (This applies even if you have already sponsored the team before I came along. Just send me your suggestions.) During the Blogathon, I'll post the completed section of the story every half hour, and will check the comments for sponsor suggestions on plot twists, new characters, or lines of dialog. I'll keep the story as interactive as possible, but that will depend on the quantity of sponsors and suggestions.

At the end of 6 hours, the story will be finished, and so will I. It figures to be a very intense 6 hours of concentrated writing broken up by a chicken wing or fish and chips every now and then. I may need a ride home or somebody's spare couch.

Now, here's how you can do your part. Go to Cathy's Blogathon sponsor page. Sign up and sponsor us. Be generous. Tell your friends to sign up as well. Then leave your suggestions here on this post. See how simple it is? Now if you really want to get in on the fun, monitor the posts here on Saturday, starting at 9AM, Cathy's shift. She'll be posting every half hour and has promised to have a webcam going. I'll take over at 3PM, and I promise NOT to have a webcam going. Remember, before the 28th, leave your suggestions on this post. Once my shift starts, leave your suggestions in comments on the story itself. By the way, you are welcome to come out to Bailey's and watch me write, but it isn't very exciting watching a guy sit and type for 6 hours. Barry will take over at 9PM, and I'm thinking we need a live streaming musical performance from him. Doug will bring us all home, taking the 3AM to 9AM shift.

So let's sum up,so I don't get accused of causing anyone any more headaches (and I will take care of it):

BlogFest 1 Jul 21, upstairs at Barley's in the Old City, 6PM
BlogFest 2 Jul 28, Bailey's in West Knoxville, 6PM
Blogathon Jul 28, Bailey's in West Knoxville, 3PM-9PM (My Shift)
STAR Link
Sponsor Link
Blogathon Home
Giddyup for STARWhere all the action takes place.

Update to the Important Change Announcement.

I just realized that July 28th is also Blogathon Day, and we have some bloggers who are participating.

What ever shall I do?

Easy. We're having two BlogFests at Barley's, one on the 21st and the other on the 28th. Come to either one or both.

I'll be at both. I live Barley's pizza. And their hummus. Now I don't have to decide which one to have!

Important Change Announcement

The BlogFest previously scheduled for July 21 has been re-scheduled to July 28 in order to avoid conflict with the next Harry Potter Book launch. I have been contacted by attorneys for J.K. Rowlings,and they have advised me about the legal ramifications of holding such a high profile event so close to the release of Harry Potter Dies a Miserable Death While Ron and Hermione Play Hide the Wand in the Chamber of Secrets.

I can hardly wait for the movie.

Be that as it may,we will be having the Blogfest, just a week later than originally announced. So, to recap:

BlogFest: Saturday,July 28th, 6PM upstairs at Barley's in the Old City.

I've Had a Request

I've been asked to move the Blogfest to the following weekend,the 28th of July. It seems that there is a book or something coming out on the 20th that's going to have people up all night or something. If this isn't going to cause anybody any heartbreak,we'll go ahead and move it.

All opposed signify in the comments.

In Case You Missed It...

BlogFest
July 21,Saturday
Barleys in the Old City
Upstairs
Starting at 6PM.

Be there or be...ummm...somewhere else, I guess.

April BlogFest: And a Good Time was Had by All

First, the attendees:

Glenn
Helen
Tam
Tam's friend (I got there late, so I didn't get his name.)
Djuggler
Cathy
Tommy
Evan (not old enough to blog yet without shorting out the keyboard(toddlers leak from both ends, dontcha know), but it won't be too much longer I'm sure!)
Mark
Lissa
Michael
Me

I was late getting there because I was visiting my mother in the hospital. (You know, that's the first time I've used that excuse and it's been true!) It's serious,but not really scary. She's had a history of heart trouble including two very mild heart attacks, some arterial blockage, and arrhythmia. The arrhythmia eventually became so frequent and severe that she had to have laser ablation, which worked wonderfully. Every now and then, she can feel the precursor to an attack, but her heart never runs away like it used to (300bpm or better). Anyway, she started having some chest pain on Friday, and the nitro didn't help, so she checked in today. Her enzymes are all good, so the doctor doesn't believe it was another heart attack, but suspects some arterial blockage of some sort. She'll have a cath tomorrow and they'll find and fix the problem.

It's simply amazing to me the progress we've made in treating coronary disease.

Anyway,I brought her her laptop, and some stuff from home and then left her with my sister. My mom tried to get my sister to leave as well, but that ain't gonna happen. Deedi is there for the duration.

Anyway,I went on out to Calhoun's and joined the reveling crowd. Cathy has posted pictures, and I'm starting to get paranoid. Pictures of my always come out looking like I've been drinking when I haven't. Maybe I'll look more sober if I take a drink or two.

The gathering was more intimate than the last BlogFest, but still very energetic, with several animated conversations going on at different ends of the table. At one point,I heard Glenn and Tam discussing the proper weaponry for blowing away zombies. I believe they settled on a shotgun, but I'm not sure. Lissa was happy to be there and not studying for a change. Tommy and I talked about video games for a while, while Evan tried to help the wait staff by running the sweeper over the carpet. Not even two years old yet and Cathy has him doing more chores than my 6 kids ever do!

I must be doing something wrong...

I wanted to talk to Dr. Helen about my horrible childhood and the deep scars it left on me, but she bailed on me and went to the other end of the table to talk about zombies and shotguns.

That seems to happen to me a lot these days...

We all talked about the Knoxville schools rezoning plan, which has something in it to irritate just about everybody. Listening to people talk about it makes me happy to be in Sevier County, where if you don't like the school you're zoned for,you are free to put your child in one of the other schools.

I wanted to ask Michael about all the ads I've been hearing on the radio about contract negotiations at the Sentinel, but I figured this was a social occasion, so why talk shop. On the other hand,he was there alone, and he claimed his wife was "out of town" again. You know, every time we have one of these get togethers, she's out of town somewhere.

It's starting to feel like a bad episode of "Murder She Wrote."

We wound it up fairly early tonight, leaving around 9:30 or so. Cathy stopped to take a picture of the rain chains Les was obsessing over earlier in the week, so Les, check 'em out on flikr. It's pretty cool; they look like, well, chains hanging from a gutter.

I was telling Cathy,Doug and Lissa that I'd like to do one of these out at my house sometime this summer. Make it a longer event,and one where the kids can get out in the yard and play. Or more likely, gather in the living room and play on the Wii.

So,how many of you would be willing to make the drive out to Sevier County?

Oh, by the way,Cathy, Evan was fine. The wait staff loved seeing him sweeping the carpet!

Awkward, but Necessary Plug

Remember folks, we are going to have a BlogFest this Saturday. Given the circumstances, I think it's appropriate to postpone the Laser Quest portion of the festivities, and just meet up at Calhoun's at 6. I look forward to another fun evening, and I will call Calhoun's and see about getting the upstairs area.

Once again:

WHAT: BlogFest
WHEN: 6PM Saturday, April 21. We'll be there for a long while, so if you can't get there early, come anyway.
WHERE: Calhoun's at Pellissippi Pike
WHY: Good food, fun people, and exciting conversation, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
WHO: EVERYBODY!!!!!!AND THEIR KIDS!!!!!and your little dog ToTo too! Yes, even you and you!

And a Good Time was Had By All

First, I'd like to thank everyone who came to the Blogfest and made it a smashing success. We'll be doing another one soon, probably in early March. Calhoun's worked pretty well, but if anybody has other ideas, particularly of places where the kids can run around a bit more, let me know. The party started at 5 and the last folks left at about 9:20PM, so we had a good run.

A lot of the folks there have already blogged on it.

• Lissa Kay
• Perry Nelson
• Cathy has posted pictures
• Doug
• Michael Silence
• R. Neal
• Glenn Reynolds
• Dr. Helen
• Barry
• Say Uncle
• CE Petro
• Mike Faulk
• Katie Allison Granju
• Jon Hickman

Present but not blogging were Les Jones and his wife Melissa, and Mark Steel.

I hope I didn't leave anybody out, or miss meeting anybody. If I did, just leave a comment and I'll fix it.

A few observations:

• I wasn't surprised by the lack of conflict, as so many of the other bloggers were. It seems that most bloggers are smart enough to realize that the online persona is in essence an adolescent one. Even those of us who blog under our own names feel like we have some small curtain of anonymity, and that allows us to go farther than we would in real life. And to a certain extent, we all exaggerate our positions to play to our readership. But when we all get together in the real world, it's much easier to remember that the person on the other side is an actual person, and we behave accordingly. In fact, I'm perfectly certain that Mr. R Neal and I could debate nearly any political issue in person without a resulting fist fight simply because we've done it before at other blog fests. In fact, that was one of the reasons I wanted to get these things started up again; to remind everybody that we are all real people behind the pixels, in hopes of restoring some small bit of civility in the blogosphere. (Can you hear Kumbaya playing in the background?*grin*)
  
• It seems that East Tennessee produces more bloggers and better bloggers than any other region in the nation, which is really surprising. But at this one meeting, we had the Instapundit and R. Neal, two heavyweights in the blogosphere, and several light heavyweights as well, including Say Uncle and Dr Helen.
  
• Michael Silence's daughter is simply adorable. We watched Barney together, and Elmo.
  
• Katie Allison Granju is glowing. That's the only word that fits. No, Katie, you don't look pudgy and short You look radiant.
  
• After reading my post on my losses at poker, Uncle spent a considerable amount of time trying to convince me to play in a couple of home games. I'm not really sure how to take that...*grin*
  
• Having the blogfest out west seems to increase attendance, but it also changes the mix. We had more of a family atmosphere at this one.
  
• Barry is stumping for a future blogfest to be held at Lazer Quest. I'm worried. I don't know who he wants to shoot.
  
• Lissa took a truly flattering picture of me with my mouth full, and no, I won't link to it. Find it yourself! Of course, since my mouth is always either open or full, it probably wasn't her fault.
  

I really enjoyed getting to meet all the new people at this bash, and reconnecting with some old faces who couldn't make the last few. Hopefully, we'll keep this thing growing. And on that note, I have a question for the brigade.

How many of you are interested in participating in charity events as a group? Things like the CANstruction competition they used to hold, or the cardboard sled race in Gatlinburg? If we have enough interest, I'd like to see us get involved in some things like that. Send me an e-mail and let me know.

It'sThat Time Again!

OK folks, time for another blog fest. I'm thinking of holding it February 10th to avoid Super Bowl conflicts.

I've been requested to move the bash out to the west for a change, and someplace a little more family friendly.

Any suggestions?