valley girls

by Violet Blue on February 2, 2006


Last night I went to the Valleywag launch party, but I didn’t go alone. Oh, no — in fear of suffering through being the gender minority at these tech things yet again, I summoned a posse of nine women to attend with me/meet me there. That’s right, Violet Blue has a posse, just like Andre the Giant. Valleywag is a local tech gossip blog, brainchild of Nick Denton and run by a man I call Little Nicky, because he is also named Nick and is adorably bite-sized. Conversation snippets:

Guy from Slate: I wish I had a camera when you came to pick up Xeni the other day.
me: We get that a lot.
Guy from Slate: Your license plate should be “NSFW”.

His friend, former Suck.com writer: I’ve firgured out what the big Vallywag gossip is.
me: What!?
His friend, former Suck.com writer: It’s that Denton has crossed over his look into “daddy bear“.
me: Does that make Little Nicky a cub or an otter?
His friend, former Suck.com writer: Definitely a cub.

Annalee Newitz: Charlie Girl and I have to go — let’s go *get* Little Nicky.
(I make introductions.)
me, to Little Nicky: So, do you live here yet?
Little Nicky: Yes, I live in a commune in [SF neighborhood].
me: You’re in a cult!
Annalee Newitz: A sex cult!
Melissa Gira: Oh, I’ve heard of that cult!
Little Nicky: I don’t think it’s a cult.
me: Oh, you just haven’t been through auditing yet.
Melissa Gira: That cult is all about extending the pleasure of the female orgasm, they’re Tantrikas.
Little Nicky: I haven’t seen anything like that going on.
me: So what’s the big gossip you’re launching with tomorrow?
Little Nicky: I can’t tell you that.
me: That’s because you’re in a cult!
Annalee Newitz: That’s the gossip!
Little Nicky: I don’t think it’s a cult.

(photo: Melissa Gira + me, by Scott Beale, his post on the event is here)

Violet Blue

The London Times named Violet Blue "One of the 40 bloggers who really count" and Self Magazine named TinyNibbles one of the “Best Sex Resources for Women.” Blue is an autodidact and pundit on sex and technology, hacking and security, porn for women, privacy and bleeding-edge tech culture. She is a journalist for ZDNet, CBS News, CNET; she's an educator, speaker, crisis counselor, volunteer NGO trainer, and the author and editor of over 40 award-winning books.

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