Synaptic Resonance

[jay-ell]

What is it about the comedic style of Achewood that attracts a subset of the people who read Lileks, and vice versa?  In other words, despite the dissimilar media they use, how is their work similar?  Is it the simple connection between humor, computers, and food?  Or is it something deeper, more intangible?  

Five-page papers are due next Friday.

[slink]

I know it's not entirely related, and since I not really epxerience Lileks properly, but I also noted that a lot of the people who read Achewood also read Calvin and Hobbes. I think there is definitely a level of humour that rides betwixt the two, wonder if it's the same when adding Lileks in to the equation?

[jough]

I really like Calvin and Hobbes, and still get it delivered to my inbox every day.

I personally think that Lileks is pretty lame, and can't believe that people want to start a forum devoted to him.  I'm still debating on whether to play "Angry god" and take it away, since it's not really achewood related in the least...

Maybe a Lileks *thread* in the "Sights" forum, but a whole forum section?

Really?

If there's demand let me know.  And let me know via PM if you're as annoyed by it as I am (or more or less so).

[CortJstr]

A) I think Lileks (and other web-ish discussions) could fit into "Sights" seeing as you look at the screen and all.

B) I think the Institute just has a really broad appeal, and is how 92% of people find Lileks. But the Bleat is often dry with just enough good lines hidden in it to keep me coming back. I'm particularly fond of "I took some Pepto-Bismol: Maximum Strength! I always buy the maximum strength; never can quite figure out why I wouldn't. I'm not likely to reel back and say whoa, that's just toooo much relief there, buddy. Give me regular strength."

C) Calvin rules except when Waterson decides to be blatantly preachy about how TV is evil and all modern comics suck.

[AugustWest]

C'mon Mr. Guapo, give the people what they want!

I think Lileks is appealing because he's one of us.  He surfs the web, he watches movies and TV shows, he plays with the kid and the dog.  Then he writes about it.  And he's been successful enough at it to hook a bunch of people into reading his accounts of his admittedly mundane adventures on a daily basis.  He's on national radio.  He's published books filled with the funny crap he found in his parents' basement.  He can be witty as all get out (when he's not spouting odious right-wing diatribes).

What the hell's not to like?

[jough]

Hey man, if you cretins want Lileks, then Lileks you shall have.

Just not necessarily *here*.

I'm willing to host all sorts of crazy things, but I just find the gestalt shift between the Achewood message board also featuring discussions of another web site to be a little "off."  

And will Lileks really generate enough discussion to warrant his own forum?  Of course, now that I've asked people will fill the other forum section with pointless posts.

But what the fuck do I know.  You want to talk about boring shit?  Bring it.

[jay-ell]

I put this forum here because, according to a poll in another thread, over 40% of the people here not only read Lileks, but also found Achewood through Lileks.  (He has linked to it at least twice, that I know of; he also showed up on the Dumbrella board a couple of times.)  And, I thought we could open up the board to a handful of sites that tend to appeal to Ache-heads on the whole.  I'm still waiting for other suggestions.  

Plus, the discussion about Lileks was cluttering up the thread housing the above-mentioned poll.  There's enough on his site to warrant several threads, simultaneously, and people seem to enjoy comparing notes.  

His site is down, so I can't ask him, but he may not like the idea of a forum being attached to his work at all.  If that turns out to be the case, I will of course kill the whole thing.  But I suspect that he won't mind, and may even hang out here on occasion, which would certainly warrent having his own forum instead of a thread or two.  Besides, having a separate forum keeps Lileks-speak out of other, more Jough-friendly forums.  I would think that would be a plus.  

That being said, Jough, it's your webspace, so if you really object to having the forum around, then kill it.  I, for one, won't cry myself to sleep if you do.  It's your call.

[jough]

If people want it, then fine.  If it stagnates and grows diseased over the next couple of weeks, then I'd say kill it.

The more I think about how non-Achewood-related most of the threads are, the more I realise that this board, as Pedro Picasso
said, in another thread, this is *our* board and we formed our own community after having found each other through the Achewood forum.  So maybe making the board less-Achewood-centric and more group-centric is a good idea anyway.

So what the HELL people.

[jay-ell]

I think you're referring to Pedro's comment.  He doesn't need credit.  He's my husband.

[andalucia]

I really had no idea so many people came through the same route as me....
nifty.

 no-one seems to have tried to answer the question about similarities in outlook/style/etc between lileks and achewood...  but I cant think of anything either.


for the record, lileks forum = two thumbs up.