|
|
Add one part satire to two parts sincerity. Sprinkle on a couple of rants. Stir liberally.
RSS feed coming soon!
Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
If it's called Daily Blah, how come you don't ... hey, wait, you're writing every day!
See? Told you I'd try harder.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
Praise for Daily Blah:
"It is fun to watch the author's navel-gazing joy." - Sunday Times (UK)
"It's really funny and informative." - Dave Eggers, author
"The Blah is becoming a daily destination for me." - Richard Marsh, Playwright
"I like it, and I don't." - Fiona Hogg, Teacher
"Better than Xanax." - Lessley Andersen, journalist
"Dude, lay off the crack pipe." - Souris Hong-Porretta, gamesmith
Friends, Bloggers, Countrymen ... lend your ears to these people. I come not to bury them, but praise them.
Arik
Bill
Dan
Cole
Emily B
Emily G
Helena
Jee
Jewelz
Kaila
Kathryn
Mac
Robin
Slim
Souris
Mr. West
My TIME articles
All magazine articles (subscription required for older stories)
Online column index
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Blah for... Thursday, June 13, 2002
I'll Think of a Headline Later
If procrastination were an Olympic sport -- and no doubt it will be if the IOC ever gets round to considering it -- I'd be a gold medal contender. Example: two weeks ago I bought a tome called the Procrastinator's Handbook, roughly five years after I first saw it. I read about half of the first chapter, put it down, and haven't been able to pick it up since. Tonight I'm supposed to be writing a story for next week's issue, but there's no precise deadline. My editor needs it in the morning, that's all. All my reporting, my research, my interviews are done. I need only motivate myself to write the lead, and all will follow. But do I? No. I make a cup of tea. Answer a few non-urgent e-mails. Look at a science fiction potboiler. Do my laundry. Flick through a few magazines. Watch an old West Wing episode on TiVo. Microwave some glazed chicken risotto. Realize I'm procrastinating. Vaguely recall an excellent J.B. Priestley essay on procrastination, in which he listed a dozen or so things he routinely did to avoid writing. Try looking for it on the Web. Fail to find it, but do glance at his bibliography. It is jaw-droppingly long. Wonder if he wasn't having us on.
That brings us up to the Daily Blah entry procrastination technique. Well, I tell myself, at least I'm writing. And passing on salient and amusing tidbits to thousands of readers, like: did you know the website procrastination.org hasn't been updated since Memorial Day? That an estimated 90% of college students procrastinate? I certainly did. Maybe I'm a big-shot journalist still trapped inside a college student's attention span. Maybe I should just sit down and write this bloody first sentence. That's certainly something to ponder over a cup of tea. Mmmm. Tea.
|
|
|
|
