First real, second actual, three topics, four paragraphs

Alright, the moral of this week is that I should never write a post saying that I'll do a more complete post later. I evidently don't ever get around to doing the more complete post. In the hopes that I can belatedly rectify that disparity between intention and action, awaaaay we go...

I looked at the MTV website and was immediately overwhelmed by things that didn't interest me. Everything from the VMA and Revlon ads to the Cingular sponsored top 5 list about the middle of the homepage smacked of self-important corporate drivel. (By now it may be clear that I have no problems expressing how I feel in a public setting.) I left the site quickly because it had, in terms of communication, too much noise and too little signal. I witnessed more advertising than content and knew that it wasn't really worth my time.

The Smithsonian site, now there was something worth braking for. The main page opens fairly quickly with no large files to load or abrasive visuals. Most of the colors are pastels. These don't grab the eye immediately, but the tones are earthy enough to avoid being saccharin. Points of interest are divided up in the middle of the screen and continue down. The layout of the page uses a vertical scroll bar but not a horizontal bar, something that I'm sure irritates more people than just me. I keyed in on the online exhibitions. I never ran into an unexpected, long sound file. Some sites will bombard my computer and through it my ears with repeating midi files of undoubtedly infernal origins, and I was thankful to be free of those here. Overall, the experience was enjoyable.

Compared to the first two sites, the Top 50 Newspapers is spartan. Personally, I found it refreshing. When I run into a site that offers little in the way of attention-grabbing nonsense from the margins, I know that I can easily assimilate it into my internet-traveling experience. When a site is free of music, I am free to fire up iTunes or WinAMP and play my own as I browse. When a site is free of visual noise, I know I am free to focus my attention without feeling distracted by the latest product that Google.com thinks will make my lips look pretty. I like simplicity. It means I can act on my own rather than react to unwanted stimuli.


here's to posting on time next week