Random thoughts on art, technology, stuff, and occasionally Real Estate: February 2009

Worlds End Celebrating Two Decades of the Neruda-O'Daly Ranchito

Worlds End Celebrating Two Decades of the Neruda-O'Daly Ranchito - with poet translator William O'Daly and Friends

Pablo-neruda

Saturday, March 7, 2009 starting at 8:00 pm

 
Los Angeles poets will read from Neruda, in Spanish and English, as prelude to a talk and reading that Mr. O'Daly will deliver, primarily from his two newest Neruda books, World's End and The Hands of Day.

Matilda read by Fernando Castro
If You Forget me read by Corrie Greathouse
If You Forget me read in Spanish by Rafael F J Alvarado
I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You read by Theresa Antonia
Cat's Dream (Sueño de Gato) read in Spanish by Abel Salas

I Can Write the Saddest Lines read by Doug Knott
Ode to Air read by Don Newton
Canto XII: Arise to Birth with me, my Brother read by Peggy Dobreer
Canto XII: Arise to Birth with me, my Brother in Spanish Mariano Zaro
Ode to Socks read by Amaranth Borsuk

Ode To Socks read in Spanish by Gabriela Jauregui
Ode to the Yellow Bird read by Kim Calder
To the Foot from it's Child read by Miguel Sanchez
Walking Around read by Jenny Factor
Sonnet XIV read by Russell Salamon

Ode to Book read by Lois P Jones
Ars Poetica read by Holly Prado


Avenue 50 Studio, Inc.
a 501(c)(3) non-profit art gallery
131 North Avenue 50
Highland Park, CA  90042

For more information:  323-258-1435

0 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 27 2009 05:35AM

Installing Donncha's Domain Mapping Plugin for MU

WordPress MU (Mutiple User) allows unlimited, separate, individual blogs to exist on one installation, in one hosting acount.

And each individual blog can have a unique domain name with the help of Donncha's Domain Mapping plugin.

The installation of the plugin requires a few additional steps.  Here's how to do it.

1.. Download the WordPress Mu domain mapping Plugin

2.  UnZip it

3.  After you unzip, you will see just three files:

domain_mapping.php

readme.txt

sunrise.php

4.  FTP to your WordPress MU site, and upload the file named "domain_mapping.php" to the mu-plugins folder.  Do not upload it to the regular plugins folder.

5.  In the host panel of your FTP program, move up a level to your wp-content folder.  Upload the file named "sunrise.php" to your wp-content folder.

 

6.  In the host panel of your FTP program, move up to the root level of your WordPress Installation.  Find the file named wp-config.php

7.  Use the edit fieature of your FTP program to edit the wp-config.php file online.  The only edit you need to make is to "uncomment" the  line that looks like this

"// uncomment this to enable wp-content/sunrise.php support
//define( 'SUNRISE', 'on' );

And the way you "uncomment" it is to remove the two " //" before the line that reads //define( 'SUNRISE', 'on' );

Remove the two // and save.

8.  Close your FTP program and return to your WordPress MU site.

Click Manage -> Domain Mapping

You'll know the Domain Mapping plugin is ready to use when you see this form ready to be filled in.

7 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 23 2009 09:21PM

Domain Mapping in MU

I'm sharing my rather cryptic notes here, without explanation or illustrations since I need it save it somewhere before I forget ......  Will add explanations later.  :-)

Install Donncha's Domain Mapping Plugin

Register domain name for the individual blog

1.  Get IP Address.  Start -> Run -> cmd -> ping http://main mu site

2.  At GoDaddy, go to domain manager for main mu site and copy down nameserver info

3.  At GoDaddy, go to domain manager for individual blog name 

Change nameservers to to the names copied from main mu site (Select custom nameservers)

AND under Total DNS Control and MX Records, change the A (Host) record = @ Points to IP address of main mu site

4.  At the main mu site, go to the individual blog.  Click Manage -> Domain Mapping 

Enter IP address for main mu site

Enter the registered domain name for the individual blog 

5.  Wait for new domain address to resolve

0 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 23 2009 05:53AM

WordPress Mu Plugin Folder

I've been muddling my way thru learning Mu (Multiple User) WordPress now since December, and until just a few minutes ago, I never noticed that there are TWO plugin folders in Mu. 

One named "plugins" which works just like a plugin folder in single user WordPress, and another folder named "mu-plugins".

Plugins placed in the "mu-plugins" folder automatically activate across all individual blogs in the community, without any action from the individual blog owner.  Reference:  http://mu.wordpress.org/forums/topic.php?id=1997

Plugins placed in the regular "plugin" folder must be activiated by each individual blog owner as that person chooses.

Donncha's domain mapping plugin (a plugin for Mu that allows each individual blog in the community to be mapped to its own domain name) must be placed in the "mu-plugin" folder in order to function.

I learned this because I inadvertently placed it in the regular "plugin" folder, busted everything, and it took me about an hour to figure out what was wrong.  :-)

5 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 22 2009 07:12AM

Hair O' The Dog

In old english folklore, the treatment for a bite from a rabid dog was to make a potion of the dog's hair and apply it to the wound.

In later times "Hair O' The Dog" came to mean treating a hangover by ingesting a little more alcohol.  Morning After Bloody Marys all round!

I'm thinking what the nation's housing market needs right now is a little "Hair O' The Dog."

Meaning: Zero down payment loans and relaxed credit requirements got us into this fix.

I'm thinking we need some a housing bill providing some zero down payment loans with relaxed credit standards to get us back out.

 

5 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 20 2009 10:30AM

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

I found this Theodore Roosevelt quote on a flickr friend's profile:

 "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

I liked this thought so much, I'm sharing it here.

 

Here's another "Depression Era" rhyme.  I'd love to say "I learned it from my mom", but the truth is I don't remember where I first heard it:

"Use it up.  Wear it out. Make it do or do without."

:-)

11 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 19 2009 06:29PM

Real Coders Copy and Paste

A couple months ago, I created some WordPress Mu (Multiple User) communities. 

( http://activerain.com/blogsview/851850/Installing-WordPress-MU-on-GoDaddy-Yes-It-Can-Be-Done

http://activerain.com/blogsview/888615/I-declare-it-is-done-enough-for-now-at-any-rate  )

Mu is a slightly different animal than stand-alone WordPress.org.  In fact, in several ways, it lacks some of the functionality of the stand-alone version.  Why? Because the developers of Mu figured there were security risks inherit in a public, multi-blog community .... and so some basic, simple functions such as embedding a video, or using iframes are disabled.

And enabling those simple functions is perhaps a little trickier than necessary.

1.  First attempt at a solution:  The Unfiltered MU plugin.  Unfiltered MU works great, when it works, but is temperamental and does not every time.

2.  Back to the Mu forums, its sounding as if I may need to hack the kses.php file.  Hmmmm.

http://mu.wordpress.org/forums/topic.php?id=9270

http://mu.wordpress.org/forums/topic.php?id=7851

3.  Then I find this plugin http://wpmudev.org/project/Allow-Embedded-Videos , but the writer of the plugin, Stuart Maxwell, only coded it to include embedded videos.  He says "If you look at the source code of the plugin you'll see how easy it is to add additional tags so that you could modify it to allow iframes, forms or whatever else you want."

4.  Okayfine.  So now I need to copy the iframe code from taiwanese's post here http://mu.wordpress.org/forums/topic.php?id=7851  and paste it into Stuart Maxwell's code.

Here's the final product which now resides in the plugin folder of one of my Mu communities:

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Allow embedded videos
Plugin URI: http://wpmudev.org/project/Allow-Embedded-Videos
Description: Allows videos from Google, Flickr, Youtube to be embedded into Wordpress MU.  Iframe code added by CJ http://www.queenofkludge.com
Version: 1.0
Author: Stuart Maxwell
Author URI: http://stuart.amanzi.co.nz
*/

/*  Copyright 2008  Stuart Maxwell  (email : stuart@amanzi.co.nz)

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
    (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    GNU General Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
    Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
*/

function az_add_tags(&$content) {
    $content += array(
        'object' => array(
            'width' => array(),
            'height' => array(),
            'data' => array(),
            'type' => array(),
            'classid' => array(),
            ),
        'param' => array(
            'name' => array(),
            'value' => array(),
            ),
        'embed' => array(
            'src' => array(),
            'type' => array(),
            'bgcolor' => array(),
            'allowfullscreen' => array(),
            'flashvars' => array(),
            'wmode' => array(),
            'width' => array(),
            'height' => array(),
            'style' => array(),
            'id' => array(),
            'flashvars' => array(),
            )

 

 'iframe' => array(
  'width' => array(),
  'height' => array(),
  'frameborder' => array(),
  'src' => array(),
  'frameborder' => array(),
  'marginwidth' => array(),
  'marginheight' => array(),
  )


       );
    return $content;
}
add_filter('edit_allowedposttags', 'az_add_tags');
?>

 

Please feel free to copy it to a text file, and upload to your own Mu community. 

File name should be  524507081_az-kses     (no dot anything at the end) 

Upload the file  to your mu-plugins folder

At least I have now made it easier for the next person who comes along.  :-)

5 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 19 2009 09:45AM

Obama Housing Plan Speech

Looks like Huffington Post is first up with the full text version of Obama's Housing Plan speech, given today February 18 in Arizona

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/obama-foreclosure-speech_n_167889.html

Here it is on Reuters:  http://in.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idINN1843410920090218

I watched it on cable.  Whatever else you think about the plan, you gotta admit Mr. Obama is a powerful orator!  The effect of the delivery was very positive.

The comment stream on Huffington is pretty interesting, too.  

 

 

2 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 18 2009 12:24PM

My Furry Valentine Adoption Event

Los Angeles - LA Animal Services, in partnership with the Found Animals Foundation and the Pet Care Foundation, is announcing the My Furry Valentine adoption event at six L.A. area Animal Care Centers.


Loving animals will be available for adoption at a Valentine's Day special low price of $43 for a dog, $28 for a cat (second cat is free!) and $25 for a rabbit. This is a 60% to 80% savings off regular adoption fees. During this event, these low adoption fees include spay/neuter surgery, microchip, vaccinations and in the case of dogs a license.

If you have been looking for love in all the wrong places, come to LA Animal Services and find a Valentine who will give you a lifetime of unconditional love!

North Central Animal Care Center
3201 Lacy Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Hours: 8am-3pm

South LA Animal Care Center
3612 11th Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90018
Hours: 8am-3pm

West Valley Animal Care Center
20655 Plummer Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
Hours: 8am-3pm

Harbor Animal Care Center
957 N. Gaffey Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
Hours: 8am-3pm

Southeast Area Animal Control (SEAACA)  
9777 Seaaca Street
Downey, CA 90241
Hours: 10am - 4pm

West Los Angeles Animal Care Center 
11361 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Hours: 8am - 3pm

East Valley Animal Care Center
14409 Vanowen Street
Van Nuys, CA
Hours: 8am - 3pm

7 commentsCheryl Johnson • February 14 2009 06:39AM

Edgy Art for St. Valentine's Day

This year, St. Valentine's Day coincides with NELAart's Second Saturday Art Gallery Night.

Local galleries will be looking at St. Valentine's Day in unique and startling ways.

Avenue 50 Studio at 131 North Avenue 50, pairs visual artists with poets whose poem speaks to a particular painting in the exhibition, creating a visual "call and response".  "Intensidad," speaks of artists whose sharply defined work reveals a personality that is passionate in its power of concentration.  These artists reach into their souls where inner strength is the source of their intensity.

drkrm. at 2121 San Fernando Road, opens the first Los Angeles exhibition of Flesh Life: Sex in Mexico City, the work of New York-based photographer Joseph Rodríguez. The show is comprised of twenty-five 11x14 black and white photographs and runs from February 14 through March 15, 2009, with an opening reception on Saturday evening, February 14, from 7-10 p.m.

Bholanath Gallery at 6042 Monte Vista, will feature brand new never before seen works by Comah & Hert (U.S.C.) and one of a kind Miguel Torres custom painted clothing and accessories. They will also have Beta Foster Care charity raffle, food & drink. Music by up and coming young DJ, DJ Rye-Bread. Chocolate tasting.

Juanita's presents Pink Guerillas: Art Show & Fundraiser -Proceeds Go to Homeless Youth - Live Bands & DJ Gingee - $5 cover

 

The second Saturday of every month is Gallery Night in Northeast Los Angeles:  Your opportunity to explore the Galleries, Shops, Restaurants and Nightlife in the historic and eclectic neighborhoods of Northeast Los Angeles.  Maybe even purchase art for your home or office.

Tour participating galleries this Saturday, February 14 from 7PM - 10 PM. 

1 commentCheryl Johnson • February 13 2009 07:33AM