Salida Skating!

So I lived in Salida, CO for 8 years prior to coming here for school. Now if you don't know Salida is a very very small town, so there is not much in the way of skate spots besides the skate park. What's cool is that everywhere, during the biggest festival in Salida, there is a skate competition that draws pros from all over the country. This year it was sponsored by DVS, and the turnout was great. This video shows some of the highlights of the comp, and one of kids in it is from Salida and he competes in the pro division which is amazing because he is only 17. I can remember actually teaching him and some other kids that are phenomenal now how to skate, back when they were just coming into middle school.



The other video that I have posted on here is of Michael Debuano, who competes in the pro divisions. Now I couldn't make it through this whole video, and I don't expect you guys, because the filming is so terrible that it made me nauseous. I'm going back to Salida for Thanksgiving break, and I thought it would be really cool to get some real quality film for him, help produce a short section that he can use to show sponsors. It would also provide our group with some great skate footage for the project.

Newspaper Website!

So I am working on the Independent's website along with Dan and Kyle Jones, and we are using Joomla, an open-source CMS (Content Management System). I haven't worked on websites since High school, and that's when we had dreamweaver 8. That program has changed drastically, and it is much more powerful as a result, but for what we wanted to do with the website, there was no way we could just use dreamweaver. Since I am not proficient in HTML, CSS, PHP, or Flash, it would be impossibe for me to put slideshows, video players, and anything else besides your basic text and picture format. As a result, we are using Joomla to solve our media needs. So far, I am still learning the ins and outs of the software, but as I put mroe and more time into, it is becoming easier to manage.
My only gripe with it right now is that we have to use a template for our site. That means finding one that suits us, but even then, it might not fit your exact needs. These templates have pre assigned boxes for content, so a lot fo times you might not be able to place a picture exactly where you want unless you go into the template's folder and alter the files in that, which can require some knowledge of code. That is why I want to eventually be able to create templates, which would make it much more custom and unique, but to do that, i must learn more about coding with html and css, so that will be something for the future. For anyone wanting to create a website for their project, I would be more than happy to share my knowledge. If you are looking to make a simple website to host your videos or pictures, then I would say Joomla is the way to go, but Dreamweaver is also a good path to take. It really just depends on what you want to do with your site. If you want to check it out, go to joomla.org for further details, and remember, it is FREE!

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

This is my favorite non-cartoon sitcom on television, and I thought I would share it with some people who have never heard of or seen it. The creators of the show all star, write, and produce it, which I thought was really cool. What is also really cool is that they created their first pilot episode with just a consumer grade handicam, and less than a $100 budget, which shows that if you have the right material and you are dedicated enough, it is possible to go anywhere and do anything you want. Danny Devito also signed on to the season shortly after the first, and he is one of the great actors alive today. This episode also parodies one of Devito's first films, "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest," which I thought was funny since Devito played almost the same role as in the movie. Anyways, I think this show has a great premise, and Charlie is probally one of the funniest characters of my lifetime in any tv sitcom.

Obama Party!!

So I am just as thrilled as the majority of Americans that Obama is going to be our next president. I wanted to celebrate and party for the occasion but I had lots of school work and classes early in the mornign so I took it easy that night. I think that this south park clip of last night's episode is very representational of how I would've been if I could have partied. Now when I found out they were doing an episode on the election, I thought they were going to really make fun of the candidates and just slam them, but I was surprised that it was nothing like that. I just really like this clip because Randy Marsh is my favorite character on SP, and the way he was acting really portrayed how a lot of Americans treated this election, as a sports cmopetition where you root for your side. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this clip as much as I do!