The EU Manifesto

A whole lot of people do not really get what we here at Easton UnDressed are trying to accomplish. So let me “lay it bare”. I am the House of Crayons or HOC, my partner here is Badapple or BA. We started this blog on October 17, 2005. When I said the words, “Let’s start a blog”—I had never actually laid eyes on a web log (blog). I Googled the word “blog” and selected Google’s Blogger client as the home for our blog. A few hours later EU was live.

We chose our psuedo-anonymity for a few reasons. At first, we were not sure what we would write; and we needed a shield. But as the mission was taking shape our pen names served totally different purposes. The first was to emphasize the message over the messengers-- we did not want EU to be about us two; we wanted it to be about us 26,000. And the last by-product of our secret identities was (and is) the pure entertainment value-- It is an EU hobby; trying to figure out who is who.

When we began EU the issue de jure was the City’s proposal to let the State Theatre slide on its final two years of a one million dollar loan from the taxpayers of Easton. That balance has become our mantra $252,700.00. You can read all about that tragedy here.

The first blog post was pretty much a rant. And over the next few weeks we started to mold the EUniverse. Our intent was (and still is) to create an interactive information clearinghouse on all things and issues Easton. In those first weeks we piled on the content. We did top 10 lists, posted comics, added pictures, and ran polls. But the two most effective pieces of content we added were, without a doubt, audio files (public meetings and our podcast) and the infamous tag board.

Let me start with the tag board…
The tag board is an application that is actually not a part of the blog. The board we currently use is the third tag board we’ve used. The first was free crap, the second-- conveniently named Tag Board --was only slightly more reliable, and the third has been a charm at $2.00/month the cbox tag board has been stalwart.
Now, we have discovered that; for the most part; the tag board has served as the blog’s gatekeeper. Some people are so challenged by the reverse scrolling and automatic updating that they give up on EU before delving into any other content we offer. Others are drugged by the almost-instant gratification of the tag board. Now, some of the latter group overindulges in the tag board when they discover it. Our researchers are unsure of how their overindulgence effects their long term participation in the EUniverse. But our third subset; the instant gratifiers in-moderation; are what we’ve come to consider "the tone". "The tone" of the tag board is an indicator of a few things. 1) Current events 2) Interesting topicality and 3) Blog posts.
We never—actually, I never intended for the tag board to dominate the blog like it does. I’m not so sure about my partner BA (Queen of the Chat) though. But it is what it is.

The most entertaining aspect of the EUniverse is Easton UnPlugged; our podcast. In this, BA and I relax with refreshments and friends while we discuss the current Eastonian issues. We record and syndicate/podcast our sessions as a regular feature. The podcasts have been on hold for the summer months, but we are gearing up for a more robust season 2. Stay tuned!

The meat and potatoes of Easton UnDressed is the blog posts. We have worked extremely hard to make our posts items of truth. We cite our information meticulously, and we post the cited documents and recordings. Our recordings are what really set us apart from other blogs. We have built a useful library of press conferences and public meetings, and our uninterrupted string of City Council meetings is the jewel of our collection.

That’s the blog… Easton UnDressed, EU, the EUniverse in a nut shell. Those are our tools, and our manifesto really begins here…

What we are, what we are about… BA and I are patriots; Eastonian patriots. We, along with a core group of fellow Epatriots, have dedicated ourselves to maintaining and protecting our home, Easton. We promote the very basic principles of “clean and safe”. Clean and safe streets along with ethical and secure governing. We use the pneumonic “iIA!” (interest, Ideas, ACTION!) to direct our efforts. We are activists, pundits, and good neighbors. Our focus is simple and direct for a reason; we mean to accomplish our mission.


Our Mission

To provide a clean, crime-free, and safe environment with competitive services that allows residents to enjoy a high quality of life, while providing commerce an environment to thrive.

Your neighbors