On Ferrara Caffe

The folks at redmonk are moving their blogs over to WordPress-land; see for example tecosystems.

Their new site has a different feel. One of the advantages of WordPress is that is possible to change the appearance of a site by the click of a mouse, due mainly to a web technology known as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

I’ve noticed several changes in the last few hours as the monker’s have continued on their migratory path.

I have also played with these site customizations, though I can vouch that the appearance of TWWP will most likely remain constant for some time to come.

I’ve always felt that web apps tend to favor dross over content; for example, most blogging templates use only a small part of the screen for the blogger’s words. A few weeks back I wanted a wider column, and searched the templates available from the WordPress folks before settling on the template that you are viewing as you read this post.

I’m hooked on this template because it happens to come with a photo. If you look at that photo you will see “Ferrara Cafe.” That’s because the photo was taken near the location of Ferrara Cafe, which in their own words is “America’s First Espresso Bar and Oldest Pasticceria.”

To me Ferrara Cafe means December of 1967. I was kicked out of my apartment by my then roommate as his cutie-pie was coming into town (they later married and are still gong strong almost 40 years later). I heard that one of my Courant classmates was going home for the holidays and so was able to rent his apartment on Elizabeth Street, in the part of New York known as “Little Italy.”

I also had a cutie-pie back then (we also later married and are stilll going strong almost 40 years later). We went out for a walk early in the morning of Christmas Day and found ourselves at Ferrara Cafe. It was one of the few businesses open and so we went in and had cappucino as well as their extraordinary baba au rum.

So that is why the theme of this blog won’t change. It is not a technically superior — it is emotionally superior.

Every time I see that photo I think of that special NYC morning almost 40 years ago. And now I expect some of you will, too.