The Autumnal City drops its leaves

I decided it was time for a change. The old layout was gaudy and the complex commenting mechanism was too much for me. This new layout already has some detractors who aren’t fond of the double post format, but I’m going to give it a try and see what happens. I like the idea that my posts will have a little support from each other instead of climbing upward in a mad rush to the top.

I spent about 14 hours of fairly continuous work coaxing this transition, though this says more about my inexperience with HTML and CSS than the enormity of the task. Corvus helped me through a few rough patches (Thank you). I managed to figure out the slick commenting system on my own, but my efforts to create a unique banner were crippled by my ignorance. I can usually do a decent job with the creative side of things, but after the three thousandth refresh of my homepage, I was wondering whether it wouldn’t be better to hit the reset button on the whole thing.

Yes, that banner at the top of the screen was hell, but I’ll tell you a little bit about it. The oculus in the brick wall is my favorite feature of the house where I live in Old Louisville, KY. Sometimes my cats lay in it. The buildings through the window are just a couple of the beautiful Victorian houses that fill the streets around my home.

Old Louisville reminds me of the city Bellona in Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren. I moved into this house after a violent windstorm that ripped trees from the ground and shattered houses. The rich and the poor and whatever I’m considered are all packed together because many of the Victorian mansions were converted into apartment buildings after the Great Depression. Walking down a single block, you will find million dollar homes filled with treasures from around the world, but you may also find a man bleeding to death in the street. It’s all very exciting and scary for me, since I’ve spent the rest of my life in the suburbs.

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback you’d like to give on the new layout, or any of the previous things I’ve ranted and mumbled about. Give the new Ajax-powered comments a whirl and let me know what I can fix or improve. Thanks for stopping by!