Year: 2010

Posted on

SchipulMix December 2010: Tunes from our ears to yours

SchipulMix music listening party December 2010

Our crew LOVES our music, as evidenced by the multitude of office singalongs (particularly those originating from David’s office speakers).

Here are the highlights of what’s been keeping us going throughout the month – tell us your faves in the comments and we might include your track in our January SchipulMix! Happy listening:

Playlist:

  1. Vengeance Is Sleeping (Neko Case)
  2. Xtatic Truth (Crystal Fighters)
  3. Firework (Katy Perry)
  4. Paid in Full (Eric B & Rakim)
  5. Children’s Story (Slick Rick)
  6. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)
  7. Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots Pt. 1 (Flaming Lips)
  8. Janglin (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)

Photo thanks to Flickr user a_kep

Posted on

Boss Blog of the Month: Orange Juice & Biscuits

Boss [baw, bos]

-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2. An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by early 1960s…until now.
Used in a sentence: Orange Juice is great, but Orange Juice and Biscuits is boss.

Jonathan Valdez - blogger of Orange Juice & Biscuits

What is the most important meal of the day? Some classic folk might say Cocoa Puffs, a few dieters will admit to cold pizza, but pop culture, fashion fanatics will declare in unison, Orange Juice & Biscuits is where it’s at.

No, this does not mean there is a new organic orange that will guarantee weight loss nor does it anticipate an advanced biscuit that will combat frizz. It means that if you love a humorous take on front row fashion, “Livin’ La Vida Lohan” and all things sexy in the NYC, then you must suppress your appetite with Decemeber’s Boss Blog of the Month, Orange Juice & Biscuits.

I believe any successful blog tells a story, and OJ&B does just that through the eyes of Jonathan Valdez – a hilarious, dapper young fellow who writes with such enthusiasm, he could make a 76 yr. old nun pumped about Gaga’s latest music video. In 2009, Jonathan was named Mashable’s Top 5 Best Bloggers to Follow and for good reason; it’s not just about writing for him, it’s about sharing an amazing experience with amazing people.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with creator of OJ&B, and close friend, Jonathan Valdez about the incredible growth of OJ&B and what sets it apart from all the other fashion and celebrity blogs.

“I believe OJ&B is funny without being snarky or mean. Yes, it’s fashion, yes, it’s celebrities but it’s also about supporting the great people I have met in New York. You never know who you are going to meet and where they are going…OJ&B has enabled me to show how much I value these relationships and I believe people respect that.”

Jonathan doesn’t just sit and watch from afar, he writes about Whitney Port’s new fashion line because he was there. He gives shout outs to Models of the Runway Winner, Kalyn Hemphill because they truly are friends. He provides live media coverage of events, like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week because, well…they thought OJ&B was awesome too. People enjoy Jonathan as a person because he genuinely enjoys them, the difference is he writes about it. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to see their name in print? Guilty.

There is just not enough great things to say about OJ&B. I love this blog, I love the guy behind the blog and I love that we can agree on one thing…

“Everyone loves a good Lohan mention.” – Jonathan Valdez

Want more Orange Juice & Biscuits?

Fan OJ&B on Facebook

Follow OJ&B on Twitter and be apart of OJ&B’s 2,011 followers by 2011!

Posted on

Metropolitan New York Library Council Gets a Savvy New Site

Metropolitan New York Library Council Tendenci Site

The Metropolitan New York Library Council launched their fabulous new website!  METRO is a non-profit organization that develops and maintains library services throughout New York City and Westchester County.

They’re using Tendenci content management software to help members:

It’s a beautiful design with the homepage pulling in dynamic content from various parts of the site. It gives visitors a great overview of the content at-a-glance and makes navigating the site a breeze.

Check out the new METRO site and feel free to give METRO a virtual pat-on the back on twitter (@tweetmetro) or a nice big ‘like’ on Facebook !

Posted on

The Annual Schipul Christmas Sweater Attractiveness Contest

***UPDATED****

Congratulations to our winners for best sweater and best caption!

Sweater Contest Winner: David Stagg “The Elf Playboy”

Caption Winners: Chilly- 1st Place | Nicole – Runner-Up

2011 Christmas Sweater Contest Winners

We here at Schipul don’t believe that Christmas sweaters are tacky. In fact, we’re of the opinion they’re just as trendy as Hammer pants, neon-on-neon, and JNCOs.

In honor of our attractiveness (and, really, our complete inability to be impartial in choosing the most attractive outfit), we’re putting it up for you all to vote on. Help us decide our winner! Peruse the candidates and vote at the bottom. Leave a comment with a caption of your fave Schipul sweater for a chance to win a $15 Starbucks gift card!

David Stagg – The Elf Playboy

Dstagg as "Snowball the Elf"

David Stagg pranced in here with quite the vest this season, sporting multiple active Santas in a variety of sleepwear. Under the vest is quite the cozy cream sweater embossed with iron-on presents trimmed in fabric paint, and a large forest green Christmas tree made of ribbons, rubies and red bows. And to top off what is soon to be every girl’s fantasy, a hat with cut-out felt elf ears, a single jingle bell and lovely hand-stitched embroidery that reads, ‘Jingle This.” – assume what you must.

Aaron Long – Bad Santa

Aaron Long as Bad Santa

Aaron Long has taken a more traditional approach this December with the ever so popular cherry red coat and Santa hat. As you may have guessed, the suit is carefully lined with soft, white fabric leaving many to believe his presence is that of an angel. Bringing a more modern feel to the garment, he has added a silver zipper from the chest to the neckline which only solidifies the fact that everyone loves a good zipper. While he has foregone the beard this season, we believe that his golden salt and pepper locks have made up for his lack of facial hair.

Courtney Pemberton – Grandma Coco

CP as Grandma Coco

Courtney Pemberton has channeled her inner grandma this Christmas and opted for the classic red cardigan with two sequined, embroidered snow globes. Each snow globe has been carefully sewn to tell a story about a jolly man named Santa embracing his best friend Rudolph…who of course, can stand upright due to his sweet dancing skills. Adding a bit more pizazz to the garment are 20 fabric-glued snowflakes accompanied with individual brooches that include a dog holding a bone, an assumingly drunk Santa Claus, 2 bears playing footsy and a cat tangled in Christmas lights. To bring the outfit together, a Grinch T-shirt resides under the cardigan and of course, the beloved Trapper hat has been placed upon the head for final effect.

Ben Gillin – Creepy Christmas Neighbor

Ben Gillen as Creepy Christmas Neighbor

Ben Gillin in channeling his inner redneck this year wearing a somewhat smoked, cherry red, house robe. You can’t miss this flamboyantly styled A-line hem with Santa Claus, candy canes and gum drops galore lining the inner fabric. The hood reflects an Avant-garde mood and is a perfect addition for fetching the newspaper in the rain. If conservative is more your style, this outfit offers flexibility with a built-in belt to keep everyone guessing at all times.

Derek Key – Wise Ol’ Candy Cane

Derek Key as Wise Ol' Candy Cane

Derek Key is relating to young and old alike this season with his hand woven sweater vest accompanied with an abnormally small pocket detail. The sweater comes just above the belt line proving that this garment can be purchased at 10 and worn till you’re at least 35. Iconic images of sailboats, stockings and Christmas cheer add just enough spunk and that abnormally small pocket – well, it’s perfect for holding pennies.


After you vote – leave a comment with a funny caption of the Schipul sweater of your choice. The Schipulites will pick their favorite on Tuesday, December 28th and send off a $15 Starbucks gift card!

Posted on

Update – back online! Some sites experiencing outages – we’re working on it!

Thanks for your patience to all who had sites affected by our technical difficulties yesterday.  All sites are back up and running today, we apologize for the inconvenience.

Some of our Tendenci sites may be offline this morning as our IT team works on some hardware issues.

We will update you as soon as possible and want you to know that we are working diligently.

Need some help? Contact our Support Team by emailing support AT schipul DOT com or by phone at (281) 497.6567, ext. 411.

Thank you, as always, for your patience and your business!

Posted on

Showcase Content with Online Publishing Tools

Issuu Homepage

Just a few years ago, sites like  Newspaper Death Watch, began tracking daily newspapers as they steadily went out of print. Since then, publications have adapted to the changing media landscape by creating online versions of their publications. But the delivery is different, and sometimes not as visually appealing as the copy you get to hold in your hand.

Online publishing tools offer just that. And not only are they useful for magazines, but they’re great for brochures and promotional pieces.  Issuu and FlippingBook are two examples of online tools used by two Schipul clients to showcase their content.

The Houston Zoo‘s marketing team uses Issuu for their Events & Venue Guide.

The Houston Zoo uses Issuu online publishing tool for their Events & Venue Guide

Issuu lets users upload in any format and choose the best way to display their content (magazine, presentation or paper).  One of the great things about Issuu is that it’s SEO-friendly. According to the site, every word inside publications on Issuu are available from any search engine.  More than that, users can try it for free or just browse it’s catalog of online publications.

Rice Epicurean uses FlippingBook to showcase their weekly specials.

Rice Epicurean Markets uses FlippingBook Online publishing tool for their Weekly Sales Paper

FlippingBook turns PDF files into flash on a specific site, rather than a searchable community. It allows users to share and view the content online.  Also, the program lets users tailor the look of publications, has a download feature for multiple ways of sharing and a built-in text search that helps users find specific information within the text.  The drawback of the program is that   its free versions are watermarked and only available for Windows 7, Vista and XP.

The sleek presentation of publishing sites like Issuu can be intimidating. If you’re seeking something simple, Scribd. is worth a peek.

Scribd is an online publishing tool for all types of documents

It’s an open reading platform, meaning you don’t need a flash player or web reader to view documents. It’s HTML based. The types of documents span the gamut –school work, how-to guides/manuals, books, presentations, spreadsheets – it’s all there. To get a better idea of the community Scribd caters to, I recommend watching their  introductory slideshow.

Depending on your needs, FlippingBook,  Issuu and Scribd are all suitable online publication tools with great features. FlippingBook is a good tool for content that will change consistently, yet it offers the functionality of a visually appealing, hand-held publication.  Issuu is definitely the way to go  for a more substantial publication, that won’t “expire.” And Scribd offers a bit of both worlds, where your document can live and breath in a widely accessible format.

Check out a previous post from @cwminor on online publishing services.

Posted on

Friday Fun: That’s Not What She Said

I like “That’s What She Said” jokes just as much as the next person. I could listen to them all day (and I do), but I really do miss the days when jokes didn’t have to be perverse or controversial to be funny. Somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, it seems like everyone’s funny bone becomes a funny boner. Humor and perversion become inseparable.

What happened to finding humor in a play on words that didn’t hinge on prepositions like “up” or “in?” When did we start having to look over both shoulders before telling a joke? When did NSFW even become an acronym?

Well, I, for one, still love the clean classics. A good knock knock joke or a clever and innocent play on words will tickle my fancy every time. So, in honor of the oldies but goodies, in honor of a time and age when we wouldn’t have understood a single Michael Scott joke, here are a few of my favorites:

Joke # 1

Q: “What did the mommy buffalo say to her child as he walked away?”

A: “Bye, son.”

BWAAAHAAAHAAAHAAA!!! Get it!? Bye, son. . . . Like bison – as in plural for buffalo?. . . . . . Man, this joke is genius. . . . . Now, catch your breath, I’ve got more.

Joke #2

Q: “Did you hear what happened to the peanut in Central Park?”

A: “He was a salted!”

Brilliant! Come on, someone call Mariska Hargitay, this peanut was A SALTED!!!!! Hahahahahaha! This is purified awesome.

Ok, Ok, there’s more…

Joke #3

One day a piece of string was going for a walk to blow off some steam. He ended up walking into a bar to get a beer. Immediately the bartender said: “Hey, aren’t you a piece of string?!”

String said: “Why, yes I am.”

The bartender replied, “We don’t serve string here, GET OUTTA MY BAR!”

Now String was pretty upset, but as he continued on his walk he ran into a friend. She said, “String, what’s wrong? You look so sad.”

String said, “Oh, I’m just having a bad day, and I got kicked out of this bar….”

She knew just the thing to make him feel better, so she frayed his ends. And sure enough, he felt like a whole new piece of string. Unfortunately though, the feeling didn’t last long, and soon he began to sulk again.

A little while later, he ran into another friend. She said, “String, what’s wrong? You look so sad.” He told her the whole story. She knew just the thing to make him feel better, so she tied him in a knot.

And it worked. String felt so great, he had the confidence to go back to that bar and demand his beer.

He walked in and said, “Bartender, gimme a beer!”

The bartender looked at him for second and said, “Hey, aren’t you that piece of string who came in here earlier?”

And then the string said, “No, I’m a frayed knot!”

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..Um

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..ah-hem

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………..

Ok, Ok, I’m back. I’m Sorry. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even type (wiping tears from my eyes). That might be my favorite. joke. EVER. . . . . I’m a frayed knot. . . Who did that crazy string think he was fooling?

Ok, moving on. . .

Joke #4

Q: “Why did the tomato blush?”

A: “Because he saw the salad dressing”

Pure. Classic. Genius.

And finally. . . .

Joke #5

Now this one is for the super big nerds out there. And the fact that I even understand this joke is proof that working at Schipul has turned me into a bona fide GEEK. Special thanks to our programmers for this, as a couple of them recently tweeted this joke and had me in stitches.

“A SQL query walks into a bar. He approaches two tables and says: Mind if I join you?”


HilARious!!!! Y’all, jokes like this are why knee slapping EXISTS.

In conclusion. . .

I hope you enjoyed my sweet, silly and clean jokes. If you didn’t, I’m sorry. But don’t misunderstand my apology. I’m not sorry because I told them to you. I’m sorry because that little piece of your soul – the place where joy and simple things live – is empty. That must suck.

The End.