Changes coming to Beyond the Pale

Some changes are coming to Beyond the Pale soon.  When I started Beyond the Pale back in 2008 it was simply a fun little project to keep me occupied while I lived in a very remote area in China.  It offered me a chance to give my input on topics I loved namely: God, politics, foreign affairs, movies, books, and baseball.  It was always nice to hear someone read and enjoyed a post but if no one did read, at least my grand kids (someday) may have something to know what grandpa was like.

Since moving to Hong Kong however, and particularly since the start of this year, I find my Christian faith stirred and  my blog posts have been increasingly reflecting that.  Where before I might have been writing on Christian topics 20% of the time, now it has been more like 90%.  I am also posting a bit more frequently and will continue to do so.

For that reason Beyond the Pale is going to make some changes over the next few weeks.  Yesterday, I purchased my first piece of digital real estate; www.stevehackman.net.  (Unfortunately the .com address is taken by a more talented and better looking “Steve Hackman” who seems to be a music conductor)  I am working with a friend to design a new webpage for “Beyond the Pale” and soon we’ll be redirecting everyone to the new site which will focus primarily on my passions surrounding God’s Kingdom, Church, Culture, and Grace.

I realized that it was hard to develop a bigger viewing body when the topics I covered were so eclectic.  A radio station that plays the London Philharmonic, followed by a Gospel Quartet and then topped off with Led Zeppelin will struggle to find its audience.  In the past I didn’t care so much…but increasingly I want some of the things I may have to say to be read by more people. 

I have been thinking of how I can still insert some other items without upsetting the applecart and will most likely do a “Weekend Update” a la Saturday Night Live.  A single blog post once a week where I can offer my two cents on the news, film, politics, and current events.  Like the fact:

* that Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera won baseball’s Triple Crown last week (highest batting average, most home runs, most runs batted in).  It has not been accomplished since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967

* that Republican Mitt Romney totally won the first presidential debate…don’t know what game Obama was bringing…but it certainly wasn’t his A-game

*  that I love living in Hong Kong and might just write about some aspect of living here

Anyhow, if anyone has advice on who to use for

* website design
* hosting
* any other tidbits you’ve learned

Look forward to seeing you online and will let you know when Beyond the Pale makes the final move