I'm Not Going to be IGNORED, Dan.

I'm not certain when this happened, but while flipping through channels this evening I noticed that WGN America has a new logo.



I'm very curious as to why WGN went this direction with a re-branding. While I don't watch this channel very often, it seems to me that WGN primarily airs syndicated, family-oriented sitcoms; programming that seems incongruous with this new logo.

The new logo, to me, communicates something more in-line with an all-anime, all the time channel. I'd expect to see something like this on MTV or even Spike TV before WGN. WGN is using a new tagline as well, TV You Can't Ignore, so perhaps they are trying to re-invent themselves as edgy and intense.

Edgy, maybe... definitely intense. Intense in a creepy way. In an, "I am hovering above you, watching you sleep," way. When I went to the website, IT BLINKED AT ME. It will blink at you, too. You've been warned.

I don't like criticizing logo designs because I know how difficult a brand is to create, and I know that the vast majority of them end up being the result of design by committee. I don't feel comfortable saying, "WHAT was that designer thinking?!" when it comes to branding. Projects on a scale as large as this one must have been often end with the designer shrugging in resignation and putting his or her blinders on in order to meet deadline. I don't know if that's the case here, so I won't harsh on the design, but I will say that I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of the re-branding project/design meetings.

Now go on with your soul-piercing, bone-chilling, Manic Panic-wearing, stalkery stare, WGN!

P.S. Even though your new logo makes me nervous, WGN, thank you for Outta Sight Retro Night. I can deal with the evil clown girl ghosted onto the bottom right corner of my TV screen in exchange for old episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati and Newhart every Sunday night. That Johnny Fever... he's a mess!

Baby's First West Virginia Day

Mountaineers are always free.

Today is West Virginia day. In honor of West Virginia day, I'd like to take a little time to write about the state I have been calling home for a short three and a half months.

Recently, Vice President Dick Cheney made a joke about West Virginia, inferring that West Virginians have a proclivity for inbreeding. I'm not a native West Virginian, and I have only been a resident of the state since March. So, I didn't feel it was my place to be offended by the VP's attempt at humor. It's not the first time I'd heard West Virginia made fun of in such a way, so I just kind of rolled my eyes and thought to myself, "Old meme." I don't care for lazy, hackneyed humor and that's what this was. Besides, I seem to have a pattern of living in misunderstood states so I've heard all the tired, predictable jokes before. Houses in Alabama still have dirt floors; everyone from Utah has five mothers. West Virginia is populated with inbred ridge runners. Sure, there are some people here who play the banjo, but so did my dad, who was from southern California. The hills here are not alive with the sound of dueling banjos. For the record, Deliverance was set in Georgia, not West Virginia. People here seem pretty easygoing, and I haven't met anyone who thought Cheney's joke was a huge deal. What seems to have bothered most people was his quip about not having to watch what he says anymore now that he's not running for re-election.

But, my blog isn't about politics. It's about wild, wonderful West Virginia and the things I've discovered in my short time here. So, without further ado, here is a list of the things I love, in no particular order, about West Virginia... keeping in mind that I haven't had much of a chance to get very far outside of Charleston.

• Taylor Books
  I love this bookstore. It's progressive, has an excellent inventory, a great sale section, always smells like coffee (they've got a coffee bar) and is in a beautiful little spot on Capitol Street.
  
• The Blossom Deli
  I've never been for dinner, but the lunch offerings are nothing short of transcendent. Having tried every sandwich on the left-hand side of the menu, I'm kind of an authority on the topic. They have cream of mushroom soup once a month, and that's a day I never miss.
  
• The Capitol Market
  It's a farmer's market, and so much more. Besides farmer's market items including seasonal plants and produce, there is a wine shop, fish market, butcher, produce and bulk food market, restaurant, book store, coffee bar and foodstuffs/gift items specific to West Virginia. Last weekend I got a scented geranium for my patio. I've been looking for one of those for YEARS. I love this place.
  
• The Kanawha River
  I wouldn't dip my littlest toe into it, but I love the Kanawha river. I live about three blocks from the river, and work a block away from it. There is a trail that is wonderful for walking and biking, and at lunchtime it's a wonderful place to sit and watch the coal barges and speedboats go by. At night, the lights of Charleston reflect off the water. During her visit, Mom commented that this made Charleston remind her a lot of the little towns on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
  
• The New River Gorge and Bridge
  When mom visited in April, we took a trip down to Fayetteville to check out the famed New River Gorge bridge. It is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen! Photos do not do the massive nature of the bridge justice. More than the bridge, though, the entire area is breathtakingly beautiful. Green, rugged, completely alive. We drove back to Charleston on the Midland Trail, which at one point hugs the Gauley river and is dotted with small towns. I hope to be able to explore that area more in-depth during my time here.
  

Those are just a few things that I have fostered an affinity for here in the past couple months. I know as I get more established in the area, the list will grow.

So, in honor of West Virginia day, there you have it. And, I hope this doesn't disappoint anyone... but I haven't met any inbred, sinister, grossly disfigured hillbillies up here. Everyone I have interacted with here is intelligent, educated, creative, warm and friendly. Downtown Charleston's vibe is both chic and funky. Granted, I have wound up in a couple hollar-type places while out on drives that were kind of unsettling, but I think that stems from the one way in, one way out nature of these little pockets and an unfamiliarity with the area. Otherwise, this place is the same as every other place in the country in ways to be expected, and special for its unique assets and charms.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go check on my 'shine.

Google? Really?

I just noticed Google's new favicon.

It's weak. I'd have expected more from Google. Granted, one doesn't have much of a canvas to work with when creating a favicon. That poses many challenges. But seriously, Google? This?



Since I can't harp on the blasé without sharing some fancy, the following article from Smashing Magazine has an impressive listing of tiny, yet truly lovely, favicons.

Inspire Yourself: 50 Remarkable Favicons

Fav on!

Bee-tee-dubs, homes, Juno wasn't Zeus's wife.

I think I am one of the last people in the world to finally see Juno.

It's a good movie. It had the potential to be great, if not for one major flaw. Juno is likely the most OVER-WRITTEN film I have ever seen, ever. That annoyed me to the point of almost not being able to enjoy it.

Despite almost perfect casting, a versatile and enjoyable soundtrack and fantastic set design, I couldn't get past how forced Juno's character is. Yes, okay, Juno is a very quirky and cool (compared to other girls at her school) and quick-witted girl. There are ways to communicate those aspects without being so freaking over-the-top.

Conveying personality traits should be transparent to be effective, not based on random interests incongruous with the average American teenage girl glaringly pointed out during otherwise natural dialog between characters. To me, the film felt like an hour and a half of real people handling real topics in a believable fashion with Juno's character popping up like a whack-a-mole declaring, "I'm sixteen and a girl and my favorite band Iggy and the Stooges!" "I'm sixteen and a girl and Dario Argento is the master of horror flicks!" "I'm sixteen and a girl and make references to Soupy Sales, Mott the Hoople and the Thunder Cats!" "I'm sixteen and a girl and... and..."

That's not to say that teenagers can't or don't ever have an interest in --even a passion for-- aspects of popular culture that were current long before their time. But in this case, I felt like it was pitched as Juno's only selling point. That took a lot away from the overall story and the more well-developed characters.

I don't know much about this Diablo Cody woman who wrote the screenplay, but my perception is that she used the Juno character to project herself onto the big screen. Ellen Page is an incredibly likable actor, and I would love to see her in something where she's not being used as a vehicle for someone else's ego.

Kind of a rant, kind of a rave. That's all.


Iggy Pop: Not from England. Master of the junkie anthem turned cruise line jingle.