by Andy Laub on December 4th, 2008
Citizen Wausau is proud to announce Citizen Wausau Loves…, a collection of items that we at CW can’t get enough of. CW♥ is a partnership with Amazon.com, which means that purchases are still through Amazon directly, but Citizen Wausau will receive a tiny bit of each purchase. It’s an easy way to help keep us going, all by doing what you were already doing!
And even if you don’t see anything there that interests you, you can use this link to shop on the main Amazon.com site while still using our referral code.
Thanks, and happy shopping!
by Cheryl Mathis on November 21st, 2008
I know it’s premature, but I’m totally getting into the holiday spirit already. I’m trying very hard to resist putting up our Christmas tree so soon. After all, it’ll be the first Christmas when my daughter can grab stuff off of the tree, and I’m not sure I want to give myself another chore to be doing all day long, ie. keeping her away from the tree.
1. The cold weather has arrived. It’s not bitterly cold yet, but it’s still a shock. What activities have you had to halt because of the chilly weather?
2. I was singing Jingle Bells while walking through Sam’s Club last night. Sometimes I forget that not everyone makes their life into a musical, and I’m refreshingly oblivious to people’s irritation or giggles in response to my outward happiness. What is your favorite holiday carol? Or do you avoid Christmas music at all costs?
3. I misplace my keys at least four times a week. I’m always asking The Husband for his keys because I’ve lost mine. It’s not a big deal because we only have one car, but I know he gets annoyed. I think maybe if I had a bigger keychain with lots of fun things on it, I wouldn’t lose them as often. What is on your keychain?
4. A while back, I posted a couple videos in various places online with me and/or my family dancing like the dancing fools we are. I was ripping off the bandaid as far as forcing myself to relax in online videos are concerned. Later, I heard from a friend that a lot of people had felt embarrassed for me when they saw the video. *gulp* Part of me was horrified, but the other part told myself that it doesn’t matter, that many other people were delighted by it. The question is… have you ever made an idiot out of yourself online? How?
5. And finally… how do you feel about dogs wearing clothes? I always used to mock people who would dress up their dogs. How ridiculous! They have fur coats! That is until we got Molly, our Boston Terrier. As soon as the temperature dropped below 40 degrees, she started shivering and snorting when she went outside. She’d rush to do her business and then pull to get back inside the nice warm house where she’d plop down in front of a heating vent. Now for walks, we’re putting little sweaters on her, but they don’t help that much. I think we’ll have to get her a jacket. She doesn’t like walking on the cold concrete either, so maybe we’ll have to get her some booties. Are we being silly? Have you ever known a dog who is reticent to go out in the cold?
by Alex on August 11th, 2008
I really thought that this bit would be an easy one to write. I have spent the better part of the week trying to figure out exactly how I wanted to approach this. By the time all of the thinking had been thought, I still had absolutely no clue what would end up here.
So, I have my picture of an angry Henry Rollins in my head, and I have instead opted to forge ahead and get it done. By choosing honesty and spontaneity over the best laid plans, perhaps in the end the following paragraphs will say exactly what they were supposed to all along.
Explaining what Citizen Wausau means to me is complicated at best. At first, it was an experiment, yet another link sent by an old acquaintance, on that silly little site known as Facebook. I really had no clue how to operate a blog. I always considered blogs to be a diary of sorts, and I certainly wasn’t interested in keeping a daily account of a life that reminds me enough of its mere presence as it is. However, I made my first post, noted my confusion, and decided to pound away.
It’s doesn’t really matter what is left there now, and since you were smart enough to get to this here page, if you really want to find what resides there I am sure you are more than capable of locating it on your own. Those are things that are not significant to me right now. What is important is what I found along the way, and for me, what I ended up finding was something more important than anything that sits in my blog right now.
I found that this place is scary.
Seriously, there are some amazing people here, and it frightens me. The first time you hit the community button, you don’t realize that Citizen Wausau is more than a place to pen. In my experience it is a community in every sense of the word. It expands far past this page and into the vast expanse of social networks, technology, and life itself. It is an open community, and if you take the time to talk to some its members, you will get invited into it as well.
Beware, it is bloodcurdling.
There are amazing writers here. People that do it for real reside here, and most of them that don’t certainly could explore that option if they ever chose to. When I open a page of Nealistically Speaking or A Stable Personality, I am often completely floored. That is only the beginning. Every page you open is stunning. Each and every blog post is a view into the life of someone, someone who has donated it to the world. That on its own is spooky, no matter what synonym you use. I mean for gods sakes, this thirty-six-year-old former pothead spends time thoroughly enjoying a blog about editing and diaper changes, perhaps two of my least favorite things.
It is chilling.
What scared me most was a rogue poster named Katie. Her piece called “My Dada” may be the most miraculous thing I have ever read. It was powerful, it was astounding. It was fantastical. I stared at it for almost an hour.
It was frightening.
Perhaps the most unnerving aspect, is that I really hate to read. Crucify me if you will, but I am about as far away from a book guy as you can get. I prefer to read my laptop (which coincidentally is another reason to support your local library – they have the technology available for those who favor that route), indulging in the works that reside there instead. I even find the comment section of Citizen Wausau to be filled with amazing works of thought and writing.
Can I say crapping my pants on here?
Then, there are the behind the scenes people, the dedicated staff and heartbeat of the operation. I still don’t know all of them, or what they do precisely, but those I have met alarm me the most. They are machines of progress and service to this community. You don’t have to write a whole lot to be amazing around here either.
Now I am not fluent in dorkenese at all, but this Andy Laub character has to be an artificial life form, something similar to the Terminator. When I first started writing here I could barely figure out how to fire up the options this site has to offer. I would often find myself irritated, spamming poor Andy with question upon question after coming to my wits’ end. The poor guy took it all with a grain of salt, and answered each and every inquiry without hesitation and without ripping the apparent frustrated look right off my face, as I imagine he wanted to on more than one occasion. Like I said, I am not a tech guy, but I can barely run my own blog much less a hundred others. Even though he cancelled the best podcast on the planet, Andy Laub is tremendous, however you dice it.
It is fear provoking.
Do you know they have editors here? One is named Cheryl, and she scares me, too. She can take an article such as this one, and whip it into shape before you can say “red pen.” The most astounding thing is that she actually likes to do it. She does it willingly. She does it without belittling, without regret, and without hesitation.
That is Freddy Kruger scary.
See what I did there? Probably not, but it is really funny to me.
Now if you think Freddy in a dark alley is scary, then you haven’t met Dino Corvino. I would say without hesitation that this thing called Dino is perhaps the most unique figure I have ever run across. If Santa Claus took up bare knuckle fighting, that would be perhaps the best explanation I can come up with. He is passionate, he demands the best, and he brings out the best as well. I can’t begin to elucidate what Dino has meant to me. It goes further than words, so I won’t even try.
Dino is redoubtable.
There are many more, and I have yet to figure out their roles in the process. But, they all make this community an ominous place for me to be.
It is scary for me to be a part of something this positive. It is scary to be part of something this amazing. It is scary to realize that this thing called Citizen Wausau allowed me to participate in the phenomenon.
I often don’t feel worthy of the support I have received here, or the invitation to contribute that I have been given.
I feel out of place, out of my element, and most certainly out of my league.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t live up to the rest of the treasures I read every day.
Want to know the scariest thing of all?
None of them care about things like that.
by Cheryl Mathis on June 16th, 2008
Assignment
Write an essay of no less than 500 words, no more than 1,000 words, on a specific, Wausau-themed topic, and enter to win a $50 Chamber Bucks gift certificate.
Due: June 29, 2008 (11:59 pm).
Entering: Post your essay to your Citizen Wausau blog. (Don’t have one? Get one! It’s free!) Be at least 13 years old. Let us know you’ve entered the competition by emailing us at essay at this domain dot com. Wait with bated breath until we announce the winners on Monday, July 14, 2008 at 9 am.
Judging: The posts will be read and judged by the Citizen Wausau Editorial Board. We will prominently feature the winning post on Citizen Wausau’s front page, acknowledge the runners-up, and link to every essay entered in the competition. We will judge based on creativity, style and content.
Prizes: Grand prize winner will receive a $50 Chamber Bucks gift certificate. Second and third place winners will receive Citizen Wausau memorabilia (TBD).
Theme: What is your vision for Wausau’s future? This can be either what you think Wausau will be like years in the future or what you dream Wausau could become. It can be funny or fanciful, serious or realistic.
by Dino Corvino on May 4th, 2008
We wanted to get this to you as soon as we had confirmed a room for us all. We need to thank Lisa Stahl, and the First American Center for offering us the use of a room for the evening. The contribution that Lisa and that building make to the community is far-reaching and can never be overlooked. Truly it feels like a home for everyone, and all are welcome. So thank you Lisa!
We would like to sit down with you from 6 to 7pm. We will get an agenda to the folks who have emailed me. We hope to have that for you as soon as possible, but bear with us as we are hashing this out internally.
As we have said before, we are looking for leaders and team mates to provide direction to our venture. It is not currently a paid position – Andy and I do not get paid either.
That being said, we are looking actively for people to help. We are thinking hard about our future, and that brings with it tons of work and opportunity.
So, check the calendar to see the officials, but the meeting is Wednesday. We look forward to seeing you there.
Feel free to contact us with questions.
by Dino Corvino on April 18th, 2008
[A Note from Dino: This post was made in haste, and Andy and I have talked about this more, and as a result we adding some changes. In an effort to be transparent, those changes will be easy to see.]
Dear Citizen Wausau Community,
Spring is here. We just passed our six month hump, and we are getting more traffic than we thought possible. Now, we need to make some changes. Not large changes, but small ones. Small but significant, and from that, we will look to you.
We seek to create, and implement a version of an editorial board. Not in the broad sense of a newspaper, but in a very hands-on, actively involved in the leadership of this website on a daily basis. We’re offering the keys to the castle, responsibility, and of course, no money. |We are not against money in the future, but the website makes no money now. We clearly would like to make money going forward.|
We need you. |We want outside voices to help us, and to make our website better.|
Right now we have a process for reviewing articles, and we seek to blow the doors off of that — to add more people to that process, to lighten the load, and at the same time season the soup.
So, we are opening out editorial house wide open. We have put forth a plan, and we want to implement it. But we need you. We really need you. But, you’re asking, WHAT IS INVOLVED? What will I need to do? How do I know I can be of help?
Well Riddle me this Batman, do you have a computer? Can you read? Are you good with grammar? Do you like Citizen Wausau? Would you be willing to take on the responsibility of reading and approving of stories with a group of people? Do you work well with others? Have you come to realize that Dino, while a genius, might just need a hobby and a way to meet girls and the computer is not the best place for him? And most importantly, do you want to?
The Next Action, send me an email here at CW. Tell us you want to be involved. So shoot me an email at dino at (this domain) dot com. Then we will all get together in real life, and talk through what we have planned.
The first step though is saying you want in. Our first step was addressing we want and need help. So we meet in the middle. You can take a leadership position, and we can get the help we sorely need.
Thank you in advance.
|When we get a few names, we will set up a time to meet, and go from there.|
