Unearth the Hidden Gems of 2013 January 8, 2014 3:11 PM   Subscribe

Do you have some under-favorited comments from 2013 you'd like to bring to the community's attention? This is the place!

The tradition continues (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)!

Your favorite comments of 2013 by fellow MeFites, please? And particularly those comments that received only a few favorites (under a dozen seems customary, but that's just a guideline) and deserve wider reading. Cheers!
posted by MonkeyToes to MetaFilter-Related at 3:11 PM (67 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite

routergirl's story of lies she told her son still cracks me up. I am a bad parent.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:13 PM on January 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


And particularly those comments that received only a few favorites

As Ad hominem noted, we are the 99 percent.
posted by Kabanos at 3:34 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


From the JFK assassination thread - y2karl had a beautiful description of how, when major shocks happen, you can sometimes focus on the strangest and most heartbreakingly beautiful details.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:55 PM on January 8, 2014


Here is a good list, every single comment really has not been favorited as much as it should have been.
posted by Drinky Die at 4:01 PM on January 8, 2014 [4 favorites]


An immutable truth.
posted by jbickers at 4:16 PM on January 8, 2014


All of mine, really.
posted by Chrysostom at 4:29 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


I still chuckle at Start with Dessert's Gnome King comment.
posted by Paragon at 4:32 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I do not understand why I am the only person who has favorited this comment by byanyothername. It helps to have the hoverzoom for images for the full effect.

eyesontheroad's comment here made me laugh a lot.

Honorable mention to this comment, which is from 2007 and has more than 600 favorites, so doesn't exactly belong in this post, but is quite possibly the best comment of all time. Sometimes I just think about it and giggle.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:41 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


YES I HAVE A LIST it is not finished yet though, oh the shame.

ok here is the first half:

- adamdscheider describes his job

- bystander on useful lies to tell your kids

- ook raises a valid question

- infinitywaltz misreads the title of a thread with excellent results

- jaduncan and an image we all wish we could unsee

- bondcliff goes to the zoo

- sweetkid is good at deductive reasoning
posted by elizardbits at 4:46 PM on January 8, 2014


This time last year: "Boy, I need to keep track of comments I favorited but other people didn't for next year's MeTa!"

Now: "fuck"
posted by griphus at 4:58 PM on January 8, 2014 [16 favorites]


charlie don't surf comments on the fashioning of gears and the makings of awesome mechanical things
posted by bfranklin at 5:03 PM on January 8, 2014


My favorite comment of the year:

You're right, I apologize.
posted by entropicamericana at 5:36 PM on October 15, 2013 [13 favorites +] [!]

Just a silly little joke, but a few were offended. And then an apology. We need more of these. It's community members like entropicamericana that make this site worth reading.
posted by Toekneesan at 5:15 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


The pico horror story thread was a wealth of good comments, but one of my favourites was this underappreciated gem from kitteh.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:15 PM on January 8, 2014


I'd like to give a nod to scose for rewording an FPP of mine in November the way it should have been done, thus causing me to walk around for a week cursing myself. That's some powerful commenting!
posted by mannequito at 5:22 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


The @HardSciFiMovies thread was also a good example of MeFi's creative writing chops, with many good and under-praised contributions like this one from misfish.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:30 PM on January 8, 2014


In the Christmas Jammies thread filthy light thief told the story of how his Christmas card photo made his mum cry.

Followed a few comments later by the card itself, which literally made me cry laughing (both then and now).
posted by billiebee at 5:39 PM on January 8, 2014 [4 favorites]


- curuinor: a list of insane things you can do to improve your public speaking (+13)
- mittens: how to read Henry James (+12)
- The Card Cheat coined a category of comment (+25) I often find additional examples of (like this one from yesterday)
- kersplunk: six words from French Dawson's Creek I will never stop laughing at (+3)
- stet: a theory about Cathy (+4)
posted by rollick at 5:50 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


ugh i still have 40 more pages to go:

- metroid baby's least favourite words

- greg nog does a science

- an excerpt from emmtee's magnum opus

- i wholeheartedly and without reservation support TPS' business plan

- edbles has been betrayed by legos (oops 2011)

- MuffinMan meets a wallaby
posted by elizardbits at 5:59 PM on January 8, 2014


- item weighs in on the order of magnitude

- Sticherbeast on the positive effects of Reiki

- jessamyn talks about opinions and manners

- I am ashamed at how many times I have caught myself singing BrotherCaine's masterful rendition of this classic Beastiality Boys song

- prepmonkey shares: out of the mouths of babes comes "Princess Yuckygums"

- Myca explains the secret of Catholic Hulk
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:00 PM on January 8, 2014


Yes, thank you! I was dragging my heels on posting this this year! I'll throw up my list tomorrow.
posted by yellowbinder at 6:18 PM on January 8, 2014


football is just ballet
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:31 PM on January 8, 2014


First half of my list:

* East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94's mashup of Caillou/Pacific Rim
* plinth is also a parent with battery frustration
* ColdChef gets stiffed
* rmd1023 reminds me not to go over my quota
* cmyk: "geese are mean motherfuckers"
* HuronBob remembers Monkey Island
* JujuB on school bus transportation constraints
* MexicanYenta had an amazing grandmother
* middleclasstool says goodbye to Bernard Waber
* vapiddave made my favorite about-face of the year and (same thread) charlie don't surf won't use his grandfather's cast iron pans for good reason
* scody lays down the self-help wisdom
* Pecinpah butts heads
* Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo explains train horn patterns
* Marit: Mom was right about clean underwear

And on bad days, I visit with MuffinMan's "Pray to the Spirit of Barbara for Strength During Adversity," and then with clavicle and my new favorite Muppet. These two images have lifted me up when I most needed it. Thank you.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:42 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]


DarlingBri's case for pre-nups.

NorthernAutumn's advice on what to do if your partner is having a heart attack.
posted by donajo at 7:10 PM on January 8, 2014


Aww... thanks, MonkeyToes!
posted by HuronBob at 8:15 PM on January 8, 2014


bfootdav's how-to on couchsurfing longterm

kmennie's tips for a cheap date
posted by knile at 8:22 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


Bioko stands before you. Your blonde Basenji bitch pants in the jungle sun, and gives one brief yodel.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:35 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


* You know that line you shouldn't cross with the site? Look behind you.
* Best Mod Comment, Ever.
posted by zarq at 9:10 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


-colie talks about "the biggest mass release of psychotic energy since the Beatles".
-themanwho links to ultimate Summer Jams.
-mudpuppie's potato okra hash recipe.
-During the epic "Penis Beaker" thread, elizardbits caused me to honest-to-god snarf soda out my nose with a single word.
-ardgedee: "And if I could tag comments I would tag this comment 'good lord I'm writing critical analyses of My Little Pony's antecedents in Sailor Moon what has my life come to.' "
posted by Mizu at 11:27 PM on January 8, 2014


I've started going through my favorites list for the year looking for things. Will post as I find them.

Here's drezdn's explanation of the secret backstory of Thomas the Tank Engine.
posted by JHarris at 11:51 PM on January 8, 2014


(Although it already has 44 favorites, so maybe it shouldn't qualify.)
posted by JHarris at 11:56 PM on January 8, 2014


Never mind just an individual comment, that 'Penis Beaker' thread is absolute gold!
posted by dg at 1:48 AM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was not aware of the 'Penis Beaker' thread until now. It has to be one of the weirdest, funniest and most, uh, pause-inducing threads I've read in a mighty long time.
posted by From Bklyn at 4:56 AM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


This is my favourite mod note in what might be my favourite post of the year.
posted by Ned G at 5:40 AM on January 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


And this is a link that everyone should click on, courtesy of theodolite (NSFW text).
posted by Ned G at 5:46 AM on January 9, 2014


carmicha's story of a friend's encounter with Aileen Wuornos.
posted by Coatlicue at 7:12 AM on January 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


It's Raining Florence Henderson on the topic of recasting movies.

The Whelk summarizes Mad Men.

I note with some weird eyebrow thing shows the 1,400 suicide notes thread with a picture labeled DTMFA.
posted by tilde at 7:15 AM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I haven't had to time to review my favorites yet, but I want to take this time to apologize for something else.

You all work very hard to create a vibrant community of ideas where I daily feel smarter and more engaged with the rest of the world just by reading your words.

But the Penis Beaker thread is still easily my favorite thread of last year; it's not a close contest at all.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:37 AM on January 9, 2014 [3 favorites]


The first one that springs to mind is the time Madamina came out and said what we were all clumsily tiptoeing around in the "Deep Inside the Biggest Little Dildo Factory in America" thread. I nearly choked on my coffee looking it up again this morning.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:43 AM on January 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


I remember Inspector.Gadget's comment about a puppy forklift about once a week and it still makes me laugh out loud every time.
posted by gursky at 7:59 AM on January 9, 2014


Oh mannnnnn you have made my day.
posted by Madamina at 8:59 AM on January 9, 2014


Sharknado-inspired animal disaster movie puns. This one was my favorite.

Mostly this comment just because you can't favorite profiles.

Dogs are stupid and sometimes eat things that aren't food.

So much delight in this thread, but this was the only comment that made me laugh so loudly my coworkers (who sit 50+ feet away from me) turned around and stared.

Poutine puns!
posted by phunniemee at 9:21 AM on January 9, 2014


Griphus goes above and beyond
posted by The Whelk at 9:25 AM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


JHarris, one of my favorite video game writers of any site, writes about magic systems in video games, at six favorites.

I should mention, this might be because I've integrated the Recent Activity feature into how I browse the site, which means I'm often adding things to mostly-abandoned threads. homunculus and jeffburdges do that a lot too, I notice, and are great at finding those links to add three weeks after posting, and two weeks after 90% of readers have moved on.
posted by JHarris at 10:11 AM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


ok part 3:

- griphus on kirk cameron's finest work to date

- Kafkaesque outlines the correct way to use trapper keepers

- Wolfdog carefully constructs the platonic ideal of airily dismissive mefi comments against which all others shall be judged and found wanting

- peripathetic understands the true difficulties of modern life

- in which Ned G officially receives my support for his future position as Minister of Sport

- onlyconnect envisions a better YouTube

- threeants predicts the future of the NYT style section

- cortex has a breakdown for which i gladly accept all blame
posted by elizardbits at 12:30 PM on January 9, 2014


- griphus on kirk cameron's finest work to date

The weirdest part about Fireproof that I didn't bring up in the thread is that the movie has one of the most racially-diverse casts I've ever seen.
posted by griphus at 12:40 PM on January 9, 2014


In what amounts to a sort of fractal of bafflement, I'm not sure why I find little cow make small moo's comment on the dogs vs. wizards quiz so hilarious.

Plinth's comment on his son, "literary analyst and pugilist at age 6," is also delightful.

The one that still makes me laugh when I even think about it briefly, though, is Runes' brief story about mnemonics.
posted by invitapriore at 1:15 PM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Whoa that one second one in Part 3 is a kafkaesque/maryr 1-2 punch.
posted by like_a_friend at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Okay, it's maybe not under-favorited that much with nearly 100, but this MetaTalk comment by Jessamyn still makes me smile (and, please, it has to be a t-shirt). Also, all the riffs on 'nerd' later on in that thread.
posted by Wordshore at 4:02 PM on January 9, 2014


sweet jebus how did I NOT know about this entire thread?!
posted by Space Kitty at 4:47 PM on January 9, 2014


This time last year: "Boy, I need to keep track of comments I favorited but other people didn't for next year's MeTa!"

Now: "fuck"

For me, the karmic punishment is that I ctrl-f my screen name and get nothing. This is also incidentally the karmic punishment for thinking to ctrl-f my screen name.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 4:58 PM on January 9, 2014 [3 favorites]


For what it's worth, Rustic, it's only because I was hastily trying to assemble my list upthread on a mobile device that I didn't end up including your comment on the limited practical benefits of the coming apocalypse.
posted by invitapriore at 5:36 PM on January 9, 2014


All of these, I think, have fewer than 20 favorites:

Brandon Blatcher comes up with the movie I didn't even know I wanted

hapax_legomenon provides gentle life wisdom

Kutsuwamushi makes a cogent point in defense of big-ass American refrigerators

kbanas is my soulmate in arachnophobia

A wonderful X-Files story from EmpressCallipygos (also, I still have my own copy of that photograph somewhere)

It's Raining Florence Henderson brings my favorite-ever dose of The Life Wisdom of Age

stavrosthewonderchicken tells Twitter to get the hell off his lawn

goofyfoot provides inspiration for doing the household crap that needs to be done

Homeboy Trouble reorganizes the whole goddamned Olympics, significantly for the better

jessamyn comes up with a term for my kind of relationship

And lonefrontranger and I are as one in the women's-pants rage
posted by Kat Allison at 6:32 PM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


That Homeboy Trouble post on the Olympics is really sensible. When elizardbits makes me Minister of Sport I'm going to delegate lots of responsibilities (basically everything that doesn't amount to torture, so I guess half the job?) to him.
posted by Ned G at 6:18 AM on January 10, 2014


Gosh; glad I did the Penis Beaker FPP now. That was a 50/50 decision, as had a strong feeling it would be deleted with a "Is this really the Best of the Web? What are you? 15?!" type deletion reason (well, maybe not that bad, but still a deletion fear). Sexual humor is always difficult humor to do, and the differences between Brit sexual humor and US sexual humor complicate things more. Some - no, many - of the comments kept me laughing for a long while.

Mug.
posted by Wordshore at 10:14 AM on January 10, 2014 [3 favorites]


Ok, this had favorites (less than usual for Greg Nog) but it's such a beautiful visual:
Not officially, but KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" usually plays when there's a montage of the Pope shopping and learning to Believe in Himself

These two from the Louis CK anti cell phone rant thread:

I've checked my phone while having sex on the boundary between the US and Canada...but really, I only consider that a borderline transgression at most. Greg_Ace

I've checked my phone while having sex in an elevator. It was wrong on so many levels.dgaicun
posted by readery at 2:02 PM on January 10, 2014


HOKAY FINAL PART im so tired:

- acheman on various aspects of the endless appeal of cats

- nathancaswell has very strong feelings about bbq

- aesop of the cruel appley betrayals of childhood

- Baby_Balrog and his favourite pants

- in the grimdark dystopian future my empire and Doroteo Arango II's empire will be close allies

- mcmile on how to make a Wonder Woman reboot even better

- Rock Steady experiences a moment of sartorial confusion
posted by elizardbits at 6:43 PM on January 10, 2014


Here's my list: posted by rjs at 9:42 AM on January 11, 2014


('Tumblr art' should go here.)
posted by rjs at 11:39 PM on January 11, 2014


Ah, the discussion of the previous year's overlooked gems, where my status as a connoisseur of the marvels of MetaFilter allows me to lay some righteous wisdom on the rest of you. Here is What You Should Have Favorited in 2013:

narain's evocative list of buffalo-related idioms in Hindi; ludwig_van's translation from the Japanese; shepherd's frank appraisal of the levels of deduction brought to bear on a local mystery; escabeche's insightful assessment of what makes Joss Whedon a decent director; orme's pointing out how even in crappy movies, sound design has an impact; lalex's link to a perfect SimCity review; It's Raining Florence Henderson's handy suggestion to headline writers; GuyZero's deflation of someone's proposed scenario to explain a mystifying infomercial; and five fresh fish employing a perfect metaphor for one of the idiosyncrasies of the blue.

We had Jehan holding up a mirror to parochial jokes about Icelandic phone books; Empress Callipygos reminding us that cats can maintain composure in the most absurd of circumstances; DecemberBoy explaining the existence of the Star Wars Expanded Universe in two sentences; Jon Mitchell's entirely admirable goals for learning Spanish; rough ashlar outlining what Tamaguchi hath wrought; emmling's dialogues with toddlers; The World Famous speculating on a missed opportunity in a celebrity interview; baf breaking the news about the rules of the game; PlusDistance opening our eyes to an unjustly obscure bit of rhetoric; thelonius relating the effects of conditioned responses; bondcliff speculating on an unlikely occupational hazard; and MCMikeNamara reminding us of one of the powers of the blue.

Finally, I liked that time when Pater Aletheias read my mind and billibee did too; Celsius1414 cut to the heart of most criticisms; The World Famous unleashed the sad and inevitable truth about an upcoming movie; flapjax at midnite nailed something about early rock and roll I had never been able to articulate; Sauce Trough offered timeless tips for the DM; local roger counseled another mefite in his fitness regime; 2manyusernames cut to the heart of the IMDB's "Goofs" page; klanawa brought up the most thankless job at the CBC; LN put the meta- in MetaFilter; nosnot revealed an enviable touch with the Etch-a-Sketch; five fresh fish reminded us why fifty-year-old phones work but six-month-old ones do not; and ColdChef made a great observation about the Breaking Bad finale.

I thank you all.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:25 AM on January 12, 2014 [3 favorites]


Are we allowed to nominate ourselves?

I think my impassioned defense of prune juice deserves a wider audience.
posted by Deathalicious at 10:12 PM on January 13, 2014


I haven't done this before, but I don't feel like working, so I thought I'd share my favorite favorites from 2013 with (errr, mostly, oops) fewer than 10 [+]'s in roughly chronological order (because that's how I looked for them): And, a bonus that breaks my less than 10 rules, 24 favorites seems far too low for [insertclevernamehere]'s perfectly looped gif of a pole dancing bear.
posted by maryr at 3:58 PM on January 14, 2014


kimota proved that I enjoy dirty puns.
Talez presents this Big Ad.
posted by plinth at 9:01 AM on January 15, 2014


This isn't a hidden gem, per se, but the best comment of the whole year was sadettle light vessel automatic's response to Julius the snake. My wife and I quote that every single day almost.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:23 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


mitheral debunked my common misunderstanding of suicide and life insurance policies.

kingthecrap blew my mind with hilarity in an already mind-blowing thread about Lisa Frank.
posted by nicodine at 2:36 PM on January 15, 2014


At last, the rest of the list:

* If ever I get caught in a tornado, I hope it's with the level-headed Lyn Never: Insights on tornado survival
* Johnny Gunn, on personal change
* wenestvedt, on potter's fields and compassion. This comment has stuck with me.
* You guys, Cool Papa Bell's GRANDMOTHER was danced into a sand trap by Bill Murray!
* Papal selection brings on a sudden craving for Indian food (thanks, benito.strauss!)
* peagood gets it done: "But why bother? Because doing things well makes me the person I want to be, even when nobody around is there to see it." peagood: Thank you.
* Lou Stuells has advice for writers of stories
* ZenMasterThis ignightened me about wood stacking
* ob1quixote's joke about Perth Amboy still makes me giggle
* nedpwolf had the coolest space pens...
* yeti's hilarious misreading
* Freyja, on driving at warp speed

Many thanks to all.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:49 PM on January 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


Thanks, MonkeyToes. I just want to emphasize that the block quoted portion involving the Earl of Perth is the joke. The rest of the story is 100% true.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:52 PM on January 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


ob1 -- I read that one and roared. Sam's father is my kind of parent.

Toasting the spirit of the uncle who told me, in my ninth year, that the secrets of life were Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones, fast cars, and good wine.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:32 PM on January 17, 2014


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