My blog officially launched on October 9, 2015. To celebrate one year of operation, I have compiled the following retrospective post. It details many of my posts in each category from the past year. If you want to easily revisit something you enjoyed, or want to check out something you missed, you’ll find it below. Thanks for supporting me this past year!
Current Thoughts
Covers everything from an early Welcome from before I even announced this blog existed, to fishing memories with my Dad. This is just what is currently on my mind – at least at the time it gets posted. Although I must say Dad is my mind a lot and I miss talking to him every day.
I Smelled Like Smelt – Dad Memories
Canada Fishing Memories – Thanks Dad!
Life Hacks 101
This category is based on “need to know” information. The post about youth sports camps was serious – the grilling tips, not so much. The goal here is to entertain while educating!
Nine Benefits of Youth Sports Camps
Milwaukee Brewers 2016
I started a weekly review of the team at the beginning of the season that usually was posted each Monday or first thing Tuesday. I didn’t publicize this much other than in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. I probably scratched the surface due to time limitations in writing, so the reviews probably wound up being geared more toward casual Brewers fans or even fans of other teams. I won’t post ‘em all here. Instead, here are a couple samples from early and late in the season:
Brewers Notes – Week Three (includes Border Battle scheduling rant)
Week in Review: September 19-25
Father and Son Milwaukee Brewers Connection – Eric Young and Eric Young Jr.
Milwaukee Brewers Editorial – August 2016
Milwaukee Brewers Book in Progress
This is a lot of the reason why I started a blog in the first place. As much as I recoil at self-promotion, every time I read about what budding authors should do, most articles pointed toward a blog and/or author page on Facebook. Do it well before you’re going to submit to publishers! Build your platform! Participate in social media!
I’ve done a ton of research to pull together my Brewers book. A ton. Literally. Well, it feels like a ton anyway. I’ve been lucky enough to interview players, coaches, and former team employees over the past year and a half. Some of these were converted into biographies and posted in this category. Google has become my best friend as I scour old newspapers for memorable quotes and moments.
This category allows me to provide progress reports on the book along with some related content.
A Cup of Coffee With Bruce Brubaker
A Cup of Coffee With Ray Peters
Historical Book Specifics and My Writing Process
It Was 45 Years Ago Today (Profile of General Manager Marvin Milkes)
Research Interviews:
Milwaukee Brewers History
At some point I decided to branch out a bit and tell stories about moments in Brewers history that didn’t have anything to do with my book in progress. Here I plan to cover everything from the wacky to the heartfelt:
Doubleheader Brewers Book Review
Milwaukee Baseball History – 25 Years Ago – Mark Knudson’s Unexpected Opening Day Start
Milwaukee Baseball History – 50 Years Ago: The Opening Day That Wasn’t
Milwaukee Brewers History – Bill Hall’s Pink Bat Home Run on Mother’s Day
Milwaukee Brewers – Opening Day Memories
Recalling the 1975 All-Star Game at County Stadium
Teddy Higuera – Last of the Milwaukee Brewers 20 Game Winners
35 Years Ago – Milwaukee Brewers and the 1981 Baseball Strike
This Day in Milwaukee Brewers History – Chuckie Hacks on 2-0!
This Week in Milwaukee Brewers History – Explosion Rocks Spring Training
This Week in Milwaukee Brewers History – The Indians/Angels Snow Series
Poetry Cornered
Just one post in this category so far – Poems from the Past. Rest assured that I have plenty of poetry in my archives!
The Newspaper Age
Back in high school I wrote…and wrote…and wrote. I did it for fun, for learning, for subversion, and went pro for what felt like a minute. I was on the Viking Voice staff, which was my high school’s student newspaper. That wasn’t enough for me, so I co-founded, co-wrote, and co-edited an “underground” newspaper called “What the Feck?” I took the pen name Robin Goodfellow. I also wrote a couple articles for the Verona Press. One made it to press (bad pun intended) and the other was never quite completed. Samples of all these efforts include:
Throwback – High School Newspaper Article – something I wrote about former Viking Voice staff members going pro
Writing Archive – Three Amigos Movie Review (from the Viking Voice)
Writing Archive – State Street Performers Offer Variety (from the Viking Voice)
What the Feck? – Underground Newspaper Days Revisited – this tells the whole sordid story of how this little paper came to be
What the Feck? Editorial – Commercialism Plagues Holidays
What the Feck? – More Underground Newspaper Articles – Feckian Music Awards and Donny Osmond’s Purple Socks
What the Feck? Underground Newspaper Re-Revisited – a couple of wacky articles
The Verona Press – Newspaper Archive Article
Writing Archive
Most of these posts are from my childhood – the “lined paper years” is how I describe the content.
Let’s Start at the Beginning (this was actually posted before I announced that I had a blog)
Let’s Start at the Beginning Part Two
Education Via Failure and Loss (On the Softball Diamond)
Acknowledgements
I have to tip my hat to a number of other sites where my blog has been shared and featured. My readership has increased in steady numbers over this year, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the sites listed below. If you haven’t already, please take some time and check out their pages. I’m including a short description of each in case you are unfamiliar with what they cover.
Baseball Bloggers Alliance – a great group of bloggers covering teams, players, and more!
Baseball Reflections – this site has great retrospectives and some of the bloggers from the BBA have done a Q&A format about the team they cover
MLB Trade Rumors – Don’t let the name fool you. The site covers a lot more than just trade rumors. Many aspects of the teams, players, and game are covered here. Plus they have a weekly blog roundup each Sunday.
1980’s Baseball – I really dig this site as the content pertains to the era I grew up enjoying. I particularly like the “That Time I Met…” feature – and not just because I contributed a story about meeting Robin Yount.
And don’t forget to check out my Facebook author page for additional content!
Chris Zantow 