too harsh a contrast w/ the color scheme and illustration, imo. i always imagined the joint was housed in a stone or stucco exterior, illuminated by slices of sunlight and perpetual candles, but that's just me. facing a brick wall, especially one obviously built by non-union types, sorta makes me feel like i need to break out, or at least head in the other direction
I kinda agree with b real that it may not fit well together. the old bricks were kinda blah and when we got the place rolling again after the hack there was some talk of using dungeon style stone walls.
I thought I would try something. perhaps a stucco look would be ok, I can try that tonight and you all can let me know.
Those are some pretty fancy cut stones you stuck on the facade. I like these even better... a little easier on the eyes and it gives the place the 'halls of justice' feel. Good feces!
it would be great if a few stones were missing and we could get glimpses of something happening on the other side. or maybe a touch of graffiti. but if i had to choose between brick and stone, i think i liked the brick better.
We had always been OK with the original brown bricks, though they didn't quite convey the feel we had in our minds - a continental feel, old. Or as I put it once, espresso at 2 AM, rather than latte' in the afternoon.
Ms Okie, who had some input into eff's original design (and to whom I defer in aesthetiic matters), thought the red bricks were too busy, and didn't go well with the colors in the forum window. She played around with her photoshop filters for a minute, and came up with this variation (1.1mb, easier if you open it in a new window or tab).
Not a definite proposal (though the colors are interesting), but a jumping off point if anyone thinks it's worth pursuing.
LIke lizard, she thought of graffiti! And wished there were a way for us to write on the wall...
dan, you may have noticed I figured out how to make this topic appear - I feel so temporarily clever... :^)
I liked the old brown bricks better than these, seemed warmer and friendlier. The variation you posted, with the old mortar-crusted bricks, feels like the right kind of building to me, like many of my favorite local pubs--though maybe a bit busy for my laptop screen.
I'm happy as long as the cat strolls through the beam of light coming in the chink.
Dear Dan,
Listen to the general reaction, and enjoy yourself in your "remodeling" of the site. Your work has been and continues to be precious for those of us who depend on it.
Personally I'd rather be stoned than bricked... but that's just my choice. I like the idea of some art on the walls or graffiti or whatever. The place is feeling pretty lively regardless of how it looks.
The internet is fun... if someone were quite bored they could change our bar everyday. Maybe a pastoral scene on sundays, tuesdays could be an old log cabin, thursdays brick, saturday night disco, friday night gothic themes, mondays neighborhood tavern, leaving a casual wed for a traveling cocktail party? Maybe mimosas at the great pyramid? Or margaritas in the hanging gardens of babylon?
I too liked the texture of the first set of red bricks but thought they were a bit over powering. what she has done makes them fit better. i will mail you the jpg so she can modify it. then I will load it back up for everyone to take a look at.
my reasons for messing around with the place are two fold, I find the original bricks a little boring and not really like anything i have ever seen. and, when we were talking to another one of the founders, he mentioned he might have some special copyrighted stones that are used in dungeons or somesuch.
thought i would play around a bit. I can set it back to the way it was in an instant.
I like the idea of shifting backgrounds more as I think about it. Brick today, hanging gardens tomorrow, stones for the weekend... a floating speakeasy feels even more illicit... now I'm thinking about Guys & Dolls.
dan, we got the jpg. Ms Okie will recreate the one you saw, and maybe some other variation(s).
Looking forward to future variations. I do like the funky bricks Ms. Okie did. The current stonework is a little too bright to feel like a comfy bar, but as long as the place stays open I'm not complaining, or rather not about the decor.
I really like the current version... has strong lure-appeal!
_________________ “Against barbarity, poetry can resist only by confirming its attachment to human fragility like a blade of grass growing on a wall while armies march by.”
Mahmoud Darwish
