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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Meetups / Meet-Up Proof Of Life and Cute Toddler-Puppeh Playing

Meet-Up Proof Of Life and Cute Toddler-Puppeh Playing

by TaMara|  July 19, 201811:00 am| 68 Comments

This post is in: Meetups, Open Threads

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I think we need a non-political thread to give us a break.

The Denver meet-up was a great success. I don’t know about everyone else, but I love meeting everyone. Jackals are the best. I had to head out early, because…work. But when I left, everyone was cheerfully chatting away. If you ever get the chance, meetups are great fun. Proof of life below the fold.

I’ll let everyone identify themselves as they would like (although I suspect the Hamilton t-shirt is a giveaway for one of us).

Meetup photo 1 (by accident this is actually everyone – see the reflection in the window)

Meetup photo 2

Meetup photo 3

Meetup photo 4

Meetup photo 5

I’ve numbered the photos to make it easier for everyone to identify themselves.

And because I didn’t think to hand the camera over and let someone snap me – here’s a photo of me and the kids:

Open non-politics thread.

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Reader Interactions

68Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    July 19, 2018 at 11:02 am

    I expected everyone to be older. And by older, I mean old.

    Nice looking group.

  2. 2.

    Joy in FL

    July 19, 2018 at 11:03 am

    Those Great Danes !!!!!

  3. 3.

    Just One More Canuck

    July 19, 2018 at 11:04 am

    The Hamilton t-shirt is a bit of a giveaway for Mnem

  4. 4.

    SiubhanDuinne

    July 19, 2018 at 11:06 am

    I love everything about this thread. Can’t wait to find out who the various jackals are!

  5. 5.

    schrodingers_cat

    July 19, 2018 at 11:07 am

    @Baud: BJ commenters, more curmudgeonly online than in person.

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    July 19, 2018 at 11:08 am

    That last picture made me smile.

    The other pics- good folks :)

  7. 7.

    schrodingers_cat

    July 19, 2018 at 11:09 am

    @Just One More Canuck: For some reason I thought she had curly hair that was lighter. Did she change her hairstyle or am I confused.

  8. 8.

    MomSense

    July 19, 2018 at 11:10 am

    Love all those beautiful jackals.

    That kid has a great arm and that dog is a hoot.

  9. 9.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 11:12 am

    That’s me, (or “that is I”, for fellow grammar pedants out there) looking uncharacteristically earnest while trying to ignore the camera, (hi, TaMara!) at Mnem’s elbow in photo #1.

    It was a really fun meet-up – well worth dodging rockslides, torrential rain, and to-me-bewildering downtown Denver’s traffic to attend! Thanks to TaMara and the other organizers!

  10. 10.

    zhena gogolia

    July 19, 2018 at 11:12 am

    Everyone looks so nice!

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    July 19, 2018 at 11:13 am

    As always, shocked — shocked! — by how normal and nice everyone looks. :)

  12. 12.

    Baud

    July 19, 2018 at 11:15 am

    @schrodingers_cat: It would appear so.

  13. 13.

    MagdaInBlack

    July 19, 2018 at 11:17 am

    You’re a fine looking pack of jackals =-)

  14. 14.

    Haroldo

    July 19, 2018 at 11:19 am

    @Betty Cracker: Ditto. And how!

  15. 15.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 11:20 am

    @Baud: This is Colorado, Baud – where even middle-aged and elder jackals are in tip-top form! ; )

    ETA: Consider us “Mt Woebegon” in that regard. ; )

  16. 16.

    thruppence

    July 19, 2018 at 11:22 am

    That’s me (sorry pedants) directly under the green balloons in photo 4. Downtown Denver is bewildering to most. I remember reading a novel years ago in which the protagonist gets repeatedly lost in Denver, driving key elements of the plot.

  17. 17.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 11:26 am

    @thruppence: Ha ha! That’s a novel I want to read – you should have heard me cursing like a sailor as I ran into *yet another* maze of streets and construction blocking me from pursuing the most logical-seeming path between points A & B!

    Nice to meet you, btw! Comment more often! : )

  18. 18.

    EBT

    July 19, 2018 at 11:27 am

    My 17 hour van trip turned into a 29 hour one, so I was pretty much not gonna be able to make this one. I am just now feeling alive again a week later. Next time!

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    July 19, 2018 at 11:27 am

    @thruppence:

    “That’s me” is absolutely correct.

  20. 20.

    RedDirtGirl

    July 19, 2018 at 11:28 am

    So nice to be able to put faces to nyms! Wasn’t there some talk of a meet up in NYC late in the month? I think the date being floated was July 30th, although I have it on good authority that LAO won’t be available that day!

  21. 21.

    FlyingToaster

    July 19, 2018 at 11:29 am

    @Betty Cracker: Honestly, we’re normal people. Taxpayers, cynics, voters, and not fucking idiots.

  22. 22.

    JanieM

    July 19, 2018 at 11:30 am

    @MomSense: I was going to say the same thing about the kid’s arm. Wow!

    Also — is there one woman who goes around playing the mother in all the cute kid and cute pet videos? They all sound the same to me, same jollyl wheedling, same laugh……. ;-)

  23. 23.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    July 19, 2018 at 11:31 am

    After a year without a dog, my sister knows a guy who is hooking us up with a Lab puppy in September. I think I am going to have a panic attack. I have not had a puppy since 1999. Holy shit.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    July 19, 2018 at 11:34 am

    @FlyingToaster:

    Honestly, we’re normal people. Taxpayers, cynics, voters, and not fucking idiots.

    Which is it?

  25. 25.

    FlyingToaster

    July 19, 2018 at 11:36 am

    @Baud: Por qué no las dos?

  26. 26.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 11:37 am

    @Old Dan and Little Anne: Ooh, puppy! You’ll do fine. Particularly if it’s a Lab – I’ve come to the conclusion that Labs and Lab mixes are *made of awesome*. Watson has converted me. : )

  27. 27.

    Heidi Mom

    July 19, 2018 at 11:37 am

    Lovely photo of you and the dogs!

  28. 28.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 19, 2018 at 11:50 am

    Guess I need to get myself in gear and get the pics from the meetup in SacTown ready, I’m sort of still recovering(my feet still hurt from all the walking I did) from the long day up there.

  29. 29.

    hedgehog mobile

    July 19, 2018 at 11:51 am

    That’s me in the green shirt, next to thruppence, in photo 4. Loved meeting everyone.

  30. 30.

    Alain the site fixer

    July 19, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Just heard about the new Oak Creek Grade Volunteer Fire folks, glad to hear there’s a quick-response close by!

  31. 31.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 12:11 pm

    @Alain the site fixer: Yeah, it’s cool, tho’ I wasn’t too psyched about the Gadsden flag displays on their truck in the Fourth of July parade. : ( Still, they are neighbors and they come thru’ for neighbors when it’s really needed. A lesson for all of us there.

  32. 32.

    petorado

    July 19, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    I’m the one in the blue shirt watching Mnem’s video on her iPhone.

    Being around positive, intelligent, charismatic, well-read, adventurous, and caring people is a great way to spend an evening! My outlook on this nation’s future brightened considerably being around such good folks. Thank you all for coming out!

    If only the FTFNYT would send a reporter to a Balloon Juice meet up and ask us what we think of the current administration, maybe they would get some lucid and informed opinions to report about rather than the foolish drivel they get finding wayward Trump supporters in some dive bar in a deep red county.

  33. 33.

    ruemara

    July 19, 2018 at 12:28 pm

    Now, that’s a handsome group over there. I have to make it to Denver one of these days so I can hug your dogs meet the Juicers of CO.
    In the interests of starting your day right, here is a loving floof loving, floofing and managing to get into things because she is mommy’s little multi-tasker!
    Quick question for donors – thank you all once again – are you getting my updates? If so, would you like another recipe with the next one? Cat pic? Dance video?

    @petorado: We say fuck too much and they will revert back to the vapors that spawned them.

  34. 34.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    @petorado: “We caught up with some Hillary Clinton supporters at the Wynkoop Brewery in Denver, and you wouldn’t BELIEVE what they told us! They still hate Trump! They still think Hillary was not only robbed, but that she actually was right about everything *and* would have made a better President!” ; )

  35. 35.

    Patricia Kayden

    July 19, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    What lovely photos of great people. Yay Progressives!! I always enjoy the threads about the meet ups. It’s fun to put faces with commenters.

  36. 36.

    raven

    July 19, 2018 at 12:39 pm

    Ya’ll look pretty damn respectable to me.

  37. 37.

    laura

    July 19, 2018 at 12:39 pm

    @ruemara: Ruemara – ALL THANKS TO YOU! That you’re willing to become a citizen and “help do what must be done” ie., participatory democracy is a gift of great value. Cats dancing while cooking videos would be a nice bonus.

  38. 38.

    raven

    July 19, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    @Miss Bianca: You know that the Gasen Flag was the symbol of the People’s Bi-Centennial?

  39. 39.

    zhena gogolia

    July 19, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    When I see these pictures, I think, it can’t be that Putin will dominate all these kind, intelligent people. Then I remember all my kind, intelligent friends in Moscow.

  40. 40.

    Orchid Moon

    July 19, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    Loved the toddler and dog playing ball! Meet up was great! The BJ group is very fine, and not at all old. Hubby and I in photo 3 at the end of the table. Thanks to Patrick and all for organizing it. We are looking forward to the next one.

  41. 41.

    California Stars

    July 19, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    Fun meetup! Did the Petaluma one ever happen? I kind of lost the trail on that one.

  42. 42.

    JAFD

    July 19, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    @RedDirtGirl: I have Sunday ye 29th marked on my calendar, at an Irish bistro near Penn Stn, IIRC. Trust more details to come.. C U there

  43. 43.

    stinger

    July 19, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    [[waves]] Hi, everybody in Denver! I’d like to read that book, too!

    (As mentioned by thruppence in #16.)

  44. 44.

    Snarlymon

    July 19, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    I’m on the right in picture 3. Great to meet fellow jackals and spend an evening in interesting conversation. I might even have to comment more often.

  45. 45.

    Miss Bianca

    July 19, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    @raven: The People’s Bi-Centennial? (I know, I know, I could look it up, but I’m lazy). Out here the Gadsden Flag represents libertarianism. But since libertarians out here (I speak from the experience of living with one) actually *do* believe in banding together to take care of their neighbors when there’s a crisis like wildfire, I guess I can’t kick about it too much.

  46. 46.

    LAO

    July 19, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    @RedDirtGirl: Honestly, you are the best at remembering stuff.

    @JAFD: What time Sunday? any idea?

  47. 47.

    ruemara

    July 19, 2018 at 1:29 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: We had one?! dang.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    July 19, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    Cool looking group. Glad that everyone had a good time.

    ETA: The kid, the dog, the ball, Fun!

  49. 49.

    California Stars

    July 19, 2018 at 1:34 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Anne: Congrats!

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    July 19, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    @LAO

    Tentatively set for the 29th, from 5 p.m. until ??. As it’s a Sunday, feeling was that a wee bit early start time would be better. 5 ought to be after the worst of the daytime heat.

    Place:
    Tír na Nóg
    254 W. 31 St. (near 8th Av.)

    Their web site.

    E-mailing Adam as the date draws nearer to post a reminder is on the ol’ to-do list , especially to gauge how many in order to make a reservation.

  51. 51.

    A Ghost To Most

    July 19, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    So it turns out, I am currently afflicted with shingles, and according to my RN wife, contagious. Not coming was a positive for you folks, in more ways than one.

  52. 52.

    LAO

    July 19, 2018 at 1:50 pm

    @NotMax: thanks.

  53. 53.

    A Ghost To Most

    July 19, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    @EBT: Welcome to CO. I hope you brought rain.

  54. 54.

    Scamp Dog

    July 19, 2018 at 2:00 pm

    I’m on the left of photo 5, in the blue polo shirt. Had a great time!

  55. 55.

    RedDirtGirl

    July 19, 2018 at 2:06 pm

    @JAFD: Oh, cool!

  56. 56.

    Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)

    July 19, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    @JAFD: I’m going to try to make it too

  57. 57.

    RedDirtGirl

    July 19, 2018 at 2:10 pm

    @LAO: I like to say I have a mind like a steel sieve!

  58. 58.

    Manyakitty

    July 19, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Oh no! That’s awful. I shall learn from your mistake and investigate the shingles vaccine.

  59. 59.

    Manyakitty

    July 19, 2018 at 2:17 pm

    Also, too, I’m in for an Ohio meetup. I live in Akron, and would probably drag my butt up to 2 hours away to see some jackals IRL.

  60. 60.

    something fabulous

    July 19, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    @ruemara: MOAR RECIPIES!

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    July 19, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    Still at my conference. Getting ready for the afternoon sessions of day 2. Tuesday night was super fun and Denver seems like a very cool city.

  62. 62.

    Shana

    July 19, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @thruppence: Sounds like something Connie Willis would write. Although I think she’s from Boulder, but still Colorado so who knows.

  63. 63.

    takebakawashi

    July 19, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    That kid in the video has a pretty good arm!

  64. 64.

    A Ghost To Most

    July 19, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    @Manyakitty:
    Not too bad so far, or weed is effective at masking it.

  65. 65.

    satby

    July 19, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @NotMax: I’m in! I get there on the 28th, and my old co-worker buddies and former exchange student visits are Sunday earlier and Monday. I have time for a wee bit of sightseeing before heading home Tuesday late afternoon.
    So looking forward to all of it!

  66. 66.

    debbie

    July 19, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    Photos without names do not count!

  67. 67.

    debbie

    July 19, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    @Manyakitty:

    My doctor says the new vaccine will be far superior to the current one, plus it’s dead, not live, virus. She wants me to hold off until she gets some in stock. It’s a 2-shot series.

  68. 68.

    debbie

    July 19, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    @ruemara:

    I’ve received one update so far.

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