Or: What the heck am I doing?
SARATOGA SPRINGS – There have been some people who have advocated that I do a blog for some time. I did have some experience with this form, enough to know and respect that the amount of work it takes to make a good one.
If I were to plunge into blogging, I wanted to be ready and committed to doing it right.
Today, I am both committed and ready. Here we go. I promise you my best effort every day.
About the Blog Title:
Daily Planet Arthur. It does have an egotistical ring to it. But really, it is meant to put my butt on the line, to you the reader, in two ways:
1- We will have fresh content, most every day. And,
2- I put my name on everything. I do not hide behind a pen name, and I am certainly not going to be anonymous.
In truth, the expression “Planet Arthur” was coined by me going into the summer of 2016, when I took on the unprecedented role of both Entertainment and Sports Editor for a local newspaper. I diagrammed all the people I needed to ‘sheepdog’ as Editor and logistician. Managing Gala people, Music (including SPAC 50 guest columnists) writers, Horse racing columnists, Sports columnists, plus do all of my own writing.
In short order, I looked like this photograph:
A short poem:
“Planet Arthur” should not be:
“The whole world revolves around me.”
Rather, it is merely
The world that I see.
We all have ‘planets’ – our viewpoints and the stories of our lives. The lives of our loved ones and our good friends. My planet will chronicle your planet, and it will all be in your neighborhood. If you don’t live, or at least have interest in Saratoga Springs, I sincerely question why you are still reading this.
About this Blog:
First and foremost, we are going to bring journalistic tenets to the wild-west wide open blogosphere. Your comments will be welcome, but they will be monitored (by me here at Mission Control) and we will behave like ladies and gentlemen. In other words, be respectful of others, and anything close to an f-bomb is going to be deleted. Write something concise, make your point (whether agreeing or disagreeing) and you will always be welcome.
Why do I do this? Say if I write a story about your son or daughter, and the great things they are doing. I want everyone in the family, from Junior to Grandma to come to this site and feel free to navigate anywhere without worrying about content issues. Some may say that this might cost me eyeballs, but I don’t think so. And if it does, so be it.
This is a zero-tolerance, bully-free zone. But well-crafted sarcasm or snark, tastefully delivered – well, bring it! But remember, others will give as good as they get…
Meanwhile, what exactly will we cover?
This blog will center around three main, broad categories:
1-Arts and entertainment: The whole gamut- music, theater, art, etc. Leisure time fun. I want to point out that I cover some of these things – events, galas – for The Saratoga Social – and that will continue. I thank Robin Dalton immensely for giving me steady writing gigs since I went “Indy” last September. I look forward to her advice and counsel as I proceed here at Saratoga.com. It is this simple: none of us look at only one website, so I write for more than one.
2-Sports: I enjoyed taking on the role of Sports Editor for well over a year. I had to work hard to develop a ‘rolodex’ of contacts – coaches, A.D.s, etc. – as I have never had a child in this area’s school system. But I enjoyed the stories: from eighth grade point guards to hockey moms. Authentic solid citizens who happen to be athletes. I am happy to resume this.
3-Not-for-profit organization activities: There will always be a place for people who give back in anything I do. I’m big into unsung heroes, and these charities are where you find them.
You’ll notice I left out politics. Well, even though I am pretty active politically, I think I’m going to let other blogs take that one. If local politics appear here, it will be because it has a sociological or financial impact on categories 1, 2 and 3. In any event, it will be a minor player in the mix, perhaps a bit of spice in the soup.
But mostly, I want to have this be a destination where, every day, you have at least one new reason to think what a cool place we live in, one new reason to be happy you were born or moved here. While you will read my comments on political blogs, I would like this to be an oasis from that headache-inducing dreck.
This is a talented, creative area, and I have lined up a team of guests, special contributors and photographers to help me generate fresh content, and points of view that are different than mine. I’m not the only one with something good to say, and I think that the creative collaboration of many voices leads to a stronger product.
Welcome to Planet Arthur. You have full diplomatic honors and greetings extended. Now let’s go to work.
– Arthur Gonick
Jan. 29, 2017
