Streamers from Robin’s virtual party. Image courtesy of danielito, Morguefile.
Last Saturday night, I saw one of the most creative ideas I’ve ever seen in cyberspace and I can’t resist talking about it. Fellow blogger Robin Coyle hosted a virtual cocktail party, which I’ve never experienced before last weekend. We had a blast. There were drinks (burp!) and delicious nibbles (yum!), and somebody even kidnapped a lightshade. As the night progressed, some plastic pink flamingos ended up in Robin’s virtual pool and the more exuberant partygoers graduated to dancing on tabletops. (Okay, okay, people, I’m quoting from Katy Perry’s song “Last Friday Night.”) Led Zeppelin, Mick Jagger, Elton John and James Taylor gave impromptu musical performances.
I suspect I saw a monkey swinging from a chandelier. That might have been an hallucination caused by a few too many chocolate truffles, however.
After midnight, things wore down a bit and some overindulgent bloggers had to be helped back to their own blogs, which was a challenge considering that they came from different time zones. Thanks for a fantastic night, Robin!
Robin is still in recovery mode — she cleaned bean dip out of the potted plants and guacamole off her laptop keyboard. Plus, Daniel Craig, Richard Gere and George Clooney (what, no Richard Armitage??!!!) partied with the rest of us. She swooned. I gawked.
All kidding aside, though, I enjoyed her ingenuity and roared with laughter after reading the other bloggers’ hilarious responses and witty comebacks to Robin’s comments. Each partygoer contributed four pieces of information: favorite libation, favorite recipe for munchies (Foodies, take note: Robin published these recipes today after we e-mailed them to her, so you can be well-prepared for your holiday celebrations), favorite music for a party and a favorite literary quote. My choices: Diet Pepsi, tangy meatballs (the recipe has only three ingredients and one crockpot), Zydeco/Cajun or salsa music, and a quote by Mark Twain.
Of course, for that extra party touch, we DID have one of these…Image courtesy of keyseeker, Morguefile.
In her response to my comment, Robin suggested that since I like Zydeco, I should look into the work of an artist called Zachary Richard, so I learned something new, too. (Note to Robin: He’s good. And the 1973 version of him looks like actor Greg Wise. See the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility.)
Blogging definitely brings people together. It happens when we interact with other bloggers, trading comments back and forth, or when we follow somebody because we like what they say or how they say it. I think blogging also makes us better writers — Robin talks quite a bit about strong versus weak words and I’ve learned a lot just by reading her blog posts.
But Robin’s party showed me a new way for bloggers to interact and drat, I wish I’d thought of it first. I hope she hosts another one soon.
And now I’m off to Madame Weebles’ blog. I hear there’s a tea party going on. I’m a little late, but hopefully she won’t mind.
Wow. For once in my life, I am speechless. Well, maybe not. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this! I am touched. You did a great post-party wrap-up. Oh, and I found a Tangy Meatball in my slipper this morning. Did you put it there, you rascal?
Who, me?
Glad you enjoyed it. And I’m looking forward to the next virtual party!
I had a great time too — the next virtual party is at my house — come dressed as your favourite author, bring 70′s inspired food — I am providing the drinks, and Margaret Atwood will be reading, and Rodents & Rebels will be playing. Robin is coming!
(By the way, did you put Robin’s lampshade back — I saw you had donned it halfway through the party when Led Zeppelin started playing!)
I gave it to George Clooney sometime during the evening…not sure…it’s all so hazy…I must have been under the influence of good music. Especially when Led Zeppelin performed their song “Rock & Roll”.
Woke me up this morning – thank you – my son will probably be playing this at my virtual Christmas party.
You’re welcome. Get some caffeine, quick. *grins cheekily*
I had better.
Sending you some virtual Starbucks right now.
Oh, I love the foam–thank you so much. That should help kickstart my day–Led Zepplin and coffee–what more could a girl want.
Be thinking about your outfit for our virtual Christmas Party on December 15th.
The next one is at On the Homefront and Beyond . . . December 15. She is brave enough to take us all on. I warned her to remove all valuables and breakables from her house.
Again, thanks for this great post on our party.
I hope Homefront has her homeowner’s insurance paid up…
Hey! Thanks for visiting my site.
Yes, I did get to go on the London Eye a couple times while living in London. Gorgeous! I miss the U.K…what were your favorite parts? Also, your virtual party sounds like an ingenious idea…real parties can get pricey, and it’s hard to cater to everyone’s epicurean preferences anyway. Well, enjoy your night!
There are so many sites I love in the U.K. Dover Castle, Covent Garden in London, Clovelly, Tavistock, Glencoe (Scotland), Tintern Abbey (Wales), to name a few. I haven’t been to Ireland yet but hopefully one day I can visit Dublin and Cobh (Cobh is the old Queenstown and has Titanic history).
Hey, if you like a virtual party, stop by Homefront’s blog on December 15. It should be fun. Just click on her name above her comment and it’ll take you to her blog.
I’ll have to check it out! You seem like you’ve really been around the U.K. I didn’t make it to Wales at all — but maybe next time.
I’ll be back there soon — I can’t stay away!
Reblogged this on Robin Coyle and commented:
Our friend The Eagle-Eyed-Editor did a great wrap-up post on our virtual beer-bash-blowout, er . . . I mean our refined literary and libation gathering. Check it out. And if you aren’t following The Eagle, why not?
Awww…now you’re making me blush. Thanks, Robin.
I meant to ask you if it was ok to reblog this. Sorry about that!
It’s fine. I’m flattered that you did reblog it.
I absolutely loved this wrap-up of Robin’s party. I think I’m still a bit hungover. By the way, the last time I saw the lampshade was on the Sheepdog. I think the monkey was hiding beneath it.
*falls to floor whooping with laughter*
Thanks, Kford. I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was great fun to write.
The other great thing about Robin’s idea is that a lot of us writers are actually quite introverted aren’t we, so this virtual party gave us the chance to act like we’re the wild outgoing partyers that we’re really not!
Speaking of which…Woohoo! Did you see me at Robin’s party pole-dancing whilst downing tequila shots and singing Guns N’ Roses hits at the top of my voice? Did ya? Oh yeah, bring it on!!!
I thought that was you. I hope you come over to Homefront’s party on December 15th — we need you!
Oh sure yes, I’ll be there, I have some new sparkly tassels, and I’ve just been waiting for the perfect event to wear them to!
Sparkly tassels, Vanessa? Can’t wait to see that! We are such a refined crowd.
Came over from Robin’s – It is a fun time (missed the opening ceremonies but won’t miss the next one). Glad she linked over here – enjoyed the read! Thanks.
And thank you for coming over to read. New readers are welcome. (We’re very hospitable here in the blogosphere.)
And now, back to my outfit for the next party…
The dog keeps snagging pieces and running off….
Hey, dog! Come back here! Cheeky little thing.
Blogging parties are fabulous! I assume you were on Twitter. So much fun. I did one last year around the holidays and there were giveaways; it was a hoot. And you are right. Blogging creates a great community. Sounds like you have a tight one. Thanks for visiting me when I was Freshly Pressed.
You’re welcome. Has your e-mail box calmed down yet after being FP’d?
No, we weren’t on Twitter per se; we all stopped in at Robin’s blog. If Robin announced it on Twitter, I didn’t see it. But that would be a good idea for the next party at Homefront’s blog on December 15.
I *love* zydeco music and can’t wait to check out Zachary Richard! Thanks for the tip, eagleeye & robin!
Another Zydeco fan! Yeah! FYI: I have a link to a zydeco music video on my Feb. 21 blog post if you want to look. Just type “mardi gras” into the search box. The video is performed by Zydeco Flames.