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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.
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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.
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Daily Blah for... Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Polly's Pecan Pumpkin Pie
I'm running on three hours sleep and just about to crash, but I didn't want to keep anyone in suspense over the Thanksgiving break about my (now mercifully completed) adventures in La-la land. Nothing special, just a couple of TV appearances: one on KTLA, the most watched and easily the most wacky morning news in Smogtown, the other on buttoned-down affiliate KABC. While both covered the topic of Time's Coolest Inventions of 2002, the two experiences could not have been more diverse. KTLA offered Gayle Anderson, a perpetually peppy local legend, who'd researched the topic, gathered the inventions (and me to explain them) in a science museum, and brought along a posse of kids and grown-ups to help demonstrate them. She did it live, over three separate segments of the show; she got really excited about each invention, splashed wine all over her khakis to demonstrate the effectiveness of their spill-resistant nanofibers, and generally made the whole subject hugely entertaining. Whereas KABC ... didn't.
Gayle's counterpart there, whom I shall not name, was distinctly rude, shot the piece on tape, and appeared thoroughly bored by each invention. He lifted not one finger as I carted box after boxload of inventions into his studio. "You'd better be able to do it yourself," was his comment. "I'm not in the mood." This was, perhaps, an understandable response to this being the last day before Turkey Day. Maybe he wanted to get back to his family as fast as possible. Interesting how different people react in the same circumstances. Gayle's response to this being the last day before Thanksgiving was to take us all over to Polly's, another local legend, to sample the delightfully crispy pecan pumpkin pie. Guess which of these two journalists I want to be like when I grow up.
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