Secrets of the City

Rex,

THANX

SB (enjoys being able to “keep in touch” from 200 miles away)

Congrats to Rex, and best of luck Tom and Matt. MNSpeak is an amazing thing and will hopefully only get better.

Rock on and good for you.

Thanks for building this and making sure it went to people that can keep it going.

“Does that mean MNspeak will be changing?

Only if you want it to.”

Well then. First thing that should change is the awful awful awful font that is used for the “logo” and other headers, banners, etc on the site. Seriously, what a-hole decided to use that anyway? Is this 1994?

Congrats.
Tom Bartel has clearly proven “he gets it” throughout the years. We’re always a bit wary of change — as well we should be — but this is a very promising one. Thanks.

Okay, I take back all those mean things I said about you at the bar now.

Sorry I didn’t teach you pinochle last night. I was distracted kicking Taylor’s ass.

Live by the font, die by the font.

I’m pretty sure that was my ass you were kicking.

rex. you’ve built this site and of course we have to trust in your handing the baby off.
have fun in seattle. you’ll be missed.
and welcome to tom and matt.

*shakes head* I’d like to point out that the only game I lost was when chuck, who lost all three games, was my partner.

Press release here: Rumor confirmed: The Rake buys MNSpeak

Thanks for the good wishes, but The Rake has not bought MNSpeak. Tom and Matt Bartel have bought MNSpeak, and more Matt than Tom.

Tom-

Thanks for the clarification.

-Aaron

Can we get some numbers here? Is it close to the $35 million that Digg is rumored to get from Yahoo?

On the logo font matter, I’ve sumitted your comment to a blue-ribbon panel and they’ll get back to me right after they do the new logo for Boston Scientific’s $27 billion purchase of Guidant.

Regarding the typeface: I’m not a big fan of it by itself but it has, at least for me, become a part of the personality and identity of this site. What is that typeface anyway?

Thanks, Tom, I just changed the CTG headline.

cool. look forward to seeing what comes of this. bon voyage, rex.

You’ll laugh. The typeface is…. Pussycat.

Seriously, I chose it on a whim and never really went back to rethink my whim.

For God’s sake Tom, you can officially register now. Congrats on buying an awesome site… I love this place. And if it changes too much, I’m going to lose my main source of pitching story ideas at WCCO.

Glad to see the site continue, and look forward to seeing SeattleSpeak! Just as long as Matt continues to format the Miscellaneous Local Links in ascending or descending order by the length of the link text, all is good.

well whatever…all i’m saying is – you get what you pay for and Pussycat is definitely free. i mean christ look at the KERNING, people. The KERNING!!!!

Rex, congrats on creating a great community site. And congrats on finding a wait to sustain its vision. You rock.

Tom Bartel hates Mpls.St.Paul. So does that mean I can’t hang out on here with you guys anymore?

This stinks. For me. It’s sweet for Rex.

I suppose it’s time for a little introduction. A lot of you know quite a bit about my parents, so here’s my story:

As it says in the press release, I am indeed a senior econ major at Carleton. I’m pretty swamped this term because my senior thesis is due in 4 weeks. It’s a study on the intergenerational income mobility of military veterans who fought both during and after the Vietnam War. (It looks like serving in the military during peacetime actually has some positive effects on lifetime earnings because of education/health benefits and job experience. Serving during a war… not so much.)

I’ve worked on and off for my parents at City Pages and The Rake since I could carry a bundle of newspapers. In high school, I started a now-defunct web design company called Dos Huevos Web Design (don’t ask), which produced two sites for a non-profit org and a construction company. Two years ago, I spent the summer working in DC for Mark Dayton and then four months at North Woods Advertising with Bill Hillsman (the guy who did Ventura and Wellstone’s ad campaigns).

As for life after graduation, my short term plan is to have no plan. I figure that I can’t possibly fail. If I end up living in a van down by the river, I was thinking that a PhD in economics might be a cool fallback. Of course, the first thing I learned in an econ class is that, economically speaking, it’s not worth it to get a PhD in economics.

I hope to get better acquainted with all of you over the next few months. There might have to be a MNSpeak sponsored happy hour sometime in the spring (when I’ll be taking Tai Chi and observational drawing).

For now, keep those posts coming.

A couple of things:

I don’t hate Mpls. St. Paul. In fact, I’ve been a friend of Burt Cohen’s for years and have often said that I think he’s the only publisher in town who actually knows what he’s doing. (Ok, I was being facetious, but only somewhat…)

The Rake doesn’t hate Mpls. St.Paul either. Hell, if it weren’t for you, we’d have to get all our best cosmetic surgeon lists from Minnesota Monthly, and they’re just not as good at being you as you are.

Finally, MNSpeak is not The Rake. You are welcome to hang on MNSpeak all you like. The Rake, however, probably won’t be offering you a job. We think we’re the hippest guys in town and you blew your credibility by leaving us off your list.

Wow, I used to play catch with Matt at City Pages softball games when he was just a little dude. (Tom was usually on the mound perfecting his Al Hrabosky glare.) I feel so old.

Good for both of you, and welcome.

*hearts*
congrats Rex, and congrats Tom and Matt.

i think now would be a good time to reveal the other names Rex was tossing around for this site — for real!

Mspill.com
Mspread.com
Msponge.com
Msplit.com
TwinSplit.com
mspot.com

there are more, but those are my favorites because they have a nice porno ring to them.

Thanks Dan. Let’s get together sometime. I had to stop playing catch with Matt because when he got to high school he could throw the ball so damn hard I feared for my life. That, and he started calling me Sally when I bought one of those padded inner gloves so my hand wouldn’t hurt so much.

Chuck. Is. So. Dead.

Actually, I heard Rex wanted to call it Pussy Ranch, but it was already taken.

Congrats Rex!

Going away party at Myth??

Now that I know the font here is called Pussycat, I won’t rile you up as much, Rex. I have a newfound respect for you. Best wishes and please rile them up in Seattle! Rattle their grey skies.

Godspeed and fairwell, Rex. As you know, I have RELENTLESSLY lurked, commented and posted on MnSpeak.com, and I have come to think of many of you as my friends (yes, even you, Westover, Russ, and The Rat).

It was a pleasure meeting you online (and in person!). Good luck in MS Land.

my bid of $418 apparently was not enough.

*sigh*

Tommy B, you mean you won’t offer me $22,000 for a staff writers job so I can pen 5000 word zzzzfests about honeybees with AIDS? Did Rex break the bank? I’m crushed. C’mon, man. I mean we totally were going to put you on the list, but then Burt told me that you majored in medieval studies at Carelton and I had to veto you. But hey, we put MNspeak on the hipsters list, and you bought it, right? I’m sure it will match Matt’s new graduation Prius perfectly.

Oh, and didn’t somebody say yesterday that hipsters never call themselves hip?

ok, i heard the news from your ex-roomie, and was sad. but congrats on the new job (though, i heard msnbc, not microsoft… six in one, half dozen- oh nevermind.) i’m so glad to hear mnspeak lives on… just tell me where to send those damn press releases when you’re gone!

marsh: behave, or I’ll flush your stadium deal!

I believe hipster and MILF are two words that over-used these days. To some it is a compliment, and others, an insult.

Really, the whole thing is a much to do about nothing.

Are we starting the hipster debate again? Aren’t you guys glad you bought this thing? Anyway, there’s got to be some sort of going away party– I’d love to meet some of the people who post here all the time.

At least I think I’d like to meet some of the people who post here all the time.

I think MILF is actually back to being underused now.

aren’t MILFs by definition underused? oh wait

I think I say Milk at least three times a day.

Fuck me, I don’t think I say “milk” at all. I hate milk. MILF.

At least Rex didn’t take my suggestion: MNspooge.

So Rex, down to the tacky details: What’s your haul on this anyway? Enquiring minds want to know!

I have to agree about the kerning.

pussycat must stay.

How much? Way more than that Yahoo/Flickr deal. Waaaaaay more. We’re talking AOL/TimerWarner numbers.

Hah.

I told the PiPress the deal has “one comma” in it.

Honestly, I wanted to find someone who would keep the site going with some integrity. That was my primary objective, and the payday isn’t that big o’ deal. If I do start SeattleSpeak and if it becomes successful (two iffy ifs), then you can read the WSJ for your “speculated price tag.”

Wow…another intenet millionaire.

When you are having drinks with Paul Allan watching his NFL team in the Super Bowl, I hope you’ll remember us little people upon whose pithy comments your wealth was founded.

Best oif luck !

Congrats Rex and thanks for starting this whole thing. I think this place gives a lot of otherwise unknown people (with opinions) a voice. I love the quick exchange of ideas and opinions made possible by your vision of a great site.

You will be missed.

OK, I just have to throw this idea out there with the quick proviso that I want no involvement in the planning and/or execution of it. But there’s plenty of enterprising (ahem) hipsters out there who could make something out of it: Rex’s going-away party should really be a Roast in classic fashion.

That is the most dreadful idea ever. I’d be slaughtered by exes.

There will be a ‘good riddance’ party at my place in mid-february. More on that later.

I second the roast idea. I’ll sit in the back and yell “too soon”.

“pussycat must stay.”

this from an artist/graphic designer? yikes.

I’m with Pat — the roast idea sounds magnificent. The two of us are going to hang out tonight and hammer out the details. We’ll let you know, Rex, when and where to show up.

I enjoyed the one comma quote.

see ya, Rex, it’s been good, and I’ve never been more in touch with my home turf.

Great work!