Greetings, TLA readers. Just a quick note to let you know I’m still here. I’m working on several projects, and I’ll update you next month. Thanks for reading.

…and confessions.

Et tu, Steve?

Anonymous Lawyer is one of my favorite blogs. It’s a fictional account of a partner in a high-powered law firm, but the real blogger is still in law school (I think). The fictional partner is ruthless, working associates, paralegals, receptionists, and interns like slaves.

Trust me. It’s funny.

The anonymous blogger posts maybe once a week, and although I wished he’d post more often, I understand (a little) why he doesn’t. Law school can be ruthless, too. Speechwriter and blogger Jane Genova is also a fan. In fact, the blog was one of her inspirations for joining the blogosphere. Lately she’s become disenchanted with the Anonymous Lawyer and offers some unsolicited advice:

• Get some classy graphics. The cute primitive phase is over in blog graphics. Actually it was over last April. That’s what designer Paul Chaney of Radiant Marketing Group nicely told me and for a discounted fee did an extreme makeover.
• Post more often. The only other alternative is to abandon the blog and that is never a good idea, say Robert Scoble and Shel Israel in their new book “Naked Conversations: How blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers.” Blogging happens in real time and when there isn’t fresh content readers get annoyed.

Read the whole list. Whatever the blogger decides to do, I hope he keeps blogging.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn….

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2)

Merry Christmas!

When I market my services, I often quote this line: “For every imaginable topic, hobby, or profession, there are blogs.”

But the statement is incomplete. The line should read: “For every imaginable topic, hobby, profession, or peversion, there are blogs.

Blogs can be used for hobbies or business, or to share your faith or opinions on hot issues of the day. Blogs can also be used for perverted reasons. Joseph Duncan, the child molester and murderer who killed 8-year-old Shasta Groene’s mother and brothers and abducted her, blogs about his “demons.” By the grace of God, Shasta still lives, but Duncan is still at large:

Despite law enforcement’s hopes, the 42-year-old computer programmer’s sporadic postings did not give away his location. Instead, the last entries took a disturbed and ominous tone. In a May 11 posting titled “The Demons Have Taken Over,” Duncan hinted of violence in his past and future. “I am scared, alone and confused, and my reaction is to strike out toward the perceived source of my misery, society,” Duncan wrote. “My intent is to harm society as much as I can, then die.” (Source)

If he’s not caught soon, he’ll probably strike again, killing and hurting innocent children. I hope he resumes blogging, and I pray his blog will lead the police directly to his hideout.

Update: I was way off about Duncan. He was captured last Saturday! Excellent. The article I cited said as much, but I missed it. A commenter corrected my error, an example of the immediacy of blogs.

Welcome to my business web site. Although it’s incomplete (I’m editing as you read this), I wanted to end the suspense.

The purpose of the business is still evolving, but the bottom line is to help customers prepare their written material and make it the best it can be at affordable rates. I’ll do everything from typing and editing to writing and ghostwriting. Blog consulting will also be a big part of the business. I will consult for businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals. I’ll have a big advertising campaign cooked up in the next couple of weeks.

Back in January I asked readers to help name the business. One reader suggested “La Shawn’s Language Arts.” I liked it but realized my name is strongly associated with my very political and personal blog. I want to keep the two as separate as possible, so I chose, “The Language Artist.” Blogger John designed the header.

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