This blog was largely in hiatus through October, which was for a number of reasons. One was simply that I was very busy with Udo Schuklenk putting the finishing touches on the manuscript of our next book, 50 Great Myths About Atheism. This can be seen as, in a way, a sequel to our co-edited volume 50 Voices of Disbelief.
Since we submitted the manuscript in mid-October, there's been a flurry of activity, as we plot and plan with each other and our commissioning editor at Wiley-Blackwell. There will be more news, no doubt, as the book goes through the editing/publishing process, but at this stage I can just say that we're very excited about it, and we're getting great feedback from the publisher. As the title might suggest, we'll be examining a wide range of myths, misconceptions, slanders, and half-truths about atheism and atheists. Amongst it, we'll also have quite a bit to say about the rise of modern atheism and why we think atheism is the most reasonable response to the God question.
I also have a deadline looming for another book, Humanity Enhanced, which will be published by MIT Press. This is involving a lot of work, and it is intensifying as that deadline approaches.
Some people may think that I'm a glutton for punishment, but I also stepped up during October to become the new chair of the board of a significant local arts body, here in Newcastle, Australia, the Hunter Writers' Centre. This immediately involved me (in a modest way) with the lead-up to the Centre's annual flagship event, the award night for the prestigious (and even somewhat lucrative) Newcastle Poetry Prize. The NPP is one of the most important annual literary awards in Australia. And there's the prospect of even more news relating to literature in Newcastle. That will have to wait for now, but I'm very pleased to find myself more closely involved in the cultural life of this beautiful city where I grew up, and to which I returned from Melbourne three years ago.
In the background of my own life, though, there are ongoing and worrying health issues in my family (not directly involving me!). That's placed some demands on my energy level just lately ... well, since about June.
While all this has been happening, I've been somewhat neglecting this poor blog and even wondering about its future. However, I do still think that it has a future as my personal blog, even if my lengthier and more philosophical pieces (particularly those where I feel I am writing for professional philosophers) are more likely to appear elsewhere, such as at Talking Philosophy.
Okay, so I've decided that the place needs a facelift. This is a work in progress, and you may see more tinkering over the next few days.
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
10 comments:
Design feedback: the blog theme is a bit daunting. Difficult to read and the red links are painful to look at.
the blog theme is a bit daunting. Difficult to read and the red links are painful to look at. [2].
Well, my sense of aesthetics isn't everbody's. :)
We'll see how the colours evolve over the next few days if others are put off by them. Thanks for the feedback. As I say, the exact nature of the facelift will be a work in process, at least for a while.
And I've now moved to something much simpler and less, aesthetically edgy than what we're talking about above. Let's see how this works.
Yeah, the links are too hard to see. Try purple on pink! Or perhaps just dark grey on white?
Links are always easier to see if they have underlines too.
For colours that compliment, try this website:
http://colorschemedesigner.com/
I'm probably going to just keep fiddling around with the colour scheme.
People coming to this thread, be warned that comments upthread are likely to be about something different from what you're seeing.
I, for one, appreciate the update. I was going to prompt you for one right before your last post. Sorry to hear about the health issues, but very glad to hear about your writing projects.
I second Jason's comments...
Thanks, folks. Like a lot of people in my age group or even a bit younger, I have to worry about the health problems of elderly parents/parents-in-law, so that's what that's all about.
The look of the blog is likely to keep changing. As I write, I've moved it to something that appears (at least to me) very clear and easy to read. I'm not sure how keen I am on its aesthetics, though, compared to a couple of the earlier tries that I rather liked. We'll see. Clarity does have to be the main consideration.
I do still think, after sleeping on it, that the simpler title for the blog is the right move. But it will take a bit of getting used to.
You may consider Disqus or Intense debate for comments. More user friendly than native blogger coments.
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