The Write Stuff

All good things must come to an end, including this blog.

Is this the end? Maybe. I hope not. But maybe.

People want to pay me to write, which is another good thing, and one that I don't want to pass up. And I am currently in over my head.

I am writing more than ever for Paste Magazine. I recently finished a lengthy feature article on poetry slams, an article on San Francisco band Birdmonster, my regular back-of-the-issue column on Talk Talk, and three album reviews.

I just finished my first batch of album reviews for All Music Guide. Reviews of Birdmonster, Bernard Fanning (Powderfinger), and Ollabelle should be available online over the next few weeks as the albums are officially released.

I am trying, somewhat feebly, to put together a book -- tentative title Confessions of a Born-Again Asshole. Look for it at a Christian Family Bookstore near you, right next to the posters of puppies and kitties with inspirational Bible verses. Or maybe not.

And I am about to accept the job as Music Editor of a new website called RiverWired.com. Don't look for it yet. It's not there. But it will be there. Nick Purdy, founder of Paste, recruited me, and I'm excited about the prospects. Basically, the idea is to combine the best aspects of sites such as MySpace and Flickr with the more community-oriented aspects of newsgroups and discussions lists. Members will be able to share music, videos, and photos, and read site-supplied content on a variety of channels -- with the Arts (music, films, books), and Social Activism (Bono's One Campaign, Environmentalism, etc. ) -- being prime components. Members can also add their own content via postings within the channels, links to blogs, etc. It's not exactly a brand new thing, but nobody's combined the elements in quite this way before, and I'm pretty psyched. This will require 15 - 20 hours of my time each week.

And, oh yeah, I'm also working a 40+ hour per week job designing a training course for one of the cumbersome organizations that make up the unwieldy bureaucracy known as the State of Ohio. Gotta love that regular paycheck, too.

The bottom line? I'm maxed out.

It's all good. Really good, in fact. But something has (or somethings have) to give. I won't say goodbye. I trust I'll be back when I can. But if I am uncommunicative here, I hope you understand. Thanks, loyal readers (both of you) for reading.