Tough to do a "heavy" post on New Year's Day. Besides, today (January 2) is really just the official holiday. So what was yesterday, a one-day extension of 2005? One day of 2005½? Anyway, the new year has started. I won't trot out my lame New Year's resolutions, but I will chat about some new blog items and plans for the year, starting with a new entry on the top of my Featured Books list: Proving Contraries: A Collection of Writings in Honor of Eugene England (Signature, 2005). If this didn't show up under your Christmas tree, you might invest some of that card money from Grandma in this little treasure. It is a collection of essays, poetry, short fiction, and personal reflections on various topics of interest to LDS readers by seasoned authors and scholars commemorating the career and writings of the late Eugene England. I'll put up a couple of posts on the book in coming weeks. [Update: Deseret News just posted a short review of the book that makes some very nice comments.]
I'd also like to note that I joined the Alliance for Moderate, Liberal, and Progressive Blogs (ALPB). Their logo and links are displayed at the bottom of my right sidebar, just below the Blog Heaven logo. The ALPB's purpose is to bring together "blogs, especially religious blogs, which do not identify with the Right Wing." Yeah, I can do that. I'll work through the list of ALPB blogs and put up a list of intereting progressive religious blogs, such as this blog by a septuagenarian Anglican minister who served in the Royal Air Force for twenty years before becoming a priest (and blogger). Sounds a little like this guy (a septuagenarian but not a blogger). Or maybe this guy.
Technical notes: I have a functioning sideblog on the right sidebar now; I'll branch out and start posting links to interesting non-B'nacle posts. I've been experimenting with compressed lists (see Blog Heaven and Conservative Blogs lists near the bottom of the right sidebar) after seeing them over at the new and improved ABEV, but I haven't converted my other lists yet. I've already got a couple of hundred links on my front page; maybe that's enough. Finally, I put a comment queue indicator at the top of my right sidebar; I'll leave the hated comment queue off most of the time.
Happy New Year to all!
Sounds like you have some great plans. My main blog goal of 2006 is simply to get on the ball. I look forward to following DMI in 2006--best wishes!
Posted by: john f. | Jan 02, 2006 at 11:02 AM