One of the most entertaining aspects of my spectacular commercial failure of a blog is the comments section. Engaging with readers has been, well, priceless. The amount of comments my little blog gets has surpassed my wildest expectations. The humor here can get a little quirky and edgy. If you have no sense of humor and you are not in total control of your feelings perhaps it is healthier if you stay away and find something else to do with your time. To bloggers who are mentioned in the comments please be aware that it is done without meaning harm, it’s entertainment. I encourage readers to make fun of me and TBB, please make me laugh. Laughter is the best medicine! For bloggers who get consistently not glowing remarks in the comment section, well, maybe the problem is you! I like the open nature of the comments section, it’s mayhem, chaos, pure insanity…kind of resembles my personality in a way lol. If you like to read feel good boring comments go to a Disney site please.
If you like to be entertained please grab some popcorn (or your favorite beverage or brownie) and head over to:
Like that former Men’s Warehouse CEO used to say “You are going to like what you read, I guarantee it!”
I used to have a feature here every Sunday titled Gems from the Comment section or something like that. Here are just a few of my favorite comments (I picked the “safe” ones to protect the children!):
By Scott:
MMS – nerdy guy who is happy just to get an invite but shows up overdressed because he did not know what to wear.
Travel is Free – Pretty cool guy but shows up underdressed because he doesn’t own a nice shirt.
View From the Wing – He is the guy that always ends up behind the bar because he thinks his martini is the best.
Travel Blogger Buzz – hates cocktail parties so brought a couple of joints
By TWA44:
HackMyTrip – Clean cut guy sitting at the bar, swirling a drink and talking status. He is sitting because gets most of his points the old fashioned way, by actually flying. “Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?”
Dan – Couldn’t come, because the party was on a Jewish holiday.
HeelsFirstTravel – The best dressed of the bunch, but we can’t say for sure because they are running late due to a show sale at Nordstrom. They are delayed even further when they meet Angelina at the make-up counter and have a spirited debate about the merits of Birchbox.
Saverocity – Pow-wows in the corner with Milenomics about all things financial whilst ordering a glass of the best wine available and debating who to invite to join the empire next.
Milenomics – Brings his own elite status. Stops Saverocity mid-sentence to check his watch so he can calculate his t-rate to decide whether or not to stay. This is fine with Saverocity who wanders over to find TBB and more things financial. Or just more things that educate, entertain or inspire.
By head Bozo here, moi!:
View from the Wing’s Gary: Stays in the room and watches reruns of Colbert Report and practices THE look non stop. He then gets hungry and orders room service and demands pancakes. Wakes up at 4.17 am, checks Loyalty Lobby to see what’s happening and pulls out laptop and just hammers out a few killer blog posts well before anyone was awake. Makes it to work first and everyone marvels again at his insane work ethic while they ask him how to get to Dubai in F.
TBB on himself: Gosh, look at this party. How come there is no wine, seriously? I wish I was at Panera drinking hazelnut coffee. Hey you, click on my Amazon link. Which card should I use on my way home to 5x it? Hi there, my name is George and I feel #delta rage inside 24/7 please help me. Wonder the number of unread blog posts in my Feedly. It has been 7.5 hours since I last updated Award Wallet. I miss my therapist. Haven’t had pizza for two weeks, this is insane! Free Pussy Riot…oh wait. NSA can’t touch me because it owns me.
By KennyB:
Soon all TBB will need to write is “Pimping sucks. Here’s a cool picture from Twisted Sifter. I love Yomadic. And Panera Bread. Click my Amazon. The comment riot starts now!”
By anonymous:
Rom – calls everyone “ma’am” and “sir.” FTG adopts him.
Overheard at the sorority table, “I’m younger, hotter and have more kids. Why does SHE get all the attention and the Chase links?” All nod in agreement, except
The Miles Professor – breezes in with her gf’s. Too cool for this scene, goes to the local banks and gets their best cc offers. Picks up an investment banker there and whisks off to his private island in F for negative points. Breaks his heart.
All the other F2B bloggers – car-pooled in their Enterprise rental car from the EconoLodge paid for with BarclayCard Arrival points.
The waiter – actually a blogger in disguise. Listens intently and posts all the deals on his Mr. Pickles site.
By ingy, founder of Frugal Travel Guy (the blog), who spends more time angrily trolling my site than the site he is no longer associated with:
I consider it more juvenile and damaging than pimping a link because people’s feelings can be permanently damaged.
this is a tragic display of behavior and you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing it.
George I have never threatened you and never will.
If you want me to leave your blog, you’ll have to censor me George. I will continue to comment on your blog defending others from criticism whether you think it is warranted or not.
By TBB moi:
The excerpt below was written late at night. Contrary to common sense, it was written without the influence of any substances! Sometimes I like to read former stuff I have written here and I shake my head how I come up with this stuff. Entertain. Educate. Inspire. Entertainment always comes first around here!
“George I have never threatened you and never will” – Probably the funniest comment today!
Thank you for all the positive comments! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I am humbled and honored! Thank you to all the haters (mainly one) for contributing to the ridiculousness (proudly) of this failing blog that has not managed to crack three digits in revenue (LOL!) yet and excels in providing entertainment and number of comments in a day that the other corporate owned site does not get in several months! And no staff here, just an idiot Greek who came over to the promise land by boat (not really, it was TWA…coach) and liked it so much he stayed. How can you say no to a land that had roller coasters (Cedar Point is my favorite), weed and Bud Light? Allow me to carry on. You can hurt me but you can not stop me (sounds like a Lou Reed song). So, you know, I always felt I had some artistic/creative brain cells in my big head but consistently failed to get them to flow out of my body as my voice resembled a mule (not evil), just did not have IT for drums (my mother still has nightmares about it ) and my glorious pro soccer aspirations were cut way short due to a super nasty tackle by Number 4 in a village near Mt. Olympus (never forgot the face of that MF!). So, anyways, where was I? I forgot where I was going with this. Oh, I remembered. This blog came out of boredom and wanting a new challenge. Here I am 15 months later still at it and, shockingly, I have not folded like a cheap suit. When I fold it will be in an expensive suit dangit. I many not wear one too often but when I do I make me look good even though I realize I will never be CQ material.
One thing you should know is that I like to do things differently. And I like to have fun, hey we only live once. I LOVE this hobby and want to contribute to make it better. But, most importantly, entertainment will always come first here! If you are too sensitive for edgy humor that occasionally may get a little too edgy (sorry about that, it happens you know) this is definitely not the blog for you, please leave. If you keep coming back to a place that upsets you my therapist can give referrals based on your location. Please leave or seek help.
Okay, I have stayed away from Feedly today. I need that mental break to refresh. I must admit that trolls inspire me the most, thank you!
Just had an awesome dinner made by my wife. She is into cooking, the only thing I have been able to cook is hot dogs (in the microwave) and toast (in the toaster) and then I spread hummus on it (better than the hummus in the Delta Sky Lounge!). Before that i went on another run to my local CVS stores ( come on guys, 2 out of 3 were dry, where do you hide them now?). I got the IHG Rewards card today and took care of the min spend as part of this vanilla run. It is an addiction, what can I say? We had some family for dinner and I finally convinced another cousin to help out the mission (to amass more points) by assisting with yet another Bluebird. It will cost me a night in Paris at the airport Hilton by the way, he is happy and I am happy (and my wife and kids are happy, you know I am doing all this for them right?)
I let the identifying info above intact because I am not going to act like a child and keep changing them. You can make up your own mind about such behavior. As awesome dude NBA player Rasheed Wallace said “Ball don’t lie” we have proof here that “comments does not lie” 
Stop addressing the trolls, it only gives them incentive to keep…trolling!
Regarding the accusation of me contacting IB, I connect with everyone at Linked in, send me a LI connection request, it helps my Klout score There is a story behind this but I am not going to get into it until I can. #remindmetodoit Bottom line, troll’s conduct here is harming business in that blog and I am so sorry for the fine people who write there.
Getting back into funny mode here…I just want you all to know I no longer do joints. Come on, give me some credit (oh yeah baby, that was a hint for the credit cards coming at ya lol). Who needs joints when you can have brownies #whoneedsAmsterdamanylonger?
I pick SF-Denver
The Super Bowl commercials will not be the same without the GoDaddy commercials #sadface
And I leave you with this…Yeah, come to the meat department and I’ll show you, lol.
Check out my updated blog lists: Blogs I Love, Blogs I Like, Blogs I Ignore
Thank you for reading and supporting my blog! Please pass my blog link to your friends and family if you think they will enjoy it too.
George
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
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Crap…I forgot to pimp my Amazon link!
FM: A socially-competent introvert, on this evening he is a little more distant and reserved than usual as he is preoccupied by the feeling that there should have been a way to both quadruple dip and earn 5x points on his recent Snow Wovel purchase.
Finally, someone got FM.
Speaking of FM leave it to FM to actually have a possible solution to booking two people in business class on Delta. http://boardingarea.com/frequentmiler/2014/01/17/booking-delta-awards-when-you-love-your-spouse/. I love the title of the post.
Coming soon to a family miles and points blog near you: ‘Booking Delta awards when you love your spouse and can’t pawn off your kids to someone else’ (Vacuum pack them with scuba tanks and check them in – you heard it here first).
With TBB’s connections deep inside Delta HQ I have next Friday’s memo draft. Title is:
“Vacuum packing fee to be instituted effective immediately. Skymiles members actually asked for this to relieve them of (insert imaginary inconvenience here). We listen to our members!”
I purchased some GCs at Office Max this morning, because Big Habitat told me to, and the total purchase price for 4 x $200 cards came to… $787.8.
Before stopping in, I browsed through the adjacent Price Rite, and was depressed by what lower class grocery stores, those for people just barely getting by, are like. Then I went next door and used my excellent credit to earn airline points buying monetary instruments I could easily repay, using financial instruments developed by a company notorious for paying poverty-level wages and targeted at the lower income unbanked and underbanked. Late American capitalism…..
Gonna go for the US Bank Cash+ card next time we’re in a relevant city. Signing up in-branch feels so old-fashioned; I hope I get a complimentary toaster.
Here’s what happens when you put affiliate link revenue ahead of informing your readers – you write a post on best possible credit cards for dining and neglect to mention, I mean, leave it to your commenters of course, to point out that Discover is currently earning 5% at restaurants, and US Bank Cash+ does the same frequently. Sheesh.
Among the Blogs George Avoids, there seems to be one in particular (Agenda Guy’s arch-nemesis) that just seems to have given up and is mailing it in. At least Miles the Puppy’s owner hustles for his SEO, reproduces the latest press releases, and ties himself in knots to deliver the same content over and over again in seemingly new ways; others seem to have stopped even trying. And yet the supposed best readers still keep the clicks and views coming. I don’t know whether to be disgusted or impressed. I should probably just avoid thinking about / reading it.
Trust me harvson, he isn’t my arch nemesis at all. It wasn’t that way until I saw the pattern with TBB avoiding to criticize his blog (from Dec 12 through most of the following 9-10 months) when it was fully warranted. Nothing against credit card salesmen doing their job, but if TBB wasn’t going to educate readers about the MMS propaganda, someone had to.
Shame on TBB for inventing juvenile excuses on MMS’ behalf when he was full blown pimping and baiting innocent hobbyists through charades. Not going to forget those anytime soon although TBB has apologized quite a few times so I don’t bring it up. Let’s bury it 🙂
Yes please let’s bury it 🙂
I wanted to be featured in that Friday interview to pump up my clicks. It was a mistake even though it makes sense commercially.
Actually I should do that interview (the questions never change!) myself and post it here for entertainment purposes lol.
SCOTT, Can you start stereotyping commentators, just to be fair. I’m sure no one will mind.
Excellent idea!
Every time ingy starts crying, I picture this image of him, taken in Chicago a few years back…
http://s7.postimg.org/tbwmzo1fv/image.jpg
Ramsey> Comes to the party in his John Travolta Saturday Night Fever white suit. Nobody told him Disco Is Dead.
AgendaGuy> Comes decked out head to to in Camouflage fatigues circa The Vietnam War. Keeps having flashbacks even though he never served. MMS sees him enter the room and grabs Emily and splits.
Harvson3> Gets into an argument with Alex Trebek (who invited him?) over one the answers on Jeopardy.
TWA44> This babe from Queens can be seen in this commercial from her NYC party days (black dress) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmZ7EyYWAZg
@Buzz……. Getting back into funny mode here…I just want you all to know I no longer do joints. Come on, give me some credit ………………………Sure Buzz, why use joints when you have a $400 vaporizer?
@ Bob: That was good!
@ Scott: Loved the title of FM’s post too.
@ Harvson3: We always enjoy your comments. I just read a question on that site “i am an airline employee, which cards should I get?” What’s next? ” I am a garbage man (nothing against this occupations, it is just an example!). If Inn Bold is mentioned in the same post, I AM graduating that blog to the “Blogs I Avoid” list lol.
@ Jay: Oh come on Jay, all that does is getting trolls upset and justify to themselves to keep trolling! Come to think of it, I hope you don’t find this picture of me somewhere in the internet when I participated in the Hairy Chest competition aboard some cruise ship. A truly devastating picture, you all will lose all respect for me (not that I am doing a horrible job to lose it all by myself woohoo).
@ Shia LA Beef: Pretty good. I so hope no one got offended! Deep down I do care about my readers’ feelings 🙂 I miss brownies!
just a heads up… if anyone doing satirical stereotyping of me, there will be endless lawsuit threats, censor requests and angry drunken ranting
don’t even try it….
I have one word for you. okay two: (How) cowardly gutless!
🙂
Finally doing what the rest of Seattle is doing, that is; watching the game.
I am reluctant to admit it, but the brand new Holiday Inn Express Tacoma which was a measily 20,000 points is more to my liking than the fancy-schmancy, boutiquey, W with its dark hallways and almost non-existent lobby. We were upgraded here too, and while the cosmetics aren’t Bliss, it has lots that the W lacked: free wifi; a microwave, fridge and coffee pot; a bigger flat screen TV; a pool; and a real lobby. We’ll also get free breakfast and free parking. I guess I must still be just an ordinary girl from Queens.
We loved the Museum of Glass. Incredible to watch the guest artist in the Hot Shop as he created his art. Also saw some wonderful Chihuly glass.
Tomorrow is up for grabs. We may head home via Mt St. Helens but we have been there before. On the upside, it is free tomorrow and we’ve not been there for a long time. On the downside, if it is as foggy tomorrow as it was today, we won’t see much of the crater.
Seattle’s winning!!!!! But there are a good ten minutes to go….
Psst, I think Shia LA Beef is Ramsey in disguise.
As soon as the game ended, we could hear fireworks! The town is rocking!
I think you are right about Ramsey’s latest incarnation 🙂
Loved your W review, I think it is perfect!: “fancy-schmancy, boutiquey, W with its dark hallways and almost non-existent lobby.”
I always enjoy seeing Harbaugh lose 🙂
TBB’s suggestion of a DIY interview is hysterical. I too love HI Express.
You clearly haven’t stayed in a UK one then, where they are all prefabricated boxes with totally identical rooms ( hotel to hotel, not just in the same hotel).
The last US one I visited, in the Hamptons, was astounding – a very plus three star bordering on four.
Yah I have only stayed in U.S. HI Express – but they are lux enough for my family. BTW, I only go to the cocktail party it’s a dining for miles place or if I have a groupon.
I have stayed at a HI Express in the UK. It was so remarkable I forgot when and where it was 🙂 I am getting ready to rebook me to 4 different IHG hotels for a 4 night stay in Orlando for the Big Win promo….I will get to it I hope soon 🙂
the latest mailed-in post by Rick was all about him. Of course it was.
Fishing 4 Deals, I got a laugh at your self-characterization. You are, after all, the Priceline Queen.
I come from a long line of bargain-loving women. My grandmother opened an account at every bank in the Bronx that offered a free toaster, omelette pan or collapsible suitcase. Given the poor quality of all these gifts, it is amazing how many we found in working order when we cleaned out her apartment after she died. It seemed that we found another bank passbook in every drawer. My cousin, who has watched me accumulate miles and points over the last year, feels certain it is just the latest version of a family tradition and that I am clearly channeling grandma.
The HIE room and facility continues to suit, but the breakfast is definitely not worth very many stars. Typical plastic food – lots of it, but little worth ingesting. Best to stick to the yogurt, fruit and cereal because the hot options are not worth the calories. And I doubt the family that just walked in in pajama bottoms and t-shirts would find themselves too at home at the W.
Yeah, the high you get from hitting these deals (miles, points, freebies, discounts, etc.) is wildly underrated 🙂 Thumbs up for Grandma! I got me a few toasters along the way too lol.
What’s really funny is that I started reading the section on bloggers at a party, and I saw TIF and read that I didn’t own a nice shirt… and I for a second wondered what party this was. But I quickly realized that it wasn’t a real party, ftr. And I do own a nice shirt, I just don’t travel with it. :-p
In Ann Arbor we are all very well dressed because we need to keep up with our snobby image that is mostly due to the University of Michigan…so you are expected to wear that nice shirt of yours.
Just kidding of course. Thanks for coming out in July!
Can I ship my nice shirt to your house until then? :-p
Looking forward to it.
Does your shirt get its own miles account(s)? Sign up sign up sign up!