by Matt Herron
Christmas was a whirlwind. In typical fashion, I abandoned all semblance of routine during the holidays and focused on enjoying my vacation. Between moving to Germany, spending time with family, holiday shopping, reading good books, meeting new people, and lapsing nightly into a full on home-cooked food coma, I had plenty to keep me occupied.
The photo above is a dazzling view of the village and rolling German hills where I now live. It will make a fantastic base from which to start (and recuperate from) as many trips as I can afford/manage in the next year or more. I spent some time hiking around the hills with my dogs taking photos, but this view is by far my favorite, because I don’t even have to put on shoes to enjoy it.
Enjoyment can only last for so long before it deteriorates into excess, however, so us little elves went to work on the site behind the scenes. You’ve probably noticed the beautiful new design. It’s better organized and all the words have plenty of room to breathe. We even have a little logo up top now.
I’d like to thank James for all his hard work and generosity. The new design is the best Christmas present I’ve ever been lucky enough to receive. Visit James at The Phuse and commission him for some work if you need a snazzy new design for your own site.
As I work on new content, is there anything you’d like to see me write about this year? Leave a comment and let me know! Your input is priceless.
by Matt Herron
Let’s start off on the right foot: this is not a ‘blog’. I propose that we simply do away with that clumsy moniker because it has no discretion. It is applied too liberally: NY Times Blogs alongside the daily edition of “What I Had For Lunch”. To avoid confusion, let’s call this website an Editorial. Of course, my cry for distinction will probably fall on deaf ears for its youth. This room is very crowded and the chatter is relentless. Still, I reserve the right to my voice even if I make myself hoarse from screaming. Perhaps one day I will be able to salvage the last shred of dignity I abandoned when, as an unknown writer, I chose to publish on the web.
Why publish online? Because I need practice writing as bad as the web needs more good writers. And the convenience of it cannot be overlooked. Publishing online is free and it offers the potential for a fairly large, intelligent audience. Besides, a little man on my shoulder told me in a heavy southern accent that I would be a “damned fool” not to take advantage of the situation. I had no choice but to comply.
As you know, readers, there is no website without an audience. The internet is a creative tool as well as a communicative tool. There’s gotta be give and take on both sides, as creator and as consumer. I understand that my job, as a writer, is to supply the entertainment: to make you laugh; to make you cry; to make you angry; to inspire you. In return, I ask only that you keep me honest. With that, I give myself to you, dear readers. Tear me to pieces.
