I see that WordPress 2.5 is available for download.

Without a doubt, I’m most excited about anything to do with new features for photo management.

I really need to get my hands on the built-in galleries because I haven’t found a single plug-in for WordPress.org that completely matched my needs but equally important, my skill level.

I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, so to speak, but I’m very wary about messing me blogs up. Tomorrow should prove interesting. I hope in a good way!

March 29, 2008

WordPress 2.5

By Matt. Filed under Releases.

WordPress 2.5, the culmination of six months of work by the WordPress community, people just like you. The improvements in 2.5 are numerous, and almost entirely a result of your feedback: multi-file uploading, one-click plugin upgrades, built-in galleries, customizable dashboard, salted passwords and cookie encryption, media library, a WYSIWYG that doesn’t mess with your code, concurrent post editing protection, full-screen writing, and search that covers posts and pages.

For a short overview of the features with screenshots, it’d be best to visit our sneak peek announcement for RC1. Or check out a 4-minute screencast of the new interface in action. If you just want to jump straight to the good stuff here’s where you can find 2.5 upgrade and download information.

Tags: blogging, happiness, how to download 2.5, photography, Releases, scrrencast, tech, where to find upgrade, WordPress, WordPress 2.5

Star Mag
“EXCLUSIVE: ANGELINA PREGNANT WITH TWINS,” yelled The Star
on January 24, 2008. But I’m just finding out about this now because I’ve been reading books for the last couple of months. I blame books* for me being totally out of the loop on one of the few Hollywood romances that’s the least bit interesting.

Twins!

They don’t have enough paparazzi after them–they go ahead and make twins?!

I guess it shouldn’t surprise too many people other than me as they made little daughter Shiloh and adopted son Pax at about-the same time. Gee, seriously guys, even with your kind of money to hire as many hands as needed to corral the kids, maybe you should slow down for a couple of years.

But Angelina looks fantastic here doesn’t she? Very prettily pregnant.

Posted Jan. 24, 2008 @ 8:30 pm/ET Star Mag

Angelina Jolie is pregnant again –and she is expecting lover Brad Pitt’s twins, Star has confirmed. EDIT/Unconfirmed on the twins 03.08

Angie only discovered that she is eating for three over the past week, a source very close to the Lara Croft star reveals.

The two extra kids will bring the Jolie-Pitt family up to six children, all aged under seven. They have three adopted children and Shiloh, their daughter, who was born in May 2006.

Rumors of pregnancy for Angie, 32, have swirled since she appeared at the Critics’ Choice awards on January 7 looking considerably healthier than the almost skeletal figure she had become.

While Brad drank beer, and others at their table downed champagne, she stuck to water.

*I thought perhaps I’d read a book or six. I’ve read books I’m picking near randomly off the Best of books for 2007 by the New York Times. The one I’m reading now is the most fun. “Diana” by Tina Brown. I sort of eased back into reading in terms of length of books with On Chesil Beach,

Then Falling Man

and now the Diana biography.

So I guess the actual “news”’story today is again from the :cough:Star:cough:

As they prepare to for the impending summer birth, Brad and Angie are close to sealing a deal for a $20 million, 850-year-old country estate in the quiet village of Eygalieres, near the French Riviera. Officially called Mas de La Chappelle St. Sixte, the property has six bedrooms, a library, vaulted ceilings and a huge pool. The home was built in 1150 by a community of monks.

“Angelina loves that every single stone was put in place by those monks all those centuries ago.”

What a swanky house near the French Riviera looks like:

Of course there’s already snotty comments about the couple being “too good” to birth their kids on US soil but in this case of choosing a fortress-like setting in France, they are sort of revisiting Angie’s heritage as her mother was French. And in any case both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are American so they could birth their children anywhere and the kids will still be American. The other country may recognize dual citizenship but the kid is American. So I hope now that I’ve cleared this up there’ll be no more bitchin’ about where they chose to have their kid.

But OMG, twins! She’s gonna be huge.

A month ago:

She’s very approx. 2-3 mos. along here. <blink>

Source

Tags: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, celebs, fanwank, French Riviera, home, other, parenthood, photo, photography, pregnant, twins

Tags: dog(s), happiness, talent, viral, youtube

Gah.

I’ve been putting off the inevitable.

I need a Canadian passport. I’ve known I was going to need one for awhile but it hasn’t helped that the US and Canada–so far the only countries for which I need a passport can’t decide exactly when I’ll need it. Canada gets miffed because they believe that the US is being too restrictive and the result will be less tourism at the US-Canada border and the United State’s official stance is that Canada is too lax and that the Canadians are letting in all kinds of undesirables at the Canadian borders and those terrorist-types are slipping across the relatively easy-to-cross US-Canadian border. It’s been at least six months since I read an update on this “family feud” but if I don’t want to be at the whims of two countries (bad enough being at the whims of one) I’d best just apply for a passport and be done with it. Until the next security implementation which I’ve heard will be a sub-cutaneous microchip in your neck.

Tags: annoyances, Canada, passport, United States

Ami in a lighter moment after her team won the Reward Challenge.

Heading to Reward: Amanda, Ami, Erik

The Losers:

From CBS.com: After withstanding numerous trips to Exile Island and non-stop torrential downpours at the Airai beach, Kathy Sleckman, the 46 year-old golf course vendor from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, dramatically quit the game. After Kathy tearfully admitted to her tribemates that she wanted to go home, Jeff Probst arrived by boat, and Kathy said, “I’m never leaving my baby girl or my husband again, for this amount of time ever again.” She and Jeff boarded the boat, pulled away from Airai, and Kathy left the game.

Facing Tribal Council for the third time in a row, the Favorites on the Malakal tribe, Ozzy, Amanda, Cirie, and Ami, outnumbered the Fans, Erik and Tracy, 4 – 2. .. At Tribal Council, the focus was on Ozzy after Tracy called him out as a leader. But, in the end, the Malakal tribe decided to keep their leader and vote out Tracy five votes to one.

Reward Challenge: Money Roll

For this challenge the tribes will worked with traditional Micronesian money-stones, large wheel-shaped stones standing almost as tall as the Survivors themselves, once used as currency by the native people. The Malakal tribe…won their first challenge since the switch-up. Ozzy singles out Tracy (to go to)Exile Island, asking her, “Can you take one for the team?”… The (rest of the) triumphant Malakal embarks on their Reward to the Herbal Essences Great Escape Spa.

Malakal: On their way to a Reward Challenge win.

Erik celebrates Malakal’s Reward Challenge win.

Airai didn’t quite have it. (Kathy, James, Eliza)

Reward:

Heading to the Spa Reward, Ozzy, Amanda (Ozzy carries letters from home).

Enjoying the fruits of their reward…

The Malakal tribe arrives at their Reward, where they find an inviting spread of fruit, cookies, muffins, and juices. The tribe lets out squeals of excitement at the multitude of spa items…Ami, Ozzy, and Amanda spot a showerhead mounted atop a small water tower and …the three tribemates strip down and scrub each other’s backs with both women stripping off their bikini tops completely whilst Cirie sat off to the side, tsk, tsking.

Ami is overcome after reading letters from loved ones.

Stormy weather:

A horrific storm hits, pounding down rain and lightning on the Airai tribe. They huddle for shelter and warmth in their cave, unable to prepare a fire. Kathy is beside herself…the tribe holds each other’s hands for comfort and waits for the rain to subside. James heads out into the wild choppy waters and fetches the girls a clam. They eat it raw…

Kathy breaks:

As the sun rises on the Airai beach, Kathy sits on the tribe’s boat, looking out towards sea. “When I woke up this morning I hadn’t gotten any sleep,” complains Kathy, “and I was looking for some kind of strength and I couldn’t find it.” She approaches James, asking him for “one more hug.” He holds her and tells her, “It’s okay, baby. We all got our bad days.” Kathy finally breaks into tears, crying, “I can’t feel my family.”

The women, Eliza, Parvati, Alexis, and Natalie, try to comfort her. But Kathy breaks into sobs and tearfully declares, “I can’t be here one more minute, I can’t take it.” The girls try to convince her to stay… But no amount of comforting will placate Kathy and she pleads, “I wanna go home. I want them to come and get a boat and pick me up and take me away!” Jeff Probst …arrives by boat on the Airai beach… He hops onto the boat with Kathy and they speed out onto to the open ocean. Kathy leaves the game.

Immunity Challenge:

The tribes arrive at the challenge as Jason and Tracy return from Exile Island. Jeff Probst informs everyone that Kathy has quit the game, and after shocked reactions from the Malakal tribe, the game goes on….The Malakal tribe takes an early lead with an amazing performance by Ozzy. He dashes across the floating bridge and clips into the first puzzle piece. Malakal cranks the wheel and Ozzy gracefully bodysurfs back to shore with his puzzle piece. …Meanwhile, Eliza, returning with Airai’s last puzzle piece, quickly unlatches it and sets to work on the puzzle with help from Jason. Despite their early lead, Amanda and Cirie fumble with their puzzle pieces and Eliza and Jason make a huge comeback. Shoving their puzzle pieces together, Airai wins Immunity sending Malakal to Tribal Council for the third time in a row.

Tribal Council

The Malakal tribe proceeds to Tribal Council. Tracy calls out Ozzy as the overbearing leader of the tribe…In the end, the tribe decides to keep their leader and their strength, as Tracy casts the lone vote for Ozzy, and the rest of the tribe unanimously votes her out. Tracy becomes the ninth person to leave Survivor 16: Fans Vs. Favorites.

Tags: Spoilers, Survivor 16, Television

Have you ever been to a Viral Film Festival? If you haven’t yet, what are waiting for? An invitation? Well here ‘ya go.

April 28th 2008 is the date when BEFILM the Underground Film Festival and Vanksen | Culture Buzz, supported by Dailymotion.com and the VBMA.net will winnow down the very best of the current batch of Viral videos.

What you need to do: Register! Space will be limited so go now to register at www.viralfilmfestival.com

Buzz marketing came to be because the viral video revolution has created a new marketing animal. It’s called “viral” because like a virus, it is highly contagious. But like the most creative, unique, envelope-pushing videos the on the web, it is also raw, edgy and packed with gut-splitting content that is sent Internet user to user, spreading online like a virus…Pretty genius, don’t you think?

Don’t forget to submit your films, specs and viral videos at: www.viralfilmfestival.com NOW!

Tags: video, viral

Argh. It’s Easter weekend and we are having a blizzard.

Hard to contemplate searching for Easter eggs in the snow.

We are to drive up to mother-in-law’s for Easter day which is nice as it’ll give spouse a day off from cooking.

Otherwise it’s egg colouring tonight–our usual Easter tradition that spouse was silly enough to wonder whether we were going to do this year. Silly rabbit. That’s what a tradition is.

Tags: other

I’m having mother fears in re: my 15-y.o. son and the route we’ve embarked on for the treatment of acute acne on his face and torso. There is now “permanent scarring” on his back and shoulders according to the dermatologist, and he is to be taken in for a blood test to check that his liver function is normal. If it is he’s to go on a oral prescription which for “90%” of the people who take it clears their acne in 4-5 months. Permanently.  Downside is monthly blood tests and the risk inherent with taking a strong medication like this, including permanent organ damage. Also the stuff costs up wards of $400 bucks a month a that’s with the insurance paying part of the cost. Spouse is going to look further into it.

Meanwhile, I plan on taking him in tomorrow for the blood test and then next week we’ll go from there. I feel badly for him. His father has scars all over his face form his adolescent acne, which the dermo keeps offering to “sand” off–no insurance coverage though so no cosmetic procedure for him. Genetically, he’s the reason my son has acne. Since he doesn’t talk about his feelings I have no idea how or even if he feels anything about it. For my part, I know I’d feel badly if I passed on an icky gene like that.

What we are doing isn’t working though–this is rather a last-ditch effort.

Tags: beauty, health, parenthood

Is anyone else experiencing both trepidation and excitement about the WordPress 2.5 release?

The expectation of the built-in galleries (what took so long?!) is enough to get me very interested. Faster loading sounds very enticing, too.  Gravatars–well, I know they are the cool thing now but they don’t really rock my world–fine, if other folks have wanted and are now getting them, tho’. Part of social networking, which depending who you talk to, is  very “now” or yesterday’s news.

It’s always good to hear more than just the opinion of the developers and they in fact state that they welcome input prior to the official release so possibly minor modifications can be done.

Still, I was surprised when I stumbled across some dire predictions about the coming release, specifically that because it won’t play nicely with many of the add on’s or widgets or whatever you like to call them, they will effectively be rendered null upon installation of WordPress 2.5 sending their creators into nervous breakdown mode. Not only that and this is my concern, because well, it affects me: Will my treasured theme still work with the release of WordPress 2.5? Possibly not.

I don’t of course yet have a solid opinion on the big changes soon in our future.

I can say for certain though that as someone for if “coding is art” is still at the crayon stage, I hope that the changes won’t be too difficult and time-consuming for users like me to implement. After all change is good–but not always.

Tags: built-in galleries, changes/transition, coding is art, crayon stage, developers, WordPress, WordPress 2.5