2010@manwithblackhat

The new year brings new possibilities here at man with black hat.

There are rough drafts being written on a variety of subjects. Some of them see the light of day, while others get tossed. But we can be reasonably certain about a few that are being put together right now:

• Catholics in the English-speaking world have been hearing a lot about "changes to the Mass." In fact, the official English translation of the Roman Missal -- the original is always in Latin -- is in the final stages of revision and approval. The changes will reflect an increased fidelity to the Latin text, resulting in a heightened theological clarity, with a more formal (and less pedestrian) language of worship. Having discussed this issue in the past (search blog for "critical mass"), and in light of a fair amount of nonsense on the issue in the Catholic press of late, we will take yet another look at the subject, given the projected implementation of the revisions in the next two years.

• Political discussions invariably identify us all as proponents of either "the left" or "the right" or somewhere in between. We will discover the origin of this way of viewing the political landscape, how its evolution over the years demonstrates its futility, and why a shift of the old paradigm is long overdue. We will also examine how this paradigm shift can be used to affect positive change in the world, from the perspective of Catholic social teaching.

• With housing foreclosures continuing to rise, and a continued economic crisis, the specter of homelessness is beginning to affect the middle-class, joining those of "the working poor." A transformation of the housing industry in the last half-century, and the loss of economical forms of housing in favor of the luxury market, has contributed to this problem, and is widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. There are three series under development in this area; the growing "tiny house movement" as a solution for affordable housing, large scale approaches in relief for the Nation's homeless, and the "village concept" as it applies to both.

• Right now, you are reading this either on your computer, or on your mobile phone. Recent advances in technology are closing the gap between the two, accompanied by emerging possibilities for the "new media" in our daily lives. The explosion of "Twitter" and other messaging platforms is having its effect on the blogging medium as well. We will look at the "state of the art" and how these innovations are being applied. There will be, of course, the usual annual message on the state of the Catholic blogosphere, in light of the upcoming Catholic New Media Awards this spring. There will also be a preview some enhancements to this site which mwbh readers may expect in the coming year.

In addition to the above, there will be more of the usual features which rear their heads with varying degrees of frequency, including the Monday “I read the news today, oh boy ...”, the Tuesday “Plug This” series, the Wednesday “One Minute Theatre” (which is due for a conceptual overhaul), the Thursday “Guitar Workshop” lessons, and, of course, everybody's favorite, the “Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy” to top off the workweek.

In between will be slices of the so-called life of yours truly. Now, I ask you, who other than my mother would want to miss that?
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