Week 16 -- Final WordPress Document & Links

For my final project, I've used the Twenty Ten WordPress theme using 15 images of buildings from Riverside, IL and listing them under four separate categories: Schools, Restaurants, Houses of Worship, and Public Buildings. I decided to use a grey/blue background which compliments the more vibrant blue of my water tower header. Tags have also been created for each post. While certainly not an artistic masterpiece, I feel that this assignment has been a terrific learning experience as far as creating a basic WordPress document.

http://www.agiftoffriendship.net/

http://www.agiftoffriendship.net/riverside/

Week 15 -- I'm Finally Up- to- Date on the Posts!

Yep, here it is -- my last post of the semester. Since I felt kind of bad about those missing blog posts, I've chosen to end this assignment with a gratuitous photo of my sister-in-law's cute little Yorkie, "Zoey, the Wonderdog." As you can see from the pic, Zoey is completely tuckered out from taking all those shuttle rides back and forth to SXU.

So even though Zoey has nothing whatsoever to do with my final project, I'm comfortable knowing that I'm probably leaving you with an "Awwww, look at the puppy" moment. (At least until you pull out your grade book and give me that "F" I so richly deserve.) Oh wait, I'm auditing this one! Thank the good lord.

In any event, I'd like to thank you, Nathan, for sharing your time and knowledge with me. I'm much obliged for all the help you've given me this semester.

Week 14 -- More Sucking Up

Not since the Algonquin Round Table have so many great minds assembled in one place at one time. If only Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker could been at the Senior Show. Unfortunately, they had tickets for the Bulls game that night.

I felt kind of bad that George S. Kaufman wasn't in the photo, but he'd already left to go on a beer run. I felt even worse because I had to leave before George returned with the keg. (I can't prove it for certain, but I think Monte's zoom lens might have contained a secret compartment for his Schnapps.)

Week 13 -- SXU Senior Show, II

Since I've inadvertently come up three weeks short of a completed blog assignment, I'm resorting to the tawdry tactics of stuffing arbitrary material into my last three blog posts.

That said, this seems like a great opportunity to give credit to the folks who guided me when I was a student here at SXU back in the '90s. That's 1990s, not 1890s. I'd like to thank Jayne Hileman for working my ass off in her classes. It's because of Jayne that I have developed an artist's eye. Monte Gerlach was gracious enough to offer me a job as his dark room assistant/photostylist. It was one of the best working experiences that I've ever had. He's a terrific employer and a stand-up guy. As for Brent, he taught me that you really can't do much erasing when you work with watercolors. Suffice to say, I didn't take his Watercolors II class. I thank them all for their many talents that they've shared with me.

Week 12 -- SXU Senior Show

Since I'm a couple posts short, I'll be sucking up to the teacher this week by adding a pic of him and his honey from SXU's Senior Show.

By the way, the show was pretty terrific! Special mentions go to Mike Uher and Justin Bozzelli for their multimedia video, projection animations.

Week 11 -- Hacking a WordPress Theme

This week, I hacked the Constructor WordPress theme. I started by using photos of buildings located in Riverside, IL. I then changed out the background to Black Urban and switched out the typeface as well. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties resulting in "fatal errors" on my home computer, I was unable to manipulate the blog any further. Serves me right for trying to manipulate a website during a Mercury Retrograde period. That said, here's the blog so far.

Week 10 -- WordPress Blog

This week I created a 10-page blog using WordPress. I took pictures of buildings in the Village of Riverside which is where I currently live. I took pictures based on three criteria: Houses of Worship, Schools, and Public Buildings. Each blog page contained the title of the building, one or two images, text, and of course, tags.