10 Reasons Why I Prefer MACs

Is it wrong to just type because PC's suck 10 times?? It's not like it's a lie!

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK

PCs SUCK...

After using the Macs in class I seem to have this affection for them now. I mean, I've heard from friends how great they are, how easy to manage, you don't need virus software for them since they are virtually the better machine. Now that I've been doing some work on them, I'm really in love with them. Quality is better, they are faster, they are easier to figure out what the problems are, keyboard is more comfortable and I like the mouse. The unleashed mouse, the one that has a touch sensor on it, in it. Many people dislike the mouse, it's too touchy or annoying, well the batteries do drain quickly, I'll give for that.

Maybe it's just me but I just like them more, I'd like to trade this HP in for a MAC!! It's like buying an AMAZING car, one you can specifically order with your very own preferences put in when it's built. THAT'S exciting for me!!

10 Things I Will Do This Year to Make Myself More Marketable

Ok, so a long list follows with this thinking, since I am going to be the best damn artist of whatever medium I can sink my teeth into, I need to start marketing myself. So I'm thinking of priming up the online portfolio website and then since I'm on YouTube I might as well post a video resume as well, maybe tie that in with the website. I need to think of all the possibilities here.

Can't forget the "old school" marketing using the business cards and even passing out the resumes during the designer expos and job fairs, snagging some business cards of merchants at the expos and fairs and emailing them my resume or plugging for jobs that way. That's another option, just need to keep the eyes open for the expos and fairs to come around.

Of course, blog blog blog blog blog and peddle my services wherever possible! Another idea is definitely make some flash "commercials" and post them on my YouTube or email them out. hmmmmmmm....  Did I forget anything? Am I on the right idea path??

10 Best Free Font Resources

I love fonts and letters and different typefaces, they really do have a character all to themselves, a personality!! If the designer can channel that personality and use it in the correct way, the print will work and the meaning will be made. I had a HUGE thick typeface book that I used years ago that was my ultimate font resource book that I would go to, I miss that thing!! But thanks to the internet, SOOOOOOO much more can be found at your fingertips. I never did like typography class until I started paying on the computer (the fancy thinking box), then the whole typog thing became easier to understand and deal with. Spell check helped tons also, but it doesn't do so well with shortcut words.

http://www.1001freefonts.com/
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.searchfreefonts.com/
http://www.free-fonts.com/
http://simplythebest.net/fonts/
http://www.1001fonts.com/
http://www.urbanfonts.com/  - all these fonts are more for the artistic and interesting side. I've used them from time to time.
http://www.cool-fonts.com/
http://www.fontspace.com/
http://www.acidfonts.com/
http://www.unstage.com/2010/02/70-of-the-best-free-fonts-for-graphic-designers/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/08/40-excellent-freefonts-for-professional-design/
http://www.downloadfreefonts.com/fontfiles/afonts.htm

So just in case a listing of awesome fonts is needed by all means look into these great links, I've used them on many occasion and I know I will be using them again and again. They definitely helped when I did my kinetic typography assignment, the fonts added to the meanings of the project, only used occasionally when a certain font was needed. Enjoy, uploaded for your pleasure. 

Some Awesome Quotes I've Heard

There have been some great quotes I've seen over the years, I snagged a few just because they were funny and had a few good points. I'll just keep adding to this here and there. :)  ENJOY!!

 

"Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?" - Audrey Hepburn

"I didn't discover curves, I only uncovered them." - Mae West

 

 "Life is too short to work so hard." - Vivien Leigh

 "One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues." - Elizabeth Taylor

"I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say." - Ingrid Bergman

"Acting is like sex; you either do it and don't talk about it or you talk about it and and don't do it. That's why I'm always suspicious of people who talk too much about either." - Humphrey Bogart

"You are not exactly Superman, but you are awfully available." - Vera-Ellen

"Love is a game that two can play and both can win." - Eva Gabor

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." - Sophia Loren

"Take your life in your own hands and mold it. The world will try to rob you of your freedom, but fight for it! It's all you have to live for! That's all for the modern girl." - Irene Dunne in "Theodora Goes Wild"

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn

"It wasn't the way I looked at a man, it was the thought behind it." - Gloria Grahame

"I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it." -  Marilyn Monroe

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." - Frank Sinatra

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." - Imelda Marcos  

  - I Seem to like shoes A LOT also!!  :)

"I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass." - David Lee Roth

"I'm undaunted in my quest to amuse myself by constantly changing my hair." - Hillary Clinton     ....*note: I don't particularly care for Hil., but the quote was great! considering I change my hair color frequently!!  :)

10 Most Interresting YouTube Videos

I usually surf for videos when I'm thinking of a band or want to see a commercial or something. Since I've started school I've been using it more and more for tutorials and other learning's. It really is helpful, I've also been following classmates and of course, my teacher's site. I would highly recommend any of these sites for your viewing and learning pleasure. The last site was a great idea for a "sink your teeth in" video to show prospective employers, to get the job. I'd like to do something like that to snag that perfect job!!

• http://www.youtube.com/user/LilredheadComics
• http://www.youtube.com/user/JavaScriptTeacher
• http://www.youtube.com/user/70000tons
• http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperRiceProductions
• http://www.youtube.com/user/jimmyrcom
• http://www.youtube.com/user/FuschiaCrayon
• http://www.youtube.com/user/kerrigilpin
• http://www.youtube.com/user/TechHelpVideos
• http://www.youtube.com/user/cgsbgs
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYjlzZhPvKI

10 Fave Resources for Design Inspiration

I find so much inspiration in anything and anywhere really, I usually get thoughts and sketch them out or put them into the mental file cabinet.  They seem to come from anywhere, if I'm sitting chatting with friends or family or zoning out watching the television. Usually my best ideas or thoughts come to me when I'm not even thinking about it, then the light-bulb turns on.

I'm a visual kind of person, I like to see beauty and I get the best inspiration from magazines, cartoons, art of any kinds, billboards when I'm driving down the street, images on websites or in print ads, life in general really. Vehicles are another source some cars and trucks have such wonderful lines, motorcycles for the artwork and chrome. Lastly there's music, I listen to almost anything and sometimes it inspires me to create or even delve deeper into my work and not let me think. It's like the other side of my brain takes over and I disappear into whatever it is I'm doing.

If i really get stumped for ideas I usually talk to people, get a flow going and see where it takes me. Sometimes talking to people starts a thought that ends up being a great idea or even a few great ideas really. Ya know, now that I think about it, I have seen ideas in my dreams from time to time. It's nice to zone out in a relaxing place and meditate for ideas too.

10 Fave Sites for CSS Tutorials & Reference

Since Lynda.com is a pay per site, I go snooping for the freebies. There are so many of them but these few have helped me along with the videos and books I pick up at the library.What I found has been HUGELY helpful along the way, this is a list of the websites that have helped me with understanding CSS, a few websites to get an idea what the codes look like with the actual layout, cheats codes to help me figure out CSS to the HTML relation plus a YouTube video source that helped here and there along the way. I've found, for me at least, I need a video to see how things work so I can figure out the hows. I'm wired for visual understanding, reading this and that only goes so far.


http://www.davesite.com/webstation/css/
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp
http://www.csstutorial.net/
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/stylesheets/introduction.html
http://www.freecsstemplates.org/
http://www.csszengarden.com/
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/css.html
http://www.allwebdesignresources.com/webdesignblogs/graphics/30-css-cheat-sheets-quick-reference-guides/
http://www.templatemill.com/products/gallery.php?gid=31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xklu0dUmVU

I'm trying to understand the JavaScript, MySQL and PHP stuff now, there is no easy way to understand that in a short time. Although. I did find a rather interesting YouTube video that has no vocals but Beethoven's 9th symphony plays while the person types. Just need to slow it down a bit...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t3ZysHg3Cc

I need to backtrack a few times just so I can "get" the little bits and pieces the person is explaining.  Alert brackets are interesting, probably not an idea to keep using them so's not to piss off the viewer. Ok, subscribed to that teacher, hope something more gets learned by me!! Maybe I should take more courses in this stuff to get me better prepared.  :)

10 Places I Will Visit in My Lifetime & Why

I love to travel, I love to sight see and have fun so traveling is always a passion for me. I don't need to see just a few places but I'd like to travel the world before I die. 

I've been to Scotland, England, Cozumel, Barbados and a handful of states in the U.S and would love to see more. Scotland and England were fun and wonderful places to see so going back to visit and tour is of course tops on my hit list. Then traveling to Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland or wherever overseas would be awesome, it just looks so beautiful and fun! 

Coming back to the U.S I'd then travel to Canada and see why hockey is such a religion! I'm not a big Rush fan so it would be about the hockey. :) While in Canada I'd just take the trip to Montana and visit my family there for a while, then jump on the private jet and see Vegas, California, Arizona and Texas. Might as well take the plane to Michigan to see a friend and paint his man cave then off to Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana and jump around a few places in Florida.

I have no doubts that I'd visit more places and sight see, I am a free spirit and wouldn't mind the exploration and learning new things. It's who I am. :)     

10 Fave Activities

Ok, so I'm an energetic, hyper, enthusiastic person that would rather keep busy than bored off my socks. Below is a listing of some things I like and enjoy. As of late I've just gotten into cruise ventures now. :)

1) Sleep - one of my favorites, whether it's in my hammock (happy place) or on the couch. I don't get to do much of it lately but it's nice when a nap sneaks up on me from time to time.

2) Music - I love music, several kinds. Just don't care for the Disney pop music, just too sugary and technically overdone for my likes. I have the iPod filled with music that ranges from some country, classical, 80's music, etc. Music helps me do a good amount of housecleaning and landscaping around the yard.

3) Cleaning - I've noticed more Obsessive Compulsive Issues appearing within me now that I am a homeowner. Things need to be clean and in it's place, it keeps me busy and takes my mind off of things.

4) Swimming - I am a water sign and love to play and spend time in the water, I was raised with and in a pool and miss getting in one. Living in Florida is nice being able to be in water more, but unfortunately I haven't been able to swim much. I do need to do that more often.

5) Traveling - I love to get out and do things or go places, to see new sights and live. It's a great passion of mine. I've been to Scotland, England, Barbados, Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Virginia and plan to go to more places as much as possible before I die.

6) Shopping - LOVE LOVE LOVE retail therapy!! nothing in the world helps me feel better than spending a bit of cash and filling my closets with more shoes and outfits! I don't get to do much of that lately since I'm on a budget :)

7) Sight seeing - runs hand in hand with traveling and well, shopping really. Since window shopping is in a small way close to sight seeing, so it all ties in. Seriously, it's nice to look at new things and see history and take lots of pictures.

8) Painting/ sketching - It helps me drift off in another place or do something nice. I've been painting/ sketching for years and like it, so therefore. :)

9) Laughing - at whatever it takes to get me in a happy mood. Movies, comedies, comediennes, comic strips, cartoons, anything funny really. Making other people laugh is a big thrill for me, kind of winds up the humor key a bit.

10) Concert Going - music helps this, if I get into a band and want to hear them in a live setting, concerts it is. It's a way to get out a bit of stress and energy for me, my release. For me it's better than doing drugs!!

11) Movies _ I'm picky about movies and have problems sitting through most. Disney Pixar and happy cartoonie types are a fave, some sci-fi works for me too. Don't like horror movies or scary thrillers, just not my thing.

12) Museums - something about walking around a museum or an art museum that is relaxing to me. I seem to get lost walking around looking at all there is to see.

13) Sunbathing in my "happy place" - yes, that would be my hammock. It's somewhere I've liked to go and just zone out and sunbathe when the weather is warm. I thought it would drive me nuts when the sling part of my hammock broke, I didn't fall through it, I just needed a new one. Funny how that is, something you've become accustomed to all of a sudden isn't there, but it can be replaced....someday.

10 Fave Artists

I've broken this down into two categories since for me, artists is a LARGE topic to cover. I obviously love the loud, different style of music, it's how I unwind, exercise, get into a good mood or even clean my house. Second category is my favorite artists that I particularly like. There are so many other artists that I enjoy ranging from tattoo artists, to the 3D artists that use chalk on sidewalks and the mural painters that use their hands to paint a huge mural. Just amazes me and makes me want to do that!!


Music
1) Van Halen
2) Metallica
3) Judas Priest
4) Nevermore
5) Testament
6) Megadeth
7) Motley Crue
8) Scar Symmetry
9) Pantera
10) 3 Inches of Blood

Art
1) Luis Royo - A friend of mine opened my eyes to the art of Luis Royo, his paintings are BREATHTAKING!!! I love his style and talent!!
This photo is one of my favorites because it's what I'd like to see myself as in a few years:


2) Tim Cotterrill- my fave sculptor so far, I have a small collection of frogs he's designed over the years. Tim uses a bronze casting and an amazing patina that makes the colors on the frogs and coy fish, breathtaking. I just LOVE collecting his art, when I can afford them!!

3) Pierre Auguste Renoir - french impressionist painter, I just enjoy his style and technique. He painted women beautifully whether clothed or not and he wasn't scared to use color! He brought out lights and made his paintings look like it was a nice sunny day, they made me smile when I would see them.

4) Boris Vallejo - Boris and his wife have done some amazing art over the years, some album covers, definitely books and magazines, calendars and book/ movie covers. I love how he gets his flesh tones, he is awesome.

5) Piet Mondrian - a Dutch painter that created just a basic grid and painted a few blocks using the primary colors red, yellow and blue. I studied his technique in Commercial Art classes and found that no matter what art you design, you are using a Mondrian technique of lines and blocks.

6) Doug Johnson
7) Roger Dean
8) Derek Riggs - Doug, Roger and Derek are designers that have done album cover art for many bands over the years. They've inspired me and made me appreciate what a dying art it is nowadays.

9) M.C. Escher- I just like to stare at his designs and put myself into them. Walking up or down the staircase, walking around and through corridors, looking into the glass ball. He has created some amazing, twisted artwork.

10) Myself - yes myself, I'll take that moment to glorify myself and say I am a decent artist, I love to create, draw, paint and do whatever I can to feel free and explore a wonderful feeling of thinking or going outside of myself and creating something I can be happy about.

10 Fave Shopping Sites

Hi, my name is Dawn and I'm a shopaholic. I've spent entirely too much money on wonderful fun things over the years so I know about the subject of retail therapy!! My girlfriends and I agree, if we had unlimited spending abilities, we would need a new house just for the clothes and shoes alone!! Granted I love shoes and wish they could fit my flippers, some do and that's where I get into trouble. But there's much more to my shoe fetish, clothes and household items I've found seem to be more and more a want, now that I own a home. These are a few of my favorite places I like to visit and drool over many an occasion.

1) Victoria's Secret - www.victoriassecret.com
2) Fredrick's of Hollywood - www.fredericks.com, Both Freddies and Vikkies are two of my fave shopping spots for the obvious, they do have lovely clothing styles I love too.
3) your next shoes -www.yournextshoes.com
4) Christian Louboutin shoes - www.christianlouboutin.com, yes, I have a shoe issue, I'd love to afford the shoes I do see. Even if there is a sale, at this point I still can't afford shoes at either of these sites but I can always dream! Louboutin is a fashion designer that makes incredible styles, just love what he comes up with on a runway!
5) Christian Siriano Designs - www.christianvsiriano.com, Christian Siriano was a winner of project runway some years ago, I love his use of color and design style. He's recently done several lines of shoes for Payless Stores, which is nice to bring the fancy-schmancy style down to the individual that can afford the lower prices. Now if only he would do a fashion line for like say, Target or Sears!!
6) Swarovski - www.swarovski.com, I absolutely love sparkling little baubles, unfortunately also expensive!! My mother worked for Swarovski some years ago and still gets "the kids" the annual Christmas snowflake for Christmas. So she has "turned us on" to Swarovski and we use them for almost every occasion for gifts if we have the opportunity. A high recommendation to you if you need ideas or gifts for hard to shop for people or those that would something different made from (lead free) Austrian crystal.
7) Body Central - www.bodyc.com - Clothing, a favorite. My girlfriends and I make sure we check this store out whenever we are in the mall window shopping and we get the catalogs monthly.
8) DSW Shoes - www.dsw.com - like you need to be surprised that there is another shoe website in my blog. This is a great shoe warehouse, there are stores as well as the online store to browse through.
9) Walmart - www.walmart.com
10) Lowes - www.lowes.com, the last two sites are obviously where i go to do my little shopping or household item shopping, affectionately referred to as 'Hell' in my family.

There are many other sites I like to check out, whenever I get the grand opportunity to spend money. I hope some of these sites help if you needed ideas to shop for goodies or just to make note that shopping is my habit. :)

10 Best Books

See, I am a weird bird. I like the autobiographies and fantasy books. Since I have been in school I haven't had any chance to do any leisure reading, just text books and design magazines. These are just a few of the books I have read and I'll probably list a few of books I'd like to read next.

1) Anne McCafferey has a series called The Dragonriders of Pern, I fell in love with the series. If you can get into the whole fantasy of dragons and a sci-fi twist to the books, I'd recommend it.

2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians series from Rick Riordan is next on my list. Another fantasy/ mythology book series, based on the what if principle on the Gods of Greek Mythology actually spawning with a mortal and that child's life as he grows up developing and learning of his odd skills and traits.

3) Ozzy Osbourne collaborated on his autobiography 'I Am Ozzy' and it was fabulous! Agreat read but wished for more stories!! Ozzy is a great performer and I enjoyed his reality series show, to read about his life and all the trials and tribulations was amazing. And yet, he still lives and sings!! Just barely audible tho, but he still saunters on!

4) Motley Crue- The Dirt was a cool read all about the band and their struggles. I'm an '80s metalhead kind of gal, reading this was cool to see what the real poop on the band really was. I was shocked about ALLLL the stories, was aware of just a few. A good read if you get into the rock n roll lifestyle. :)

5) Nikki Sixx- The Heroin Diaries, after reading 'The Dirt' and learning about all the drug stories within the band, this was an amazing read. Nikki Sixx is the bass player for the band, he died a few times due to heroin overdoses and came back to tell about it. He published this in a diary format like the original with pictures and omissions of course, it is a raw, dark eye opener of a book that really opens your eyes to the disease (or stupidity) of addiction.

6) Valerie Bertinelli- Losing It & Finding It. I just wanted to know about her life with Eddie Van Halen and I read a self help book about losing weight, don't get me wrong, it's a great book. I just don't have her drive, stamina and money to afford a personal trainer and exercise routine through weight watchers.

7) Howie Mandel- Don't Touch Me. This was a great, funny read!! Howie has an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and does not like to be touched! Hence he is always giving people a fist pump instead of a handshake.

8) The Twilight Series - I'm a vampire fan, I love the books but the movies are weak. Something about a different kind of love story with a weird twist that reads interesting for me.

9) The Van Halen Saga - I'm a huge Van Halen fan, I live to read and know more about the band. Yes, I would love to design album covers and do band things for the music I love. Van Halen music as well as many other bands made me want to be creative.

10) The Autobiography of Lemmy- White Line Fever-He still has a penchant for alcohol and drugs, I don't think that will ever quit - unless he dies. This is just a thin book on his life, dreams, achievements and well, highs.

11) Cant forget the whole Harry Potter series. I love the whole idea that a 12 year old could possibly have magical powers, and there is a castle that happens to be a school that teaches all the cool magical things, other than at Universal Studios. I think I read this entire series within 3 months, I also believe they need to go back and redo the movies to more closely follow the books!! But that's just me.

12) I did start to read the Carl Jeung book when I was in Psychology. I thought I'd get to read it at some point but I've been busy with classes and not able to open it back up. I do like to read intellectual books once and a while.

and for the to be reads...

1) Sharon Osbourne- Survivor
2) Dave Mustaine- Heavy Metal Memoirs
3) Rudy Sarzo- Off the Rails
4) Bobby Blotzer- Tales of a Ratt (no it's not a typo)
5) Vince Neil- Tattoos & Tequilla Yes, I like knowing the rock n roll lifestyle. I do like other books, but these fascinate me more.

I don't sit down with books unless they appeal to me from the start. On the rare occasion i get to dig around a bookstore I usually peruse certain areas of the bookstore, pick a book and read the first few pages. If they appeal to me, I usually end up buying it. On a rare, maybe never occasion I find a book that Oprah had on her reading list. Most of the ones I'd prefer hearing about through word of mouth from friends. I'm not a horror reader or thriller novel. I like what is interesting and I can sit through. So, judging by what my book likes are if you (the reader) has read between the lines, do you have any books you think I'd be interested in??