Grenoble Blog 100th Post!

Foreword by the Author

The world-famous GrenobleWMD blog was launched with little fanfare on Saturday the 11th of February 2012 with a post entitled simply "Arrival". Since that fateful action on a cold winter morning in Grenoble, an additional 98 blog posts have been published over a period of 893 days, for an average of a new post about every 9 days. During those two and a half years, visitors from Canada, Germany, France, the United States, Russia, the UK, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, and other countries (in that order of page views), have been enthralled, enchanted, baffled, dismayed, horrified, and yes, even enraged, by the trials and tribulations, photos and memories, rants and short stories, and other writings, of Pemulis, Joelle, and all their friends as they made their way around the western side of the peninsula of Eurasia with brief stops in Canada and elsewhere thrown in when appropriate.

Today, we mark the 100th entry to this blog. This moment shall afford us a rare chance to look back on the years that were. To assess how we have all grown as individuals and as members of a collective society at large. But most importantly, this one hundredth entry shows that we all -- even though it never feels like it -- probably have a little too much time on our hands.

Introduction by Jonathan Franzen

The news about George and Joelle Pemulis leaving Grenoble, and leaving France altogether, was mostly ignored in the St. Laurent quartier where they had lived for the previous 19 months. Pemulis's barber Cédric did not even become aware of their departure until several months after the fact. They arrived in St. Laurent in the midst of the partial economic recovery of early 2012, approximately a year and a half after the publication of my most recent novel, Freedom. Heard of it? President Obama himself has been quoted as calling it "Terrific". Oprah called it a "masterpiece" but let's not get into that. Who are these people I'm supposed to be writing about again?

The Actual Post

Well it looks like we made it. 100 posts and counting. An Introduction by Jonathan Franzen. Hundreds of digital photos laid bare for the world to see. And most importantly, a continuous inner view into the workings of the author's mind and soul. What are his convictions, beliefs, fears, and desires? It has all been presented here to the unsuspecting public. At times under the surface, at other times clear as day. Soon, Blogging scholars from around the globe will gather at Pemulis 100Con in San Jose to share their theories. For only $37,000 plus transportation, accommodation, catering, electricity, venue rental (apportioned by participant), and your dignity, join such Blog visionaries as Aaron Wall, Adam Curry, John Gruber, Andy Baio, Gina Trapani, Heather Champ, and dozens of others as they discuss the latest scholarly thinking on Who is Pemulis? Why did he gain a first name? Why is it George? Who has the clefs for some of the more esoteric blog à clef entries? What psychological issues is the author trying to hide by always writing sarcastically? What deep-seeded emotional problems do some of the more famous entries point to? What do the many metaphors employed on GrenobleWMD lead us to? Are there any metaphors at all? Is that the greatest metaphor of all? Is it true that the blog is funded primarily through the secretive Bilderberg Group as many have speculated? Why did Pemulis turn down a lucrative offer with the US Intelligence community-backed RAND Corporation? Is Pemulis really Matt Damon? Or Will Hunting? Or neither? What level of Latin does Joelle really read and understand at? Is LaMont modeled on a famous Xerox executive as Thomas Piketty recently charged in a heated editorial for Le Monde? Are the photos on GrenobleWMD used to steganographically transmit hidden messages for the still-active members of Weather Underground? Or is it something entirely opposite? Some participating members of the conference will present research that -- they claim -- arguably demonstrates a tight link between the true Pemulis character, his associates, and hard-right nationalist parties in the UK and France attempting to drive the EU apart. This is going to be some conference, and it is all in celebration of this 100th post. Be there!!!

Registration details to follow...