Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of my blog, A Guy Walks Into 365 Bars. That blog started on January 11, 2010 and It was during that year I really learned how to interact with strangers and translate social activities into a blogging experience online through writing and photos.
I also learned that blogging in this style is a real improvisational experience and sometimes it falls flat but sometimes it works and when it works it’s really a magical and exciting feeling. I was lucky enough to get a write-up in the NY Daily News early on in the 365 journey and that led to world-wide exposure and it kind of turned my life and the blog upside down for a while!
I want to thank writer, Simone Weichselbaum for writing that feature in the NY Daily News that gave the blog an audience I never could've imagined!
Thanks also to my friend and graphic designer, “Boris” Boden who designed the logo and did the artwork for the blog! You did a fabulous job branding the blog and giving it an online identity, Boris!
Below are seven links to some of the articles that were written about the blog and a video that led me on the road to where I’m at right now.
Thanks to all of you who followed along back then and are following along right now. I hope all of you know that I appreciate and I love all of you! Okay, here’s the Sunday Links.
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Sunday Links
Marty Wombacher plans to visit 365 city bars in 365 days and blog about each experience - This is what put the blog on the map and it got a lot of attention in New York City! I spent an afternoon with writer Simone Weichselbaum of the NY Daily News and the story came out on March 10, 2010 and immediately my email and phone started blowing up and the blog got more hits than I ever could’ve dreamed. I didn’t think it could get any bigger than this!
Man plans 365 beer nights for bar blog - And then it got even bigger as the U.P.I. Wire Service picked up the story and put it on their international wire and the story went world-wide. I got phone calls and emails from all over the world and it was really a weird time in my life. Things were happening too fast and furious and I still had to go to a bar every night, take pictures and then put it all together the next day. Plus I was working full time at a job where my shifts were sometimes twelve and fourteen hours. It kind of turned into one of those “watch out what you wish for” moments in life!
Former Peoria man makes virtual bar crawl a Web hit - My friend, DeWayne Bartels gave me some local exposure right here in Peoria via this article in the PJ Star.
A guy walks into 365 bars - Another friend, Rick Halberg posted about the bar blog on his blog, Groovyrick’s Blog. Rick’s working on a book right now and stay tuned for details on that in the future!
Bar blogger gets a taste of Cleveland: Writer's pub crawl is about the people, not the drinks - Cleveland Plain Dealer writer and Minister of Culture, Michael Heaton invited me to bring the bar crawl to Cleveland for a weekend and I happily accepted his invitation. This is the column about our bar crawling in Cleveland.
365 Bars Guy - Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York is a popular and well-respected blog in New York City and I was honored he chose to interview me at the end of the run. I think it was one of my favorite interviews I did for the blog.
The Morning Show In Australia (Wait 17 seconds for the video to kick in.) - Shortly after the U.P.I. Wire Service ran the story I got an email from a producer from a news show in Australia called, “The Morning Show.” She wanted to know if I could be interviewed that Sunday night at a location in midtown Manhattan. So much was going on then I didn’t have time to think much about it, but I told her I could and went to the address at 6:15pm on a Sunday evening and rang a buzzer at the door. A man greeted me and said he was the engineer and took me to a waiting room and said the interview would happen in about twenty minutes. I was joking with him and he said to me, “Wow, you’re not nervous at all, have you done a lot of TV?” I said I had been on TV before and I asked if I made a mistake or flubbed it up, if we could do another take. He laughed and said, “You have no idea what you’re doing here, do you?” Then he explained this was going to be a live interview because Australia’s twelve hours ahead time-wise and it was 6:30 in the morning there. He also told me it was their equivalent to the Today Show and it was broadcast all over the country and millions of people would see it! Well, I was nervous then, but I calmed down by knowing if I screwed it up, I just wouldn’t tell anyone about it! I ended up doing okay, but the weird lapses in silence were due to the time difference. What a kooky year!
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MBIP Coming Attractions
Monday: I went to Jim’s Steak House last night for my Saturday night return dinner to the blog and I was joined by my friends Amber and Joe for this fun evening! Tune in tomorrow to see photos and the post from this fun Saturday night out on the town!
Tuesday: I finished the last food tour of devouring doughnuts two weeks ago, so this week we have a palate cleanser at Las Delicias Ice Cream here in Peoria. Tune in on Tuesday for that sweet post.
Wednesday: We’re up to our 11th month of our fried chicken eating tour and you can tune in on Thursday to see our 11th stop!
Thursday: I’m starting a new “Thursday Buffet” series this Thursday. Check it out on Thursday as I’m still trying to figure out what the hell this will be myself!
Friday: We’ll have another snackalicious Friday Bites episode for you this Friday. I just need to figure where to do it at! Tune in and find out as I have no idea right now!
Saturday: We’ll take another trip in the past to explore another Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past post next Saturday.
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P.S. Thanks to Chad Wallace and Dan2 for the fun comments they left the last 18 days! They are the official MBIP Commentators and I appreciate their contributions to this blog!
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Sunday Comic
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Related Posts: Sunday Links: Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You, A Charlie Brown Christmas and John Lennon Shooting.