by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2007/09/03 03:01 -04:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2007/09/03/4717474.aspx
Way back in the end of 2005, in the post ISO 8601 is asinine, I talked briefly about Aimee Mann and I quoted an interview from her talking about her song Long Shot, which started with the line "You fucked it up."
I also mentioned Julian Coryell, whose album Rock Star also has a single like that -- the title of the song is Asshole.
(by the way, Julian is going to be at Chateau Ste. Michelle on the 17th opening for Madeleine Peyroux; I'd go except the last time I took someone to see an opener for Madeleine they fell asleep, and this has made me skittish about inviting others to witness some of my musical fetishes!)
I was thinking about that the other day when someone suggested that this blog had managed to clearly position itself as a personal blog....
Somehow Michael Kaplan managed to pull this off. I envy him for it.
It made me wonder how I managed it.
There are several theories, and I will present them here in the form of a Letterman-esque "top ten" list:
#10: Irregular posting hours even when content appears regularly.
#9: Content that often differs from official MS strategy and that points out what I believe are some of the flaws in said strategy
#8: Masthead that claims that the blog is my "...random stuff of dubious value".
#7: Titles that are anything but professional.
#6: [Nod to Aimee and Julian] Curse words in the posts.
#5: [Nod to Aimee and Julian] Curse words in the titles.
#4: Complete and utter lack of formal style of any kind/totally random subject matter.
#3: Regularly apologizes for bugs and explicitly takes responsibility in a way that would send anyone in LCA into convulsions if it was an official blog.
#2 Openly insulting anyone who would quote the blog as an official source (aka "the Wingnut effect")
And the #1 reason that people assume this blog is not a formal source of information:
#1 It's the typos, man. How many official sources have so many regular and consistent typos/speechos?
While I have your attention, I thought I'd do a bit if track maintenance and take care of some questions people have been asking about the blog:
From Jon Reskind in the Suggestion Box: Do you have a podcast? And if not then why not?
Hi Jon. I do not. I have no problem listening to podcasts, but I just don't think it's my kind of format. It would be more involved and formal and plus I think I lack the raw charisma to pull it off....
From a regular reader in a comment I can't remember where: Why do your blog posts use numbers rather than names?
I like the smaller titles, remembering that "feature" I pointed out in Shrinking URLs down, which would not work with those long, huge URLs based on the title of the post rather than just a number....
From a reader named Sheila via the Contact link: Are you in a relationship? Sometimes you talk like someone who is and sometimes you don't.
This one actually baffled me when I first read it. I mean I do joke about ex-girlfriends and occasionally the ex-fiancé, but I don't know that I have ever overtly acted like someone in a relationship....
Plus I could not tell about the time-line -- was the question assuming I have been in one relationship continuously since the end of 2004? In the dory I could have been in an out of several of them during that time!
For the record (if anyone is keeping track), I am not in any kind of real, actual relationship right now. There are several reasons for this that are probably worth a blog post some day (by my criteria for posts that amounts to "stuff that interests me"), but I'll hold off and not do that today.Stay tuned....
Hal asks:
Out of all the Kaplans in the world, I know only two Michaels. And that begs the question of whether you are one of them. Probably not but you never know. So here goes ...
#1 is about 60 years old and was born and lived in Brooklyn for many years.
#2 is about 55 years old and studied at SUNY Albany and was an Air Force officer.
Would you like to be #3? I am really curious if you are truly a Kaplan (i.e. of Polish descent and a Kohainim) and if you have a clue as to what I am referring to. I mean no offense, Michael.
Hope you respond.
Hal
Hi Hal, I am neither Kohain nor Levi, so I guess I am not #3. Sorry!
Kaplan is kind of an Ellis Island name for my family -- the original name is an interesting blog post on its own that I'll do some day...
Sandy asks: HI, I used to have a friend, Sheila Kaplan, and lost contact with her. Sheila has a son named Michael who used to work at UNI and I'm wondering if that's you. Please answer. Thanks. Sandy :)
Hi Sandy, I am not that Michael, sorry. Though if Sheila Kaplan is reading this she can feel free to use the Contact link and I'll get her in touch with Sandy. :-)
I also do not have a birth name of Mitchell, a sister named Tracy, a sister named Charlotte, or a father named Francis (to summarize four other "are you ____?" posts).
Okay, that's all I had on tap, there is more somewhere but I'll do it another day....
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Dean Harding on 4 Sep 2007 1:56 AM:
Heh, it's amazing how many people do google searches to find long-lost relatives or friends :-)
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