|
|
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... Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Supreme "Apology"
It's nice to know even Chief Justices aren't immune to titilating sensationalism. Not content with introducing the Gilbert and Sullivan-themed robe to judicial history, that darling of political theater William Rehnquist has now written a book on the disputed presidential election [audience leans forward expectantly] of 1876. In which, interestingly enough, a Republican lost the national vote but won in judicial committee.
Sound familiar? Of course it does, that's the whole idea. Rehnquist has acted all indignant whenever his interviewers -- who are few and far between, even when he's just written a pot-boiler -- have suggested this book has any link to Bush vs. Gore. To hear him tell it, the book was something he tossed off during summer recess when he wasn't sipping mint juleps on the veranda. But he could have written about anything -- bridge, architecture, duck-hunting -- and had it published. Funny that he should have focused on a controversial election, isn't it? Eric Foner, the Columbia professor whose name was whispered in hushed tones back when I was a history student, called the book an elaborate if veiled apologia for what happened in 2000.
Did the soon-to-be 80-year-old Rehnquist feel the need to justify foisting Bush upon this world before he himself shuffles off it? Or did he just want to make us think that's what he's thinking in order to sell more books? Either way, why do I have this image stuck in my head of him playing the Salieri role in Amadeus? In a jaunty black-and-gold costume, of course.
|
|
|
|
