A Man Who Writes No Wrongs (Generally)

Sac Business Journal Columnist

In August 2011, Ed began writing his daily online/weekly in-print column for the Sacramento Business Journal. He calls the column/blog a “clog.” Each week’s batch of columns may include profiles of well-known or barely known businesspeople and civic leaders, commentary on silly or bizarre trends in the news—Ed really likes Important Government Studies That Reveal The Patently Obvious—as well as feedback from readers.  

Ed has been a professional writer since 1970 and says his wrist is getting sore. His work has appeared in publications such as the Los Angeles Times, TV Guide and the San Francisco Chronicle. He continues to write for Sacramento Magazine (for which he wrote the column “Sacramentions,” and a number of feature and cover stories, for a decade). He also wrote the “Working Lunch” column for Comstock’s Business Magazine for 15 years.

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And Now, With Further Ado

In this second collection of Ed Goldman’s daily columns for the Sacramento Business Journal, readers will learn that most government studies are funded by the little known Department of Obvious Outcomes (a division of the Agency of Foregone Conclusions), that the main goal of weathercasters during storm season is to scare the living hell out of us and that it's now perfectly acceptable to enjoy a bowl of Cheerios for dinner.

Ever the investigative journalist, Goldman also warns of an impending tax on yoga classes, that eight hours or more of sleep per night may be bad for us (unless they aren’t), and that there are just too many guys named Dave to distinguish one from another. He also attempts to convince us that there’s a demon in his smart-phone named Otto Correct and raises two significant questions: (1) Since I drink only diet sodas, why am I tubby? (2) Since I never drink diet sodas, why am I tubby?

When he’s not snarking about things like the above, Goldman writes profiles of movers and shakers in California's capital, and also of people who neither move nor shake but are worth meeting anyway (and are less likely to cause dizziness).

Goldman began writing these columns for the Journal in August 2011 and God only knows when he’ll knock it off and get a real job — one with a health plan, retirement benefits and office parties featuring Midge From Accounting’s famous rumballs. In the meantime, pour yourself a bowl of Cheerios and enjoy.

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But I Digress

The Sacramento Business Journal has published a book of Ed’s first 140 or so columns, But I Digress: Daily Profiles and Punditry from the Sacramento Business Journal. It has been an unexpected best-seller among people who share Ed’s surname, address and zip code.

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Other Books

In the 1980s, two collections of Ed’s early columns were published by Central Valley Press: How To Incorporate Your Dog (and Other Solid Business Tips) and On Goldman Pond. Both books are available for purchase by contacting Ed.

How to Incorporate Your Dog (and Other Solid Business Tips) is the first collection of Ed Goldman’s humor pieces (other than a scrapbook his mother used to keep until even she grew bored with the project). Published in 1986—at a time, Goldman says, “when everyone went to bed one night and awoke as financial geniuses”—the book captures the go-go/do-it-yourself investing movement of the mid-1980s and includes this still-unanswered question about the value of time-management seminars: If you can find the time to attend one, why do you need to? ($10, includes shipping, handling and touching.)

On Goldman Pond is the 1988 follow-up essay collection to How to Incorporate Your Dog. It includes speculations on why Goldman’s high school classmates insisted on sending their parents to their 20-year reunion and how the Vatican could really clean up by opening a pants store near the Basilica. Included is his widely reprinted article, “Europe on $5,000 a Day” and his revealing that he may have been the only one in Sacramento who admits he didn’t know Justice Anthony Kennedy just before he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court—and still doesn’t. ($10, includes shipping, handling, touching and cuddling.)


Friday@Five

Ed wrote the book (script), music and lyrics to the musical Friday@5, which had its world premiere at the Sacramento Theatre Company, an Equity playhouse. The first production was directed by his daughter, Jessica Laskey; the second was produced as a one-night concert event, directed by Peggy Shannon, featuring an ensemble cast from STC. The show is available for production by professional and semi-professional acting companies. The music arranger and accompanist on the demo is Gerald Rheault.

Watch the Friday@Five Demos >>

One More Thing

Since the majority of Ed’s career has been what is chivalrously called “freelance”—and less gallantly, can’t-keep-a-job—it ought to be mentioned that he’s an in-demand copywriter in a number of fields, which accounts for the grass stains on his laptop. Contact Ed.