Allison's World

exploring my world through writing.

[thesimplestdetails-blog]

My boyfriend is from Western NY. He’s always talking about these things called “Garbage Plates” and how good they are…he described them to me once, I wanted to gag. 

Anyways, this morning he sent me this link and said we “must get them when we’re home.” First of all, super cute that he’s called Western NY our home. Second of all, I really liked the look of this person’s blog so I actually read the post. And I’m glad I did because I think it could be do-able! I mean, I’d have to ignore that it’s been rated one of the 50 fattiest foods in the United States (aka cleanse with lots of fruits and veggies afterwards) but you only live once. And he loves them. So while I don’t condone excessive consumption of these so called “garbage plates” I think I could handle trying one…or a wrap, whatever. 

[allisonbest-blog]

--------------- She reblogged me! Saidsheliked it so much she READ it. Unusual for most new bloggers to get compliments like that...

[allisonbest-blog]

Awwww yeah. 

[quote-book]

Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it’s unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot go to: the one we love. So instead we seek out allies, even among strangers and wives, fellow patients who, if they can’t touch the edge of our particular sorrow, have felt something that cuts nearly as deep.

Andrew Sean Greer, The Story of a Marriage (via helplesslyamazed)

[allisonbest-blog]

Creating and Designing Website Logos

What is a logo? . “A logo is that concept, symbol, graphic element that represents the main feature or the basic orientation of one company, site or product. In other words the logo is the element which provides feed-back to the potential customer.” (Source)

  PROBLEM: How does one create a logo that is effective AND appealing?

  Unfortunately, there’s no formal guideline or list by professionals for what a logo should be or how it’s made. It should be interesting, simple, visually appealing, and/or use colors/images/text appropriately to convey a sense of who/what the brand is. Here’s a loose list of guidelines that should be considered when making a logo: (alll from Source) 1. Your logo should be usable on a wide variety of media. That includes internet, tshirts, television, paper, browsers, cell phones, ipads, e-readers etc. 2. Your logo should be easy to remember (or memorize) and easy to understand by everyone.

“Once again simplicity is the key of logo design.”   Color of Logo: Use cultural color representations to effectively elicit your message. Red can be aggressive and overwhelming; yellow can be cheery, happy, and energetic; and green may represent some sort of Irish heritage, environmentalism, peace, or inexperience (as in “green horn”).

Shape of Logo: The shape of a logo is another important part: a complicated shape puts people in a difficult position, if it is hard to see the drawing…the message surely is totally strange for them.

  3.Your logo should be able to answer the questions: why? , who? , what?

1.    Why do you need this logo?

2.    Who is the target?

3.    What is the purpose of it?

“Understanding these is a must, not a dispensable point in the process of creation, skipping it can cause a very embarrassing situation: maybe you will make a great and modern logo with disco style for a company that produces classic furniture; a strong disaccord between the style adopted for logo and the essence of manufacturer will occur. “

4.Your logo should be timeless ie. Coca-cola, Nike, IBM, Adidas, Pepsi Don’t focus on popular and possibly fading trends to make your logo modern.

   5.Your logo should be able to be displayed in black and white “This rule is an invitation to simplicity. . . . The logo of Nike, LG, Coca Cola, ABC are easy to draw with a pen, they do not need high-resolution, special effects or shadows in Photoshop, Illustrator, Gimp.” Meaning that it’s not the colors or intricate design that make your logo special, it’s the simplicity and ability to be easily replicated and viewed that makes your logo effective.

  6. Your logo should be impressive & seductive

Self-explanatory. If your logo isn’t eye catching, it won’t serve its purpose to grab people’s attention.

7. Your logo should be SIMPLE Remember this twist on KISS: “Keep it simple AND stupid” Basic logos will be easy to recognize, easy to replicate, and survive changing trends and times.  Above info borrowed from: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/awesome-rules-designing-perfect-logo

To begin your logo process: -Write down everything you want your logo to represent. What is your company’s mission? What do you want to convey? With those words, start drawing possible shapes, logos etc that may represent those words or emotions.

To begin designing: It is recommended to use a Vector program, usually requiring an electronic pen/pad interface to draw the lines you’d like. Adobe Illustrator is a vector program.

  OTHER GREAT RESOURCES:

GREAT Color schemes:  http://kuler.adobe.com/#themes/search?term=writing

Fonts: http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/

[allisonbest-blog]

Intern Queen at Cortland!

Here are some notes I took at Lauren Berger's "Intership Queen" lecture on Tuesday night!   -She has a book coming out in January called All Work and No Pay, about her 15 internships in college and then some.  -You should 1 or 2 internships before you graduate; Fortune 500 companies typically pay their interns but PR, entertainment, press, etc don't typically pay their interns.

-Don't get caught up in the paycheck, do it for the EXPERIENCE not the paycheck -Typically they're 8-12 week internships where you'll be doing entry level jobs.

First Internship: Freshman year. Wanted an internship, told know. Found a PR company around her and before calling them, read over their clients, their history, their mission statements, recent articles about them in the news etc. Cold called the company. Asked for Internship Coordinator, woman said to email over her resume. Lauren did in less than 24 hours, Woman said she was so impressed that she wanted to interview Lauren, a freshman, for the internship position. She said in the five years she had been the internship coordinator, NEVER had a student gotten back within days -- let alone 24 hours --  after being asked to do so. Lauren's tips for interviews: 1. Go to Career Center, do a mock interview; Get a list of typical (and popular random) questions asked in interviews. 2. Get BUSINESS ATTIRE. Typically dark colored, but APPROPRIATE. 3. Get stationary -- she said that she would keep envelopes, pens, and stationary in her car. Preferably stationary with her name in and then after the interview she would write a HAND WRITTEN THANK YOU LETTER after the interview -- she said that the entertainment industry is HUGE on the hand written thank you letter and she would cite things that they talked about etc and mail it off that day or the day after.  REJECTION -- She'd keep calling and calling and calling. . . Called "Backstage" in New York -- a theatre magazine/brochure/pamphlet-- and asked to be an intern there. Was told that they don't have interns. "Well I'd love to be your first." --Took the initiative to be the first intern for the company, was impressed by her determination and hired her on just her resume. Also: Keep networks alive with people you intern with. GREAT connections to have in future. This is the time to be selfish -- figure out whether you prefer to work in a large company or local, small "boutique" company.  

PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE, TAKE RISKS. (Told story about finding a business card of an individual whose company she wanted to work for, sent him an email saying that she'd love to intern with him etc, waited a few months and was then contacted by him to do a story for him and was paid $200 an HOUR for the 2 days she would be working in Barbados.)  Tell people what you want to do! If bored at your internship, sit down with the internship coordinator and POSITIVELY say how much you've enjoyed the internship and really loving what you're doing but you've noticed people in [x] department and was wondering if there was anyway to sit in on [x] department's meetings at some time to see what they do.  Have informational meetings! Working one internship on the floor with a BUNCH of executives, sat down and she and a fellow intern sent emails out to 15 executives and asked if they could take five minutes of their time to figure out "How you got started and if you have some advice" -- 8 of the executives met and responded including the had of the network. They then all gave their business cards and said "keep in touch" STAY IN TOUCH WITH CONTACTS 3 TIMES A YEAR!   If you meet someone in the break room and get talking to them, write down their name and then EMAIL THEM to say hello, congratulate them on a good quarter or new award, or wish them a happy birthday if it's their birthday -- whatever to keep relevant and keep those contacts ALIVE.

One girl at her internship Blindly emailed corporation executives -- locally and nationally and got a few 15 minute phone calls with them -- even if months away -- just to know how they got where they are. (I suppose you should also write them a thank you letter for that too). Internqueen.com -- mainly entertainment, PR etc internships.

For her book: Wrote publishers about the book on her internships -- turned down A LOT. Now being published by Random House -- biggest publishing company in the WORLD. When going for an internship: -go after something you're PASSIONATE about -go in a field that DRIVES you -And what you might want to do with your life. -->Google companies NOW for summer/spring internships Know what you would like to do if company ASKS you what you would like to do -- even if it's completely unrealistic -- just SAY IT. Ask for what you WANT. When emailing companies tell them, "I WILL BE IN LOS ANGELES FROM [X DATE] TO [X DATE]" Don't leave them any room to be hesitant. If you don't know when you'll be there -- they'll be hesitant to contact you. However. . . if you happen to be "around" (whether or not you're even planning to) during the internship. . . it's more confident than saying you could be around. . . you may be around. Be CONFIDENT and don't leave anything to assumptions, or ambiguity.  If uncomfortable at internship (for example, being unpaid yet generating money for the company -- which you cannot do), ask Career Services to investigate, that way it takes some pressure off of you as to why there's an investigation or why you're leaving in the middle of the internship. ALWAYS STICK OUT YOUR INTERNSHIP (unless for above reasons) -- if you hate it and you leave, that's the best way to BURN BRIDGES. After the interview, ask the interviewer what a typical day is like for their interns. IF THEY DON'T KNOW, NOT A GOOD BET. You should be getting a STRUCTURED internship. 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE END OF INTERNSHIP, ASK FOR LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION. (After you leave, your desires go to the BOTTOM of the priority list).  Lauren cold called company when there was NO information on the website about internships or else she would email them. RESUMES: Speak to your EXPERIENCES Cover letter: SPELL IT OUT. CONNECT THE DOTS. (This is where you'd put in when you're going to be in the town where the internship is etc. Spell it out CLEARLY what you want from the internship). Keep resumes down to 1 PAGE; LINKEDIN CAN HAVE LONGER RESUME -Tailor your experiences to the company -- you may have conflict resolution skills, managerial skills, and project management skills -- those skills may vary on desirability from company to company -- TAILOR YOUR RESUME TO THOSE COMPANIES. Keep them IN LINE (and BASED IN REALITY) with the company's mission and goals. FOLLOW COMPANIES ON SOCIAL NETWORKING, INTERACT WITH THEM --Keep up with popular blogs, magazines, articles, etc in your field so when asked who your favorite reporter, blogger, or blogs are- - you can answer truthfully and knowledgeably.  

And finally, and most surprisingly, WATCH WHAT YOU POST AND WHAT OTHERS POST on your social networking sites! One intern Lauren had was working at the Rachael Ray show. The girl took pictures of Rachael in hair and makeup and posted them on her facebook and twitter. "Just another day at work!" She was fired.  Keep it professional --Another girl was fired because she was calling clients at a PR firm and many of them would facebook friend her (which was acceptable) HOWEVER her profile picture was of her in a bikini giving a peace sign -- bad representation of the company and was let go.  Over all, it was a great time and one of the best lectures I have ever  been to at Cortland!  

[allisonbest-blog]

Usability and Accessibility in Web pages

Here are a few links about usability, accessibility, and design through web pages!  

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol7/design_no4.htm -- lots of basic ideas to remember or check for when checking for usability.

http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/10tips.asp -- 10 tips to remember/use when making your webpage usable. http://wave.webaim.org/ -- put in website page, it loads and then tells you if there are any accessibility errors with the webpage! http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/current-style/ -- this is a webpage showing what’s modern and up to date in web design. 

[allisonbest-blog]

Color, Culture and CSS

Green: Green can mean a multitude of things depending on the individual viewing the color and cultural context. For example, in India, Green is the color associated with Islam; Ireland uses green in significance to their country; while Western countries use green to symbolize spring, new birth, money, possibilities.

For example, above is a picture from the Love Yourself Challenge blog post. It’s encouraging, inspiring, and using the positive emotional response people associate with the color green to give it more power. Now imagine if the background color of this image was red. Or dark blue. Those colors are associated with (in western cultures) power, lust, anger, mourning, sadness, and politics – respectively. Choosing colors for a webpage, banner, advertisement etc should be done carefully and with great thought – by using positive color representation for your audience, you can connect to your readers more easily than your words may have alone. (Thought: Have you ever realized how many American companies or advertisements have red white and blue in their logos? It subliminally tells the consumer they’re [the company] American, and those colors create a positive response, related to patriotism, connection etc, than say a red and white – colors associated with communism – advertisement might.)

[allisonbest-blog]

A picture I've manipulated. Writing <3 

[allisonbest-blog]

Homework #8 -- CSS Layout Help

I was on a roll and found a TON of online resources for creating CSS layouts!

 http://htmldog.com/guides/cssintermediate/ - what I have been using throughout our projects. Basic and quick overview of CSS. http://csscreator.com/version2/pagelayout.php -- generates layouts with CSS, easy and effective. Manipulates the layout without directly changing your web page. http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/old/css_3box_plus_topbox.html -- interesting web page. Has a nice design without boxes and explains how you made that layout.

http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/examples/positioning2.html -- fascinating page illustrating different sort of boxes you can use on a web page; forces the reader to use the source code to see the code, rather than getting it directly from an example.

http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/stylesheets/csslayout.html -- much more in-depth explanation of position, floating elements, layers, and tables. http://www.free-css.com/css-reference/css1-properties.php -- a database of CSS property tags. http://green-beast.com/experiments/ -- shows some CSS designs such as “smart corners”, list calendars, photo showcases etc with the HTML code AND CSS code available!

http://www.macworld.com/article/48296/2005/12/januarycreate.html -- creating personalized bullets, checked off lists etc. Includes explanation and CSS code.

http://24ways.org/2005/tables-with-style -- creating tables “with style”. The related articles on the left navigation bar are also really great.

http://www.alvit.de/css-showcase/css-navigation-techniques-showcase.php -- WONDERFUL CSS navigation layouts! Complete with how they’re created and the code to create them.

http://builder.yaml.de/ -- complex CSS generator. Good for another project or establish cause and effect. Gives code.

http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2005/05/31/universal-child-replacement/ -- using child selector that is compatible with Internet Explorer.

http://www.cheatography.com/davechild/cheat-sheets/css2/ -- I’m not sure if CSS2 is different or incompatible with CSS, but this is an amazing cheat sheet to CSS2 properties.

http://westciv.com/style_master/academy/hands_on_tutorial/09.laying_out.html -- another CSS tutorial guide to page layout – positioning, div and span etc.

[allisonbest-blog]

Different Links for Design Help!

Here are few links I found that may be useful in developing your website! Good color-matching tools: http://www.problogdesign.com/resources/25-color-combination-tools-for-designers/ http://www.csstextdecoration.com/color-tool/color-scheme-generator/ Text/Typography: http://www.threestyles.com/tutorials/css-tips-for-better-typography/ -- breaks down font styles piece by piece http://www.noupe.com/fonts/how-to-use-typography-effectively-in-web-design.html

Using web graphics and/or images on websites! : http://www.quackit.com/web_graphics/tutorial/  -- An introduction to using web graphics http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/optimisation/imageoptimisation.html -- great information on which image file is best and how to use it http://www.fotosearch.com/ -- Great photo database! http://www.webreference.com/services/gw/ -- .gif shrinker! Intro to Videos and Streaming Videos on Websites http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/ -- a basic list of all different video formats and information about them. http://www.mediacollege.com/video/streaming/formats/quicktime.html -- Using Quicktime to stream video

Layout help http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2011/02/30-very-useful-web-layout-tutorials.html -- breaks down layouts http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/web-design-tutorials-the-ultimate-roundup/ -- layouts for portfolio websites! http://cooltext.com/ -- banner generator!

[allisonbest-blog]

CSS Web Help

Websites to help in understanding and using CSS effectively. 1. http://htmldog.com/guides/cssbeginner/ -- my best friend while designing my webpage.

2. http://www.html.net/tutorials/css/ -- a more basic and step by step explanation of pretty much everything mention in our text book, How to Design and Write Web Pages Today

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/css/ -- a more advanced look at CSS with some beginning steps mixed in. A good challenge for those really dedicated to improving their web pages and exploring CSS.

3. http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/011/firstcss -- something I used in class to help me see what code does to my webpage, I bit of cause and effect. Very helpful.

4.

[allisonbest-blog]

CSS 101 -- Beautify Your Website

Make your webpage stand out with CSS! CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets CSS controls the look of content structured in XHTML. CSS doesn't structure webpages but simply gives different declarations to style the XHTML webpage. That would be like bolding headings, changing the background color on a webpage, and the different colors active links on that page. Using different style sets, you can make all the text on a webpage on color, make parts of text one color and the rest another, etc. CSS in relation to XHTML is the styling, aesthetic part of a website. While XHTML puts paragraphs, headings, lists, navigation bars ON the website; CSS governs each of those elements' color, position, border, color of links that have been clicked, have been hovered over, or haven't been clicked at all and more! ---- In the book, it describes -- based on the house metaphor of CSS being the walls and aesthetic elements of a house -- Three different parts of CSS: Selectors, Property, Values. Each of these different things helps to narrow down the exact modification desired and how it will be customized. Here's an example of CSS: Body (selector) {  background-color (property): blue(value);

Yay for CSS! 

[allisonbest-blog]

What is XHTML anyway?

XHTML stands for: EXtensible HyperText Markup Language XHTML is a combination of HTML and XML  (XML stands for: EXtensible Markup Language) HTML was the basis for coding originally but wasn’t structured for total compatibility with any device with internet access – understandably so, being as it was designed for computers (specifically towards PCs ) and not for mobile devices that weren’t yet invented.  XML was created to structure, store, and transport information. Therefore: XHTML is coding that is based in HTML but more structured (By XML) to create a uniform code structure with a view in the future so any technology currently present or soon to be created can access and properly display a webpage in the way its designer had intended it to be seen. 

   What is XHTML’s relationship to HTML? XHTML is a more advanced version of HTML. Technically, it’s a “reformation of HTML 4 in XML”  (http://www.webreference.com/xml/column6/). It takes the basics of HTML and updates them to make them readable through XML structure thus allowing different platforms to all display the webpage as it was meant to be seen. Rather than being a completely separate entity,  I suppose XHTML is a  diverging branch from the family tree of HTML.  

[allisonbest-blog]

Great XHTML codes/tags

http://www.webreference.com/xml/reference/xhtml.html -- gives you the most popular XHTML tags and says how and what they're used for! http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/xml/article.php/3473511 -- an overview of what worked in HTML that won't work in XHTML. Little things that may be missed now are made obvious.

[allisonbest-blog]

Step 1 of XHTML. Begin with a bracket.

Here are some links I found that help establish basic understanding of XHTML and allows you to practice your new coding skills as well!

http://practiceboard.com/ -- type in code and it will display the code beneath as it would be seen on the webpage http://sustainablewebdesign.com/book/ --companion to book How to design and Write Web Pages Today http://webdesign.about.com/od/beginningtutorials/Beginning_HTML_XHTML_Tutorials.htm -- seems to have pretty much ANYTHING about basic coding. At least 100 different tutorials. http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_xhtml.asp -- shows different coding techniques and why XHTML is cleaner than HTML. http://www.dynamicdrive.com/ -- gives code for different things that some may want on a website such as a calendar, games etc WITH description of what each part of the code means.

http://www.xmlfiles.com/xml/xml_intro.asp -- concise definitions of basic aspects of XML. http://www.miswebdesign.com/resources/articles/web-design-xhtml-1-3.html an explanation of HTML broken down piece by piece, more so than the book does.  (so much so it has the brackets broken down, labeled as "left bracket" -- THAT kind of broken down.) Some key things to remember that I loved: XHTML is a house’s foundation, CSS is its walls and paint, and Javascript are  the appliances in the house.

[allisonbest-blog]

For Troy

"The Wires of the Night" By Billy Collins I thought about his death for so many hours, tangled there in the wires of the night, that it came to have a body and dimensions, more than a voice shaking over the telephone or the black obituary boldface of name and dates. His death now had an  entrance and an exit, doors and stairs, windows and shutters which are the motionless wings of windows. His death had a head and clothes, the white shirt and baggy trousers of death. His death had pages, a dark leather cover, an index, and the print was too minuscule for anyone to read. His death had hinges and bolts that were oiled   and locked, had a loud motor, four tires, an antenna that listened to the wind, and a mirror in which you could see the past. His death had sockets and keys, it had walls and beams. It had a handle which you could not hold and a floor you could not lie down on in the middle of the night. In the freakish pink and gray of dawn I took his death to bed with me and his death was my bed and in every corner of the room it hid from the light, and then it was the light of day and the next day and all the days to follow, and it moved into the future like the sharp tip of a pen moving across an empty page.  

[allisonbest-blog]

Tonight We Mourn. . . Tomorrow We Organize

Tonight, on September 21st at 11:08, Troy Davis died. Murdered by the state of Georgia. For two years I have followed this case, passionately, giving presentations on his case in college classes, passing around the wonderful song by State Radio called "State of Georgia" inspired by Troy Davis. (Also Chadwick Stokes's "All My Possessions (Ode to Troy)". For two years I have signed petition after petition. Presentation after presentation. And tonight, I saw the death of my faith in this system. We are all Troy Davis's. This man was murdered WITHOUT 100% certainty. Who's to say I won't be spared a similar fate? Who's to say that I won't be wrongly murdered by the state of Georgia.  Before tonight I supported Troy's case to be absolved from death but was on the fence about the death penalty in general. No more. No longer do I live under the blanket of ignorance -- that the judicial system will protect us. That the judicial system is not flawed.  Tonight, Troy Davis has made me an activist. Tonight I am one of the many births witnessed today -- that captial punishment is grotesque, inhumane, and unacceptable in the United States of America. No longer will I be idle in the fight for people's rights to LIFE. That one man's innocent death makes the entire system unworthy. The MacPhail's smiled at Troy's death. Troy's blood is as much on their hands as it is on the Supreme Court and GA Board of Pardon and Parole. I understand they're mourning a loss but a death of (an innocent) life is not vindication nor justice. We must look deeper into this case to see who was truly guilty. And if it turns out that Troy was the murderer, than fine, but it is necessary to investigate.   So, Troy Davis, as you finally get your freedom in spiritual life, I hope you can finally find the peace you so desperately deserve. To his family, your loss is not in vain. Your fight continues. We are all, forever, Troy Davis.   From Troy Davis's statement in 2008 before his stay of execution: "As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.

I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist."   We love you. Thank you for being so strong and inspiring me to find a voice. Tonight we mourn, tomorrow we organize.