Every so often, it's a good idea to stop and take stock of what's going on. When I first started this blog back in 2004, it was very exciting to post on any and every news item I could form an opinion on. The best bloggers, I think, are the ones that are incapable of having an unexpressed thought. From the beginning, however, I was aware that my blog tended to fall into the category of "Hey! Look at this cool thing I found!" rather than "Here is my 5,000 word disposition on the current state of foreign affairs." I might link to such an article, but it's a rare thing when I write something like that myself.
However, some broad guidelines have always governed what I understood this blog to be about. In the first instance, narcissistically, it's always been about me. My interests, my insights, etc. Of course, that would only be relevant to someone who actually cares about what I think, and so I've been content with a fairly small population of readers.
However, more substantially, I've always intended this blog to deal with the central issues that I work on: Religion and society primarily. I am aware, however, that there are long stretches that go by in which I don't deal directly with those issues at all. Instead, I might link to an interesting Youtube video or comment on some aspect of geek culture that is interesting or appealing to me. If this is your cup of tea, you've probably enjoyed those posts. If, on the other hand, what you're looking for is what I have to say about, say, the latest screed from John Hagee, an extended discussion of Iron Man or the Green Lantern might seem less interesting.
And then of course there is the election. It's such great fun watching Hillary and Obama go after one another, and both go after McCain, that I can't resist the more-than-occasional post on the subject, even if I can't tie it into the religion and society angle. That's not likely to change until after the election.
Nevertheless, I feel the need to give the blog a bit of a jump start, to begin focusing again on the topics that motivate me, particularly, issues of religion and society. So, while you may not notice the changes immediately, over the next few months, you can expect to see more frequent, and hopefully more substantive, posts on matters of religion and society, rather than just general pop culture and politics.
In part, let's face it, this is also a matter of marketing. To the degree that some portion of my readership comes to find out about me as a scholar and teacher, it is helpful if what they see when they come to the blog includes more of that material. On the other hand, I am who I am. So don't expect to see the comic book and science fiction posts to go away entirely. Hopefully however, they will either offer relief from the other, heavier posts, or will tie in to those heavier themes in a meaningful way.
This has been .... The State of the Blog. Please feel free to leave comments.
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