The more I futz around here, the more thankful I am that I did not pursue a career in graphic design. I work with designers, and while I can empathize with their anal insistence on making every little curve and every little edge just so I cannot get as worked up as they do about the placement of every single little serif. I’ve read a Chip Kidd novel, and I’ve even browsed some Poyner:

But none of that has prepared me for the psychic and spiritual costs of trying to redesign my blog. Sure, wordpress makes it pretty simple to switch out the themes but the sheer volume of possible choices daunts me. Every time I make up my mind that this will be the layout for me, I spy what might be a better one. Playing around with the widgets is a little more fun, but I’m still having trouble settling down into a final configuration. And the worst part is that while I’m screwing around with this stuff, my readers are missing out on my cogent insights into American life, witty commentary on the world around us, and cultural criticism. But it must be done, and I feel like I am getting closer to the finished product. I have decided, for now, to go black. I’m not sure if this is good design or not, but I like it and it’ll do for now.