1) Music analysis - There are better blogs to find straight music news. What differentiates posts here is a bit of concise analysis. Things like top 10 lists, albums I think may have been overlooked, and reflections on some of my favorite songs over the years. Even if you’re crazy about keeping up to date on the latest scene news, I’ll try to provide material worth reading that you haven’t seen yet.

2) Improv comedy analysis - For a theatre art that has close to no rules, there is an endless amount of topics available for discussion. What exactly IS improvisation? Where does one draw the line between prepared characters/material and things made up entirely on the spot? What exactly does it mean to be “organic” and why is it such a popular buzzword? What are the improv trends in Austin? There’s a lot of room here.

3) Budget audiophile commentary - Without a doubt, the most pageviews I receive on this blog come from people who want to know more about good audio quality on a budget. I’ve written a few articles on headphones as well as iPod FM transmitters. I’ll revisit these topics and find more ways to share my interest on the whole field.

4) Dallas Mavericks commentary - Yikes. This team.

5) Odds and Ends - There’s always room for the unexpected.

I just have to step up to the plate and do it. It’s an incredible outlet to be able to write for 15-30 minutes every day, and it can lead to some amazing results. Local authors I’ve talked to through classes have all agreed it’s the best way to become a stronger writer. Writing public entries can help generate feedback and discussions, as well as build a “virtual portfolio” of sorts. Why try and convince an interviewer you can write about a given topic, when you can point to a blog with proof that you’ve been writing about it for years?

There are quite a few things I’m trying to factor into my blogging this time. First, I should only write about the stuff that interests me. I’ve been doing that for the entire time, but it’s by far the most important step. I can produce higher quality material when I’m interested in it.

Second, there’s no real need to write long diatribes. Instead, to convey a powerful message, I’ve always found it best to be concise. Word economy is key, especially with the fast-paced nature of the internet. Nobody wants to read someone ramble on for hours, unless they are also extremely interested in the topic. Make your point and get out of the way.

Last, I have no clue who my audience is anymore. At best, it’s people who randomly catch things based on Google results. Sometimes, it’s friends. I’ll have to find a way to try and build a solid readership base. All in time. All in time. For now, I just need to write more often.

In one of my next few posts, expect my take on the top albums and songs of 2008.

I’ve got some loose ends to tie up before I’m officially headed out to a new apartment and, hopefully, a new job. The blog may have to take a back seat, accordingly. Do check out tskcomedy.com in the meantime… I tend to make the occasional post over there to keep things fresh.

1) For immediate downtime issues, temporarily disable the plugin.
2) Go find wp-cache-phase2.php in your plugins directory.
3) Locate the function “wp_cache_ob_end()”.
4) Change the line “ob_end_clean();” to “ob_end_flush();”

Voila! That’s it. I’m not sure why that would cause a problem all of the sudden (my blog loaded fine one day and went to hell the next), but fixing this coding error seems to do the trick.

Point 1: Phil Jackson will coach circles around Doc Rivers. Before Rivers got a boatload of talent this season, the best record he accomplished was a 45-37 record with the ‘04-’05 Celtics. His teams have lost in the first round of the playoffs four times and missed the playoffs entirely four times. He’s batting .508 in his career coaching record, whereas the Zen Master is cruising by at .700. In his seventeen seasons of coaching, Jackson’s NEVER had a team miss the playoffs. His worst records barely dip below Rivers’ best in terms of win-loss. Oh, and there’s the slight fact that Jackson has won NINE championships. The man is an absolute beast and is well-known for his skillful coaching and running the relatively complex triangle offense. He needs players with high basketball IQs in order to run it, and the addition of Pau Gasol this season put the last piece in place for his latest team’s composure. Rivers is often referred to as a “player coach” who lets his teams dictate the offense more, rather than impose his own gameplan.

Point 2: Talent is a relative wash. While KG is an absolute beast, Kobe is the league’s MVP. Kobe should have won MVP several times before this season. Bryant is just now reaching his prime, which is a scary, scary fact for everyone else (including my beloved Dallas Mavericks). Kobe’s a former scoring champion as well as a frequent all-defensive team selection, proving he’s great on both sides of the ball. Gasol also matches up well with the other members of Boston’s trifecta of all-stars. While LA may not have as many visibly dominant players, their bench easily outweighs Boston’s. Other LA starters also tend to have amazing games every now and then. If Lamar Odom starts firing on all cylinders, then Boston could be getting hammered from too many sides. Every starter on LA is capable of scoring and Kobe is nearly impossible to shut down. Most teams recognize that the best way to stop the Lakers is to let Kobe score points while trying to stop the other four players on the court.

Point 3: Regular season match-ups are irrelevant. Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the San Antonio Spurs in both of the games they played in the regular season. That didn’t work out so well for Lebron and crew in the NBA finals. Dallas’ dominant NBA record and the #1 seed last year also didn’t work out well, as they got smoked by the Golden State Warriors in the FIRST round of the playoffs. Although Boston won both games they played against the Lakers this season, both teams were missing players. LA hadn’t traded for Gasol yet, Boston didn’t have Rondo for a game due to injuries.

Point 4: For what it’s worth, nine out of ten “experts” at ESPN predict the Lakers to win in six or seven games. However, six of those nine thought Detroit would send Boston packing last round and four picked the Spurs to knock out the Lakers. I normally laugh at expert picks, but it’s always a nice feeling to see someone agreeing with you.