I know: Everybody has a website. So what’s the point of another one?

Well, for me, a couple of things: First, it’s a tool as I work to build a freelance business. If you need an experienced reporter, writer and editor to help with a project, we should talk — and this site should give you a sense of my skills.

It also gives me a chance to indulge some personal passions: We live in a community that’s filled with artistic and cultural events (even in the midst of a pandemic), and the website gives me a chance to highlight some of them. So the blog features a frequently updated curated calendar of events that have caught my eye and might be worth your time and cash. As I get into the groove of filling the site with fresh content, I also hope to be offering previews of certain events — and, in fact, check back in a day or two for a story about “Hugs and Quiches,” the April offering at the Majestic Readers’ Theatre.

The blog also gives me a chance to weigh in on important topics — as well as some subjects that may not be all that important. For example, the blog now features a frequently updated story about how the battle for control of Tribune Publishing may impact newspapers in the mid-valley. That’s important. But the blog also gives readers a chance to take some of my hard-earned cash by beating me in predicting this year’s Oscar winners. That’s arguably not as important.

But it is fun. And I want to have some fun with this website as well. You can help by joining the conversation on any of the blog entries — but be sure to keep your comments civil. There are plenty of other sites on the internet for trash talk, and I have no interest in doing that. I’ve been down that road before.

I’m also hoping to launch a weekly email newsletter with blog highlights, an expanded calendar and other features, but I’m a week or two (maybe three!) from getting that launched.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about the site: Website comments can be emailed to me at [email protected].

And let me thank a couple of people who were essential in getting this site off the ground: Cole Petroccione built and designed the site and has been a pleasure to work with; learn more at justcole.design. (Cole’s father, by the way, was George Petroccione, a longtime photographer at the Democrat-Herald.)

The portraits on the site were taken by Jodi Herrling, a friend and a terrific photographer. Jodi, by the way, won a national award for these photos, which is particularly impressive in that I am almost certainly the least attractive person she recently has photographed. But if she can do that for me, think of what she might be able to do with an attractive person such as yourself. You can contact her by clicking here.