Jeri Smith-Ready: Be kind to eyes

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Be kind to eyes

Can't...breathe. Laughing...too...hard.

When I discovered my web designer husband having a near-coronary over this site (courtesy of Web Pages That Suck), I had to check it out.

There's almost nothing funny that can be said about a site as bad as the one for the Association of International Glaucoma Societies. It is its own best ridiculer. I'll just say that it made me wish I had glaucoma.

Don't miss these highlights:

Disembodied heads playing peek-a-boo and jockeying for position in the upper left corner
The hauntingly incoherent "Glaucoma Hymn"
The creepy eyeball Flash animation in the lower left corner (run your cursor over it to make it blink)
The 149 photos of the 2005 World Glaucoma Congress (of which this riveting shot of a guy contemplating the crudite plate is typical)

To keep this from being a totally irrelevent post (yeah, like people visit this blog to get solid, sage advice on writing), I'll say that it points out the importance of a well-designed website. You wouldn't believe how many established, even famous, writers have sites that are cutting edge 1997.

I would link to them here, but they might get mad at me. Don't ask why I care.

Besides, your eyes need a rest.

posted by Jeri @ 7:37 AM
5 comments

5 Comments:

Your web-designer husband just commented on my blog about the web site of the Democratic candidate for Congress in my district. It's here. Your husband is right, no one's going to take Schiavone seriously without a real web site.

But at least he doesn't have bobbing peek-a-boo heads in the header. Holy cow, what are these folks thinking? Or (obvious joke ahead) were they just unable to see how bad it was?

Posted by: Sharon GR at 4/12/2006 2:32 PM

Yeah, there's bad as in half-assed (Schiavone), and then there's BAAAAAAAAAAAAD, as in, we built these Flash animations, commissioned an opera aria, and spent hours uploading 149 photos of people drinking coffee and wishing they were somewhere else (IAGS).

The former is obviously under construction (although not for long, if he hopes to win), while the latter is beyond hope.

Posted by: Jeri at 4/12/2006 2:42 PM

Finally listening...this can't be real...can it?

Posted by: Rob S. at 4/13/2006 2:55 AM

It's difficult to comment in my stunned state, but my only thought is that this is some kind of joke. Maybe the AIGS stiffed the web designers on payment and this is the designers' revenge.

I actually find the bobbing heads soothing. Perhaps Chris could write a Web service that would provide bobbing heads of different specialties (dentists, Greek Orthodox priests, etc.).

Posted by: Dave S. at 4/20/2006 4:13 PM

Believe me, guys, it's real, and it's not a joke. Apparently it used to be worse: you used to be able to click on the eye and change the tune to Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds."

Life is so much funnier than fiction.

Posted by: Jeri at 4/20/2006 5:29 PM