But over on www.FranklinIs.com, blogs have not found their place among the content-filled articles, press releases, news, pictures and a calendar full of events. We tried to have a blog once. Last summer, one of my assignments as an intern was to “blog” on FranklinIs about my internship. Unfortunately, my blogs never had a clear direction and they too got lost amidst the other content and images on Franklin Is.

I read blogs. I understand how people want to feel a connection. And I think Franklin Is needs a really good blog.

Instead of using the JLB Blog as a model, I’ve researched blogs associated with magazines and other community websites. Many of these sites have the type of blog FI needs, a blog from the editors’ perspectives…a day in the life, if you will, or a “backstage pass”. We could write about people we meet, events we attend and ideas we have. People want to make a connection and I think these are ways www.FranklinIs.com can facilitate that. So here I am starting to let you in on my blog research…how behind the scenes is that?

More blogging about blogging to come…

After the New Year, most Americans are hanging their head, packing up the Christmas decorations and dealing with holiday bills and extra pounds. But down in cities like New Orleans, Carnival is just getting started. The Christmas season ends with Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, but on January 6 Carnival begins. The celebration begins with krewe parties, where krewes hold private balls and dinner parties. In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, krewes take their parties to the streets with elaborate public parades.

If you aren’t going to make it to a Mardi Gras celebration this year, you still won’t be able to get any beads or other plastic trinkets from floats…But thanks to technology you can check out live streaming videos of the parades at: http://www.nola.com/mardigras/.

It reminds me of when I returned from my semester abroad. Because I studied in a lot of different countries in Western Europe, everyone asked me what my favorite place was and what place I would return to. I hate this question because it has no answer. Returning to a place depends on what I would be doing there…going to school (Oxford), backpacking with friends (Spain) or whisked there by a gorgeous guy (Venice). And “favorite”, well that depends on what defines favorite…the food, museums, churches, natural beauty or memories, what classifies favorite?

My experiences are deeply intertwined with places. My best and most literal “once in a lifetime experience” was going to my friend’s godfather’s chateau/ in Beaune, France. We went to celebrate with his harvesters the day they finished picking grapes in his vineyards. My favorite food overall was in Italy, favorite meal however is more difficult…ordering beef carpaccio at a restaurant in Rome or a meal prepared by “Papa” when our group occupied every room in his family-run hotel. The surprise of loving Germany was thrilling, making friends at the Hofbräuhaus and a German lady practice her English and helping us order from the very foreign menu. Of course, studying at Oxford was surreal and I loved how the town was ours for a fleeting moment…there are uncountable memories there and it will always be one of my favorites.

So no, I don’t have a favorite novel or movie or a favorite place in Europe. To choose one favorite would be impossible. But in my “just for fun” questions, you won’t be surprised to see that my #1 “thing to do when not at work” is to travel.
 

The hot topic on our minds in the FranklinIs.com office has been the Sizzle Awards. We have been busy monitoring the poll, encouraging people to vote and watching the ongoing results. In case you aren’t familiar with the Sizzle Awards, I can tell you all about it…

The Sizzle Awards are Williamson County’s only online reader’s choice poll. This is the third annual Sizzle Awards presented by Southern Exposure Magazine and FranklinIs.com. Polls are open for six weeks, from November 1st through December 15th, so there’s a lot more sizzling in my near future. It is a “Best of” poll allowing the public to vote for their favorite businesses in Williamson County.

There are around 90 sub-categories including women’s clothing boutique, bookstore, dental practice, auto repair, landscaping, day spa, kids’ haircut and home renovation. Of course the poll is dominated by the most popular category, cuisine. There are sub-categories for every type of cuisine from pizza to sushi to meat n’ three to bakery.

I have enjoyed watching as the votes come in. It has been interesting to learn about businesses I’ve never heard of and to see what the voter’s choose as their favorites. Sometime I agree with the results and sometimes I’m confused why one business has more votes than another. But I’ve cast my vote, so I can have an opinion.

It is still early and there is time to make your vote count, too. No excuses: there are no lines, no confusing ballot boxes and you can even vote in your pajamas! It’s that kind of year for a record voter turnout, so get voting Williamson County.

To vote in the 2008 Sizzle Awards visit the following link: http://www.franklinis.com/poll/

If you have already cast your vote, thank you! And check out the ongoing results here:
http://www.franklinis.com/poll/results.php?poll_id=8

Since I have been working at Franklin Is, we have kept the calendar consistently full of events around town. Some weeks are busy than others in terms of what events we are covering. As my first October in Franklin, I was surprised by how many great fall events there are around Franklin.

Last Friday night, FI attended an event to kick-off the 60th anniversary celebration of the Franklin Noon Rotary Club's major fundraising event, the Franklin Rodeo. The 60th anniversary rodeo is scheduled to take place May 14-16, 2009. In the meantime, celebrations have begun and Friday night was filled with music by John England and the Western Swingers, good food and fond memories. A mini museum was set-up in the room to display memorabilia from the Franklin Rodeo's rich history. Speakers and videos shared memories from the early days of the rodeo and described the integral founders of the event. It was really heartwarming to see people come together to celebrate the rodeo's history and it's future.

On Saturday, the streets of historic Leiper's Fork filled with people for the 7th annual Leiper's Fork Chili Cook-Off. There was great live music, warm sunshine, unique vendors and of course lots of chili. Although I'm not a fan of chili, I enjoyed taking pictures for FranklinIs.com and enjoying the fall weather. Attendees of the cook-off had an opportunity to sample chili and vote for the People's Choice award. Clutching plastic spoons, the "people" weaved in, out and across the street, sampling each booth's savory blend. The brave conquered all 21 booths and likely also made a stop at the booth selling antacids. The weak picked and chose certain booths and saved their stomachs for their favorite types of chili. And there was plenty of chili to choose from – ones loaded with meat, ones loaded with beans, spicy chili and tangy chili. In addition, a few pots of white bean chicken chili were spotted, bowls of homemade salsa and even an alleged "chili" chocolate (I couldn't taste any chili but they got my vote).

Overall, I've been impressed by the number of fall events in Williamson County. There is something for everyone, young and old. So check out the FranklinIs.com calendar of events and find something special to do this weekend!

While I enjoy learning about my immediate environment — Franklin and Nashville, I've also had more time to keep up with current events in America and abroad.

And what a memorable year to enter the "real world!"

The country will likely remember the past couple months as the Beijing Olympics, the turbulence of the stock market, the War in Iraq and the Presidential Election. I have had my own life changes but the country is also restless for change. It has been both exhilarating and frightening to enter the working world as a young adult during this time.

After being in the "Sewanee Bubble" for four years, it is interesting to come off the mountain into such time of change in America. I am suddenly intrigued by this year's Presidential Election. Although I was able to vote for the 2004 election, a lot of the issues seem to matter more now that I'm on my own. I have a better understanding of the economy, energy crisis, national security and health care.

When I was in school, it was easy to overlook the bigger picture and it seemed frivolous to focus on global and national issues. But as a working 23-year old, it is hard to ignore the political campaigning and the debates over controversial issues.

There are countless things that I have done as an intern at JLB. I have spent a lot of time writing articles, taking pictures at events and updating FranklinIs.com. It has been a lot of fun, and my enthusiasm for the website has probably begun to bother my friends. I also had an amazing opportunity to write nine articles for the Williamson County Fair Guide. It was a challenge because of my lack of experience with county fairs (and magazine-style writing in general), but I ended up being able to connect my personal experiences to the experiences of fair competitors.

I have also had the privilege to work with the creative minds and self-proclaimed "people of action (aka action figures)" at JLB. I was apprehensive about interning for such esteemed individuals with unimaginable superpowers … possibly this is where my psychology degree could come in and somehow I could warp their minds!

It turned out that mind games were not the superheroes weakness, but they are terrified of insects, spiders and the like. I quickly figured out that my superpower was being able to ward off tiny, eight-legged creatures and squirming cockroaches. So, I am happy that I have a superpower to contribute, even if it is killing the insects found crawling around the offices.

I am really looking forward to the second half of my internship and the challenges ahead.