Twitter's Biggest Pedant March 6, 2014 12:36 PM Subscribe
MeFi's Own™ brownpau gets to wear his 8-bit tie while being interviewed on BBC World News' 'Global' programme to discuss being a "punctilious killjoy" as PicPedant on Twitter.
Good for him. Rotten job, but he does it. Hope he reads this here since he disabled his MeFiMail, and I really do not want to get tangled up in the comments section of the interview.
posted by Cranberry at 12:48 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by Cranberry at 12:48 PM on March 6, 2014
Neat! Congratulations brownpau!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:55 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:55 PM on March 6, 2014
Thanks, yeah, I'm reading here. Wanna know something funny? The studio I was in at BBC's DC bureau was a "self-op studio": really just a tiny room with a table, a camera, bright lights, some hardware, and a screen behind me showing the White House. After the segment was done no one came to pick me up or anything, I just sat there wondering if anything else was going to happen. Finally I just removed the earpiece and lapel mic, took a couple of selfies, and left to go to the front desk.
In retrospect I could have talked more about the details of photo debunkery and fake detection, but I was glad to get "love your fact-checkers" in there.
posted by brownpau at 12:56 PM on March 6, 2014 [26 favorites]
In retrospect I could have talked more about the details of photo debunkery and fake detection, but I was glad to get "love your fact-checkers" in there.
posted by brownpau at 12:56 PM on March 6, 2014 [26 favorites]
You came across really well, like you've done public speaking before. Congrats!
posted by benito.strauss at 1:04 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by benito.strauss at 1:04 PM on March 6, 2014
I only wish you'd said at the end "But PicPendant is citizen journalism in a way...it's not like there's some Official Bespectacled BBC debunker out there working for twitter that people can rely on. If it wasn't for social media I wouldn't be able to work against the spread of disinformation as well either."
But you were gracious instead so, good work champ.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:33 PM on March 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
But you were gracious instead so, good work champ.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:33 PM on March 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
Heh, you can see the parts where my brain is saying "Ummm ok you have been talking too long. Don't look at the monitor. NO DON'T LOOK AT THE MONITOR. NOW SMILE"
posted by brownpau at 1:33 PM on March 6, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by brownpau at 1:33 PM on March 6, 2014 [3 favorites]
Ha! The presenter saying how wonderful journalists are didn't even know that picture of Mont Saint Michel!
posted by Thing at 1:52 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by Thing at 1:52 PM on March 6, 2014
"It's very Commodore 64." <- best interview ending ever.
posted by Wordshore at 2:17 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordshore at 2:17 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Nice plug for a local business, that. Thinkgeek should send you a nice gift card or something.
That journalism bit sure was a "hey, I have this hammer here and I see that could pass for a nail" moment. I'm glad he took the time to point out that journalism organizations continue to exist as a stopgap against the rampant fraud that only unvetted citizen clowns perpetrate upon the internet. Certainly they never spread fraudulent crap.
posted by phearlez at 2:46 PM on March 6, 2014
That journalism bit sure was a "hey, I have this hammer here and I see that could pass for a nail" moment. I'm glad he took the time to point out that journalism organizations continue to exist as a stopgap against the rampant fraud that only unvetted citizen clowns perpetrate upon the internet. Certainly they never spread fraudulent crap.
posted by phearlez at 2:46 PM on March 6, 2014
So awesome. You were most impressive and I love love love the tie, ha. You did teh internets up proud, these old tubes.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:07 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by madamjujujive at 4:07 PM on March 6, 2014
Oh my gosh, I JUST listened to this episode of TLDR! The whole "it's more of a labor of hate, actually" thing had me cracking up as I walked through the mall. Way to go, Paulo. :-)
posted by julthumbscrew at 4:18 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by julthumbscrew at 4:18 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Cool. I met brownpau at a wedding. Nice guy.
posted by jonmc at 5:28 PM on March 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 5:28 PM on March 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
He's good people and doing good work.
posted by skynxnex at 5:43 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by skynxnex at 5:43 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Good job, brownpau! You handled that so well, and I love the chutzpah of wearing the 8-bit tie!
Alex Goldman (of TLDR) is a member here, and I think he's just mining metafilter for stuff for his day job. We're on to you Alex! Your plot to make cool MeFites famous has not gone unnoticed! We're also envious that hanging out on MeFi is a straight up legit work thing for you. Plus bonus no mod duties. And it does seem to be a two-way relationship.
posted by jeoc at 6:49 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Alex Goldman (of TLDR) is a member here, and I think he's just mining metafilter for stuff for his day job. We're on to you Alex! Your plot to make cool MeFites famous has not gone unnoticed! We're also envious that hanging out on MeFi is a straight up legit work thing for you. Plus bonus no mod duties. And it does seem to be a two-way relationship.
posted by jeoc at 6:49 PM on March 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Brownpau, good job! Also love the tie.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:27 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:27 PM on March 6, 2014
Not gonna lie, guys. I totally read about PicPedant for the first time on the blue. What can I say? You're my people.
posted by Alex Goldman at 7:34 PM on March 6, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Alex Goldman at 7:34 PM on March 6, 2014 [5 favorites]
Makes me sniffle with pride, brownpau. I remember back when you were just the guy watching us poop.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 PM on March 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 PM on March 6, 2014 [4 favorites]
I love how they use a picture of the White House for DC context, as if PicPedant is a cabinet position. Which of course it ought to be. Still, if the point is to place it in DC the city as opposed to DC the seat of government, you'd think they'd use the Mall with the Washington Monument in the background or something.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:33 PM on March 6, 2014
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:33 PM on March 6, 2014
The Mall with the Washington Monument isn't really "DC the city" any more than the White House is. If they wanted to capture DC the city, they'd show a background of Rock Creek Park, Adams Morgan, National's Park, or the Anacostia River front. But then it'd just look like a normal city. So all "shots" of DC, even if it's from an impossible angle like this was, include the Capitol and/or the White House.
If you like debunking of images on Twitter, don't forget about @FakeAstropix, who has been debunking "astronomy" photos for awhile now.
posted by skynxnex at 9:42 PM on March 6, 2014
If you like debunking of images on Twitter, don't forget about @FakeAstropix, who has been debunking "astronomy" photos for awhile now.
posted by skynxnex at 9:42 PM on March 6, 2014
I like terrapins.
posted by panaceanot at 7:22 PM on March 7, 2014
posted by panaceanot at 7:22 PM on March 7, 2014
Damn! All this time I've been following the wrong brownpau and all I get is Amelia kittycat pix... and I saw the tie on Tumblr, nearly mlkshk'd it though! Does that count?
posted by infini at 8:50 AM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by infini at 8:50 AM on March 8, 2014 [1 favorite]
Promptly started following @PicPedant because all the youthful n00bs on twitter in my work related timeline need this kind of edumacating
posted by infini at 8:54 AM on March 8, 2014
posted by infini at 8:54 AM on March 8, 2014
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posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:39 PM on March 6, 2014