Saturday, April 03, 2004
Mostly Updated
Okay, I think that the site is basically about ready. I have fixed a number of the major problems, such as broken links and so on. In the coming week, I’ll still have to upload all the old pictures and adjust the coding behind a number of old entries, but overall, this new site is pretty much ready to go.
I’ve got something of new design, and I would very much like to hear your ideas about it. It should be a little faster than the old design, because it’s lighter on images, but it’s also got more simple white space. Did you like the look of the site as it was a couple weeks ago better? Those of you outside China should be able to access the old site at this address, in case you’d like to compare. If you do prefer the old one, I think I should be able to change it back again. I’d very much like to see what you think. Please leave comments if you have an opinion.
As far as plans for the future are concerned, I plan to open a section for image galleries once the plugin for that is released by pmachine (again, for visitors outside China, the old galleries are still available). I may also open another section for stories, like storysphere on the old site.
Brightwind News • David's Life • Weblogs • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, April 01, 2004
First Entry on the New Site
Welcome to the future of Brightwind—on a brand new server, and with brand new software! For the time being, the site is really raw, but I got all the old entries imported alright. Now I need to work on changing the colors and the look of the site, as well as getting the pictures uploaded and so on… God willing everything will come fast. I’ll be working on it a lot over the weekend.
Bleeding Edge
Here it is, the bleeding edge new version of Brightwind (also accessible from China), hosted on a different server and powered by a different weblogging engine. Right now, it’s very raw (and pink, too), but I’m just so excited and I want to let you know that Brightwind is still alive and kicking, and before long it will be restored to all it’s blueness, with all or most of it’s current entries imported over to the new system. Sooner or later here, when you go to http://www.brightwind.org, you’ll go to those servers there, and not to this one. You’ll be able to see the difference. That system is the better one!
Stay with me here… I’ll be trying to get everything ready over the weekend, but I’m really not sure how much work will be involved. Already, I’ve found some parts of the migrating process confusing and strange, but we’ll see how things go.
In the mean time, I went and got myself a .Mac account, and I put up some new photos there. It’s really simple and temporary, but it works. Check it out by clicking here.
Monday, March 22, 2004
Beautiful Homework
Another big news is that I’ve officially signed up to get an MFA in graphic design from Nanjing Arts Institute (where I happen to be writing this evening). My dream is write my own stories and illustrate them. As it is, I’ve been drawing pictures of my story ideas for years and years, but I never really thought that I could make a living at it. Anyway, I think I can have a chance at it if I get the skills I need to make it happen. And with the skills I do on the road to this goal, maybe I’ll be able to do some professional photography and other art as well! (The photograph associated with tonight’s post was an experiment in how close I can get to the flame without burning my camera—Thank God I still don’t know. Imagine how lucky I would be, though, if someone actually paid me for this!)
Today I just talked to my professor here, and I got my first real homework assignment! I am to work on a logo for a student of mine, and also design a new introduction to myself on this website. I need to try to use style as much as content to give you the kind of impression of me that I would like you to have.
For a long time, I always thought that a web page that was just about me would be a “vanity page,” a fruit of my own self-love and an attempt to show the world how great I was. But now, my professor has helped me understand it as something like an expanded electronic business card on the web. It’s as much a service to all of you out there as it is to myself, in that it helps you to understand what this particular person is all about as he offers his writings and photos to you in this manner.
Not only that, but it’s homework, too! How wonderful art school is!
Photos • Wuxi • Way of Life • Religion • (61) Trackbacks • Permalink
Friday, March 19, 2004
Back in Business
I haven’t written for Brightwind for over a month. In the meantime, a group of American students from my old high school came for a school-sponsored trip to China. The school here where I teach hosted them for a while, and during that time, they met with Chinese students here, danced, played and talked with them, and also visited nearby cities in the daytime. After about five days there, I took them on another adventure to Beijing. We saw the Great Wall, the Forbidden City (which is hardly forbidden anymore), the Ming Tombs, the Summer Palace, the Beijing Opera, and some Chinese Acrobatics.
I was lucky that the two teachers, husband and wife, that came with the students to China both happened to be artists. The man was my art teacher when I went to school there almost 10 years ago. Both of them gave me lots of really neat tips on my photography, and I feel much inspired from meeting them.
The students also proved to be fascinating people. They were very mature, and they embraced their new experiences with open-minded enthusiasm. I’m very proud to have attended the same school as them.
I have much more news to share, but I will save it for my next entry, which, now that I have a bit more time, will be coming much faster than this one has.
Photos • Beijing • Way of Life • Religion • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
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