True. Bush vs. Paris. Well. Not the city. Nor the hotel. We're talking TV show.
Did you watch Paris? You subscribe to People?! My god. I read a little bit of Paul Theroux that night. You might want to consider something similar, too.
In the meantime, post a comment encouraging my 19 year old friend Michael to get on with blogging. He's young, got lots to say and needs encouragement.
3:38:08 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
"Warblogs, you've jumped the shark. Next." - Jason Kottke
3:32:34 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
On the eve of perhaps the Republican's greatest moment I thought it might be fun to visit a post from Joi Ito's blog last week. Is George W. Bush a miserable failure? Search on Google for miserable failure and guess who's White House biography tops the results list? Apparently this google bomb was sponsored by bloggers. Article about it here.
2:37:46 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Interesting. After a couple image/picture-free medium length posts here on the Digital Tavern I've received a few email and comments regarding the lack of photography. While away in Mexico, Italy and a trip through Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, I posted medium and longer length posts enhanced with photographs of other graphical devices. The comments were from readers remarking about the difference or asking for more.
I've thought about whether I should include photos and imagery or simply let the words create the pictures. I love photography and am a bit of a snob when it comes to graphic design and typography. Do I want the words to stand on their own? Or, do I succumb to the old adage we'd lament in the ad business: nobody reads copy. In fact, the popularity of blogs proves among many things that people are eager to read and write.
So do you like the photos? The writing? Combo? Or just consistent content. Because that's the other issue I deal with when thinking of my blog. I tend to want something good or great to say with each post. No time for mediocrity. So with the subtle pressure I put on myself, I tend to opt out of writing on a given day. Many bloggers would simply fill the space with words to communicate the fact that the blog is still active. Because blogs have come under fire in the press recently. Some researchers have reported high percentage of orphaned or abandoned blogs. And while I'm sure there's a lot of drift wood in the blog wasteland, I find that blogs keep getting better. Whether political or critical, personal of purposeful, prosaic or photographic the blogging bar has been raised over the last 6 months. Quality & quantity.
New York is chilly yet sunny. Love it.
10:01:29 PM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Catching up on my blog reading this evening while I adjust to NYC time, I found an interesting new "cellphone" from Sony thanks to John Robb. But as John suggests such new gadgets could lead to regulation of WiFi networks. So the guy or company who's running an open Linksys access point here at 14th Street and Fifth Avenue that I'm borrowing to post this entry could go to jail for running an open network. I'm not running a crystal ball here, but I hope John is wrong.
VoIP Regulation?
Keven Werbach today has a post that may swing the pendulum in favor of regulation. While not WiFi related it does cross the boundaries with FCC exploring VoIP regulation. Hot on the news that AT&T and others will begin offering non-POTS VoIP telephone service to complete with Time Warner and others who have also announced VoIP telephone service. Now it gets interesting.
And all of this on the heels of my conversations using Apple's iSight camera and iChat software connecting with friends in NYC, Sacramento and Washington, DC.
12:03:09 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Ok. Ok. Ok. I know. Not only have I been a bit lame in keeping the Digital Tavern fresh over the last couple weeks, now I have to report that I'm on the road again.
This time it's New York City. I'll celebrate the season and my birth with friends and family as I remind myself once again how real wind chill is and if I'm lucky get caught on the streets ill-prepared for sudden rain or snow falling. Because it's nice to face the reality that often escapes those of us living in southern California -- or as some of my east coast associates kindly refer to it, La La Land.
I'll roam those streets with my camera and pen and report back new, exciting or simply DT revelations.
See you then.
3:20:29 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Reviewing my new business cards this afternoon while grasping for every bit of light to aid my aging retinas in making sense of the tiny type, I noticed peeking out from under a pile of "I'll get to it later" paperwork a DMV notice that I'd neglected since returning from Mexico in mid-November: my driver's license renewal.
It was 4 pm. "I've got to get to DMV before they close," I anxiously explained to Jim, my good friend and print rep legend, while trying to usher both of us out the door.
"You'll never make it," he assured me while explaining his experience at DMV just a few weeks prior that was likely a two to three hour experience had it not been for his AAA membership. "The line was wrapped around the building. They'll just tell you the office will close and to come back tomorrow."
Problem was, my license expires on Friday, December 12, 2003. And I'll be far from California's finest public sector workers in the safe haven of the big Apple. I approached the task with a bit more positive attitude than Jim's nay saying and don't bother approach. If I let my license expire there would be more baggage to deal with. Things like penalties, probably the need to take a written exam and who knows what else. As my notice stood, I'd have to get my vision checked, take a new photo and answer three simple questions.
When I got to the DMV office there was a line of about 5 people waiting at the information counter. The young hispanic gentlemen with a chin-cleft piecing and Drew Carey glasses was talking on the phone. I glanced at the clock: 4:15. His wide brown eyes scanned the line as he talked into the phone. "There are five customers." Customers. I smiled and laughed inside. Nice. Trained well. Citizens of the great state of California. A state where we have a funny speaking, ex-body builder, bad Hollywood actor and breast-groping governor. We ARE customers. "One of them just needs a driver's license renewal." His eyes locked onto mine as I glanced at the paper I held in my hand. Trained and observant.
He hung up the phone and left the info booth while me and the four other customers shrugged and with our eyes communicated a slight sense of wonder and frustration. Less than a minute later a plump brunette with big teeth, freckles, bad acne and wearing reindeer antlers in her hair promptly issued all five of us numbers and asked us to wait.
Before I could finish a single article in the newspaper strewn across the chairs my number was called. Damn that was fast. And within 10 minutes my vision passed, I answered my three questions and the large woman with Tammy Fay make up and a posture and body not unlike jabba the hut folded and sagged over the tiny task chair processed my renewal with efficiency and ease. The balding man with horn-rimmed coke bottle glasses had my photo and thumb print captured with equal ease.
At 4:39 I was in my car leaving the parking lot.
Lucky? Maybe. Good timing. Surely. Bottom line? One happy DMV customer with a fresh, spanken new driver's license. No more bad DMV jokes from me. Incredible.
7:12:35 PM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
Happy Birthday Mom. And thank god we can celebrate the 70th anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. You know. The one that in 1919 made sales and distribution of alcohol illegal. Except for sacrament, of course. That is, for the church.
My mom was born years after the repeal of the 18th Amendment was made possible by the ratification by Congress of the 21st Amendment in 1933.
Happy Birthday. Me and mom. Years ago. Sagitarius. Both of us.
Perhaps the best birthday present Mom every received arrived exactly a week late. Me. My day comes next week.
But I'm feeling a bit guilty tonight. Trying to choose a wine to open on this Friday night, I painfully labored while pouring through the racks of my wine cellar. No matter what I considered I thought to myself, "too good for just me, tonight." I finally settled on a bottle of Merlot. Damn. I love Merlot. It got such a bad rap and bad production during the 80's as the wine for non-wine drinkers. Chardonnay came next. And now it seems to be Syrah. Fortunately there are many wineries making valiant attempts at producing a wine that would make the French in Pomerol or St. Emilion proud or their ancestors to roll over in their graves. Nonetheless, this 2000 Pride Mountain Vineyards Wind Whistle Vineyard Merlot from Napa County is absolutely stunning. A bit toasty, but certainly not offensive. Caramel, creme brulee with dark blackberries and a finish that simply won't quit. Seductive and succulent, the flavors wallow on the palate and beg for tantalizing tongue tingling. Damn. I shouldn't be drinking this alone. Sadly, less than 350 cases were produced. If you happen to be one of the lucky one's who owns a bottle or two, you're in for a treat. But wait a year or two. And open it when there are friends who'd enjoy such a treat.
But now that I've broken the silence hear in The Digital Tavern, I guess I'll toast this magnificent merlot with you. And for my mom. And for the 21st Amendment. For without its ratification, we wouldn't be sharing this great wine!
12:18:35 AM permalink | | trackback disabled due to spam
A 22-year old whose illicit video has made headlines beats the leader of our country in television ratings. What's this world coming too.
Well. I don't watch TV. And there are many reasons why. But not for discussion tonight. 
But I'm feeling a bit guilty tonight. Trying to choose a wine to open on this Friday night, I painfully labored while pouring through the racks of my wine cellar. No matter what I considered I thought to myself, "too good for just me, tonight." I finally settled on a bottle of Merlot. Damn. I love Merlot. It got such a bad rap and bad production during the 80's as the wine for non-wine drinkers. Chardonnay came next. And now it seems to be Syrah. Fortunately there are many wineries making valiant attempts at producing a wine that would make the French in Pomerol or St. Emilion proud or their ancestors to roll over in their graves. Nonetheless, this 2000 Pride Mountain Vineyards Wind Whistle Vineyard Merlot from Napa County is absolutely stunning. A bit toasty, but certainly not offensive. Caramel, creme brulee with dark blackberries and a finish that simply won't quit. Seductive and succulent, the flavors wallow on the palate and beg for tantalizing tongue tingling. Damn. I shouldn't be drinking this alone. Sadly, less than 350 cases were produced. If you happen to be one of the lucky one's who owns a bottle or two, you're in for a treat. But wait a year or two. And open it when there are friends who'd enjoy such a treat. 
![[Valid RSS]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0108247/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
