Porkopolis.org

Colophon for v6.x

Palenburg, OH – 28th day of February, 2010. Porkopolis.org is my personal collection of arts, literature, philosophy and other varied considerations of the pig and its influence on much of human’s cultural history.

In the new v6.0 the majority of the previous site as been incorporated into my blog, “A Trespass of Swine”, essentially creating a content management system powered by WordPress.

This site is now fifteen (15) years old. Posted today, is v6.0 of the continuing design “single–minded bestiary.” Tweaking of this sow’s tail will continue until she improves her fashion sense – lipstick, maybe, but lace hats? I dunno…

Bestiary

A bestiary, or bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Such collections were first made popular in the Middle Ages as illuminated volumes that described various real or imaginary animals, birds and mythological creatures.

Stories and pictures within the bestiary provided each creature’s natural history in an allegorical format as well as an interpretation of the moral significance or lesson each animal was thought to embody.

Porkopolis.org is a modern version of such a collection, single–minded because it only discusses pigs. And its moral lesson: “Sometimes, the path of enlightenment leads through the pig pen…”

Same pigs, different circus

This design is an evolution of the previous layouts, and a total re–write of the code behind the v5.x site. Almost all of the previous information was re–formatted and put back.

Additionally, much new information continues to be added. I hope everyone finds something interesting and enjoyable.

Sages and Pilgrims

I have been inspired by and adapted the ideas from the web designs, tutorials and publications of many intelligent and generous professionals. Their print and web resources have enabled me to build my vision — a pig web site with information arranged in alternate streaks of fat and lean.

I do not know any of them, we’ve never met, but what works here is because of their guidance. What fails is because I lost my way in the haymows during the hog days of summer.

I consider these folks some of the fittest hogs at the trough. Because of them, the web is le ss a Paris and more a Porkopolis. Thank you: Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer, Dan Cederholm , Andy Budd and all the folks who write for and maintain A List Apart.

Much of my research has been made possible by the great expertise of the librarians and staff of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, especially the folks at the Poland Branch.

Epicurious, Pig?

Porkopolis.org is built and maintained on a Win XP PC. It is written in XHTML, PHP, HTML, CSS, and also uses JavaScripts.

With v6.0, WordPress is used as the power behind a content management system for the majority of the information presented here.

The site is tested locally on an XAMPP Apache web server. The current internet host is Bluehost.com.

When this sow’s belly itches, I scratch her with: WeBuilder, TopStyle, Photoshop, IrfranView, HTML Tidy, Notepad and some terrific extensions for the Firefox web browser: Web Developer, Firebug, HTML Validator and Total Validator.

Validation

I hope the design is enjoyable and efficient, but it is what it is… I have only one version of the site so every browser gets the same code. Your browser–of–choice must decide what to do with it. You should know that the pigs and I prefer the discretionary judgment of the Firefox and Opera browsers.

Unless some errant swine has rooted up a page recently, all this site’s pages validate at the W3C Markup Validation Service — http://jigsaw.w3.org/css–validator for CSS and at http://validator.w3.org/ for HTML v4.01 and XHTML v1.0.

Ah, that being said, the thorough rooters among you will notice one CSS file that doesn’t pass validation. I have included some ‘progressive enhancements‘ in a file appropriately named “hacks.css.” So again, it is what it is.

Content

I have attempted to insure that sources of original copyrighted images and content have been contacted. I am grateful to all those who have responded to my requests and have allowed me to reproduce versions of their material here.

Copyrighted material should be credited. Please notify me of any omissions. Some modification or editing may have occurred in order to accommodate size or design requirements. This is usually noted as “adapted from” in the credits.

Colophonem adidi!

This project was completed under the protection of the sorceress Circe, the daughter of the sun, in whose halls I have feasted, and before whom I will always bow, enswined in the allure of porculation and the animality she has shown me in my own being.

It is with the pleasures of the Circean Cup that I have pledged Circe my service and dedication to her belief that an insufficiency of pigs is one of the great faults of all that the gods have made manifest to man.

I look upon this design pridefully, for I believe it is pig punditry true to the Porcine Muse’s honor; and I thank the gods that I have completed this project!

Little pig, big pig,
Root, hog, or die!

Daniel E. Schultz, Editor and Swineherd