On a somewhat related note ... The Daily Prophet

One of the things I have always been intrigued by regarding the world of Harry Potter is the Daily Prophet and the way it works and looks on the page. Upon exploring newspaper designs on SND.org, I found a newspaper that has taken on the design three times. It seems all over the place (the fact that the people in the photos move doesn't help), but they are just trying to fill the space in an intriguing way, right? It is also really cool how the newspaper kind of ties together events in the series. Whether it be true or not, the characters in the series look to the newspaper to find out what's going on. I guess they don't have Internet in Harry Potter land.

Here are some examples of the Victoria Prophet's take on the series' newspaper.


Find more images like this on NewsPageDesigner at SND.org

Day 21 – Something that makes me happy

I have decided to finish this challenge on arbitrary days. So today is Day 21.

Harry Freaking Potter. Courtesy of Google images.

Harry Potter makes me happy. I have read all of the books at least 3 times each, I have seen most of the movies at their midnight premiers and I adore the magical story. Of course, I'm not as crazy as this guy, but I could challenge anyone to Harry Potter trivia. My friends and I even read the seventh book out loud to each other on a a roadtrip from San Antonio to Columbia, Mo. Not only did it keep us awake, but it also made for an entertaining ride home.

This is even a newsworthy post because I went to the midnight showing of HP Thursday night. I loved being in a theater with hundreds of people that also love the franchise as much as I do. Being there with some of my besties would have been even better, but I'll take what I can get. I ended up going with one of my co-workers and his girlfriend, and it was actually pretty fun.

It's crazy that the story is almost over. When I finished the book, it kind of felt like the end, but not really because there were still movies to be made. Now, though, is really is nearing the end. It's bittersweet, just like the ending of Toy Story 3. I have grown up with these characters, and seeing the ending come to life will be exhilarating. I will see the last movie with Jayme if it kills me.

I love Harry Potter. It makes me happy.

Day 20 –- What you really want to know

One of the biggest questions I have gotten about my blog is what it means in the first place: "My life in CMYK." I feel like this could be a good design lesson, too. So, here goes.

Most people get the "My life in" part; it's kind of a no-brainer. CMYK throws them for a loop, though. In television and Web, only three colors are used to make any color you see. Those colors are red, blue and green -- RGB. However, in publishing, the colors are cyan, magenta, yellow and black -- CMYK (the K standing for black). All photos, colors and text for print has to be formatted to CMYK because the printers only use those tones.

Have you deciphered it yet? So what my blog name really means is "My life in color" or something along the lines of "My life in the publishing world." Clever kind of, right? Although, I have gotten some flack about the name closing me of to the Web side of things ... It's just a name, people!

For a more in-depth description, go here.

Courtesy of Zazzle.com

Killing three birds with one ... blog post.

I am not really good at these daily blog offerings, am I? Two jobs, Harry Potter and my newly foster kittens have been taking my attention. But fret no more! I am almost done with this thingamabob, and I am not going to quit now!


Day 17: A photo of your family

It is kind of hard to get a picture of my whole family. My parents are divorced and don't exactly get along at all times — not to mention the fact that we all live in different states now. The last photo that would have been taken of my immediate family was at my college graduation, which, miraculously, went by without any major tears. However, I found no pictures of my mom, dad, brother and I, and I don't feel like photoshopping anymore today. So, here are two pictures that you can imagine together.

And just because I love this picniked photo of my college family, here it is!

Day 18: Something you crave a lot

See Day 2. (This is probably a cop out.)

Day 19:  Another picture of yourself

This is a picture of me after a day full of designing data pages. Still alive!

Days 15 & 16 — If only I could call Paul Rudd on my phone...

Since I am so far behind on this blog challenge thing, I have decided to combine days 15 and 16. Deal with it.


Day 15: Something you don't leave the house without

These days, it is definitely my HTC Hero phone. It is my link to all the people I love back in Missouri and wherever else they are. Plus, I have other cool things on the phone, too: Facebook, Twitter, games, music, Internets. I really feel disconnected without it, which is kind of sad to say about this society. It's a good thing that people can have information when they want it, but I think it's easy to develop a dependency on the technology.


Day 16: Your celebrity crush

NAME THAT MOVIE! Courtesy of Google images

I have been known to start sentences with, "If there was one man," and end them with, "it would be Paul Rudd." No, it doesn't make much sense, but it was funny at the time. I adore Paul Rudd, though. I think is comedy is brilliant and subtle, and I like that he seems like (and I have read that he is) a down-to-earth, nice guy. So, it's not really an "OMG he's so hot" kind of crush (I have Joshua Jackson for that), more of an "OMG this guy just made me pee my pants from laughing" kind of crush.

Day 14 — High School Musical for big kids

Courtesy of Google images.

Glee is by far my favorite show on TV.  I love that a singing and dancing television show on FOX has taken the world by storm, and what is funny about it is that one of the few differences it has from the Disney original High School Musical movies is that they use popular songs. And more adult themes, I guess.

Anyway,  I love everything about this show. I love that I recognize the songs the characters sing, I love that the producers re-hash old classics, and I love that Glee has taken on all forms of media. Not only are they on TV, but they also sell their songs on iTunes, perform concerts and have released several public service announcements as seen from the characters' perspectives. If you haven't seen Glee, I suggest you check it out on Hulu.

Day 13 – Let me hold your crown, babe

Courtesy of SaraBmusic.com.

Sara Bareilles has been one of my favorite singers/artists for a long time. I love the way she sings; she puts so much emotion into her songs, and I love to sing along. She is kind of like my new-age Kelly Clarkson only less poppy. In case you haven't heard from Sara, here's a video of one of her latest singles:

Day 12 – Home sweet home ... kinda

Today, I am to post a few photos of the town in which I live. These photos are from the first time I visited the city, on my interview for the paper. I really liked the atmosphere of the Historic District, and I don't think you can take a bad photo from that area.

This is one of the theaters I have yet to visit.

And this is Forsyth Park. Gorgeous.

The beauty of the city aside, I still have very mixed feelings about living here. It has been a lot harder to meet people than I thought it would be, and I am having a hard time relating to people at work now that one of my friends has left. I'm going to stick it out for a while, but I miss having close friends nearby more than I can even explain. I tried to fill the void by those silly dating sites, but I haven't found anyone worthwhile (or who has thought I am worthwhile). I'm just kind of sick of it. At least I have Maia!

Day 11 – Make-up bag? Really?

Yesterday, I was supposed to write a blog about what is in my make-up bag, but how freaking lame is that? So, I am going to brainstorm a bit by blogging about my upcoming Jimmy Carter Flash project. It was my idea to come up with something to present to the world either before he dies or in the wake of his death. Carter is a former governor of Georgia, and he even announced his bid for presidency at a local restaurant in Savannah. I wanted to do something that would honor his memory, and we have been collecting a lot of things pertaining to him.

• More than 100 AP and local photos of him throughout his life and political career.
• A timeline of the books he has published along with book covers. (He has actually written a lot of books.)
• A general timeline of his life
• And a lot of back issues and archived stories the Savannah Morning News has written about him.

My job, now, is to figure out how to organize the material in a cohesive, yet aesthetic, way. I don't know if I should make the project HTML- or Flash-based, and I am at a loss of how to even start this huge thing. I know I want a timeline of events – with photos included – but I think the book timeline is a little much. I want a way to view the photos at pretty decent size and be able to scroll through them, too. It looks like this is going to be a huge project.

Day 10 – Zunzi's or bust!

Courtesy of Tripadvisor.com

If Savannah is good at one thing, it is definitely food. Don't get me wrong, Savannah is good at a lot of things. Food just stands at the top in my opinion. One of the coolest places I have found to eat here has been this place called Zunzi's. It is a little hole-in-the-wall take-out place that serves a combination of South African and Italian flavors, and it has the best chicken I have ever tasted. Literally melt-in-your-mouth chicken. Now, don't get turned off by the South African flair on the food. It gives it just enough of an exotic flavor to make it really unique, but it's not like you're eating pigs feet or anything. If you are ever in Savannah, I would highly suggest taking a trip to Zunzi's. (After seeing me, of course.)

Day 9 — The stuff of life.

Courtesy of Google images

The only thing I bought today was coffee this morning. If you want to get specific, I got a grande skinny vanilla latte. It was amazing. Coffee really is one of my favorite things in life. It might even have to compete with cheese for my favorite ever.

Day 8 – It's game time!

So, I realize that this post was supposed to be yesterday, but yesterday was insane. (Election day, people.) If you have never been in a newsroom on election day, you are definitely missing out. At the paper, we have five times the amount of people in the newsroom until deadline, 12 a.m. There are so many people doing so many different things, and I am sure it is entertaining to watch. Everyone is pumped up, and thankfully it was all decided last night. (No runoffs!) The song that I would have picked yesterday, though, definitely would have been this one:



(You might not recognize it until 43 seconds ... Also, what a strange video ...)

Day 7 — My dream wedding

Short, sweet and simple.

(This is not a cop-out. It's irony. Get it?)