It’s the last day of 2015. And what better way to spend the final sunrise and sunset of this calendar year, than by perusing the best of what my fellow Times Union community and independent bloggers have crafted this past week.
Ready?
On your mark…
Get set…
And …
Here…
We…
Go..
- Pete Bardunias’ blog, “A building burns in Waterford.” (Read this first.)
- Sonja Stark’s “PilotGirl” blog, “Where you should go in 2016.“
- Frank Robinson’s “Rational Optimist” blog, “The sense of grievance: a personal lesson.“
- Stephanie Snyder’s “A Professor’s Wife” blog, “Ready to burrow.”
- Rob Hoffman’s “Hoffman Files” blog, “Happy New Year … bring out your dead … again.“
- Sara Rose Wheeler’s “Roaring Twenties” blog, “I bid you a fond farewell 2015.“
- Brian Huba’s “Cat’s Pajamas” blog, “Why not George?“
- Deb Best’s “Best for Success” blog, “Gifts from my first mentor … my dad.“
- Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara’s blog, “My trip aboard a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier.“
- Gina Peca’s blog, “Let Facebook be your guide?“
And yes, as we progress into 2016, as long as I continue to have a weblog with the Times Union, even if I post every single day of 2016, I will always set aside Thursday for a post that celebrates the work of my fellow Times Union community bloggers.
They deserve it. You should read their stuff. It’s that good.
Chuck The Writer 
I look forward every Thursday for this blog! I love reading your choices (if I haven’t already) and I love the support from all TU community bloggers! Our little family!
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Welcome to the 2016 Zombie Blog round up. Rather than focus on rounding up the usual suspects – everyone who hasn’t updated their blog in 3 months, today, we’ll focus on the 10 worst offenders and one special nomination!
Press Start: Last Updated 3/16/2015: Video games – always something going on – it is even giving the movie industry a run for its money. Pretty sad can’t find anyone to post even one article about it.
Teachers: Last Updated 9/10/2015 – The last post before that is dated June 15, 2015. How totally PATEHTIC is that for a TECAHERS blog? Really? Nothing in education goes on between September and December? Don’t give us “Oh, we’re busy teaching” baloney. As a NYS certified Public School teacher, and adjunct faculty at two local colleges, I can say with all certainty that’s a total cop out. Education is one of the most interesting and vital sectors of academia and the economy and if a teacher can’t find anything to write education on a regular basis they should seriously reconsider their vocation. We know you won’t post during the breaks, and god forbid for post something during the summer, so what exactly is the purpose of this blog?
M.D. to be: Last Updated 5/6/2015 Last entry was title “75% Done.” He really meant, this blog is 100% dead.
Real [Fit] Life: 6/18/2015 – Really [not] living.
Your Brain: An Owner’s Manual: Last Updated 5/20/2015 – This is your brain. This is your brain not writing squat Mr. Smart Guy.
Soccer as Life: Last Updated 4/28/2015 – Soccar is booming in America now. TV coverage is wider than ever. Female soccer stars are becoming popular in mainstream youth culture (not the guys for some reason) . Heck, even cereal and fast food commercials feature families watching and playing the game. Wouldn’t know it here.
Rosemary Armao: Last Updated 7/10/2015 – The great thing about Rosemary is that our intrepid investigative reporter finds so little to actually report on, that what she does post eventually becomes news again, sort of like history repeating itself, as in the subject of her last blog in July, Bill Cosby.
Weather and Climate: Last Updated 3/25/2015: In the past, this pathetic piece of useless garbage only served as a platform for SUNY students to show their instructors they could write weather news reports. It was probably a graded assignment and so when the blog went dark every summer I was disappointed (I guess blogging is too low class for the meteorology professors to engage in year round – even though they get paid to work year round). However, in the midst of some of the most usual weather we have seen in more than a decade the Weather and Climate bloggers are M.I.A.
Assemblywoman Patricia A. Fahy: Last Updated 6/19/2015 – A Politician with nothing to say. If only she would share her secret with Christine Benedict and Donald Trump life would be good.
On the Edge: Last Updated 8/27/2015 – Nothing since August and I say good. All it has been is a self-promotional platform for ex-TU employee Kristi Gustafson Barlette and her gig with WFLY. Why does just one radio station get free access to the TU audience?
Moms@Work: Last Updated 4/30/2015 – Ironically the last post is titled” Gratitude for the fruits of STEM.“ I’m not sure what they’re grateful for since it hasn’t helped either of them post on a regular basis.
Year-End Zombie Czar of the Year award:
Finally, while I am often critical, I am a huge TU supporter – generally. I think Mike Huber does a great job try to herd the clutter of cats called bloggers, but the Tines Union has a bit of a “white eye” when it comes to their bloggers. I think this is more cultural than institutional, but, as they say, it is what it is.
First, the sugar – The TU has added a whole mess o’ bloggers in the past few months. The number and diversity of blogs and opinions is very much appreciated.
Now, the sour – There are 142 blogs and I count only three (3) blogs being authored by people of color. That just 2.1%. They are Ken Screven, Roger Green, and Robert Lee. Lee is a good sports reporter, but his columns don’t really add any diversity of social or cultural opinions. I may be missing some, but I’ll wager there are not many more.
We can comment and flame each other as too the possible reasons, but frankly, the reasons for it are irrelevant – what matters is what are you DOING about it? While intelligent opinions come from people of all creeds, and colors, we are surely missing something with so few people of color blogging. Let me provide a visual. As we can see, so many similar voices drown out those different voices:
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Hard to spot, huh? Certainly, as Mike Huber pointed out in response to my inquiry on this matter, the TU has had more minority voices represented in the past, such as Alice Green and Corey Ellis, though Alice Green’s tenure was so divisive it serves as a model for all bloggers on what to avoid. Not sure what the answer is, but it is a problem, and it’s the Times Union’s problem.
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