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I think we've come to a crossroads here at PK.com, and by "we" I mean me. Breaking up is hard to do, but I am finding myself more and more burdened by my Sunday night updates, and it's time to change up the routine.
I'm not taking the site down, and I will use PK.com for something that will be regularly updated, but the site as we know it — the collection of weirdness, the pictures, the links to babes — is likely done.
Over the last two-and-a-half years, I've been able to attract 15,000 visits a week — so the total figure is in the millions — but traffic has been stagnant for a long while, and communication has been too one-way.
I had always hoped the message board would be more active, but it seems no matter how much I plead for reactions to my top 10s, it never developed into anything. And I don't like talking to walls.
The reason this site existed at all was to share my fascination with how the Internet exposes life out there. Not just life online, but life. If it weren't for the Net, I would never have known that dominatrix clowns existed, that parents raised 8-year-old bodybuilders, that celebrity lookalikes was a needed industry.
For whatever reason, the audience I attracted was passive, and I questioned whether anyone would care if I trimmed the content to just bikini chicks. That I never wanted.
I appreciate all the e-mails, instant messages and linkbacks. I've gotten to "know" many great people online, and I thank everyone for visiting. It was the most active fans that kept me going this long.
Again, PaulKatcher.com isn't going anywhere entirely. I might return with a general blog, or a sports blog, or an NYC project. It may take me a week, or a month, or longer. I invite all of you to keep in touch and maybe even help me generate a new and great idea.
RANDOM WEIRDNESS
* Funny One-Liners — OK, some aren't that funny. But keep a few of these in your repertoire to show you have a sense of humor.
* Howard Stern Soundboard — A collection of audio from that tall, ugly guy who walked past me with his hot girlfriend a couple of weeks ago.
* Strip Club Etiquette — I'm sure I've linked to one of these guides before. Let me summarize everything in them: you're paying for women to pay attention to you, and they walk away when your money runs out. Fun!
* The Cyberstalking of Internet Supermodel Tracey Walker — A new book by Tracey Walker, whom I've traded links with for quite some time. It's an ugly world out there; be careful.
* New York Public Library's PIcture Collection — It ain't weird, just cool. Check out this picture of Times Square in 1912 and the Brooklyn Bridge before automobiles.
* No More AOL CDs — A drive to collect one million of the most ubiquitous marketing campaign since the Publishers' Clearing House Sweepstakes — and return them to Dulles, Va. Psst: They're not going to care.
* Video Game— Virtual Resort: Spring Break — The newest sim game puts you in charge of scheming spring breakers out of their parent's money, just like the pros in Cancuun! I'm reminded of the best sign I saw there: Guys: No Shirt, No Service; Women: No Shirt, No Charge
* The Multimedia Refrigerator — Watch the morning news, download recipes, send and receive e-mail, or leave video messages for your family with a refrigerator. Make sure mom doesn't find porn in the icebox.
* hektik.org — A PK.com like site sent in by "theGil." Looks pretty good. Lots of fun links (even some of the same stuff I came across this week). And thank god no porn ads, pop-ups and all the rest of the stuff that's made me curtail my web surfing.
THE SPORTSDESK
* Bucketfoot Commentary on MLB's Retired Numbers — Interesting watercooler commentary from a guy who clearly hates the Yanks. Apparently, 11-time All-Star Bill Dickey was only "very good," even though his player page on Baseball Reference indicates that his career most closely mirrored four current or future Hall of Fame catchers. He also questions the value of Yogi Berra (three-time MVP, 10 World Series rings) and Whitey Ford (career 236-106, 2.75 ERA). Dude, if they all sucked, how do you think they won every year?
* Why Dr. Z's mailbag is great — Appreciate the freedom writers have online — the first legitimate medium where they are not limited by space (newspapers) or time (radio, TV). In the beginning of this week's column, Paul Zimmerman shares his thoughts on mob mentality and the horror of the extermination of his father's entire family during World War II. Amazing stuff.
* Cartoon: Feeling California — Kurt Snibbe outlines what to expect in the All-California World Series. Some funny stuff, but a references to creases in Benito Santiago's face might cross the line of good taste. And I know a lot about good taste.
* Classic Ralph Kiner Quotes — Every time someone rags on Phil Rizzuto to be a homer announcer who couldn't even follow the game, I pointed out the man in the booth for the Mets at the same time. Check out these beauties: ""All of Rick Aguilera's saves have come in relief appearances." "It's Father's Day today at Shea, so to all you fathers out there, Happy Birthday." More quotes. When did Kiner's Korner jump the shark?
* NBA Preview: General Manager Survey — I love when people who REALLY know sports participate in debates usually reserved for the dipshit callers on sports radio. The most shocking thing is that the GMs weren't unanimous in naming Shaq the player they'd sign over any other.
* Street & Smith's college hoops preseason Top 25 — Four of the top 10 are also among the top 10 in college football this season: Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Georgia. No sight of Syracuse. S&S will pay dearly for that!
* San Diego State University newspaper columnist blasts huge donor — Lenn Bell goes to town on John Moores, who donated $17.2 million to the school's athletic department in 1999, associating him with the guys who misran Enron and WorldCom. Guess how Moores says he'll donate now that the column was printed? The same as I will.
LAND OF THE FREE, HOME OF THE BRAVE
* The Sonic Memorial Project — Hundreds share stories and sounds of the World Trade Center and its neighborhood — before, on, and after Sept. 11, 2001.
THE NEWSDESK
* Wife's bites cause death, police claim — What was the guy doing in bed with a chick that ugly to begin with?
* Saddam 'wins 100% of vote' — All 11,445,638 of the eligible voters in Iraq elected Saddam Hussein to another seven-year term as Iraq's president. And now you know the type of hocus pocus we're dealing with.
THE WEEKLY LADIES
* Jen's Bachelorette Party — Every time I run into a bachelorette party at a bar, the wife-to-be is hot and her friends are dogs. Not so with this group. Holy hell.
THE ARCHIVE
Missed a week of PaulKatcher.com? Shame on you.
Hit the archive and see what you missed.
Recent issues include Spring Break, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Before that we (un)covered Mardi Gras 2002.
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