Jeffrey,
I can only speak from my own experience as a high school teacher...
I regard cyber-entities such as MySpace, Facebook, and that new thing "T-w-something or other" as potentially beneficial, but also potential labyrinths.
No thank you, the forum/blog/listserve format, is, uh, enough for me.

Charles - And does your cellphone have a little crank on the side and you ask Millie to connect you to Walnut 317? ;)

I am not a facebook user, but from what I hear, it is HUGE.

ALso, I still think we need to make sure that the library of every seminary in the USA is subscribed to Musica Sacra Magazine. I truly believe that priests are going to have to do the heavy lifting.

But this is probably a lot of work.

Facebook, Myspace, et al., are the devil.

Having gotten that out of my system, let me speak to the seminary subscription issue. The problem and the challenge that most seminaries face nowadays is trying to cram so many different disciplines into the traditional 4 - 6 year framework. In the 1940s, for example, seminarians had an intensive course of study, but they did not have to go to their pastoral field education assignment (a parish or an inner-city apostolate, or some other apostolate) every week, certain subject materials -- such as bioethics -- really did not exist, and a number of other things were different. The demands that the USCCB Program for Priestly Formation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, and other directives now place on seminaries not only in the way of curriculum but also in other areas of formation, make it much harder to cover every subject well in the time alotted. I personally think that seminary studies today need to be at least 8 years (including pre-theology).

My point being that you can send subscriptions to every seminary, but a lot of seminarians are going to be hard-pressed to add it to their reading list. I am not saying you shouldn't do it, because every little bit helps and some will read it, but I am simply saying that the situation being as it is today is challenging on more than an ideological level -- it is not simply about the process of overcoming the Spirit of Vatican II ideology in seminaries; more than that, it is a process of trying to "fit in" training in sacred music, where it often has not existed, into an already packed schedule!

I think Michael has it nailed (and I presume much of what's been said here is tongue in cheek). We're in the third post-Vatican 2 generation. That's the 8-track generation, walkman generation, and iPod generation. While it's perfectly acceptable to appreciate the beauty of centuries-old music, the technology moves on at light speed. You don't have to use it to connect with the younger world, but if you don't -- as Michael says -- somebody else will!

Charles, alas, I cannot attend said wine-tasting. I will think of you when I am in La Rioja sampling the finest wine in the world where it's grown. IOW I'm off to Spain this summer for research and local culture.

I have found finding old friends on Facebook to be a lot of fun. it is also to keep in touch with family members who live farther away, etc. Add me as a friend if desired, darth_linux AT msn DOT com