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Blog gimmick ahoy!

schmichael — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:30:12 -0800

Help me with a gimmick for a blog! After hearing about the movie Julie & Julia, I had an idea for a blog along similar lines. My idea: read every (X) book in a year. Maybe I could do every Book prize winner, or every Pulitzer. I would have to read about 50 books in one year. Not a huge amount of books, but on top of a busy life I think it's a good challenge. I calculate that 50 books would average out to about 3/4 of an hour of reading a day, 365 days a year.

My first question: does that sound like an interesting blog to you? To be honest, I'm kind of mining for opinions and ideas here. Maybe reading is just too boring to make for a captivating blog, maybe it's all depends on how you present it. Maybe there are enough literature-lovers out there that it would find an audience.

And maybe the theme could be improved on - maybe the Pulitzer and Man Booker are too well-known to be interesting. Maybe there's some really really weird way of theming 50 books to read - bizarro literary prizes, weird genres, something like that.

I would be aiming to do something more interesting than just reviewing the books. Partly because I am not a literary critic, and partly because that would be just boring. I'd be researching the books, the authors, looking into the story behind whichever theme I choose, looking into the whole why-we-read thing.

I'm fairly excited by this idea. But there is a lot to think about in a really short space of time (if I want to be rolling on this by New Year's Day, that is). One thing is that I've never really done any proper blogging before. I know that there's a difference between Tumblr and Wordpress, but not much more than that. I would not know how to make a custom template or do any deep work other than pasting on a pre-made skin.

And I also don't know much about the blogging world in general. What are the good literature and books blogs out there? How do you go about building an audience and making connections? What sort of things are possible with blogs?

All input appreciated!

Web template for cleaning business?

zeikka — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:39:17 -0800

Where can I find simple, yet professional and elegant web template/ Wordpress theme for cleaning business? I'm helping someone who's starting a small scale residential/ business cleaning service. I have domain and cheap hosting for her, but would like to find nice web template to use.

Wordpress theme would be ideal as I'm not very experience web designer or don't have experience with complex publishing system. Free would be great this as is very small scale.

Opening credits costume

painquale — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:49:55 -0800

For Halloween, I want to dress up as the opening credits sequence to some TV show. But which show? My Halloween costumes are always built last minute around some item that I've decided I am going to use. This year, I realized that I have an iPod and a portable speaker, so I can incorporate audio! Looking through my iTunes list, the songs I have that would make for the funniest costume are TV show themes. So there we go. There's my starting point.

But which show? Ideally the song will be instantly recognizable and catchy, and it will provoke a cool costume idea. I don't want to just dress up as a character from the show, but if forced I could do that and tack a caption like "Starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar" on my chest. A show with an abstract sort of opening (like Mad Men) would work well.

So far I am leaning toward either Law & Order or Murder, She Wrote. I know that a few other friends will be Twin Peaks characters...

(Other audio-based costume ideas would also be appreciated.)

Ideas for a funtastic Sci-Fi convention themed party

Lapin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:07:00 -0800

I need ideas for a Sci-Fi convention themed book club party I am hosting this weekend. My book club is reading Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others and I am hosting the meeting/party this Sunday. We generally have theme parties related to the book and since the book we chose was a book of Sci-fi short stories I decided to make it a Sci-Fi convention themed party. I am baking Battlestar Galactica , Star Trek and Doctor Who cupcakes. I am dressing up my toddler as Yoda for the day. The husband and I will probably wear one of the many geeky sci-fi related shirts we own. I’m thinking of printing generic labels to put on soda and beer a la Repo Man. Any other relatively easy and inexpensive food or decoration ideas to make my party a smashing success?

Ideas for a housewide party

Mayhembob — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:37:50 -0800

I am a college student living in a co-op (house with 38 people). I need to arrange a party; preferably a costume party. The themes I have come up with so far are: 1) Time Traveler's Ball 2) Alice in Wonderland 3)Mad Science Night Question: What are good ideas for entertainment/activites for those themes? Some ideas I already have to get the brainstorm started:
*Time Traveler's Ball (costume competition; music/food from different time periods)
*Alice (Put mirrors on the front door; cake for unbirthdays; magic berries that turn sour food sweet)
*Mad Science (Dry ice, Van de Graff generator, making ice cream)

How to do a unicorn-themed party?

k8t — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:52:50 -0800

Unicorn party! Please help with ideas. My kid's turning 1 and I'd like to do a unicorn themed birthday party (assume that the party will be mainly adults). My ideas so far include using yellow party hats and have a horn decorating table with sparkles and glitter and stuff, having a unicorn pinata, and making cupcakes with some sort of unicorn horn.

I don't care about unicorn themed plates/tablecloth.

Any other ideas? Ideas about how to create unicorn horns out of something other than Bugles or tiny candy corns?

Thanks for making this an awesome party that my son will never remember.

What's the best theme party you've been to lately?

melodykramer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:04:15 -0800

I try to throw thematic parties once a month (budget: cheap) and was wondering what the best thematic party you've been to was, or what thematic party idea would be one you'd love to go to. In the past I've thrown the following: a Titanic party (complete with lifesavers and donuts for each guest); a grilled cheese party (self-explanatory) and a root beer / birch beer tasting.

I have maybe 15-20 of my friends over and like thematic food events. So...what's the best party you've been to? What worked really well?

Thank you.

Wordpress Theme

gocubbies — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:51:26 -0800

I really like the theme used at wordpress.org. This is the theme that Wordpress the company uses. Can someone point to an exact replica or a theme that closely mimics the look of this site: http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page Thank in advance!!

They're coming to get you [a thoughtful gift], Barbara.

Help, I can't stop talking! — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:06:17 -0800

Help me throw an awesome Zombie Apocalypse theme party! My boyfriend is obsessed with the idea of a Zombie Apocalypse, so for his birthday, I want to surprise him with a theme party. Not a people-dressed-as-zombies thing, but a last-outpost-of-humanity vibe. Boarded-up windows, canned food hors d'oeuvres, candlelight... the whole nine yards. What can I do to really sell this? You're a creative bunch: help me convince him that he is celebrating his birthday among the last survivors.

What is this cool Blackberry Curve theme?

ishotjr — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:07:42 -0800

Blackberry newbie filter: Can you ID the theme on the Curve shown on this review clip from Attack of the Show? I got a Blackberry Curve [even though I know I don't need it for law school ;-)]and I'm not a huge fan of the themes that come on the phone. I really like the theme on the phone shown in this clip where they review the Curve. The phone in the clip is T-Mobile and so is mine. It's not one of the themes that comes on the (my) phone, but I have no clue where I might be able to download such a theme. Any leads are much appreciated!

Gander Mountain theme song

stubby phillips — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:12:51 -0800

i want to listen to a radio commercial without the words. a situation has arisen where i have to think about Gander Mountain (they sell outdoor equipment) a lot. every time i hear or read the words "Gander Mountain" the theme song for their radio commercials pops into my head. i love this tune.

i think i can play this tune on my mandolin. i just need to listen to it a couple times when i'm not in my car to make sure. can anybody help me find an mp3 of it so i can verify my imperfect recollections?

Wordpress theme for a highschool website

Danniman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:40:44 -0800

Help me find a free or premium wordpress theme for a school website I am looking for a wordpress theme ( free or premium (within $50) ) that would be suitable for a high school website.

I have been browsing themes for about a week now and there are simply too many out there to chose from. Furthermore, I don't know if I should be going with a "business" style or a "magazine" style theme.

How does one actually make a bindlestick??

Smarson — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:35:48 -0800

Ideas for a Recession/Depression themed Birthday Party? Was planning on having a big blowout this year since I never usually do much for my birthday, but with the economy being what it is and some of my friends landing on harder times I decided to go the opposite direction and do a Recession/Depression themed party at my place.

Some keywords/images I keep kicking around in my head but can't seem to make any kind of theme out of are:

*Tweed Jacket with elbo patches
*Opened cans of beans
*Crashing stock market
*Bindle - stiff / stick
*Hobos on a train
*Things being consumed out of Mason Jars
*Burn barrel

I'm in desperate need of costume, decoration, and food/drink ideas. Suggestions?

Theme Drink--Fast and Furious?

Squid Voltaire — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:47:34 -0800

Fast and Furious is going to be awesome this Friday! Um, assuming I'm drunk. What should I drink? Pirates of the Caribbean Three was a blast, because we brought plenty of rum. Transformers was great fun because my friend thought to bring some sort of Japanese rice wine with him, and I think I remember enjoying the hell out of Once Upon a Time in Mexico while drinking surreptitious tequila shots in the theater.

But, uh, how should we toast Mr. Diesel's health? This should be easy enough to acquire, and easy enough to sneak into the movie theater in quantity. If you've ever watched the swond half of Rollerball while sober, you know the importance of quantity.

Also, ideally it should seem appropriate for the subject matter--fast cars, sexy men and objectified women! Incidentally, if any of y'all want to join us Friday night in Evanston, IL, you are welcome. What better way to spend Passover Shabbat?

Bollywood-themed Party!

mahoganyslide — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:12:57 -0800

How can we make a Bollywood-themed party the best party ever?! The student co-op I am a part of is hosting a Bollywood-themed party and we're at a loss for ideas regarding specific theme components other than inviting a Bollywood dance group and playing Bollywood songs.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can make this party shine and dazzle?

We're located in Berkeley, CA (Bay Area).

(The last time we asked for theme suggestions, we received wonderful answers. Please hivemind, come to our rescue yet again!)

Thank you in advance!

bob the builder theme is like what other tv theme

hardyboy — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:48:53 -0800

the end of the Bob the Builder theme song has that heavy guitar riff "wind down" which reminds me of some tv show theme (like the drew cary show or WKRP) where some guy shouts: "I love you NEW YORK -or maybe detroit--what is that show?

Help finding a Wordpress theme

speeb — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:54:37 -0800

I found a Wordpress theme the other night and didn't download it. Now I can't remember where I found it. In brief: the color of cardboard, crayon-ish drawings with at least one being a hot air balloon. A little more detail:

There were maybe three other themes on the site, all extremely similar, mostly it looked like they had just developed over time. The site itself was using the theme and I THINK it was a .jp site... but in English.

At the time I was googling wordpress themes with keywords like 'kids', 'children', 'parents' and maybe 'crayon' for a site I'm planning.

It was a really cute theme and I don't know where else to turn to.

Thanks in advance for any help!

My friends are moving to China, what should I call their going-away party?

edrewes — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:18:10 -0800

I am having a going-away party for my friends and I need a theme/name! They're moving to China for a year and are brothers, in their 20s. I wanted to come up with something funny but I am blanking today....

Wordpress theme with an academic journal look.

ilike — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:37:21 -0800

I am looking for a free or cheap wordpress theme that has an academic journal feel to it. The style I am looking for is best represented at this blog. Typical things in the theme I really like is the line below the header with the little leaf on, that the first letter in a post is three lines high and in another color and that the page background has a slight off-white color. I have tried searching the wordpress theme database but it is very hard since it doesnt separate themes by category. All suggestions are very welcome.

Please help us make our Oscars/Housewarming Party a success!

iamkimiam — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:45:48 -0800

Need help planning a themed Oscars/Housewarming Party! Here are a couple areas we're having trouble with:

The theme: Currently thinking about doing a "Make Yourselves at Home & Roll Your Own Theme!" party, where people can dress up in whatever theme they want, based on whatever they feel like. I would like to incorporate prizes (but what kind?), both relating to theme and to the Oscars. Does anybody have a better idea? What details can we incorporate to make this kickass?

Mixed company: We have a lot of friends, all ages, all ilks. I'm not that good with interacting with people in groups. How can I help ease the awkwardness I have and make sure everybody is having a good time?

Housewarming Ettiquette: My boyfriend and I have never had or been to a housewarming party. Do we fill out a gift registry for this (ex. Target)? Do we even expect gifts? How long to people generally stay? What are housewarming parties all about? What are we expected to provide?

Neighbors: Do we invite them? I'd feel awful not doing so, especially since I'll likely warn them about a long day/night of noise. If they come, do I introduce them to everyone, or just let them come in and fend for themselves and leave when alienated? This is a social minefield that makes me want to call the whole thing off.

Other stuff...our place is small, parking is limited, we have 2 hypoallergenic indoor pets, no shoes allowed on carpet, cats are toilet trained and so toilet seats must stay up...how do we tell people all this without seeming neurotic as all getout?

Dealing with nested floats in CSS?

Wild_Eep — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:08:36 -0800

Care to help a CSS newbie with float-related positioning issues? I'm trying to add a form to my WordPress site via the FormBuilder plugin, but the form jumps below the two floated sidebars rather than directly after the post text. FWIW, I'm using the Cordobo Green Park theme.

I've got FireBug installed and I've been attempting to determine what indeed is going on, but this problem exceeds my meager CSS skills.

I'm pretty sure that the 'clear:both' property is in here when it shouldn't be, but the form elements are floated-left, and I haven't found the proper combination

When I emailed the author of the FormBuilder plugin, I received this response:

"I've been looking at your site, and it seems to be related to a lot of quirkiness with your template system. The clear tags seem to be interfering with the display of the sidebars and affecting the content.

I tried messing around a bit with the CSS in firebug but wasn't able to get it to look quite right.

I suspect it might work better if you were able to put the comments div inside the entry div. Not sure though, just a thought."

Any ideas for a room-to-room party?

mahoganyslide — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:41:26 -0800

The co-op I currently live in while attending University is having a room-to-room party. This basically entails that all of the members of the co-op go to each room for about 15-20 minutes to listen to some good music, drink a bit, and otherwise have a good time. Each room has a different theme so as to give the party a bit of variety. I am new to the co-op, so I am not familiar with themes that have been used in the past. Moreover, my roommates and I are at a loss for ideas. We need your help! For more reference, the following is a co-op wide email we received:

"We encourage you not only to open your rooms, but to have fun with the theme, decorations, and drinks. Past notable room themes have included: Bowling with humans, fishing for drinks, freaky bondage room, and even Tree-sitters in the loft of room 15, who lowered "urine" buckets down to their guests.

Here's the skinny; sign up, and tell us what alcohol (if any) you would like to serve. Think simple, and not too expensive (Margaritas, Gin and Tonics, Beer, Slippery nipples, or non-alchoholic drinks).

Decorating, mixologizing, all the rest... it's up to you."

Basically, although the co-op covers the alcohol, my roommates and I need to cover the decorations, etc.

So what is the best party theme possible that is both fun and cheap to setup?

You've never failed me before hivemind, so I come to you again after having exhausted all other options!

I need some ideas for my Gypsy themed party.

theRussian — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:51:11 -0800

Ideas for a Gypsy Themed Party, Go! Hey guys, thanks for all the good ideas last time. The Communist Party was an epic hit.

The party this week is going to be gypsy themed. I am going to cover my walls and ceiling with lots of draped fabrics, have many floor pillows, and serve lots of wine in jugs. I've got quite a bit of music, and some thoughts about snacks to serve, but I need more!

I'm soliciting ideas for drinks, party favors, party food (stew isn't so great at parties), games/activities, etc etc.

Thanks everyone!

Wordpress theme editable region help

joelf — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:21:39 -0800

Wordpress Theme help. I need to stick an editable region in the header of my theme so a user can edit a little blurb about themselves. How do I put a Text Widget or something similar up there? I'm banging my head against a wall here. Ideally I'd want something that can be edited from the WP admin screen. Any help would be great. no worries about code fog. I'm pretty good with the stuff, I just can't find the answer on Google. so sad.

English listing of artists from promotional video of Chinese 2008 Olympics?

Quarter Pincher — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:53:12 -0800

Is there an English listing of all of the artists found in the China 2008 Olympics promotional video/theme? Specifically, I'd like to know the artists from 2:59, 3:24, and 4:00.. but I'm sure a listing of everyone would be helpful to more than just myself ^_^