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Beer & Blogs 2: BLOG HARDER - A Recap

I arrived a little late to the Beer & Blogs deal which took place last night at Steinbock, but I can still tell you my impressions. The reason why I couldn’t make it on time, as it turns out, was because I was too busy having a hollow metal needle pierce one of my earlobes. It was quite exhilarating, I must say. So anyway, when I was supposed to show up at 7ish to the bar, instead I made the subconscious decision to arrive fashionably late (translation: 9PM) in order to add myself to the proceedings. In attendance, at least from who I could gather since I kind of arrived in a flash and sadly didn’t give myself the time to sit down and know everyone (something I personally hate, but I’ll get into that later), where a lot of Porto Diao members such as Yamile, The Bastardizers, and Lucho; Butter was also there with Flip, as they picked up some interviews and what not for the next episode of Butterfest TV. Yau was there, of course, as ringleader to the proceedings and there was a late entry that quite frankly shocked us all… but I’ll leave him for later as well.

Aside from us Porto Diao-ers, there were many new faces last night. From what I remember, Lorena from Lorenadas.com was there and, along with Luis, they gave away copies of the printed version of their health site SaludPanama.com. It’s an awesomely nifty magazine, packed to the gills with articles of interest. Hell, I never thought I’d go to a bar and score a list of doctors’ contacts, let alone a whole health magazine. My favorite Stranger With Candy was there with the lady friend, as was Keny, who was looking foxy. Itzel was there as well and I didn’t know it was her, but Margot from Guayabera Digital was there and I was impressed by her because in a little over 5 seconds she did something that takes the world’s greatest minds months of preparation on the tallest mountain in the Himalayas to accomplish: she left me without a comeback. I always, always have some ridiculous comeback to whatever is thrown at me… it’s part of my smartass persona inventory. Either way, I was left with my words in my mouth as I had nothing, nothing at all. I am so impressed by it, in fact, that I want to keep that moment for myself. No, I’m not sharing it with you. Stop asking.

Cads was also there! I finally got to meet the guy; he looks like the type I’d have a beer with. There were several others there but I never got around to meeting them! It’s a shame too, because they all seemed like a nice bunch even if they would be understandably abrasive of my outlandish looks and behavior. By the way, if you were there and I didn’t get the chance to meet or talk to you then please leave your comment and site link in the comments section! Flip gave out some stoner shirts and a Beavis & Butthead universal remote I really wanted but Kuma ended up with it so I’m alright with it, and I think that overall the turnout was great, just as good as the first Beer & Blogs back in December. Karla was a late entry as well, but no one was prepare for he who would walk down that hallway to our table while I was talking about men and childbirth (don’t ask). The one, the only…

Marco Romero.

You have no idea how huge this is. I’ve been trying to convince this guy to come out to these events for months! For him to show up like that is a giant leap for mankind. I was really glad of having him there, considering I hadn’t seen the guy for weeks and I’m a pussy and I missed him. As is usual, we got kicked out of the bar because we wouldn’t let them close down the place but I was caught up in the topic of how I have the tendency of unconsciously stirring the shit so the bar tab ran a little long. I really would’ve wished I had walked out of the tattoo parlor earlier… I probably missed a lot of people that weren’t there by the time I arrived. Ugh. I’ll definitely make it on time when part three comes around, for sure.

Events like the Beers & Blogs, places where communities can congregate and get to know each other, is something I feel is very important. Specially in our society, where we’re so scared to reach out and meet our fellow stranger that we end up in a bubble composed of our own circle of friends without giving yourself the opportunity to meet others with beliefs and values similar or different to ours. I might like Coheed and Cambria while you might like Buju Banton, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. The initiative is not only brilliant but also necessary; on both occasions of the Beer & Blogs it has happened to me that I’ve met people by their names and it’s not until afterwards that I realize they’re behind sites I frequently visit and link to. It’s the oddest thing, how I am so in tune with other bloggers’ minds but in some cases I don’t even know their names. It goes to show how much of a double-edged sword the internet is, and by proxy, the blogosphere. I encourage you, esteemed reader, to take part in events like these if you have a blog and it’s based off Panama. Hell, by simply putting a button on your site promoting something like this you’ll be doing the Panamanian society (both online and off) a huge favor, an injection of adrenaline that’ll make it get off its ass and do something for itself.

Enough of my scolding. This is a cause for celebration! There are pictures up over at the Beers & Blogs… umm, blog… Can’t wait for the reactions around the Panamanian blogosphere. I’ll take the liberty of thanking all of those who went for going, congratulate the fine folks at BlogsPanama.com for the lovely evening and I look forward to seeing you all on the third edition of Beers & Blogs! When will that be? Only the Mopx knows.

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