If you're like most of us, Monday rolls around and you wonder where the weekend went. We live in Maine -- Vacationland, for pete's sake -- and more often than not we don't take advantage of the possibilities to enjoy it.

That's something we at MaineToday think we can help with. We're renewing our commitment to rounding up great ideas for your weekend, and making it easy for you to get to them.

One new feature is the "Weekender" newsletter, which goes out by email on Thursdays. Ace producer Shannon Bryan selects only the finest weekend events for your consideration. Sign up on the home page or just go to the "Hello (State Your Name)" link at the very top of this page and click on "Your email newsletters."

We're also cranking up the Seen machine, and shooting photos of revelers at hot weekend events. So on Monday you can regret what you missed (or attended). For example, check out the happy faces at the Maine Brewer's Festival last weekend

Coming up, we're about to launch a brand new events system that's the best we've seen anywhere. Our ultimate goal: collect and present every upcoming public event in Maine.

What else would help you enjoy Maine more? Speak up below:

As our newspaper brands become the focus of Blethen Maine Newspapers' journalism mission online, you'll see an expanded focus on "community connections" under the MaineToday.com brand.

Here's a great example, in which someone is seeking to reconnect former students of South Portland's Redbank School:
Kids who attended Redbank School
It's posted by member Suzan Roberts Norton. Her profile page has more stories and photos about Redbank.

Maybe I noticed Suzan's story because I grew up not far from Redbank, and I recall Redbank as a tight-knit family community, not that different from my own neighborhood in Thornton Heights. With all the commercial development surrounding both those neighborhoods now, I too wonder if that community atmosphere will endure, or if former residents will be able to reclaim old connections.

Maybe this is one way we can help.

This probably comes under the heading of "you never know where you'll find new talent." But there's this guy working just down the hall, writing and editing for the Press Herald editorial page. I've seen him around the building but that's about it. One day, we get to talking and it turns out he's into making videos. I check out some of his stuff, and it's pretty good, and funny too. So I ask if he'd like to try doing a video blog.

The rest isn't history -- yet -- but
Roger McCord's "vlog" is one piece of the new MaineToday.com.
We're working to make MaineToday.com more useful, while also giving it lots of voice and personality. As our newspaper brands continue to expand the news mission of Blethen Maine Newspapers online, you're going to see (and hear) more and different voices on the MaineToday.com brand.

I know I'll hear lots of, "That doesn't belong on a newspaper site." You're right, which is one reason we're doing it.

Just check it out. If you like it, you can say so, right on
Roger's vlog. Same if you don't.