Wild Ocean Views

With Tropical Storm Noel nearing the coast, we are getting some wild views of a raging ocean. Check out the "Beach Cam" at left from time to time to see live pictures of waves that are already causing some erosion up and down the coast.

More later,


Mark

Masked Intentions

OK, let's face it: You've known Halloween was coming for at least a year.

It was right there, on the calendar. In fact, it is there EVERY Oct. 31, just like Greg Rivara's birthday.

Still, you delayed and dawdled. Now it's time to get ready for work and you're likely to be the one schmuck, again, who didn't get into the, uhm, spirit of things.

And "going as myself" is just lame.



Fear not, my slacker trick 'r treater. All you need is about 10 minutes, Mark's World and a decent color printer. Choose from these selections:

Cheapie Creepy

Star Wars Masks

Mask Gallery

For the suddenly ambitious who also have time to watch a short video:

The Spinning Head

Happy Halloween!

More later,


Mark

Mr. 9,000 - Finally!

Here is my brother, Mr. 9,000 to you, in all his glory with his Mark's World stein:



Pictured with Eric are Chumley and Guinness!

More later,


Mark

Weekend Wedding

Mary and I welcomed Mary's Mom to town Thursday and on Friday we all headed to Tampa for the wedding of Jennifer Rimes and Stephen Hutchinson.

Jennifer is the daughter of Mary's cousins Phyllis and Gary Rimes. We had a blast seeing family from as far away as Boston and Scranton, Pa. and the Grand Hyatt Hotel was a perfect setting for the reception.

Some quick photos:


Here's the terrific trio: Mary, Mark and Mom.


Here's the happy couple: Jennifer and Stephen


The bride, Jennifer, and her Dad, Gary, share a dance.


Mary and her cousin, Linda, from Boston, share a laugh.

A good time was had by all!

More later,


Mark

Big Month!

Wow: The hits just keep on coming!

As of Oct. 9, we had already exceeded traffic for the entire month of October, 2006.

As of Oct. 19, we had already exceeded traffic for all of last month!

Thanks for continuing to check out Mark's World!

More later,


Mark

The Newspaper Killers

Over at PC Magazine, Kyle Monson and Corinne Iozzio have identitifed 13 Web sites that they say represent "a better online alternative to every newspaper section, from the front page to the funnies to the obituaries."

Really? What are these sites?

"Some of them come from newspapers themselves (like the Houston Chronicle's near-perfect online comics page), and some aggregate newspaper content (like Google News and Topix). But all the sites we chose make fish wrap of their print counterparts by adding excellent features, broader scope, and more user interaction," they write.

Well, I find this concept highly dubious, but I understand the direction they have taken. Check it out for yourself here:

The Newspaper Killers

More later,


Mark

This Just In: Newspapers Must Listen To Customers!

Over at E-Commerce Times, there is an article with some wild advice: "...print media organizations are increasingly embracing customer relationship management (CRM) as a tool for survival."

"Where newspapers long trained all their energies on creating what they felt was the best product, now they are beginning to see that they must look to customers - both readers and advertisers - to tell them what that product should be," Katharine Noyes writes.

Read the story here:

CRM for Newspapers: A Matter of Survival

Depending on your vantage point, this is some long-overdue/often ignored advice for Masters of Printing Mechanisms.

More later,


Mark

This Buffett's Song Is Gloomy

Industry analyst John Morton has authored yet another sobering viewpoint of the state of newspapers for American Journalism Review. You can find it here:

Newspapers are paying the price for shortsighted thinking

One excerpt:

"...most newspaper companies concentrated on shoring up the profitability of their traditional newsprint-oriented business, chiefly through laying off employees, downsizing their newspapers and cutting back on circulation in distant areas of little interest to advertisers in their core markets. It was a classic defensive strategy that undermined the very things – standing, reputation, influence – that are crucial to success on the Internet."

Ouch.

Morton leans heavily on Warren Buffett's recent shareholders' letter in which Buffett writes: "..the days of lush profits from our newspaper are over."



My 2 cents: These are tough times, for sure, which only reinforces my belief that the old newspaper industry as a whole is unable to cure itself. A new mindset is needed as are local solutions that can be globally aggregated. That kind of thinking is not going to come from the boardroom nor will it flow from frightened sycophants interested only in securing their roles, not in considering the overall picture, much less the future.

Too many newspaper leaders are either frozen in fear with their heads down or working hard to appear to be doing something innovative even though they are creating nothing sustainable. Sadly, this appearance is usually marked by following what other newspapers are doing regardless of the market fit...

More later,


Mark

Another Voice Weighs In On Reader Comments

A few weeks ago I opined about those newspaper sites that allow anonymous, barely moderated or unmoderated reader comments to dominate the publications' own voice.

On Monday, Robyn Blumner of the St. Petersburg Times addressed the issue in far more elegant terms. It is definitely worth a read:

Please read your vegetables while they're still here

More later,


Mark

Keeping It In The Family!

Well, Mr. 9,000 has checked and he is none other than:

My brother, Eric!

He is the second consecutive Sweetwood to take home the fabled Mark's World stein! A beautifully crafted stein will be heading your way just in time for all all of the Oktoberfest fun! As the winner, Eric must submit a photo of himself and the stein in a manner befitting the decorum of this site.

Thanks everyone for checking in! By year's end we will crown Mr./Ms./Mrs. 10,000! The prize? Well, it is still in the planning stages, but here is a clue: The value will be 10,000 somethings!

More later,


Mark

This Just In From Wrigley:

IRON MAN!

My good, older friend Brad recently share this with me: The trailer for the May, 2008 "Iron Man" movie! Check it out:

Iron Man

I cannot believe we have to wait that long. Old Man Keefauver, as I affectionately call everyone over the age of 50 (unless they are a woman and then it would be "Old Woman ..."), is just as excited as I am about the next Marvel film which will clearly out-gross the next "Batman" movie.



There it is: I'm on the record. I invite Eric and Brad to bet (and lose) as they did in 2005 with "The Fantastic Four" vs. "Batman."

In any case, if that few minutes is any real clue, Robert Downey Jr. seems perfectly cast as Tony Stark: The rich, arrogant technology genius.

Just seven more months until the premiere...

More later,


Mark

39 and counting....

W are just 39 visitors away from crowning Mr./Ms./Mrs 9,000! I can feel the anticipation in the air!




The 9,000th visitor to Mark's World will, of course, earn the shimmering Mark's World stein just in time for your local Oktoberfest celebration. Of course, if you can't wait to be the winner, simply click the button on the left and the Mark's World Crap-A-Rama staff will speed one (or even a set of four) to your home faster than you can say "That SOB Bernard Berrian better not bobble another buckin' ball!"

You can help the contest: Whenever you visit, just scroll down the left-hand side until you see the counter under the Mark and Mary picture. It will tell you what number you are! Otherwise, it will be up to me to figure it out by checking the ISP's of visitors.

Good luck to all!

More later!


Mark

I Missed Nick Lowe on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

If you did, too, here's his performance of "I Trained Her to Love Me."



More later,


Mark

Meanwhile, Over at Wrigley...

Other People's Blogs

Trying to catch the next wave of online hipness, many Masters of Printing Mechanisms have ordered their staffs to populate their Web sites with blogs. These are often ham-handed, inane and inelegant efforts that are as laborious to read as we assume they are to compose.

In documenting this phenomenon for the book, I came across this great piece from Gawker.Com:

Newspapers Now Stuffed Full of Blogs But No Clue Where to Put Them

As I suggested in Blog No. 200 last August when discussing the blog's role with Jeff Westhoff: "Actually, Jeff, giving a staff film reviewer his own space in the newspaper and an emerging role on the Internet with a blog that is simulcast and co-branded on MySpace.Com, FaceBook.Com and even Blogger.Com would seem to give a newspaper an advantage, especially if it truly sought those who intersect with those varied demographics. It would lay the groundwork for creating a true Internet community."

Hence, the chapter I am working on right now: "The Internet Community: While I Wouldn't Want to Join One That Would Have Me as a Member, Unfortunately That is Not My Choice."

More later,


Mark

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Oh, wait, it did...

Well, I really did intend to blog more but last month but, work, life, stuff, football, those @#$%&*in' Bears, fantasy leagues, etc. all conspired against me.

Really, the cats ate my blogs. And other lame excuses.

What did you miss in the life of the Florida Sweetwoods?

• We're looking at houses, convinced the Florida housing market is about to hit bottom. We have been convinced of this MANY times before, however.

• I'm on a diet. The doctor didn't exactly give me a death sentence at the annual physical but he made it clear that I needed to give something up: Either the carbs had to go or I'd have to give up breathing. I kid, but many remember all the weight I loss a decade ago so the carbs are being busted, fat is being counted and I'm stepping up activity, which is to say, I am using both hands to indicate to Mary that she must bring me two more beers to count.

• After giving Mary the OK to put a bullet in my head if I were to ever again purchase another piece of sports memorabilia after the packing and move from Illinois, I have bought some more sports memorabilia. In one pack of cards, I pulled an autographed "Lucky 13" Calvin Johnson rookie card which was an awesome pull. I also pulled a Mushin Muhammed jersey card, but I pulled too hard and he dropped another pass that hit him squarely in the numbers.

• We are getting ready for a Oct. 20 family wedding in Tampa. Mary's mom, Grace, is flying in to spend a week with us and we'll be meeting other family members when we get there.

• Most of the Bears games are NOT at 1 p.m. (12 p.m. CST) which means they are (or "were") often the featured late national game or on Sunday/Monday/Thursday night. That gives us a nine or 10 games on the HD, which is fabulous. The other games? We're alternating NFL ticket sports bar locations between Hooligan's in Ormond Beach and Smokey Bones in Melbourne. I'm all prepared for the next national humiliation at the feet of Brett Favre Sunday... Luckily, I can stay home for that one.

• I am adding a ticket broker service to www.superbowlboundbears.blogspot.com site so that any Super Bowl-bound Bears players will be able to easily find tickets for themselves and their families and friends. It should be a good one with the Cowboys vs. the Colts in February.

OK, I've got more to say and am planning a BIG October filled with fun and surprises and diatribes and special guests and, of course, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. 9,000 which will begin the countdown to the end of the year and the crowning of the 10,000th visitor who will be honored in a way that will be memorable. No mere stein will suffice.

Except, of course, for Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. 9,000...

So, stick around as we get this site cranked up again! Thanks for visiting!

More later,


Mark