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.

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)

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.

(more…)

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:

• “Christian” Elements in Fiction
• Temptation, Disobedience, Forgiveness, and Redemption in Narnia

You may recall that she was exposed as a liar. She’s not half Indian, didn’t grow up in a foster home, and wasn’t a gang member. See Crips, Bloods, and Rats for background.

In a video recorded before she was exposed, she explains what her “life” was like. Margaret Seltzer has serious fantasy want-to-be-down issues. Homies. I still can’t get over that. I haven’t heard anybody talk like that in years. Anyway, watch and listen as Seltzer makes up stuff. With a straight face:

Lots more information at Media Assassin.

(Hat tip: Galley Cat)

You may recall that the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) sued a couple for transferring copyrighted digital music files to a peer-to-peer network (P2P) called Kazaa.

According to an earlier RIAA motion for summary judgment, Jeffrey Howell admitted to loading Kazaa file-sharing software onto his computer and placing the files at issue into the folder. The court granted the motion for summary judgment. (A summary judgment means that a court makes a judgment in a case without a full trial.)

Howell later said he admitted no such thing. In his motion to reconsider, he admitted creating a Kazaa account, installing Kazaa software, and authorizing “certain types of files to be shared through KaZaA.” But he denied placing copyrighted files into the shared folder or authorizing sharing those files. He claims that his computer placed the files into the Kazaa folder.

It wasn’t me. It was my computer! Sounds strange (as a defense), but it makes a difference legally.

The RIAA filed another motion for summary judgment. On Monday, a federal court denied it on two grounds. Download the 17-page order in PDF.

As I mentioned before, the RIAA wants to nab people on a “make available” claim. If a user has placed copyrighted files in a P2P folder, the files have been made available for distribution. Regardless of whether the user intends to distribute the files or actually distributes the files, he has infringed copyright and should be held liable.

(more…)

7:41 a.m. PT: I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve talked trash about California:

“Hey, if the Mexicans want California, give it to them!”

“Full of liberals and illegal aliens!”

“If the entire state sank into the Pacific, would anybody care?”

“Hollywood and gangs. Corrupt and dangerous!”

But every time I travel here to visit my sister (who works full time and attends John MacArthur’s Master’s College), it’s always a pleasant shock to the system. I’m so used to DC’s overcast days, the bright sun is jarring. I wake up to sunshine and a view of the hills, and I forget whatever it is I don’t like about the “left coast.” Sis thinks I should move out here, especially since I’m interested in how digital technology is changing the music industry. I can learn about that anywhere, thanks to digital tech, but doing it in California certainly has its advantages.

Food for thought…

Addendum: I talked trash about Twitter, too. Now look who’s twittering. Still Facebooking and MySpacing.

Reading about the struggles of fellow Christians is always heartening. No man is without sin, but it’s encouraging to know that one can overcome specific sins. I’m reading a book called Secret Sex Wars: A Battle Cry For Purity, a collection of essays written by black Christian men about sexual sin — how to break the chains, how to strive toward God’s requirement of holiness, etc.

I met one contributor at my sister’s church yesterday. (I’m in CA visiting sis for a couple of weeks.) Paul Felix co-wrote the introduction and penned an essay in the book titled “Living According to the Will of God.” Other essays include “Learning from Men Who Have Fallen,” “Putting Sin to Death,” and “Training Our Sons to Overcome Sexual Temptation.”

Secret Sex Wars was edited by Robert Scott, an instructor at the Los Angeles Bible Training School and a professor at Biola University (in La Mirada, CA), organizer and sponsor of the annual God Blog Conference.

Related post:

• Chastity in the City

Always reminded of the Stepin Fetchit stereotype whenever black liberal politicians open their mouths, I’m pleased the court understands that no matter who you are, what color, or how old, you’re expected to be a responsible, law-abiding citizen reasonably intelligent enough to get yourself down to the local DMV and obtain a driver’s license or non-driver’s license ID before you can vote.

If you’re not, shuffle along.

Previous posts:

• Before the Supreme Court: Voter ID Case
• More on Georgia’s Voter ID Law

Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!

The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”

I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

The LORD has chastened me severely [indeed!], but he has not given me over to death.

Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.

I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

– Psalm 118:4-24

He mentions my “self-imposed celibacy.” To clarify, I am not celibate, which, although defined as abstention, is vowing not to marry. I have not vowed such a thing. I wish to marry, but I will remain abstinent until I do. The distinction is important for people struggling with this issue. Giving up sex is not synonymous with giving up on or avoiding marriage.

Anyway, I’m en route to the left coast. See you next week, and rest easy!
————————————————————————————————————————

I’m sure there are lots of chaste women living in cities all across America, but “Chastity in the City” doesn’t sell in Hollywood.

By chaste, I mean voluntarily abstaining from sex until marriage and from extramarital sex while married. Journalist, blogger, and author Dawn Eden says chastity is much more than being sexually abstinent or faithful. Check out her interview with John Hawkins of Right Wing News.

Buy a copy of Dawn’s book, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On.

Is it worth buying? Read my review.

I’m considering writing a similar book about my road to sexual abstinence, among other things. I became abstinent shortly before becoming a Christian (I was going through a “Look at me. Aren’t I a good person?” phase), but it took on a spiritual meaning once I surrendered to Christ.

There is a crisis, to understate the matter, in the black community. About 75 percent (more in some cities) of black babies in the U.S. are born out-of-wedlock. That women should keep their legs closed until marriage is considered a naïve notion at best and a sexist/oppressive one at worst. Subversive is what it is.

Some people are offended by the expression “keep your legs closed.” Is it vulgar? Perhaps, but so is having babies with several different men without being married to any of them. What about the man’s responsibility? He shares it, for sure, but the book I have in mind will be geared toward young women, black women in particular, who either don’t know what God requires of them and those who know and don’t care, and somewhere along the way lost respect for themselves and forgot who they are in Christ.

I’ve written reams on illegitimacy and its impact on children. No point reinventing the microchip. Look up terms like “out-of-wedlock” and “fatherless.”

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.

(more…)

Have you heard? Flickr users with Pro accounts ($25 a year) can now upload videos along with photos (90-second limit). I’ve got at least 50 short clips from family gatherings and other events going back to 2005. They were on two hard drives, waiting patiently for me to convert them to an acceptable format and upload them to YouTube. Sometimes, procrastination is worth the effort.

With Flickr, you don’t have to convert the videos. Just upload from a digital camera as is. Solid.

My brother snapped that photo of me last month as I prepared to do a cheerleader jump. (I was a cheerleader eons ago in 8th and 9th grades.) He was laughing at me, naturally. We were on a soccer field, there was a nice breeze blowing, and I was feeling kind of, well, youthful. I did a cartwheel, too. It wasn’t half bad for an almost 41-year-old who hasn’t done a cartwheel since…man, where has the time gone?

Head over to Flickr and start uploading!

I had the pleasure of interviewing country singer Rissi Palmer a couple of weeks ago for Christian Music Today. She spoke openly about her faith and its influence on her debut album and career.

Check it out.

Also see my review of Rissi’s album and Glimpses of God: Hanson: The Walk.

Talking to Rissi was like chatting with an old friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. One of the many goals I have with this music blogging/writing episode of my life is getting artists to open up, on the record, about their faith.

My nine-year-old niece, who’s taking guitar lessons, had a blast watching Rissi playing the guitar on YouTube. My sister, niece, and I are going to the Stagecoach Festival in California next month (three days before my birthday) to see Rissi’s performance, meet her (and ask about her fabulous hair), and grab a backstage photo or two. It’s a surprise for my niece and a journalist-fangirl moment for me.

(more…)