…to me!
Older and a wee bit wiser (late bloomer).
Special thanks to all the folks on Facebook for the Happy Birthday wishes. 
From the category archives:
Me, Me, Me
***Scroll down for updates***
Since I started blogging about digital music late last year, I’ve heard from readers who say they don’t listen to popular music but find the whole illegal downloading and file sharing debate interesting.
Others have suggested artists and bands I might like, and some said they’ve become fans of artists I blogged about. Some of you have turned me on to new artists and new sounds. I may buy a track or two or three. I rarely buy albums. Rarer still will I buy a physical CD. In fact, I may never buy another CD, unless a favorite band decides to release a new album on CD only.
The point is that in a small way, readers and I have been engaged in “digital discovery.”
Musically
In the digital age, it’s both easy and difficult to find new bands and artists. Let’s take file sharing web sites out of the equation for a moment. If someone suggests an artist or band, and you want to hear the music, all you’d need to do (most of the time) is surf to the artist’s or band’s site and listen to a song. Hopefully, they’ll have at least two songs available for full streaming. If not, the artist or band probably has a MySpace page, where you can listen to full versions of a few songs. In this way, the Internet has made music discovery easy.
Back in the day, people bought music based on what they heard on the radio. If bands (esp. independent) can’t get radio airplay, how do they get their music out there for discovery? They need to promote like crazy, online and offline, and allow users to listen to full versions of their songs.
On the other hand, there are “tens of millions” of music tracks out there. People who create and promote this music are competing with each other for our attention, which is already stretched to capacity. With scarce attention and a seemingly limitless supply of stuff out there (again, thanks to the Internet), finding new artists that we might like is difficult.
I was so busy this week, I forgot about my “blogiversary.” On Monday, November 5, this blog turned four years old. LBC has received about 3.9 million unique visitors since I signed up with Site Meter in May 2004.
Once again, thanks for reading my blog. 
Blogging is in the blood, baby.
Update (11/10): My new title: Writer-in-Residence at Biola University.
About Vegas: If you had no conscience and a lot of money, you could have a really good time/get in big trouble (the same thing, in most cases!). Now I know why people say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
That’s all I’m saying.
Update II (11/11): Biola London? Hmmm…
Update III (11/12): Likewise, John Mark. See you next year, Godbloggers!
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Tuesday, May 8: Thanks very much for the well wishes, everyone! I appreciate the comments, e-mails, and gifts. It’s easy to look at a birthday as a “new beginning,” especially a “milestone” like 40, but I’m getting my second wind. My life has changed significantly in the last 10 years, and I hope the next ten will be even better. What next, God?
Thanks, again!
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Today I’m 40! Whoa…
I’m thinking only happy thoughts today. That means NO politics. No news. No surfing. Just hanging out with family and friends, celebrating my 40th year on the planet. It will be a happy day.
My before-I-turn-40-goal from last year was to have a book deal by now. You know, I’d probably have one if I weren’t such a procrastinator and bad prioritizer. I’m focused on maintaining and acquiring new consulting work (must come first - bills, bills, bills!), keeping up with this blog, and trying to crank out columns. There are ready, willing, and able folks waiting for me to put pen to paper and send a proposal.
To make it so, I’ll have to let something go. Temporarily. Or else give up sleep. Or my offline life.
Wish me luck!
Happy birthday to me! And thanks for reading LBC. And the other blog.
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Update II (12/20): Some truth, much exaggeration…and a bit of blog envy? More on media bashing.
Update (12/19): Fellow Examiner Blog Board of Contributors blogger Dan Gillmor on “Citizen media is shifting power back to the people.”
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AND YOU, TOO, bloggers, blog readers, Wikipedians, YouTube-ers, and everyone else who contributes to and consumes a growing pile of information — user-generated content — on the web.
It’s a gimmick, but I’ll bite.
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Deborah Howell, Washington Post Ombudsman
ombudsman@washpost.com
Dear Ms. Howell,
In yesterday’s Washington Post, you bemoaned the excess of white male opinion writers and columnists and the paucity of blacks and females.
You wrote that the Washington area is “a remarkably diverse region, and that should be better reflected in columnist jobs†and proceeded to list the paper’s columnists according to section, sex, and race. Especially notable was the number of white men in the opinion pages. Out of 20 op-ed writers, 17 are men, three are women, one man was born in India, and two men are black.
With all due respect, the title of your column is somewhat misleading. “Diversity of Opinion†is what the paper should be concerned about, but its chief concern seems to be diversity of skin hues, not of opinion.
This is where I come in.
You wrote:
So how could The Post increase diversity as the staff and space for stories got smaller? It wouldn’t be easy, but here are some thoughts. On the op-ed pages, don’t run all the columnists all the time. Create some space for new voices. In Close to Home, make a point of seeking out more women and minorities. Outlook can also bring in more such voices.
More women and minorities… that’s noble but very predictable. Might I add a third category? Why not add more conservative writers to the roster? If you want diversity of opinion, as your column title indicates, it will require the paper to publish pieces written from a non-liberal worldview, one that differs from the view of the current editorial board and stable of writers.
And the Post can begin with my voice. First, I’m black. BAM! Second, I’m a woman. BOOM! Best of all, I’m a conservative. ZING! By hiring me as an op-ed writer, the good liberal folks at the Post would kill three diversity birds with one proverbial stone. How cool is that?
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Although I’m not the kind of blogger who’d apologize for light posting, I feel I ought to warn people who come here every day and expect lots of fresh content.
My blog has grown so much in the past three years because of the time and energy I’ve put into it. That hasn’t left me with much of a social life. My blog has been my baby, my business, and — I hate to say it this way — my life. Although I will continue blogging, I’m at the point where I need to release this blog’s hold on my time. I wish I could be a blogging and writing Wonder Woman like Michelle Malkin (I have yet to figure out how she does it!), but I just don’t seem to have the knack.
I noticed that she and other bloggers tend to mix in short posts with longer ones, but if I can’t write a decent longish essay-type post, I figure, why bother? I blog long, and I’ve never wanted to post five or ten short posts a day like others do. I don’t know. I’m weird that way.
I want to get to a point where this blog supplements my writing rather than my writing supplementing the blog. I tend to write off-blog articles to bring people to my blog, and at this point in my life/career, that’s the wrong focus. I want to be known primarily as a writer with a blog and not a blogger who writes the occasional article.
I’ve slowly let go of my “concern†with rankings. Like many bloggers, I do watch my Site Meter and TTLB position, but much less so than I used to. I owe that to a change of direction. I suppose I’m going through a pre-midlife crisis crisis; I’ll be 40 real soon, and just as I began writing for publication when I turned 35, I need to refocus and get back on track to do what I started out to do: consistent publication.
This blog has been a pleasant and profitable side-track, but it’s time to take risks the way I used to and channel some of this blog-energy into other pursuits. In the pipeline: a book review for Christianity Today, an article for the Christian Research Journal, and a book proposal for a Christian book publisher. Book editors have pursued me, and I foolishly dragged my feet. Why? Fear of success, fear of failure, laziness…There are no guarantees the proposal will sell, but my feet-dragging days are over. God has guided another editor into my path. I think he’s trying to tell me something…
As I take the time to pursue writing assignments and engage more in life off-line, blogging will be somewhat lighter than it already is. In fact, blogging this week will be light. I’m presently in my native South Carolina and will travel to California for Thanksgiving. I have family and friends to see, clients to serve, a column to crank out, and a new diversion to enjoy.
Once again, thank you for reading LBC.
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…but I’m taking a brief blogging break. The best part of life has been passing me by (whoosh!) and I need to start enjoying it, if only for a few days.
I’ll return shortly.
Three years ago this week, I decided to start a weird-sounding web site called a “blog” because I didn’t think enough people were reading my opinions. You’ve heard this story before.
Three years later, I can’t believe public ranting and raving has been so good to me.
Other bloggers travel to hear me speak, and a few journalists have written about me and quoted me. I’m actually making a living, barely, blogging for myself and for others. Over 4,000 visitors a day click on my URL to find out what I think about the latest news and to read about my faith.
There will be no colorful “Happy Anniversary!” graphics today. I’m humbled by your readership and thoughtful feedback. LBC has received about 2.7 million visitors since its inception. Thanks for reading, and God willing, I’ll be here for another three years.
(By the way, I usually forget the exact date of my entry into the blogosphere. I thought it was Nov. 8, but it’s actually Nov. 5.)
Related post:
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Update (9/12): Instead of recoiling in disgust at the typo the editor and I missed, I’ll make a sport of it. See if you can spot the tiny typo in my otherwise OK book review of Juan Williams’s Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America — and What We Can Do About It.
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- A story in the Baltimore Sun about blogging — World wide gab — and a podcast link in the sidebar.
- Download (MP3) an interview with Stacy Harp (It was on a Friday and I was in a silly mood - the most unusual interview I’ve done in awhile).
Monday, July 24: The interview was for an article (about blogging) and a tentative podcast for the Baltimore Sun. The article will be published in late August. I’ll keep you posted. One reason I think the interview went very well is because the story won’t be political. And the journalist isn’t the typical left-leaning type with a typical leftist slant already in mind.
Last year I was interviewed by a reporter from the Baltimore Sun for a story on actor Morgan Freeman’s remarks about Black History Month. Freeman said the whole thing is ridiculous and unnecessary. I agreed. My quotes weren’t included in the story. In fact, the only quotes included were from people who support BHM and disagreed with Freeman.
Update (7/20): The Pew Internet and American Life Project has released a new report on blogging. Among the findings: most blogs are personal and over half the bloggers surveyed were under 30. The researchers felt it necessary to point out that bloggers are more ethnically diverse than ordinary Internet users.
The sample size is small. I’m confident that somebody, somewhere is working on a massive blogging survey.
I’m doing an interview this afternoon with a national newspaper for an article and/or podcast. The topic? What else?
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Look at those big blue balls! (And “brown” ones, too!) I didn’t know Uranus and Neptune were that much larger than Earth, did you? But there is no life on those planets.
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Why is this woman smiling?
I’ve been on a roll with the racial stuff lately. One of my disgruntled detractors finds it disturbing that I always seem to end up “siding” with the race other than my own. Sometimes it’s incidental; other times deliberate. Others are upset that I seem to always blog about race. In fact, I’ve got three draft posts, all race-related, screaming to be published. I’ve explained why I take that approach, but if you’re not a regular, long-time reader and just a casual reader who checks the archives now and then or never, you probably missed it. Check Do You Hate Black People? and other posts. This post may be helpful, too.
Although I never intended to write about race and politics so much in my long-ago bi-weekly column and on this blog, racial topics take up a lot of my bandwidth. I’m drawn to such topics. I hear and read opinions about race and read opinions disguised as news stories about race in mainstream media, and left-leaning reporters seldom get it “right.”
I focus on the media because, like it or not, they are influential. I’m a commentator, not a community activist, so my focus is on how politicians, organizations, the media, and entertainment industry portray blacks. Individual blacks I know work hard and try to live their lives in peace, but system-wide, race-based group preferences have fostered a disturbing entitlement mentality. If all else fails, one can always use skin color to lodge a complaint.
I’ve been tempted, but I refuse to do it.
For the most part, liberals see minorities as oppressed. I see them as blessed, fortunate to live in a free, vibrant country where they can succeed if they dare. When liberals write about race, they begin from a position of weakness: that blacks are put-on children who need government to survive. I start from a position of strength: that individual blacks who’ve shaken off the victim robes and embraced America’s vast opportunities can and do succeed, and that big government intrusions have provided strong incentives not to try.
The whites-as-oppressors thing is so old, and I frankly don’t care if it exists in the real world or only in people’s minds. But there are too many people who make a living perpetuating its existence. As long as they do, I’ll keep blogging and speaking about race from a totally unexpected and out-of-the-mainstream point of view, and as often as I deem necessary.
Make sense? If not, read the archives (beginning in late 2003) and read this blog every day.
On a final note, I must clear up a misconception about this conservative. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t push the “colorblind” idea because I think it’s stupid. We couldn’t ignore differences if we tried. That’s not the way God made us. He created a truly diverse universe that is beautiful and awesome. Its various colors, shapes, and sizes are pleasing to the eye. I won’t pretend we’re all the same except for skin color. We are all part of the American culture, but each of us is also part of a sub-cultural group. These have much in common, but they also have their differences.
(God, in his infinite and unknowable wisdom, created different racial groups for his own purpose. It is not unbiblical for us to recognize and acknowledge differences between and within those groups. Spiritually, though, there are no differences. Each of us will be judged for our sins, and “racism” or “superiority” won’t excuse those sins. God’s elect belong to all racial groups, and he saves them without regard to race. He is a true equal opportunity Employer.)
We can no more ignore these differences than we could a mack truck barreling down the street as we go to cross it. What I advocate is colorblind government policy, which is definitely do-able. As long as “affirmative action” exists, however, and government tries to justify it, we will never have colorblind policy. As long as this hypocrisy flourishes, you’ll hear from me. As long as blacks embrace the double standard, I’ll keep blogging and writing about how wrong it is. As far as I can tell, I’m one of only a few doing so consistently and honestly.
If my posts disturb you and cause you discomfort, you have my sympathy. You really do. Take a pill, stop reading the blog and pick up a book instead, start working out — whatever you need to do to relieve the stress, because I promise you this: It’s going to get a lot worse.
Update: Commenter Tiffany says:
Your post on ‘Do You Hate Black People’ helped me to understand you a lot better in terms of what you feel called to do and though I don’t always agree with you, I can definitely respect your convictions. I admire folk with conviction.
With that being said, I think that some on your readers relish when you make these types of posts because it allows them to say the things they really *wish* they could say about black folks but probably don’t in public. Being an avid reader of your site for some time know, the commentary tends to be really reflective and constructive in the beginning of the thread and tends to descend into “piling on” of the Negroes by the thread’s end.
That is just my general observation…Otherwise keep it coming!
Thanks for being a regular reader, Tiffany, and you’re right. People sometimes will use what I say for nefarious purposes and pile it on. But as I’ve written before, that’s a risk I take running a public blog open to all eyes. The best I can do is make sure the discussion is civil.
A reader pointed me to this gem by Jason Whitlock:
[Bill] Cosby spoke for nearly an hour. He was funny, articulate, passionate, concise, profound and inspiring. Controversial? Not in any way. He didn’t utter one word or phrase or opinion that I haven’t heard from my parents.
…
He blasted parents for being uninvolved in their kids’ education. He invited guest speakers who shared their own stories of overcoming incredible odds or they talked about the startling negative health, education, murder and poverty statistics impacting black America.
…
Blaming racism is a copout, an admission of inferiority, an easy excuse of the sedated. Cosby wants to help black people realize that in America — even though the country isn’t perfect — the solution to any problem begins with the person with the problem.
Update II (5/26): Commenter Terrence says:
You crack me up… in a good way.
Thanks for your insights. I believe the lure of racial topics in your writing is from a desire to know the truth, even if it make us feel uncomfortable. But that’s a good thing - keep up the good work.
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Monday, May 8: Thanks so much for the birthday wishes! I’ll update this blog sometime today. What shall I blog about? Illegal immigration? The drug-addicted and alcoholic Patrick Kennedy? Yeah, I’ll tell you my “Kennedy story.”
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Full of flaws, yet so divine,
La Shawn Barber is…39!
Lordy, lordy…she’s almost 40!!!
Important before-I-turn-40 goal: A six-figure book deal. OK, five. Four? 
Things to do, people see. No workie for me! See you on Monday. Or Tuesday.
Oh, wait, before I go…have you read Dr. Shelby Steele’s Opinion Journal piece, White Guilt and the Western Past? Overall, I agree, but I have a point or two of contention. Guess what they are. If you like that op-ed, you’ll like this one.
I appeared on a panel last year with Steele (author of newly-released White Guilt) and actor Joseph C. Phillips (author of newly-released He Talk Like A White Boy) as a last-minute replacement. It was awesome, for lack of a better word at the moment. If inclined, read about the discussion. Bye!
(Jesse L. Peterson, me, and Dr. Shelby Steele)
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Update (3/1): There’s a new Christian ezine on the web. Visit and read Christian Women Online!
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It’s funny, in a way, that I have less time to blog now that I’m working from home than when I was working eight hours, five days a week at the day job.
I’m laboring under a couple of deadlines, so I won’t do much blogging today. Tomorrow…we’ll see.
As an aside, my new friend from the endangered species is a fan of Harry Potter. One more thing in common. I love discussing Book 7 theories. (Only die-hard HP fans will understand.)
If you’re bored with the posts at LBC, visit Fantasy Fiction for Christians and The Language Artist. If you’re bored with those, peruse my very long blogroll.
Consider this post “open” to anything you want to discuss (within reason). Announcements? Breaking news? A new blog? New job? New toy? An outstanding post?
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