Expect posting to be light while we’re out of town for the next week or so.
58 Responses to “Posted From A Corner in the A2 of Cambridge”
who is this ‘we’ of whom you speak? is there more than one aaio? lo, i thought i beheld the Form AAIO, but perhaps it was only a shadow on the wall before me. if you are indeed but a shadow, loosen me from my restraints so that i may see the Truth that eludes me, though it may burn my eyes.
Many years ago, I read the blurb in a published collection of Russell Baker columns. It explained that the columns published in the New York Times under the name “Russell Baker” were actually written by a committee of veteran journalists. According to the blurb, most readers of the New York Times know by now that “Russell Baker” is a fictional character, a sort of flag of op-ed-page convenience.
Anyway, I believed it. And so I was startled when a photo of Baker started to appear next to his syndicated column.
If I were to say that AAIO is actually written by a committee of veteran bloggers, y’all would say, “no, no, you’re talking about Arbor Update.”
I am sure that you have received a slew of pissy responses to your rationalized attempt to dog Ann Arbor and here is another one. Really, what’s your problem? Your FAQ is obviously flawed as far as claiming that Ann Arbor purports to be on par with two of the largest cities in our country. That’s idiotic. Ann Arbor is simply a beautiful, middle-sized Midwestern city. It has a large and well-funded university, which brings culture and money to an area that on the whole is lacking these traits. Shit, Ann Arbor could just as easily be Jackson, MI. Ultimately, this website is the work of someone who has a small penis, has no fun and wants to mouth off on some bullshit over the internet. Get back to work and maybe you could eventually be half as talented as the people that make Ann Arbor a great place to live. You’re an asshole and website is retarded. And this is coming from a guy who doet even like Ann Arbor THAT much. Little too foofy for my tastes.
…he only dares to say that stuff about “your website is retarded” because AAIO is out of town, because I bet AAIO would totally beat him up by the Flagpole after school if he wasn’t on vacation, probably someplace that isn’t all overrated.
Level of discourse? Like this website has a high level of discourse? It’s a waste of time to build a website based on negative energy to spew hate. As far as the “genital jokes,” Poindexter, the “small dick” refers to the type of people who are repeatedly rejected and this manifests itself in unreasonable and unnecessary hatred. The patrons of this website are the type of kids who sit around and rip on Christina Aguliera but know every song by heart. Get a life.
The “patrons” of this site include your Mayor, several Council members, and your County Clerk who posted just before you started your little hissy fit.
I hate to interupt this lovefest but I was just curious about where the A2 is Cambridge is. Porter Sq? Davis Sq? But those places actually each have a CVS within walking distance. Whatever, stilll curious…
For the record, I like Christina Aguielera’s new single (nice DJ Premier production). I think the same part of my brain likes it as all thoe Beyonce songs. Me feels that George N. can use some of Beyonce’s erratic dancing to lighten his spirits.
Wow, I was a CS grad student too (just graduated). I wonder if I knew him (or her (or it)). And by the way, I’m impressed that someone brought up Max Headroom — I haven’t heard that name in about 15 years!
“flame war” according to wikipedia: either a prolonged exchange of deliberately hostile postings on the interweb, or a seldom-seen female transformer. since AAIO is Christina Aguilera, i’m assuming you mean the latter, pants rule, so start passing out the transformers. Oh, and mnem, i’m here to keep snobbery in check.
AAIO is a non-gender-specific, collaborative effort comprised of several CS graduate students. Through code written in C+++, they’ve developed a unique, composite personality to host this site. The initial inspiration came from the “Russell Baker” project at the NY Times, which was noted earlier by Larry. To generate content for leading off a new AAIO thread, they sometimes use a locally modified, text-condensed version of this technique.
Lot less “Divest from Israel now!” troll posting here than at Arbor Update. I’m pretty sure I could ditch the subscription to the A2 News and stick with this and Arbor Update and get all the skewed news I need. Throwin a little CS Monitor for news about people in other countries as if they were real people with their own concerns and I may just beat this troglodyte Republican disease I suffer from.
Dude, every time you say “Ass Arbor” it just gets funnier and funnier! Man, say it again, please? Oh, Christ, I’m clutching my sides. I haven’t laughed like this since Henny Youngman died. Take my city, please!
GBTW — a cable network? I’ve never had Comcast at home and don’t know about the newer stuff that may be out there. Could it be a public education channel owned by Ted Turner? Focused on helping us achieve personal accomplishments, as he’s done in his lifetime?
Research studies indicate that there are many, many future commercial products out there that still wait to be developed, manufactured, marketed, sold in malls, used by consumers, and eventually landfilled. Teams of biologists engineer altered bacteria to eat the landfills so that the process can refresh and start anew, again. This is the great cycle of life. None of it can happen while we just sit here and read this. Our present inaction shows that we are not a very royal “we,” nor are we a very good editorial “we” — we are merely the peepul, as we were once told in government class.
Until we get something done.
Thank you, Old Goat, for your concern. And thank you, Anna, for your additional clarification.
This website is sweet. I have lived in Ann Arbor all my life. Now currently a college student myself I’ve found the only way to get through the overratedness of it all is squeezing every last bit of night life out of this town. So I started www.A2BarDeals.com which everyone needs to help with. It’s a directory of night life info updated by users like yourself so that any day of the week you know whats going on and where. Check it out and help out a good cause. kinda.
AAIO- you missed the greatest news of the weird story from behing the Fleetwood when you were away!
POLICE BEAT
Monday, August 07, 2006
Pair with gun steal, do sex act in store
An employee of a clothing store in downtown Ann Arbor reported he was held at gunpoint Sunday evening as a couple stole merchandise and engaged in a sex act in the store, Ann Arbor police reported.
The 22-year-old worker at The Underground in the 200 block of West Liberty Street told police the same couple came into the store Friday evening, and the woman placed several items on hold, reports said. He said the man appeared intoxicated at that time.
The employee said he called the woman Sunday to ask if she still wanted the items on hold, and she said she would come in later in the day. The employee said the male half of the couple entered around 7 p.m., and the man rushed at him and pulled out a gun, reports said. He said the woman then walked in and locked the door.
The employee said he was ordered to give them money from the register and to hand over shopping bags, which they proceeded to fill with merchandise from the store, reports said.
The employee said the gunman took his cell phone and smashed the store phone while threatening to shoot him if he called police.
At one point, the employee said, the couple engaged in a sex act, reports said.
The couple fled in an older-model green pickup truck, reports said. The incident remains under investigation.
The story you cite was weird, for sure. But I thought the best ‘weird’ story of the last week or so was the report of the woman who returned from out of town to find that someone had duped a property manager to gain entry to her apartment and then shaved her cat. It had something to do with the heat wave. The neighborhood kids felt sorry for the kitty and didn’t want it to overheat. Or something.
I don’t remember the exact details and I can’t find the story on mlive.com, a site desperately in need of re-design, but it might still be there somewhere.
Here’s hoping that everything that’s supposed to be hairy in AAiO’s place is still that way when they return.
Has George N. missed the point or have I? This site is extremely humerous. But then again, I’ve never been to Ann Arbor. I live in England so maybe one day, you never know. In the meantime Ill just keep up by reading this site.
But are these comments relevant if they are not in response to a topic? Can they exist in the realm of true discourse without an over arching theme as provided by the great AAiO? I say no. Without AAiO there is no there there. All comments must cease until she, he, or it returns.
who is this ‘we’ of whom you speak? is there more than one aaio? lo, i thought i beheld the Form AAIO, but perhaps it was only a shadow on the wall before me. if you are indeed but a shadow, loosen me from my restraints so that i may see the Truth that eludes me, though it may burn my eyes.
posted by tim on August 2nd, 2006 at 2:57 amIt’s a royal “we”.
posted by JCP2 on August 2nd, 2006 at 7:54 amdamn, I was just coming back to town, too…
sorry we’ll miss eachother…
posted by Daniel von Trier on August 2nd, 2006 at 11:36 amNo, it’s the editorial “we”.
Many years ago, I read the blurb in a published collection of Russell Baker columns. It explained that the columns published in the New York Times under the name “Russell Baker” were actually written by a committee of veteran journalists. According to the blurb, most readers of the New York Times know by now that “Russell Baker” is a fictional character, a sort of flag of op-ed-page convenience.
Anyway, I believed it. And so I was startled when a photo of Baker started to appear next to his syndicated column.
If I were to say that AAIO is actually written by a committee of veteran bloggers, y’all would say, “no, no, you’re talking about Arbor Update.”
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on August 2nd, 2006 at 1:55 pmHey Man,
I am sure that you have received a slew of pissy responses to your rationalized attempt to dog Ann Arbor and here is another one. Really, what’s your problem? Your FAQ is obviously flawed as far as claiming that Ann Arbor purports to be on par with two of the largest cities in our country. That’s idiotic. Ann Arbor is simply a beautiful, middle-sized Midwestern city. It has a large and well-funded university, which brings culture and money to an area that on the whole is lacking these traits. Shit, Ann Arbor could just as easily be Jackson, MI. Ultimately, this website is the work of someone who has a small penis, has no fun and wants to mouth off on some bullshit over the internet. Get back to work and maybe you could eventually be half as talented as the people that make Ann Arbor a great place to live. You’re an asshole and website is retarded. And this is coming from a guy who doet even like Ann Arbor THAT much. Little too foofy for my tastes.
posted by George N on August 3rd, 2006 at 4:52 pmoh George N. Don’t be a dolt.
posted by hah! on August 3rd, 2006 at 11:56 pmgenital jokes…way to up the level of discourse here
posted by tim on August 4th, 2006 at 12:17 amWhat kind of sports car does AAIO drive?
posted by HNG on August 4th, 2006 at 10:11 amWoah…”your website is retarded”…that’s gotta sting.
posted by Nitro on August 4th, 2006 at 10:24 am…he only dares to say that stuff about “your website is retarded” because AAIO is out of town, because I bet AAIO would totally beat him up by the Flagpole after school if he wasn’t on vacation, probably someplace that isn’t all overrated.
posted by Nitro on August 4th, 2006 at 10:34 amalso, AAIO has a HUGE cock (or so I’ve heard).
posted by OFWinsurgent on August 4th, 2006 at 11:34 amLevel of discourse? Like this website has a high level of discourse? It’s a waste of time to build a website based on negative energy to spew hate. As far as the “genital jokes,” Poindexter, the “small dick” refers to the type of people who are repeatedly rejected and this manifests itself in unreasonable and unnecessary hatred. The patrons of this website are the type of kids who sit around and rip on Christina Aguliera but know every song by heart. Get a life.
posted by George Nemiroff on August 4th, 2006 at 1:41 pmThe “patrons” of this site include your Mayor, several Council members, and your County Clerk who posted just before you started your little hissy fit.
posted by Parking Structure Dude! on August 4th, 2006 at 2:45 pmYour FIRST little hissy fit. Larry didn’t comment on the size of AAIO’s cock.
posted by Parking Structure Dude! on August 4th, 2006 at 2:46 pmpoindexter here. just for the record, i think christina aguilera is hot, but i don’t know any of her songs.
posted by tim on August 4th, 2006 at 3:00 pmme neither, except for the cover of “Beautiful” by Eef Barzelay
posted by OFWinsurgent on August 4th, 2006 at 4:45 pmI hate to interupt this lovefest but I was just curious about where the A2 is Cambridge is. Porter Sq? Davis Sq? But those places actually each have a CVS within walking distance. Whatever, stilll curious…
For the record, I like Christina Aguielera’s new single (nice DJ Premier production). I think the same part of my brain likes it as all thoe Beyonce songs. Me feels that George N. can use some of Beyonce’s erratic dancing to lighten his spirits.
posted by Peter on August 4th, 2006 at 5:38 pmAs far as George N’s genitalia comment is concerned, have any readers established that AAIO is in fact a man?
posted by deez on August 5th, 2006 at 4:55 amPersonally, I think that AAIO is part cartoon. You know, like Max Headroom.
posted by todd on August 5th, 2006 at 12:47 pmAAIO is not a human, but a sentient, hovering orb.
posted by OFWinsurgent on August 5th, 2006 at 4:14 pmooh! ooh! I know, let’s start a “random facts about aaio” website. It’ll be like vin diesel’s, but with less testosterone and more sass.
posted by Heidi on August 5th, 2006 at 5:54 pmBut what if AAIO is Christina Aguilera??? …!!!
posted by David Boyle on August 5th, 2006 at 6:42 pmUm, AAIO is just a UM computer science grad student who many of us have met. If you’re expecting major league weirdness, you’ll be disappointed.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on August 5th, 2006 at 8:29 pmI reject Larry’s reality and substitute David’s.
posted by tim on August 5th, 2006 at 9:13 pmWatch the “Code of Silence”, Larry…
posted by David Boyle on August 5th, 2006 at 10:23 pmIt’s comforting to know that we can entertain ourselves while he’s out of town.
posted by Parking Structure Dude! on August 5th, 2006 at 11:16 pmI knew this guy was a CS major.
posted by mnem on August 5th, 2006 at 11:22 pmWow, I was a CS grad student too (just graduated). I wonder if I knew him (or her (or it)). And by the way, I’m impressed that someone brought up Max Headroom — I haven’t heard that name in about 15 years!
posted by deez on August 6th, 2006 at 2:18 amYou know what they say: “Winning a flame war is like winning the Special Olympics. You won, but you’re still retarded.”
posted by Pants Rule on August 6th, 2006 at 11:08 amI like AAIO, but the snobbery does get a bit overbearing. Good commentary doesn’t need to be elitist.
posted by mnem on August 6th, 2006 at 1:56 pm“flame war” according to wikipedia: either a prolonged exchange of deliberately hostile postings on the interweb, or a seldom-seen female transformer. since AAIO is Christina Aguilera, i’m assuming you mean the latter, pants rule, so start passing out the transformers. Oh, and mnem, i’m here to keep snobbery in check.
posted by tim on August 6th, 2006 at 5:19 pmAAIO is a non-gender-specific, collaborative effort comprised of several CS graduate students. Through code written in C+++, they’ve developed a unique, composite personality to host this site. The initial inspiration came from the “Russell Baker” project at the NY Times, which was noted earlier by Larry. To generate content for leading off a new AAIO thread, they sometimes use a locally modified, text-condensed version of this technique.
posted by Hale 5000 on August 6th, 2006 at 7:40 pmAww, AAIO is a Eliza bot. Jeez.
posted by js on August 7th, 2006 at 4:03 pmAnd how does that make you feel?
posted by Stink Face on August 7th, 2006 at 6:15 pmAAIO is really an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
posted by Anonymous on August 7th, 2006 at 8:43 pmAAIO is really an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
posted by 1whonos on August 7th, 2006 at 8:43 pmmnem:
Really? The only reason I come here is for the elitist snobbery underlying the cynicism and sarcasm.
Ironically, it brightens my day. If I just wanted local updates and commentary, I’d keep to Arbor Update.
posted by Jen on August 7th, 2006 at 9:11 pmLot less “Divest from Israel now!” troll posting here than at Arbor Update. I’m pretty sure I could ditch the subscription to the A2 News and stick with this and Arbor Update and get all the skewed news I need. Throwin a little CS Monitor for news about people in other countries as if they were real people with their own concerns and I may just beat this troglodyte Republican disease I suffer from.
posted by Thomas Cook on August 8th, 2006 at 8:51 amThere is nothing beyond Ass Arbor, and there are certainly no other cultures than this.
posted by Morbidly Midwestern on August 8th, 2006 at 1:22 pmDude, every time you say “Ass Arbor” it just gets funnier and funnier! Man, say it again, please? Oh, Christ, I’m clutching my sides. I haven’t laughed like this since Henny Youngman died. Take my city, please!
posted by Parking Structure Dude! on August 8th, 2006 at 2:02 pmReading all this just goes to show how over-rated A2 really is (or at least, some of it’s peepul). GBTW you’all and get something done for once!
posted by Old Goat on August 9th, 2006 at 9:52 amPeepul… you meen wimmen and myn?
posted by Anna on August 10th, 2006 at 9:35 pmGBTW — a cable network? I’ve never had Comcast at home and don’t know about the newer stuff that may be out there. Could it be a public education channel owned by Ted Turner? Focused on helping us achieve personal accomplishments, as he’s done in his lifetime?
Research studies indicate that there are many, many future commercial products out there that still wait to be developed, manufactured, marketed, sold in malls, used by consumers, and eventually landfilled. Teams of biologists engineer altered bacteria to eat the landfills so that the process can refresh and start anew, again. This is the great cycle of life. None of it can happen while we just sit here and read this. Our present inaction shows that we are not a very royal “we,” nor are we a very good editorial “we” — we are merely the peepul, as we were once told in government class.
Until we get something done.
Thank you, Old Goat, for your concern. And thank you, Anna, for your additional clarification.
posted by hale on August 11th, 2006 at 9:06 amThis website is sweet. I have lived in Ann Arbor all my life. Now currently a college student myself I’ve found the only way to get through the overratedness of it all is squeezing every last bit of night life out of this town. So I started www.A2BarDeals.com which everyone needs to help with. It’s a directory of night life info updated by users like yourself so that any day of the week you know whats going on and where. Check it out and help out a good cause. kinda.
posted by A2BarDeals on August 11th, 2006 at 2:16 pmAAIO- you missed the greatest news of the weird story from behing the Fleetwood when you were away!
POLICE BEAT
Monday, August 07, 2006
Pair with gun steal, do sex act in store
An employee of a clothing store in downtown Ann Arbor reported he was held at gunpoint Sunday evening as a couple stole merchandise and engaged in a sex act in the store, Ann Arbor police reported.
The 22-year-old worker at The Underground in the 200 block of West Liberty Street told police the same couple came into the store Friday evening, and the woman placed several items on hold, reports said. He said the man appeared intoxicated at that time.
The employee said he called the woman Sunday to ask if she still wanted the items on hold, and she said she would come in later in the day. The employee said the male half of the couple entered around 7 p.m., and the man rushed at him and pulled out a gun, reports said. He said the woman then walked in and locked the door.
The employee said he was ordered to give them money from the register and to hand over shopping bags, which they proceeded to fill with merchandise from the store, reports said.
The employee said the gunman took his cell phone and smashed the store phone while threatening to shoot him if he called police.
At one point, the employee said, the couple engaged in a sex act, reports said.
The couple fled in an older-model green pickup truck, reports said. The incident remains under investigation.
posted by Arbann on August 11th, 2006 at 9:34 pmArbann,
The story you cite was weird, for sure. But I thought the best ‘weird’ story of the last week or so was the report of the woman who returned from out of town to find that someone had duped a property manager to gain entry to her apartment and then shaved her cat. It had something to do with the heat wave. The neighborhood kids felt sorry for the kitty and didn’t want it to overheat. Or something.
I don’t remember the exact details and I can’t find the story on mlive.com, a site desperately in need of re-design, but it might still be there somewhere.
Here’s hoping that everything that’s supposed to be hairy in AAiO’s place is still that way when they return.
posted by Ann Arbor is Overrazored on August 11th, 2006 at 9:55 pmHas George N. missed the point or have I? This site is extremely humerous. But then again, I’ve never been to Ann Arbor. I live in England so maybe one day, you never know. In the meantime Ill just keep up by reading this site.
posted by olafthegrey on August 13th, 2006 at 7:43 amI love that AAIO can get a rolicking discussion going simply by posting that he’ll not be posting.
posted by Alan Gutierrez on August 13th, 2006 at 9:08 amBut are these comments relevant if they are not in response to a topic? Can they exist in the realm of true discourse without an over arching theme as provided by the great AAiO? I say no. Without AAiO there is no there there. All comments must cease until she, he, or it returns.
posted by AAi not O without AAiO on August 13th, 2006 at 10:21 amI second! Oh, wait..
posted by Alan Gutierrez on August 13th, 2006 at 12:37 pmI’ve returned. Comments may resume.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on August 13th, 2006 at 1:16 pmBut how do we know you are the real AAiO and not some imposter? Hark, bloggers I smell a trick. Do not comment! I repeat, do not comm
posted by AAi not O without AAiO on August 13th, 2006 at 4:09 pmIndeed. Give us proof.
posted by 1whonos on August 13th, 2006 at 4:40 pmI’m looking forward to AAIO’s take on the new AnnArborTownies.com web site.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on August 13th, 2006 at 8:54 pmWhere? Where? All I see is a car repair site!
posted by ann arbor is overrated on August 13th, 2006 at 9:05 pmYeah, I don’t understand either. And I haven’t driven a Bosch for years so …
posted by AAi not O without AAiO on August 13th, 2006 at 10:10 pmWhy they think they “own” Ann Arbor Townies is beyond me. What a classic branding f***-up. They don’t even claim to be townies that I can see.
posted by Michael McC. on August 14th, 2006 at 10:34 amWell, that’s bizarre. You have to actually do www.annarbortownies.com to see the site. Otherwise that car repair thing comes up.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on August 14th, 2006 at 12:32 pm