This morning, on the up escalator at the Bethesda metro, I stood a few steps behind a man who was carrying what seemed to be a violin case. Interesting, I thought. Spotting a large tag on the case, I stepped up closer, curious. In large type it read, “David Basch / Violist” with an address beneath. Ah, the viola, so I was mistaken. We arrived at street level on East-West Highway. He went west. I went east.
I arrived at my office and ran a Google search. Details are sketchy, but from what I gather, Mr. Basch has played in the National Chamber Orchestra (based in Rockville, Md.) at some point. Yeah, that was all. Just strangers on a train. (Not quite like Hitchcock, but I’m also reminded of a film I’ve only heard about, Following, created by Insomnia and Memento director Chris Nolan.)
Last week I started tracking my website traffic with Site Meter, and now I’m obsessed with all the statistics, like the referrals, which identify where the site is linked. Rebel Prince gets visits from search engines now and then, and people out there are finding this site by way of some interesting (to put it mildly) search terms. You can’t make this stuff up, folks. The most academic one had to do with Othello; it was practically an entire thesis statement. Someone out there writing a paper? I looked at the Google summary, and yes, I had posted an entry a while back about cleaning my room and finding old high-school English papers, including one on Othello and Iago.
There’ve been a few hits from searches about the SAG Awards, and one for Tintin and The Left Bank (a favorite local boutique), which I appreciate. But the one that takes the cake is an Altavista image search for the words “cumming cock.” Let’s take a moment for dramatic effect. […] Okay, I’ve written here about Alan Cumming, but when have I ever used the word “cock”? (Yikes, other than just now?) Oh, wait, I have. Once, on 20 June 2002. And it was damn funny too.
By the way, Site Meter doesn’t give me complete IP addresses, so don’t worry, I don’t know who you cheeky monkeys are.
3 replies on “Googling gumshoe”
hahahahaha – great entry, Jeff! And I loved the trip down memory lane! I read all the entries on that page again! hee!
Go rent The Following. You won’t do that again. ; )
It’s a good film for watching once, but not one I’d rent over and over.
Oh, and congrats. Now that the phrase actually appears on your site you just bumped it up in the rankings for Google searches.
hi there! used to know a guy named jeff who has tha hots fo’ me! 😉