DeZign Diva

Links for 2010-03-13 [del.icio.us]

2010-03-14T00:00:00-08:00

Create Custom Option Panels with Wordpress 2.9 | Build Internet!
"Create Custom Option Panels with #Wordpress 2.9 | Build Internet!"@ http://j.mp/b0ipS3

Links for 2010-03-12 [del.icio.us]

2010-03-13T00:00:00-08:00

If browsers were women | Dixi World
"If #Browsers were Women"@ http://j.mp/cSnkHL <---Here's the skinny on what you can expect to find ! So true :D
CSS Navigation: No JavaScript, jQuery or Image Required, Free CSS Navigation / Pagination with Tooltip - KntL
"#CSS Navigation: No JavaScript, jQuery or Image Required, Free #CSS-Pagination with #Tooltip"@ http://j.mp/d4s293
Elastic Calendar Styling with CSS | CSS-Tricks
"Elastic Calendar Styling with CSS | CSS-Tricks"@ http://j.mp/cQhnBp
8 different ways to beautifully style your HTML lists with CSS
8 different ways to beautifully style your #HTML lists with #CSS @ http://j.mp/91qGa4
http://blog.jquery.com/2010/03/12/the-official-jquery-podcast-episode-15-john-resig-jquery-1-4-1-1-4-2/
Need #BROWSER #Tweaks ? Get them all here ! ☛ @ http://j.mp/aH6CDu

JQuery Pop Up Footer for Blogger

2010-03-11T04:13:00.000-08:00

A Sleek Jquery Pop Up Footer for the Blogger Platform.

Footers have become all the rage out there in the Bloggersphere , and there are quite several elaborately well designed footers which certain bloggers have incorporated within their blogs / themes. It seems that even if a theme lacks within its overall design , having an impressive footer certainly does give it that extra appeal and most definitely : Character. However, there are certain themes ( and many of you have them ) which do not have an added footer in your themes design , and you are restricted to using your sidebars by where to place all of your widgets , social icons [ such as RSS & Feeds icons ] and several other things which ultimately do end up over-crowding your Themes appearance and make it look rather.....overly done .

Many of you would like to have a footer , but your theme may be designed in such a way where it may not allow for you to design an added footer into it due to the fact that : adding that extra footer may just end up distorting your entire Theme's overall design . However , there is a solution to this : You may try installing this great JQuery Sleek Footer , which is unobtrusive and definitely out of the way and will not interfere with your overall Theme design . The JQuery footer featured here is highly customizable [ if you possess just some slight knowledge into CSS you can alter the look of the footer within every way ] and you can style it to suit your particular Theme's design , all you need is patience and just a little bit of imagination . If you have been looking for a way to incorporate an extra footer into your Theme and want to move a few widgets out of your sidebar so as to give your Blog some breathing room , then the JQuery Pop UP Footer is most definitely your light at the end of a dark tunnel !

You may view the JQuery Pop Up Footer in action here ☛ on my Demo site. You will notice that the footer is activated by the user hovering on it and it pops up . As you can see I have set the footers height at 640px when it expands , so that I can show you that you can fit just about anything within it ( yes- even a color T.V ! ) ...ok ok, maybe not a color TV - but as you can assess , you can fit quite a few things into it such as a Contact Form [ which I have written about in my previous post ] , and several other widgets which you can implement into it and simply Free Up your Sidebar ! . Installing the JQuery Pop Up Footer will be quite simple and painless , simply follow the instructions provided below and you will have a great looking pop up unobtrusive footer gracing your page within 2 minutes ! Lets begin implementing this into your page ....

Inserting the CSS into your Source Page

Firstly : Go to your Admin Dashboard ☛ Edit Layout ☛ HTML . Scroll down into your Source until you find the ]]></b:skin> . As soon as you locate this tag, copy the CSS provided below and paste into your page exactly above the ]]></b:skin> tag.












/***************************FOOTER AREA***********************************************/

#footer_area {
 background: url(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_UvVJ10eIIQ4/S5Ed7MA6B6I/AAAAAAAAAIo/_JvTPCobYh8/331726.png)repeat-x left top #111;
 color: #111; */ YOU CAN CHANGE THE FOOTER BODY COLOR BY CHANGING THIS COLOR */ border-bottom: 1px solid #99CCFF; */ YOU CAN CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE BORDER HERE BY CHOOSING A DIFF COLOR */
 overflow: hidden;
 height:640px; */ YOU CAN CHANGE THE HEIGHT OF YOUR FOOTER BY ASSIGNING DIFFERENT PARAMETERS HERE */
 width:100%;
}
#footer_area_content {
 width: 100%;
 margin: 0 auto;
 clear: both;
 color: #EAEAEA; */ YOU CAN CHANGE THE FOOTER FONT COLOR BY CHOOSING ANY OTHER COLOR YOU WANT HERE  */
 font-size: 12px;
 overflow: hidden;
}
#footer_area_content a {
 display: inline;
 line-height: normal;
 color: #CCC;
 text-decoration: none;
}
#footer_area_content a:hover, #footer_area_content a:active, #footer_area_content a:focus {
 text-decoration: none;
}
#footer_area_content .box {
 float: left;
 width: 33%;
}
#footer_area_content .box .box_content {
 margin: 10px;
}
#footer_area_content .box h3 {
 margin: 10px;
 color: #EAEAEA; */ YOU CAN CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE HEADER TITLES BY CHANGING THIS COLOR */
 text-transform:uppercase;
 font-size: 12px;
 display: block;
 border-bottom: 2px solid #99CCFF; */YOU CAN CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE BORDER BY CHOOSING A DIFF COLOR HERE */
 padding: 0px 0px 5px 0px;
}
#footer_area_content .box .box_content ol, #footer_area_content .box .box_content ul {
 padding: 0;
 margin: 0;
 
}
#footer_area_content .box .box_content ol li, #footer_area_content .box .box_content ul li {
 margin: 5px 0px 5px 40px;
 padding: 0;
 background: none;
 text-align:left;
}


/*untuk dock bottom */
#fake-body {
overflow:auto;
z-index:1;
}

#dock {
float:center;
height:640px; */ THIS WILL CHANGE THE HEIGHT OF THE FOOTER AS SPECIFIED ABOVE */
z-index:100;
width:100%;

]]></b:skin>

Inserting the JQuery / Javascript code into your Source Page

Once you have finished pasting your CSS above your ]]></b:skin> tag , copy the code below making sure you have pasted into the highlighted part of the code YOUR own jquery files which you have downloaded - [ please dont forget to do this :) ]. Now copy the code below and paste it directly ABOVE the </head> tag within your source page .












<script src='http://YOUR_FILE_HERE/JQUERY_POP_UP_FOOTER/jquery-1.3.2.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>

<script src='http://YOUR_FILE_HERE/JQUERY_POP_UP_FOOTER/jquery.easing.1.3.js' type='text/javascript'/>

<script type='text/javascript'>

//http://webtips.dan.info/graceful.html

var $j1 = jQuery.noConflict();

$j1(document).ready(function() {

 //Transition you want :)

 var easing_type = ''; 

 //The default height for the dock (on mouse out)

 var default_dock_height = '30'; 

 //Expanded height, the height of the dock on mouse over, you have to set it in CSS

 var expanded_dock_height = $j1('#dock').height(); 

 //Fake body height

 var body_height = $j1(window).height() - default_dock_height; 

 //Set the size of #fake_body

 $j1('#fake-body').height(body_height); 

 //Set the CSS attribute for #dock

 $j1('#dock').css({'height': default_dock_height, 'position':'fixed', 'top': body_height}); 

 //In case the user resize the browser, we will need to recalculate the height and top for #fake_body and #dock

 $j1(window).resize(function () {  

  //Grab the updated height/top

  updated_height = $j1(window).height() - default_dock_height;

  

  //Set the updated height for #fake_body and top for #dock

  $j1('#fake-body').height(updated_height);  

  $j1('#dock').css({'top': updated_height});

 });  

 //The main event for the dock bottom menu

 $j1('#dock').mouseover(function () {  

  //Recalculate expanded height (always get the latest height), in case user has resized the window

  expanded_height = $j1(window).height() - expanded_dock_height;  

  //Animate the height change, set the height to expanded_dock_height and set the top value as well

  $j1(this).animate({'height':expanded_dock_height,'top': expanded_height},{queue:false, duration:200, easing: easing_type});

  

 }).mouseout(function () {  

  //Recalculate default body height (always get the latest height), in case user has resized the window

  body_height = $j1(window).height() - default_dock_height;  

  //Animate the height change, set the height to default_dock-height and set the top value as well

  $j1(this).animate({'height':default_dock_height,'top': body_height},{queue:false, duration:200, easing: easing_type});  

 }); 

});

</script>

Finalizing your Footer

The last and final step you need to take now is to scroll all the way down in your source page , and locate a code which looks similar to the following :



</div></div> <!-- end outer-wrapper -->

, or simply any code which denotes the end of your Themes Outer Wrapper.
Now , IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CODE ABOVE [ if it exists within your Template ] copy and paste the codes provided below and hit the Save Template button :












<!-- Begin Dock -->

<div id='dock'> 

 <div id='footer_area'>

  <div id='footer_area_content'>



       <div class='box'>

   <h3>Recent Comments</h3> */YOU CAN PLACE YOUR RECENT COMMENTS WIDGET HERE */

   <div class='box_content'>

<div class='dsq-widget' id='recentcomments'><script src='http://disqus.com/forums/recent_comments_widget.js?num_items;=5=0=32=40' type='text/javascript'/></div>

</div></div>

  

  <div class='box'> */ YOU CAN PLACE A CONTACT FORM HERE */

   <h3>Contact Me</h3>

   <div class='box_content'>



<script type='text/javascript'>var host = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://secure." : "http://");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + host + "wufoo.com/scripts/embed/form.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script>



<script type='text/javascript'>

var m7x4a3 = new WufooForm();

m7x4a3.initialize({

'userName':'YOUR_USER_NAME', 

'formHash':'m7x4a3', 

'autoResize':true,

'height':'300'});

m7x4a3.display();

</script>

  

 </div>

  </div>



  <div class='box'>

   <h3>About Me</h3>  */ YOU CAN PLACE YOUR BIO HERE */

   <div class='box_content'>

   

     <a href='http://www.dooid.com/yourdooidname' target='_blank'><img align='left' alt='NAME YOUR IMAGE' border='0' src='http://www.dooid.com/images/uploads/your_signature.png'/></a>



*/THIS CAN BE YOUR BIO HERE : <br/>Visit my <a href='http://www.YOUR_URL_ADDRESS.com' target='_blank'>YOUR_URL_ADDRESS</a><br/>



<h3>Connect w/ Me  </h3>    */ YOU CAN PLACE YOUR SOCIAL ICONS HERE */



<a href='http://www.flickr.com/yourFlickrid' target='_new'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/flickr_24.png' title='Flickr'/></a>

<a href='http://www.facebook.com/yourFBname' target='_new'><img alt='Facebook' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/facebook_24.png '/></a>

<a href='http://www.myspace.com/yourmyspace_name' target='_new'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/myspace_24.png' title='Myspace'/></a>

<a href='http://twitter.com/your_twittername' target='_blank'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/twitter_24.png' title='Tweet Me !'/></a>

<a href='http://yourfeedURL.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss' target='_new'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/rss_24-1.png' title='Subscribe to RSS Feeds'/></a><br/>

<a href='http://del.icio.us/yourname' target='_blank'><img alt='Delicious' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/delicious_24.png '/></a>

<a href='http://technorati.com/yourtechnorattiname' target='_new'><img alt='Technorati' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/technoratti_24.png'/></a>

<a href='http://digg.com/yourDiggname' target='_new'><img alt='Digg This' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/digg_24.png'/></a>

<a href='mailto:youremailname@gmail.com' target='_new'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/google_24.png' title='Contact me'/></a>

<a href='http://feeds.feedburner.com/yourname' rel='alternate' title='Subscribe to my feed' type='application/rss+xml'><img border='0' src='http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu345/youralbum/feedburner_24.png' title='FeedBurner'/></a>



</div>

</div>



<div class='box'>

   <h3>NAME THIS ANYTHING YOU WANT<h3/>

   <div class='box_content'>



YOU CAN PUT ANYTHING IN THIS DIV HERE 

   

</div>





    </div> 

    

  </div>

 </div>

 



</div>

<!-- End Dock -->

Download jquery 1.3.2.min.js file below

download jquery.easing.1.3.js file below

Please note , the JQuery pop up footer exemplified here can be fully modified and customized in appearance to suit your own theme , providing you know how to make alterations within the CSS code . Within this , you dont necessarily have to have a Black Footer if that isnt your preferred color scheme or it simply clashes with your Green or Peach colored Theme ; as I mentioned - it can be fully modified to suit your needs . Now this will be very simple to install into your theme , however : if you do run into any complications and require assistance you can leave a comment or contact me and I will help you . With that being said , I hope you enjoy your New JQuery Pop Up Footer , your Sidebar will thank you for it !

Note :

You can change all of the contents which are provided in the HTML / Div Section and insert your own widgets , social icons , feedburner & twitter - the contents provided within the footer displayed here were for example purposes , please install your own , and Enjoy !

Fully Customizable Contact Forms without Script !

2010-03-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

Customizable Contact Forms for any Platform .

Contact Forms are an important aspect when it comes to your blog [ or website ] , as they provide your users a way by which to personally communicate with you should they have a question which is more personally based and cannot be posted as a comment and be shared with the entire community publicly. After all , it is a form of blogging etiquette , since we sometimes need to contact the site administrator and either request something or even convey a personal opinion which we dont want others to see .

There are users who cannot differentiate between regular commenting and personal based questions or remarks and they will go on and post them as comments on one's blog . Now surely - we cannot shift the entire blame on the user, as there are quite a few number of bloggers out there who do not provide a " contact me " link, nor a separate contact form by which to provide their users / readers with any other option within contacting them.

In the past , the Blogger Platform didnt even provide any other choice other than their generic comment form , and Blogger users were subjected to using the comment form provided by Blogger ( and there are still a great many Bloggers who are still using that generic comment form - why ? I dont know .. ) ; but ever since Blogger decided to allow the integration of users incorporating comment forms such as : Intense Debate and Disqus , Bloggers now have a choice between choosing amongst the two comment systems . Integrating any of these two comment systems into one's blog will definitely improve not only your Blogs appearance but your comment rate as well . Blogger is making rapid advancements within many of its user functionalities - and I am sure that more such features will be integrated soon which will make Blogger a more user friendly Platform .

Another feature which Blogger has integrated lately into their platform have been the Pages feature , such as those which have been existent on the Almighty Wordpress platform since its inception .

Now, since most of you have learned to use the pages feature , you may wish to create separate so called Pages on your blog such as : About or even a Contact & Subscribe page(s) . Creating your About or Contact pages should not be a complex matter - and I am certain you have by this point figured out how to do so - and now you will obviously want to create a Personalized Contact Form for your page .

Again now, as far as Contact Forms go , there have not existed a great too many options for Blogger - aside from the usual Generic Contact Forms, and yes : They are quite boring and ugly in appearance, the choices for creating contact forms for Blogger have not been many [ since one requires a database to run a contact form - something which Blogger does not have .] ; thus , having a Contact Form which one is able to customize as they want or to match their Theme has been non-existent ....... until now .

Get ready because , the days of boring , generic , ugly contact forms are now over ! You can now have a Fully Customizable Contact Form , tailored to your specifications , and even one which will match your Blog entirely ! If you would like to see what I am implying by a Contact Form matching your Blog entirely , take a look at my @Contact( Drop Down Panel at the top of my blog's header ) - now pull that down and take a look at my contact form . Nice isnt it ? and not boring or ugly in the least now is it ?

You can now have your very own personally customized contact form regardless of what platform youre on [ be it on Blogger or Wordpress ] - without having to write a single line of code - or knowing any HTML !

Wufoo

makes creating and stylizing your Contact Forms a breeze whether you know how to create a Contact Form or NOT .

The first step in getting your Contact Form is to simply go to

Wufoo

and sign up for an account . The Free Account which they offer limits you to just 3 Forms . You can create a Contact Form , Subscription Mailing List Form or any other type of Form you want - the possibilities are endless as Wufoo offers many options . After you have signed up for an account , you can view the visual examples I have set below for guidance . It is truly a simple process and I will not go into details here on how to create one ( I dont wish to insult anyone's intelligence ) .However , once you familiarize yourself with the Contact Form Editor you will be styling your Contact Forms within no time at all !

WUFOO.COM

create your wufoo account

WUFOO PRICE PLANS

price plans & free form plan

CSS GALLERY DESIGNS

CSS Forms Gallery

THEME DESIGNER

Designing your contact form panel

Form Builder

add a field | field settings | form settings

If you wish to implement Icons into your Forms ( as I have done below in the example Forms ) you will need to have uploaded your images to an Image host ( or your Blogger ) , copy the URL to your image and insert it using HTML into the field settings . Take a look at the example below and you can see how I have installed the icons into the Forms used here .

FORM MANAGER

managing your forms

ENTRY MANAGER

creating and viewing & managing your entries panel

CODE EDITOR

choosing your installation code

Below are just some examples of what you can do as far as customizing your Contact Forms and Mail Subscription Forms for your Blog . Please note : In the Wufoo Theme Designer where you are offered the styling features - you will see that you have the option of implementing your own Header as well as Wallpaper ( which of there exist a list of options ) or you may want to create your own, such as a logo or any other type of image you have in mind .

Now I will warn you about this feature : It will NOT be effective once you install the Form into your theme, as all the forms are geared to take on your themes features. But I have found a way around this : The only way by which any of your images will be visible is if you install the header image or any other type of image you wish to use by going to the FORM BUILDER PANEL SETTINGS , and install any image you wish by going to Field Settings and installing the images directly into the Field Label box . Repeat this process anywhere you wish to install images .

Stylized contact forms

customized subscription mail forms

Please note that after you have customized and edited your custom Contact Forms - you will be given the choice of several installation feature options within the Code Editor panel . Now I have tested several of the installation codes , here on my own theme and on my test site , and I will tell you in brief : As many Templates are differently structured , you may find that the Javascript code may not work properly and the Contact Form is NOT visible .

This means that you will either have to choose the iFrame code , or : if that does not work either ( due to your Theme ) - you may have to end up choosing the Pop Up Link Form option . This means that you will have either a Text Link displayed ( wherever you wish to place it on your Blog ) or you may wish to replace the Text Link with an image , such as : an Envelope or an @ symbol icon , again , there are many choices for displaying your contact form on your site .

The best part about the Wufoo Contact Forms are that once a user fills out the info and submits the info required - they are not taken nor redirected off your page ( which is a big plus ! )

ICONS

If you wish to use icons within your contact forms in order to give them an added special touch , you can go to

Dry Icons

, as they have some of the best icons around for developers and users alike and which come in a variety of sizes from 16 x 16 all the way up to 512 x 512 px ! You may also try

Iconspedia

for some great icons as well . If you wish to implement your own Send or Submit buttons such as I have done on the Contact & Mail Forms , you will have to create them , and simply implement the URL link of the image into the Text Link when you are designing your Forms in the Theme Designer
Panel settings . The best way to design your forms for any of you who are not familiar with the editor is to simply take your time and acquaint yourselves with all of the various settings Wufoo offers - if you attempt to do it all in a hurry , you may become frustrated and lost . So..take your time and go out there and create the best Contact Forms ever !

Enjoy !

If you require any assistance , please feel free to contact me :)

Links for 2010-03-10 [del.icio.us]

2010-03-11T00:00:00-08:00

List of Useful jQuery Plugins: jQuery, JavaScript
"Great List of Useful #JQuery #Plugins: #JQuery, #JavaScript" http://j.mp/aK1he7
jScrollPane with UI Tabs
"JScrollPane with UI Tabs"@ http://j.mp/b0wb9G #JQuery
jScrollPane - basic examples
"JScrollPane " replace your browser's default scrollbars@ http://j.mp/dgLYaF #JQuery
jPaginate: A Fancy jQuery Pagination Plugin | Codrops
"jPaginate: A Fancy #jQuery #Pagination Plugin | Codrops"@ http://j.mp/9DRpV0 Just Lovely !
Beautiful Slide Out Navigation: A CSS and jQuery Tutorial | Codrops
"Beautiful Slide Out Navigation: A #CSS and #jQuery Tutorial | Codrops"@ http://j.mp/9e1OqM
42 jQuery Navigation based Techniques | Codrops
"42 #JQuery Navigation (#Menu)based Techniques@ http://j.mp/9qR2vy
Neat Photo Hover Effect with CSS Sprites and jQuery | Codrops
"Neat Photo Hover Effect with #CSS Sprites and #jQuery"@ http://j.mp/92PeKp

Links for 2010-03-09 [del.icio.us]

2010-03-10T00:00:00-08:00

Add Social Links to Your Wordpress Theme Without a Plugin
"Add Social Links to Your #Wordpress Theme Without a #Plugin"@ http://j.mp/9sok7N
Duplicate the jQuery Homepage Tooltips Using MooTools Example
"Duplicate the jQuery Homepage Tooltips Using MooTools Example"@ http://j.mp/cB9ndM
Create an Animated Sliding Button Using MooTools Example
"Create an Animated Sliding Button Using MooTools Example"@ http://j.mp/9IpmT1
Create a Sexy Persistent Header with Opacity Using MooTools or jQuery Example
"Create a Sexy Persistent Header with Opacity Using MooTools or jQuery Example"@ http://j.mp/cb9A5v
Create an apple style menu and improve it via jQuery | Kriesi.at - new media design
"Create an #Apple style #menu and improve it via J#Query | view CODE@ http://j.mp/9yms3f + DEMO@http://j.mp/bbD1jR

Links for 2010-03-08 [del.icio.us]

2010-03-09T00:00:00-08:00

Rounded rectangles in Adobe Illustrator CS3 | David Chambers Design
"Rounded rectangles in #Adobe-Illustrator #CS3 | David Chambers Design"@ http://j.mp/dox8lm
Shockingly simple URL shortening | David Chambers Design
"Shockingly simple URL shortening | David Chambers Design"@ http://j.mp/92KagT
PHD Comics: How Grad School is just like Kindergarten
"PHD: How Grad School is just like Kindergarten"@ http://j.mp/a7n1pK No Joke !

Steampunk art : revisited

2010-02-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

Steampunk :brave new " art " world

Steampunk , can be regarded as a sub-genre of Science Fiction which often features elements of Fantasy and of which appeared on the scene in the early 1980's and 1990's . The term Steampunk implies and mainly depicts works which are set in an era where Steam Power is predominant and widely used ; such as the early Victorian era [ 19th Century England ] -but the predominant elements are those of Science Fiction and Fantasy .

Fantasy fiction works such as those of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells portrayed Steampunk to a greater extent, by depicting fictional technological inventions such as the computer and even inter-stellar explorations , as in Aldous Huxley's famed body of work Brave New World , H.G. Wells' Time Machine and Jules Verne's The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne( a Sci-Fi T.V. Series in which the Steampunk genre is precedent ] and in which the worlds first dirigible airship is described , which features unexampled luxury, total mobility and an extraordinary array of weapons and gadgets.

Cyberpunk and Steampunk are often placed under the same category as they both cater to a similar fanbase and to a greater degree - and element of Rebellion , albeit they have both progressed as separate movements but still manage to influence each other . Steampunk has been influenced and has adopted the early styles of 19th century scientific romances of jules Verne , H.G Wells , Mark Twain and Mary Shelley .

During the 1990's the Steampunk movement has exploded beyond the works which were set in early historical periods to works which are now set in Fantasy Worlds that depend largely on steam and spring powered technology such as : Final Fantasy VI, Skies of Arcadia , Rise of Nations: Rise of the Legends , Edge of Twilight, and Arcanum : Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura .

Other utilitarian objects which have been utilised by enthusiasts into pseudo-Victorian mechanical Steampunk style are : computer keyboards, electric guitars , iPods, radios, automobiles, motorcycles etc., and are redesigned with materials such as polished brass, iron , and wood and are made to replicate the Victorian Era . Fans of the genre tend to adopt the Steampunk aesthetic through fashion , home interior decor, music and film and are classified as Neo-Victorians, with modern technologies and sensibilities. There even exists a Steampunk Philosphy with undertones of Punk inspired Anti-Establishment sentiments which are fuelled with optimism about the human potential .

Whether it be Film , Lietrature , Fashion or Technology - one thing is certain : Steampunk is no longer a fad nor something which is going away anytime soon - as it stands , the Steampunk movement is already 20 years old and is expanding rapidly . As far as Steampunk fashion goes , it does not have any preset guidelines nor restrictions as it synthesizes the Modern day fashion elements along with those of the Victorian Era.

Aranwen Jewelry : you can find these pieces for sale

View Artists Profile & Contact for Details

the mysterious geographical explorations of :
Jasper Morello

A truly beautiful Industrial Steampunk Animation video : Watch....
[ Song : "Pioneer to the Falls" | Artist : Interpol ]

Mac 10.5 23" -Linux

Windows Comp

Steampunk-Monitor- Keyboard-Mouse built in the old world style..

Brand new 20" widescreen with wireless keyboard and mouse..

This setup is ready to plug in to your computer and is on eBay right now

the online steampunk workshop

Jake does some incredible work when it comes to Steampunk art: check out his site below

Steampunk font

steampunk original jewelry creations for purchase

steampunk stamp : free for download

Minor White : A Poetic Photographer

2010-02-18T14:12:00.001-08:00

Poetry in Photography

Amongst the several of the Great American Photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Ansel Adams , Walker Evans , Minor White can certainly be regarded by many as one of the leading innovators in the field of photography . Minor White unlike most of his fellow photographers was a textural photographer . White could photograph objects such as a leaf , a bush , a tree , or a crack in the road , peeling paint , and make one see an entirely New World within that picture . Minor White possessed great vision - not only as a photographer, but as an educator , poet and critic .

Minor White was born in Minneapolis , Minnesota in early 1908 , and although he majored in Botany ( which is what I assume led to his affinity for photographing the overlooked upon details of objects ) , he soon discovered that botany was not to be his calling in life and began shifting towards photography. White soon found employment with the Works Progress Administration in Oregon in 1938 onto 1939 , and in 1942 volunteered for active duty during the onset of World War 2 up until his release at the end of the war in 1945 . In late of 1945 , White decided to further his studies in photography and studied under Edward Weston which was extremely intense due to the tonal beauty of his photographs.

During 1965 White became Professor of Photography at MIT ( Bill Gate's Alma Mater - Massachussets Institute of Technology ) , where he served until the year he passed away in 1976 . When White was chosen by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to head its new department of black and white photography in 1965, the appointment came as no surprise to White's fellow black and white photographers. It seemed wholly logical that a prestigious center of scientific learning should seek out the man whose eminence not only in his profession but as teacher, critic, and editor had made him what one critic called "the most influential black and white photographer to reach creative maturity since World War II."

White's nature studies are so devotedly observed abstractions, however - when he photographed male nudes , he managed to evoke a lyrical passion & unmatched eroticism . White was not only an astoundingly amazing photographer who has managed to leave behind him a vast array of magnificent works - but moreover : he has managed to influence many great photographers of today who have studied & emulated his unique style . Minor White was not only a great Photographer - he was also an amazing poet , and when one looks at his works , they are able to see that behind it lies poetry in motion regardless of the work being a still life rendition . White's writings emphasized and promoted his ideas as in : Mirrors , Messages and Manifestation . Minor White's work can undoubtedly be regarded as incendiary and original and one in which the medium of photography has been forever altered !

although many of minor white's works are not available online enjoy a few of a master's works

Poetry in Photography : Minor White

" Images exist in our heads, not in prints or books, not on monitors. My prints hang on walls but their images exist elsewhere."

Evocative photography & poetic quotes by a master

" The state of mind of a photographer while creating is a blank...For those who would equate "blank" with a kind of static emptiness, I must explain that this is a special kind of blank. It is a very active state of mind really, a very receptive state of mind, ready at an instant to grasp an image, yet with no image pre-formed in it at any time. We should note that the lack of a pre-formed pattern or preconceived idea of how anything ought to look is essential to this blank condition. Such a state of mind is not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second's exposure conceives a life in it. (Not just life, but "a" life). "

- Minor White, The Camera Mind and Eye

"I have often photographed when I am not in tune with nature but the photographs look as if I had been. So I conclude that something in nature says, 'Come and take my photograph.' So I do, regardless of how I feel. "

" Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. "

" When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was a mirror of my Self "

" As I become more in harmony with the world around, through, and in me, the varieties of time weave together. "

" "There's no particular class of photograph that I think is any better than any other class. I'm always and forever looking for the image that has spirit! I don't give a damn how it got made."

"one does not photograph something simply for "what it is", but "for what else it is".

" At first glance a photograph can inform us. At second glance it can reach us. "

" Reaching a 'creative' state of mind thru positive action is considered preferable to waiting for 'inspiration'. "

" We emphasized the creativeness that happens at the moment of seeing over the kind that takes place in the dark room. "

“A very receptive state of mind...not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second's exposure conceives a life in it.”

“Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.”

A photographer has a response to the world and attempts to acquire that response, a stimulating image, technically. Related images are formed in the heads of observers, to each his/her own.

A print is primarily a vehicle for an image, though it can also be an object. I like the physical substance of prints and I like the fact that they don't require electricity. I'm proud of my print skillsets but I've got a long way to go. It's good, to my way of thinking, to pursue rabbits I'll never catch. Prints are not images.

" The photographer projects himself into everything he sees, identifying himself with everything in order to know it and to feel it better. "

" Sequences originate for me from some hidden place. Though I habitually play photographs against each other, or words against images in pairs, triplets, or rows of four with expectations of magic, sequences originate from within. And I prefer to let them. In fact I cannot seriously do otherwise than photograph on impulse and let whatever words will, flow spontaneously. "

"While we cannot describe its appearance (the equivalent), we can define its function. When a photograph functions as an Equivalent we can say that at that moment, and for that person the photograph acts as a symbol or plays the role of a metaphor for something that is beyond the subject photographed."

" A sequence of photographs is like a cinema of stills. The time and space between photographs is filled by the beholder, first of all from himself, then from what he can read in the implications of design, the suggestions springing from treatment, and any symbolism that might grow from within the subject itself. "

" I seek out places where it can happen more readily, such as deserts or mountains or solitary areas, or by myself with a seashell, and while I'm there get into states of mind where I'm more open than usual. I'm waiting, I'm listening. I go to those places and get myself ready through meditation. Through being quiet and willing to wait, I can begin to see the inner man and the essence of the subject in front of me... Watching the way the current moves a blade of grass - sometimes I've seen that happen and it has just turned me inside out. "

" To engage a sequence we keep in mind the photographs on either side of the one in our eye. "

Camera and eye are together a time machine with which the mind and human being can do the same kind of violence to time and space as dreams.

" ...innocence of eye has a quality of its own. It means to see as a child sees, with freshness and acknowledgment of the wonder; it also means to see as an adult sees who has gone full circle and once again sees as a child - with freshness and an even deeper sense of wonder. "

" No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen. "

" Photography is a language more universal than words. "

Minor white : photographing - 1937

" I am always mentally photographing everything as practice. "

from the book : Lives I've Never Lived, a portrait of Minor White. Photographs by Abe Frajndlich.

"eye , mind , spirit " : the enduring legacy of minor white

[ price ] : 3 new || $ 206.00 - [ price ] : 2 used || $ 196.00

The Online Photographer: Bruce Davidson, Minor White

Minor white : Rites & Passages

one of the best books on the spirit of photography

Amazon.com: Minor White: Rites and Passages (Aperture Monograph) (9780893814908): Minor White, James Baker Hall

Minor White : " driftwood eye "

collectors edition : [ price : $ 9.000.00 ]

Minor White - Minor White - Driftwood & Eye

minor white : " barnacles , los lobos -calif. "

collectors edition : [ price : $ 9.000.00 ]

Minor White - Minor White - Barnacles, Lobos, Calif.

Discover the work of one of today's great Fine Arts Photographers :

Troy Ziel
who attributes his style of capturing photographs to the great Master himself : Minor white : " My body of work for the most part, is finding that special calm and simplicity among chaos. Before making a capture, I become still and connected with absolute presence with the famous quote by photographer Minor White in mind, "Be still with yourself, until the object of your attention affirms your presence."

JQuery RSS & ATOM Feed Button

2010-02-14T20:26:00.001-08:00

One RSS Button -All of Your Feeds !

Your blogs content is the vital and most important part of your Blog Site , and displaying various RSS buttons for your readers / users to subscribe to your content's feeds can certainly overcrowd your Theme with unnecessary buttons for all of your RSS & Atom Feeds . Although most of the buttons out there are really beautiful and imaginative ( artistically ) - most users display gazillions of buttons on their site / blog [ along with the 200 ads ] , and this can truly overpower a page and make it crowded aesthetically and quite unbearable , regardless of how great the content may
be .

Disclaimer :

The Following scripts , design & therein , belong to Rogie King of Komodo Media

Rogie King of Komodo Media is def one helluva talented developer, designer [ and quite a generous one at that ]- he not only manages to design some truly great Radical Social Media Buttons such as the : Social Network Pack which is one of the most famous set of social icons being used just about by everyone and on every blogging platform from Blogger , Wordpress & Drupal sites ,but Rogie King generously shares all of his creations with users out there . Rogie's other sets Sign In w/ Facebook, Twitter , Open ID , and Linked In buttons are all clean & sleek within their design and dont overpower a page .

Most recently Rogie King has also created one of the greatest little plugins by which to display all of your RSS & Atom Feeds - not only from your Blog /Site alone - but from all of your Social Media sites such as : Twitter , Delicious , Digg , and just about any other social Media site where you have feeds . You can visit Rogie Kings site and have a look at the raw code source and download the zip file to this awesome plugin so that you can install it onto your site and get rid of all of those 10 buttons crowding up your page and instead , displaying just one sleek compact RSS Feed Button for all of your RSS & Atom Feeds { Have a look at mine down at the end of this post in the "author " section of this post . Click on the button and watch the magic unfold ;) }

Now what I will give you here is the quick way of how to install this on your Blogger blog site . For Wordpress , please visit Rogie Kings site on Komodo Media for the complete breakdown of javascript codes & other markups which some of you may wish to install . However , the version which is on this blog is the complete version out of all the other versions offered in the zip file [ .html ] document . The version offered below can be used for anyone on the Blogger Platform .

In order to install the following RSS JQuery Button into your Blogger Site , please go to your Blogger Dashboard ☛ Layout ☛ Edit HTML ☛ Expand Widgets :

Please scroll down to where you see the ]]></b:skin> tag , and copy the code provided below and paste it into your XHTML document now right below the ]]></b:skin>

Your JQuery Menu CSS

# 1 )






 

<style type="text/css">

.feed_menu{

  background: url(https://YOUR_RSS_BUTTON_IMAGE_HERE/feed_menu_trans_light.png) 0 center no-repeat;

    padding:2px 0;

    display:-moz-inline-box;

    display:inline-block;

    width:38px;

    vertical-align:middle;

    overflow: hidden;

    margin:0 .25em;

}

.feed_menu.open{

    background-position: -38px center !important;

}

.feed_menu select{

    opacity:0;

    margin:0;

    padding:0;

    border:0;

}

.feed_menu option img{

    border:0;

    margin:2px;

    vertical-align: middle;

}

</style>

After pasting the CSS right below your ]]></b:skin> please go to the next set of codes below .

click on image to view live example of various RSS examples

Sleek RSS Buttons in 4 flavors below

Choose your Desired button & click for download

*Transparent for Light backgrounds

Woodgrain for any background

Orange for any background

Azure / for any background

**Transparent Dark- for Dark Backgrounds

After you have downloaded your desired button , please upload it to your image host such as Photobucket or TinyPic or any other upload host you use - you can even upload your images on your Blogger blog .
Once you have your button image URL extension file , please paste it into the highlighted line of your CSS ( where it states : https://YOUR_RSS_BUTTON_IMAGE_HERE/feed_menu_trans_light.png .

# 2 ) :

please copy the next set of source codes now and place them directly below the ]]></b:skin> tag, where you have placed the CSS , and while you have replaced your Menu IE.CSS file , your MENU JQuery.js file , and your Menu.js file into the highlighted areas below.






<!--[if IE]>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://YOUR MENU IE.CSS FILE HERE/feed_menu_ie.css" type="text/css" media="all" />



<![endif]-->


<script src="http://YOUR JQUERY.JS FILE HERE/jquery.js" type="text/javascript">

</script>

<script src="http://YOUR MENU.JS FILE HERE/feed_menu.js" type="text/javascript">

</script>

<script type="text/javascript">

$ = jQuery;
</script>

</head>

download files to include into your source code above ::

Download Your files below

:: CLICK TO DOWNLOAD the Menu.js File ::

:: CLICK TO DOWNLOAD the Menu JQuery.js File ::

:: CLICK TO DOWNLOAD the Menu IE.CSS File ::

Once you have completed installing the above codes , there are just 2 more steps to execute and then you can hit the Save Template button and you're out of the woods - you can take a long tea break after this & pat yourself on the back - but not yet .... so let's continue :)

# 3 )

Fine-tuning your RSS & Atom feeds

Please Replace the highlighted text with your Feedburner , Delicious, Twitter ( Atom & RSS timeline RSS Numbers ) and or Blog RSS & Atom Feeds with your own ! and place the following codes directly ABOVE the </HEAD> tag of your page source XHTML document .






<link href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/YOUR FEEDBURNER ID HERE [Name ]" rel="alternate" title="The Geek HeadQuarters" type="application/rss+xml"></link>



<link href="http://del.icio.us/rss/YOUR DELICIOUS NAME HERE" rel="alternate" title="YOUR del.icio.us bookmarks" type="application/rss+xml"></link> 

<link href="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/YOUR TIMELINE USER NUMBER.rss" rel="alternate" title="My Twitter Feed" type="application/rss+xml"></link>

<link href="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/YOUR TIMELINE USER NUMBER.atom" rel="alternate" title="My Twitter Feed" type="application/atom+xml"></link>

Placing the JQuery RSS Button into your Page

Code for RSS Menu For your XHTML Document

I am using Rogie Kings Custom Code , which is the "JQuery Feed Menu Example 7" which displays all of your feeds and not just two feeds ( which is the logical choice here - instead of having 3 or 4 RSS buttons all over my page to display all my feeds ) therefore , I chose Example 7 for my RSS / Atom feed options. If you wish to use the other examples provided , take a look at the example HTML on

Komodo Media Example site

If you look at the source documentation you will see all of the other examples used to display feeds. Now the final step is to place the RSS button into our page and basque in the fruits of our labor ! :D

With your Widgets Expanded now , scroll down into your document and place the code below anywhere you wish to have the RSS JQuery Menu button appear . If you would like to display it under your Retweet button near the top of your page's header - then you must carefully look for the following set of code :



<div class='post-header-line-1'/>

And place / paste the code provided below , immediately following the line of code above .

** If there is no such line of code within your Template ( since Old Blogger & New Blogger themes carry certain variations within their XHTML markup - then look for the other piece of code which looks like this ::.



<data:post.body/>

Once you locate this code, copy and paste the code provided below directly Above the <data:post.body/> . If you want to place the button in other areas of your Theme - try placing it anywhere you wish - as I have done , or simply create a preferred place within your Theme .
If you have carefully followed and completed all of the steps provided here , you may now hit the Save Template and you are done !






<div style="float: right; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">

<span class="jquery_feed_menu_example_7" style="margin-right: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0.5em; padding-right: 0.5em; padding-top: 1em;"></span> 

<script type="text/javascript">

//<![CDATA[

var fm7= new FeedMenu(null,'trans_on_light');

fm7.write('.jquery_feed_menu_example_7');

//]]>

</script></div>

You may now pat yourself on the back & Enjoy your new JQuery RSS & Atom Menu Feed Button - and y our readers will also :)
The beauty about this button is : Not only does it display all of your RSS & Atom feeds , but the second great thing about it is that once a user does in fact Subscribe to your Feeds , and clicks on any of the Feed Subscriptions , they Dont get Redirected to any other page ! ! This is the second great thing I love about this button & so will all of your readers .

For anyone wishing to implement this into their Wordpress Blog / Site , as mentioned in the beginning : Please visit Rogie Kings site over @ Komodo Media , and download the zip file there - and just follow the steps provided here ( there isnt much difference in the mode of implementation ) , and I am certain if you know how to use Wordpress , you will not have difficulty within installing this awesome JQuery RSS /Atom feed Button . Enjoy !

The New Masters of Illustration

2010-02-06T06:19:00.001-08:00

" Illustrious Illustrators "

The art of Illustration evolved during prehistoric times and was used by prehistoric man to convey his ' ideas ' by carving ( etching ) different forms in wall caves . Since the concept of Language was non-existent at the time for early man to relay his thought process , Illustration [ Art ] was the only mode of communication . The art of Illustration took form and basically surfaced during the 8th Century in Japan and China , as the invention of the early Printing Press [Books ] were hand Illustrated by creating ' woodcuts ' which would accompany the story being told .

Around the 15th Century Illustration became a more dominant factor within the Printing Press and books with Illustrations became available to the public. The processes which were used for Illustrated reproductions during the 16th and 17th Centuries were in the forms of ' etching ' and ' engraving '. Later on during the 18th Century , the form of Lithography ' surfaced onto the Printing Press scene and this method allowed for a higher quality of Illustrations to be reproduced and rendered . One of the most used forms of rendering Illustrations was the medium of ' Relief Etching ', and was used widely .

The art of Illustration which is basically a ' visualization ' of a painting , drawing , photograph or any other form of art which simply 'stresses ' subject more than- form , is and has always been used to elucidate or decorate any textual content such as a : poem , a story or a newspaper [ magazine ] article , by providing it with a visual representation.

In today's modern world a growing interest has arisen within the art of Illustrated works , as one cannot pick up a magazine , news article , poster work or book and not find the greater part of these containing various Illustrations . There are a wide range of Museum , and galleries which are allotting special sectors to many Illustrators of the past , despite Illustrators having been considered somewhat ' lesser ' citizens within the world of Artists and Graphic Designers. However , with the growth of the Computer Technological age , and a growing interest in the ' computer game industry ' , Illustrators and their work are now being looked upon and perceived as an invaluable and ' profitable ' asset - especially in countries such as Japan , Korea , Hong Kong and the U.S .

Todays Illustrators are revered and widely sought after by Advertising agencies , the Gaming Industry and Magazine companies . Their works are perceived as being the most important and pivotal aspect of the given finished product ( and rightfully so ). This article attempts to introduce and familiarize any of you who may not be familiar with this world ancient art form , to some of today's New Master Illustrators and Star Illustrators of tomorrow . All of these artists are definitely in a league of their own and all are brilliant . Their works and profiles can be accessed by clicking on any of the images below .

Enjoy and have fun discovering :

The New Masters of Illustration !

Gerard DePardieu

Michael Clarke Duncan

President Barak Obama

Paris Hilton

Marilyn Manson

Arnold Schwarzenneger

Sigmund Freud

Charlie Chaplin

Albert Einstein

Alfred Hitchcock

Salvador Dali

Pablo Picasso

Customizing Your WP Admin Login Panel

2010-01-13T09:57:00.001-08:00

Wordpress Admin Login Panel to Match Your Site :

Wordpress happens to be everyone's preferred Blogging Platform , and rightfully so . The truth of the matter is that amongst the multitude of Blogging platforms available out there , Wordpress seems to be amongst the only blogging platform which possesses and offers so much flexibility towards customization and integration features to a user by which to design and customize their blog or website , either by way of plugins as well as or other modes of script . For those of you who are on Wordpress , I am certain you are able to relate to all of these integration features .

The beauty about Wordpress is that : It's all done for you ! ( once of course you get through the set up process via FTP, Servers, MySQL , Databases etc., ) ; and once you are able to overcome all of these set-up processes' , the initial set up of your site is somehow less painful , regardless of whether you are a newbie or a seasoned pro designer . The hardest aspect of Wordpress I believe is the initial set-up process , and this I believe is one of the deterring factors which may be overwhelming to first time users . However , allow me to point out at this juncture for any of you who are considering of starting a Wordpress Blog and getting on the Wordpress Platform - but are hesitant or fearful of doing so due to not possessing enough knowledge of " How to Set up a Wordpress Blog " , I can say to you that you should not allow this minor detail deter you in the least . There are many tutorial sites which will teach you ' How ' to set up your first Wordpress Blog site and will walk you through the entire set up process in a clearly defined ' step -by - step ' easy to follow tutorial ( even if you're a noob like me ! ) .

If you are new to Blogging and are contemplating on getting on the Wordpress.org platform but simply don't know ' How ' to go about setting up your Wordpress blog , then here is a little help in getting you started : Please head on over to Franco Averta's site Concept Dezain , and check out his easy step by step tutorial on : " How to Set Up a Killer Wordpress Blog " , which Franco explains in 5 easy to follow lessons ( from start to finish ) . If by the end of these tutorial's you find that you still are having difficulty within the set-up process or that you don't quite understand certain things , then drop a comment on Franco's site with your inquiry and he will definitely respond to your question(s) .

Now, if you are already on Wordpress.org , you are probably aware of it's many functional features as well as the myriad of plugins which one can install and incorporate into their admin-dashboard by which to enable any feature they wish to install into their blog / site . Firstly , I will recommend 2 plugins which will definitely make your life easier and will save you loads of time in managing your files as well as downloads you may want to make without having to go through your Host /Server and FTP protocols . These plugins will NOT slow down your page load time since they are NOT and having to do with your main Theme . These plugins are strictly on your Admin Dashboard and they are meant to enable your file management and any downloads you want to make . Therefore please do yourselves the favor and download the : WP File Manager by Johannes Ries . You can do this by simply going to your WP Admin dashboard , go to Plugins > Add New > Go to the Search Box and enter : FileManager for Wordpress . Install and activate the plugin and take control over your files right through your WP Admin dashboard. The next plugin which you will simply love and will not be able to live without is the WP-DownloadManager by Lester Chan ( who is also the guy behind the WP Page Navi ) . What the WP-DownloadManager will enable you to do is this : You will be able to basically conduct all of your downloads directly through your WP Admin dashboard without having to go to your C-Panel , FTP Host and go through all of this and then have to go back to your WP dashboard and activate everything from there as well . Once you have downloaded the WP Download Manager you will be able to download any Theme or plugin directly from your Admin Dashboard, by simply going to any of your sidebar panels and whether you want to add a new Theme , you will simply go to "Appearance " > Add new Themes , and simply download your theme through your dashboard . The same applies to any plugin you wish to install . Go to your sidebar : " Plugins " > Add New , search for your desired plugin and simply ' Install ' & then 'Activate '- and you're Done !

After you have installed the above plugins you will find that downloading anything to your WP will be much easier and hassle free .

Now let us talk about your Wordpress Blog / Site . I am certain that many of you have beautiful themes or have customized your theme as per your preference and specifications and some of you may even have gone the extra distance and have purchased a Premium Theme for your site / blog . Being that you have all gone the extra mile in customizing your Theme and creating it to your liking , wouldnt it be great if your Admin Login Panel matched your site Theme as well ?

As all of you who are using Wordpress may be aware of , the Wordpress Login Admin Panel is the generic white panel with nothing particularly interesting to it other than the little white box in the middle where you simply login . However , there is a way to customize your Wordpress Login Panel painlessly and with practically no code , and no effort aside from you acquiring the preferred images you wish to use and clicking a ' Save Settings ' button - thats it !
So, after saying as much - let us get down to the heart of the matter : Customizing your Wordpress Admin Login Panel .

First please go to your Plugins on your dashboard sidebar ( and I do hope you have by this point installed the WP-Download Manager I have mentioned above , or else you will have to do the rest through your C-Panel & FTP , which is really in my opinion so time consuming , but this is your choice ) .

Once you have gone to your Plugins on your sidebar , please click on " Add New " , and the ' Search ' page will open . In the ' Search ' box , please type in the following : Custom Login .
At this point the Plugins Search page will present you with a list of options to Custom Login link sites . However , I will save you the trouble and the pain of searching through each and every one of these , since only two ( 2 ) of these plugins are the Best of the Best and up to par as far as Customization features and functionality goes ( the rest pale by comparison , so do forget about them - I have looked into every single one of them for you and have done the homework so you dont have to ! ) Now lets move on . Let us choose the best and most functional plugin by which to Customize our Admin Login Panel .
From the list of optional links below , please choose the fourth ( 4th ) one : Custom Login by : Austin Passy [ look for the plugin Authors & you will see the name at the end of the plugin description ] . Now that you have seen the plugin I am speaking of , please click on the " Install " feature ( to your right ) .

After the installation is complete , you will be redirected to the Activation page and will be asked to either : view the plugin Installation Log , or the rest of your installed plugins and whether you want to Activate the Plugin . Please skip the rest of all this and simply click on " Activate Plugin " .

.:: For those of you who are still doing things via FTP & C-Panel mode and want to do it the hard way - here is the direct link to download Austin's plugin directly from his site Custom Login Plugin and you can follow his instructions on the set-up process . I will just be explaining the set up options for those of you who have downloaded the WP-Download Manager Plugin and are making your lives easier . ::.

Let's move on :

Once you have activated the Custom Login plugin , look at your sidebar on your dashboard ( yes, the one on your left ) . Scroll down to the sidebar titled " Settings " ; there you will see your ' Custom Login '. Please click on that .
Once you have clicked on the Custom Login , you will now be taken to the Custom Login Dashboard Panel , which will look like the image provided below :

From here on end you are now on ' Easy Street '. If you dont care to make any customizations and want to leave things as they have been originally created by Austin - it is your perogative ; but since you may have gone through the process of downloading this plugin , I believe you should put it to the use it has been intended for : Designing your Admin Login Panel.
Ok, the next step is ( once you are at the Custom Login Panel ) ; click on the button where it states " Check this box to use your own CSS, leave unchecked to leave the default style. " This will enable you to now Customize your Login Panel . I will list all of the Custom Login definitions below and explain what their functions are in case any of you don't know .

This can be the final outcome of your Admin Login Panel

But Before you arrive at these results - let us follow the easy steps defined below

Custom Login CSS - html

html background color :

by clicking this box you can set your hexadecimal colors for your Login Admin background. ( which you can choose by using the color chart coder located to your right on the Custom Login Panel )

html background url :

In this box you can set a wallpaper of your choosing - make sure it is larger than 1200px wide, or else it will leave a gap at the end . ( never mind that it says ' Suggested size : 10px x 500px ) . If you want to have a nice background please choose a large enough wallpaper ( there are many out there ) . If you would like to find some beautiful backgrounds which you can tile you can check out Backgrounds@ MySiteMyWay as well as their other child site which has some of the most beautiful backgrounds and textures you will ever find on the web Webtreats.com and they also have some truly outstanding textures as well HERE , and if you dont find anything there which captivates you - then simply head on over to flickr for backgrounds / or wallpapers and search in any category you like .
* Please note : If you are going to opt for a tileable background you must set the 'html background repeat box ' to : repeat-x [ for horizontal repeat ] or repeat-y [ for vertical repeat ] . If you are going to use a large scale Wallpaper of 1200-1400 you will not need to set a value of repeat - but rather a value of : ' no-repeat ' .

Custom Login CSS - #Login form

Login form background color :

Use the color code chart to set your admin login panel's background color [ suggestion : if you will be using backgrounds , I suggest that you set both the page background color and the Wp Admin Panel to the same color. ]

Login form background url :

In this box you can set your preferred background for your WP Admin Login panel . * Please note : Despite the suggested size being 308px x 108px - the actual size you will need to be able to cover the entire Admin Login Panel is 432px H x 309px W. Prior to uploading ( pasting ) your desired image into this box , you may wish to use a custom font and create your company or site logo unto it and then once you are satisfied with the end result , you may then apply the image URL into the box . Just remember : Regardless of how many times you do this and are not happy with the results , you can remove every customization and redo it all over again until you have finally gotten it right and are happy with the results .

** Please note : If you dont want to use a background to cover the login box , you can instead use a custom logo and simply set the background color to whatever you like and use the image URL of your custom logo . Please make sure it is a png image as it will look much better than a jpeg. Also the width of the logo cannot exceed 307px in Width and no more than 100px in H, or else it will be cut off in width and will be cut off in height into the login panel box . So do keep this in mind if you are thinking of creating a logo .

Login form border radius :

You can use these settings to change the border radius to any given number you like - this is up to you . You can leave it at 12 px as it is already pre-set or you can increase or decrease it to the level you desire .

Login form border thickness :

Here you can set your border thickness [e.x: I have set mine at 3px ] - this again is your choice .

Login form border color :

Choose the border color of your login panel by using the color code chart : [ try using colors close or similar to the background you have chosen ].

Login form box shadow :

You can choose the thickness of your border shadow here by setting the values to anything you want : [ I've set mine at 8px , by 8px by 18px ] and then choose your shadow color by using the color code chart on your sidebar to your right . ( try to set your shadow color as close to your background theme as possible , except make it 3 tones lighter so that it can have some kind of contrast and light effect against the main background ).

Custom Login CSS - Label

Label font color :

Here you can choose to set the color of the font on your Admin Login Panel , by using the color code chart . * Note : If you have set a dark color or a dark background , it is wise to use lighter shade of font , a color which will either contrast or be at least 3-5 shades lighter than the darker color you have chosen ( depending on the color )

Once you have finished with all of the above customizations , you can now hit the " Save Changes " button below and you are DONE ! You may now view your Wordpress Admin Login Panel and view your results . If you are happy with what you have produced , hooray , pat yourself on the back for a job well done ! If you are not happy with the way things have turned out : Ok, all is not lost , just go back and do it again and again until you do get it right ! The only way you will get the desired results is through trial and error . However , in the end , you will have the desired Custom Admin Login Panel you desire - so what are you waiting for ? Go download your plugins and get started !

Custom Fonts Without Writing Script

2009-12-25T03:02:00.001-08:00

Implementing Custom Fonts without a Line of Script

Whether one is running a Blog on Wordpress or Blogger, lately all users seem to have one vital need : The desire to install and implement Custom Font . Customized Font will in fact add that extra needed detail to any Blog /Site and enable it to stand apart from the rest of those ' hum drum ' sites which tend to use the regular allowed computer fonts such as ; Arial, Georgia, Times, Sans Serif fonts . However , as beautifully distinctive as custom font may be on certain Blogs /Sites and simple as it may seem when a particular user has managed to add that custom font , ( and as much as we desire the same for our own blogs ), I can assure you it is not such an easy feat to accomplish and the reasons vary .

The truth of the matter is : it is quite a complicated undertaking ( for the novice ) - not only in installing your desired custom font , but simply the entire process by which one must go through in order to have the finalized custom font display properly . Then there is another problem : your custom installed font ( which you went through so much trouble in converting to the appropriate extensions of .eot, .svg & .ttf formats ) may finally end up NOT showing up on another users browser who happens to land upon your page ! This is of course due to the fact that this particular user may not have that particular font on their system or , you may have high resolution and the other user may have low resolution, which will make your custom font appear ' choppy ' ( or simply put : not so nice as it appears on your own system ) .

What is a blogger who desires some nice custom font to do without having to go through the trials of Job to achieve desired results ? - and without having to go through the tedious task of finding the right font , making sure it is a commercial font ( permissible by its author ), having to download it , convert it to the appropriate extensions , re-downloading it again and then having to write code and finally go through the process of having to write the @font face declaration ( as well as having to change every quoted line of font declaration in their source document ) for the custom font to take effect ?

Well....there is a very simple process which will help put an end to all of the above known issues associated with installing custom font ! In fact , this process is so simple that all you will have to do is : Choose your desired " Free Permissible Font " , click on " Get Code " and simply copy and paste the code into your source document - without you having to write one single line of code or script ! Did I also mention that it will NOT slow your page load time as other scripts such as cufon javascript will ? ( cufon javascript slows a page's loading time like no other source of script can ! and I advise anyone against it .) This particular script loads just great , I have tested it on my own blog just to ensure it loads smoothly ( albeit the custom font I have on my own page is pure code & @fontface declarations and aside from this - my custom font runs throughout my entire blog and not only the Headers ).

This Custom Font Script will ONLY effect the Header font of one's blog and not the BODY font ( so let us clarify that from the onset ) . However , from what I have seen by user comments / remarks , is that they simply want to implement custom font for their Headers ( such as : h1, h2 , h3 etc ) . Thus , if your blog has 3, 4 , 5 or 6 different headers , this Custom Font Script will change those headers to your desired chosen Custom Font .Herein , I will describe how one can implement Custom Font on their Blog for both platforms [ Wordpress & Blogger ], and I shall begin with instructions for the Wordpress Platform .

The Following Custom Font Settings Apply only for the Wordpress Platform

The ' Plugin ' for this custom font is called " Font Burner " , and I basically discovered it whilst I was attempting to implement custom font for my new Wordpress Blog Site ( which is a work in process :D ) . I had been trying the @fontaface declaration as I had done on a previous WP theme , however ... the @fontface declaration was just NOT working with my new Theme and I tried everything there is - nada ! This theme simply refused to accept any @fontface declaration ! This was quite frustrating and being that I am quite stubborn and refuse to accept defeat , I sat there and contemplated for a few minutes as to an alternative method of installing custom font without having to use the @fontface declaration code . After a few minutes of contemplation I decided to ' Google ' it : Custom Font Plugins .

My search turned up 2 plugins - which both led me back to Wordpress.org ! Needless to say : I was elated there existed alternative solutions to enabling custom font on one's blog / site . After discovering both of these solutions [ plugins ] , I looked into both of them ; as to what they offer a user and user flexibility , along with page load time . Deduction : Both plugins work great - however : only one ( 1 ) of these plugins grant a user a ' Script ' or enabled piece of code by which to copy and paste into their page source document - which means : a user can copy this code / script and implement it on any given platform ; whether you are on the Blogger Platform , running your own self hosted Website or whatever have you . The only platform where a user will not have to copy and install the font ' manually ' is Wordpress . For the Wordpress platform , the user will simply go to their PLUGINS ( on their dashboard ) , select " Add New " and once you are taken to the plugins page , simply type ' FontBurner ' into the search box and the plugin will come up on the plugin results page .

Follow the instructions as per use , proceed to Download the FontBurner plugin ( choose your version of WP, as some of you may not have updated to the lates 2.9 & may be on previous WP versions , therefore pay attention to which version you are downloading ) -once you have downloaded the FontBurner plugin , go to your C-Panel on your host server and Upload the zip file to your wp- content /plugins folder . Once the upload is completed , decompress the contents of the plugin zip file and you are done . The FontBurner plugin will appear in your WP Dashboard under your Plugins. Once this is done , simply go to your WP Dashboard / Plugins / Installed , look through your installed plugins , locate your FontBurner Plugin and ' Activate ' it . After you have activated your FontBurner Plugin , return back to the main Dashboard and look at your " Settings " - you will see the FontBurner plugin there . Once you click on FontBurner , the settings page for it will be activated. You will now have the option to choose amongst the 1,000 Free Fonts available for it by simply going to FONTBURNER site and choosing " Fonts " from the main list .

The fonts page will open up where the listed fonts will appear within an alphabetical ordered list under " Font Search" starting from A-Z [ please look down to your lower left of the page as the lettering is quite small & some users may be looking for the available Fonts to be displayed - which is not the case here , its kind of tricky ] ; choose from any letter of the alphabetized list under the Font Search e.g : " A " will display a list of fonts beginning with A such as : Ad Mono, Accidental President, Acens , etc ( you get the point ) . Once you have found the desired font which you wish to use - WRITE the name of the font down ( in case you dont remember it , or simply as to not mispell it ) and return to your FontBurner Settings Dashboard page - you will see the preset font which came with the FontBurner plugin already existent in the Settings - you can change it now to the desired font you have chosen .

You may choose to use your desired font for all 4 headers or - you may choose to use 4 different types of fonts for all four (4) available FontBurner headings ( which I dont quite recommend - try sticking to 2 different fonts ; personally , I prefer 1 simple font to run throughout my entire page/blog . ) however 2 is good as well . Please ensure that you do NOT CAPITALIZE the name of the font and that you leave NO SPACES between the font name e.g : if the name / title of the font you have chose is : Accidental President , you must type it into the header settings as : accidental_president . If you capitalize or allow spaces , your font will not appear ! Which means that your regular header font which was originally on your theme will display and NOT your custom font ( just a forewarning ) .

Once you have decided on the font of your choice and you have inserted / typed it into all of the available 4 headings , you may now choose the color of your header font as well as the hover color settings . This plugin is so easy to customize that even one who has never done so before will find it extremely simple . Therefore , once you have your chosen font , header colors, hover colors all set , you may now scroll down to the bottom of your FontBurner Settings Dashboard and hit the ' Save ' button . You are all done and ready to view your page ! Your custom font is there now . Now if you get tired of your custom font and you want something different , all you will need to do is simply go back to FontBurner.com and go through the listed available fonts and choose a different font and repeat the above process - it's that simple .

The other 2 available plugins for enabling custom font on the Wordpress Platform are just as good, however with the plugin called AnyFont which is available right HERE , there seem to exist some user issues [ although I have tested the plugin myself and it worked perfectly for me ] , there are certain user comments on the Authors page which constitute some type of bug , however : as mentioned , I have not run into such user related issues which some of these users speak of on the Authors page. If you are on the Wordpress platform and prefer to use this plugin instead of the FontBurner plugin , I would highly recommend it due to the fact that with AnyFont you have absolute control over installing custom font throughout your entire blog ( body as well as headers ) . You can of course use AnyFonts default fonts or - you can download ANY font of your choosing ( which is of course FREE ) , upload it to the AnyFont plugin Dashboard , customize the size , colors , shadows ( oh yeah , it has shadow effects as well ! ) and implement it throughout your entire site and page load time is not affected in the least . It is now up to you whether you simply want custom font for your headers alone , or you would prefer to have more control over ALL of the text font on your page/ blog . The choice is yours .

There is also a 3rd plugin : TypeKit Fonts , which has many options , however , you will have to apply the @fontface declaration - and I am not sure as to whether you want to go this route , but you can download this plugin right HERE . Please ensure you read the installation instructions carefully before you download anything . Most users find their given plugins dont work , not due to bugs or something wrong in the Authors script ( which is not uncommon ) but due to the fact that they DONT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS . Therefore , please DO read the instructions / directions prior to downloading anything - and once you do, you may be surprised that it actually does in fact WORK !

The Following Settings Apply for the Blogger Platform

Now as for the Blogger Platform , things are simple from here on end and do not require all of the above configurations and various settings . In fact out of the above 3 plugins , only one ( 1 ) can be installed for the Blogger platform and in essence , a user on the Blogger platform will have nothing to upload nor download , alter nor customize - other than choosing their desired Free Font type . Yes, you read correctly . You will not have to do any of the above described steps which apply to the Wordpress platform , other than to simply go to FontBurner.com , navigate to the Font page , and choose the desired custom font from the Font List [ Search ] offered .

Once you have chosen your desired custom Font e.g : Font Search , [letter] B : Font Type "Bellrose Light" - now you can either choose to " View Font " , so as to see how this particular Font Face looks ( uppercase, lowercase, numbers, etc ., ) before you actually decide to use it , or - if you simply like what you see within the particular Font Type , you can simply choose to " Get Code " . Once you choose the " Get Code " , a new page will open displaying the given code for your particular Font . Copy the code , log into your Blogger account >/ Dashboard >/ Layout >/ HTML >/
(** you DO NOT need to Expand Widgets for this procedure ). Apply ( paste ) the Copied Code above the <head> line and hit the ' Save Template ' button . You are DONE !

View your page - you will now see your custom Font displayed on all of your headers . Please take notice :: If you wish to change the font color for your custom header font please follow the instructions below :

Once you have chosen your desired custom Font and are given the following code [ this code is for the Font Face called :Amerika Sans ] ::.

Amerika Sans Font Code



<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.fontburner.com/css/fontburner.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> 
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.fontburner.com/css/fontburner_print.css" type="text/css" media="print" /> 
<script src="http://www.fontburner.com/fontburner.js" type="text/javascript">
</script> 
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.fontburner.com/js/black/amerika_sans.php">
</script> 
<!-- sIFR fonts delivered by www.fontburner.com -->

Amerika Sans JS Code

You will now have to 'Copy' the following line of code from inside of the javascript code|| >> http://www.fontburner.com/js/black/amerika_sans.php << || paste this code into your external Editor [ or anywhere else for that matter ] where you can conduct the desired customizations , go to your Color Chart editor/ picker , you can use a color editor such as the Online Color Schemer RIGHT HERE , and choose your desired color (s) for your Custom Font Headers , and alter / change the below depicted colors which are denoted as : #000000; to whatever color ( s ) you will choose.

Amerika Sans PHP Code for Header Colors



var amerika_sans = { src: 'http://www.fontburner.com/flash/amerika_sans.swf' }; sIFR.prefetch(amerika_sans); 

sIFR.delayCSS = true; sIFR.activate(amerika_sans); sIFR.replace(amerika_sans, { selector: 'h1, h2, h3, .amerika_sans,

#amerika_sans' ,css: [ '.sIFR-root {color:#000000;}' ,'a {color:#000000; text-decoration: underline; 

font-weight:normal; }' ,'a:link {color:#000000; text-decoration: underline; font-weight:normal; }' ,'a:hover 

{color:#000000; text-decoration: underline; font-weight:normal; }' ,'a:visited { color: #000000; text-decoration: 

underline }' ,'em { color: #000000; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; }' ,'strong { color: #000000; 

font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; }' ] ,offsetTop:0 ,marginBottom: 0 ,verticalSpacing: 0 ,wmode: 'transparent' });

Once you are done with the color changes , please ensure that you save ( download ) this code and UPLOAD it to your host ( such as dropbox or any other host which allows you to save / upload a PHP file ) . After you have uploaded your color configured file , simply copy the LINK to the file and paste it back to the line of code you copied it from :

EXAMPLE ::.





<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.fontburner.com/css/fontburner.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> 

<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.fontburner.com/css/fontburner_print.css" type="text/css" media="print" /> 

<script src="http://www.fontburner.com/fontburner.js" type="text/javascript"></script> 

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.YOUR_NEW _COLOR_CONFIGURED_FILE.com/js/black/amerika_sans.php">

</script> 

<!-- sIFR fonts delivered by www.fontburner.com -->

Paste it into your source document || Blogger >/Dashboard>/Layout >/HTML>/ :: above the <head> line and hit ' Save Template ' . Your new color customized Font Headers are now ready .

Now I know it was mentioned that you can install Custom Fonts without Writing Script - and this still applies , however : If you wish to 'Alter' the COLOR (S) of the headers from their original black ( #000000; ) font , you will have to get into the code and make that particular adjustment ( which is not a big deal , just follow the instructions explained here ) and you will have some really great Custom Font / Custom Colored headers for your page . :)

I hope this article has been of help to any of you who had desired to install Custom Font headers to your page / blog site . For those of you on Wordpress , you will definitely have much more freedom / flexibility with these plugins as you will be able to manipulate their settings from your WP dashboard . For those of you on the Blogger Platform , this is simply just one more way of installing Custom Font into your blog . There are many other tutorials and you can find them on here just look up @ the >/ TYPOGRAPHY nav bar link and you can visit the articles posted here which contain tutorials on Typography & Custom Font enabling ( you may also conduct your query under the >/RESOURCES link ), or simply just view the Related Articles below this post . If you try this custom font enabling method and you encounter any problems , please feel free in contacting me and I will try to connect with you and walk you through the process - but I believe that you will do just great ! So, go ahead : get your Custom Font On !

Enabling Your "FF" Browser at Warp Speed

2009-12-17T11:29:00.001-08:00

Getting FF to Run Crazy like a Fox !

Regardless of which Browser one uses , and regardless of how great one browser seems to be over another - there comes a point in time within every users web experience when we all begin to notice ' glitches' in our browser's performance such as : slow loading time - or it simply just takes forever for a page to load ! Which is definitely quite irritating if you have ever wanted a page to load quickly. If you are like one of the millions ( not to say more ) users out there who want to literally " Jump Start " your Browser to run with the dexterity of a Fox - then this simple hack will definitely enable you to get it running at Warp Speed again !

If you have been having trouble with your FF browser lately , fret not - you are not alone ! There are millions of users out there who have been having the same problem so, don't feel that you are an isolated case . There is a very simple hack for any of you who are not afraid to attempt this - which means that : You will have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands a bit dirty . No, don't worry , you won't have to take your system apart . You will simply have to go into your browsers Configuration Settings and simply alter/ change a few things . This will be as easy as a walk in the park ( I did it and so can you ! )

Are you ready ?

Ok, lets go then !

*[ Please note : Be careful when you’re adjusting your settings, as you can give Firefox brain damage :) ]

In your browsers ADDRESS BAR , please type in the following:

about:config
and hit ENTER . As you will see upon doing that , your FF Browser window settings will be displayed . Scroll through this long list and find the following extensions , and when you do find each one - Double Click on it to change / alter it from either TRUE to FALSE & vice versa . Remember to do that please :) This hack works wonders & if you're not afraid to do it you will see the results once you complete the steps below & RESTART your browser .

Double Click on each of the following to set it from TRUE to FALSE :

Disable Extension Compatibility Check ::.

extensions.checkCompatibility = False
extensions.checkUpdateSecurity = False
Disable Prefetch (if you do a lot of Google searches) ::.

network.prefetch-next = False
Enable spellcheck in forms::.

layout.spellcheckDefault = 2
*Change Value from 1 to 2
Don’t allow blinking text (annoying!)

browser.blink_allowed = False

This is the main hack which will get your browser running @ Warp Speed !

Some network speed tweaks::.

network.http.pipelining | false to true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests | 30 to 8
network.http.max-connections | 30 to 96
network.http.max-connections-per-server 15 to 32
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server | 6 to 12
network.http.pipelining.ssl | false to true
network.http.proxy.pipelining | false to true

Show More Tabs::.

browser.tabs.tabMinWidth = 50

Setting lesser value with reduce Tab width. By default 12 will show at 75 pixels.

Disable or Set Short Delay Time While Installing Firefox Add-on

security.dialog_enable_delay = 0

Set to 1 if you only want to wait 1 second.

Increase History Undo Close Tab Limit ( Recently Closed Tabs )::.

browser.sessionstore.max_tabs_undo=25

Only 10 by default

Open Firefox Default Search Bar Result in a new tab::.

browser.search.openintab=True

View source code in an external editor::.

When you need to view the source of a page, it opens up in browser popup. Most developers would probably like to have that opened in their favorite editor instead of having to cut and paste. To do this, there are two entries to modify. Search for view_source.editor and you will see:

view_source.editor.external: Change this to true.

view_source.editor.path: Change this to the explicit path to your editor of choice.

Redefine the Backspace button::.

Did you know you can configure Firefox to use the backspace button to either go back a page or go up a page? This keeps power users from having to go back and forth from the keyboard to the mouse. Search for backspace and you will see::.

browser.backspace_action: | Change this to 0 for previous page and 1 for page up.

* If you can’t restore via a backup prefs.js file, you can exit Firefox and issue the command firefox -safe-mode to bring up the Firefox Safe Mode screen. Then, just select Reset All User Preferences To Firefox Defaults. Note: This will restore all user preferences to their default values.

Open Javascript popups as tabs::.

If a popup window lacks the features of a browser window, Firefox will handle it like a popup. If you would prefer to open all windows, including popups, as new tabs, you need to tell Firefox in

about:config
. Search for

newwindow
and you will see three ( 3 ) entries. Of those three ( 3 )entries, you will want to modify::.

browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction

I hope you have found this post helpful & you have made all of the above configurations . Now once you have restarted your FF Browser you will see that your browser is now running Crazy like a Fox ! Enjoy ~

A Black Magik Man | Gopal Raju

2009-12-10T01:01:00.001-08:00

Dreaming Productively

Alexander the Great's tales of India were the stuff which super-ceded one's wildest fantasies . They were tales full of magic , opulence , beauty , mystery and far beyond mortal imagination . Alexander loved India greatly ... as he was also one of those World Renowned Conqueror's who had attempted to conquer her , although in vain . Many have attempted to conquer India after Alexander's failed attempt...and they too have failed .

The British had also Invaded India, lured her finest Prince back to England [ actually it was more of an abduction one would say now-a-days.. just so they ( England ) could simply steal India's Royal jewels [ which ultimately they did whilst they held the Indian Prince there as a prisoner against his will - although they made it seem as if he was a willing visitor ]...So many nations have tried throughout the centuries to Rape India of her wealth, her opulence , her treasures , her people ...
But then again : How can one rob a Jewel which continually reproduces ? , and as one thing is stolen from Her , 1,000 emerge in it's place ! I myself would deem this Karma . Good Karma at that . It is not India's Jewels which are sought after and considered Priceless , no..it is India herself and her people which go to make up what India was , has been and what shall be . One cannot steal that .

Many do not know and are not aware of India's rich history and it's Antiquity , other than : Paleontologists , Anthropologists , Historians & Philosophers alike . None are aware that India bore & still continues to bear the greatest Philosophers , Architects & Artists of every genre . Many people of the so called Western world are deluded somewhat into believing that India is a third world nation and starving , with absolutely no culture . How wrong and misguided those individuals are . For all they need do is open a few books and learn about one of the greatest nations in the World .

India has been feeding the world since antiquity and has had open trade since B.C.E ! She has been the global supplier of spices , teas , rice and a multitude of other products such as silks ( the finest in the world - way before China ! ) , medicinal plants curing diseases for centuries - but yet She is under rated . How tragic .
But I feel that during the past 2-5 years things are turning around for India , and especially within India's Artistic World ( Community ) and Technology . The world had been so preoccupied with Japan & China and their Technology , during the past 2 decades , that they have simply missed [ yet again ] India's stellar Technological strides & advancements . Whereas once upon a time everyone in the free world spoke of and praised Japan & China as being the innovators pertaining to everything Technological as far as Development & Web design are concerned , they failed to recognize that out of India are sprouting some of the very best Developers , Engineers , Web designers and Innovators of every sector concerning human advancement . Again , how tragic .

However , I will not digress into politics any longer than necessary , although I simply wanted to make a point and lead the precursor into the subject at hand presently. The subject is yet another Great Developer & Web designer who is making rapid advancements within the Web development & Design sector . He is another rising Star out of India the great nation . This young man can actually perform Magik ! .... & Black Magik at that !

Don't believe me ? Well take a look at Gopal's recent WP Theme [ * now also available for the Blogger Platform @

BLogger Templates Blog ] called " Blak Magik " ::.

✿ For the Wordpress version of Blak Magik please visit Gopals site & Download the theme Directly from there [ Use Download Button below ] ::.

Lovely . Spectacular, Stunningly Beautiful isn't it ? Yes, I thought you would agree - and rightfully so I would say . It is the wonderfully magnificent work of Mr. Gopal Raju .
However , don't be fooled into thinking that this young Designer- Extraordinaire is simply just your mere average Template Designer like the myriad of little pseudo layout designers out there who's skills begin & end with HTML & CSS ! No..not this young man . Allow me to introduce him to you , just in case you are not aware of him and his unlimited skill at producing Black Magik with the skill of Houdini !

His "About Me " section , would seem more equivalent to an Exec CEO resume rather than a simplistic ordinary 'About Me ' ( which eheemm..most of us out there have - as in : Yours Truly here ) where our so called "About Me's " are simply a paragraph [ and sometimes just a sentence ! ] ; this young man's ' About Me ' is equivalent to the Magna Carta ! . Gopal has no difficulty in putting himself ' Out There ' for the public to see [ read ], and rightfully so ! I believe that if we all possessed his plethora of innovative skills at what he is very quickly becoming famous for & about , we probably wouldn't have difficulty within speaking about it now would we ?

Well allow me to describe in brief a few things about Mr. Raju :
Firstly , Gopal was born in India's Southern part in the city of Kerala, Trivandrum [ for any of you familiar with India's geography ]. He is at present employed as a Senior Web Developer , and had begun his career as a Graphics Designer back in 2002 . Despite Gopal's lengthy career as a Web Designer & Developer he seems to bear a lofty resume when it comes to Company Management as one can assess by reading his Resume . Leading a team of 50+ other Web Designers is not an easy feat , and it takes someone with ample leader skills in order to achieve this, and Gopal does in no way seem to falter within this sector either, thus : if he would ever venture into heading his own Company someday ( and I believe this young man will achieve this quite soon in fact ) , he will have no trouble being the head of his own company & Exec C.E.O in charge . Some are born to lead and some are born to follow, it seems that Gopal Raju has been born to lead , in more ways than one .

What impacts me about Gopal Raju is the statement which he makes at the end of his About Me under " Strengths " section : "Enthusiasm to learn; Strong sense of aesthetics and attention to detail ; Confident, Ambitious and self motivated. Understand and solve problems; Ability to perform under pressure; Hard working ." Now this I believe speaks volumes about someone & their work ethic . This is the type of individual who is not only committed to what he does - but moreover : Devoted to it.

Despite Gopal's young years , he has achieved quite a lengthy sum of accomplishments, and as the future opens it's doors I am confident that Gopal is ready to walk through them and confront any task which will be set before him . You can all keep a watchful eye out on this young and multi-talented man , for I believe that he is just beginning to show the world [ the Web Design & Development Community ] what he is truly capable of - and in my humble opinion : Gopal Raju is capable of a great many things .

I will not bother to describe to you in detail his list of professional attributes - all you will need to do is simply visit his beautifully created site and see for yourself that this young man is quite the JQuery & Mootools Guru and a multitude of other applications .

I was introduced to Gopal's site myself by a young friend who led me there one day , and as I landed on his page , I recall my young friend [ who is striving on becoming a Web Developer & Designer himself ] say : "Someday , I would like to be like this guy . I would love to be able to design like him ...Everything he designs is pure beauty ." I would have to agree with my young friend ( and I did ) , and all I have to say for myself is : When I grow up , I want to be like Gopal Raju as well ! :)

Gopal's site is appropriately titled " Productive Dreams ". Quite a befitting title for a man who does in fact help to create Productive Dreams for everyone ( yours truly included ) . I urge you to visit Gopal Raju's site , and see for yourself the many wondrous and stunningly creative designs this young man is capable of [ and the endless list of Freebies he is continually dispersing for all out there , and I am also certain that once you do , you will continue returning frequently to see what the Blak Magik Man has conjured up this time ..

* Gopal has just launched his portfolio site which can be summed up as simply being : A Productive Dream within a Dream .... if you have not seen Gopal's new portfolio site , I definitely urge you to do yourself the favor of viewing it right HERE . It is most assuredly one of the most beautifully created sites inhabiting the www.com , brought to you by : The BlakMagik Man himself : Gopal Raju .
You may also find Gopal on twitter HERE

Design : Spectacular Interiors

2009-12-06T15:20:00.001-08:00

Design for Living

Interior design draws upon many disciplines to enhance the function, safety, and aesthetics of interior spaces. The overall focus concerns how different colors, textures, furniture, lighting, and space work together to meet the needs of a structures occupants. Interior Designers plan and create the design of interior spaces of almost every type of building, including offices, airport terminals, theaters, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and private residences. Good design can boost office productivity, increase sales, attract a more affluent clientele, provide a more relaxing hospital stay, or increase a building’s market value, whereas : bad design will cause the adverse .

Interior Design is a pivotal aspect of how one lives , reflects individual personality and is an integral part of our lives which we definitely cannot ' live ' without. Traditionally, most interior designers focus on decorating by choosing a style and color palette and then selecting appropriate furniture, floor and window treatments, artwork, and lighting. Whatever space they are working on, almost all designers follow the same process. Today, designs often are created with the use of computer-aided design (CAD), which provides more detail and easier corrections than sketches made by hand , and thus: with the increased advancement of computer technology it has become somewhat easier and less time consuming than producing it manually which was the norm less than 2 decades ago .

Interior Design ( as well as Architecture ) is evolving rapidly to meet the needs of an ever increasing world and the environmental changes which are affecting our world and ' us '. The three ( 3 ) areas of design which are becoming increasingly popular are : ergonomic design , elder design and of course : Environmental or " Green design ". Ergonomic design involves designing work spaces and furniture which emphasize and help in creating ' good posture ' and minimize strain upon the human body ; Elder design , which involves the planning of interior spaces within the aid of the movement of the elderly and the disabled . Green design involves the selection of furniture and carpet treatments which are chemically free and hypoallergenic as well as the selection of construction materials which are energy efficient or made from renewable ( recyclable ) resources .

Whatever the design and the purpose or structure behind it , one thing is certain : Design will always be one of the most important factors within our lives and will reflect and represent not only our ' persona ' , but moreover how we liveand the quality of our lives . Design is everywhere , whether it be exterior , garden , interior or Web Design - one thing is certain : We cannot live without it . Below are just some exemplary interior designs which will definitely Inspire one to maybe attempt to emulate or even incorporate bits and pieces of various elements seen below into one's own home decor or next Interior Design project. Enjoy & have fun restyling or redecorating your own domicile :)

Zero House : 100 %

And the perfect " Exterior " ( in my humble opinion ) it's called the " ZeroHouse ", and is designed by Scott Specht of Specht Harpman, and is a prefabricated solar dwelling. Easily shipped and quickly erected, it operates completely off-grid in many climates. It has all elements necessary to comfortably support four adults. Which is just fine with yours truly here :)

Now this is what I call a Perfect Ending to a perfect day , regardless of what Interior you happen to dwell in :)

Character Creation & Illustration

2009-12-01T16:27:00.001-08:00

Character Creation

is a work of art. As the father of the animated cartoon ( Winsor McCay ) had once said prior to pronouncing the doom of an industry he had inadvertently helped to create : "Animation should be an art....what you fellows are doing with it is making it into a trade....not an art, but a trade....bad luck ."

From 1911-21 McCay nursed animation from a simple camera trick to full blown character animation that would take 20 years to be surpassed. McCay animated his films almost single-handed; from inception to execution each cartoon was his and his alone. He took the time to make his films unique artistic visions, sometimes spending more than a YEAR to create a single five-minute cartoon. But the burgeoning world of cinema could not wait so long for so little, and so the modern animation studio came into being. The art of animation was no longer the work of one man, it was a streamlined, assembly-line process in the best Henry Ford tradition. But was the " Art " of the animated cartoon sacrificed for the trade's sake? That, of course, depends on the studios themselves and how one chooses to perceive things...

Through the years several institutions have proven McCay's prophecy at least partly false; indeed, without such positive collaborations of talent the Artistic aspect of animation would not have advanced to the level of sophistication it enjoys today. But who exactly was it "bad luck" for: the Art, or the Artists themselves ?

It was when animation finally made the leap to television that the Artistic aspect truly began to suffer for business' sake. The great Hollywood studios of the 30s, 40s, and 50s had been manned by people genuinely interested in making quality cinema. The denizens of the TV animation houses of the 60s, 70s, and 80s only cared that the product was there to market. The quality of writing was poor, and the animation itself was often so limited it barely qualified as animation at all. McCay's prophecy had finally come to pass...

Finally in the 1990s the artists in the television cartoon industry began to figure out how to work effectively with the limitations of the field. Around 1992 we saw the debut of Warner Bros., "Batman: The Animated Series." Despite the fact that the animation was contracted to various Oriental studios (by the mid 80s the practice was almost universal in television production....it continues to be so today) the show's creators Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Eric Radomski, and others managed to infuse the series with a distinct visual style. Combined with the deep characterizations and strong stories, "Batman" was a first-rate cartoon. While they did not attract as much publicity as Disney's theatrical department, the Warner Bros. TV artists were just as important to the art of animation, demonstrating that even a television cartoon series was capable of Artistic achievement.

From the advent days of character creation such as : Steamboat Willie ( Mickey Mouse ) to Donald Duck, Goofy , Bugs Bunny , and Betty Boop , the cartoon & comic book industry has advanced immensely . When we look back at the early days of character creation and the lack of technology at the time one thing can be said when we compare the advancements we have made today : There is NO comparison . I cannot say that I agree with Winsor McCay's viewpoint - as far as Art having been made into a trade , simply based on the fact that : Once a product ,( any product ) is created for the masses : it automatically becomes " Marketable " . Whether one creates Art in any sector or medium , they are in essence creating for the masses : to either be viewed or to capture the attention of an audience . One does not create in order to harbour their art locked away in a cellar for their own personal satisfaction or consumption . Art is meant to be shared with the world .

Today's Artists possess the skill , technology and imagination which Artists of McCays & Disneys era lacked . This basically correlates with the fact that : those were different times , as far as technology , skill and sociological factors were concerned . Technology is just an evolutionary process of "Change " , and is inevitable. Character creation has advanced to incomparable proportions , whether we look at Bugs, Donald, Mickey or Spawn , Spiderman , and a myriad of other characters one thing is certain : Character Creation & Illustration is rapidly advancing , changing and definitely improving at light speed , and I personally like what I see , hope you will also.

Below are a few new Up & Coming Artists and Illustrators who will be the New Age Winsor McCay's and Walt Disney's of tomorrow . Enjoy their art as well as their immense talent . All of the Art featured here is the work of their respective Authors - when you click on an image it will take you to the profile of the respective Artist where you may view more of their work portfolio . Enjoy .

You may visit Yu Cheng's site and blog page by accessing the links below . Yu is a very talented young man and his art is simply beautiful . If you wish to see more , visit his site and drop him a comment .

YU CHENG HONG GALLERY/SITE::.

YU CHENG HONG BLOG::.

YU CHENG HONG ::.

Blogger Original Theme Designers

2009-11-28T17:06:00.001-08:00

Wordpress vs. Blogger

When one decides to create a blog , they are usually told to head on over to Wordpress immediately, without being told or advised about any other Blogging Platforms ; such as Drupal , Joomla or Blogger . Albeit, I will admit that the mighty Wordpress Platform is just that : Mighty , within the user functionality which it offers , numerous plugins , UI's and the flexibility to run entire websites through it's almighty platform .

However ..... what most "New Bloggers " ( or Newbies ) may not be aware of is : Wordpress , as great as it may be in offering all that it does ( to the experienced user ! ) is that : It is quite a complex platform to learn , master and operate . I have read comments by Wordpress users on various Blogs on how to even go about Uploading their theme ! At this point , I will say : it is not as simple as many might think as : downloading your theme of choice , unzipping its contents and uploading them to your Wordpress account . No, it goes beyond such simplicity and if one is not familiar with FTP , MYSQL , PHP and all that other WP jargon - I assure you : they will be lost !

I have also read many WP users blogs as well as user comments who sneer and look down upon the Blogger Platform as well as Blogger users . It seems as that if one is on the Blogger Platform and is a Blogger User - they are somehow perceived as something " Less than a Good Blogger " somehow . Sadly , it is widely perceived and purported that Blogger users are " inexperienced & lesser citizens " of the Blogging community . Which is a grave misconception I assure you . The fact is : it doesn't matter whether one is on Wordpress or Blogger , Joomla or Drupal . Being on Wordpress DOES NOT make one a ' Better Blogger ' - your CONTENT is what makes you a better Blogger and NOT the PLATFORM you happen to be on ! I have seen a multitude of Mighty Wordpress hosted Blogs & sites which harbor nothing but rubbish . Thus : Wordpress does not magically transform one into a literary pro nor a graphic media expert . One either possesses these attributes or they DON'T ! Simple as that .

I have also encountered many Wordpress users who snicker at the fact that Blogger does not offer the " Spectacular Theme designs " which Wordpress is famous for . Well, let us clarify a few things pertaining to these venomous rumors . Firstly , as most may be aware of : Wordpress was the Blogging Platform predecessor and the ' Father of CMS ' prior to Wordpress.org which later on became a full scale Blogging Platform and available to the mere layperson . Wordpress.com is a CMS platform , and was created by Developers FOR Developers ( You may read about the differences in one of my prior posts :" Design vs. Content " which will clarify any confusions you may have at this point ) . Now prior to WP.ORG , there were no such thing as : Themes . Wordpress.com cannot be altered " design wise " - it is strictly about CONTENT, and thus is deemed a " CMS " [ Content Management System ] . On the other hand, Wordpress.org can be fully manipulated and customized if one knows how . This is where Theme Design comes into play . Now, being that Wordpress has been around much longer , and has from its onset thousands ( maybe even hundreds of thousands ) of Developers who established it , built & created it from the ground up , of course it will be ahead of any other Blogging Platform out there and this goes without question , and I will not dispute this fact .

However , within the past 2 yrs the Blogger Platform has made stellar strides within its UI and other functionalities to equal and rival those of the Mighty Wordpress.org itself ! I have seen ( read ) comments left on Blogger Theme Galleries by Wordpress users who want to transfer their blogs from Wordpress over to Blogger and dont know HOW ! Now I will pose the following question to you the reader : Does this make one "Less of a Blogger " because he is unfamiliar with the Blogger Platform ? In my humble opinion : No it does not . The comparison can be equated to a 30 year car driver who has been driving an automatic , and suddenly finds himself in the seat of a stick shift ! Will that make him less of a driver ? No - it simply means that he will have to acquaint himself with operating a stick shift ( which may take about a week or so until he becomes comfortable behind the wheel ) , but in the end , he will drive that car just as well as he had driven the automatic . Therefore , let us for comparison's sake equate Wordpress as being the ' Stick Shift ' and Blogger the ' Automatic ' . It doesnt matter which one youre driving - what matters is : How good of a driver you are . How good are you at getting your CONTENT out there to the masses - simple as that .

Now there has been much talk circulating for quite some time that the Blogger Platform does not offer rich 'Quality Themes ' such as those of Wordpress - but as mentioned before : Wordpress has been in the Theme Designing Business much longer and has thousands of Web Designers , Graphics experts and Developers working fervently round the clock in order to keep producing and putting out the very best there is for the mighty WP platform .
There are though , many Blogger Gallery Theme Sites ( blogs ) which are run by very talented men & women who do such an excellent job at CONVERTING Wordpress themes unto the Blogger markup language that one cannot tell the Original from the Converted theme - yes, they are that good !

Aside however from all of these so called " Blogger Conversion Sites " , there have emerged lately a few ( a mere handful at this early point in time ) truly great Blogger Original Theme Designers . If you are new to blogging , and are not tech savvy enough to create a blog on the Wordpress platform - or in other words : If you've been driving an automatic and aren't ready to get behind the wheel of a stick shift , then the Blogger Platform is your Ideal Blogging Platform and it will enable you to get the hands on experience you will require by which to move on to Wordpress or any other platform .

Now as far as Theme design goes , there are thousands of Blogger Theme Galleries out there where you will find practically any and every Wordpress theme which has been converted to Blogger . However - I would like to introduce you to several of the most talented and creative Blogger Original Theme Designers as well . These designers lack nothing which those boys over at the almighty Wordpress bear . In fact : They are as equally talented and creative as any Wordpress theme designer out there , and if you doubt this , then all you have to do is simply view their sites below , click on any of the images and be taken to their respective sites where you will be able to view their creative works . What I have found on Blogger which I feel is lacking on Wordpress is the " Support " which exists on Blogger .

The designers depicted below are not only creative , imaginative individuals who truly LOVE what they do - and do it FREELY , they are also a few of the most supportive Designers out there on the Blogger Platform . They are always there to offer a user ( experienced or not ) any help they require in getting their blog off the ground and fully running . There arent too many Wordpress sites or WP Theme Designers who will do the same ( aside from maybe 3 or 5 WP Theme sites ) - whereas : A Blogger user can count on getting any type of help they require from any Blogger Theme site . Thus : the choice is yours .

The following Blogger Original theme Designers are not only extremely talented & gifted individuals - but they are great people as well who will go out of their way to assist a user in their Blogging needs . Please view and bookmark their sites , you may ask any question you wish - don't be shy . Drop them a comment and I assure you that you will receive a response and the help you are seeking . Here are the BEST of Bloggers BEST :

.:: You may click on any of the images to be taken to the original site ::.

JOAO & JESSICA of Be Insight

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer(s) , Extraordiary Artist, Illustrator, Icons Creator

LAUREN of NYMPHONT

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer, Font & Social Icons Creator & All Around Multi-Talented !

Klodian of :Deluxe Templates

Klodian of Deluxe Templates is yet another Blogger Original Theme Designer who manages to design some of the nicest clean & functional Blogger Themes , tailored very similar to those clean Wordpress CMS Themes which are targeted mainly for Content . If ' Content ' is your main focus - then Klodians Themes will definitely meet your needs ! Klodian likes to emphasize that his themes are ' uncluttered & easy to manage ' with nothing to take the focus & attention away from the importance of 'Content '. When one looks at Klodians themes , they will certainly mistake them for Wordpress Themes ! ( I know I did ).

Thus: if ' Content ' is your primary target within blogging - then you will find that Klodian's Themes are built & created to meet your needs . You may view Klodians other ' clean pristine themes ' here also : Deluxe Templates * Klodian also converts any Wordpress Theme you want to place a request for. Just drop him a request and he will definitely contact you and convert your desired theme . [ He's truly a great guy who is always there to help every blogger with any questions and help they require , so do drop him a comment ].

:: Click on image & links to view the live Demos of Klodians clean Themes ::

DANTE of Dante Araujo

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer, Artiste Extraordinaire, Tech Savvy & a Great Guy !

Divya Sai of BloggerStop.Net

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer , Tech Savvy Blogger & an overall Great Guy who is always there for his readers & users of the Blogger Platform , offering his limitless knowledge to everyone out there . Divya has created some truly beautiful themes , and this particular theme was featured on Mashable as being one of the 12 most beautiful themes ( & is also available on Wordpress ! ) . Looking at it , I am certain you will agree . Visit Divya's site/ Blog to see more beautiful Original Blogger Themes which he has created & if you need advice on any topic , I guarantee you he will definitely have an answer to your problem .

KENNETH @ ZIXPK.com

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer, Graphics, & Best Wallpapers & Icons out there.

CHETHSTUDIOS.NET

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer , Social Media Icons, PSD's & VERY talented @ Everything he does !

CEBONG IPIET @ IPIETOON

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer offering some exceptionally well designed grid Themes .

ZEN @ Zenplate

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer w/ Exceptional talent . Zen offers some of the best support to all of his users out there and has some very good hacks . You can expect much more from Zen in the months to come.

TEMPLATES Para NOVO BLOGGER

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer who produces some exceptionally beautiful themes and tutorials for the Blogger Platform .

AEXT.NET

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer . This is Lam Ngyen's first Designed Theme for the Blogger Platform which is just beautiful , and you can all expect to see much more from this Tech Savvy guy in the months ahead . Lam has some of the best Tutorials & Scripts on the web - you can visit his site if you ever require something more than a Template @ AEXT.NET

AMANDA FAZANI @ BLOGGERBUSTER.COM

:: Original Blogger Theme Designer and the Mother of BloggerBuster ! ( Need I say more ? )

I hope that you have enjoyed this article and are now aware that Wordpress doesnt have all that much over the Blogger Platform - in terms of use, functionality or : Theme Design . The above Blogger Theme Designers are leaving nothing to be desired nor coveted from the mighty Wordpress platform , and as time passes , you can count on seeing much more creative works produced by the designers above , and by ' New designers ' who will follow in their wake . Therefore , if anyone snickers at the fact that you are a Blogger user , you can now point them in the direction of your new Blog which will hopefully be graced by one of the beautifully creative Original Blogger Themes created by the above Original Blogger Theme Designers . Move over Wordpress , here come the New Kids on the Blogger Block !

P.S ::
If I have omitted any Original Blogger Theme Designer out of the above list - please forgive me , as I am not aware of any others . If there are any more Original Blogger Theme Designers out there which you may know of , please do post a comment with their name & link to their site and I will update this article to include them . Thank You :)

Best of The Grungy Grunge Fonts

2009-11-26T14:21:00.001-08:00

Grunged Out Fonts

Below are some free Grunge Fonts I thought were distinctive and thought some of you may like to use them as well . Of course there are thousands of Grunge Fonts out there I am certain , however I believe these are really awesome if any of you are considering creating a Blog or Website with a Grungy look to it and would like some Font Type inspiration towards your creation . Hope these help :)

* Please read Authors comments/ stipulations and rules of use prior to download and use of these or any fonts . You will also find some help within trying to install custom fonts on your personal blog / site as well at the end of this post . To download any of the fonts below simply click on the preferred image (font type ) and a new window to the original download site will open . Enjoy ! :)

The Art of Creating Font :

FONT TYPE : " CHICKEN HAWK "

by NYMPHONT

FONT TYPE : "FRAIL & BEDAZZLED "

by NYMPHONT

FONT TYPE : "A BITE"

by Billy Argel

FONT TYPE : "SNIPER "

by Billy Argel

FONT TYPE : " HARD ROCK "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : " CHIC DECAY "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : " GRIDLOCKED "

by The Original 19

FONT TYPE : "INKED GOD "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : "L E D LIGHT "

by Billy Argel

FONT TYPE : " BIRTH of a HERO "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : "AMBULANCE SHOTGUN "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : "SCUMBAG "

by Disturbed Type

FONT TYPE : " TABLHOIDE "

by Typo 5

FONT TYPE : " GRUNGE SANS "

by Shy Foundry

* This Font Type comes in other variations such as :

Regular
Bold (below)
Caps
Italic
Italic-Shadow
Sans -Shadow

FONT TYPE : " TETANUS "

by Disturbed Type

FONT TYPE : " NACHOS & T.V. "

by Billy Argel

FONT TYPE : " JAILBOX 1 "

by Dirt 2

FONT TYPE : " ALPACA "

by Dirt 2

FONT TYPE : " RUSTED PLASTIC "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : " TURBO RIPPED "

by Last Soundtrack

FONT TYPE : " 84 ROCK "

by Jonathan Paquette

FONT TYPE : " DESPERADO "

by Jonathan Paquette

FONT TYPE : " KARABINE "

by Jonathan Paquette

FONT TYPE : " DOCTEUR ATOMIC "

by Jonathan Paquette

FONT TYPE : " ALFRED 24 "

by Jonathan Paquette

FONT TYPE : " 123 GO ! "

by Jonathan Paquette

Installing Custom Font on Your Blog / Site

There are many users who would like to install custom font on their websites or blogs , either to represent their Websites content , match their header logo or their product . However , what most users may not be aware of is : Their 'visitor's ' browser may not have that particular font installed and therefore - ' your ' custom font will display and revert to a browser default font such as : Arial, Georgia, Sans serif , Times, etc .

However , there are ways to go about displaying " Your Custom Font " on all browsers by simply embedding it using a Cascading Style Sheet [ CSS ] technique - albeit , this may have some pitfalls.
Your best and safest outlet is to incorporate what is referred to as " embeddable font " ( .eot ) , and you will not have to worry about your visitors browser reverting to a default font type - which means : Your custom font will display on all browsers . This will require a bit of eefort on your part , but is worth it in the end if displaying custom font is your incentive .

First : Find the custom font you would like to use and make sure that you are allowed to use it by it's Author ( many font creators stipulate rules for the use of their fonts - so please do respect the Authors wishes when installing any type of font type on your page/web / blog ).
Secondly : You will need to download the preferred custom font ( .ttf ) to your system .
Thirdly : Once you have downloaded the desired font type , you will need to convert it to a ): an .svg file & and b): an .eot file

There are online generators & ttf to svg & eot converters for this purpose , you can use this great free .TTF to .SVG CONVERTER ☚ by which to upload your .ttf file and you will be given the conversion within a matter of seconds ! Also , you will need to upload your .ttf file and convert that to an .eot extension and you can use this free online conversion tool .TTF to .EOT CONVERTER☚ .

Once you have converted and DOWNLOADED your .eot & .svg files , you will now need to UPLOAD your 3 file formats to your server or upload host such as dropbox or whatever you are using . Thus , you will upload your .ttf , .eot and .svg files there . Once you have done so , you will need to copy the links to those files and this is where the @font face declaration comes in to save the day .

You can copy the CSS code below , save it and once you have your desired font , along with your converted files you may use it within your own source page , keeping in mind that you will also have to declare the CUSTOM FONT VALUE of your new font everywhere on your source document as well - therefore : wherever you have the font defined : Times, "Arial Bold" , Sans - you will now have to implement your custom font type name within those quotation marks - and you must do this everywhere along your source document in order for your custom font to take effect . Copy the CSS @font face source below & have fun embedding your new custom font on your site .

@font-face {
font-family: 'YOUR CUSTOM FONT NAME'
src: url('http://www.filefactory.com/file/a1a575e/n/YOUR_CUSTOM_FILE.eot');
src: local('YOUR CUSTOM FONT NAME'),
local('YOUR CUSTOM FONT NAME'),
url('http://www.filefactory.com/file/a1a5755/n/YOUR_CUSTOM_FILE.ttf') format(
('truetype'),
url('http://www.filefactory.com/file/a1a61g1/n/YOUR_CUSTOM_FILE.svg') format('svg');
}

TYPEKIT :

TYPEKIT.COM

Typekit is the easiest way to use real fonts on the web. It's a subscription-based service for linking to high-quality Open Type fonts from some of the worlds best type foundries. Our fonts are served from a global network on redundant servers, offering bulletproof service and incredible speed. And it couldn't be easier to use.

So here’s the situation: Every major browser now supports the ability to link to a font. That means you can write a bit of CSS, include a URL to a font file, and have your page display with the typography you expect. For designers and developers, this is a significant step forward. No longer will you need to trap your content in images or Flash just to express yourself visually. Pages will be more usable, accessible, and indexable. This is a massive upgrade for the web.

But there’s a problem. While it’s technically quite easy to link to fonts, it’s legally more nuanced. Almost all fonts are protected by copyright — even those available for free — and very few of them allow for linking via CSS or redistribution on the web. This is understandable; font files represent countless hours of finely detailed labor. Appropriately, type designers are concerned that they’ll lose control of all that hard work.

That’s where Typekit comes in. We’ve been working with foundries to develop a consistent web-only font linking license. We’ve built a technology platform that lets us host both free and commercial fonts in a way that is incredibly fast, smoothes out differences in how browsers handle type, and offers the level of protection that type designers need without resorting to annoying and ineffective DRM.

As a Typekit user, you’ll have access to our library of high-quality fonts. Just add a line of JavaScript to your markup, tell us what fonts you want to use, and then craft your pages the way you always have. Except now you’ll be able to use real fonts. This really is going to change web design.

Pricing plans are designed to be flexible enough for most designers, developers, and web site owners. Some sites, however, are of a truly massive scale. Just drop a note at enterprise@typekit.com and they'll walk you through options such as SSL serving, dozens of domain mappings, and scaling to millions or billions of page views.

If you design or distribute fonts, send a note at foundries@typekit.com and they'll discuss the ways which you can host, distribute, and market your fonts.

The New Design Machine on the www.com

2009-11-24T06:25:00.001-08:00

An Ectomachine of Design

There are websites , and there are ' Websites ' - just as there are designers , and then there are what I would like to term : Innovators of Design . Well, that's exactly what this next & new team of ' web designers ' are , Innovators . Of course you have seen them all you might say , but truly , you havent - and I am here to attest to that . There are great web- designers out there of course - but somehow , they all seem to keep it down to a sort of " Replication Process " .

Meaning : they somehow emulate & replicate works of other designers & seem to reproduce just shadows of someone elses works . This tends to get boring & mundane after a while , leaving the imagination to plummet into a void . Well, these next Designers seem to stand apart from the rest . They possess a gritty - grunge- Rock - edge to their work which makes it bear that ' originality & fresh new feel ' to everything they do .

Their work is in no way mundane nor overshadowed by someone else's style . If originality is the key phrase to be had here , then these guys have it in over abundance . Just as they state on their profile : They have a " Mission " ! what is their ' mission ' you ask ? Something which I have not seen any other Web Designers out there on the www. state , and that is : ( as they say ) : " To make you look good " ! I like that . When was the last time you had someone tell you they want to make you look good ? I don't know about you , but as far as I'm concerned , I haven't heard any one aside from my last hair-dresser tell me that .

What I also like about these guys is the other part of their statement as to : " Why they do what they do " (?) . Their reasons , are not solely based on profit ( money to some of you capitalists out there ) - but instead : because they harbor a love and respect for creativity and art . Yes , I do believe with conviction that these guys would do it for free if they didn't have rent to pay - but as all of you are aware : times are hard , so please do give to those who " make you look good " !

Their Web Design company goes by the original title of ECTOMACHINE and they are based in Tulsa - and yes they are so new , I was busy peeling the plastic bubble wrap off their site . Now I have always known that Tulsa is Gods Country , but I never realized that the ' Demi Gods of Web Design ' reside there ! and as far as , being ' New ' does in no way imply these guys are ' new at their craft ' ok, so lets not get tangled up in the bubble wrap here . When I stumbled onto their site , I will not deny remaining there for a good hour or so , oggling over all of their well designed works . Oh yes , these guys are so finely skilled , they must have been surgeons in a past incarnation , and from what I am able to gather - they must surely be the envy of every other web designer out there at the moment & probably for a long time to come , as I am also sure that their imagination will not lack or falter as time progresses . I love the gritty - grunge - effect of their site , and if I ever wanted a website for my own personal reasons , these would be the guys I would hire to create something for my Rock N Roll tastes .

What I like about them is that they make you feel " in control " of your site ( or the site which you have in mind ) . They seem to be concerned with ' your needs ' and they don't seem to bear a ' god complex ' about their design abilities ( whereas : most designers , will forfeit your opinions / needs & create what they have in mind ) . No, I believe these guys do have the best intentions concerning their work ethic : YOU !

Their talents are not limited strictly to mere web design , ( if one can deem Web Design a mere factor ) , as they are skilled at a plethora of other web design applications and their talents range in :

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Fireworks
Adobe ImageReady
WordPress
CODA
Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Expressions
Google Analytics

They offer their talents in such areas as ::

Web Design
Identity / Branding
Music Packaging
Clothing & Merch Design
CSS & XHTML
Custom Myspace Profiles
Ajax
Jquery

Now I bet you didn't expect so much talent wrapped up in all that bubble wrap now did you ? Now do yourself a great big favor : get off this page , and go visit ECTOMACHINE's Rockin Web Site , so you can peel off the rest of the bubble plastic and get a feel for these WEB GURUS yourself , and I am certain that you will remain on their site for about a good hour or so looking over their explosive work , and getting to know a little bit more about the great and mighty New Design Machine on the www ! I promise that you wont be disappointed in the least ( if you have any sense of style that is ..ehem..) . Now if you're a musician , and you haven't hired these guys to create your website - then all I have to say is : RUN to their site , and beg them to design your website - and oh yeah ...give them a lot of money !!! Cause when they get through w/ your website , you can expect your tracks to reach the top of the charts & your career to get out of the slumping state its been in ! Now what are you still doing here ? Go on , go !!! ( and come back & tell me I was right on target ok ? )

Catch you in cyberspace ! :)

Exceptional Italian Web Design

2009-11-24T05:04:00.001-08:00

Imagination Is Greater than Knowledge

Technically , I am a Web Junkie and I make no apologies . I'm proud to be a Web Junkie ( it's much more preferable than being any other type of junkie :) . I love to cruise / surf the web ; scouting for impressive Web designs , and web related Art , designers , Illustrations , Fonts , and anything which is art related . I have about a million Websites bookmarked on all 3 of my browsers ( if anyone can imagine this ) and again : I make no apologies. I love my art !

But moreover : I admire great Designers and their limitless imagination . I believe that such individuals have been blessed by a Higher Power and possess something more than the rest of the world populace . Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , Donatello , Botticelli , Caravaggio , Brunelleschi ...such brilliant ' Masters ' whose imagination surpassed that of any mere mortal . Their imagination cannot be reckoned with , as no other artists alive today can emulate and produce such works . Let us not forget and take into consideration that : they produced everything manually ( by hand ) , with no technology at their disposal .

Now again in this present day and age there exist a multitude of CSS Galleries out there in the www. , which feature some of the best web designs & designers out there , I am quite aware of this . However , I recently stumbled upon an exceptionally designed website the other day ( well I have stumbled upon a few , but this one captivated me ) . The design of this Website is simply beyond impressive ( in my humble opinion ) . But what is more impressive is the man behind the website & it's design , for without the 'man ' the website would not exist . Therefore , I believe this is an exceptionally gifted & multi- talented young man .

The Romans were the Builders of Civilizations & Empires ( just as the Greeks were ) . There have never been any other civilizations who have been able to emulate & create what these 2 civilizations have created throughout the pages of history ( although most of the worlds architecture has been replicated using Roman & Greek architecture as a Canvas of Inspiration . However , no one will ever be able to touch , compare or even come close to Roman architecture ( not even the Greeks , I believe ). Besides , all of the great masters were Italian / Roman , and if you care to argue , let us take a look at the : Brancacchi Chapel in Florence , the Duomo of Florence , the Mona Lisa & the Last Supper , the Sistine Chapel , the magnificent statue of David , the Pieta , [ Bellini's ] Agony in the Garden of Eden , Death of the Virgin , [ Titian's ] Bacchus & Ariadne , and limitless others whom I cannot list or else this will end up being a 'novel ' and not a blog . My point within this is : Roman art & architecture cannot be superceded by anyone . This applies to modern day artists based in Italy as well . When I look at a piece of furniture , an item of clothing [ fashion design ] , or simply a work of art such as web design , I immediately know that it is Italian . Yes, the Romans /Italians are indeed a Breed Apart and I believe that there are many out there who cannot deny this fact and will agree with me .

Now, since we have settled this affair - let us move on to a " New Modern Day Rennaissance Man" & one of the new & up and coming Web Designers who I believe will achieve great recognition outside of Roma Italy , and you should keep a close eye on this very talented young man w/ a unique style .

His name is Diego Valobra , 27 yrs old and with a brilliant future ahead of him . He is exceptionally skilled at a plethora of Web Design Applications , such as : Dreamweaver , Illustrator , Pothoshop , Indesign , Fireworks , Flash. (CS3/CS4).
: (X)html 1.0 srtict , Css 2.1 , Actionscript 1.0/2.0 , XML , Javascript , PhP., and .....he is an exceptionally skilled Artist in the likes of Michelangelo himself ! And if you would like to see what I am talking about , all you have to do is just go and have a look for yourself @ : PIROLAB his website , which makes one feel as if they have just entered Heavens waiting area , or as close as one can ever get to the Garden of Eden !. As per his abilities as an artist , you can go to his PIROLAB Art Website ( by clicking on PIROGRAFIA from the Works Links ) and marvel at his wonderfully magnificent bodies of work . Personally , I felt that I was in the Museum of Art - with no screaming children and mothers screaming " Timmy dont touch the Carravagio ! " , here is a young ' Master ' at work : PiroGrafia. A brilliant young man with a bright future ahead of him indeed. Now, the next time you need to have a website created , maybe you should consider commissioning this young man to create not a mere Website for your businness or personal Website - but moreover : a true Work of Art . Yes, Imagination is far greater than Knowledge indeed !

Enjoy DIEGO'S site , it will be an unforgettable journey which will remain with you long after you have left it . Even if you do not commission him for your next project , be mindful and Bookmark his site for future reference . Thank you for reading , I will be reviewing more Websites & the Designers behind them . However , the young Talented Mr. Diego Valobra has already made an impact and has left an imprint in my book , and I am certain that he will in yours also once you have viewed his work .

Advertising : Then & Now

2009-11-20T09:34:00.001-08:00

What is advertising and how does it affect and control our lives ?

If one believes that Advertising does not affect the way by which we live and consume products - then :Think again . First of all , let us clarify what the intent or ' purpose ' behind Advertising is . The purpose of Advertising is aimed at ' selling a product ' and to attract consumers to that product ; whether the said product ranges from Food, clothing , household appliances, automotive , or a stick of gum ; the intent is to attract the consumer into buying the product .

The fact is that we are all ' visually & audio ' stimulated . What does this imply & how does it affect the way by which we function ? Well, media analysts and psychoanalysts have long known that we are all affected " Subliminally " by what we see and hear . Several decades ago when Movie Theater Moguls considered introducing Concession Stands ( basically the sale of Pop Corn , Candy & Soft Drinks to theater goers ) into their theater houses they conducted a ' psychological test ' [ of sorts ] .

What they basically did was : they ran a 3 second ' blinking textual suggestion ' right before the film began and once again during the intermission process . The brief ' textual suggestion ' was nothing more than : " Buy Pop-Corn " . That simple . That brief . However , a very powerful ' subliminally induced suggestion ' to the human psyche .

Once the brief " textual suggestion " ran , the ' Powers that Be ' , sat behind closed doors and watched the effect which this ' Subliminally Induced Textual Message ' had over their theater goers . Immediately during the intermission , 93% of their theater goers got up and proceeded towards the " Pre-Set Up Concession Stands " which had been set up in the Theater Lobbies , as movie goers stood in the concession lines ready to buy the ' subliminally suggested ' product : Pop Corn . One week later , concession stands were introduced into every Movie Theater across America , and after that , throughout the world . This is what is termed as ☛ " The Power of Suggestion " [ in psychological terms ] . Which brings one to stop and consider how much we are influenced by what we see and what we hear .

Consider how you are affected while you are sitting there watching television , and during the commercial break the first advertisements which run are : Food commercials . Whether its a Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake w/ Vanilla frosting , Haagen Daaz Ice Cream , Hersheys Chocolate , Kentucky Fried Chicken or a MacDonalds Big Mac - you are subconsciously affected by these 'advertisements ' , whether you realize it or not . Despite the fact that you may have just eaten and are full - many of you will find yourselves getting up from your seat and heading towards the refrigerator or the cupboard looking for something to " munch on " . Again : The Power of Suggestion . The Power of Advertising !

We consume ( eat ) things which are bad for us - we end up becoming ' Obese ' as a nation , and once we have tipped the scales - then the commercials / advertisements of Diet Products and Diet / Fitness Gurus start running ! Notice how the Food Industry , Diet Industry ( Pharmaceuticals ) are in cohorts ? This is why it's called an "Industry " .

We buy things which we DONT need - why ? Because some invisible entity ( an announcers voice ) tells us that it's " good for us " and it will " improve our lives " in some way . There are millions of people [ globally ] who are in debt due to the fact that they 'consume & spend ' on products which they dont truly need . Why ? Because : the Powers that Be are ' Subliminally ' controlling how we eat , live and spend . We have become a nation which is out of control . Thus the term : " Out of Control Spending ".

The Advertising Industry has changed drastically during the decades and will of course continue to change throughout time . Not only has the Face of Advertising gone through major changes , but moreover : it has altered our human psyche and has molded and created us into what we are today : reckless out of control consumers who will buy into just about anything we are shown on television , billboard ads , magazines etc . In essence , this is what is called " Mind Control " under Psychiatric terms - and it is .

How Advertising changed from the days of yesteryear to the present day :

During the advent days of early advertising much has changed ( as one can clearly assess by the early Ads below ). Products such as : Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco were promoted and advertised back in the day , whereupon smoking was even recommended by physicians [ as you can see in the "Lucky Strikes" tobacco ad below ] ; and if one pays close attention to old B & W movies [ as well as old advertisements ] one will rarely see an actor without a ' cocktail ' in one hand and a cigarette in the other . During those days of old, it was considered quite " suave " & debonaire to smoke and drink - in fact , one was " uncool " if they didnt possess what todays society deems as ' vices ' . My how times have certainly changed , and in many ways : for the better !

It is quite ironic when one considers that it was forbidden and deemed " vulgar " to show two people sleeping in the same bed together ( if one has ever seen Classic B & W movies or T.V. shows , such as : The Dick Van Dyke Show , Father Knows Best , and so many others of that era ) ; it was strictly prohibited to show two beds joined together , let alone see actors actually under the covers together . However , it was acceptable to show them sporting an alcoholic beverage and chain smoking . It's as if the advertising industry moguls were in some sort of cohorts with the Tobacco, Alcohol & Pharmaceutical Industries to produce nations of alcoholics and Cancer victims - while the Pharmaceutical Industries patiently lied in wait to cash in on peoples misery . Truly , it makes one think .... what are we really buying " into " ? , are we buying intelligently and responsibly , or have we been subliminally induced into buying products we actually do no not need and to a greater extent are harmful for us ? The old adage of " Buyer Beware " should be adopted and incorporated the next time one reaches for their next purchase .

☛Advertising has always been about " Selling a Product " to the masses , by any means necessary and at times : without an ounce of conscience . If ' conscience truly existed behind these ad campaigns , then we would not have nations of obese people and cancer victims . Does the sole responsibility fall upon the Advertising companies and the Product makers ? No , of course not . We are intelligent human beings [ at least most are ...] and I believe that we should possess some degree of insight and be able to discern whether something is bad or good for us . After all : it isnt the gun which kills , but the person behind the gun . The same rule applies to everything . It is up to the individual and their common sense .

The Real Age of Advertising

....didn't actually begin until the illustrious ☛ANDY WARHOL emerged unto the scene , and to a greater extent : changed the Face of Advertising and created an entirely new era and the way by which Advertising standards exist today . Andy Warhol was indeed a ' pioneer ' on many fronts and formats who heralded a new age , whether it was art , music , advertising , media - Andy Warhol☚ somehow managed to cover the entire spectrum and definitely " colorize it " in it's process !

Andy Warhol Advertising TDK : Japan

Andy Warhol Paints Debbie Harry ( Blondie ) on the first "Amiga " Computer

Andy Warhol was in fact one of the most iconic and inspirational artists to have emerged and graced us with his brand of art and advertising technique and went on to change not only the way by which advertisers work and promote their products in today's date and time , but overall , Andy was a plethoric talented individual who also changed film . For more information on Andy Warhol , his life and works please visit the provided link ☛HERE .

Enjoy the Vintage Ads below , and THINK before you BUY !

Vintage Coca Cola Ads dating back from 1929 ::

ANDY WARHOLS "Campbells Soup Can " ,1968

1931 Campbell's Soup original vintage advertisement. 21 varieties and only 11 cents a can.

1984 IBM PC Jr original vintage advertisement. Features the Chaplin character used extensively throughout the campaign. The PC Jr featured a diskette drive with 128kb of user memory and was priced at $1,300. An expandable 64kb cassette was available for an additional $700.

1955 Remington Rand Univac Computer System original vintage advertisement. Photographed in black & white. Capable of over 100,000 unsorted entries per day!

1952 IBM Electric Typewriter original vintage advertisement. Turn out perfect work with so little effort! Switch on an IBM electric!

1929 Corona Typewriter original vintage advertisement. Features the standard 4-row keyboard ($60) or the 3-row keyboard ($39.50). Includes handsome traveling case.

1948 IBM Electric Typewriter original vintage advertisement. Maker of the first electric typewriter in 1930.

1954 Gordon's London Dry Gin original vintage advertisement. Stunning color illustration.

1958 Budweiser Beer original vintage advertisement. Photographed in vibrant color. "Where there's life... there's Bud."

1955 Schlitz Beer original vintage advertisement. The world's most famous taste in beer. If you love beer, you'll love Schlitz. The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous.

1951 Johnnie Walker Scotch Whiskey Christmas original vintage advertisement.Illustrated in vibrant color. "Born in 1820 and still going strong"

1971 Marlboro Cigarettes original vintage advertisement. "Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro Country."

1957 Marlboro Cigarettes original vintage advertisement. Filtered cigarettes with old fashioned flavor in a new flip top box.

THE MARLBORO MAN : AD CO. :: Leo Burnett Co., 1955

1940 Pall Mall Cigarettes original vintage advertisement. Suggested by the Waldorf Astoria. "Wherever particular people congregate."

1937 Chesterfield Cigarette original vintage advertisement. Gorgeous color illustration of a couple at a masquerade ball.

1936 Lucky Strike Cigarettes original vintage advertisement. "Ask your doctor!"

1956 Q-Tips Cotton Swabs original vintage advertisement. Q-Tips are sterile, downy-soft and hygenic. So safe, doctors recommend them!

1944 Listerine Shaving Cream original vintage advertisement. Only 35¢ a tube and lasts and lasts month after month after month.

1951 Remington Shaver original vintage advertisement. The all new Sixty Second Shaver. "The one gift you know he wants."

1952 Maybelline Makeup original vintage advertisement. See what a difference Maybelline makeup makes. It only takes a few soft accents of Maybelline Mascara, Eyebrow Pencil and Eye Shadow to make that amazing difference.

1943 Old Spice Shaving Sets original vintage advertisement. For our Fighting Fathers on the home front or on the war front. Choose from four sets starting at $1.00. Early American Old Spice.

1954 Johnson's Baby Shampoo Debut year original vintage advertisement. Won't burn or irritate eyes, gets hair gloriously clean. No more tears®. Only 59¢.

1964 Kleenex Tissues original vintage advertisement. Features trumpeter Harry James in a unique test of tissue strength. A water-soaked Kleenex was tied to the trumpet which James then played. Even when James hit the high notes, the Kleenex tissue did not break.

1967 Jaguar original vintage advertisement. Featuring the XK-E Coupe and the new 420 Sports Sedan. MSRP for the XK Coupe start at $5,384 and $5,786 for the 420 Sedan. Jaguar: a different breed of cat.

1966 Volkswagen Beetle Police Car original vintage advertisement. Photographed in black & white. Purchased by the town of Scottsboro, Alabama for Officer H.L. Willkerson to run parking meter patrol. Rare VW ad!

1966 Shell Gasoline original vintage advertisement. Features a Ferrari 250 LM fueling at the Maranello Factory pumps. Very rare CDN ad!

1947 Dodge Convertible original vintage advertisement. "Success without limit."

1924 Renault Cabriolet original vintage French advertisement. Illustrated in one tone color. Rare French ad!

1923 Packard Sedan original vintage advertisement. Available in nine different body styles. 1st year of 8 cylinder engine production for the Packard line. Original MSRP started at $3,640. RARE!

1972 RCA XL-100 Color Television Set original vintage advertisement. Designed to perform longer with fewer repairs. Best color ever with 100% Solid State AccuColor®.

1989 Maxell Video VHS Tapes original vintage advertisement. No other video tape delivers higher performance.

1956 NBC Television Color Promotion original vintage advertisement. Huge double page ad with color photos of network stars including Arlene Francis, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Dinah Shore, Ralph Edwards, Maurice Evans, Eddie Fisher, Tennessee Ernie Ford and more!

1950 General Electric Television Set original vintage advertisement. Illustrated with photograph in black & white. Original MSRP for the BT 5144 model was $100.16.

1955 NBC Television original vintage advertisement. Huge double page ad promoting Day Time Television series featuring the stars of The Today Show with Dave Garroway, The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, World of Mr. Sweeney, Feather Your Nest, Ding Dong School, Home, The Ted Mack Matinee, Modern Romances, The Pinky Lee Show and Howdy Doody. Rare ad photographed in black & white.

1940 Coty Perfume original vintage advertisement. Illustrated in bright, full color. Eau de toilette prices started at $1.00.

1957 Yardley Perfumes original vintage advertisement. Featuring Bond Street, Lavender, Lotus and April Violets fragrances.

1963 Arpege Perfume by Lanvin original vintage advertisement. Photographed with illustration and original list prices.

1939 Wrigley's Double Mint Chewing Gum original vintage advertisement. Gorgeous illustration in vibrant color. Inset photo features Hollywood movie star, Andrea Leeds. "Ladies, the chewing of Double Mint helps keep your facial contours youthful."

NIKE // Wieden & Kennedy, 1988

1919 Chicklets Candy Coated Chewing Gum original vintage advertisement. Illustrated in black & white.
Ten pieces for 5¢ or the Family Size Weekend Box was 25¢.

1943 Lifesavers Candy original vintage advertisement. Lifesavers candy is one good antidote for Gremlins. They cheer a fellow up when the Gremlins get him down.

A NEW ERA BEGINS IN ADVERTISING : ANDY WARHOL

ANDY WARHOL : Japan, TDK Commercial Ad.

Andy Warhol Brillo Pad Box : 1968

ANDY WARHOL : APPLE LOGO 1972

ANDY WARHOL : MICK JAGGER / 1972-'75

ANDY WARHOL : MARILYN MONROE / 1972

ANDY WARHOL : MAO TSE TUNG / 1972-'75

Dedicated to Andy Warhol ::

I wonder what Andy would say about this ? ... I think he would have definitely loved it indeed ! :)

THE FACE(s) of ADVERTISING TODAY ::.

You've come a long way Andy ! ☺

Design vs. Content

2009-11-12T04:33:00.001-08:00

Can quality content & great design coincide

Great Design has always been an integral aspect within the grand scheme of our lives ; whether this concerns Architectural , Landscape , Interior , Garden , Fashion [ and now , since the emergence of the world wide web ] : we are now consumed with Web Design . During the last 2 decades ( not to say more ) , the sector of Graphic Design and Web Development as far as career sectors go , has skyrocketed to new heights .

There are a multitude of Art & Design existing private & public sectors , and new ones evolving at the speed of light eagerly awaiting to herald in the new batch of Graphic Design students & Web Designers of tomorrow . The high demand of visually stunning websites has increased within the past decade as more and more users as well as companies are all competing for ' traffic ' to their sites .

Albeit the graphic or visual element of many sites may be highly creative in caliber from an artistic standpoint , so called " Literary Types " who are looking for " Quality Content " , may find such ' beautifully artistic ' websites lacking in so called " Quality Content ". Therefore , the question and the dilemma now arises within every conscientious Blogger : Design vs. Content or...vice versa :)

Many literary types prefer sites with not too much going on [ as far as Graphic Content is concerned ] , and prefer simple minimalistic Websites featuring literary content and are not ' overdosed ' with too much activity , such as graphic images , music and so on . There are even those [ literary users ] who will exit a website even if the posts display ' thumbnail images ' ! ( yes I have seen comments on user pages confessing as much ) . It seems as if the bloggersphere is gradually being divided into two separate sectors suddenly : Literary Geeks & Web Design Geeks .

Somehow , Literary types are under the misconception that ' Quality Content ' cannot co-exist within ' Creative Content ' , that it somehow ' takes away ' from the so called ' Written Word ' itself and dilutes it . I have been having this debate with certain users belonging to both sides of the web spectrum lately , and I have been weighing the positive & the negative aspects of the debate . Personally , my opinion borders on the " Middle Path " ( and those familiar w/ the Buddhist approach can immediately identify with my standpoint ) . Therefore , I will now say unto the ' Literary Types ' out there who hold to the conviction that : Quality Content cannot co-exist or be present within Creative Content , that they are to an extent , ' biased and apprehensive within accepting that Creative Content can possess and encompass " Quality Written Content " as well as great design .

Admittedly , I will confess my preference : I am a creature who is visually stimulated by great graphic content [ as we all are ]. I can remain at a site looking over every detail of its creative content and never get tired of doing so . If I want to read Tolstoy's " War and Peace " I can always take it out of my library and have a good read without distractions from pop up ads for that matter . However , what I am attempting to convey to a greater degree here is this : Yes , great literary content can in fact exist & coincide within creative content without ' taking away ' from its intended source : the Written Word .

There are a great many artistically creative sites which have been able to integrate both quality literary content along with creative content . The success of any site resides in the user creating not only a visually captivating site by which to lure or draw the visitor to it via it's graphics or flash generated media , but moreover : through the intended content they have in mind and wish to convey ; whether their sole purpose of such a site is to feature social media icons - then WRITE a brief statement [ one paragraph ] detailing that featured item / category . Don't just post a few images with a download link - not if your intent is to attract a visitor and keep them ( not only ) on your site , but moreover : returning !

If all one wishes to relay are ' stunning visual graphics ' and no written content , then it simply becomes a type of ' gallery of images ' ( which doesnt require much effort , aside from cropping & resizing those images ) ; but again , if one wishes to draw so called ' traffic ' to one's site , then the consideration to be had here is that : there are two types of users as stated in the beginning , and one must bear in mind that : you do not put up a site / blog simply to satisfy your own personal need for stunning visual graphics nor written content . " No man is an island unto himself ". We must all bear in mind that we are not only writing nor creating solely to feed our own need & desire , we are in essence all attempting to convey something of ourselves to a wider audience - we are trying to reach and connect with the masses out there in this cybersphere , and to pass along our ' content ' , whether this content is of an artistic or textual nature - the same rule applies to both sides of the web spectrum : You are not an island and certainly not living in your own Private Idaho any longer . You , I , everyone inhabiting this infrastructure termed the www.com are all attempting to market and sell something ; Ourselves .

Therefore , this ' something ' which we are all trying to put out there must bear and posses an element of ' quality & substance ' , or it simply becomes lost in the great void of cyberspace . Although I do encourage one to write and create from their need to extol what is in their heart and relay it unto the masses - I also advise to : consider your visitor / user's needs as well . As stated earlier: there is not only one particular type of user who will stumble or happen to encounter your blog / site - there are basically two types of users , and if one is to continue running and maintaining their blog / site , they must consider both these type of users and be prepared to cater to both, if one's sole intent and purpose is to generate high ranking traffic . In other words : If you're going to feature graphics - then try to sell those graphics by creating a short descriptive storyline behind them . Sell your product to the ' masses ' , not solely to one particular individual .

One of the important reasons of why Wordpress is recognized as the ' penultimate platform ' for blogging and termed as CMS , is attributed to the fact that since it's launch , it was strictly developed as such : a Content Management System . Plain and simple . It was developed by Developers & Programmers as a writing platform where they could feature and share their programming language ( open resource ) ; which is nothing else nor more than : TEXT & NUMERICAL equations . It was not about graphics , although much has changed since then - however , if one compares Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com , they will notice the distinction between what .org encompasses and what .com entails . They are in fact 2 very different platforms indeed , as the .com is still held and maintained as a CMS , for developers & programmers and now : Literary types. Below is a video of Matt Mullenweg ( a top developer for the Wordpress CMS explaining the differences and it may help shed some light on any confusion concerning the two . )

Matt Mullenweg on Wordpress

In conclusion , I do believe that quality literary and creative content can exist on the same blog / site - it simply depends on the user and how well they can manage to combine the two subject matters . One doesnt have to write a thesis on social media icons ( if that's what you want to put out there ) ; they simply have to be able to reach out and attract all type of users : the Literary as well as the Creative .

Can Design and Content be combined intelligently and in good taste to satisfy both type of users?
Yes , it most certainly can ! Now, go write your content and feature those graphics !

Wallpapers w/Humor for Geeks

2009-11-04T02:26:00.001-08:00

Roundup of Humorous Wallpapers for Geeky Types

Well the following surely requires no explanation . Below are several humorous as well as creative " Geek Wallpapers " I have found so far . If you know or have any of your own which are unique or posses an element of humor , feel free to submit a link to the image. Enjoy :)

If you like any of these Wallpapers, just click on the preferred image and a new window will open displaying the image URL . Simply copy & save to your upload host or your system .

:: For Girl Geeks ::

For any Mac lovers out there , this one's for you . Hope you like :)

The REAL FACE OF FONT

2009-10-27T10:16:00.001-07:00

FACES in Font

Font Face or Face Font , it truly doesnt matter much , the distinction is so minute one hardly takes notice . Nowadays, the two terms are used interchangeably. However, in the past, these were two very distinct terms it seems .

The FACE of FONT , has always been a pivotal aspect within all areas of web design , advertising , press , media & is continually and perpetually ever evolving as more and more Web designers on the rise are not afraid to step outside of their pre-confined limits and venture out within the limitless boundaries of their Creativity . Thus, we are now constantly seeing more elaborate designed Fonts by many Font Designers .

However to really understand the difference between the two, one needs to know a little bit of history behind creating type.

Way back before the advent of computers, typefaces were created using little pieces of metal. These pieces had to then be individually placed on a tray to create your layout and printed on a printing press. So, when you were referring to “fonts” you were talking about that piece of metal with one style and one size of font. So fonts were of a particular face, size and style. Back then, if you were talking about Arial 14 point or Arial 24 point, you were in fact talking about 2 completely different fonts.

Through the years, there have been hand-set fonts, machine-set fonts, phototype fonts, and now digital fonts (includes Postscript, True Type, and OpenType. They are either bitmap fonts or vector fonts.)
One thing has not changed throughout type history: creating type has always been a two-part process. A type foundry creates the fonts and we as designers use the typefaces in our documents.
Within a particular typeface there are various fonts from which to choose: different styles (bold, italic, etc…) and sizes (14, 24, 36, etc.).

And then everything changed…

With the advent of computers, “fonts” and “typefaces” became synonymous. So interchangeable the two terms have become that most computer programs have a “font” menu. They also have “font styles” where you can click and bold or italicize your letters.
However, when you are dealing with printers or service bureaus, you quickly see the difference between the two. To them, the terms cannot be interchangeable.
We frequently think that by clicking bold or italics, then our file will print correctly. Printers prefer when you send the actual bold font of your typeface (ex: Helvetica Bold) NOT when you simply bold a typeface. In this case, you have to send the printer font to them to ensure the file prints correctly.

What is certain within any Font design however is that , all of these diff styles of fonts have their ' roots ' or their original style solely based upon a ' parent font '. Whether that 'parent font ' is Arial , Sans Serif , Verdana etc... once a new Font is created it will to a small degree be built upon that ' parent font ' - it's ' base ' in a way . I have touched upon Font Face & the Importance of Font face in 2 prior articles , therefore you may wish to check those out HERE and HERE

This article is strictly dedicated to' FACE FONT ', which in a greater sense goes on to give Font Face , an actual FACE . Along with Illustration & Digital Art & some other cool PS effects these artists have managed to give Font Face not only a Face , but its own Personality as well , once you view all of the FACES of FONT below . Enjoy :)

If you enjoyed the brief outline article on Font & the art work , then you may be interested in heading on over to PSD TUTS on " How To Make a Typographic Face " . It's truly a great tut , go view it :)

Photographer ExtraOrdinaire

2009-10-23T15:42:00.001-07:00

Ruven Afanador

A photographers photographer

For anyone who is not familiar with Ruven Afanador , it is a ' Loss '. Whether one is into nature , still life, portrait , landscape, or fashion photography , one thing is certain : Great Photographers don't come along very often , and very few manage to leave their imprint upon the world of Art & the world in general .

I can recall a few [ which have left their impression upon me ] such as Avedon, Scavullo, Minor White , Ansel Adams ( one of the greatest Landscape Photographers in American History I believe ) & a few others . Now I'm certain that there are a myriad of new photographers out there and all of them very good at their craft . However, I don't have all that time on my hands as of yet, thus : I havent discovered them .

There are great photographers out there , and it's always a great thing when discovering something new and extraordinary which you werent aware of the day before . Such is the case with Ruven Afanador ; what I would like to term " Photographer Extraordinaire " & a ' Photographers Photographer '. For , if any of these two titles belong to any such photographer , then they most assuredly belong to Ruven Afanador . As one can clearly assess from his works , Ruven is not just a mere ' photographer ' , who picks up his Leica , [ or whatever his choice of machine was ], and just go out there and shoot pictures of anything he came upon . Afanador's work , is not mere photography .

It is ART .

This makes all of the difference in Afanadors work. Photography , may be limited to our visual sensory factor . If one were blind & no longer possessed their faculty of sight - they would no longer be able to " see " through that lens .

Afanador , would .

His " vision " as far as his photography is concerned is beyond a doubt , and certainly NOT LIMITED to his sensory factor ; Afanador's ' vision ' , comes from " within " . That is quite rare . Vision , is nothing more than " Imagination " fueled by Creativity . Looking upon Ruven's work collaborative , one can agree that Creativity & Imagination are the most pivotal aspects of his ' talent ' , and his Artistic Genius , not only as a photographer , but as an Artist - which is not limited to a one sided aspect of the arts . Afanador is plethoric as an artist .

Ruven Afanador may spend much time in a dark room , but it seems that he brings beautiful things to light :)

Born in Bogota Colombia 1959, Ruven Afanador is considered one of the leading photographers working in celebrity and fashion photography.

Judging from his works, one is able to understand why.

His work appears in most major fashion magazines in the world as well as in The New Yorker. His commercial clients include Arista, Cacharel, Christian Dior, Elektra et al. In the fall of 2001, a decade after his work first began attracting widespread attention, he published his first book, Torero. Within a year Torero sold out and became a collector’s item within the fashion world. Sombra, a collection of male nudes inspired by still life tableaus, was published by Merrell in 2004.

Enjoy some of Afanadors works below as well as the video . It is filmed in Seville [ Spain ] , and as one visually traverses along these streets , they are able to see not only a beautiful geographic location - but moreover : one is clearly able to see the " Homage " [ Tribute ] , the people of Seville are bestowing upon Afanador by displaying all of his works ( or most of them ) , in beautiful tall glass street panes all along the streets of Seville . It's quite a lovely walk , as one gets to see ( even if it is fleetingly in passing ) all of the great works of Ruven Afanador .
Enjoy the photography , and the video depicting the beautiful streets of Seville .

I hope you have enjoyed Ruven Afanadors work , and if you did not know of him prior to this article I hope you have enjoyed discovering a Master at work . For more of Ruven Afanador's great works visit RUVEN AFANADOR PHOTOGRAPHY , where you will def view some of his very best works . Catch ya in cyberspace , smile :)

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Minor White : A Poetic Photographer

Poetry in Photography

although many of minor white's works are not available online enjoy a few of a master's works

Poetry in Photography : Minor White

Evocative photography & poetic quotes by a master

"I have often photographed when I am not in tune with nature but the photographs look as if I had been. So I conclude that something in nature says, 'Come and take my photograph.' So I do, regardless of how I feel. "

" Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. "

" When I looked at things for what they are I was fool enough to persist in my folly and found that each photograph was a mirror of my Self "

" As I become more in harmony with the world around, through, and in me, the varieties of time weave together. "

" "There's no particular class of photograph that I think is any better than any other class. I'm always and forever looking for the image that has spirit! I don't give a damn how it got made."

"one does not photograph something simply for "what it is", but "for what else it is".

" At first glance a photograph can inform us. At second glance it can reach us. "

" Reaching a 'creative' state of mind thru positive action is considered preferable to waiting for 'inspiration'. "

" We emphasized the creativeness that happens at the moment of seeing over the kind that takes place in the dark room. "

“A very receptive state of mind...not unlike a sheet of film itself - seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second's exposure conceives a life in it.”

“Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.”

A photographer has a response to the world and attempts to acquire that response, a stimulating image, technically. Related images are formed in the heads of observers, to each his/her own.

" The photographer projects himself into everything he sees, identifying himself with everything in order to know it and to feel it better. "

" To engage a sequence we keep in mind the photographs on either side of the one in our eye. "

Camera and eye are together a time machine with which the mind and human being can do the same kind of violence to time and space as dreams.

" ...innocence of eye has a quality of its own. It means to see as a child sees, with freshness and acknowledgment of the wonder; it also means to see as an adult sees who has gone full circle and once again sees as a child - with freshness and an even deeper sense of wonder. "

" No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen. "

" Photography is a language more universal than words. "

Minor white : photographing - 1937

" I am always mentally photographing everything as practice. "

from the book : Lives I've Never Lived, a portrait of Minor White. Photographs by Abe Frajndlich.

"eye , mind , spirit " : the enduring legacy of minor white

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the mysterious geographical explorations of :
Jasper Morello