First, A Special Thanks

I want to do things right around here, and that is something that needs to happen from the outset. So I’ve spent quite a bit of time making sure things will be of quality: that the layout is pleasing to the eye; that it is easy to navigate and read; that the writing will be strong and the analysis thorough and interesting.

This goal of doing things right extends to the header image as well. Try as I might, I didn’t think I could create a header image that would satisfy me; that would look the way I want it to.

In stepped a man named Bradford deCaussin. Check out his photography at flickr. It really is something special. I’ve only just discovered his work, but I was very excited to find out that he has done work for The Spiderwick Chronicles movie that’s coming out next year (I’ve bought my nephew all of the Spiderwick books, and he absolutely loves them; I’m sure we’ll be seeing the film together next year). He’s also done work for other films, like Charlotte’s Web, Van Helsing, Constantine, and The Lord of the Rings.

I asked Bradford if I could use his photograph of a baseball on my new weblog, explaining to him that it was exactly what I had imagined for the site. I was looking for a ball that showed some age. I really wanted the individual threads of the stitches to be visible. I was looking for a certain patina that I would recognize immediately when I stumbled upon it (the patina of the baseballs that I kept in my bat bag in the closet of my room when I was in high school; yellowed, dirty, and covered in dried spit). The baseball in Bradford’s photograph is the baseball of my imagination.

Problem is, Bradford is a professional, and I was asking to use the image for free. Artists are not keen on giving their work away for free. However, after a bit of back and forth, Bradford was cool enough to loan me his photo.

So there it is, at the top of page.

Pretty sharp, huh?