here's my byline

what?

i'm always late to pop culture stuff so i just watched Garden State. um, what was all the fuss about? i mean, my mom died and everything. as my curmudgeon roommate greg the copyeditor said, "one mawkish scene after the other."

the final ruling from greg, who's watched every film ever made -- "this is a bad, bad movie."

How to Dooce-proof your blog

Should have taken my own advice!

I'm a class agent

I signed up to host a Columbia J-school class of 2000 party at the reunion weekend in NYC (April 14-17)  and found that I'm listed as a "class agent." If you look at the page, famed theater and film critic Judith  Crist heads the list as  class agent for the 1945 graduates. For her, this will mark 60 years since her graduation -- a formidable career. For me, it's been five. A fledgling career at best, but a lovely one. Should I be alive (if the earth is still here) and well enough to host a reunion party in 2060, the child has not been born who will be celebrating her 5-year reunion then.

More CodeCon and a Russian way to get someone to have a third shot of vodka

See if you can find the magic phrase in this interview I did with Christian Leybold from BV Capital  at CodeCon.

Better late than 'rati

Oh, I know I'm a bit late on this, but I love a good sonnet.

Fo' shizzle

I met Jamie Kennedy a few months back -- he performed in SF.  I  wanted to say hi to him after the show since his Brad Gluckman character is one of my favorites. When we saw him backstage, I decided to go all out and get his autograph (I don't have any other autographs)  and what did I pull out of my purse but my EPMD "Strictly Business" cassette (yes, I drive my mother's old Volvo and I'm keepin' it in the family). Don't ask me why I had this classic swimming around  in my purse, but I did. Most likely because I listen to it, um, all the time!  He (wearing a black velour track suit)  looked at it and said, "Whoa! You're for real!"  That's more of an indication of the people he runs into as opposed to any official measure of my "realness," I imagine. When I got back in my Columbo car, I noticed he wrote "Fo' shizzle" on the tape. I have to admit that was fun. Not sure I'm going to see his new movie, Son of the Mask , but I'm keeping the tape.

Back from Miami

what a day. i guess you can tell since i'm not capitalizing. just got off the phone with robert scoble. damn, he's great and funny and smart. more on that later.

also, talked to jason kottke and convinced boss i should write it up.

and, got picked up by one of my fave blogs by tom biro.  thanks tom!

this one is kind of an aside that goes in the annals, of " if no one blogged about it, did it happen?"

moments after i emailed steve rubel, i was assured it happened. i did ask him to use my name next time instead of "a journalist from a major trade publication" and that red herring is just a regular magazine, not a trade publication. he was super nice about it.

going to BayFF party! see some there.

 

Miami Mami, Here I come

Flying to Miami today for a friend's baby shower. Not quite as glamorous as my past trips to South Beach, but for the three years that Nevy Kaminski (aka Nevy Wilson, nee Nevart Papazian) and I worked together at The Bradenton Herald -- she catching murders on the cops beat and me picking up the cases in court -- we've been planning celebrations of her domestic bliss (bridal shower, wedding, baby shower, etc etc). Nevy (a boiling combo of Cuban mother and Armenian father) arrived at crime scenes where bodies were still warm, bullet holes smoking. More often than policemen and sheriff's deputies would admit, she translated the words of witnesses and victims who spoke only Spanish and worked endless hours reporting on stories no one even knew existed. The dangerous combo of Nevy and me was unbeatable, and we often broke stories that left the competition in the dust. At least four of the cases we covered were broadcast on Court TV -- Jackie Postma, John Acosta, the Larry Parks triple homicide and the Jerry Springer murder case. Perhaps one day I'll go back to writing about courts--I'm still thinking about law school--but for now, the drama of Silicon Valley is almost as good. And for the time being, Nevy Kaminski is almost a hot mama.

Be back Tuesday. May post from steamy Florida, where I own a home. Should I sell?

Must give props and UK edition

OK, I must give due props to my colleague, Liz Gannes, who co-authored the Bram Cohen story. I did fly to Seattle to meet with Bram. And I tortured Ashwin for as much info as I could get from him. Liz (who wrote this, is a decade younger than me and way more ambitious) was the grounding force in my meanderings and added facts to all my fancy. We were the veritable Woodward and Bernstein of the Silicon set . Plus, her cousin is the cute guy on this show on HBO.

RH in the UK! All hail the Queen. (updated queen representative)

No Mark Jen for me

I was scheduled to meet with Mark Jen of "fired from Google" fame, but he changed his mind. Gelf interviewed him less than 24 hrs before our cancelled meeting, so there is a "historical" record, just in case the NYT was worried. It's all good, though -- I understand the dilemma of talking to the press since I've seen about a thousand or more people go through it in front of me. (I have not ever had to make the choice myself.) Ultimately, it's an extremely personal decision and is neither good nor bad. It's just a decision. On a lighter not, for anyone who's watched Strange Love, the difference between good and bad reasons for talking to media is obvious.