My Journey to 2.0 in 2011

New record!

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:13:55 -0500

New record!

Just finished: Doctor Who - Season Two OMG!! So emotional! This...

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:23:36 -0500

Just finished: Doctor Who - Season Two

OMG!! So emotional! This show is great. Too much…

Working on the logo design for my startup’s productivity...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:59:11 -0500

Working on the logo design for my startup’s productivity application. Our focus is to create a productivity machine, so that’s why I am trying to add a machine (or technical) element to the logo.

We will see where this goes…

Alright so we will see if Mayor Daley keeps his word and keeps...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:09:20 -0500

Alright so we will see if Mayor Daley keeps his word and keeps Chicago running, because I have a trivia championship to win tonight!!! The final round is Led Zeppelin, so here is pretty much everything you need to know about Led Zeppelin.

The Things I Think We Need To Know

Led Zeppelin was an English rock band formed in 1968 that consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones.

Led Zeppelin did not release songs from their albums as singles in the United Kingdom, as they preferred to develop the concept of “album-oriented rock.”

The band have sold over 300 million albums worldwide, including 111.5 million certified units in the United States

Led Zeppelin is the second best selling band of all time in the United States, only behind The Beatles.

They have had all of their original studio albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard album chart in the US, with six reaching the number one spot.

Where did the name Led Zeppelin come from?

The band was called The New Yardbirds before Dreja sent a cease and desist letter.

One account of the band’s naming has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle, drummer and bassist for The Who, respectively, suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a “lead zeppelin”, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig.

Led Zeppelin IV is one of the best-selling albums in history and its massive popularity cemented Led Zeppelin’s superstardom in the 1970s. To date it has sold 23 million copies in the United States.

The Formation of Led Zeppelin

    - From the Yardbirds to Led Zeppelin

        In 1966, Jimmy Page joined the blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds to replace bassist Paul Samwell-Smith.

        Shortly after, Page switched from bass to lead guitar, creating a dual lead-guitar lineup with Jeff Beck.

        They were still committed to performing several concerts in Scandinavia, so drummer Jim McCarty and vocalist Keith Relf authorized Page and bassist Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfill the band’s obligations. Page and Dreja began         putting a new line-up together. Page’s first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Robert Plant, a Stourbridge singer of the Band of Joy.

        Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending a drummer, John Bonham from nearby Redditch.

        When Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin’s debut album), John Paul Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position.

        Atlantic was a label known for a catalogue of blues, soul and jazz artists, but in the late 1960s it began to take an interest in progressive British rock acts, and signed Led Zeppelin without having ever seen them, largely on the recommendation of         singer Dusty Springfield.

Maybe?

Led Zeppelin in commercials - 1. “Kashmir” Verizon V-Cast (2008) 2. Rock and Roll Cadillac (2007-09)

The group played together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London

Led Zeppelin’s entire catalogue made the Billboard Top 200 between the weeks of 27 October and 3 November 1979.

Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995

9 albums total

The Tricky Ones

Page wanted to form a supergroup with himself and Beck on guitars, and The Who’s rhythm section—drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle. Vocalists Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project.

The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, “Beck’s Bolero”, which is featured on Beck’s 1968 album, Truth.

The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968 at Luton Technical College in Bedfordshire, England.

When Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin’s debut album), John Paul Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position.[19}

In 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited (along with John Bonham’s son, Jason) for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London.

Probably won’t ask

Page suggested that they try playing “Train Kept A-Rollin’”, a rockabilly song popularized by Johnny Burnette that had been given new life by the Yardbirds.

The album’s song “Jim’s Blues” was the first studio track to feature all four members of the future Led Zeppelin.

Formed their own company, Superhype

The record label’s logo, based on a drawing called Evening: Fall of Day (1869) by William Rimmer, features a picture of Icarus. The logo can be found on much Led Zeppelin memorabilia, especially t-shirts.

Funny

Countess Eva von Zeppelin (granddaughter of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the creator of the Zeppelin airships) objected to the band’s use of her family name and attempted to stop a March 1969 television appearance in Copenhagen. When the band returned to Copenhagen for a concert in February 1970, they were billed as “The Nobs” as the result of a threat of legal action from von Zeppelin.[38] She is reported to have said: “They may be world famous, but a couple of shrieking monkeys are not going to use a privileged family name without permission.”

For the composition of their third album, Led Zeppelin III, Page and Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, in 1970.[43] The result was a more acoustic sound (including one entirely acoustic song, “Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp”, misspelt as “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” on the album cover),

Led Zeppelin began traveling in a private jet airliner (nicknamed The Starship),

Led Zeppelin rented out entire sections of hotels (including the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles, known colloquially as the “Riot House”), and became the subject of many of rock’s most repeated stories of debauchery. One escapade involved John Bonham riding a motorcycle through a rented floor of the Riot House,[42] while another involved the destruction of a room in the Tokyo Hilton, leading to the band being banned from that establishment for life.

The orange album cover of Houses of the Holy depicts images of nude children[57] climbing up the Giant’s Causeway (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland). Although the children are not depicted from the front, this was controversial at the time of the album’s release, and in some areas, such as the “Bible Belt” and Spain, the record was banned

John Bonham’s death

On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming North American tour, the band’s first since 1977, scheduled to commence on 17 October.[21] During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (450 ml), with a ham roll. After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant, “Breakfast”. He continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page’s house—The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. At 1:45 pm the next day Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin’s tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead.[21] The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit, and a verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October.[21] An autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham’s body. Bonham was cremated on 10 October 1980, and his ashes buried at Rushock parish church in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England.

Also, if you want, check on Wikipedia for The Shark Incident

Awww look at my cute little panda! It’s so cute! Yes it...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:24:39 -0500

Awww look at my cute little panda!

It’s so cute! Yes it is! It’s so cute…

See how to do this here.

Hey hey look at what I did. Find out how to do this here.

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:32:00 -0500

Hey hey look at what I did.

Find out how to do this here.

Look at my Despicable Me outline in Illustrator! Mikey is liking...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:19:09 -0500

Look at my Despicable Me outline in Illustrator! Mikey is liking this tutorial.

On to Photoshop!

Nike fire logo tutorial. I did it. Wanna learn too?

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:49:50 -0500

Nike fire logo tutorial.

I did it.

Wanna learn too?

Umbrella Corporation logo tutorial This was a quickie.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:11:43 -0500

Umbrella Corporation logo tutorial

This was a quickie.

Look at this website design! With clouds! Yeahhhh! Definitely...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:10:37 -0500

Look at this website design! With clouds! Yeahhhh!

Definitely not my design, just a tutorial I completed. Took forever, but I learned a lot.

Look at the female robot I made! Yeah be impressed. Actually if...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:24:34 -0500

Look at the female robot I made! Yeah be impressed.

Actually if you look at the tutorial I based this off, you probably wouldn’t be. I messed up a few steps and it didn’t follow a few others, but hey I’m learning! And boy did I learn some new tricks. Watch out y’all!

Just started: Doctor Who, Season Two Since my relationship with...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:18:38 -0500

Just started: Doctor Who, Season Two

Since my relationship with Buffy is coming to a close (tear, tear), I am looking for a new (old) tv show to watch. I think I have found it with Doctor Who. The new doctor is pretty awesome, and after a slightly-corny first 30 minutes of the Season 2 premiere, the show got really epic!

I might be hooked.

Just finished: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter OMG. This might be...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:38:32 -0500

Just finished: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

OMG. This might be the greatest book I have ever read. I am not big into the whole fiction novel, never thought I had enough time to get engrossed into a novel, but I’m glad I did with this one! HOLY SHIT! THIS WAS AMAZING!

I mean I already love history, now through vampires into the cracks and corners of an already epic story of the building of this crazy nation, now you have something. Abraham Lincoln was already a badass, now he is a vampire hunter? Damn.

The main thing I was thinking while I was reading this classic, was that it HAS TO BE A MOVIE!

Update: It is going to be a movie! Never have I had dreams answered so quickly! This could be the greatest movie ever!!! YESSSSS!!!!

Just finished: Buffy Season 5 Oh my god so emotional! Buffy!...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:29:22 -0500

Just finished: Buffy Season 5

Oh my god so emotional! Buffy! Dawn! Spike! Noooo!

I survived. Two more seasons to go.

Just finished: Wordpress 3.0 Creating and Editing Custom Themes...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:27:39 -0500

Just finished: Wordpress 3.0 Creating and Editing Custom Themes | By Chris Coyier

Just spent the past few days going through this Lynda.com screencast on how to build Wordpress themes. Very informative and very easy to follow. It’s funny that just a few months ago I was yelling at my computer screen every time I had to interact with PHP, now it’s starting to make a lot of sense.

Getting closer to understand how to build WP themes. Watch out!

I learned how to build Tumblr Themes! This week one of my goals...

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:29:21 -0500

I learned how to build Tumblr Themes!

This week one of my goals was to learn how to build Tumblr themes, and by god I did it! Thanks in large part to this tutorial on Nettuts! I love screencasts. It also helped that I am very comfortable with HTML and CSS, because that’s basically all you need to know to build themes.

Now I need to design some themes to code! Next week Mike…

50/100: Chinatown (1974) Halfway to my movie goal! I have seen...

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:24:35 -0500

50/100: Chinatown (1974)

Halfway to my movie goal! I have seen parts of this classic with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, but I finally finished the entire movie this afternoon. Great acting, great story, intrigue, lies, action, Roman Polanski acting, too much to talk about!

Just finished: Buffy Season 4 What an interesting season!...

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:29:52 -0500

Just finished: Buffy Season 4

What an interesting season! College. The Initiative. Non-harmful Spike.

The ending of episode 4.21, damn. That was awesome.

Just finished: Head First Javascript I am not a Javascript...

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:27:46 -0500

Just finished: Head First Javascript

I am not a Javascript master by any means, but I now recognize the language. Hopefully in a month or two I will have this down. Great introductory book for people who want to learn.

Just started: The Shield Oh boy. That pilot episode…...

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:25:14 -0500

Just started: The Shield

Oh boy. That pilot episode… man… where do you go from here?