Welcome to the first blog posting on my new website.

For those of you who were readers of the Austin American-Statesman years ago, this blog more or less resurrects Grapeshot, the blog I started in September 2008 when I was editing and writing for the Statesman’s Sunday commentary and analysis section. I continued Grapeshot through my two-year tenure as the Statesman’s books editor and through my first year as an editorial writer for the Statesman before retiring Grapeshot in early 2013 after the editorial board created its own blog, Viewpoints.

Grapeshot was an 18th- and 19th-century artillery charge made up of clustered musket balls or other shrapnel that essentially turned cannons into big ol’ shotguns. As I explained then, I named my blog Grapeshot not to project belligerence or pugnacity, but to illustrate my interest in numerous subjects. “One blog, multiple targets,” I labeled Grapeshot. Politics, foreign affairs, economics, business, the courts, history, science, religion, sports, food, books, film, music and pop culture — it’s hard to think of a topic I didn’t write about at least once.

My plan for this blog is to carry on that wide-ranging spirit. So thank you for finding me and I hope I reward your time by offering a unique and worthwhile perspective on whatnot. I trust you’ll let me know how I’m doing.

This website is still a work in progress, so I appreciate your patience as it continues to take shape.