September 10, 2008
Welcome to the new and improved Mike Went West! Version 2.0, if you will. I’ve spent that past month overhauling my website. In fact, I took my initial design to about 75% completion only to trash it and start over again. What you see is actually my second revision. It was a ton of work, but was also incredibly rewarding.
Needless to say, I love my new design. But that is beside the point. I want to know what you think. Please take a moment to respond to the survey below. For those of you who’ve already forgotten what my old site looked like, the image on the left should refresh your memory.
Also, feel free to browse the other tabs on my site. You might notice that some pages are still under construction. I’ll fill these in whenever I have spare time. The front page, however, should be fully functional. Please let me know of any bugs you discover.
Note: those of you still using IE 6.0 will experience problems viewing my site. More precisely, the layout will look like complete garbage. I recommend upgrading to IE 7.0 or switching to Firefox for optimal viewing.
You may also notice that my domain name has changed. I decided to switch the site over to mikewentwest.com to match the title of my blog. Please make sure to update your bookmarks!
So with the bulk of the redesign complete, I can finally write about music again. The fresh look should inspire me to post more frequently. Or at least that is the hope.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, I want to share one of my favorite songs from the past few weeks. The first time I listened to it I experienced a moment of déjà vu: I could’ve sworn I’d heard the song before but couldn’t quite place where. After some internet research, I finally figured it out. But instead of just telling you, I think I’ll let you figure it out on your own (if you really want to know, check the comments).
Anyways, the song is “How It Ends” by Devotchka 
, a band from Denver that reminds me of Beirut. Or maybe it’s the other way around - Devotchka actually predates Beirut. Regardless, the song title is particularly fitting as I bid farewell to my old site. More importantly, however, the song itself is fantastic. Especially the violin ending.
[mp3] Devotchka - How It Ends
Before closing, I’d like to thank my roommate Eugene for all the help he gave me over the past month. I couldn’t have redesigned my site without his guidance. I’d also like to thank Danielle and Verna for the additional feedback they provided along the way. You guys rock!