Just a few quick housekeeping items, and a look ahead to features at this site in 2013.
Advertising. Two of my sites run advertising (Daily Adams, Daily Wisconsin), but FREE WHITEWATER, as I’ve mentioned before, never will.
There’s nothing wrong with advertising, of course, but running advertising in a small town would limit a site’s free range of expression. Nor do I have any interest in flacking every proposition that comes along. Glad-handing is of no benefit to Whitewater. It’s just a distraction from one’s independent commentary.
Upgrades. To meet increasing traffic volume, I’ve undergone a server upgrade. There have been some growing pains along the way, and there may be a few yet ahead. But the support I have had for this transition is excellent. Any mistakes have been mine, any quick recoveries have been theirs.
Reviews. I’ve long wanted to do more reviewing, of restaurants especially. A few readers know that restaurant reviews have long been a plan of mine, and I’ll begin this month. Later today I’ll write more about this, and the first review will be published on 2.20.13.
Regular weekly features. FREE WHITEWATER has several regular features, and 2013 will bring a few more. Organized by day of the week, here they are:
Every day. Every day has a morning Daily Bread post, a feature first begun in 2008, and expanded to every day (including Saturday and Sunday) in 2012.
Sunday. Sunday Morning Cartoon, Recent Tweets.
Monday. Monday Music.
Tuesday. A film clip – animation or live action. I’ll move my own videos, and add new ones, to Vimeo, as I think it’s a cleaner, less-cluttered look. (Transition this month.)
Wednesday. Reviews of restaurants. (Starting 2.20.13.)
Thursday. A cartoon from Mark Anderson. (Started in January 2013.) I’ll post at least one cartoon weekly from Anderson. I very much like his work, and good cartoons are hard to find, so I feel fortunate.
Friday. Friday Poll, Catblogging. Both have been features at this site for a while; catblogging’s been a staple of many American bloggers for years. Cats make great pets. Lincoln and Twain both liked cats, and over a century later felines pretty much rule the Internet.
Saturday. No Saturday-exclusive feature for now, but I’m sure something will come along.
Series. Upcoming posts or series for the year, with date of publication (more to be added, of course):
The Whitewater Political Scene. A survey of political trends in the city. February 20th and 21st.
Techniques of Political (Municipal) Distraction. An updated version of these earlier posts. April 12th.
A Simple Wisconsin Declaration. A brief libertarian statement of rights for Wisconsinites. May 1st.
The Curse of the Orange Salamander. An updated version of a Twiller from a few years ago, expanded and consolidated as a single story. July 12th.
Grant Chasers and Crony Capitalists. A comprehensive series on the ‘Innovation’ Express. The whole project is like a poster-child for bad policy, with every hackneyed claim and fool’s explanation. Well worth addressing in a much longer form. October 12th.
When Green is Really Brown. Bogus environmentalism, where the only green that matters is the green of public money. December 12th.
More beyond this, too, I’m sure.