Monday, September 20, 2004

We've Moved!

Anybody who's been checking Omnium as well as here knows that my frustration with Blogger's growing list of glitches, shutdowns, lock-outs, and random idiosyncracies has reached a peak. All summer I have wasted many hours I don't have to waste trying to get a post published or a link added to the template. After suffering through the third time in one day that Blogger simply refused to publish posts and then, when it finally did, double-posted them, I decided to bite the bullet.

As the Editor of this site, I made an executive decision to pack up and move along. It's time anyway. We've been growing past the limitations of Blogger's programming, and some of the stories I'd like to pursue and the resources I'd like to offer are simply not doable here. The new site is much more flexible and offers a much wider range of presentation options.

# We've been able to give our Recommended Reading list its own page, along with links directly to amazon.com. Our new webhost has an arrangement with amazon, and in a month or so when it kicks in, anything bought from amazon through one of our links will generate a small kickback to us that may help pay for the site.

# There's now a Movie page of relevant films, complete with reviews. Matewan and Norma Rae are currently featured with The Grapes of Wrath and Silkwood to follow shortly. More will be added as time goes on.

# We now have the capabilty to host photo galleries complete with thumbnails. At present we're featuring the Depression-era photographs of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans (Lange is up already; Evans will be added today), and in the future we'll have galleries of workers, union activities, strikes past and present, and photo essays connected to stories we've done and events in the working-class world.

# We even have the potential to host video presentations and musical selections that you can watch and listen to or even download for your own use, though I haven't gotten around to figuring out how to do that quite yet.

# In the near future we're going to have a Resource page of readable and downloadable files of articles, selected essays from the Trenches archives, and data complied by think-tanks and govt sources to help us understand the connections between individual stories and the larger social and political framework in which they play out.

# Most exciting perhaps is the Discussion program, which allows for independent and interconnected discussion threads that don't disappear but let on-going conversations develop on various topics over a period of time. The first is based on Karlo's observation in Comments on the 'Open Thread' post that people seem to think of class much the same way they think of religion. Another, to be added today, takes up eRobin's very disturbing comment on the 'Slavery' post that she sees no end to this kind of activity without direct action.

While the new Trenches doesn't look much like this one, we think the added features will make Trenches a more diverse and interesting place to visit and provide you with a lot more ammunition you can take with you as you wage the War with Moloch. The new address is:

http://matewan.squarespace.com/

(copy and paste the link or simply click the title of this post)

Our first post--on the battle for presidency of the Hollywood Writers' Guild--is up now, and from today on we'll be posting there rather than here. Please change your bookmarks accordingly, and let us know what you think of the changes when you drop by.

Housekeeping: For the time being this site will remain up, housing the Archives until I decide whether or not it's worth moving them.

Also, a note that a new, smaller site replacing Omnium called Arran's Alley is up and running--or at least walking--with a new post that is, to say the least, a total departure for me. Titled 'Women Tell Stories. Why?', it's a tongue-in-cheek essay based on a simple observation. While the more serious political analysis and social commentary you're used to will certainly continue as before, Arran's Alley is going to be a lot more free-wheeling and a lot looser. I'll only be posting to it once or twice a week (you can sign up to be notified by email when there's a new post), and I intend to use it to sound off about whatever crosses my path. From movie reviews to Bush-inanities, from somber reflections on the Mid-East situation to comic observations like 'Women Tell Stories', nothing is off the Alley's table. I think it will be more fun and more intriguing to read; I know it's more fun to write. See you there.