Cheeky Fellow

The Cheek of God is a relatively new blog, started five months ago. It’s about Tysdaddy's secret family stuff and what’s beneath his admitted unibrow. By the way, Brian, what does the Cheek of God actually mean? I also had to look up the word palimpsest, thinking at first it had to do with male organ flaccidity. That's my mind for you. Bad Mutha, bad. Turns out it is something to do with reusing paper, so now I'm going to hell for mocking. OK, fine.

This site is not for someone who wants to read eight or ten lines, get a good laugh and go on with their day. You’re going to have to spend some time reading - maybe a lot of time. I love the faded photos that he has chosen to insert, especially his Dad’s photo, which just resonates with me. The accompanying story is wonderful, too.

Brian seems an interesting character, likable and genuine: “I’m a middle-aged, balding, big-eared, unibrow-sportin’ monstrosity with a gentle heart.” Who wouldn't like that? He writes about his struggles to determine where he fits in as far as his faith goes and his search to try to understand Christianity. He questions, searches and at times, belabors the point. Read what he wrote about watching a fellow at a restaurant and cringing as he realized that he had been just like that in his earlier years:

"I was quite funny, and I didn’t care whom I hurt to get a laugh. If I stepped on your toes during a conversation, it was your fault for not keeping up or stepping aside. I belittled others and carried on as though my opinion was the only one worth hearing. Heck, the guy even looked like I did back then. It became pretty scary and set a pall over the remainder of my day. Why? Because I regret many of my actions from that period in my life. I regret that I didn’t learn to keep my trap shut and give others a chance to be heard. I may have learned a few things had I just shut up once in a while."

I had to quote that, because that great statement was hidden in an excruciatingly long post. Trim those down Brian. Give us the meat. But for all the theology in this blog, he's not preaching to us, and I like that.

There are some interesting topics:

• Brian had weight loss surgery in 2002, but doesn’t post a lot about what’s going on with that now, I hope that he’s healthier, his about photo looks pretty healthy and svelte.
• He’s working on quitting smoking, and no one in his family even noticed.
• His oral surgery story made me weak and a bit queasy with sympathy and hope that I never go through what he’s been through. I brushed my teeth right after reading that bit. Flossed, too.
• His short freewritings are my favorite part of his blog.

Brian's template isn’t bad, I do love tabs. It’s readable and the sidebar background colors set off the inner panel nicely. He doesn't need three panes. He could easily do with just two, and I don't really like the way the banner distorts the words of his header with streaky rows of white gradient.

The template is there to set off and showcase your writing, much like what a wooden frame does to a canvas, but this one isn't doing you justice. In no way, however, is this template in the rotten, horror of death category as some I have seen recently.

Face it, we’re living in a fast food world where we are used to getting our reads in quick bites. Some of the posts are longer than my crazy Aunt Bernice's armpit hair.

Here are my recommendations:

1. You can ditch signing your name on each post. We know who you are. I know you have a guest from time to time, but only twice so far, so it's really not an issue.
2. Do you need separate categories for faith, religion and Christianity? It makes it hard to navigate. Paring down the categories makes navigation easier.
3. Four or five posts on your front page are more than adequate. You have eight.
4. Consider carefully your words. Make each phrase count. You knew we would get you on this one. Less can be more. Most people didn't visit to read a dissertation.