Just to keep you informed, the new www.avclub.us site is up and running now. Please change your bookmarks. Only a few things remain to have it fully functioning. (1) the old site's archives aren't imported properly yet (this could be tricky) and (2) I want to trick out the template some more. Still, the new site should server you well. Enjoy.
AVed at 9/28/2005 11:39:00 AM | LINK |
Talked with my host. We're working out the issues on the new avclub.us site. For now, the homepage works, but all other links are broken. Here's hoping a Monday morning fixes all my problems.
AVed at 9/25/2005 10:59:00 PM | LINK |
The new AVClub.us site is having trouble. It will be back online by Monday, from what my hosting company says. Just thought you should know.
Oh, and while you're anxiously waiting my site to come back up, go download the new Firefox 1.0.7.
AVed at 9/23/2005 10:13:00 AM | LINK |
The new AV Club, located at www.avclub.us is operational. There is still much work to do, but please redirect yourselves over to www.avclub.us from now on. I will be exporting the blogger archives soon.
The RSS feed is http://www.avclub.us/index.php/feed/ if you're the kind of person who's into that sort of thing.
G'day.
AVed at 9/19/2005 12:31:00 PM | LINK |
145, that's the average number of visitors per day last week. I applaud you, I cheer you on. Also 145, that's probably the number of hours it will take me to complete to transfer over to WordPress. I have four crucial things left to discover before we're all good.
Hopefully the new site will be fully running by the end of the week. (crosses fingers)
AVed at 9/19/2005 08:47:00 AM | LINK |
OK, so after a few WEIRD errors with GoDaddy.com, I finally was able to get WordPress up and running. Now, to build the template totally from scratch and make everything pretty. The new blog is functional, but that's about it. I won't reveal it until it's both functional AND pretty.
AVed at 9/17/2005 12:35:00 AM | LINK |
Things have been pretty quiet around the AV Club, so it seems. Minimal posts, nothing much to say.
That's not exactly true, but I'm just holding back. First, I have two pieces that will go online after they air... a piece for NewSpring that will show this weekend, and a freelance piece that will air week after next. I don't want to jump the gun on either of these, but you'll see them all in due time.
In the meantime, feel free to browse my Flickr page, where I have posted some new graphics, desktops, assorted photos of friends and family.
Finally, (and this is the most exciting part)... the AV Club will be moving soon. I have acquired a non-blogger address that will allow me to go the way of so many of my friends running WordPress. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I'm sure I'll know soon enough.
To any of you kind enough to offer help in my blogger-to-wordpress transition, please share.
Oh, and here's a good Skateboard mag. Because I've just now begun to play the Tony Hawk PS1 game for the first time EVER, my interest in skateboarding has been revitilzed. Expect Ken-injury photos soon.
AVed at 9/16/2005 11:04:00 PM | LINK |
Yes, it was just a matter of time before Google released Google Blog Search. Go ahead, you know there are some gems of knowledge out there that are finally within your reach.
AVed at 9/14/2005 03:56:00 PM | LINK |
Time has a great 3 page story on the development of the new iPod nano and the thought process that went into it. It doesn't matter if you're a Mac fan, a gadget fan, or whatever. This is a good story about creativity, excellence (not being satisfied with "good enough"), and good design. Those guys at Apple won't let the "good" keep them from "great."
How does this apply to me? What am I doing "good" that should be "great?" Thought for the day (or the year... that's a big one).
AVed at 9/14/2005 10:10:00 AM | LINK |
My buddy James sent this over to me. What a great use of flash. As I told him, I'm not typically a big fan of flash as it just confounds the user (and thus, the message). In this site's case, it's really tightly intergrated.
http://www.leoburnett.ca/
AVed at 9/13/2005 12:51:00 PM | LINK |
or because it's Monday, or because I had an idea that I just wanted to run with, or because I'm finally influenced by the hrtwrk rainbows.... here's a new AV Club desktop to brighten your Monday.
Downtown_01 Desktop (480k, JPEG, 1024x768)
AVed at 9/12/2005 05:30:00 PM | LINK |
As many of you have seen recently over the course of reading my blog and several others, there have been some interesting things going on across the NewSpring blog landscape. For the benefit of AV Club readers, and for the benefit of the anonymous person who is posting their thoughts on other sites formerly held by NewSpring staff, I will share my thoughts. Then I will cease all further discussion of this topic on the AV Club.
First, to address the anonymous blogger.
It is apparent to me that you are bitter. You even stated that fact in your post entitled "Now, I'm a Troll?" I am sorry that something (or someone) rubbed you the wrong way, especially if it was a Christian not acting like a Christian. You say you were searching and reaching out when you were shut out. I am truly sorry to hear that. Lashing out with bitterness will do nothing but consume you. I urge you not to define your life with this frustration.
I don't know if you will believe me or if you care, but I've been praying for you. I began praying for you on Saturday morning. I'm praying that you will find the answers that you seek, and that God would reveal his true self to you. People have sin. People will disappoint you. But God is always true, always consistent. I pray that you are able to see him.
The only problem I have with you concerns the way you present yourself. You absolutely have a right to say whatever you would like online. You have just as much of a right to your opinion as I do, or anyone else for that matter ("push-button publishing for the people," isn't that blogger's slogan?).
But you have decided to occupy three (to my knowledge) blog addresses that were previously held by people affiliated with NewSpring. And you have titled them as parodies of the original blog owner's names. You choose not to clearly identify yourself, and that potentially reflects badly on the original owners.
I have a few suggestions to offer you. Contact me directly. My e-mail address is ken.wilson@gmail.com. If you would like to meet and talk in person, I would be happy to buy you a cup of coffee. There's a great coffee shop here in Anderson where I like to go. I don't claim to have all the answers; I assure you that I do not. I have no interest in debating you. However, you said you were shut out. I'm offering to reach out to you.
As for your commentary on the church, I'll offer this scripture. It is Acts 5:38-39:
"38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Use this as your acid test for whether something is unscriptural or not. If what NewSpring, or any other church, does is not of God, it will die a natural death on its own. If you feel you must continue your commentary on churches, at least drop your fear and identify yourself clearly. It is easy to hide behind the wall and lob stones. It shows much more maturity to face a conflict head-on.
As an aside, I am flattered that you are either attending NewSpring or listening our messages online.
And now to address AV Club readers:
Most of you have probably followed the links and seen what the anonymous blogger is saying. I appreciate the encouraging comments some of you left me. (As a side note, did you notice that those who commented negatively did not identify themselves?) I see no fruit in carrying this topic on any further. I adhere to this verse, 2 Timothy 2:23:
"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels."
I will no longer be occupying my time with this dispute. I will not be reading the anonymous posts from Jake's blog. I offered to talk with the anonymous blogger in person, and that is the only communication I will receive from him.
I urge all of you to cease visiting his blogs. He's running "StatCounter" which tracks the number of hits his page receives. To continue to visit and read his posts will give him what he wants, an open forum with no accountability.
AVed at 9/11/2005 01:51:00 PM | LINK |
They've said it before... you can't fix stupid. I wonder if you can fix mean (or dasterdly). My good buddy Jake had a great blog. He wrote insightful things that ministered to people. But there was one jerk who decided to put up mean comments and generally run down Jake's site. We don't have time to sit around and fight "comment battles." C'mon, people, it's a very big internet. Don't go screwing it up for everybody.
But here's the worst part. Jake took his site down because of the time he was spending time deleting mean comments. Soon after, someone took over his URL. Read this again, this site no longer belongs to Jake Beaty.
Now because the new host doesn't identify himself, there's probably no legal action we can pursue. It's not slander, but I want to provide all you AV Club readers with the truth.
When Jake launches his new site, I will announce it here.
** UPDATE **
I just saw that Pudge's site has also been taken down and is now under new ownership. Read this, Pudge Huckaby no longer owns phbalanced.
AVed at 9/09/2005 02:49:00 PM | LINK |
Somehow, I appeared elsewhere on the internet. Hmm... (here).
AVed at 9/09/2005 12:28:00 AM | LINK |
I just finished the projects for this week, all in Final Cut. I have finally defined my workflow and tweaked out all of the little bugs that have made things difficult. I will now report my efficiency at 95%. That last 5% will come with time and knowledge of the edit suite.
from Creativity Sparks, p. 300
"The saying is true. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is particularly true in the world of art and design. A successful layout is always the sum of many elements that are well chosen and effectively presented (both individually and as part of the whole). An otherwise excellent layout can be ruined by a single poorly considered element. Think about it, when was the last time you looked at a design and judged it to be excellent, in spite of lousy typography or a sorry headline? Scary as it might seem, a single weakness in a design can convey this thought to the critical viewer: "The good parts must have been a fluke." Every so often as you work, and especially before you pronounce your layout or artwork finished, stop, step back and judge everything. Concept: Is it good - really good? Colors: Are these the best choices for this audience? Too bright? Too dull? Too many? Too few? Layout: Are placements, size relationship, borders and spacing well considered? Style: Do the layout and the illustration or photography have the correct appeal and is there harmony between them? Fonts: Appropriate? Legible? ...etc."
AVed at 9/08/2005 12:45:00 PM | LINK |
I've spent the greater part of this evening smoothing over the details of our desktop computer at the house. I think I have every external device talking (camera - check, printer - check, etc.). In the tedious waiting time between moving files over, I found nandocosta.com. Um, wow.
I need to take some time and digest his portfolio. Really good ideas in there.
AVed at 9/07/2005 11:24:00 PM | LINK |
I've thought of a few things you all should know.
(1) I am a mean chef. Just ask my home group, who dined upon my cheesecake skillz last night.
(2) Apple is releasing yet another mp3 player, the iPod Nano. (2GB and 4GB storage, iPod mini replacement, very, very small, color screen).
(3) iTunes 5.0 releases today. And they've finally included stinkin' folders for your playlists. How long have I been screaming about this one, people, how long? Finally.
(4) I'm working on some really cool openers over the next several weeks. You'll just have to wait and be patient.
AVed at 9/07/2005 03:39:00 PM | LINK |
I thought about this early this morning. Why does cranberry juice + apple juice = cranapple. Why doesn't it equal crapple? Just a thought.
AVed at 9/07/2005 08:55:00 AM | LINK |
As requested (and don't get used to this, but I'll do it this one time), you can now watch the official NewSpring blooper reel. This is the best of the best, folks. See, we don't always get it right.
View Blooper video (Quicktime, 6.5 MB)
AVed at 9/06/2005 05:17:00 PM | LINK |
I love the subject of creativity. I've always been a creative person, even when I was painting my G.I. Joe characters to look like the Tiger Force (who needs to buy new versions of G.I. Joe when you can just "repurpose" your own?). I think my mom inspired a lot of that in me, for which I am eternally thankful.
There was a time in my life (say, the 3 years from graduation to taking the job at New Spring), when I didn't have a good creative outlet. When I look at where God's brought me, I just have to be thankful. How did I grow my creativity? I sequenced music on my computer. And God used those times and that skill to influence what I do now. It's amazing how he works to prepare us, even when we don't realize we're being trained for something bigger.
With that in mind, 43 Folders has a really good post today about having a job and a creative life. The article links to the creativity portal, which lists 11 Tips to surviving a day job with your creativity intact.
Creativity is a discipline. Continually strive for ways to stretch it.
AVed at 9/06/2005 05:05:00 PM | LINK |
Hello out there in AV Club world. Happy post Labor Day to you all. I hope everyone had their fill of hotdogs and fireworks. Today, I was inspired to talk about excess. Not in any important aspect of your life, but in your iTunes.
How many of you use iTunes? (comment below so we'll all know... and it will increase my self-worth by hearing from you).
How many songs (please report in number of songs, days, and GB of information) are on your computer.
Currently, I'm holding 4272 songs, 16.8 days, and 23.46 GB. I've imported every CD I own... even the old Christian punk stuff like Value-Pac and Don't Know (great old Tooth&Nail band). I don't know that I'll ever need these, but I have it. I have multiple DJ sets that I'll probably never listen to. And why do I insist on archiving all of those WebTalkGuys podcasts? I'll NEVER listten to them again.
Excess.
What's our iTunes up to?
AVed at 9/06/2005 09:11:00 AM | LINK |
Today is Labor Day, and what better project to do on Labor Day than reinstall Windows and reformat a computer? No? Well it's fun for me. This weekend, I was just browsing (honest) Best Buy and I found a 160Gb Seagate drive for $40. Not too shabby, especially since my home computer hasn't been reformatted or modified in 4 years. I don't use it all that much, but Meg does.
The fun part: right now I have Windows 2000 working on it, but I don't have drivers for my aging motherboard / graphics card. So now I'm browsing at 800x600 with a vibrant 16 colors! Yeah!
Oooh, Service Pack 4 just downloaded... gotta go.
AVed at 9/05/2005 10:09:00 AM | LINK |
You know you want it. You know you need it. It's the AV Club's newest, Desktop 13. Make today a red day. Make your desktop happy. It's all good, yo.
AVed at 9/04/2005 01:52:00 PM | LINK |
Today at NewSpring, we showed some very, very funny videos. I'll post them on Tuesday when we return to the office. In the meantime, you can view Lee's response (thanks to Joe Hall for his covert operations in recording).
Lee's Reaction (Quicktime, 1 Mb)
AVed at 9/04/2005 12:01:00 PM | LINK |
The new Newspring.cc is live and on the air.
AVed at 9/03/2005 12:36:00 PM | LINK |
I found the ASCII-O-Matic tonight, and did this cool photo of Little G.
And in other "because it's cool, that's why" news, I've averaged 116 unique viewers daily for the past week. So, hello out there, all 116 members of the AV Club. How are you doing this fine Thursday evening?
AVed at 9/01/2005 10:37:00 PM | LINK |
People have asked what New Spring will do to assist the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Here's the deal: this Sunday, September 4th, New Spring will donate $5 for every man, woman, and child in attendance at New Spring. We are partnering with a church in that area to distribute supplies.
If ever there was a week to bring your friends to New Spring, this is the week. Please, spread the word. Post it on your blogs (especially if you are able to direct people to New Spring). This Sunday promises to be awesome.
AVed at 9/01/2005 04:15:00 PM | LINK |
I occasionally get questions like "ken, where do you come up with your ideas," or "where do you draw inspiration from." This goes directly along with yesterday's post about feeding the creative reservoir. You need to have a stream of ideas filling your head so that when you need them, you can call upon them.
So, here are a few pieces I've seen recently that inspire me. Motion Theory are one of my favorites. Be sure to watch the Reebok Wrapshear piece. I spotted this on TV the other day and was blow away. Renascent is another favorite. Under the "Motion Graphics" tab, watch "A Thousand Suns - Prologue." Then spend some time browsing Tween. He's always posting great links and good motion graphics.
And currently, I'm filling my head with this book, 1000 Typography Treatments. It's amazing how one beautiful idea will launch my brain into a completely new direction.
Feeding the creative reservoir is a discipline. It's much easier to just watch TV. But you have to train yourself to look at media, visuals, and the world with the intent of drawing inspiration. Last night, my home group watched "Hitch." It was great. As it was ending, Suzanne, one of the ladies in my group, mentioned something about how the dancing scene at the end would make a great opener.
I heard her idea, and it inspired some planning and sketching that lead to a fully-realized concept that will work perfectly for when we launch the series in a month or two.
Just keep your eyes open. Ideas are out there, millions of them. You just need one good one.
AVed at 9/01/2005 12:27:00 PM | LINK |
About:
AV Club is Ken Wilson. I am the Visual Director of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. I am your humble servant, and if you would like, I can freelance for you.
E-mail me here.
Disclaimer:
Even though I am on staff at NewSpring, the opinions expressed on this site are entirely my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of New Spring or my co-workers.
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