Art & Life for July 2006

Photo of the Month

July is…fireworks, trips up to the cottage, summer in all its glory

Thanks to Tabatha for the photograph. It's from her garden in Ajax, Ontario.

Oh the humanity of it all…

This month's featured humanity is Design. Web design that is…

For the last little while I have been thinking a lot about "The Great Web Design Swindle"- sites that may look nice on the surface, but underneath the code is terrible. Why does this get me into a lather? Because many people think that I, as a search engine optimization person, can just go into any site, tinker with some of the words and add a few Meta tags, and -POOF!- an optimized site that will rocket to #1 in Google. This ignores the fact that a site is a whole entity, and the way it was built plays a large role in not only how it ranks in the search engines but how well it performs for potential clients.

While testing my rant I received some sage advice from an old friend: Unfortunately those who are getting ripped off won't be swayed by your rhetoric; those making a living (badly) who might throw stuff your way will be annoyed, and those who agree will just nod their heads.

I must admit I was perplexed. He seemed to be on the mark. Okay, he was on the mark.

But what's a gal to do? Ignore the problem? I can't. Too many people are paying way too much money to get a site that doesn't function well. I've turned down business because until a company repairs their site and updates the coding, there is nothing I can do to make it better. Trust me when I tell you that no one likes the messenger with the bad news. And after plunking down $20K for a new site, the message is not received well.

The only analogy I can come up with is paying top dollar to a carpenter to create a new deck. It looks gorgeous. You're happy - over the moon, in fact. But then the city inspector tells you it isn't up to code: the wood isn't sturdy enough, there isn't enough support, etc. etc., and the whole thing needs to be torn down.

To prevent this from happening to you I will be posting "Top Questions to Ask Your Designer" a guide to choosing a design company that will provide a framework to help make the Web design decision. Check back in a week or two for a link!

Wine of the Month

2004 Marigny-Neuf - Sauvignon Blanc

This delightful white allows you to satisfy your inner snob, but still be gentle on the pocketbook. The label has that "Wow, this looks like it cost a mint" cache, and the wine is super-clean with the subtle allure of guava. (Come hither, guava!) Going to any smart cocktail parties this month? Wanna have the chance to say something as stupendously pretentious as "subtle allure of guava"? This wine is the wine! $16.55 - 4.5 stars out of 5

2003 Castello del Poggio Barbera d'Asti

We were a little nervous about trying this wine after one too many "Barbera de Nasty" types from the Piedmont region...but are sure glad we did. This is a charming red, and a perfect patio companion. On a recent summer night we were won over by the luscious cherry flavours with a hint of vanilla. Invite some friends over and try it with lamb kabobs on the barbie... it's a fabulous casual wine.

$18.25 - 4 stars out of 5

Cool Sites for Wasting Time

This month's sites:

Worst Web Design 2005 from WebPagesThatSuck.com - Poor usability, mystery meat navigation, glaring background colours with hard-to-read fonts, huge downloads... it's all here.

The Museum of Bad Art - Ahhhhh, Lucy in the Field with Flowers - it's a classic!

Stuff That Disturbs Me

It is very rare that McDonald's makes a misstep. I may not like the product, but overall their ubiquitous campaigns resonate with the target market - kids and parents. The times that you shake your head and mutter "What on earth was the MarComm department thinking?" have been few and far between. (Advertising in Bon Appétit Magazine springs to mind…) However, there is a new campaign that teeters on reprehensible.

The text below the food-smeared boy says, "At least what made it in him was all white seasoned chicken breast." You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the deep-fried nuggets are bad. I understand that the marketing department has to put across a positive message, which is why most of Mickey-Dee's advertising is lifestyle-based not food based. No one is going to buy something that says, "Well, at least little Johnny got his daily fill of saturated fat." (Okay, to be fair 1/4 of his daily intake…) But it seems irresponsible not to include nutritional information in the ad. (And, it would be nice to see nutritional info based on a child's dietary needs, not an adult's…but one can only dream…) Or, to take a stand, be an industry leader and provide real substitutes other than slices of apples with a sickly-sweet caramel sauce.

Recently, even Disney announced that they would not be renewing the contract for Happy Meal movie tie-ins with the fast food giant. Once the deal with Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is finished, McDonald's will be losing out on the billion dollar partnership. Perhaps that will provide the motivation they need.

Stuff I Love

I can't write a diatribe like the one above without commending the companies doing something right. President's Choice foods are awesome. They have a line of affordable organic baby food, and an extensive line of quality "Mini Chef" products - tasty food items made for kids that have no hydrogenated oils or artificial flavours. Bravo!

And because no kid should ever have to have a cookie-free childhood, a big thumbs up to Voortman Cookies who committed to a policy of zero-trans-fats cookies just over two years ago, the first company to do so in North America.

This month? This month I am grooving on:

• I Am the Bread by Sister Gertrude Morgan (King Britt version…)
• Montreal! This month it is chock-a-block with activities. The Jazz Fest is finishing up, the Internationl Fireworks Competition is ongoing, and the Just for Laughs festival runs all month.

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