I gave up reading "101 ways to promote your web site" by Susan Sweeney. It's not bad but it's a little old (1999) and it seemed like several of the tips were either outdated or kinda underhanded. I guess promotion is like that. It did have several ideas that would probably be good for a beginner either in any kind of marketing field or in web design and use. I mean, a real beginner. It just seemed kinda obvious to me. Anyway.

I've been reading like a maniac these past few days. I just finished "The Last Hawk" by Catherine Asaro. Before that, I read her book, "Skyfall". I think I found my new favourite author. They were both really good, filled with action, science, sex, and culture. Very cool. And she's got a bunch of them in the series so I won't be disappointed (by running out of books) very soon. Well, I've read those two within a couple of days, so it might be sooner than I think.

Just finished "Outlanders: Evil Abyss" by James Axler. Too late did I realize that this was a "classic" from the Gold Eagle Collection. If you've never heard of them, get out, save yourself now, don't even wait for my description. For those of you who are familiar with the "genre", you know of its monthly released, carbon copy, standardized plot, style of literature. You are also either captivated by its shoot-em-up, "godless terrorists/communists/assassins are going to kill us" storylines, or you are over the age of 14.

This sci-fi (barely) take on this group of fiction is only marginally more interesting than the present day setting. Don't get me wrong: it did hold my interest enough to not make me want to pull out the few follicles I have left, but I attribute that only to the fact that it's been over 10 years since I even laid eyes on one of these books. I am confident that should I find myself on a train with nothing other to read than more of the same, I will need only to read the blurb on the back and a few of the first pages to learn the names and the new location, allowing me with sufficient reliability to piece together any new storyline.

Prove me wrong kids, prove me wrong.

Just read "Fresh styles for web designers" by Curt Cloninger. A very interesting book providing 10 current styles of web site/page design to provide information and inspiration to designers not wishing to emulate the standard Microsoft/Yahoo boxy style. The ten styles are:

1. Gothic Organic
2. Grid-based Icon
3. Lo-Fi Grunge
4. Paper Bag
5. Mondrian Poster
6. Pixelated Punk Rock
7. SuperTiny SimCity
8. HTMinimaLism
9. Drafting Table / Transformer
10. 1950s Hello Kitty

providing several examples, original artists (if applicable), and technical tips on some of the more difficult aspects of the design.

Compared to many other web design books, this is an incredibly valuable tool indeed, not only because of the examples, names and tips listed above but because the style, graphics and passion provided by the author really inspires designers to think beyond the everyday formats seen repeated everywhere on the Internet.

Damn! Now I've got to redesign my site again!

Here's a good quote, related to homosexuality and other church/government "offences":

It is wonderful that nobody has ever yet fancied it to be sinful to scratch where it itches, and that it has never been determined that the only natural way of scratching is with such or such a finger and that it is unnatural to scratch with any other.

from Jeremy Bentham's "Offences Against One's Self" (find it here)