Credits
Phase I (Fall 2007)
I began building this website during Thanksgiving week of 2007. All throughout the year I was thinking about getting someone to design the logo and website and all that for Ivory Bakery, but I also noticed that I was dragging my feet in selecting suitable designers and in giving them a direction regarding what I really wanted to see.
When Thanksgiving came, I realized I had no logo, no website, no nothing. That’s when I made the decision to design my own logo. I was so happy with the outcome that the next decision to build out the rest of the site came very easy. I was inspired, I was motivated, and I worked on this non-stop for several weeks. I didn’t have the attitude of “I gotta get this done or else.” Rather, I had the attitude of “I’m going to have a lot of fun dedicating the serious time and energy needed to build the website for my life’s work.”
So I want to take a minute to thank the following projects and the people behind them for helping me get the first phase of the Ivory Bakery website and the Religion 2.0 blog + podcast out to the world.
Technical
The majority of this website was created using open source software, all of which cost me a grand total of $0.00 USD.
operating system: Ubuntu Linux (the best Linux distribution by far… go Mark!)
web server: Apache
database: MySQL
server-side language: PHP
blog: WordPress (easy to setup, easy to use, easy to customize… go Matt!)
blog theme: MWD
vector graphics: Inkscape (I’m still amazed at how much this program can do)
graphics: Gimp
office suite: OpenOffice.org (I didn’t need this for the website, but I write most of my content in OpenDocument (odt) format first)
favorite command-line tools: vi, rsync, tar, ssh
Many many thanks to the men, women, and penguins that bring us open source software through their passionate and voluntary dedication to the open source movement, the very spirit of sharing, collaboration, and remixing.
Musical
If you’re like me, most of your creativity pours forth when everyone else is asleep. So if you’re staying up late into the wee hours of the morning, you can’t pass every single hour of it in pure silence (you’ll fall asleep, hellooooo). Eine kleine Nachtmusik (”a little night music”) to accompany you on your date with your muse can be a delightful thing. So I want to acknowledge the following musicians for warming my studio with their sounds. I am in awe of their talent.
Thievery Corporation, Versions
Colbie Caillat, Coco
A Fine Frenzy, One Cell In The Sea
Sarah McLachlan, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Wintersong
Shaman’s Dream Project, Kerala Dream
Tantra Lounge, Exotic Indian Electronica
Jai Uttal, Dial M for Mantra
Natacha Atlas, Something Dangerous
Leigh Nash, Blue on Blue
Govinda, Worlds Within
Frou Frou, Details
Personal
Last but not certainly not least, I want to thank Jenn, my girlfriend, partner-in-joy, and fairy godbaker of Ivory Bakery, for advising me on the website’s aesthetic and usability qualities. In addition to all this, she prepared an amazing Thanksgiving meal for our family as well as some of the best cheesecakes love and laughter have to offer. Thank you, my dear, thank you!
Think about it: working joyfully on your life’s work, bringing both your technical and artistic sides together in one stroke, Leigh Nash’s “Ocean Size Love” filling the night air, an icy cold bottle of Coca Cola still fizzling with bubbles, and your partner-in-joy’s finest cheesecake sitting like royalty beside the laptop, waiting for you to take the next bite…
It. Just. Doesn’t. Get. Better. Than. This.
Rahim Taliesin Snow