So Jon and I (more about Jon and I here) headed over to the Blogorama Thursday night, and had a great time, even though we barely made it farther than the front door. Jon got caught up in a fun-filled conversation about Perl programming right after arriving, and I
Regrettably, I didn’t have time to stick around for Hulk/Thor deliberations right after the crowd opened up enough for me to head to the back of the room and say hi to Jim (also right after Eve arrived), I left with Jon, P.J. and Tim for a couple hours of discussion over food at an Adams Morgan diner. P.J. has already blogged about one of our topics of discussion: who should we enshrine on currency rather than politicians? P.J.’s blog entry mentions three of his own suggestions (Duke Ellington, Mark Twain, The Wright Brothers), but there were some other worthy mentions Frederick Douglass, Richard Feynman, Booker T. Washington, Nikola Tesla, Herbert Spencer, William Lloyd Garrison. It’s a tough call, finding figures who are accomplished enough, with something of an iconic status, who are also widely recognized as representative of the culture.
I wish I had more occasion for the types of conversations that are so common at events like the Blogorama long, rambling, heterodox ruminations on theory, philosophy, culture. The types of conversations that happened almost every day way back during my Cato internship, and frequently at Liberty magazine, but which now take place mostly online, in fits, starts and stages. And only once in awhile in the real world
But the best thing about Thursday night may be that I’ve turned Jon into a Henry Threadgill fan.