I'm happy to announce that Philly Future's new featured blog is The Long Cut.
To find out what makes The Long Cut the great blog that it is, I asked its author, Mark, some questions about his blogging experiences, his debilitating addiction, and his solutions to the Phillies woes.
More after the jump.
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Matt (Philly Future): What's a Long Cut?
Mark (The Long Cut): It's the opposite of a short cut - taking your time, taking things in. I took it from an Uncle Tupelo song, but it describes how I write (and how I drive). That's not always a good thing. I don't think I'll ever be one of those bloggers who can get their point across in a paragraph, but I hope people like the longer path I take.
PF: What do you consider your best post?
Mark: That's easy - Open Thread #4213. I have no idea what my best posts are. I'll write what I think is a great post about a film and I'll get no response, then I'll write a little joke post about the Phillies website banner and I'll get 20 comments.
My personal favorites are the stories about my sons.
PF: You do a lot of Photo Blogging. What kind of camera do you use, and what is
your favorite picture that you've taken?
Mark:I use a pretty run-of-the-mill, tourist-grade 3.2MP Fuji. Nothing special, but when I bought it I never realized I'd be using it as much as I am. A recent favorite photo of mine is one of a watering can I saw on Pine Street, but I think I'm most proud of my shots from the Kerry Rally.
PF: Which state's political scene offers more material for sarcasm -- New Jersey
or Pennsylvania?
Mark: Jersey should be the easy answer, what with McGreevey and all, but it's hard to top Santorum for laughs. When was the last time you heard a Frank Lautenberg joke? Fumo, Street, Ward Leaders, elected judges, pay-to-play, walk around money? How can Jersey compete against all that?
PF: Which part of the new food pyramid best describes your blog?
Mark: Grains and Fiber. My blog's pretty regular.
PF: Have you received any treatment yet for your sunflower seed addiction?
Mark: Since Little League season ended, my supply has pretty much been cut off. I've moved on to the big-honking-bowl-of-ice-cream-every-night addiction now.
PF: You read 52 novels in 2004. You're trying to watch 52 movies that you
haven't seen before in 2005. But why were you such a slacker in 2003?
Mark: Some people would consider watching 52 movies a very slacker thing to do, and I can't even keep pace with that goal. Actually, my goal for 2003 was to run 1000 miles, and I succeeded - I just didn't have a blog to chronicle it at the time (boy, wouldn't that have made some fascinating reading?).
PF: What three steps can the Phillies take to make themselves a better team?
Mark: 1. Fire Wade. It's hard not to blame him for where the team is right now. Trying to win the World Series with an incompetent GM is like trying to win a war with an incompetent Commander In Chief, it's just not going to happen.
2. Either build their pitching staff around Citizens Bank Park or change the park's dimensions. That have to do something quick or nobody's going to want to pitch here.
3. When the team takes the field, Dan Baker (Phillies announcer and, like me, a Glassboro State man) should refer to them as "your Philadelphia Phillies" instead of just "the Philadelphia Phillies." This won't win them any games, it just pisses me off.
PF: What is your favorite concession snack at Citizen's Bank Park?
Mark: Does beer count? I love that they have Flying Fish on tap. Goes good with the (relatively) cheap Hatfield sausage sandwiches.
PF: Describe your most rewarding blogging moment -- a moment in which you
realized that all of the time and effort you put into your blog was worth
it.
Mark: Would it be too much of a suck-up to say being made the Philly Future featured blog? Actually, anytime someone ends a comment with something like, "enjoy your writing," I'm floored.
PF: Have you ever thought about closing down your blog? If so, why? And what
kept you going?
Mark: Only about every day. I'm determined to write something daily, and I have plenty to write about, but writing does not come easy to me. As someone once said, "It's hard work." What keeps me going is the idea that, for some reason, a few people are interested in what I have to say. Not looking at my stats and seeing just how few people are interested helps a lot too.
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I know you'll enjoy reading Mark's blog; I hope you remember to bookmark the excellent lunabomber manifesto.
[n.b. The lunabomber ran as the featured blog for a little longer than previous featured blogs. In the future, we're going to turn over the featured blog status more quickly. With great new blogs appearing on the Philly scene every day, we've got a lot of ground to cover.]
woo hoo mark!
i've been reading mark's blog for about a year i think. we hit it off after exchanging photos of found abandoned toilets, no joke. always good stuff there. and don't feel pressured to post every day, i'd say to not water down the essence of mark we've come to love and enjoy.
to Mark: the best posts don't
to Mark: the best posts don't always get the most responses. I've noticed that on other blogs where the blogger writes really great, insightful, even profound, content, and nobody comments. A lot of times when I see a post like that, I just nod approvingly at the screen and move on -- but I supposed the next time I spot a post like that I could leave a comment just to say "nice post", but I feel strange leaving comments where I don't feel like I'm sharing anything insightful myself.
If that makes sense...
Great choice
The Long Cut is a great choice for the featured blog. I always enjoy both Mark's writing and his gift for the visual. I know each time I visit there's something for me to see or do.
Matt, cheers on another excellent interview, too. Fabulous questions like, "What part of the food pyramid describes your blog?" is a real differentiator from the standard pap. Well done.
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