Andy's Blog

Bowled over

Every once in a while, I find something on the 'net that just bowls me over. Last night, in as I gorged myself on Internet access after finally getting my T-Mobile HotSpot account working (more on that saga later), I surfed on over to the website for the Bloggies. I just sort of skimmed through the list of nominees, but I paid special attention to the nominees for the "best designed" blogs. I have been wanting to fix up the design of my blog since I first started it, so I am always on the lookout for ideas. Of the five nominees, one in particular stands out: Karen Cheng's blog.

This site is truly amazing. The design is spartan, precise, functional, all with a dash of whimsy. I love the separator graphics in between posts -- how the day is contained in the image, and how it slides along the line, depending on how far through the week it is. Even more amazing, are the banners that Mrs. Cheng creates for some of her posts. Most of them contain a blend of images, some of which are astonishing. She is clearly a photoshop genious -- the graphics are simply amazing.

So, after spending some time browsing, and taking in the design, I started reading. In particular, I read her post from January 4th, entitled "No Place Higher". Truly gut-wrenching stuff. Amazingly written -- it conveys the exact emotional tone of her recent experience, without being too wordy or melodramatic. After reading this, it is obvious that that humanity, for all of its flaws and weaknesses, kicks tremendous ass.

-Andy.