State of the blog 2005: The year ahead

With so many of last year's goals left unattained, setting the agenda for the next year feels a lot like playing catch-up. Nonetheless, without some sort of direction, 2006 will turn out to be just as pointless as 2005, won't it?

Without further ado, then, here is my blogging roadmap for the coming year.

God-blogging: In my series on Galatians on Sacra Eloquia, I'm well past the halfway point. The next installment is already in the works. My plan is to complete Galatians by May, then start on Daniel during the summer. Then, Lord willing, I'll switch back to the New Covenant to begin working on Hebrews, which should take me well into 2007.

Meanwhile, on this blog, my series on God's will has lain fallow long enough. Look for the next installment before the end of January.

Bookblogging: Actually, my plans here are closely tied to my theological blogging. Since I read Augustine's Confessions last spring, I've desired to work through it chapter by chapter. Then, after a brush-up on Plato, I intend to tackle a more challenging read: The City of God.

My recreational reading will tackle three series I didn't finish last year: the original Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the remainder of Stephen King's work, and the mysteries of Dorothy Sayers.

A year ago I posted a review of C. S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet. I intend to revisit the Space Trilogy: Perelandra in January or February, and That Hideous Strength in the summer or fall.

Everything on the CanLit reading list is still on the table, of course - and Canada Reads will be starting up again soon.

Finally, I plan to read at least two new works by John Bunyan - and hopefully more.

Movieblogging: My goals from last year are still on the table: complete my series on the films of the Coens; tackle the Star Trek features; start working through the ten best SF films of the second half of the 20th century. If time permits, after finishing with the Coens, I will start anew on another director, possibly Kurosawa - and I do have one potential, thematically-related series up my sleeve.

Finally: I will try my hand at music blogging again - but not right away.

A resolution

A few years ago, I regarded the daily ritual of shaving as a necessary evil: if it couldn't be avoided, then it was to be done as quickly, efficiently, and conveniently as possible. Somewhere along the line, I came to a different point of view: the feel of a smooth, clean face and the lingering scent of shaving cream made the effort worthwhile. Shaving was no longer a chore: it had become a masculine grooming ritual that was worth doing carefully and well. The process became as pleasurable and important as its purpose. It wasn't my technique that changed, but my attitude.

I've laid out some ambitious goals in this post, and they're going to be no more reached in 2006 than 2005 if I continue to view the writing process as the necessary evil to be endured if I want to push the Publish button.

So my 2006 New Year's resolution is: To change my attitude.