MeFi Omnia Vincit

July 29, 2007 3:12 PM

For Oklahoma's centennial, I was thinking the Okie Mefites (resident and expatriate) could contribute a set of FPP posts on the state leading up to Statehood Day (November 16). Non-Okies invited, too.
posted by dw to MetaFilter-Related at 3:12 PM (28 comments total)

It started when I noticed a lack of a post on the state of Sequoyah (salishsea put up a good one a couple of days ago). Oklahoma is such an ugly, lovely state full of odd characters and historical footnotes it just feels like you could get half a dozen good posts out of it, maybe more.
posted by dw at 3:15 PM on July 29, 2007

So, I was thinking those of us who were Okies, resident or ex-patriate, could pick out some oddity about the state and turn it into a FPP. Maybe we can schedule to be every other Friday or something. But let me know. If you want to call something (ormondsacker calling the state song, e.g.), do it here.
posted by dw at 3:17 PM on July 29, 2007

And if you're a non-Okie, by all means you're invited to post, too.
posted by dw at 3:21 PM on July 29, 2007

you know who once visited oklahoma?

that's right. gonzo.
posted by quonsar at 4:16 PM on July 29, 2007

Is Oklahoma a real place? I thought it was just made up for that Broadway musical.
posted by found missing at 4:24 PM on July 29, 2007

I declare a preemptive moratorium on Oooooooooooklahoma! No surreys, no fringes, no corn, no wind.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:24 PM on July 29, 2007

Damn you, found missing
posted by Deathalicious at 4:25 PM on July 29, 2007

While I am not opposed to the idea, the obsessive months-long planning and premeditation dedicated to what is by all accounts a negligible state is just kind of weird, if not downright creepy.

admit it: all of you were thinking the exact same thing.
posted by dhammond at 4:40 PM on July 29, 2007

How about you go ahead and do it first, and just see what happens? No wife, no horse, no moustache.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:48 PM on July 29, 2007

this is a great idea. i eagerly await the boosterist pride that shall flourish on the front page for the next 3 1/2 months. let's have it sooner, rather than later, for then we can expediently move on to an orchestrated campaign celebrating the 100th anniversary of scouting, and then having paid tribute, we then arrange a series of stupendous posts in anticipation of the air force becoming a sextagenarian until our attention is turned, via a series of a dozen or so posts by history-minded mefites, to the 230th anniversary of the battle of bennington.

in conclusion, the rapture is coming and we need a series of posts to warn the people! i invite all mefites, even non-oklahomans, to post in anticipation of this extremely important event.
posted by Hat Maui at 5:19 PM on July 29, 2007

let's have it sooner

I see what you did there
posted by found missing at 5:20 PM on July 29, 2007

Please direct us to your sources which list Oklahoma as a "negligible" state.

I have negliged Oklahoma on many occasions. It's certainly negligible.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 5:27 PM on July 29, 2007

Only two things come from Oklahoma.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:33 PM on July 29, 2007

Only two things come from Oklahoma.

Three. I-35, I-40, and I-44.
posted by dw at 5:37 PM on July 29, 2007

what is by all accounts a negligible state

Negligible? Oklahoma is the mean of all Americans. After all, while it is neither good nor bad, Oklahoma is OK.
posted by dw at 5:39 PM on July 29, 2007

Hi, I, uh, would like to make a request for an FPP about Jim Thompson's time with the Oklahoma Federal Writers Project. I meant to make one myself but didn't get around to it, and now you Okies are offering to do the heavy lifting, so I figure, like, why not ask, right? Love the show, keep up the great work...

Also: I live in Canada. All fifty states are negligible in my smug, beady eyes, you dirty Americans.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:13 PM on July 29, 2007

I think this is a bad idea. If you happen across something Okie-related that's worth posting, fine, but don't orchestrate something ongoing. You've been here a while, dw, you know that's not how the front page works.
posted by mediareport at 6:17 PM on July 29, 2007

I'm with MediaReport. I think this is a vary bad idea, and I really hope you don't do it.

Oklahoma may well be a very nice state, but between centennials, bicentennials, sesquicentennials, and so on, something like this comes up nearly every year in this country. 2009 is the 150th anniversary of Oregon becoming a state! It's also the 50th anniversary for Hawaii and Alaska! Let's party!

You can see how this could get really old, really fast. As MediaReport says, if you can find something post-worthy about Oklahoma, then post it. But trying to come up with a flood of things to post as part of a commemoration is virtually a guarantee of poor quality. Let's not go there.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 6:33 PM on July 29, 2007

dw, what leads you to believe that Oklahoma is home to more interesting FPP material relating to itself than any other state? low profile != interesting.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:48 PM on July 29, 2007

low profile != interesting

Au contraire, Pierre, not only did dw not say that, everyone knows that high profile=insecure. You can keep those loud party girls like California, New York, and their heavily made up but in reality far less attractive friend Florida; I'll take Oklahoma, that sweet girl in the peasant skirt who plays clarinet at the old folks' home every second Tuesday and keeps a stuffed cat on her old upright piano.
*Sigh*
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:19 PM on July 29, 2007

Only two things come from Oklahoma.

Hey! I resemble that remark!
posted by yhbc at 7:41 PM on July 29, 2007

Well, it is a negligible backwater swirl of Midwestern, Texan, Deep Southern, and Amerind, with no world-class cities and cultural exports mainly consisting of the Flaming Lips and wigu over there. That's why I'm okay with the idea of doing a few posts - it's as much terra incognito as the U.S. gets. If there are interesting stories out here (the state of Sequoyah, the Moundbuilders and the dynamite, the heroic Quisling of the Trail of Tears), they're ones that goddamned nobody has heard.

I'm not advocating A Very Special Metafilter Event, Every Friday At Nine, but I reckon we could dig up a couple-three posts.

On preview, I think he's less trying to set up a low-quality flood than he is trying to coordinate a handful of blue-worthy posts over a period of months. (Do you have any contact info, or anything, dw?)
posted by ormondsacker at 8:03 PM on July 29, 2007

Hi, I, uh, would like to make a request for an FPP about Jim Thompson's time with the Oklahoma Federal Writers Project.

On the list.

I think this is a bad idea. If you happen across something Okie-related that's worth posting, fine, but don't orchestrate something ongoing. You've been here a while, dw, you know that's not how the front page works.

No, the front page is a four day long, five post, three MeTa thread, thousand plus comment battle between a group of very snarky posters and the admins over whether Al Gonzales being proven to be a liar for the 6.87*10^29 time this year was worth a position in the blue.

You can see how this could get really old, really fast.

Of course it could. OTOH, why is picking a topic, picking out 4 ideas, and rolling them out over three months with a hard end date so bad? And if they end up being 4 good posts, then what's the complaint?

dw, what leads you to believe that Oklahoma is home to more interesting FPP material relating to itself than any other state? low profile != interesting.

Because it's a dumping ground state loaded with eccentric people, televangelists, and the detritus of oil wealth. It's just like the Cotswolds, only with Bible banging and barbeque.

On preview, I think he's less trying to set up a low-quality flood than he is trying to coordinate a handful of blue-worthy posts over a period of months.

Yes, exactly.

(Do you have any contact info, or anything, dw?)

It's exposed on my profile now.
posted by dw at 8:40 PM on July 29, 2007

I seriously doubt Oklahoma's no-doubt-rich history of weirdness is *that* much weirder than most other states' rich histories of weirdness. Just post something good and stop trying to orchestrate an ongoing series. If you find another something good, post that, too.
posted by mediareport at 11:00 PM on July 29, 2007

I look forward to the opportunity to pimp the Merle Haggard song in these upcoming threads.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:04 PM on July 29, 2007

What are you, Sufjan Stevens?
posted by ludwig_van at 11:54 PM on July 29, 2007

Well, I can say a few things about OK myself.

1. I was Stage Manager Junior Year. We had a dream ballet, even. Still wear a western shirt from the costumes. I shoulda been Ado Annie, though. Really.

2. You've definitely got that great barbecue and bible thumpin', and I know because California's central valley is Oklahoma, Jr. Thank you, Great Depression.

3. It's keeping the lid on Texas.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 12:08 AM on July 30, 2007

Darn you to heck, Meatbomb. Now I have that song stuck in my head. Let me share a a bit of it with you:

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all
posted by SteveInMaine at 5:34 AM on July 30, 2007