by La Shawn on May 28, 2008
in General
Glenn “Instapundit” Reynold’s linked to yesterday’s post about synesthesia, which brought the kind of traffic this blog hasn’t seen in many months. Thanks for the ride, readers.
My excuse reason for not updating the blog as often as I used to invariably shifts from blogging for clients to looking for more clients to pitching article ideas to print publications and off-blog sites. Round and round and round she goes. Where she stops? Who’s to say?
I found yet another reason to not update the blog as much as I used to. I’m trying to raise my writing career to new levels. Yes, that means books. I’m going through an exciting time of boldness, exploration, and discovery, and this is a feeling I’d wish on my worst enemies. Should’ve done this long time ago.
I’ve got something floating around, and I hope to be more specific about what the thing is in the near future. I can’t wait until it comes to fruition so I can blog about it.
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by La Shawn on May 27, 2008
in General
Update: Glenn Reynolds has synesthesia: “I see sounds as visual analogs with shape, color, and texture. Based on my own conversations, this is quite common among people who do sound engineering, and probably helpful.”
And we have a smeller and taster! Commenter Gregg the Obscure writes: “Have had synesthesia as long as I can remember – the main attribute is that some (not all) musical sounds have associated smells and, occasionally, tastes. This happens more with either pipe organ or orchestral music than with other instruments. Also, FWIW, I have very strong senses of smell and hearing, but poor eyesight…The months of the year each bring to mind different smells, though not shapes or colors.”
Later…I don’t want to create an even longer post by excerpting more comments, so please read all of them. Good stuff, esp. one by speedwell.
Much later…And J’s comment. Too cool.
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If I still had the crazy traffic of my political blogging days, LBC Media would be an influential one-woman PR agency.
I’d work long, hard, and passionately for my clients. Hanson, Rissi Palmer, and all the others could fire their PR people and hire me! 
Hey, you’ve got to have dreams and seemingly impossible-to-reach goals, or life loses its color. Challenges make the heart race and the adrenaline flow. Thinking big transports us from the sometimes mundane existence of day-to-day living. It’s stimulating to plot, plan, and execute each step toward a goal. Taking risks, no matter how small or unimportant those risks may appear to others, is what makes life…fun. (I work from home, sometimes in my pajamas, because I took a risk three years ago and quit a boring 9-5 job to start my own business.)
And certain well-connected people might be reading your blog. (Or following you on Twitter.)
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Back on the east coast. It’s raining. 
Looking for more evidence of digital music downloading’s impact on CD sales? Remember 12-CDs-for-a-penny music clubs? At least one is closing down. BMG Music Service announced that it would close shop by 2010. CDs sales are down, and DVDs aren’t selling well, either. From the article:
One of the problems music continuity clubs face is the growing popularity of MP3 players, which give consumers access to music whenever they want it.
“Consumers want control of the process instead of the other way around, like it used to be,” Benjamin says. As a result, “continuity is in the process of reinvention” as clubs try to figure out how to give members more control. She points to HCI’s Silkies hosiery club, which now allows members to decide how often they want shipments as an example.
The growth of digital music is behind Bertelsmann’s decision to shut down the BMG Music Service club, company representatives said during its annual analyst meeting in March. The company’s US CD business fell in line with market declines in physical music sales, which dropped off by more than 20% in 2007, according to Bertelsmann. The US DVD club also didn’t perform well, and Bertelsmann is considering shutting it down, too. Book clubs, however, are relatively stable.
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I don’t read Ebony magazine regularly, but I’m buying a copy this month so I can read, “What Does Black Sound Like?,” an article I assume is about diverse music styles and genres among black artists.
Yesterday my brother told me about Miko Marks (click on music tab), a black country-singing woman featured in the article. Her songs sound more like traditional country than Rissi Palmer’s, and she’s been around longer. I’ve added her to my list of artists to interview and meet.
The word “diversity” has been sullied by liberals’ use of it as they obsessively focus on the color of people’s skin at the expense of what really matters, so I hesitate to use it. The connotation is a negative one for this political conservative. The kind of diversity I dig goes deeper than mere skin color. I’m talking about diverse ideas and in this case, diverse musical styles. As many of you already know, black American music extends beyond R&B and rap. I remember when the black hard rock/metal band Living Colour hit the scene back in the 80s. I was crazy about lead singer Corey Glover, thrashing around on stage with multicolored extensions in his hair. The memories.
I admit, however, I was a little shocked when I found out actor Will Smith’s wife Jada fronted a “nu metal” band called Wicked Wisdom. Wild. I don’t like the sound, but I applaud Jada for pushing boundaries and exploring the terrain.
I’ll write more about diversity among black artists on and off the blog. If you know or have heard about black artists in “non-black” music genres (or just want to respond to this post), please leave their names in the comment section.
Rest easy, everybody.
Unrelated Update: It makes no sense that I’m this excited about seeing “Prince Caspian” this afternoon.
9:35 a.m. PT: Social media’s useful after all. I just found out on Twitter that David Perlmutter, author of a new book called Blogwars: The New Political Battleground, recently appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Perlmutter interviewed me for the book a few years ago, but I didn’t think I’d make the cut. Lo, and behold, I did! On page 19, he calls me an attorney (which I’m not), wrote that my blog was “well cited by many leading conservative blogs” (which it was), and that I “attacked” him in a post (which I didn’t).
Perlmutter’s referring to a post I wrote called Peasants Don’t Blog, where I commented on an article he wrote about blog hype. Why do some people consider critiques an attack? Geez. It’s good copy, though.
Although Perlmutter misspelled my first name in the index, I’m pleased overall that he found my blog worthy of mention. On page 20 he quoted at length from a post called The Immorality of Race Preferences.
Publicist, if you want to send me a review copy, here’s my snail mail info. I’ll review the book on the blog, but I can’t (or shouldn’t) review it for a news site or print publication. Because I appear in it, there’d be a conflict of interest, or something like that.
I’m still experiencing the residual effects of a once-popular political blog. Nice memories for the most part. But I’d like to see myself quoted in books and articles about digital tech, music (Christian and non-Christian), the changing music industry (a good start), pop culture, fan culture (a new fascination), etc. And one day soon, I hope to see my own book for sale on Amazon.
Back to work!
Addendum: Music to work by (turn it up!):
by La Shawn on May 13, 2008
in Faith
Wednesday, May 14: Check out my review of Finding Purpose in Narnia: Journey with Prince Caspian. The Prince Caspian movie trailer is awesome. Click on the link at the end of the review.
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10:48 a.m. PT: Becoming a Christian produced profound changes in me. One of them was seeing people clearly for the first time, especially fellow believers.
As I read about the lives of the disciples and the apostles, I experienced a transcendent awe that words can’t describe. I, La Shawn Barber, born 2,000 years after the fact, worshiped the same God as those men and women. They shared the same Gospel and tried to impart the same truths about the person of Jesus Christ, his sinlessness, his sacrifice, and his deity. And they, too, struggled to live a life that glorifies him.
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3:19 p.m. PT: Whenever I feel like blogging (like today), I have a ton of other stuff to do (like today). When I have free time to blog, I don’t feel like blogging. For instance, I feel like blogging some more, but I have to finish a book review (due tomorrow), do some heavy lifting on my book proposal, and I just finished a telephone interview with Essence magazine. I don’t think I can mention what the story’s about yet, and I’m not certain my quotes will make the cut. I’ll let you know!
Anyway, let’s talk about bands and fans.
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11:24 a.m. PT: Dealing with illegal “immigration” as an identity theft/Social Security fraud issue is very effective. Don’t tell me the United States doesn’t have the manpower to slow down border jumping or find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens. We know who and where they are.
The question is, are we willing to do what it takes, within the law, to enforce our own laws? The only thing at stake is a little idea called the “rule of law.” No big deal.
Related posts:
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7:15 a.m. PT: Writing is something I’ve felt compelled (in a good way) to do most of my life. I never thought I’d be able to support myself with it. But I am. Well, I blog for a living. I blog for businesses. Blogging is writing, but it’s a different kind of writing. The ultimate goal is to make a living writing books and articles, not updating blogs.
Writing has always been a part of who I am, but it was still a hobby for many years. A few years ago, I managed to turn it into a profession. The thing about writing is that you never know when and how it will pay off. Feeling like you have no choice but to write certainly helps keep you motivated, payoff or not.
If you surfed here from Google looking for political news, I have none for you. But maybe you can get something out of this visit by answering two questions. Regular readers, I’d like to hear from you, too.
Perhaps you’re a musician struggling to make a living, but one who is compelled to make music whether or not it pays the bills. Or maybe you have a hobby that makes the 9-5 grind easier to take. Your job isn’t challenging enough, or it’s too stressful, or downright boring. Engaging in a hobby can keep you sane.
1) Is there something you feel you must do (teach, preach, write, draw, make music, etc.)?
2) If you could, would you try to make a career (part time or full time) doing it?
Update (5/9): Here’s what stinks about being a writer: pitching an idea to an editor, not hearing from the editor, reading a story based on your idea sometime later, and knowing the editor got the article idea from you. That’s the way it goes sometimes. Still stinks. 
But I’ll have a good weekend, anyway 
And I hope you do, too.
by La Shawn on May 7, 2008
in General
12:36 p.m. PT: Lunch break!
6:09 a.m. PT: I’m working on a proposal for a book I know won’t appeal to the masses.
We live in a niche world. In fact, we’ve always lived in a niche world. We just didn’t know it. Before the Internet, we were stuck with whatever brick-and-mortar stores had to offer or whatever DJs played. Everybody we knew watched the same TV shows and movies and listened to the same songs.
These days, blockbusters and hits still exist, (Have you seen “Iron Man?”), but we have a lot more books, movies, and TV shows to choose from (Amazon, Netflix). The Internet has exposed a world of products and services that people used to see only in their dreams. That world now exists in the long tail of reality. In fact, some say there’s too much choice. Filters (recommendations, reviews, ratings) help narrow down some of those choices.
There is a very distinct audience for my proposed book. My job is to sell the idea to an agent, to spread the passion like a contagion. With the anticipated tie-ins and marketing approach I have in mind, I know this book will sell well among its niche audience. And I know I’m the best person to write it.
Starting something new + Daring to be bold + Doing the unexpected = Adrenaline rush!
(Hat tip: Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby)
Tuesday, May 6 @ 6:42 a.m. PT: Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone!
I met country singer Rissi Palmer last Friday at the Stagecoach Festival. The photo of us isn’t the best quality, but there it is. As people I meet often tell me about my photos, Rissi’s photos don’t do her justice. She’s downright radiant. I reviewed the show for Blog Critics. I’ll link when it’s up.
Later…Check out the review.
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Wednesday, May 14: Check out my review of Finding Purpose in Narnia: Journey with Prince Caspian. The Prince Caspian movie trailer is awesome. Click on the link at the end of the review.
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May 1 @ 8:12 a.m. PT: I have a review copy of a book called Finding Purpose in Narnia: A Journey with Prince Caspian. Written by Gina Burkhart, an English professor, the book explores Christian themes in C.S. Lewis’s second book of the seven-book Narnia series.
In the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie go through a wardrobe and discover a magical kingdom ruled by the evil White Witch. Along with Aslan the lion (a Christ figure), the four defeat the witch and become kings and queens of Narnia.
In Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, over 1,000 years have passed in Narnia since the four Pevensie kids were there (although only a year has lapsed in their time). An evil king has overtaken Caspian’s throne, and the young prince calls on Narnia’s former kings and queens to help him recover it.
As I’m sure you’re aware, Prince Caspian the movie opens on May 16. I blogged very briefly about it on my old fantasy for Christians blog. The first movie made close to $300 million, and no doubt this one will equal or surpass that number. Check out the trailer. Well done.
Read more about the movie at NarniaWeb and NarniaFans.
Related posts:
