It's been quite a while since I've been able to blog.

Thanks to my friends in New Media, I've come up with a blog schedule that works for me. Initially, I'll post at least twice a week--on Tuesdays and Thursdays--and have agreed to post your comments throughout the day.

As for topics, I'm still interested in keeping a civil dialogue going about our racial attitudes, which means I won't be posting comments that include the N-word, or the W-word, or the B-word.

This is primarily a platform for you to talk to each other, not to me. If you want to do that, you can e-mail me at marym@suntimes.com or check out my live chat on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., at www.suntimes.com.