New cartoon strip and Internet radio show are eating up all my free time

So much has happened since my last post to this blog. I really don't know where to start. I think I may start to ramble. Please pardon the disconnect.

Before I begin, let me just say how very encouraged I am by the number of visitors "The Spewker" has continued to receive in my absence. Despite the lack of updates for well over 18 months, readers from all over the world continue to visit this site and read my articles. I think it's a testament to the time and effort invested in trying to make this site part of something bigger and better. For all of your past and future patronage, I am eternally grateful.

Feel free to continue to drop by, post comments, and follow outside links. Just a side note about comments: don't post comments that advertise other sites but have no relevance to my articles. None of them will make it past moderation. I'm a stickler about staying true to the real purpose of comments and would never shill my own blog on someone else's site other than to note a true connection.

Now, getting back to me (yes, it is always about me, isn't it?) ... I have finally come to realize that The Spewker was not meant for anything greater than it has already become. My experience with Examiner was also awesome and wonderful in its own way, but that too is now in my past. The time has come to move on.

Not that any of it was a waste of time, mind you. Learning by doing is one of the greatest experiences anyone can ever have. Rather than listening to some seminar guru drone on about how to get from point A to point B, I've had the opportunity to learn first hand what worked and what didn't. In the process, I've become a viral marketing and social networking expert of sorts, and that is valuable training I could never receive from a book or by sitting in a classroom.

If you have the time and ability to live on the fly (because you'll be earning next to nothing if you decide to do this), I highly recommend the trial and error approach for those with viable talent who want to promote themselves online. Justin Bieber did it, and to some extent, so did Colbie Caillat. Now they're living the dream. As the saying goes, cream will rise to the top. It's just a matter of determining whether you have the cream before you start plugging away.

In that regard, I think I've got cream. I write, I draw, I create. I'm also fairly original, although I do keep a pulse on what resonates and what doesn't, then try to create something in the same vein yet different. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Blogging is great and I love the connections I have made online, but obviously I'm looking for more than just Google Ad revenue. I want to be an entertainer. Finally, I think I'm on to something and that's why I'm updating "The Spewker" after an 18-month-plus absence.

This will be (I hope) my last update. Celebrities and politics don't mix, and when they do, it's a recipe for utter disaster. Serious matters are not meant to be treated frivolously. If there's anything I've learned from my Spewker and Examiner experiences, it's that.

Look for me at my new blog, "Reckons of Crass Construction." It's only a month old and already it's becoming a good outlet from views and opinions I could never express at "The Spewker." I'm also using the blog as a launching pad for my latest projects, two fledgling ideas that recently coalesced into coherent and concrete material.

The first is a comic strip I've decided to call "Reality Whore" because what better name for a situation comedy where people will do anything to become rich and famous, even prostitute themselves in the process? I update the strip about once a week (give or take), but still haven't named the two main characters. Yes, I'm open for suggestions. So far the strip has received some pretty positive feedback. I hope the positive continues and that you'll help the strip reach a wider audience by sharing it with friends.

The second project is a half hour news talk comedy program on BlogTalkRadio called "Trivialization of the News." Our third episode will air this Monday, July 5, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and I would love feedback from anyone who happens to read this post or drops by our page. Co-host RafiT and I joke about interesting news headlines in a loose compilaton of odd news, Baltimore news, national news, and celebrity gossip. We also run a weekly contest where we give away a free flag T-shirt to the first person with the correct answer. Last month it was a "Who Said It?" contest. This month, I think we'll change it to movie or TV trivia. Almost anything can happen during the broadcast and generally does. Again, we've received some encouraging feedback about the show. Feel free to weigh in or call during the broadcast for a chance to win the free T-shirt.

Well, that's a wrap. I'm keeping "The Spewker" up because one never knows what may happen. I may need this platform for some other crazy idea I decide to launch. But I hope not. The greatest gift to me would be seeing all of your smiling faces over at "Reckons of Crass Construction" where I'll be blogging my little heart out, at least for the foreseeable future.

Until then, stay sharp and keep on connecting.