Ok, so these past few blog posts have really opened up my eyes to how bad my design for this site is. Something about the look, just screams “ewww.” Not exactly sure what it is, but it’s certainly visible. I’ve never been very good at design, but this is simply… boring. Not what I intended.

When I started this current version, I was really enamored with Dan Cederholm and Jason Santa Maria’s web pages. And you can certainly see inspiration from both of those sites in my version. The Georgia font and sidebar titles are almost direct replicas of Jason’s prior version. The header is a sad knock off of Dan’s Simplebits. The problem though, is that both of those guys are talented. They’re spectacular designers. So when I try to emulate them without blatantly stealing (which I kind of did), it looks horrible. Also, it’s darker than I wanted.

Since Ficlets is down, I decided to go ahead and start looking at the design of my blog again. I hit up Khoi Vin’s blog because I know he has a cool link section to a ton of great designer’s pages and started looking around for inspiration. I visit many of the sites he links to every once in a while, just to see what sort of cool stuff talented folks are up to, so I’ve seen much of the design that’s out there. But a few guys have gone through changes recently, like Jason Santa Maria (whose new design is very sweet) and Shaun Inman. And while those sites are cool, I’m looking for something with a little more… color, I guess.

I happened upon Dan Rubin’s SuperfluousBanter, which I had seen before, but really inspired me to go for something different. You can see how colorful it is, without being gaudy. I think that’s an incredible feat. I really like his use of color in the sidebar links, and the way he sticks to a single base color and gets so much out of it. It’s really quite nice looking.

Now, I’m not going to rip his site exactly, but I think he’s helped push me in a new direction, away from the monotone white, grey, and black of this site. Sure there’s a little red and blue thrown in, but it’s not quite enough. So, as of tonight, I’m going to start on a new WordPress template for the site, and I’m hoping that I can accomplish what I want using WordPress without having to resort to coding the whole thing in django or Ruby on Rails considering I don’t know either of those languages. I’m fairly proficient in PHP, so sticking with WP is really in my best interest at this point.

For the next week or so, you may the template for this page switch over to Kubrick or an in-progress version of MutedSound 2.0. And yes, I do realize that I’m talking to myself as there’s not many people who actually come here (none on a daily basis). Though, a couple friends from Ficlets do seem to stop by on occasion (Kwatz even added me to his blogroll, how awesome is that?).

Given how much I enjoyed Dr. Horrible, and the resounding praise I usually hear for Firefly, I decided to give it a shot. I remember seeing the previews for the show when it first came out, and was somewhat intrigued, but I never got around to watching it. I think I saw a few minutes of it once, but it just didn’t grab me. Something about the “sci-fi western” just didn’t click, and I missed out on the original airings.

Overall, I’ve had fairly limited experience with Joss Whedon’s work. I never got into Buffy, and while I enjoyed Angel, it wasn’t something I really took the time to watch regularly (if I had Tivo back then, maybe things would have been different). So Dr. Horrible is really my first, real entry into the world of Whedon. And considering how incredibly enamored I am of the little web show, I started to do some research on the creator. I learned, among other things, that he is a fellow atheist, which automatically makes me like him even more. His response to the Onion’s AV Club question, “Is There a God?” put a smile on my face:

The Onion: Is there a God?

Joss Whedon: No.

O: That’s it, end of story, no?

JW: Absolutely not. That’s a very important and necessary thing to learn.

So, given how much good will Whedon gained through Dr. Horrible and his atheism, I decided to give Firefly a shot. I noticed that Hulu hosted the Dr. Horrible series, so I had a sneaking suspicion that some of Whedon’s other work might be available there as well. Ran a search, and the entire series (all 14 episodes) are available for viewing online for free. This turned out to be a perfect test of both Hulu and Firefly.

The Hulu interface is pretty sweet, I must say. The “dim the lights” feature is really a nice touch. It basically puts a dark grey tint over the entire browser window, save for the video which stays bright and clear (well, as bright as the director intended anywho). Vidoes are shown at 360p by default, but you can bump that up to 480p with no visible loss in streaming stability. An ad, between 15 and 30 seconds long, shows up at the appropriate commercial breaks that you must sit through, but this is an incredibly fair trade off in my opinion. Everything moves very smoothly, and the picture and sound are quite good. Overall, I’m very impressed with the service, and will most definitely be using it again.

So far I’ve seen 9 episodes of Firefly, and I must say, I really enjoy it. The bits of humor are mixed in very well with the action and dramatic elements. Well drawn-out characters that are very enjoyable to watch. Some of them remind me of David Milch characters for some reason, but that’s a good thing (I’m still upset about John From Cincinnati being canceled, but that’s another story). I’ve never been a huge fan of either Sci-Fi or Westerns, but this mix really seems to work. It’s a different take on both genres that works well together. I have to give Joss Whedon some credit here, for scribing an enjoyable show.

I’m actually quite bummed that the series only lasted 14 episodes, especially as I get closer to that final episode (though I still have the movie to look forward to, which sadly isn’t available on Hulu). However I can see why Fox canceled the series. Given how horrendous most of the successful shows on TV are, it does not surprise me that a little gem like this didn’t reach the masses. Witty dialog, interesting characters, and a few subtle messages about consumerism just doesn’t resonate with the crowd that enjoys American Idol and CSI: Miami. Given what looks to be a large production budget with the amount of location shoots and special effects, I believe Fox needed this show to be a hit. A cult hit and critical darling, simply doesn’t bring in the ad revenue required to support a show these days. It needs to hit huge numbers right out of the gate, or the network will cancel. So, while I’m sad that it was canceled before it really had time to grow, I can absolutely see why Fox decided to cancel it.

If you have a spare 43 minutes or so, and have not seen Firefly before, I highly suggest you head over to Hulu and give it a chance. Even if you end up not liking Firefly, I’m certain that you will find something over there to tickle your fancy (that’s not a real phrase, is it?). I mean, they have full episodes of Doogie Howser, M.D. online. That’s simply… wait for it… awesome!

Ok, so I’m a little late to the party, but Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed. It’s a superhero musical starring America’s Emmy Nominated Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion, and was directed by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly fame.

I’m not a big fan of musicals. Ok, I hate musicals, but this is a truly awesome experience. It took a couple minutes to get going, but once it did, it was amazing. It’s being offered up for free right now, with Act III being posted tomorrow morning. However, it will all be gone on Sunday afternoon. So hurry up and watch. Be amazed.

And for those of you wondering where I’ve been on Ficlets recently, please remember that E3 was this past week and I’m a huge nerd. I had over 10 hours of E3 coverage by G4TV recorded, with another hour and a half today, plus the hours I spent online reading through game previews and hands-on demos. My wife gives me the same look you’re giving me right now, so I’m entirely used to it. After tonight though, it’s over and I’ll be back to my current addiction of micro pieces of fiction.

Apparently the comments aren’t working properly.

I hastily threw this thing together thinking that if it were up, I might actually post something worthwhile. As anyone can plainly see, that did not happen. Yet, in my haste, I didn’t actually test the comments. So now, even if someone does comment (why would they?), it won’t show up.

Looks like I’ve got some work to do tonight. Maybe I’ll even work on putting up that one post about why I hate John McCain so much.