|
|
The increasingly inaccurately-named blog of journalist and futurist Chris Taylor. Either the most sporadically brilliant amateur blog, the most brilliantly amateur sporadic blog, or the most amateur sporadic brilliance on the Web since 2001.
Oh My God, the RSS Feed Actually Works!
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.
Do you write any other blogs, by chance? Could that have something to do with the fact that Daily Blah isn't always Daily?
Yes -- the Future Boy blog for Business 2.0. And yes. If you want true, editorially-mandated daily coverage from me, that's probably the best place to look.
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... Tuesday, September 10, 2002
9-11 Vultures
That does it. I was trying to stay silent on this orgiastic frenzy of September 11 remembrance. It's not hard for me as a member of the media to criticize media overkill, but it is hard to make the criticism stick in a public forum. So I was just going to silently roll my eyes at all the flag-waving, platitude-repeating crap -- the kind of stuff that the 3,000 honored dead, all of whom were from unusually clever segments of the population, would have recognized as a lot of mindless bleating. I was going to let the anniversary run its course and hope we all got back to our senses -- and our sense of proportion -- soon after.
But what I cannot stand are the vultures who take advantage of wall-to-wall media coverage to push their product. My current issue of the New Yorker, one of the few publications you can expect to have a sense of proportion, carries at least a dozen ads for fetishistic nonsense like a World Trade Center halo pin. That's right, the towers cloaked in a golden halo. What's that supposed to say? That you believe the World Trade Center should be canonized? That you're founding a new religion based on concrete and steel? Can anyone say golden idol? And at the bottom of the ad, the final insult: "A portion of the proceeds will go to September 11-related charities," a phrase so vague as to be meaningless. A portion, like 1% is a portion. Related charities like -- well, like just about every charity on Earth. And this, alas, is the ultimate mindless platitude, so often repeated that we are numb to its inanity.
What sent me over the edge this morning was an e-mail from a PR professional who shall remain nameless. "Technology takes on terror," it was titled. "Chris, here are two items to tie in with 9/11 coverage." The guy was pimping for a company, which I also don't want to dignify with a name, that "is providing military and government agencies with technology to successfully defend the US and stamp out terror." And what did this technology turn out to be? New X-ray screening equipment? A missile shield? A machine that makes terrorists forget where they hid the boxcutters? Nope. Instant Messaging software. Like AOL Instant Messaging, only more secure. That's what is going to successfully defend the US and stamp out terror. You'll sleep easier tonight, right? I know I will.
|
|
|
|
