SiftPop

OK, to be honest I don’t want to spend long here doing the whole, “Sorry for not blogging for so long, this time I promise to stick with it” routine, because the internet is littered with enough of those type of posts already (I think there’s probably three of four of them in my own archive).   Also they assume two things that I’m not sure are really true:

1) That you even realized I had stopped.

2) That it won’t happen again 2 months from now.

The point is I wanted to relaunch rollinwithdice.com not just with a new look (cause really, who doesn’t want 2/3rds of their giant head plastered at the top of every page) but also with some new features that will hopefully make my incoherent ramblings on pop culture more accessible and user friendly to the select few who find them interesting or entertaining (Hi Dad!).

Before we get into that though, just an update on life in general.

I’m a Missourigander now, at least that’s what my son called us when we moved down here from Michigan in February.  I’m sure the actual term is something like Missourian or Missourite or something along those lines but as former Michiganders it made sense to him.  I’m also sure I could Google it in about 5 seconds and know for sure, but I’m just that lazy.  I will tell you this though, whatever you call them, these Missouri people are amazing and have been overwhelmingly welcoming, encouraging, and generous.  I now do the morning show at 88.3 the Wind in Springfield (we have an Iphone AND an Android ap…. take that Apple!) and spend my days gorging on the many local eateries, including Lambert’s Cafe (where they throw your food at you they want you to have it so bad) and Andy’s Frozen Custard (where they have an item called the James Brownie Funky Jackhammer that is just as delicious as it’s name is confusing).  They also have TWO Chick-Fil-As, a fact that remains a primary reason I took the job (people continue to believe I’m joking when I say this, but I promise you, we don’t joke about Chick-Fil-A in my house), that and it was 75 degrees on March 10th.  Sure, there is the occasional house eating tornado that drops in, but it seems like a fair trade for a moderately warmer climate and easy access to the occasional Chick-n-mini for breakfast.

So I figure with all the life change going on, now is as good a time as any to better focus and relaunch my own personal online pop-culture venting machine known as rollinwithdice.com.

Some differences you may notice:

1) Less Videos – Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy them and will certainly do more, but to be honest, I miss writing.  There’s something about being able to construct humor in sentence form that I find tremendously appealing.  Ok, fine, substitute “trying” for “being able” in that sentence if you must, but it is a pursuit I find challenging and worthwhile.  I’ve been inspired lately by what Jon Acuff is doing over at “Stuff Christian’s Like” and really believe there is a place for my voice to come through here in a way it can’t on video or even over the air on my daily show.   I will likely still do videos for my reviews (I just don’t have the time it takes to craft a real review) but my commentaries and lists will almost solely be pounded out on a keyboard from here on out.

2) More Posts – but shorter.  In fact, Rollin will become more of a true blog in that most of the posts will be links to found content with brief commentary.  My goal will be to allow my addiction to consuming pop-culture content turn into your freedom to not need to.  If you have an interest in movies, tv, music, technology, gaming, or the internet and how that relates to your faith (or lack thereof, not judging, just want to be inclusive) then I can be your pop culture blood hound, seeking out our common interests, bringing you back what I find, and dropping it, tail wagging wildly, at your feet.

3) A Better Archive – I’ve taken the time to apply labels throughout my archives to give you better access to the things you are interested in.  Only want to read about technology stuff? Click tech.  Only want to see the reviews?  Click reviews.  Want to relive the horror of me ranking American Idol higher than The Simpsons in 2006? Just click Best of 2006.  As the content becomes more voluminous this will be key in you zooming in on the stuff you find most intriguing.

In my four years of doing rollin’, and the previous three running hookedonsiphonics.com (long story, maybe later) I’ve always seen this space as my own personal outlet to record and proclaim my pop culture proclivities, and if you can find some use from it all the better.  Thanks for checking in, and let’s get rollin’!