Univ of Virginia Alumni Reception
I’m baaaaaaack! It’s good to be back. In my absence I’ve been working on a new small business. Despite the Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism I have from Columbia University I was never really into actually becoming a reporter mainly because I didn’t want to leave the city. All along throughout the various jobs I’ve held I always did some catering design work on the side for extra money. The design work consists of creating flower arrangements and arranging food so that it’s highly esthetic and fits a décor and theme of any given party. I decided to turn that occasional moonlighting into a full-fledged small business.
Stux Gallery Reception Arrangement
The first thing I figured I should do is create a website. So on a friend’s recommendation set myself up with the hosting company 1and1.com and registered a domain name. I registered during a period when they were having a special so saved myself some dough. As for my domain name it sort of just came to me. Whenever you want to present something beautiful and spectacular to someone you sometimes utter the phrase, “Taddah!!” Since my name is Todd I decided to incorporate my name into that phrase and use it as my domain name. ToddAhhdesign.com is what I came up with. It not only conveys the excitement in the presentation of my work but it also, right in the name, suggests people’s reaction once they see it……Todd!………Ahhhh!! It’s so beautiful. Pretty clever huh?
Cheese table for Stux Gallery Reception
The next step was to decide on a format for my site. I hired a web designer friend to help me construct the site. In hind sight not sure how much his services benefited me though. At the very least he suggested I use wordpress as my template just like this site. With that I would be able to make changes to the site as often I wished without having to worry about programming changes in HTML or any other language. However, the struggle came as I was trying to decide what theme I wanted. On the suggestion of my friend I went with the theme called Autofocus. It’s a theme normally for photographers but the layout was what I needed, a display of photos from the work on my design gigs, an electronic portfolio. I wasn’t thrilled on certain aspects of this theme though. Each of the photos posted had big white posting dates on them and there was no way to control how the photo would appear on the homepage because of the built in format. But this was what was suggested so I went with it out of ignorance. Read more »
Tags:
catering,
design,
dessert table,
dinner table,
Events,
flower arrangements,
Food,
hors d'oeuvres table,
parties,
props
I think if you ask any of my friends they would admit I can, at times, be a bit boy crazy. If you are a frequent reader of this particular column, you can probably draw the same conclusion. Yes, I admit, I can be boy crazy, but I must say I think it has to do with the fact that most boys are simply crazy! Can I get an Amen?
Let’s take for instance the most recent crazy boy to enter my life. It all started one Saturday evening in early January on my way back from Williamsburg. I hopped on the L train and made my way to Union Square, transferring to an N and heading home to Astoria. While I was walking on the platform at 14th street, I spotted out of the corner of my eye a handsome fella also waiting for the same train. Read more »
Tags:
Craigslist missed connections,
Dating,
Emailing,
gay life,
Missed Connection,
subway ride,
The Paulinator
Culture Stops! is a citizen-driven, peaceful day of action by individuals and organizations in the creative sector across the United States who share the simple belief that the power of creative thought is the lifeblood of democracy. In light of recently proposed budget cuts in the arts & humanities, Culture Stops! asks us to imagine a world where writers put down their pens and artists put down their paints. Where debate is no longer fostered in our universities, or on our radio dials. Where our symphony halls fall silent and our libraries go dark.
On Thursday, March 10th, 2011, cultural organizations, creative businesses and individuals will stop their work for eight minutes to a full eight hours to offer a glimpse into a world into a world devoid of creativity, imagination and thought: America after culture stops.
How can you help? Participants can do anything from literally closing down their businesses (even just for an hour or two), to setting up an email auto-reply for the day with a message about Culture Stops! and the importance of arts funding. If you have a public space, consider closing or covering up a popular exhibit or display, or simply dim the lights. Have a sale on “culture.” Or take a moment in conversations with visitors and customers to educate them about the cause. Small businesses can take down their websites for the day and replace it with an “error” message, such as “due to a lack of funding, there’s no more creativity and nothing for you to see here.” If you’re performing, pause for a “moment of inaction” to help your audience reflect on what the world would be like without such creative contributions.
Participants are encouraged to come up with their own creative interpretations as well — host a silent performance, or an art exhibit about the absence of creativity. Give a reading of unfinished works. Create a web video. The sky’s the limit! Materials for personal use and distribution, from flyers to Facebook icons, are available on the Culture Stops website, and participants can share their plans and read about what’s going on across the country on the Culture Stops Facebook page.
For more information about efforts in NYC, or to share what you’re planning to do in the city, please contact Starving Talent at i...@starvingtalent.com
Links:
Culture Stops website: www.culturestops.org
CS on Facebook
Culture Stops on Twitter: use #CultureStops
Tags:
Culturestops.org
