They laugh at me at work when I say ,"Far Out." In the right company I may even say "Far Fucking Out." It seems the phrases are dated.
Well, as I was cruising the blogosphere tonight I came across a post from Jesse Russell at Dane 101:
Top 5 of '05: Most Read Blogs
Madison readers love the former Mayor Paul Soglin easily placing him at the top of our list. Following that up Eating from A to Z, an inspired blog about eating at every restaurant in the city in alphabetical order. Stepping up to snatch number three is Frank Paynter's blog about everything under the sun (but mostly politics in a light hearted manner), Sandhill Trek. Badger Blues, a blog with a subtitle that sounds a little redundant (progressive politics from Madison, Wisconsin) highlights the political bent of our readership. Economist Tom Bozzo takes the final bow at number five with Marginal Utility.
Well, thank you and I hope to keep it thoughtful, interesting and fun.
Like most ventures, this is the collaboration of a number of people. My brother Ari encouraged me for years to this. Finally I said, "Set it up and I will." He is a big advocate of citizen journalism, and when he has the time, posts at citizenpaine. Youngest brother Jono helped with technical aspects, and along with Ari, taught me how to ping. Jono, a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco, maintains one of the most admired blogs on a very necessary, but very limited subject: Criminal Appeal: Post-conviction practice in the Ninth Circuit and the California state courts. If you need it, he's got it.
When I first posted, the typos, misspellings and punctuation were all over the place. My sisters, Becky and Debbie, offered to help, along with more friends you can shake a stick at, all so embarrassed for me. I protested that when you have to get one of these written and posted, a quick edit was all that was possible. I got no sympathy.
Finally, I went out to lunch with Barry Orton. Barry told me what I needed to do to improve the blog; I took notes running two pages. One suggestion was to find an undergraduate to proofread and edit. Barry finally agreed to do it himself until we could find cheap labor.
Barry is still editing every post. (If it is real short with lots of stuff from other sources, I sometimes take the risky course and post without him looking it over.) Thank you Professor Orton.
Far Out.
Congrats on being #1. And, hey, if you're ever inclined to visit some alphabetical eatery with Eating in Madison A to Z, drop us a line. We're about to start the E's. Keep up the good work!
JonMichael
Co-Author of Eating in Madison A to Z
http://www.madisonatoz.com
Posted by: JmSR | January 05, 2006 at 07:27 AM
Got the link to the list of resturants so I can check out the "E's"?
Posted by: Paul | January 05, 2006 at 04:59 PM
Sure thing; we just use the Isthmus Dining Guide:
http://thedailypage.com/going-out/eats/results.php?letter=E
Posted by: JmSR | January 05, 2006 at 07:01 PM
Your blog cleans up great! No comma needed after "My brother Ari," however. (Meddling for Free)
Posted by: | January 06, 2006 at 10:15 PM
Since I was thanking everyone, including Barry, I figured I would do this one myself. I will remove the comma. Does this mean every post, no matter how short has to go thrugh Barry? I guess so.
Posted by: Paul | January 07, 2006 at 12:30 PM