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Longtime readers may recall a review of this blog that expressed dismay at my white-on-black visual theme. My commenters generally agreed and I had intended to change it. (It looked great to me because I grew up with DOS, but I’d rather not limit the blog’s appeal to people who share my technological quirks.) In the intervening time I tried a number of times to find an alternate theme, but never quite found one I was happy with.
Today, my friend Craig Martin also mentioned he found the theme hard to read, and I offered the usual excuses of why I hadn’t changed it yet. I then realized with some embarrassment that it’s been five years since I originally said I’d change the theme.
So I decided it was time to do it. My apologies to those who have had trouble reading the old theme over the years through my delays, but I think an apology is less important than fixing the damn problem. The new theme of the blog is called Château. There are some things about it I’m still not happy with – but le mieux est l’ennemi du bien. Better to have it out there and leave the possibility of another change at a later date. The various features of the old theme should work, except for the old blogroll, which was getting way out of date anyway. Besides the white on black, the most obvious change should be something I’d always wanted as part of a new theme: the banner with a picture of very different philosophers, from very different times and places, all of whom I admire. (I’ll leave it to commenters to say who they are!)
Personally, I like the change. Very professional. Easier to read and adds some subtle visual color.
The only request I would have is for you to tag the pictures of your favorite philosophers so they would be identifiable. I am ashamed to say (not being a professional philosopher) that I do not recognize all the pictures. I recognize Buddha, Lao-tzu, and (I think) Aristotle. I do not want to hazard a guess on the other two.
Otherwise, thank you for all of your thoughtful and analysis and commentary. It is always intellectually stimulating.
~ John
Hi John,
Thank you, and thanks for reading. I only left the names of the philosophers unmentioned because I thought readers might find it fun to guess! If nobody guesses for a while, I’ll be happy to reveal it. I will say that you are correct that the second figure is Aristotle. The other two are actually not the Buddha or Laozi – but I think it’s fair to say you’re close on both counts (assuming you’re talking about the first and fourth respectively).
Hegel? Really? We all know Kant should be in the center. Sigh. :)
Aside from that, it looks marvelous. And I didn’t recognize that sculpture of Aristotle (I’m guessing it’s one of him in older age, as others seem to have him with a fuller beard and some hair on the forehead). The first one I guessed quickly enough but then thought it might be Tsongkhapa (but no, my first guess was right) but the others I managed well enough…
Never! After Hegel, Kant was entirely aufgehoben. :)
Glad you like the new look, though!
I read your blog as email, so no change for me. Keep up the good work, enjoy receiving your emails.
I like the change.
It’s easier to read for me. Also, banner is cool.
FYI, since it doesn’t look like there are any more guesses, I’ve identified the five philosophers at the bottom of the About this blog page.