The Making of Electronic Renaissance
Back in the days of mid-2008, when men were men, women were women, gas was $4.49 a gallon, and the Milwaukee Brewers still thought that Bill Hall was a viable infielder, I had an idea.
This idea, which laid in whatever in whatever my mind’s equivalent of purgatory is until mid-2009, was one for a website. A website that, while simple in nature, would have a distinctly 90s feel to it while making heavy usage of the colors brown and blue. It’d serve as a general discussion and hangout-type website, one of those ‘nooks’ of the Internet that everyone knows, but nobody knows...
Well, I’m pleased to report to you, dear reader, that my vision eventually came true. Except for the whole ‘brown and blue’ part. And that second thing, incidentally, is what this article happens to be about.
For an idea of what exactly I’m talking about, here’s what my original plans for Electronic Renaissance entailed, verbatim from one of my many notebooks:
"The main page I keep envisioning has a banner-type thing at the top. It contains the 'electronicrenaissance.com' logo, with a randomly-generated slogan above or below the main logo; this generation will draw upon forty or so (twenty for each side) slogans, and both sides will never be used concurrently. There will be a separate and brief 'What’s New?' box as a floating element within the banner.
"Immediately below that will be a navigation toolbar; the toolbar will contain a number of buttons drawn in the vaguely runic stylings of Lode Runner: The Legend Returns..."
Sorry, I have to break in here for a second. “Vaguely runic stylings of Lode Runner: The Legend Returns”? What am I, a Led Zeppelin IV fansite?
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
"...that pertain to various portions of the site. Clicking on a vaguely runic drawing of the US, for example, would take you to a section containing the authors’ stories of various states."
It’s all about the Runejamins, baby!
The rest of it is more boring than what I’ve already posted, so you can either read the entry in its entirety here or be left with this final gem:
"The left-hand bar in my concept drawing..."
You’ve got it, folks. Runes and a sidebar. Isn’t that all a man needs in life, really?
Thankfully, my site’s saving grace came in the form of Dr. Yttrium, who changed the site from a one-man show to a two-man project very shortly after I purchased Electronic Renaissance’s initial hosting contract in April of 2009. We then spent the next three months doing real life things and then deciding on a better design for the lil’ old site.
So, if you ever happen to see Dr. Yttrium walking down your street someday, be sure to thank him for saving everyone’s eyes from the banner below. He’ll be glad you did.
Have any questions or comments to make about the making of Electronic Renaissance? Send an email to captainnosebleed (at) electronicrenaissance (dot) com, and your comments could end up in the next edition of Captain’s Mailbox.
You can also discuss this article at its associated forum topic.
