Open for business!

Welcome to the inaugural post of my new blog, Shiny’s Takeout. This blog marks the dawn of a new era.

For the past several years, I have been a member of a blogging community called Mindsay. It’s truly been a wonderful experience for me — as it’s a great community with a whole lot of people whom I’ve gotten to know (and some of whom I’ve met in person). It’s also challenged me to write more — especially the satire and commentary I used to write on a regular basis for the school newspaper during my university years. I have not shut down my shiny@mindsay blog, nor do I intend to distance myself from the community.

So — why a new blog?

I wrote a blog post on my Mindsay blog a week ago. A rather clever one with a sardonic ending. And I received a compliment from a good friend and Mindsay colleague which I had heard many times before: that I should write a syndicated column. (Which I have — see above.) This doesn’t mean that I’m going to race off to the local newspaper and beg for a writing job. That’s simply unrealistic. But it made me think: I’ve had a great audience over at Mindsay for a while now. Although my blog is world-readable (aside from a few posts I choose to make private), I feel that this environment will be able to let me speak to a broader audience.

Furthermore, I’ve restarted my Blogtalkradio show, Shiny Talks Too Much. In my wanderings around BTR I’ve found some new friends with their own blogs and readership. It really opened my eyes to what I could possibly achieve. That and one of my newfound friends commenting, slightly drunk, that she “couldn’t get to the motherfucking blog without entering a password.” Why not make this more widely available to the general public to comment as well? It’s kind of like the Showtime series “Dexter” which is now being aired, albeit in a blander form, on CBS. Except that, in this case, a wider audience doesn’t mean my language will be any less colorful. Oh — and the fact that I’m not playing a serial killer.

Here’s how I think of it: my old blog was similar to me being on a cable-access show in Hopkinsville, KY. And it’s a show I love and in which I have an emotional stake. My friends watch the show regularly, and some of them even work on the show on and off camera. And the show isn’t only broadcast to those living in the city limits, but also those in the greater Christian County area. People praise me. They laugh at my jokes. It’s as if I’m a celebrity — no, wait. It’s as if I’m an SNL cast member who people look towards for entertainment! But I keep myself in check and realize that I’m more of a Gary Kroeger than a Rob Riggle. Which probably demonstrates nothing more than the fact that I watch too much late-night television.

Anyway — let’s say that someone from the big city — Owensboro, KY (don’t laugh — it’s the third largest in Kentucky and the self-proclaimed “BBQ Capital of the World”) offered me a show on in a larger medium. Something which might not just be on cable access, but rather on local community cable. Something with more flair. More production value. Something with a bitchin’ craft services table. You get my drift. I wouldn’t want to forget my roots, but I’d still have that drive to make it on Broadway! (Or Owensboro’s equivalent, “Route 67 between the county line and Mr. Ezra’s spitoonery and tobacconist shop.”) I’d have more drive to succeed. I’d practice more so I could compete with the rest of Owensboro’s finest.

And that’s what I’m doing here. I bought myself a domain name and some hosting, learned a little bit more about WordPress and CSS, and am entering the wider world of the blogosphere. Perhaps I’ll get some more attention. People might enjoy my writing. But I’ll have the drive and motivation to perfect it and fine tune it for this new audience. Maybe I’ll crash and burn and realize I’m a better fit solely at Mindsay. We’ll see what happens.

I’m going to use this as an opportunity to exercise my creativity more. Simply posting a YouTube video or a newspaper article might cut it in the small time, but it won’t cut it here. Neither will my sporadic blogging style. I’m going to focus on writing for the sake and love of writing. Some of the stuff will be funny and some of it won’t (intentionally or otherwise). I may succeed or I may suck. But if I suck, I’ll be sure to suck regularly. Consistency is key.

Because this is a new audience, I’m going to look through my 1300+ entries on Mindsay and repost some of the good ones (perhaps with some revisions). It’ll be nice to see what a new community thinks of it. And I’ll continue to steal “memes” from others out there — as long as they force me to remain creative and consistent.

And that’s what it’s all about. Hope to see some of you around for a bit…

(No residents of Kentucky were harmed in the posting of this blog entry.)