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Out of all of the Presidents that have occupied the grounds of the White House and governed the soil of the United States, no other President has attained so much attention towards his strengths while in office than Abraham Lincoln.

More prominent the fact that he is only one of three Presidents that were assasinated, respectfully; William McKinley (1897-1901) and John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) being the other two Presidents that have succumbed to such tragedies.

I’ve always had a certain interest towards this man whom I never knew but always admired. So much in fact I’ve learned as much about his life as I could and in honor of his birthday today, here is a snippet from Biography.com;

“Sixteenth president of the United States and president during the Civil War. Born February 12, 1809, in a log cabin on a farm in Hardin County, Kentucky. His father had come with his parents from Virginia and had grown to manhood on the Kentucky frontier. He had evidently become moderately successful as a farmer and carpenter, for in 1803 he was able to pay ?118 for a farm near Elizabethtown. Three years later he married Nancy Hanks, described as “intelligent, deeply religious, kindly, and affectionate,” but as “illiterate” as himself. Of her family and background little is known.”

- read the rest of Lincoln’s story at Biography.com

Earlier today I was searching the ‘Net for some graphic design related web sites. Not only was my venture a successful one, but one in which I’ll share with you the links I’ve added to my Favorites list.

Also, of noteworthy mention — tomorrow (Friday the 14th) is Valentines Day and Abe Lincoln’s birthday. So, party hardy!

Tomorrow I’m going to a nice dinner and to the movie, “How to lose a Guy in 10 Days”. Maybe it will be a contender for the Male’s Top 3 Chick Flick Awards? So far My Big Fat Greek Wedding is in the lead!

Linkages

Chuck Greens’ Jumpola is a wealth of valuable design information. Everything from helpful design tips to illustrations, it’s a plethora of great resources offered on one site! I recommend this to Beginner and Advanced designers alike.

Color Schemer is a site that offers a color-wheel design system. Simply choose a color from the web-safe palette and instantaneously emerges new schemes based on your color. Awesome utility. Comes in two flavors; Online and Shareware.

istockphoto.com and Morgue File are two wonderful royalty-photo resources. While istock does offer free downloads based on a credit basis, Morgue File is free for all (for the time being anyways). Both great sites for the graphic artist in need of turning static photos of pink flamingos into breathtaking pieces of digital inspiration.

Designs by Mark is well, designs by Mark! Self-explanatory, huh? Actually, this digital artist presents a great database of Photoshop tutorials and resources galore. He even has updated the site with a ‘How-To’ Valentines Day card for the ladies (or lady).

:: more to come ::

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took the small boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.”

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit, keep playing.” Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience.

- Author Unknown

Per the X-E Entertainment web site:

“By popular request, here’s downloads for fifty different 80s commercials, ranging in subject from food to toys to video games and beyond. Over the past few years I’ve gotten more e-mails asking how people can view these old ads than I can count, so I’m taking the bull by its marketing horns and giving you more promotional fun than previously thought possible. Or something like that. To watch a commercial, click on the one you want. A page will pop up with the link for you to download the file. Each commercial is a .wmv (Windows Media Player) file, and all are roughly 1 MB in size a piece. All files are of great quality, nice video and near-perfect sound.”

Download them. Enjoy the nostalgia of the 80s. Mmm-mmm-good.