Buy It Now At Amazon!

PRWeb - If you purchase this combo package by April 30th 2004 you will receive both the “Digital Printing: Destination Here ” and ” Digital Color Printing: Ready for Primetime ” reports for only $1,500.00. - 2004-04-28 The Jesus Nebula - Hubble Space
Source: www.prweb.com

Eric Kinney, President
PRWeb - Industry Leader Quad/Graphics Joins PODi, The Digital Printing Initiative Quad/Direct Marketing has joined PODi as an Associate Member. Quad/Direct Marketing is a division of Quad/Graphics (www.QG.com), the nation’s largest privately held printer of
Source: www.prweb.com

Kodak and Canon Extend Alliance into Digital Color Printing Space with
WebWire - The introduction of the NEXPRESS M700 digital color press serves as an extension of a drupa 2004 announcement to collaborate across a broad range of digital printing technologies and market development opportunities. Kodak and Canon have successfully
Source: www.webwire.com

The 25 most influential blacks in technology
Blackenterprise.com - Jones was founder and CEO of Colossal Graphics Inc., which invented and developed large-format PostScript digital printing and software used for oversize text. He also developed unique bulk ink delivery systems for large format printers. Says Jones
Source: www.blackenterprise.com

Ashima-Leena’s six-yard dream on the ramp
New Kerala - So we used digital printing to replicate those embroideries on the fabric,” Leena told IANS. Using different fabrics like georgette, lycra and silk, the collection constituted saris with deep cut blouses, churidars with off-shoulder kurtis
Source: www.newkerala.com

Xerox enhances digital resource collection
Dot Print - According to the company, the new programs will help users sell digital printing services, simplify workflow and increase productivity and cost savings. The portfolio has been based on customer feedback. Jim Hamilton, director of on-demand printing
Source: www.dotprint.com

special sections:
Southern Illinoisan - Owners Barb and Mike McCrary are happy to assist with your project, and also offer digital printing and custom design work. The Sign Design team includes a full-time graphic artist to help create the perfect look for your business promotion. Free
Source: www.southernillinoisan.com

My1Stop Commercial Printing
PR.com - My1Stop utilizes time-tested print manufacturing as well as the latest digital printing equipment and processes. From spot color printing to better than photo-quality digital printing, My1Stop has a printing solution for any need. Customer
Source: www.pr.com

Keywords: Printing,Publishing,Graphic Design,Printing,Color Copies,Publishing

Create your own special home with The National Geographic Home Collection’s Rhythms’ design of beautiful decorative pieces and dinnerware that bespeak the special style and sensibilities of their African cultural origins. Bold, graphic black, ochre, brown and white designs have roots in traditional tribal cloth and art patterns. Approaching colossal, this generously sized dinnerware is microwave and dishwasher safe. Net proceeds from NGHC’s African Rhythms goes to the Society’s World Cultures Fund. Buy It Now At Amazon!

AME Info - Backed by a team of Engineers based in Dubai and Karachi, Jacky’s is able to support customers throughout the Middle East and Pakistan with ‘Total Digital Printing Solution’ comprising of printer hardware, Onyx or ColorGATE RIP software with HP
Source: www.ameinfo.com

Keywords: Printing,Publishing,Graphic Design,Printing,Color Copies,Publishing

Buy It Now At Amazon!

This tightly knit account examines the birth, development, and evolution of graphic art, or commercial art, from its beginnings in late-19th-century Europe through the Information Age 100 years later. Graphic design began as artisan experimentation in typefaces and book design and eventually grew into increasingly sophisticated strategies in brand identity, repetition, and conceptual advertising. Graphic arts expert Alain Weill demonstrates how this art integrated the exploding demands of commerce with the changing tides of artistic avant-gardes and political change. Graphic Design: A History is an instructive primer in the social, artistic, and political roots of graphic art. Buy It Now At Amazon!

The Big Announcement: Sculptable Prims! Filed under: Building, Graphic Design, News, Linden Labs, Machinima, Updates Yes, folks, “sculpties” will soon…
Source: secondlife.meetuon.com

no title
Lady Gentlemen …
Source: www.hispirit.cn

Graphic Design | PR Incorporated (Graphic Design Review)
Graphic Design | PR IncorporatedP.R. Incorporated - Design & Print Division, creative design services and customers portfolio 2006, October P.R. Inc…
Source: essential-graphic-design.info

Keywords: Printing,Publishing,Graphic Design,Printing,Color Copies,Publishing

Dear Reader,I’ve suspected I have a critter in and around my place for a little while now. Nothing overt, just an occasional little thing here or there. A couple of times I thought I heard rustling in the front room — I go out and there’s nothing.Once after being gone for a week, there was a plastic screw top from a soda bottle that was shredded in the middle of the hallway. I looked closely at it, there were no teeth/claw marks of any kind, but the pieces weren’t arranged in the pile out of a theoretical assembly order — meaning it couldn’t have been something I stepped on on the way out.Another time I came into my place early in the morning and all the hair on my body just stood on end. It felt wrong. I thought, maybe maybe, that I could smell something just the tiniest bit “musty.” I look around, nothing.This brings us to last Saturday.It’s 01:00 and I’ve just drifted off to an early sleep. I’m exhausted and hit REM immediately. I’m dreaming I’m being held in a jail cell — there’s a person in the cell next to me that’s trying to communicate by scratching on the wall. And somewhere, way back in the very most basal part of my brain, I realize this scratching sound isn’t coming from my dream — it’s in my bedroom.I wake up and sure enough there’s a rustling on the far side of the room. I turn a light on, and sit up. It stops.I wait. I wait. I look across the junkyard that is my bedroom floor. Nothing.Then I think I see some movement out of the corner of my eye and when I look over, I see stopped and staring right at me, a rat.A rat.Not a mouse. A rat.I’m shocked. Not only because, for the first time in my life I’m staring at a rat in a domicle that I live permanently in, but also because it doesn’t look, “right.” I expect a rat to be black and slimy and wet and repulsive. This one, however, is dark tan, with a white splotch on its chest. If rats could ever be considered “cuddly,” this one would be top of the squeeze list.We make eye contact for maybe a second tops and I make one of those subvocalizations like I do whenever I get dropped in a freefall from 500 feet and can feel my gonads retreating into my body cavity. “Hurhg.”That’s when the unexpected happens: it leaps through the air, onto my bed, runs across it and rockets down the hall. It’s doing this at a setting that is three notches above “fast.” I’ve seen a lot of wildlife in my life and I have never seen anything move this fast. Not an antelope on the prairie, not a jackrabbit about to be mashed by a semi, not a mouse trying to make shelter before a hawk scoops it up. It’s so fast in fact, that I find myself still physically looking at the spot where it was long after it’s taken shelter in the front of my apartment.Jesus.Now what? I was fortunate enough to have a scout master that had been a Green Beret in the Vietnam war. He was the lord-god-king of unshakeable. If I learned anything from that man, it was you can score super-hot chicks when you drive a GTO. If I learned anything else, it was the importance of having a cool head at times of extreme conflict — it saved his life, it’ll improve mine.Calm. Calm. Calm. Jesus. A rat. Right there.Not only a rat, but some sort of genetic misfit that’s both great looking and hideously fast. Probably a blood doper. Rats are capable of anything. Of all the rodents in the Silicon Valley (of which, at this very moment, I believe to be about 10 billion), I get the Flo-Jo of rats.Calm. Calm. You’re not being calm. Calm.Right. Calm. Go go my happy place. My happy place, which by the way, has no rats.What now?It’s a rat. We’re actually even on the food chain. I’d gladly eat him (I assume it’s a “he,” because afterall, it’s easier to hate male vermin) to be rid of ‘im; he feels the same about me. I’ve got weight, height and reach advantage. He’s got me on speed and agility. We’ve gotta be roughly the same in intelligence — that’s my penalty for watching The Brady Bunch during my formative years.What now?Lessee I know there’s a rat in my apartment. I know I’m wearing only boxer briefs. I know that that verminous little bastard has just had a romp on my bed with me in it.Gotta assess the situation. There may be a million of the little swine in my living room, just waiting to gang tackle me to the floor and then “have their way” with me.One thing is clear: boxer briefs are not the right answer to this problem.I throw on a robe that’s thick enough that a wild elephant couldn’t tusk through during a slow week of rutting season, put on a pair of neoprene shoes that would provide absolutely no protection of any kind, but look bitchin’ (you’ve gotta look good to feel good), grab my Blackburn bicycle pump (with a lifetime guarantee against anything), and head to the living room.There’s an unbelievable gamey smell that’s something close to a 10 hour old Big Mac that’s been thrown back on the grill for reheating, only to be forgotten again. It takes a second before I realize that the smell isn’t the rat, it’s me. My body doing its best to find even footing with the little monster.I hear him. He’s moved back into my oh-so-stylish fake fireplace.Go slow. Be careful. A cornered animal is nothing to fool with — especially when its most noted ancestory managed to wipe out millions of mine with the plague.I put my left hand on the fake spark arrestor of the fireplace and brandish the bike pump in my right. It occurs to me that if it wasn’t for my shoes, I’d look pretty stupid right now.I’ll have to move quickly, because if I do this slow, I let him decide the next step at his own leisure.I whip the curtain open.Nothin’.No sound. No movement. No critter.Okay, now the other side. My smell increases as I grab the curtain. This one’s awkward because I have to open left-to-right with my left hand.Pause. Pause. Be ready.Now!Nothin’.I turn off the lights in the living room and stand perfectly still for 15 minutes. Still nothing.So … what? Did it go up the fake chimney? Is that thing even open? And where did it come from? Did it sprint back past me as I went down the hall.Nothin’.Oh great. Now what? It’s 02:00 on a Saturday morning. Now what?I go back to my bedroom in the too-telling silence. I’m going to lie down, go to sleep, and take care of this later in the morning.I close my eyes for 15 seconds and realize there’s no way I can sleep. No way. I’ve gotta do something now.This is America. It’s not like it’s hopeless. You can get anything, any time of the day in America. It is the national strength. Maybe the only one, but it’s there.Think. Think think.I know nothing about rats. I fire up the hiptop and browse the Web. I’m not even sure how you kill one, but I’m sure of this: that little bastard is going to die.As I read I find my startled nature changing to raw hatred. Every bad thing that’s ever happened to me in my life, every snotty thing a girlfriend ever said to me, every car that ever cut me off, every sales clerk that ever ignored me, every time I ordered a patty melt with cheddar cheese but they brought American — they’re all being focused between the eyes of that primitive little four legged bastard.It becomes clear that the answer is rat traps. Like mouse traps with a glandular problem.Okay, where?24 hour shops. Where? Wal*mart. That’s as low as common denominators get. And low common denominators will mean rat products. For sure.I seem to remember Wal*mart having trouble with making profit from their 24 hour stores. No matter. There’s six million people within a one hour drive from where my decay smelling carcass is sitting right this second.Wal*mart Web site. They don’t give store hours. Great. I’ll call.One. Nothing.Two. Nothing.Three. Nothing.Four. Rings 10 times, “Hello, this is Wal*mart.”"Are you open?”"No. We closed four hours ago.”"Is there a 24 hours store left in the Bay area?”"Yeah. Union City.”Great. I’m not even going to call to see if they have rat traps because honestly I don’t care. I need to get the hell out of this demonic Habitrail I live in. And even if they don’t have rat traps, I’ll come back here with a rubber tipped sledge or something and just start hammering the bejesus out of the place.As I get out of my bed, I put my hand directly on top of my only pair of glasses — I bend the frame severely enough that it pops a lens out.And, mentally, I let go of that ledge some people call “sanity.” GodDAMMIT. I grab my glasses, I force them crudely back into shape. All the while thinking about burning animals alive over a low flame.Off goes the robe, on goes a sweat shirt and a pair of SWAT camoflague army fatigues. The bitchin’ neoprene shoes stay.What’s that? You wanna know how a rat killer dresses? This is how they dress. I’m pissed. I’m way pissed. I grab my bicycle pump, stomp to the living room, and hammer on the fake fireplace and a few miscellaneous boxes a few times for good measure.I’m beating a signal drum and this is what is says:I’m leaving. I’ll be gone for over an hour. When I come back, I will have things designed, very specifically, to kill you.I drive to Union City Wal*mart. It’s now 03:30 Saturday morning and the place is hoppin’. Three dozen clerks stocking items and maybe 150 customers. Mostly gangbangers, teenagers, and a class of citizen that thinks it’s a good idea to have your kids at Wal*mart at this hour. Security here is armed and surly. The McDonald’s in the store is 24 hours (and has customers in line).I look spaced out, mildly retarded and suspiciously like the bridge I’ve been camping under has gone under re-construction. Which is to say, I fit right in.I go up to a clerk, “Where are your …” I can’t say the word. I can’t admit my shame to the public at large like this. Not when it’s still this fresh. Especially when I look closer to “missing link” than to “human.” “… mousetraps?”Goddammit. A killer doesn’t talk like this. A killer says, “Where’re your fuckin’ rat traps you bitch? What do you say me and you hit it over in a booth at the Mickey D’s before I go back and get blood on my hands and chin?”She points me toward the back of the store and I try walking like a killer, but I suspect it’s coming off a bit more like slinking. I poke around, ask a few people, and get to the right spot (funnily enough, the next row over has fake mice and rats for your cats to play with).Not good news. Mouse traps, mouse deterrents, mouse glue traps (think: “fly paper for small mammals”). Only one thing has the word “rat” on it: poison.By this time I’ve read enough to know that rat poison is not at the top of the Tree of Good Ideas. Rats may or may not eat it, and if they do, and die in situ, I’ve got a stink problem.But.I’m not going home empty handed. I am doing something and let me think. Which would I rather have: foul odor for two months or rats running across my bed every day for the rest of my life?I get an extra large box.”How’re you doing today?” the clerk asks.I just glare and point at what I’m buyin’. She shudders as the dopey smile leaves her face.Right.For the first time this morning, I find myself thinking with clarity on the drive home. You see, this small problem is actually a tip of a bigger problem.I could just go to the landlords and say, “Rats!” but that’s going to have a bad knock-on effect. I live in a place that is so junked up that they may well come in, take one look, and do something on the order of evict me. Seriously. And this is compounded by the fact that nothing says, “rat wins,” like getting my ass kicked out of my own over-priced apartment.I’ve got poison in the car. A new day dawns in three hours. What kinds of places will have rat killing machinery on a Saturday? I want to kill a rat. Where do I go? “Manly.” Think manly.Hardware store. Yes.Okay, thinking back to the apartment now. I can see the answer. I know what to do. Clean it. Front to back. Side to side. Top to bottom.Trash doesn’t spontaneously generate rat flesh, but there are so many possible spots to hide. Safe harbor could be anywhere.But the apartment is a daunting prospect. I got divorced a decade ago, this was followed by a girlfriend of five years whose place I essentially lived at, intersected by six years of jobs where I worked 90 hours a week. Weirdly, when you never go home, it actually gets messier.I’ve got mail everywhere. Packing boxes. CD’s. Junk. But I don’t eat at home. Not ever. Never as in my refrigerator has been *completely* broken for over a week. All I did was throw everything away that was in it and put the frost in the planter of my lemon tree. I don’t even have a trash can in the kitchen. Why bother?So if I clean it all. I mean like spic-and-span clean, I can:* Get my dishwasher fixed. Now big deal since I don’t use it anyway, but it’s been down for about six years.* Replace that refrigerator.* Get the shower fixed in my first bathroom.* Re-claim my dining room table.* Discover I have a living room table.* Get the second bedroom re-calked.* Actually be able to have people spend the night. Or for that matter, walk through the front door.* Rat out the son-of-a-bitchin’ rats.But it’s a huge task. Huge. Huge huge. It’s taken 10 years of decay to get here. It’ll take a least a fortnight of constant work to get out. At least. And I’ve got a million writing projects I’m supposed to be doing. And I just quit my own company, so it’s not like I have income.But I have rats. And I live in a boar’s nest.This is a sign. A sign from God. This is a do-better talk writ with vermin.I will do it.But I need to move off this mark I’m on right now.I open the poison and, as if my set of nightmares in this Twilight Zone of a night are not enough, they’re infested with termites. I’m so far gone down the one-way slide of destruction that I don’t even care. I don’t even flinch. Shake ‘em out of the box, wash ‘em down the drain, set the poison out, go to bed about 05:00 with the lights on.I’m wide awake four hours later to some sound.It’s the fountain outside.I put on the same clothes I wore last night, I don’t shower or even comb what’s left of my hair. I check the poison, it appears untouched, and beat on the fireplace anyway. I’m saying:You have made a mistake. You’re assuming that I won’t “get it.” You assume that just because I’m a bachelor, and pathetic, that I am therefore also defenseless in a sick-until-he-dies-or-goes-to-jail way. You’re wrong. I’m going to hardware stores. I’m getting items to kill you. I’m finding things that are designed, specifically, to kill you. I am ignoring any killing mechanism or device that says “painless” or “humane.” If I kill you, I will skin you, I will put your little ratty head on my fake mantelpiece and I will clip your toenails, grind them up and then smoke them. You’re a pestilence carrying, beady eyed, wall hugging, rat bastard. People demonize their enemies to make them less-than-human. That’s easy with you, you goddamn son of a bitch, because you’re a rat. You’re not even human. I will kill you every way possible. And then I will kill you again.I get to the hardware store. “Rat traps.” I can’t even ask, I just say.I get pointed to the lawn and garden department. Now we’re talkin’. About half a dozen different ways to kill rats including some that are remarkably industrial strength. I want to buy ‘em all, set ‘em by my front door, and napalm the place.Instead I buy 4 glue traps and 3 snap traps. The best 15 bucks I’ve ever spent in my life. I put glue in the fireplace and my room.I bait the snap traps without setting them in my second bathroom. I’m treating this exactly the way you treat smart fish — chum them, then kill them.I’m a lifetime member of both the World and National Wildlife Federations, but this event has put me on an ecological rampage. I put the poison out on my porch. No, I don’t care if I kill squirrels, or feral cats that eat mice that I’ve poisoned, or raptors that eat the rats that ate the grasshoppers that ate the termites that were living in my rat poison box, thanks for asking. In fact, if I can find a little DDT, I’ll dump it directly into a drain going into the Bay.I am fed up.I am changing my lifestyle. I will not live with rats. I hate them. I hate the position I’ve put myself in. I’ve been a slovenly fat bastard and I’m ashamed of it. I’ve been ashamed of it and I’ve done nothing to correct it.And now I’ve got rats.I’ve brought myself to this point. I’m going to bring myself out. And I am never returning.This is ridiculous.And I have hatred and anger and violence and vitriol in my soul. And I’ve kept it penned up. And it’s coming out. And it’s coming out now. Just like a boil that needs to be popped to release the pain, the very pus of my being will ooze out. And it will be ugly and nasty and gross.I will pray, every day, that rats die as a direct result of me. I am fighting a war that I will ultimately lose because the idiotic and stupid b1 series have seen fit in their comfortable little lives to not have genetic children. This means that, 100 years from now, there will be no more of us, but there will rats.And this will only make me fight harder.There is no enemy in the world more dangerous than that who has nothing to gain by winning because it means they are either: heartless, cruel, stupid, or self-righteous. I’m all these things.Rats, if you’re smart enough to read, consider yourself warned. And if you’re not, then you’d better pray to Ganesh inside your temple that something the Hindus say is right.I believe that sometimes lives are divided into two parts — things that happen before an event, and things that happen after. You’re essentially forcing me through a horizon that I need to cross, but don’t want to. In the future I will thank you for it, but for now I hope I burn your very being with the temperature of my hatred.You, dear reader, will find that I’m now moderating my comments. If they have nothing to do with rats, or cleaning, I’m not interested in them for the time being. Devotion to a cause requires focus. And for the short term, this is my life.Hope you’re well,b1
Source: b1-66ersworld.blogspot.com

Seanachai Etc.: Cheap man s guide to audiobooks & literary podcasts
Podcasting has made things interesting for both writers and those seeking quality audio fiction. First, podiobooks.com is a podcasting site that releases novels in serial form for free. Most of the books so far seem to be sci fi & fantasy (including Scott Sigler–interviewed recently on Teleread), but the distribution method and business model are innovative. Subscribing is free, but podiobooks.com provides infrastructure for donating (50% of the donation goes to support the website). Podiobooks.com has solved two pressing problems in the podcasting world: tracking audience and keeping old content fresh. Podiobookscom creates custom feeds for novels so the consumer is fed chapters a little bit at a time. Downloading a 10 hour audio novel can be overwhelming; but downloading a 60 minute mp3 each week seems less so. Right now I’m listening to a historical novel about John Wilkes Booth, Consider the Elephant. So far, most of the submissions are in scifi. (Here’s their announcement feed about new podiobook content). By definition RSS podcast feeds are public, but to take advantage of the custom feeds (which give you content one day/week/month at a time), you need to register. During a recent 4 hour trip from Houston to Dallas, I heard an outstanding storytelling podcast, Seanachai, which is written and produced by a single individual, Patrick McLean. Seanachai is the Irish Gaelic word for storyteller, and remarkably, McLean not only writes his material but also provides voices, audio production and sound effects. His version of Cask of Amontillado (mp3) is haunting and brings Poe’s story to life to contemporary audiences. Other stories–the 4 Part tragicomic Death of a Dishwasher, and other raucously entertaining pieces: War with Santa (where Santa is a mafia don who pressures McClean to remove a satirical podcast–several parts), a man who steals nickels, a person who makes a cosmic connection using a Starburst candy and (most recently) a satirical comic book-type tale, How to Succeed in Evil. Aside from established storytelling sites like This American Life (which offers streaming mp3s but sells DRM content on Audible.com), the best-produced show I’ve heard so far is Escapepod, a sci fi fiction weekly audio magazine. People submit stories in the normal fashion; accepted submissions are read aloud by experienced podcasters (like Mur Lafferty or Scott Sigler or editor Stephen Eley himself). Each week’s episode features an entertaining mix of stories/reviews/essays and writers are even paid a modest sum (a rarity on the Net these days). Like Podiobooks, Escapepod is sustained primarily through donations, confirming the point I made three years ago that reduced transaction costs and restrictive licenses by Big Media makes the tipjars/donation model much more attractive for creative projects. The Public Domain has turned out to be a source of great opportunity for literary podcasts and audio. Audiobooksforfree.com now offers nonDRM mp3’s for free, with professional readers and better quality mp3s at a modest price (i.e., $7 or less for a 28 hour novel). (Slightly more expensive is TellTale Weekly, which does something similar). If you can tolerate less professional recordings, Librivox offers an amazing catalog of public domain audio stories produced entirely by volunteers (a site affiliated to TellTale Weekly called the Spoken Alexandria project also does this). Ebooks vs. Audiobooks: Comparing their Growth For those with mp3 players, podcasts are portable stories and totally noncommercial (with This American Life and Ricky Gervais’s recent podcast for itunes being notable exceptions). Here podcasts are filling a void for “portable stories” which until now ebooks haven’t been able to deliver. Unlike ebooks, podcasting has not been saddled by DRM at all, and look how it has proliferated. What lessons are to be learned here? As podcasts proliferate, will standards rise for what people consider acceptable? Right now, only a few rare individuals can write, record and produce decent scripts on their own. Will the podcasting trend change the definition of what it means to be a successful writer/novelist? Will there always be a place in the market for a writer who does nothing except write (without having to be a sound engineer or graphic designer)? Will a good novel start to be defined mainly by production values (whether it be in ebooks or audio books)? Despite the lament of Cory Doctorow and others that world intellectual property treaties may be extending property rights to podcasts of public domain texts, who can deny that a performance of a public domain work (such as Cask of Amontillado mentioned above) can in fact be a creative reworking and therefore worthy of protections typically available for copyrighted works? On the other side of the coin, several people just enjoy reciting stories they have read, public domain or not. Take for example Miette Bedtime Story Podcast. A woman likes to read stories aloud on a regular basis (most recently “The Boy Who Drew Cats” by my fave author Lafcadio Hearn). A cursory look on the list of stories she has read shows several works by authors still under copyright. Does this mean that one day she’ll be visited by the Wicked Witch of Copyright who will cast a spell to ruin her efforts ? Clearly this woman is doing it for the love–not the money– think of the runaround she’d have to go through if she actually did try to get the necessary clearance. Where is the harm here? Miette is giving new life to stories that probably go unnoticed; the problem is that until recently publishing houses and copyright owners haven’t been comfortable with setting stories free in the wild Internet jungle. Perhaps there is a slight fair use argument here (probably not), but if the readers were high school students doing it for a class, would people be as quick to condemn the infringement? On the other hand, the distributed power of the Internet makes it easier to share the burden of digitalization. One person may lack sufficient zeal to record every one of Joyce Carol Oates’ short stories for public consumption. On the other hand, a group of 100 devoted fans could record one or two stories each, thus drying up the commercial audio market for Ms. Oates. Does the threat of distributed digitalization imply the need for a draconian response to the lone enthusiast? Or does it merely illustrate the absurdity of allowing publishers to suppress derivative works? The more audio books I listen to, the more uncertain I become about which is the better way to “absorb a story.” Usually I listen to books-on-tape to recapture time lost in the automobile, but all other things being equal, I sometimes still go for reading in the traditional way. Audio stories are done on the move (and usually when the person is performing another task like housework); books/ebooks are usually done in a single place in a moment of rest. One of the reasons, btw, why I don’t listen to more audio books (as wma or mp3s) is the difficulty in bookmarking where I left off (some mp3 players let you resume play where you left off, but only if you don’t listen to another audio track during the intervening time, I believe). With respect to genre, will literary podcasting become more dramatic and less personal? Patrick McClean’s podcast often sound less like books-on-tape than radio plays (or at least comedy skits). Sure, some of the podcasts are reflective–see McLean’s Instant of Eternity (mp3)– but the ones that work best are those with lots of dialogue and sound effects. As storytellers become more comfortable using technology for dramatic effect or interactivity, will stories be created with an eye towards how they will be produced? To use an analogy, music videos not only became a new hybrid artform, they caused lyricists to write different kinds of songs–with greater emphasis on visual narratives and imagery. Traditional novels face many market challenges, but the podcasting “threat” may also shift the pendulum away from the inner life of a protagonist to the external life, replete with voices, sound effects and background music. Robert Nagle (aka idiotprogrammer) writes fiction under various pseudonyms and lives in Houston, Texas. In June, he and Sadi Ranson-Polizotti will be launching their own group storytelling podcast, imaginaryplanet.org, with an emphasis on true tales, poetry and non-genre storytelling.
Source: www.imaginaryplanet.net

More cha cha changes!
Song Playing: Incubus - Nice To Know You Dallas was a great trip! I got to see some family, have a bunch of laughs and watch some good footie action (futbol). Unfortunately, De Rosario was injured within 30 min of the match and was helped off the pitch! DeRo sprained his ankle, and his status will be evaluated for the next game May 20th against Chicago. That is not good for the Dynamo, especially with new forwards on our line and Brian Ching (leagues leading scorer) playing with our USA National Squad at the FIFA World Cup in Germany. Our forwards really need some time to synchronize or at least get to know each other s movements while Ching is out and De Rosario (our strongest midfielders) is not part of the equation. I don’t think we are going to have a smooth ride these next few weeks. It’s going to take a lot on the part of our players to get things together in such a short period of time. Regardless, the Dynamo can count on my bro and I being there to support our club! So it’s Monday and I have already begun to review some new photoblogs for my needs. I really want to provide a great overall experience on my site that will of course deal with more images and projects. I do have 3 weeks until school begins and during that time I shall unveil a new site that I will build upon. The changes will begin at any given time, so please be patient and forgive the mess.
Source: www.lenfu.com

RiotACT business profile # 2 - Bottles of Australia
[Tony Pemmer with bottle printer] Jazz and I ventured out to the wilds of Hume to talk to Tony Pemmer, the owner of Bottles of Australia about his operation out there. For those who want the word whole (rather than my own inadequate translation), the recording of the complete interview (with intriguing ambient sounds from the busy factory) is available (there’s lots of good stuff in there). Tony described his product as a mobile billboard delivered via plastic drink bottles. BoA employs 28 people designing the graphics to go on plastic drink bottles, the bottles themselves, and printing graphics onto bottles right here in Canberra. This is no small operation, they do runs of over 100,000 bottles for the likes of Puma, Asics, and Warner Brothers’ Movie World as well as batches as small as 50. If you’ve got a branded plastic drink bottle have a look on the bottom and chances are it bears the BoA mark. The business began with a $5,000 overdraft in 1989 out of a bicycle retail outlet, importing stickers from Hawaii. Eventually the drink bottles took over the business. Previously all plastic drink bottles were imported from abroad. The production line starts with impressive stacks of boxes containing blank bottles awaiting an order [Boxes of bottles] The bottles have to pass through gauntlets of flamethrowers which change the surface tension to be amenable to holding ink. They stay this way for a few days before returning to their natural state. [Flaming bottles] Organising the positioning of bottles is a key to keeping things efficient. [Bundles of bottles] The big machines automatically flame the bottles before aligning them and coating them with ultra-violet sensitive ink, a pass under a UV light then makes them ready for printing with a different colour. [Bottle printing machine] [Bottles being printed] Here’s a short video of the machinery in action: At the end they shoot out lickety split. [Bottles come off the line] For more than two colours they have a different machine which can give it the full monty: [multi colour bottle printing machine] At the far end of the factory a team of piece workers put lids on the bottles while they check for printing errors. BoA operates at a well-better-than-industry-standard defect rate of between 1 and 3 percent. [Putting tops on the bottles] Tony thinks location is not a major limitation in dealing with customers, being closer to Sydney just makes him further away from Melbourne. However a lack of experienced staff with manufacturing skills has stopped them getting more ambitious and building a plastic moulding plant. That work is outsourced to Sydney. It would be cheaper still to import from China (the materials alone cost more in Australia than a finished bottle from China shipped to your door) but the responsiveness of the Australian manufacturer in a rapidly evolving design environment offsets the overall costs. As it is staff for the printing operation have to be trained in house. Customers range from major corporations rounding out a sports fashion line and the likes of BHP down to schools and sports clubs. Drink bottles are commonly used in branding exercises and when people want a branded drink bottle there’s BoA, they also do a big line in exporting. When they started printing bottles in 1991 they took delivery of a printing machine and then started learning how to print. Tony made the point that printing a sports bottle is essentially no different to “container decorating” a shampoo bottle. Tony started in business in Batemans Bay running a sports and bike shop aged 19. Since then he and his wife Mary have built a series of businesses in what he describes as a “tag team” bouncing ideas off each other. He credits being open to new ideas as a key to the success he’s had. Interestingly when dealing with fashion brands they have to lock in the “hot new colours” 18 months before they’re unleashed on the consumer market as something new, fresh and spontaneous. Currently Tony and Mary have the business at a point where they’re toning down their day to day involvement. Tony is an advocate of trusting and empowering staff and is doing his very best to not be indispensable. “Working on the business but not in the business” is a mantra for him. He concedes that part of this is about making the business potentially sale ready. To avoid burnout he advocates all business owners treat their business as an investment rather than a lifestyle (or worse, a money pit or a job). For those looking to start new businesses Tony advocates borrowing more than you think you’ll need. The last thing any business would want is to end up six months down the line needing more money and no longer credit worthy. Staff recruitment mostly comes through referrals, often coming through the piece workers in the lidding area. A sign outside the factory often handles recruiting needs and in the last resort an ad in the Canberra Times gets results. The traits most sought after in staff is flexibility and a willingness to learn. In BoA’s early days marketing was through magazine ads in trade journals and sports mags. These days aggressive branding through packaging and delivery trucks is used as well as catalogue product placement and sponsorship of Tony’s beloved Canberra Capitals (Tully Bevilaqua was answering the phones on reception as we left). When we asked about local Government policy Tony expressed his horror at the demise of Business ACT in the last budget. He had found them to be very effective in supporting projects which had lead to more Canberrans being employed. Additionally they had effectively encouraged network effects between local businesses. The massive slash and burn has seen an end to that which Tony felt was to Canberra’s detriment. On the federal level he was thrilled with the Free Trade Agreements negotiated by the Howard Government which had opened up markets for BoA bottles. He wistfully wondered what life would be like under a flat tax system liberating business from the vagaries of the current tax system. Aside from bottles BoA has worked on developing bottle related accessories. Next time you watch a Brumbies game have a look at what the drink carriers carry the water out in. [Bottle carrier] The V8 bottle carrier was designed with help from the design faculty at the University of Canberra. Interestingly Tony was very keen on handling efficiencies. He makes a compelling argument that a lot of businesses fail to account for the cost of making staff move product around through inefficient storage and handling. We were impressed with the way stock at BoA moves smoothly from one end of the building to the end. Looking ahead he felt the biggest risk facing BoA was staffing. Finding good people and hanging on to them. In the current environment with the public service recruiting heavily for high wages it’s hard to find good people for junior roles. In terms of business philosophy Tony compares business to a trip to the casino. But encourages people to take a risk and not be too downhearted if the risk doesn’t always come off. Here’s Tony and his wife and partner Mary at the doors of the BoA building. [Tony and Mary outside BOA] * RiotACT receives no inducements or considerations to produce business profiles. In this case we approached BoA for the interview. If there’s a local business you’d like to know more about email business@the-riotact.com with their details and why you think they’re interesting. The feed for podcatching the audio of this and future Business Profiles (~30mins) is the-riotact.com/wp-rss2.php?cat=46
Source: the-riotact.com

Eco-Fashion is Hot! Hot! Hot!
Environmentally friendly fashion is growing up fast. New designers, new venues, new stores and plenty of consumer interest add up to industry that is set to take off. Today’s Radio Guests: Aysia Wright - Founder of The Green Loop, an Oregon-based eco-fashion boutique. Companies, Projects and Products Mentioned on Today’s Show: Project Earth Day - This eco-fashion show on April 19th, 2007 was both a contest for fashion students as well as a showcase for current winners. Congratulations to Xay Xiong from Parsons The New School of Design who won first prize and a coveted mentorship with an established eco-designer. Green Trendsetters Discussed with Today’s Guest: Vy & Elle - From a play on the word vinyl, they refashion reclaimed billboard viny to create urban and stylish bags. Mohop - These shoes are composed of rubber soling made from recycled tires, a Finnish birch plywood core, and topped with various select veneers. The graphics on the footbed of the sandals are are screen-printed by hand at Chicago’s legendary Screwball Press.
Source: www.lazyenvironmentalist.com

FOFA #224 - Leslie Hall, the Glitter Goddess - 05.08.06
Today we look back at a very special “behind the scenes” show where we talked this past December to the glitter goddess, Leslie Hall. Enjoy! The keeper of “thy gems” Leslie Hall is without a doubt a HUGE internet phenomenon. Just about a year ago Leslie was one of our first interviews on our podcast, where she had started getting the attention she deserved for her iconic photographs of herself with her hundreds of gem sweaters. You may have seen a gem sweater on the lady at the checkout counter, on your high school home ec. teacher or on that lady that keeps on raving about the bible. But you’ve never seen anybody own it and reinvent it like Leslie Hall. This past December Marc and Fausto hanged out with the Gem Sweater Diva herself as she got ready for her fabous live performance at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, Illinois. Did you know that Leslie’s mom REALLY does make her gold pants, and pretty much anything she wears onstage. This frees up Leslie to concentrate on her music, her graphic design, the development of her website and shaking her body onstage to a seismatic intensity. To this date Leslie is one of the most popular musicians on myspace and holds an internet following that rivals our own! (We brag, we boast.) Follow us as we talk to Leslie while she transforms from the cute college co-ed to the lighting hot rock and gem diva she was meant to be. Heads up! If you ever go see Leslie in person, make sure you go to your local thrift store and get yourself a fab gem sweater. Remember how much you paid, because the tacky girl will ASK! Then look out, because you’ll be showered with praise and perhaps even more. You’ll just have to take our word for it. It’s a religious experience. Check out these HOT photos of us with Leslie Hall in Chicago. VOTE | RSS FEED | SUBSCRIBE VIA iTUNES SUBSCRIBE VIA ODEO | SUBSCRIBE VIA YAHOO feastoffools [at] gmail [dot] com
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Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond
Introducing Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond, a fascinating non-profit group in the Chicagoland area that we’ve recently come across. The mission of this organization is to… …celebrate and promote 20th century modern architecture and design. Founding members encompass a diverse group of collectors, dealers, architects, designers, curators and enthusiasts. The group formed in response to the need for a forum in which to gather information and communicate about architecture and design from the vastly creative 20th century modernist era, roughly 1930s-1970s. Beginning with the migration of the famed German Bauhaus school to Chicago, first as the New Bauhaus and later as the Institute of Design, and continuing through the evolution of modernism in the prolific post-WWII era and beyond, the group will host social events, educational seminars and tours relating to modern aesthetics and design concepts, product design, graphic design, arts, crafts and architecture. Some exciting things the group offers are tours, seminars, modernism shows and exhibitions. In fact, on September 17th, 2006 there is a splendid looking tour of homes by Edward Humrich in the northern suburb of Riverwoods. Humrich is described as a prairie modernist architect and you know we like the sound of that! Tickets are $35 for CBB members and you can view the details here. If you want to become a member of CBB, please sign up here! Also of note, the founders of Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond were featured on ABC TV news, Channel 7 in Chicago. They discuss preservation of modern masterpieces and the founding of the group. Check it out here. Image and text courtesy of Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond
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Audiocast: Digital Storytelling with Joe Lambert
  Like many other folks, I’m fascinated by the prospect of digital storytelling to restore "voice" to classroom activities. So often, schools are caught up in testing, and a focus on activities that do not engage us personally, as human beings. Digital storytelling, like blogs and podcasts, enable children and teachers to develop creativity. That’s important in a world that increasingly requires us to be more creative. Although I have had the opportunity to work on digital storytelling a la oral composition approach, I have to confess that I am a product of traditional schooling. As such, I’m text dominant and oral composition isn’t something I’m entirely comfortable with, although our children certainly benefit from the oral composition approach. In attending Lambert’s workshop, I hoped to explore the world that David Jakes had introduced me to via his web site and blog. On Monday, March 19th, three of my team and I took the short trip from San Antonio to Austin, Tx to attend Joe Lambert’s (pictured above) Digital Storytelling Workshop. The 3-day workshop was facilitated by Joe Lambert and Stefani Sese (profile shot below). I truly enjoyed the first day of the workshop because of its focus on the seven elements of digital storytelling. I’m grateful to Joe for allowing me to share the interview and audiocast of the Digital Storytelling workshop (Day 1 only…Days 2 & 3 were more about short minilessons and working through the creation of your digital story). Day 1 was particularly fun because of the StoryCircle. We pretty much started out the day in StoryCircle, sitting in a circle and going around the room to introduce ourselves, then share what our story was. Over the last few months, I’ve been meditating on how to do a quick homage to my Dad, and Garbed in Silver is an adaptation of a story I wrote 17 years ago. What was shared during the StoryCircle was the best. The rest of the session included short mini-lessons on Adobe Photoshop Elements and Final Cut Pro Express. With my focus on no/low cost software, I had only worked on Adobe Photoshop and Fireworks in the past. Since I’ve never been interested at all by art, graphic design, or anything like that, I prefer to work with single-use image editing tools…and if I have to use something, THE GIMP is what I use (even on my Macbook). Final Cut Pro Express, though, was a joy to work with. I was impressed at how easy it was and how much control it provided. Once you’ve worked with Final Cut Pro Express, it’s hard to imagine using PhotoShop or Moviemaker (that crashes every 10 minutes)…but that’s what our schools have, and not everyone is using Mac OS X. A Conversation with Joe Lambert, Director/Founder of the Center for Digital Storytelling Audio Recording of Day 1 of the Digital Storytelling Workshop - Not yet available AudioCast Links: Center for Digital Storytelling Miguel’s Digital Storytelling Resources Digital Storytelling Cookbook Contact information for the Center for Digital Storytelling: 1803 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Berkeley, CA 94709 USA www.storycenter.org 510-548-2065 phone 510-548-1345 fax DigiTales.us Helen Barrett on Digital Storytelling as ePortfolios Sound clips in the audiocast come from Free Royalty-Free clips available online at PlayItFree.com Digital Stories (in Quicktime Movie format): Family Time - Christina Morrow (2.2 megs) Garbed in Silver - Miguel Guhlin (21.5 megs) Alaska - Larry Stegall (13.7 megs) My Island - Greg Rodriguez (15.4 megs) Photos:  (Left to Right: Stefanie Sese (Facilitator) and Susanna)  (Left to Right: Christina Morrow and Joe Lambert) Prior to the workshop, an email went out announcing what would be done, goals and objectives. Here’s a copy…I really appreciated this step! In 1993, CDS¹s founders developed a unique workshop environment that assists people in creating video stories from their family photos and home video. It is based on a philosophy of emphasizing fundamental elements of good storymaking combined with a demystification of multimedia technology and tools.We have helped over 10,000 people to mine powerful and effective tales from the pictures of their lives, or the lives of their loved ones. The stories have covered every conceivable topic: tales of survival and achievement; corporate brand stories, travel adventures; love stories, health and healing; oral histories about cultures, historic periods, and work experiences; and memorials to loved ones.The class is a great introduction for the multimedia novice or the professional to working with digital imaging and digital video softwares. The workshops include hands-on instruction to Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Express and script/storyboard development. The CDS teaching staff will give each student specific assistance on their projects, including design, scripting, and other issues regarding the specific use of their digital story.Students will complete a 3 minute piece which will be output to disk and mailed following the workshop. ————— COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. To provide students with an introduction to the tools of desktop video in a production context.2. To introduce storytelling methodology (point of view, emotional content, dramatic action) into a dialogue about new media content.3. Assist students in completing a project. ————— ROUGH TIMETABLE OF WORKSHOP DAY ONE Introduction Presentation of 7 Elements and Digital Stories to introduce digital storytelling and analyze story elements in prior student work. Story Circle to discuss students own project plans in group setting. Lunch Adobe Photoshop Elements Hands-on Tutorial Preparation and Digitization of Individual Materials including scriptwriting and revision, image selection and storyboarding, scanning and image preparation in Photoshop on student workstations. DAY TWO Adobe Premiere Pro Hands-on Tutorial Final Individual Script Review Record Voice-overs Assemble rough edit in Adobe Premiere Pro DAY THREE Complete Rough Edit in Adobe Premiere Pro Select and add Soundtrack audio Select and add special effects in Adobe Premiere Pro including image pan and zoom, motion, superimpositions, transparency and titles. Complete Final Edit Export Draft of final version of digital story for workshop presentation. ————— PRE-WORKSHOP PREPARATION To get the most of out the workshop we recommend preparing the following materials: an idea for a story you want to tell, a script, images, video and music.It is best if you come with a rough draft of a script. Since we are working on pieces that will be 2-3 minutes long, bring a script that is about 1.5 pages, double spaced or 250 words.Also bring photographs, art work, letters and items for your story. Images can be scanned ahead of time or during the workshop. Around 20 images is a good number. If you can scan them ahead of time we recommend scanning at about 300 dpi and bringing them on a CD if possible, or flash card.If you are planning on using video make sure you have previewed your tapes prior to the class and made notes about which 5-15 second clips you will want to capture. Video uses a lot of memory and can be time consuming to work with so we will use video efficiently and in small clips. If you are using a video format other than VHS or Mini-DV please bring along your camera for use in capturing your video clips to the computer.For background music you can bring music on CD. Choose a couple of possibilities and then you can choose the option that works best. We will also have copyright free music and software available at the workshop if you would like to use that, or you may find songs available on-line for purchase.Our web site has a copy of the Digital Storytelling Cookbook, the manual we have created to accompany the class. You will find the first sections helpful to read prior to the class. There is a PDF version of the front sections of the cookbook at www.storycenter.org/cookbook.You can also find helpful resources in the new text: Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community by Joe Lambert which is available for purchase on-line at: www.storycenter.org/book.
Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Keywords: Printing,Publishing,Graphic Design,Printing,Color Copies,Publishing

The going to college is a true milestone in our life and perhaps the real moment when we grow up. There are many reasons why we choose to go to college but one of the most important is tasting a littl…
Source: www.goarticles.com

Color Part 1: Accuracy
Color is one of the most difficult parts of a design to show accurately to a client. Color perception can be affected by many factors, including: Human perception: * The way each person sees…
Source: www.goarticles.com

Displaying Photography on the Web
Getting Started: When deciding to display your photography online, there are a number of considerations that need to be taken into account as presenting imagery on the web. What I will c…
Source: www.goarticles.com

Cartoons
There is saying ‘a picture is worth 1000 words’. Cartoons originally are drawings or pictures, a full-size pattern for execution in painting, mosaic, tapestry, or other form. Cartoons are such pictori…
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Outsourcing Works For at Home Moms
All over America children are being sent off to school in the morning by working Moms who have a twenty second commute to their own daily workplace. These women simply make a cup of coffee, and go an…
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Color - An Important Aspect in Logo Design
Colors are always considered as an important aspect of our day-to-day life. Colors referred as a conceptual language are always used for communication purpose. Like way in order to create your own bra…
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Turn Your PC Into A Profit Center
Even though personal computers have been around for several years, the market is still growing in many areas. With some imagination and initiative, you can join the thousands of entrepreneurs who a…
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HTC S710; the smart phone for the smart people
The ones smart and discerning would like to embrace a technology that offer them the chance to stay ahead in the competition. The tremendous speed of telecommunication advancements, and the integratio…
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What is a KVM Switch?
A KVM Switch is an electronic device that allows you to control multiple computers or servers with a single keyboard, mouse and monitor. KVM Switches can usually be found in IT departments or server r…
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3D Animation
3D animation is a more advanced graphical presentation with the help of computer and digital displayers. Animations such as movies, presentations, walk through, cartoon films, television advertisement…
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Keywords: Printing,Publishing,Graphic Design,Printing,Color Copies,Publishing

Customer Review: Worth EVERY penny!!
this book shows that good design is a must in any medium. As a web designer this book is full of inspirations…….all u need is the technology to develop them! Buy It Now At Amazon!