As you can see, I’ve finished the new PI theme. It’s a complete re-work from the old look. As well as changing the color scheme, etc., I’ve added a navigation bar at the bottom of the header and moved some content off to other pages.

There are a few things I don’t have completed yet. But I’d be interested in hearing what you think of the look. I also want to know if you find something that’s broken or looks out of whack. I’ve tested in IE 6, Opera 7.5 and Firefox 1. I’m both Mac and Linux challenges, so I’d especially like to know how things look on those platforms.

There are a couple of things that just don’t work in Opera, but since less than 1% of my readers are using that browser, I may not bother to figure out why.

Thanks for any comments and welcome back to the 50’s!

The socks for #1 Son are on the needles now. They’re in Meilenweit Cotton Fantasy #801.

He really wanted something in seafoam green, but I just couldn’t find any yarn I liked in that color. He has declared that this will be “cute” and he likes the colors. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Taking a hint from Queen Kahuna’s Crazy Toes And Heels book I’ve done the toe in Eye of Partridge to add reinforcing. I’ll do the heel in the same stitch.

On the blog front, I’m working on a total redesign of PI. I was going to just do a new skin, but I decided that it was time to bite the bullet and really use the new template setup in Wordpress 1.5. The new look will be sort of 50’s retro in rather subdued colors. I’m hoping to get the rework done and published some time this weekend — if life doesn’t get in the way of blogging.

And, not to worry, the old moon & cow will always be available.

Back in 1963 during an after-hours session at the Northwestern , Inc. studios, an unknown rock group called The Kingsmen recorded a simple song about a sailor longing for his lady. The lead singer, Jack Ely, was either hungover or had just had his braces tightened (depending on which version of the story you believe).

Louie Louie made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s success may have been fueled by rumors that the vocals were intentionally slurred to mask profanities of one kind or another (depending on which “real” version of the lyrics one reads). Many radio stations refused to play it. The governor of Indiana banned it from the entire state based only on the rumor, since nobody could understand the lyrics.

The FBI investigated, but in the end concluded that … nobody could understand the lyrics.

A few years ago the notion was suggested, rather tongue-in-cheek I believe, that Washington statue use Louie Louie as the state song. Nobody would be offended by it since… nobody could understand the lyrics.

Following a long, long tradition of believing what you can’t hear, Benton Harbor, Michigan School Superintendent Paula Dawning has ordered the McCord Middle School Band not to perform Louie Louie in Saturday’s Blossom Time Grand Floral Parade. The band is now trying desperately to learn a new song in time for the parade.

Said Dawning:

It was not that I knew at the beginning and said nothing. I normally count on the staff to make reliable decisions. I found out because a parent called, concerned about the song being played.

One wonders if perhaps Dawning has never considered that her staff may have made a reliable decision, and it’s the sole “concerned” parent who is out to lunch? Hopefully she will be laughed out of town and the kids will get to play the song they’ve practiced all year.

For those interested, Wikipedia has both the original lyrics and the Kingsmen’s version. Neither is obscene.

Today is Persistent Illusion’s first blogiversary. You can see that for the first time the Wayback Machine in the left-hand column says This Day One Year Ago. The question I asked way back then was So What Do I Do With A Blog. I’m still sort of wondering.

I supposed that I should do something special, although I’m not sure exactly what.

I’m actually a bit surprised that I haven’t lost interest before this.

So… happy blogiversary me!