|
|
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... Saturday, June 05, 2004
Newsom in Napa
The best thing I heard all week came just after that last entry, at 3:30pm on Thursday afternoon. "We'll call it a day there," said the judge. "We'll see you all on Monday." In an instant, I'd gone from the dread of a long evening followed by rising bleary-eyed and hungover at 6am to the blissful anticipation of the perfect end to a long day -- a late night at the Plumpjack Winery. For that's where I was headed, to hang out with Mayor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Jerry Brown and, well, just about every other Bay Area mayor. Not to mention Gordon Getty. It was a special dinner to kick off the Napa Valley Wine Auction Week, and with that guest list I was anticipating something pretty damn special.
The setup didn't disappoint. Once you got past the well-secreted security guys (Newsom got death threats over the gay marriage thing), you encountered a delightful farm-style cottage on what looked exactly like Italian farmland. In front was a long white table with thirty or forty place settings. We were eating outside, and there was no more perfect night to do it. If only there were three kinds of wine that were constantly being filled up in front of us -- oh wait! There were!
There is, of course, no such thing as a free dinner, not even in Napa. We were there to hear Newsom and Getty wax lyrical (well, drunkenly lyrical) about their new top-of-the-range screwtop, and all the mayors were called on for their opinion on screwtops. Only Brown held fast against Getty's anti-cork diatribe, and declared himself a traditionalist. "That's because he's running for Attorney-General," said Newsom. Brown looked uncomfortable, and left early.
My friend Kathryn and I hung out and took a picture with Newsom; Kathryn declared herself surprised by "how cute he is." He held her by the shoulders while he implored her to come up to Napa more often; after that, she was starstruck. I doubt she'll wash her shoulders again. I was more used to Newsom's charm, but even I was gratified when he came and sought us out later. We drank another bottle of reserve and handicapped Kerry's chances. Newsom said he'd been talking to the campaign, and said there was a "90% probability" he was going to choose Governor Villsac of Iowa (cue chorus of "who?") for second banana. Yeesh.
|
|
|
|
