Let’s all give a warm, but slightly abrasive welcome to Ben Popken, the new editor of The Consumerist. Ben previously was the editor of the advertising blog The Spunker, is “up with people,” and lives in Brooklyn, the home of enough mangy shopkeeps to keep him fussy far beyond societal norms. Ben’s been the driving editorial voice of The Consumerist for nearly two weeks and is doing, as they say, a heck of a job.
Joel isn’t going away, though, but will remain as a sort of lurking, gelatinous overbrain, exposing little physical movement, but quivering with the periodic thrum of profundity. Also, he’ll probably keep doing the Morning Deals Round-Up, once he’s had his tea. He can still be reached at joel@gawker, while Ben has inherited tips@consumerist.
Happy kvetching!
He looks sneaky, caustic, and geeky. Our kind of people! Welcome, Ben.
It’s the Verizon “Can you hear me now?” guy’s evil alter-ego.
With just a tantalizing tuft of chest hair!
Looks like Peter Parker pre-Spiderman to me.
Welcome webcrawler!
His gaze confesses that he knows he is an enigma and that he is weary of discussing this. He is the human version of an unmarked door at the airport. What lays beyond? Perhaps only pipes and refuse bins. Perhaps paradise itself. We shall never know.
*mashes all the elevator floor buttons and steps out the door*
“Hi”
Brooklyn or Ireland? I’m so confused.
Gander
Dude lives in an elevator. I suppose that’s normal in New York.
It’s like a strange cross of tobey mcguire and jake gyllenhaal.
Brownlee, who was writing here with Joel before me, stays on. He’s the one in Ireland.
Welcome, Ben.
Does your elevator have a foldaway bed? DSL? What kind of rent are you paying?
A perfect picture for someone on the ups who’s also “up with people,” if only the down arrow wasn’t lit up.
Clearly, Juancho, the DSL is connected via the emergency telephone handset hidden in the small compartment beneath the button panels. Mr. Popken, like all of us, would prefer cable, but his elevator car isn’t covered in the local operator’s service area.
There’s more chest hair where that came from…
Nah, he looks scared and pissed off – usually the reaction I have to a camera. Plus there’s a sorta Sean Lennon thing going on; he’d be “super-hott” over at Valleywag.
Real NY’ers take the stairs in a 4 story building.
Ben answered my email and sent a response within 9 minutes… he’s HAWT!
Oh, and green came up on the roulette wheel, Darnitol.
damn, a friend of mine lives in that building.