C'est la blague
This past summer, I stopped in at the
tasting room of
Bonny Doon Winery,
on my way to beautiful
Panther Beach.
I joined the "D.E.W.N." that day, the
"Distinctive Esoteric Wine Network".
(You get a pair of bottles of unusual wines sent
to you, 4 times a year.)
Winemaker Randall Grahm writes erudite
intro letters for each shipment, reminiscent of
the writing of
Stan Kelly-Bootle, except wine-oriented
instead of programming-oriented.
The label for a very nice French (Vin Pays d'Oc) Syrah that
is imported by Bonny Doon Winery sounds like Randall must
have helped write it. The name, though:
Domaine des Blagueurs
makes it sound somehow related to weblogs.
Last May,
I (barely) mentioned the word "bloggeur".
I think it's a much more appropriate word than "blogger",
because every blogger has a bit of the poseur in him or her.
However, the label on this wine made me rethink this just a bit:
Blagueur: (Def.) Qqn. qui fait des blagues.
Perhaps the Bard put it best: "Ah sirrah! ..., we shall do
nothing but eat, and make good cheer."
Syrah, sirrah, is the brilliant French cépage which
straddles France north and south and dialectically bridges rusticity
and sophistication; its carte de visite — white pepper,
anise, and cassis.
Altavista tells me that blagueur means "joker"; the circular
definition on the label means "Joker: one who makes jokes".
Knowing that, I would have to believe that whoever came up with
the English term "blogger" must have known that it sounded a lot
like blagueur. However, a Google search for "blagueur weblog" turns
up zero hits (tonight, before I post this). "blagueur blog" gets six
hits, all but one being pages written mostly in French. I wonder if
blagueur's French pronunciation is too different for it to sound
like a pun. Or the French just don't feel the need to point out such
an obvious, um, blague.
C'est la blague.
1:13:11 AM
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