The blah story.
May 16, 2008 9:02 PM   Subscribe

 
nah.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:05 PM on May 16, 2008


Buffalo buffalo chicken chicken etc.
There.
I ruined your petty jokes.
Now what are you going to contribute?
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:08 PM on May 16, 2008


wha?
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 9:12 PM on May 16, 2008


Link bukake.
posted by iamabot at 9:12 PM on May 16, 2008


omg the new David Foster Wallace is out!
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:14 PM on May 16, 2008 [9 favorites]


I find this post viscerally unpleasant. A little context might have helped -- the books themselves seem full of words that aren't "blah" which would have served very well as non-excerpt links. As it stands, the post is merely an exercise in athletic redundancy, while the books are apparently statistically remarkable in several more ways. Blah indeed.
posted by lumensimus at 9:24 PM on May 16, 2008


Dang, lumensimus responds to my challenge and surpasses expectations. Well done, sir.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 9:28 PM on May 16, 2008


Like, like like like like?
posted by fuq at 9:31 PM on May 16, 2008


bleargh
posted by ZachsMind at 9:32 PM on May 16, 2008


Meh.
posted by erniepan at 9:36 PM on May 16, 2008


tl;dr. Who's petty now?

I'll get me coat.
posted by sysinfo at 9:38 PM on May 16, 2008


omg the new David Foster Wallace is out!

I tried so hard to read Infinite Jest. I really did. But because the book is the size of a doorstop, and because of all the goddamn footnotes, I just could not get through it.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 PM on May 16, 2008


not funny
posted by zouhair at 9:45 PM on May 16, 2008


I couldn't get through it with a knife.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 9:46 PM on May 16, 2008


I suggest a drill press.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:00 PM on May 16, 2008


Thought before mouseover: "Please don't tell me every one of these is a link."
Thought after mouseover: "Oh, fuck you."
posted by puke & cry at 10:10 PM on May 16, 2008 [12 favorites]


The first volume of The Blah Story by Nigel Tomm was published in 2007. In the book the author demolishes the barrier of words and meaning, giving vitality and expressive strength to the pattern of his most exclusive novel - The Blah Story.

Or put another way, The blah blah of blah blah blah by blah blah was blah in blah. In the blah the blah blah the blah of blah and blah, giving blah and blah blah to the blah of blah blah blah.
posted by nola at 10:10 PM on May 16, 2008 [1 favorite]


I read the post on reddit, which lead me to a mental-floss post, which led me to google "The Blah Story" and when I finally found the object of my curiosity, the crux of the article, the longest book ever; I said to myself "I should post this to MetaFilter" but I didn't because 1) It would take a bit of work finding tertiary information 2) The people who read reddit and Metafilter would have gone through the same trail of links. We are a people who have instant access to information, if something is not linked we'll hunt it down.

Eh, oh well.
posted by hellojed at 10:21 PM on May 16, 2008


I knew it! Take away Diablo Cody's Oscar; it's now obvious that Juno was an adapted screenplay.
posted by kyleg at 10:25 PM on May 16, 2008 [2 favorites]


It's the story of my life
posted by blahblah at 10:44 PM on May 16, 2008 [2 favorites]


oh, my god - you CAN summarize proust in one minute
posted by pyramid termite at 10:55 PM on May 16, 2008 [3 favorites]


Fuck this post. Fuck the poster. Fuck the guy in the post. Fuck his book. Fuck idiotic no concept bullshit like this.
posted by autodidact at 11:43 PM on May 16, 2008 [5 favorites]


It's the story of my life

Whats that one word...starts with an E...I can't think of it at the moment....
posted by hellojed at 12:11 AM on May 17, 2008


I suppose to someone, somewhere (possibly several someones in several somewheres) this is meaningful, or humorous, or both. However, I am personally mourning the sacrifice of electrons and bandwidth that this extended Knock-knock joke consumed.

Finnegans Wake was funnier.
posted by Chasuk at 12:22 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Blah this blah. Blah the blaher. Blah the blah in the blah. Blah his blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 1:15 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


A...blah! And.....A...blah!

I can has Pulitzer now?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 1:23 AM on May 17, 2008


Well, Metafilter is The Blah.
posted by Laotic at 1:33 AM on May 17, 2008


You gotta pay your dahs if you wanna sing the blahs.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:01 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Bufallo Bufallo bufallo Bufallo?
posted by takeyourmedicine at 3:11 AM on May 17, 2008


Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger.
Mushroom Mushroom.
posted by Dizzy at 3:30 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Venezuela Venezuela?
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:31 AM on May 17, 2008


hmpfh.

meh.
posted by splice at 4:22 AM on May 17, 2008


Metafilter: The Blah
posted by kcds at 4:30 AM on May 17, 2008


Pretty damned incisive satire. Certainly has convinced me of the oppressiveness of words and meaning. We'll all be better off without them. More free, I should say.
posted by Faze at 4:39 AM on May 17, 2008


Bison Bison Bison Bison Bison
posted by dinty_moore at 4:45 AM on May 17, 2008


You gotta pay your dahs if you wanna sing the blahs.

And you know it don't come blasé.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:49 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


So it's about a vampire?
posted by hjo3 at 8:03 AM on May 17, 2008


I love this post.
Abso-fuckin'-lutely love it.

Well played, LSK. Well played.
posted by Floydd at 8:04 AM on May 17, 2008


O blah dee, o blah dah
Life goes on, bra.
posted by SPrintF at 8:52 AM on May 17, 2008


I'm intrigued by the author, Nigel Tomm. In addition to the blah book, he's also created several video "adaptations" of well-known plays. He's also published remixed versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sonnets, both of which have some discussion on the internet not generated by him.

What's strange to me is that the man publishes his stuff on Amazon. If you're actually interested in publishing conceptual work like this, there are hundreds of websites all over the internet dedicated to exactly this sort of thing, where no one will call you a fraud.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:51 AM on May 17, 2008


Oh. It looks like you can download some volumes of The Blah Story from his Amazon blog.
posted by roll truck roll at 10:04 AM on May 17, 2008


Bufallo Bufallo bufallo Bufallo?

YOU LOSE.

Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger.
Mushroom Mushroom.


Ha. Ok fine.

Bison Bison Bison Bison Bison

You get a bonus point for creativity.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:08 AM on May 17, 2008


Man, the crankiness (and more than crankiness) on metafilter really bums me out sometimes. Too often it seems that folks just come here to vent spleen on any available target. I suppose that describes the internet in general. . .but we're supposed to be smarter than the internet on mefi, right?

I propose a mefi standard for not liking stuff:

The simple declaration that you don't like X is hereby declared to be poor commentary. It's lazy and adds nothing. Therefore you have two options:

a) refrain from commenting and move on to the next FPP
b) flesh out your dislike with added value--is there anything in your comment that carries conversation forward? or have you just uttered 'poop'?
posted by flotson at 10:17 AM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Flotson, you got a problem with slinging poo? It's an international pastime!
posted by ZachsMind at 10:39 AM on May 17, 2008


Blech.
posted by Lillitatiana at 11:18 AM on May 17, 2008


I don't like X. It is poop.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 11:56 AM on May 17, 2008


I saw a comma splice.
posted by oddman at 12:24 PM on May 17, 2008


The sex scene was hot.

her blah blah eyes blah blah along the blah blah blah his blah blah lips blah the pattern of a blah of blah on the blah as she blah blah blah and blah him with a blah
posted by ALongDecember at 12:55 PM on May 17, 2008


flesh out your dislike with added value

How about this: if the idiotic concept garbage you found on the internet consists, in fact, of the repetition of exactly one joke, it does not require fifteen links to present it. Don't like the consistency of the resulting discussion? Garbage in, garbage out.
posted by nanojath at 2:10 PM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]


Smurfy.
posted by lekvar at 5:01 PM on May 17, 2008


The author clearly had no intent to create true literature, but rather to set records - he proudly brags about having the longest sentence, poem, and word in literature.
posted by LSK at 5:46 PM on May 17, 2008


Like like the the the death. Air crickets air crickets air crickets air crickets air crickets air.
posted by obvious at 6:10 PM on May 17, 2008


folly -
folly for to -
for to -
what is the word -
folly from this -
all this -
folly from all this -
given -
folly given all this -
seeing -
folly seeing all this -
this -
what is the word -
this this -
this this here -
all this this here -
folly given all this -
seeing -
folly seeing all this this here -
for to -
what is the word -
see -
glimpse -
seem to glimpse -
need to seem to glimpse -
folly for to need to seem to glimpse -
what -
what is the word -
and where -
folly for to need to seem to glimpse what where -
where -
what is the word -
there -
over there -
away over there -
afar -
afar away over there -
afaint -
afaint afar away over there what -
what -
what is the word -
seeing all this -
all this this -
all this this here -
folly for to see what -
glimpse -
seem to glimpse -
need to seem to glimpse -
afaint afar away over there what -
folly for to need to seem to glimpse afaint afar away over there what -
what -
what is the word -

what is the word
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:12 AM on May 18, 2008


oh, it's "blah".

ignore that.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:14 AM on May 18, 2008


flotson, what about comic value? After a point I couldn't stop laughing with every line I read! Priceless!
posted by acrobat at 4:02 AM on May 18, 2008


The simple declaration that you don't like X is hereby declared to be poor commentary.

The thing is, though, sometimes stuff just sucks.
posted by dersins at 5:06 AM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]


It is all lies!
posted by blahblahblah at 6:14 AM on May 18, 2008 [2 favorites]


This is the kind of book that exists solely to piss off people in the American midwest.
posted by bicyclefish at 9:31 AM on May 18, 2008


How about this: if the idiotic concept garbage you found on the internet consists, in fact, of the repetition of exactly one joke, it does not require fifteen links to present it. Don't like the consistency of the resulting discussion? Garbage in, garbage out.

Oh, so in other words, you didn't like this. How interesting.

flotson, what about comic value? After a point I couldn't stop laughing with every line I read! Priceless!

I've got no problem with the funny. I thought it was funny. And I think the author intends it to be.

The thing is, though, sometimes stuff just sucks.

Rarely is there consensus around this for anything.

I guess I'm just getting tired of reading so much sarcasm and ire all the time. It's like being shouted at. I've got no problem with righteous anger about real injustice and suffering. But I could do without lazy, angry narcissism.

Happy narcissism is OK. At least it doesn't give me a headache.

Discourse is preferred.
posted by flotson at 4:01 PM on May 18, 2008


I agree, flotson. It makes me sad how many posts about conceptual art get LOLARTISTS comments, as these are some of my favorite posts and one of the main reasons I use MetaFilter.

Having said that, there is a difference between interesting conceptual art and uninteresting conceptual art. I'm having trouble telling exactly where to put Mr. Tomm, especially since I can't seem to find any information about his poetics that does not read like a press release. He does apparently claim to have invented literary remixing, which I sincerely hope he's joking about.

I've also been hoping that this post would summon the Google Alerts dragon and bring him into the discussion.
posted by roll truck roll at 1:29 PM on May 19, 2008


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