The Beachcomber has joined the blogosphere. Four blogs written by community members — on sports, gardening, film and Island life — were launched this week on the Beachcomber Web site, and authors have posted on everything from composting, chicken processing and oven-dried tomatoes to superb Pirate soccer and the engaging nature of film.
Below is an introduction to the paper’s first four community-written blogs.
From the Sidelines
Blogger Rik Forschmiedt, a 20-year Islander, quotes a bumper sticker when discussing his residency on Vashon: “Not a native, but I got here as soon as I could.” He was The Beachcomber’s sports editor for 11 years before retiring. He’s now a volunteer soccer, cross-country and track coach, and a frequent contributor of photos and news to The Beachcomber sports pages.
“From the Sidelines,” Forschmiedt’s new blog, is dedicated to Island sports.
“Approaching my 72nd birthday, I should probably be blogging about which cruise line offers the best deals to AARP members, but I would rather spend my time encouraging the great young people at Vashon High School and staying young myself,” he said.
Garden On, Vashon!
Island painter, gardener and garden writer Karen Dale is the author of “Garden On, Vashon” — an exploration into the Island world of “planting, growing, harvesting, cooking and caring for our pieces of the garden that is Vashon,” Dale wrote in her opening blog entry.
She said readers of “Garden On” will get timely reminders — “It’s time to start tomato seeds, time to sow cover crop, time to dig up the dahlia bulbs” — as well as insight into many different gardening-related topics.
Vashon Goes to the Movies
Written by a team of film buffs about films famous and obscure, this blog offers a glimpse into the movie world from a fresh perspective.
Leslie McMichael, Vashon Film Society president, is a musician and harp teacher with a passion for film who is proud to add blogging to her list of interests. Fellow bloggers Peter Ray and Diane Bradford, a film curator and Aspen Film Festival board member, respectively, round out the contributors’ list for “Vashon Goes to the Movies.”
“To me, film is all about igniting ideas and fostering dialogue, and this blog is the perfect way to widen our discussion,” McMichael said. “I’m excited that our film society tradition of post-film discussions and Q-and-A’s can now occur in cyberspace.”
Vashon Verité
A “candid slice of Island life,” Heidi Skrzypek’s blog features guess-where snapshots and short feature digests. Skrzypek, who moved to Vashon in 2004, has been a prolific blogger since 1996. She’s a copywriter — and she’s “darn happy not to have any deadlines attached” to Vashon Verité.
“It’s a privilege to live among so many talented, multi-faceted people in a place with so much history,” Skrzypek said. “I look forward to sharing the things I love about Vashon in this blog.”
Visit blogs.vashonbeachcomber.com to read the latest posts.
