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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
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Daily Blah for... Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Koko Pops
I don't know what I love so much about this AP story on Koko the gorilla, even two days after it came out. I knew Koko did sign language, and I'd heard she'd been able to ask for a dentist. All very amazing, and heartwarming. But the AP story has lots of other tidbits, like the fact that she has a DVD player. A DVD player! Some of my friends don't have DVD players. My parents don't even have a DVD player. What the hell is Koko doing with a DVD player? Does she also have a Netflix subscription? Does she pick up a $3.99 copy of Rush Hour while in line at Walgreens? Or is she more a Citizen Kane kind of gorilla?
Or how about the bit with the pain chart, on which she was asked to point to numbers between one and ten for how bad her teeth were hurting. What was she supposed to do if she wanted to say, in jest but also in metaphorical importance, eleven? Grab the chart and eat it?
No, Koko prefers lighter fare. This is my favorite part, when she meets her dental specialists:
Koko, who plays favorites, indicated that one woman, wearing red, should come closer. The woman handed her a business card, which Koko promptly ate.
I love that: business card as aperitif. I now plan to do that the next time some PR drone introduces herself at a corporate dinner. Just to see if I can get a rise.
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