We now have a new format here for our blogs at OnMilwaukee.com. For a few moments we considered each coming up with a name for our blogs. Luckily, that went by the wayside.
I found myself fixated on the idea of coming up with a clever name that took a familiar saying that contained a word that rhymes with "blog" and replacing that word with, well, "blog."
"Blogging a Dead Horse" seemed like the best of the ideas to me but I wasn't sure I wanted my blog to have the phrase "dead horse" in it. Even if I liked the reference to a posthumous Sex Pistols compilation record that had a turd pictured on it. Yep, forever 13, that's me.
I figured "Blogman" wouldn't work because not only am I not Irish, but I don't hail from anywhere near any bog. Also, way too obscure.
Kind of like "Feelin' Bloggy," a reference to my constantly tired -- yes, groggy -- state these days. Also too vague. If you've gotta explain it, forget it.
"Blog -- It's Big, It's Heavy, It's Wood" would get chuckles -- or groans -- from fans of "Ren and Stimpy."
"An uphill blog" -- eh, kinda sucks. "The Blog Shop" -- maybe that's better for a Cleveland music blog. On the other hand, "Golden Blog" might work for a Twin Cities music blog.
"A blog in my throat" takes us back to the animal references.
You can see, it's a good thing we didn't add names to our blogs. It also frees us up to write about whatever. A name could potential box us in.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.