Last night, I held a meetup of my own at Enoteca Viansa (yes, Kingsley darling, you can totally say it…it’s not like it’s Malayalam or something difficult). Fortunately for me, a few of my closest wessside friends indulged my greedy desire for their Thursday evening– if it wasn’t clear to them before, I now heart Salil/Jay/SJM, MP, Kingsley and of course, mutineer Vinod even more. Viansa makes my favorite non-cab red ever, so I’ve always wanted to check out their somewhat random Napa-esque tasting room in the city; a refined time was had by all and at no point were the words “sodomy”, “that skank who cheated on you”, “dry hump” or “back channel communication” uttered, though there was some mention of “the futility experiment”, which was M’s kind way of characterizing my prospects for reproductive success. We poured some out for my forlorn alleles and then called it a night. Don’t fret, I wasn’t two-timing you…it was a pre-meetup before tomorrow’s hotness, if you will.

Speaking of 20+ hours from now, we will not be swirling or checking out the legs on anything other than shorts/miniskirt-clad mutineers– we’re meeting at Greco, which is good for espresso, not dolcettos.

Just down the street from that obnoxious Pimps of Rome spot, Greco has Razib’s AND my seal of approval. Do explore it for yourselves, so that we may fatten the Sepia Flickr group and make merry in North Beach on a Saturday afternoon. See you at 4pm, you back-channel-loving perverts (I can totally say that, because Salil, Vinod and I are going to be there).

NB: Not to spook or guilt you or anything, but this may be a certain mutineer’s last appearance at a meetup… 😮

When: Saturday, September 4pm
Who: You
Where: 423 Columbus Ave Continue reading →

Seems like everyone else got one. DC got one a couple of weeks ago. Even the Bay Area is getting one this weekend. Except for us. What about us? It’s been months since our last one. It was all I needed to make my summer vacation the best summer vacation ever.

Well as Sepia Mutiny Temporary Super Star, I’m here to change things around.

You KNOW you just want to go to a meetup with us. Come on, all the cool mutineers are doing it…

It’s time for the Sepia Mutiny Los Angeles End-Of-Summer-Blowout MEET UP!

YAY!

I can hardly wait. Unlike L.A.’s last meetup, we are going to shift things around. It will be evening-ish (7:00 pm). And it will be at a Bar. Being the electoral advocate that I am, I will let the Los Angeles Bloggers/Commenters/Lurkers have a couple of votes:

1.) Friday, September 15th or Saturday, September 16th?

2.) Someplace downtown (Golden Gopher) or on the westside (Palomino Euro Bistro)?

Please RSVP and vote in the comment section what day would be best for you, and which “side” you prefer. My personal vote is for Friday night at Golden Gopher. But I’m willing to compromise, especially if it means that one of the following folks can come: Abhi, Shruti, Janani, VMN Rao, Ami, Rajan, Ani, Payal, Anjali, Vivek, Mad Guru, Arun, Rohit, Rahul, and Lata. And of course, I’m sure there are plenty more Los Angeles readers that I’ve left off who are of course, strongly urged to make an appearance.

There will be a prize for the mutineer With the Longest Drive to come to the meetup- is anyone coming from The OC or The Valley? Prizes will be also be distributed for Best Dressed and Funniest Macaca Joke- it’ll be like our own mutinous awards ceremony- tis the season afterall. I’ll tantalize you even further because, just like the at the Emmys, no one will turn away from our event without an infamous goody bag. We’re going to have to tax you on that though. Come on now, how can you pass up on coming to a meetup like that?

Yup, that’s what I thought. We’ll be seeing YOU at the Los Angeles End-Of-Summer-Blowout Meetup!

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A few weeks ago, I put up a monster meetup post outlining social possibilities for my three cities: NY, DC and SF. New York’s Summerstage meetup (soundtrack provided by Talvin Singh…sort of) was epic, DC’s was private and fabulous and San Francisco…um…gosh, this is awkward. It’s not you, it’s me. 😉 Two out of three ain’t bad…

Here’s the story, morning glories: originally, I was supposed to be in Baghdad-by-the-bay for the entire beginning of September, from the first through the tenth. We planned a meetup on the 9th and it was good. Unfortunately, we may have to rethink that thought. I landed in heaven Northern California at 11pm yesterday and I’m leaving on Tuesday. Which means that on the 9th, I’ll be in DC, probably at work. We have two options:

1) Meet tomorrow evening (spontaneous! edgy! unpredictable! fun!), since I will be in the city all day.

2) Meet sometime this weekend, i.e. Saturday or Sunday. I had assumed that all of you international bright young things would be out of town because of the holiday, but I’ve heard from a few of you (coincidentally, all my favorite peeps) that I am quite wrong, that you WILL in fact be right here in the bay. Goody!

What do you want to do? Pipe up or forever hold your mattar.

Oh, and because I feel terrible about this calendar cluster #>@%, I’m letting you see a picture which was taken a few days before the LAST SF meetup I hosted; it was never supposed to go public, since it shows two mutineers wackily impersonating an uncle and an auntie…well, that and it’s someone’s proof. Peek the illicit photo after the jump. 😉 Continue reading →

Just a reminder, the next SF meetup is tomorrow:

Vinod and I will be there for sure. He has promised me that SF meetups are far more rocking than those in NYC, because left-coasters are just so much more hip than those on the right coast.

I don’t know about V, but personally I’m counting the minutes.

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Since all the cool people are doing it, I thought I would announce one meetup, and the promise of more. Vinod and I will be holding a San Fransisco meetup on:

We considered holding it at Greco, but figured it was bad enough to hold a SF meetup without Anna that we didn’t want to add insult to injury. That, and we wanted to make Brimful happy .

I will also try to take my anonymous kundi to the NYC meetup on August 13th, for those of you who miss me on the right coast. This meetup will have both Anna and live music, so there’s no reason for anybody not to be there.

Lastly – I’m thinking about a Chicago meetup in the middle of September or so – are there enough Midwestern Mutineers that we can hold down a table at one of the Devon Ave dives? This would be the first meetup I’d be hosting solo, so be gentle y’all

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UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Leela Lounge, the venue for tomorrow’s sophisticated, singular soiree– they do not open until 5pm, so that’s when we shall meet. The kitchen opens at 6, so there will be a full hour of getting faded before anyone fills their bellies with mushroom samosas to soak up all that intoxication; in other words, 5-6pm shall be a dangerous hour for the mutiny, as lycheetinis and Old Monk flow freely. Loose ships sink lips and all that. 😉

If you’re coming, leave your information in the comments, pacifically if you’ll be dragging along otras personas. The good news is, thanks to the long weekend, Leela is going to be very chill– they shooed me away from making reservations. So if you’re feeling like a “maybe”…go with that. There will be space at the table for you. Especially after one of us falls over and out of our chair, from laughing excessively loudly (Kenyandesi– that one’s for P).

Questions? Requests? Complaints which don’t contain any of the following words: Chicago, Midwest, pandits, auspicious, washcloths, plagiarism, Oregon, geography, bees? 😉 Well, if I don’t hear from you, I’ll see you tomorrow, tiny creator of incriminating evidence in hand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few saris to tie and a wedding to flog!

WHAT: Sepia Mutiny Meetup #7

WHEN: May 28, 5pm

WHERE: Leela Lounge, 3rd between Mercer and Broadway

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This past weekend at the fantastic SAWCC conference, several mutineers had helpful suggestions about Sunday’s potential meetup. I relayed my concerns about not being rushed, being able to have audible conversations AND whether we’d be able to fill our bellies with something a little more appetizing than a T-bone Steak, cheese eggs and welch’s grape. Saucy Pooja assured me that whether at The Pink Pony or Leela Lounge, we’d be fine (ain’t that right, Boo? True?)

I’m leaning towards Leela Lounge, which is on 3rd between Broadway and Mercer because another saucy lady named Yesha raved about the atmosphere. The menu wasn’t bad, either…I’m always ready to eat chaat and if a place serves cocktails with Old Monk? You KNOW they keep it real. 😉

Erstwhile guest Cicatrix had a third suggestion which I helpfully can’t remember nor find in my GMail. I add the latter situation because apparently, I got an invite to this shpot when Bongbreaker was in town…so if Bongsie, Cica or the Vij have any idea what I’m going on about, put me out of my misery via comment, spanks.

So, beyond venue we need to decide on a time. Perhaps something in the afternoon would be ideal, since I will be highly hungover after a raucous wedding in Lawn Guy Land. Also, this way people can show without missing church. How’s THAT for contrast? 😉

What say all of you? Do you have a preference between pink equestrian joints, cool new lounges and places I can’t recall? Would 3pm sound better than 5? Will Pooja not show since it’s her birthday and thus, I shall be throwing her over my knee so we can each give her a solid birthday whack? 😉 Tune in next time, for…hopefully more specific information. Continue reading →