Have A Good Sandwich

Yeah, it's like that.

Nov 02

The Penny Tour

Now that the Sandwich is running again, I thought I’d give you the penny tour of the new template.

You’ll notice the WoyTumblr – this is the Sandwich, Abbreviated. Here is where I’ll put pictures that are interesting to me – either ones that I’ve taken or others that I Tumbleupon. I hope it will increasingly have more of mine on there as I try to do a little bit more with photography. Lofty ambitions – I’m all about them. I’ll also put interesting links or other items there. I had considered using Delicious but I thought that Tumblr would be nice and versatile – while also being a little bit more fun. I’m curious how anyone uses other publishing platforms to store shorter style content?
Recent comments – to help give you a feel for the pulse (or lack thereof) of the conversation going on within posts.
Woy on Twitter – Real live Twitter messages embedded right here on the blog! Please contain your excitement.

I’m still considering making some additional changes to the template – while a clean look, it doesn’t have as many shiny objects to distract you from the dearth of content. Links will make their return at some point, but I’d like to do it so that they are meaningful and/or interesting. A link dump is never pretty and do you really click on them? I’d seriously like to know.

See, that didn’t take too long did it? That’s a penny and 30 seconds of your life you’ll never get back.

Tagged with: Sandwich • tumblr

Oct 29

Favre’d

Blogging 17 Comments »

favrereturns

Yep, LocoBone called it (just not the right month).

I had felt pretty solid about walking away from blogging. Every couple of weeks something would happen or come up where I thought that if I had a blog I would write about it. The feeling passed pretty quickly and I would move on.

Then a couple things happened. First, this. Then this. And, most recently, this. Among other things.

PodCamp was really the event that started me thinking about brushing the dirt off the Sandwich and picking it up again. I had a great time conducting sessions with John Carman, the great sports blogging panel, and Ginny. Loved interacting (usually unphotogenically) with new and familiar faces. Most notably, Michelle’s session on blogging put a lot of things in perspective. Her mantra during the session came back to a fundamental axiom: Know why you’re blogging. She knows why: She’s doing it for Alexis (and for herself) – and if something doesn’t fit into that framework it gets tossed. It’s all about the kid.

I started blogging because I wanted to be able to speak credibly to the values of the medium as well as express myself (to some small degree) creatively. In May, I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the blog because I felt like I wasn’t updating it enough or that it wasn’t interesting. That I didn’t have enough time. Most of these reasons are based on external perception. When I did blog, it was still interesting to me. I write about technology, sports, personal stories, and anything I find interesting or funny.

Now, with some new energy and some new opportunities to do more blogging professionally, I’m excited about starting things up again. I never did blog to be liked – but I’ve always valued and cherished people’s reactions and opinions. I love the discussion as much if not more than the posting. What I do appreciate, as always, was the support and kind words people provided on and off the grid. Thank you so much for that – it means a great deal.

None of this may be a surprise to you. Or, maybe, you had Matt Dillon’s expression when you saw this thing back up.

Come on, let’s have some fun.

Tagged with: Brett Favre • PodCamp Pittsburgh

May 21

21 – Welcome Back

Blogging, Pittsburgh 6 Comments »

PghMagPG

I’d like to dedicate a post to welcoming back my friend PittGirl back to the ranks of regular writing.

While I’m partial to the old silhouette, I think that the new logo isn’t half bad.

Glad to have you around again.

Tagged with: PittGirl • Pittsburgh Magazine

May 18

24 – What Comes Naturally…?

Blogging 7 Comments »

thinker

I’m now a couple posts into this self-imposed marathon I’ve got going for myself. I’ve felt on some days the posts have come quite easy and almost effortlessly – which I will add is a lot for me to say. Most other times posts are the equivalent of giving mental birth – complete with the serious wincing.

This is at the core of my constant dilemma in having a blog. There are various times in the day where I’ll have a thought about a blog entry that includes a couple of complete sentences. I’ll say to myself, “Damn! I can’t wait to write that badboy.” After getting home and after everything has settled down, I get in front of the laptop and pull up the Add New Post page.

Aaaaaaaand the cursor just blinks mocking me at me, as if to say, “You’re not gonna make me move, are you douchebag?”

I’m always impressed with anyone who writes on a daily or even regular basis. For any bloggers out there, do you have any rituals or processes that help you gather your thoughts or generate ideas for a post? I’d love to hear them, because I hate shoveling substandard product out the door.

Oops. Too late.

May 11

I’m Mailing the Upside Down Plane Stamp

Blogging 14 Comments »

montybrewster

Yep, I did it.

Saturday afternoon, I threw up a simple page to replace The Sandwich which simply said: “Gone.”*

I had reached the end of the road and was ready to walk away. But after consideration and a couple e-mails, I decided that wouldn’t be right. Especially with no explanation – that’s like picking your ball up and going home.

So I’m challenging myself in a way that for some strange reason reminds me of Montgomery Brewster in Brewster’s Millions. In the movie, Richard Pryor plays for the Hackensack Bulls and inherits 30 million dollars. He then has to spend all of the money within 30 days (without any assets) to get 300 million.

I know what you’re thinking – there’s a big difference between Monty and me. Yes, that’s true… I’m not a minor league pitcher.

W does this have to do with what I want to do? Pretty much nothing. Except maybe the 30 part.

I will blog every day for the next thirty days. I’ve done that once before. I want to see if I really want to give up the ghost.

Or maybe, just maybe, become committed again. You know, Elope-to-Vegas style.

*(That was a combined reference to the Dan Patrick home run calls from Sportscenter and for my boy House)

Tagged with: Brewster's Millions • movie • Richard Pryor

Nov 18

The Burgh Blog Farewell Roundup

Blogging, Pittsburgh 42 Comments »

Before I write a post of my own about The Burgh Blog’s ride into the sunset, I wanted to read what others were saying about her departure. As I started going through them, I thought I should round them up here. Normally I’m not about link vomit but I hope you will grant me license to do so now:

City of Pittsburgh: “The End of an Era.”

Jim Lokay from KDKA: “She never forgot where she came from, and so many can learn from her words.”

From the Admiral: “Nobody did it better than PittGirl.”

DJLunchbox from Thoughtful Riot: “PittGirl has decided to hang up her keyboard.”

Mind Bling: “If you ever need anything, tape an X on your window. I’ll know what it means.”

What Would Chuck Bass Do?: “You will be missed, and I will keep drinking on ‘moving forward’.”

Screaming Weasel: “it was done with fun, and it wasn’t done with income from Google ads.”

Ms. Papuga: “It’s like saying goodbye to a college friend you don’t know if you’ll ever see again.”

PGH is a City: “Au revoir, PittGirl.”

2 Political Junkies: “PittGirl says goodbye to blogging making it safe once more to look for love (and other stuff)on craigslist.”

The Blog of Burgher Jon: “…one of the coolest things about the burgh.”

Keeping Up with the Belks (from NC): “Good Luck, Pittgirl. The expats will miss you.”