After a lot of soul searching and various inspirations from across the web, I’ve decided what I’m going to do with this journal. Don’t worry, it’s not going anyway, just getting a well needed upgrade.

Remember that redesign I mentioned about a month ago? Don’t worry, it’s still alive and kicking. But, like Emeril, I’m kicking it up a notch. Adding a little flavor never hurt anyone.

I’ve also become inspired by the CSS Zen Garden. I want you to visit that link and to notice the links on the side, the one’s for different designs. I’ve slowly started understanding the important role CSS can play in design and I think that site, in it’s mission, has demonstrated something that I’ve been yearning to do for quite some time. They have, get this, 85+ designs for that site. Each one different. Same content, completely dynamic. THAT is good code. I think an O’Riley book is on it’s way. I’ve never been this jazzed about design before. And I’m an artist for friggin’ sake.

I’ve also noticed a few trends I will be trying to stay away from, although I’ve apparently already stumbled onto one of them. First, this “center column” design is apparently the hottest thing since toasted bread. I can’t find a “trendy” journal without it. Also, tiny background patterns are apparently standard at this point, to the degree that I’m starting to think someone is passing around a disk with simple tiled backgrounds on it and I just haven’t received my copy yet. There’s also an abundance of journals that focus on the web as it’s subject. A few sites about web design are fine, but when every web designer has a blog devoted to web design itself, on their web page that they designed, showing off other examples of their design, it’s gotten a little out of hand. It’s also trendy to be a blogger in NYC. Then again, those New Yorkers have a pretty high opinion of themselves so I’m probably just hearing of their wonderfulness from other fucking New Yorkers. By the way, fuck Jeter. Lastly there’s topics of conversation. Most often the interesting journal I’ve found usually don’t talk a whole lot about day to day activites. I have a horrible habit of doing just that. It’s not that my days aren’t filled with interesting tid bits, but honestly, who really cares about what I had for lunch?

Then there’s the issue of writting styles themselves. I don’t have one. Unless you count bad grammar and horific spelling as a style. I do suppose there’s a certain way I phrase things, a deep and rooted prediliction for sarcasm among other things. Then again, I don’t do it very well do I? I really should have taken more creative writing courses. My sense of humor and quirky expressions really only shine when you see the faces that go along with them. I should really be experienced in person. Most of you know this.

So, what exactly am I saying with all this? Basically I’m saying that I hope to improve my writing, mention less mundane things and try to go off on far more tangents while trying to keep the controversy level “in the same ballpark” if you will. I’m also going to stop half assing my designing. I’ve finished that last redesign but never got around to using it. Know why? Because I didn’t want to have to redo all the HTML and a whole new set to stylesheets and all the other wonderful things that come with a full redesign. Yet, if I follow the examples I’ve seen, all I’ll really need to do is set up one page and have it reference whole new CSS sets. This way I can continue to change my designs while not having to recode much of the site. I think that a fairly obtainable goal.

Now I just have to find the time to do it.