Not remotely true crime related, just cool

(There was a longer entry up here, but it was too long for what it was, so I decided to post a modified version of what I first published at Random Lunatic News.)

I have good reason to pimp Michael Ian Black's blog, even to readers of this site. The screenwriter/actor/comedian is a very funny man, but he also shows excellent judgment; I now assist Mr. Black in occasionally putting shit up on said blog. He'd recently posted an entry asking for someone to volunteer to do that, and I responded. (Okay, I'm kidding a little on his judgment. I had to go read even more of his online writing to see if there was any sign of substance abuse or mental defect after he e-mailed me in answer to my comment on his blog post, offering my ninja blogging skills. He's clean.)

I had to re-learn some stuff I'd forgotten about the Typepad blog publishing program, but it wasn't too hard once I got the overall lay of the land. I have created 3 banners for Mr. Black's book, My Custom Van, which goes on sale in bookstores everywhere July 15, 2008. The least cluttered, hopefully final version of the banner is what you see there now.

Whatever you do, visit Michael Ian Black's blog and enjoy, if you dare. We all need a break from the crime stories, sometimes.

(To clarify -- Michael said he was fine with me letting people know I was helping him out. Just to be sure I didn't overstep, I asked him if he wanted me to keep any assistance on his blog confidential, and he said no. I'm pretty sure one reason he asked his readers for volunteers for this occasional help is the fact that the guy is on the road a lot, doing his stand-up routine. In July he'll be on the road promoting his book. Only so many hours in the day.)

Radar Magazine!!

This feels like a killer birthday present (no pun intended, seeing as how this is a crime blog).

It looks like I'll be writing for Radar Magazine.

Not only that, I recently discovered that fellow Crime Library alum Seamus McGraw is writing for Radar, and there may even be opportunities for Seamus and I to tag-team some stories that will be of interest to any reader of this blog. Seamus occasionally gave me great advice about this kind of writing when we both were publishing for CL, so it will be awesome to share either online or print space with him again -- because not only does Radar have an excellent website, you can find it on the shelves at your local bookstore, too. I will be submitting both web exclusives to the mag as well as print pieces.

I'm serious about the birthday feeling.

This blog isn't going anywhere, of course, in case that question popped into your head. The sorts of stories Radar might like and what makes it to print here are not always the same, so there will be no overlapping of content, though I will certainly point you towards anything I publish online for Radar.

I've had two professional goals since I realized what I was doing with this whole crime writing thing. One is writing a book. Hopefully more than one. The other goal is writing for a publication like Radar.

More later, I'm off to float around a bit.