Cokie Roberts + Applebees + Twitter
So, this happened:
I didn’t realize Cokie Roberts even had a Twitter account, but suddenly everyone was re-tweeting what appeared to be a longtime news anchor and NPR commentator confusing Twitter for Google and repeatedly trying to find directions to a Washington, DC Applebee’s restaurant.
Yet, it doesn’t make any sense. I mean, does anyone really think Cokie Roberts eats at Applebee’s? Or, if she does, that she looks up the directions herself? And, what the hell are “Applebees dessert shooters” and why would our intrepid reporter be looking for a recipe for them?
Oh: And there actually isn’t an Applebee’s in Washington, DC. (Although there is one maybe four miles down the road from my house, out on Route 1.)
My guess was that the account was hacked. Rob Prather, our very occasional correspondent, informs me the account is fake. Certainly, Roberts isn’t an active Tweeter. Somebody set the account up four days ago, somebody has tweeted a grand total of 32 times, and six of the tweets were today’s stream on Applebees. And, while several of the tweets are plausibly Cokiequese, others are a bit too snarky for a celebrity grandma wading in to the medium for the first time.
Looks like she thought she was using a search box, and it wasn’t working
Maybe voice input misdirected
She was probably trying to meet up with David Brooks for lunch at the salad bar.
Some of the tweets are giveaways, like her first tweet about how she would rather watch Joyful Noise for the 10th time, rather than watch the debate. I don’t know the real story, but whatever it is, it’s not her tweeting.
. @Rob Prather: I don’t know what the hell “Joyful Noise” is, so it works for me
Despite the fact there’s one near my house, I haven’t been to an Applebee’s in probably 10 years. Am I missing anything yet?
Dessert shooters is basically a tiny dessert (picture a shotglass full of choclate moose or a tiny cheese cake), which is becoming popular at a lot of restaurants now because people don’t want the calories associated with a full sized desert portion.
@James Joyner:
It’s a movie about a gospel choir going to a choir competition. Are you like filling in for Tsar today with all the “anything I haven’t heard of must automatically be stupid” snobbery?
it’s a fake.
https://twitter.com/acarvin/status/261905303640096768
@Stormy Dragon: That’s funny, I thought “anything that I haven’t heard of must be stupid” was one of James’ continuing themes.
@Stormy Dragon: Ah. I’ve seen those; just never heard them called that.
@Stormy Dragon: I didn’t say the movie was stupid. My not having heard of it meant that it didn’t automatically strike me as implausible that Cokie Roberts would joke about preferring to watch it to a boring debate.
Never been to an Applebee’s – what’s the big deal?
@al-Ameda: Mostly an urban-suburban thing. For people living outside easy driving distance of a major metropolitan center, places like Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, and the Olive Garden tend to represent the finest available restaurant dining. People who live in cities or their near suburbs tend to sneer at these places.
@James Joyner:
You’re right James. I ate at the Olive Garden once – a sister was in town from San Antonio – and she wanted to eat there. For me – too much food, gigantic portions – I haven’t gone back since. There are too many regular one-of-a-kind restaurants here in the Bay Area to check out, there is no need to hit the Chili’s or Applebees that are around here too.