Welcome to a new look and feel
June 15, 2009
Welcome to the new blue website. We spruced up. Put on our Sunday-goin’-to-Church outfit. All this, because we’re gearing up for Waiting for Columbus. You’ll notice a page dedicated to the new book. We’ve got the publishers’ blurbs up there right now and we’ll update this page as news comes in. Both the Canadian and the American covers are on the front page…over there on the right…yes, that’s right…We’ve got some work to do yet – a couple new photos and a new biography – but it’s mostly done. We love it. Let me know what you think. Also, if there are bugs, glitches, or squeaks, let me know.
Loved the throw under the headline in the Edmonton Journal Hot Summer Reads section on Monday (June 15) – “…the second coming of Christopher Columbus…” That’s just perfect!! It is the second coming of Christopher Columbus. But this time he’s actually going set foot on American soil, and Canada, and the UK, and Serbia, and Brazil.
Kudos to Michael Gravel, who continues to prove that he is one of the best web designers in the world (or, so Mike doesn’t get all blushy, .”…he is very, very good at this”). Functional, elegant, efficient, quick, and stunningly beautiful designs!!! He is an artist…and a hell of a writer on top of that, and a hell of a performer on top of that. Thanks also to Matt Granz for permission to use the Ocean Blur at Big Sur masthead photo. It was the right feel for a website gearing up for a book about Christopher Columbus.
11 Comments
1. Patrick Pilarski had this to say: Jun 15, 2009 ~ 11:39 ~ #
Looks very hot Thomas! Congrats on the new look, and mad props to Gravel for the excellent web design work.
2. Thomas had this to say: Jun 15, 2009 ~ 12:29 ~ #
Thanks Patrick!
I love the “softness” of it. I want to be there on that beach with my old Irish wool sweater on. And my $29 rubber boots. Red wine, brie, thick bread in my bag, and a good journal, the Waterman fountain pen, lots of ink…and my wife and daughter up in the cabin — they’re coming down later.
Thomas
3. Adam Snider had this to say: Jun 15, 2009 ~ 16:31 ~ #
The new look is pretty cool, Thomas. I was certainly fond of the old one, but this definitely fits with Columbus, so it’s a wise choice.
Good work by Mike, and a great picture by Mr. Granz.
4. Mike Gravel had this to say: Jun 16, 2009 ~ 07:51 ~ #
Thanks for the kind words, although that “one of the best in the world” comment is hyperbolic to the extreme. Still, glad to be a part of it and I hope Columbus is a smashing success.
5. Thomas had this to say: Jun 16, 2009 ~ 10:00 ~ #
Mike,
I’ve looked at a metric tonne of websites. You are good. Very good. And I’m lucky to have your design skills. Okay, okay, let’s just say that: You’re very, very good. No world comparisons. Just that you’re very good at marrying your Zen-like simplicity with the owner of the website’s ideas, with a functional effectiveness.
T
6. Daniel Poitras had this to say: Jun 16, 2009 ~ 17:40 ~ #
I like the look of the new site. It’s more inviting, more relaxing makes you wanna sit around and drink some tea.
7. Thomas had this to say: Jun 17, 2009 ~ 10:14 ~ #
Daniel, Ha!
But I hope it’s steaming hot tea infused with blackberry and mint and served by a wild mountain woman who grumbles because all the whisky is gone. “This is second best,” she says, taking the boiling pot of water from above the fire and carefully pouring it into a pot with the loose tea leaves….
8. Thomas had this to say: Jun 17, 2009 ~ 10:15 ~ #
….Eventually, you’ll take your tea, in your blue tin camp cups (you have to wear leather gloves because it’s so bloody hot) and you go down to the stream – find a nice curvy rock and lean into it. There is heat there still, from the day. You look at her and can see that she chose mosquito repellant over sunscreen. Her face is tinged red except where her sunglasses protected. It’s day three. You have four more days of hiking. You do not think about making love. Right now, you’re exhausted. All you can muster is attention to now. But love-making is always a possibility.
You look up and down the valley. Mountain peaks with slender fingers of high-up snow. Layer upon layer of pine forest. A blue haze of wood smoke from your fire. The first three stars at the indigo edge of sky. You sip your tea, then breathe deeply – taking in the mixture of scents in the tea. You think about the nest of sleeping bags in your tent. And you are happy.
9. deb had this to say: Jun 17, 2009 ~ 12:29 ~ #
The site looks very nice, can’t wait to read the book. I’m loving the whole Jung thing, very interesting woman to talk to.
10. wini brewer had this to say: Jun 30, 2009 ~ 09:04 ~ #
Hi Thomas! Lovely new site. I just finished rereading “the 52nd poem” and it sure has wet my appetite for “Columbus”. I don’t know how I’ll last until August. Will I be able to find it @ my local Barnes & Noble? Hurry up and write the next one — not to pressure you, but we’ll all be waiting. Happy Summer! XO Wini
11. Thomas had this to say: Jun 30, 2009 ~ 23:00 ~ #
Wini,
Yes, it’ll be at bookstores everywhere in America. Or at the very least, they’ll be able to get copies very quickly. It’s coming from New York, not Canada. I don’t know how I’ll last until August…my level of anxiety is through the roof now….
I am working on the new book. I’m writing about Islam and marriage. Two things I want to learn more about. Two things that fascinate me. Oh, and wounds. How do we get wounded? What do we do when we get wounded?
If I keep my head down and write, write, write, I won’t feel so anxious….