GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: A few months ago, David P. -- better known as Desert Pundit in these parts -- engaged me to design a new, decorative masthead, to replace the rather ordinary Times Bold headline banner which had been stuck, afterthought-like, at the top of his page.

We went back and forth on this thing a few times, tweaked it a bit, and came up with something which I thought was halfway decent --

--And that was the last I heard from Desert Pundit. His last e-mail to me was June 24, and his final blog post was June 30.

We trust that Desert Pundit's prolonged absence signifies nothing more sinister than his having lost the will to blog. If anyone knows David P. and has some further inkling of his situation, please contact me.

In the meantime, the Desert Pundit link on my Blogroll is being parked under the heading "Essential Reservists" -- along with Insolvent Republic of Blogistan and Brain Droppings, which have also been inactive for too long. May these stalwart bloggers reemerge from their self-imposed exile when they are tanned, rested and ready.