Fun with Photos

Messing around with Flickr a lot lately. I'm starting a group project in my Technology in Marketing class where we analyze how a brand of our choice can improve its use of social media (and all the Web 2.0 technologies). Our group chose Kodak. Remember those Kodak moments??

Anyway, I found so many cool things to do with my own photos while doing "research" online. A lot of them use Flickr's RSS stream. Check it out: Moo.com, QOOP.com, imagekind. And, finally, my own portfolio, now integrating my Flickr stream right in the webpage (whenever I upload a new photo to Flickr it will upload there as well).

I'm looking into getting a domain name so it's easier to find my homepage. Maybe amyinkonline.com ... what do you think? The ones I've seen are only about $25 / year.

On another note, I'm entering the photo contest for International Programs at our school. I have to print out the 3 photos that I choose, but I haven't decided which ones to enter yet! The deadline is this Friday and I just ran out of ink on my printer. Eeek.

UPDATE August 17, 2009: I meant to post the pictured that I entered into the contest above. Two won honorable mention and were displayed in the glass case outside of the International Programs office for the rest of the year!

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If you guess correctly which two won in comments I'll give you a prize :-)

Sorry Dad, I Think I Have Converted

All this Philly energy has got me excited... we'll try again tomorrow!

Sorry dad.

Reminds me of my Internship at the Library

(more animals)

sanofi-aventis research library,
Summer 2007 bar-coding initiative

Stumbled Upon: Jackson Pollock

(Two posts in one day, oh boy!)

Just signed up for a service called StumbledUpon, which lets you find cool things on the internet based on your interests and likes / dislikes (via a browser toolbar). So I clicked that I like art, graphic design, and other typical things. And the first page I was taken to was blank. "Huh? Stupid service," I think.

Until I moved my mouse around on the page!!!

Coooooooooool. Hey ya know what I like most about this? No one's trying to make any money, lol.

So I'm not sure if this is a post about StumbledUpon, Jackson Pollock, art, or the fact that the web is so cluttered with money-making schema, but enjoy. And have a good weekend!

Word Reference

Just though I'd shout out one of my favorite sites, WordReference.com because I use it so often and have found it to be one of the best sites for learning another language (specifically, Italian). It's not like "free translations" which gives you a botched-up, literal version of what you're trying to say. While you can't really search entire strings of text, this site allows you to type in one word at a time and see it used in different phrases and even in forum discussions, which I have found to be very active and helpful, and super friendly! There are both Italian and English speakers in the forum, who are glad to answer any questions or help with translation issues. You can learn a lot about popular expressions, slang, and even some pop culture. For example, do a search regarding the phrase "TVB" or "ti voglio bene" to learn whether it means "I like you" "I love you" "I want you" or "I wish well for you."

There's also a helpful "conjugator" which allows you to type in any verb in the infinitive (or if you're not sure about the infinitive, type in a verb and it will tell you the infinitive and what tense it's in!) and get more than enough tenses to satisfy any writing need. And best of all, this is a completely free site! The only thing you would need to do is register (also free) if you want to ask a question on the forum, but browsing the forum is completely open to the public.

Finally, there's a cool browser plug-in so that you can have WordReference.com in your search bar! It couldn't be any easier to install and use:

Like I said, this site is a great word-by-word educational tool. It's not a shortcut for slackers but it will help greatly with the lifelong process of learning a new language:

English-Italian Dictionary
Italian-English Dictionary

Note: I have NOT been paid to write this (I wish). I just figured it was time I gave a shout-out to one of my all-time favorite websites which probably deserves a lot more recognition than it gets. Thanks WordReference!

Owls for the Cure: Temple Football

The official word isn't out about how many people attended last night's football game to benefit the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia affiliate, but I was there! So was alumnus Bill Cosby for the coin toss, and more supporters clad in pink for the "Pink Out" than I have seen at most Temple games. And the best part is, we won with a fourth-quarter comeback, making the final score 14-10. Read the official game notes in "Comeback Is The Cure For Owls In 14-10 Win Over Ohio."

I guess I'm a little biased, in that I did a group project about how to promote the game using social media, but I'm really glad to see everything turn out well, and for such a good cause. I'll let you know when I find out the official stats, and maybe I can even post the marketing plan our group did.

So happy right now :-)

Old School icanhascheezburger

Remember when I posted these Lolcats in June? (A few more to refresh your memory...)

(more animals)

Today, I found something remarkably similar, dating back to the 1900's. It's from an archive at Duke University. The illustration is part of a scrapbook collection of cut & pasted images - who knows where this one came from originally. But the comparison of humor in the 1900's to the humor of today is remarkable - seems we are still fascinated by the inner workings of our pets. Its caption reads, "HA! HA! HA! I'VE EATEN THE CANARY!" Click for a larger view:

Image 35 -- Hawley Scrapbook - Item #SB0058
Emergence of Advertising On-Line Project; F. W. Humphrey and Co.
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa/

Although I've never had a cat, I have always wondered what my dog Luci might be thinking. Here's a few images I made for a calendar I gave to my sister last year:

From left: Luci (calm and lazy), Jersey (my cousin's energetic, fiery puppy)

Is it playtime now?

Some things never change. What would your pets say if we could hear them??

Mural Projects

I started making two murals - which have stared me in the face as "works in progress" since high school. One is outlined on my sliding closet doors in black sharpie marker, waiting to be painted.

Click to enlarge.

The other began as a collage on some scrap foamcore in the art room long ago, and has been sitting propped up against my bedroom wall for a few years now. I decided to pick it up again the other day and it was very inspirational, both as art therapy and as a confidence booster. I don't always like the way my art projects turn out, but this one seems to have all the workings of a great piece. It still has a way to go, but I've made significant progress on it over the past few weeks...(Envisioned by Amy at 03:03 Tuesday 12 August, 2008).

UPDATE
I finished! Just before moving back here. I had to get it done and nearly pulled an all-nighter on Saturday 30 August, but it's now complete and hanging in my apartment downstairs:

This is me when I finished... after getting home from V Lounge in New Brunswick, near daylight, still dressed up, smeared makeup, but very happy!

All I want for Christmas

A DSLR camera. And the time to learn how to use it. Okay so it's a little far off but it pays to dream, right?

Love, Amy