You flatter me, Ms. Zmayhem. Although I have the same thought every time I see Seth McFarlane. And not because I'm such a genius, either. Because, okay, he watches TV and makes gimp jokes. I watch TV and make gimp jokes. When he does it, it's "OMG, so edgy and brave!!1" When I do it, it's(skeptical face) "Ok, but this doesn't have the makings of a crossover pop hit." I think it's safe to say that sometimes I hate Seth McFarlane, but the whole topic just reeks so hard of my thwarted intellectual vanity, I don't *even* bring it up. But I think it a lot. Fuck you, McFarlane...go back to Quahog and eat ramen for a while and see how damn brave you are.

Oooh, Pete is taking me to Purple tonight. The place that a bunch of us went during the f2f!

Awesome! I wish I'd gone on one of the earlier expeditions. Much as I nommed at Wild Ginger, I think Purple was some of the best food I had on the trip.

Now I'm completely abashed and sad at the fact that my not being a successful writer is completely explained by the fact that I practically never write.

So I'll deflect all the various nerves and flushed cheeks by saying Go you! with the Seth McFarlane hating! Cracking gimp jokes when not in fact yourself a gimp (at least, nobody I've googled up has told me otherwise about him) does not make him edgy and it sure doesn't make him brave.

Oooh, Pete is taking me to Purple tonight. The place that a bunch of us went during the f2f!

Excellent.

We really had some amazing food at this F2F.

Seska, I am curious: my cousin's husband is a professor of sociology at McMaster's and I think his emphasis is disability. (My cousin is also a sociologist, but she's at U of Toronto and her specialty is immigration.) Have you had occasion to read any papers by Robert Wilton?

Still sad that I missed the excursion to Purple. I will have to make a trip to Seattle just to eat there at some point.

Looks like my irrational anger grazed the thread...may I have the ultimate revenge when I get notes from HBO on how to improve my characterization of a cartoonist from a New England state who was drawn to disability humor due to considering his past as a premature ejaculator "practically the same thing" (Sherman Alexie once made a Hillerman-like character an impotent bedwetter in one of his books...My mother does say that "Indians get even," a lot.) It sounds silly, but I did sort of lose my taste for Hillermaniana after that.ETA: It's not just the appropriation...lots of people do that, to varying effect, including the luscious Hugh Laurie, who constantly makes it difficult for me to be all "Disabled parts for Disabled Actors," just by being so fucking good. But it bugs me because SMF(heh!) gets paid buckets for such brilliant comments on the zeigeist (best be careful...sounding like Mr. Simon now) as "gee, those girls from Facts of Life got fat," mixed in with Joe the Gimp Cop, while people tell me my stuff won't sell. Seriously, America? Gee, I watched TV after school too. And I could learn to write 'wicked retahded' I can haz three-show-deal nao? (You could pay me less money than you could believe possible, sadly. At least till Ari asked me just how profoundly I was brain-damaged, signing my life away for that. Then, maybe not.)

my characterization of a cartoonist from a New England state who was drawn to disability humor due to considering his past as a premature ejaculator "practically the same thing"

No! Seriously? ...NO. It's just not possible that a college-educated human being could say such a thing. No.

...Really?

Get even. Get even a lot.

No, I made that up.(/Olbermann) But I guess I really am good at it.

Oooh, Pete is taking me to Purple tonight. The place that a bunch of us went during the f2f!

Love that place!