Category: {miscellaneous}

Miscellaneous

To 3 or not to 3

Things are in a state of flux here while I upgrade the WordPress software. Updating to the latest version went fine, it’s been running for the past couple of days, but upgrading the theme is proving less than satisfactory since I’d been using an old version of the K2 theme that I’d hand-modified.

I’ve also been thinking about switching to a three-column arrangement, as Geoff did recently at Bldg Blog, although the three-column version of K2 still needs updating. It also seems to occupy more screen width than other three-column solutions which isn’t good for people with small monitors. Hmm…. If you notice any bizarre changes or alarming errors over the next day or so, this is the reason why.

In praise of WordPress

Regular readers may have noticed the coming and going of certain features here recently, due to my experimenting with different plugins. One of the great features of the WordPress blogging software is its open source quality which allows anyone to write a plugin to extend the application. Ones I’ve been playing with over the past week are Justin Watt’s Random Image plugin which is creating the “Previously” “From the archives” images in the sidebar and the Social Bookmarks plugin which adds a “Bookmark this” feature to the end of posts. The latter I’ve disabled for now since it refuses to allow me to choose which bookmark selections are shown (del.icio.us and digg, for example), presenting instead a fruit salad of different gifs that looks messy. I may return this later if I can find a way to get it to work properly—PHP is not my forte—or find another plugin that does the required job.

On the move

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Le Stryge by Charles Méryon (1853).

“These writings, which deal with the Parisian arcades, were begun under a clear sky of cloudless blue that curved over the arcade; even so they are covered with a dust hundreds of years old by the millions of pages in which the fresh wind of diligence, the heavy breath of the scholar, the storm of young zeal and the slow gentle breeze of curiosity rustled. For the painted summer sky, which looks down from the arcades to the study of the Parisian Bibliothèque Nationale, has spread its dreamy, lightless cover over them.”

Walter Benjamin, Passagenwerk.

Off to Paris again for a week to explore some of Walter’s arcades.

An announcement redux

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The 2006 Jack Trevor Story Grand Prix was decided on Friday afternoon at L’Horizon, rue St Placide in Paris. The sans precedent prize can be seen above. After much deliberation the judges decided that Mr Steve Aylett was a worthy recipient of this most ingenuous of literary awards. Mr Aylett now has to spend the prize money within two weeks of its receipt and have nothing to show for it at the end of those two weeks.

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In attendance (l to r): Mr Jeff VanderMeer, Mr John Coulthart, Mr Michael Moorcock, Mr Neil Williamson and Ms Emma Taylor. Behind the camera, Mr Eric Schaller who may be seen below on the left.

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Previously on { feuilleton }
• An announcement