Like Kabbalists and Wiccans, but better

The other day we were having lunch in the little town I want to move to, and the waitress was wearing a discreet pentacle on a chain around her neck, signalling her Wiccan-ness to other Wiccans. And we've all seen the red string bracelets worn by famous Kabbalists. Although the intention is not quite the same, the red bracelet serves the same function: it is a secret signal from one kindred to another.

Like Jo, I often wonder about the online activities of the people I meet in real life. Short of wearing a t-shirt like this (or this or one of these) every day, there is no way to identify those of us who belong to the subculture of bloggers.

So what we need is a signal, a piece of jewlery or something, that identifies us to one another. Because there's nothing quite as cool as meeting another blogger. Especially by surprise.

Comments

[wix]

I'm sick sick sick of those plastic charity/not-charity bracelets, so I will automatically vote no for any of those.

I would suggest a friendship-bracelet-type thing, similar to those tied by junior high school girls for what surely must be millenia, but I don't have as much free time as I did in 1985, so, those are out.

Seems like the quickest, easiest way to do it is to decide on a color and go from there. I vote for orange because it is one of my favorites, goes with almost nothing, and I don't think it's been 'claimed' by any one cause yet. I suggest either embroidery floss (I'll just go ahead and suggest DMC 608) or 1/2" ribbon, worn on the left wrist.

I'm not going to bother listing an elaborate system of colors and knots for the type of blog (TTC, mama, political), host (one's own, typepad, blogger), or posting frequency (red for, say, Tertia, and light blue for, say, me). If we wanted to get THAT specific, we might as well get started knotting friendship bracelets and call it a day.

[Aria]

We could go for whale tail high riding thongs in orange. I mean, seriously, how many of those do you see in a day?
Or bucket hats in orange that read, "blog this willya"
Or we could all wear our carpal tunnel wrist braces adorned with beads and glitter to signal our absolute devotion to this sport, injury be damned.

[Aria]

btw, I so wanna see Laid Off Dad in a whale tail. :P

[Schnozz]

I vote orange ribbon/friendship bracelet/whatever each person chooses, with some variant of this sort of charm:

http://www.hampshirepewter.com/products/jewelry/charms/192

It's more of a formula than an actual strict thing: some sort of orange bracelet with some sort of computer charm. That way it's pretty recognizable, but there's room for creativity and personal taste. :)

[Lisa V]

I think we just need a secret handshake. But maybe too many of us have carpal tunnel syndrome.

[Marsha]

A shaved left eyebrow?

[jozet]

How about QWERTY tattooed across our knuckles?

Oh...am I the only one with six knuckles?

[Emily]

I think I might recognise a fellow blogger if I talked to one. I've been on message board for years and done many of those weird turn up in a bar and whisper your log in name to nameless faces in the hope of coming across your internet group. It's always hilarious. It's interesting sometimes to see that the most learned appear to be lost without on hand access to google and the funniest and quiet little things that sit in the corner nursing their drinks. But meeting up in real life adds another dimension to the text persona you see online. It's valuable and shows up the many delicate sublties that can be sadly lost with toneless posts.

A codeword would be a good idea.

[barb]

i'm gonna go with some sort of hair accessory: clip, scrunchie, scarf, whathaveyou.

like the Scrunchie of Power from Heathers...it will be so "very".

[Kateri]

LOL, you all make me laugh :)

wix, I'm with you on the plastic bracelet thing. They are over.

I like orange, and those cheap little beads that preschoolers string onto pipecleaners would be good for codification.

I love the charm too.

[Kate]

I just have to remark on the red string bracelets. In Israel, every other wizened lady collecting for charity in the Old City of Jerusalem hands these out. So tourists have them, yeshiva kids have them, Army (religious and not religious) guys--the induction ceremony for the paratroopers is at the Western Wall--have them.

I went to Israel the summer I was 16 (before I was religious and I've never been a Kabbalist); got one and wore it until it got grubby. :-)

Would definitely be cool to have a secret sign/accesory with other bloggers, though.

[Jo in Utah]

Hmm, not so into the orange thing, couldn't we pick like seafoam green or teal or how about royal blue with polka dots??? something like that? You could always do the ribbon loop and wear on your shirt or heck, tape it to your naked chest if you are a guy, or a girl if you are inclined to cleavage!

[Menita]

How about the orange embroidery floss thingy with separate links hanging from it for each of the other blogs that link to you?

[Kestrel]

That is such a good idea! But then what do you do if someone wants to know which blog is yours and you're trying to keep your identity secret?

[Kestrel]

PS. I just finished looking through your Amazon wishlist and you seem like a fascinating person. I added half the books to my library list!

Just saying. :)

[Sunny]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm all for the orange embroidery floss bracelet. I've been half-heartedly looking for an excuse to make one again anyway, and 608 is as good a number as any. (608, 608, 608.) Now hopefully, I'll remember that the next time I'm in a craft store.

Any bets on me forgetting? Yeah.

[Menita]

Kestrel - if anybody asks you can always say "blog? what blog? my BFF made this for me. what exactly are you trying to tell me?"
And hope it flies...

[-Blue]

Damnit, now I'm gonna have to blog about this ...

I hate orange but must admit that it's a good colour for our ...erm ... secret thingy thing. I vote for that bright 'traffic cone' orange.

-Blue

[Simone]

What about painting one pinky fingernail a certain colour.