I wasn’t happy with the layout (or “Theme” as WordPress calls them) I had when I put this site up, but I was having a difficult time finding something I really wanted. I had stumbled upon Openswitch.org and really loved the looks of what the site owner had going on with his theme. I was looking around after that for one that came close so I could alter it and turn it into what I wanted, but with most of the themes I ran across it would be like trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

More than a few times I saw reference to a Theme called “Cutline,” and though it looked the closest to the Theme at Openswitch I just wasn’t sure…and it wasn’t exactly the same. I went ahead and downloaded it and put it up for a test run. “Hmm, great layout,” I thought, “now what do I do with it?” So I played with the CSS code and some of the PHP (which I am a total noob at doing). Okay, I played a lot with the CSS…I was bound and determined to get the look I wanted. At one point I was stuck and couldn’t figure out where to put the background image. Normally this wouldn’t have perplexed me, but I was running on empty - I hadn’t realized that I had gotten so into what I was doing that I had stayed up all night working on my theme. I think it was way worth it.

Chris Pearson, the creator of Cutline, has created a masterpiece of coding with this theme. It’s almost foolproof. It has a lot of wonderful advantages over many of the other themes out there, at least from what I’ve seen, and it is so versatile!

So what you see now are the fruits of my labor. I hope that Ben Gray over at Openswitch doesn’t get upset with me, because now that I look at both of these sites side by side, they are awfully close. But, in my defense, I stole nothing from anyone, I tweaked the CSS and PHP all on my own, and even figured out how to do some of the things I was unsure of before Chris could answer me back with questions I had. (Which, by the way, is another wonderful component of the Cutline theme - it has it’s own support site)!

I was so excited that I could include five photos, taken by my daughter, Cat, that rotate with every page transition or upon refreshing the page. I made the banner/site logo located at the top of the page, myself in Paint Shop Pro (what I prefer to using Photoshop). I am probably not done with all the little changes I want to do. I want to add and change a few more things, and organization will be a key component as I continue to build cynarajane.com.

I just want to thank Chris Pearson again for such a fabulous contribution. It’s wonderful things like this that make it a joy to edit and personalize a WordPress theme. I don’t think I’ll ever use anything else, unless Chris comes up with something better, which I’d be shocked at since this is primo.

It certainly wasn’t planned that my second post ever here on CynaraJane.com would have the same basic theme as the first post (death), but I was stunned once again to see the news this morning. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brad Delp, the lead singer of the 1970s and ’80s rock band Boston was found dead at his home in southern New Hampshire on Friday, local police said.

Delp, 55, apparently was home alone and there was no indication of foul play, Atkinson, New Hampshire, police said.

I am a huge Boston fan and have been since first hearing their music in 1976. Fifty-five years old? He was too young. It’s a shame…I have never heard Boston live, but I had hopes of someday catching a tour, especially since the band had a new album in the works. It’s a sad day for music. I think I’ll be listening to Boston all day today. It will be my own little tribute.

Speaking of a sad day for music:

Eddie Van Halen has checked himself into rehab. That’s not what is sad, that’s a good thing. Eddie has been known to have some major issues with alcohol, I’m glad to see him getting help. Unfortunately it leaves a lot of people wondering whether the Van Halen reunion tour, with David Lee Roth back in frontman position, is going to happen at all now. Diamond Dave had said the only thing that would make this reunion tour kick-ass was if Eddie would dry out, but Eddie going into rehab has forced ticket sales for the tour to be suspended - indefinitely. Not only that, but DLR has also refused to attend Van Halen’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because he couldn’t perform. Big whiny baby. Dave, can you not think of yourself for just a little while?I think there were definitely those who had their doubts that the reunion tour was ever going to happen. The latest turn of events seems like it could make those doubters right.

I’ve never been much of a comic book reader, even when I was a kid, but the news out today that Captain America has been killed off in the latest edition of Marvel Comic’s Captain America hit me hard. Oh, no, I’m not mourning this fictional characters passing as if he were a real person…it’s more like I’m wondering exactly what the message is that Marvel Comics is trying to get across to not only their readers, but the rest of the world who are reading the headlines, “Captain America is Dead!”?

This was a character which represented the good old Red, White, and Blue. Even his costuming screamed, “America!” He fought for truth, justice and the American way. Marvel comics saw fit to have him shot dead by a sniper while on his way to court.

I don’t know the storyline behind this event, but the killing of Captain America speaks volumes in this climate of political unrest. With so many opposed to the war in Iraq, fed up with the politics in Washington D.C., and no obvious savior from our woes in sight, did we really need one of our fictional iconic superheroes gunned down? Is this merely a publicity stunt geared toward avid comic book collectors who will make the price of this one edition skyrocket because they only printed so many copies? Are they going to reincarnate him at a later date? Is there still any hope for America?? Or, have the Dixie Chicks bought Marvel Comics?

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