TypePad is offering a bailout for journalists. Since more than 13,000 of you have been laid off this year, they should have plenty of takers.

By signing up for the Journalist Bailout Program, you’ll get a free TypePad Pro account. (TypePad isn’t usually free, and I’m not sure how long the account will be free.) That will include support and everything you need to get started. You’ll be enrolled in Six Apart Media’s advertising program, and you get the revenue from the ads placed on your blog. TypePad will promote your blog on blogs.com, and they have programs to increase and drive traffic.

Not sure what you should be blogging about? I asked for some advice from my friends on Twitter (and added some of my own):
• Blog what you know. Did you cover local politics? Then write about local politics. Got a story idea you couldn’t convince the Powers That Be to do? Do it. Are you obsessed with “Star Trek”? Write about it. Do you like to take pictures? Post them. Are they all pictures of your cat? Post them anyway!  But …
• Make sure you can — legally. Did you sign a non-compete clause? Read back through it, and seek advice (call a lawyer if you need to) on what you can and cannot do. (via @sayvil)
• You can even blog about your job hunt. But don’t bash your former employer.
• Keep writing. Post often and write tight. (via @hidama and @macdivaona)
• Talk to your commenters, but don’t take everything they say to heart. (via @jamietie and @dansinker and @dailybreezeme)
• Blog because you want to, not because you have to. (via @jrue)
• Make sure it reflects your personality. (via @wmhartnett)
• Most important: Don’t drink and blog. (via @johnrobinson)

To sign up, e-mail bailout@sixapart.com a link to your last story, photo, page design, etc. (Copy editors, I have to assume they will welcome you too. E-mail ‘em!) This isn’t just for newspaper journalists: Magazines and TV stations are closing and/or laying off employees too.

If you don’t have a blog, sign up. If you have a blog but have been looking for ways to make it better, sign up. (There are other blog options — free options. I started blogging with Google’s Blogger. It can be a bit limiting, though, so I moved on to, and really like, WordPress. Take a look at Tumblr, too — it has some nice features and makes posting a variety of links, photos, videos, etc., quite easy.)

Once you get your blog set up, make sure you promote it from your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other social network you belong to. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Get the word out. Don’t forget to post your résumé and to create a page (or pages) of some of your best stories or photos or designs or headlines.

Got more advice for new bloggers? Let’s hear it!

(Updated to add the perfectly timed and themed card from Indexed.)

Second, after getting home from a great week in Florida, there was a lot of mail. Some was fun (new Print!); some was not fun (ew — bills); and some was disturbing. Most disturbing was an AARP membership registration card. Somehow, I came back from vacation 20 years older. “Your admission to AARP membership is guaranteed as long as you are 50 or over, whether you are working or not.” I have until June 5 to send in $12.50 for a one-year membership. (Does this mean I can retire soon?)

How to write a news story, Mad-Libs style. It works! There’s also a “disease of the week” template. And there’s this (accurate) gem:

If you can’t think of a headline for a story, use one of these three magic verbs: “weighs,” “mulls,” or “considers.” They’ll work for pretty much anything from court stories (“Hamilton mulls plea deal”) to government stories (“Governor weighs Paseo extension”) to entertainment (“Colvin considers new album”) to features (“Benson mulls those who consider weighing Kasey’s artwork”).

ODDS & ENDS
• Great idea from Boston: By September, the cost of the war in Iraq is expected to hit $456 billion. So what does $456 billion buy? (Absolutely looking forward to stealing this idea … )
• “Hate” has been running through my head all day.
• Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson is running kinda funny “job interview” ads … but only online.
• Find a mailbox (or 20) near you — no matter where you are.
• Or find a place to eat!
• Comma sutra
• Sex sells … pie charts.
• Love connection on the CTA. How sweet …
• Blood-puddle pillows
• Flock is built on Firefox, but bills itself as a “social browser.” Your Facebook, Blogger, Gmail and PhotoBucket accounts are built right in. And there are more extensions than you’ll know what to do with.
• Color theory!
• Arrrgyle
• I want a daisy tree, but haven’t come across one yet this year.
• Cat attacks reporter — film at 11.
• Cool clock
• More newspapers are using open-source software, including Drupal.