|
..SITE REVIEWS December 18th, 2007, youforawhile.com China2Ny Back in the Saddle (with Presents from TheVelvets)! Long time no see, everyone! Took a break from all this tippity-typing after the defense, but I can neglect YouForAWhile.com no longer. Not when there are HOLIDAY updates over at theVelvets!!! Man…Inge. You are the greatest. Not only did this woman procure for us tons of fun Tori Amos holiday pics, icons, and wallpapers (featuring none other than the famed gift-giver Santa), but she also designed desktop-sized TORI AMOS CALENDARS for us! Merry Christmas indeed. Okay…into more detail I go. First, the icons/avatars section feature some of the familiar Tori poses with added holiday spice…perfect for demonstrating your Christmas Spirit over at @forumz or The Afterglow. The Tori X-mas wallpapers range from pretty gosh darn funny (see Tori with Santa hat superimposed on a Norman Rockwell-like paiting) to absolutely gorgeous (see Beekeeper-era Tori set in a Christmas tree). I’ll spend more time doting on the desktop calendars…which represent an act of kindness so great as to render anything nice I do on this site, well…not as nice. Calenders are, after all, the coolest holiday gift eva! (Well the most popular, anyway.) Tori desktop calendars = Tori art w/purpose. Anytime my Tori obsession can be used to benefit me in terms of my timeliness, memory, and intimate knowledge of the date I get so gosh darn happy that I ramble on and on and on in my blog! Go see what beautiful Tori pose you have your your birthday! My birthday is in July and I have Beekeeper-era Tori. You know, that pic everyone loves but is utterly confused by (why are their shoes and apples spinning around her? I get the apples–the whole tree of knowledge thing. But shoes? One of my fave pics, though. The dress is killer). Here are some not-as-good-as-the-real-thing samples of the yummy goodies over at thevelvets. Click on over to Inge’s Best-Tori-Stuff-Shop for the real deal. OH!!! And I forgot the BEST part! You HAVE to check out the pic from October…I’ve never seen it before and its absolutely one of the best Tori pictures I’ve ever seen. Rareness is next to Godliness as far as Tori Amos pictures are concerned. December 7th, 2007, youforawhile.com Why Should You Head Over to TheVelvets.com Right Now? BECAUSE…the wonderful Inge (who I am apparently obsessed over, because I’ve referred to her in the past two posts…) just updated her site with SIXTEEN American Doll Posse inspired wallpapers (see previews below). And not just any ADP wallpapers. These things are amazing! Inge has managed to find live shots of the Dolls that capture their unique personalities perfectly and then found the most meaningful and descriptive song quote to go along with it. This is why this woman is a graphic design genius. She is quite the creative, Tori-obsessed Wonder Woman. My favorite? Hm. I would have to go with this one of Clyde (displayed above) since she was the Doll who opened in my hometown (Louisville). Inge was obviously feeling Pipilicious given that most of the wallpapers feature the rubber-sporting warrior. Can’t blame her…Pip is the most interesting to look at. She gets up from behind the piano most often and is the most un-Tori like (and by that I mean traditional Tori performance-like…since I know Pip is really a part of Tori). What is your favorite? Here are a few small shots to give you a taste…but head on over to thevelvets.com for the real deal Holyfield. While you are there, give her a shout out or sign her guest book. She is a very friendly person and always willing to meet new Ears with Feet. November 12th, 2007, youforawhile.com There are a total of, like, a gazillion Tori Amos fansites out there. I frequent about a handful of them each day. TheVelvets.com is one of those sites…and not just because I’m becoming fast internet friends with Inge, the site’s creator…but because she never fails to fascinate her online audience with her Tori-inspired graphic art skills and the frequency with which she adds new and exciting stuff. I just checked over there this morning and there is a whole host of new and exciting stuff to check out. In need of a new ADP-picture, icon, or avatar? Then you’ll be in heaven…particularly if you are a Santa fan or are desperately trying to find images from Pip’s Chicago Me and a Gun performance. Wanna check out some of the latest Legs & Boots covers? Inge has brought you some and more. She’s even letting the holiday spirit take over a little early and has uploaded some Christmas-themed Tori icons (Wanna put angel Santa on the top of your tree this year?). Inge is so involved in the Tori Amos art community and is so generous with her website that she has a page devoted to like-minded Tori artists called fan art. For all of my poking, I hadn’t truly appreciated this page before. If you find yourself particularly inspired…send Inge your work. Your work will be proudly displayed in no time. The newest addition is a wonderful Pip picture, perfect for all you guys that have a simultaneous love for Pip and Purple. And there are many, many reasons that I love Inge. High up on the list is because she made me smile this morning perusing her new page: Nutty Tori–a collection of hilarious candid Tori pics. Moments when her eyes were rolling a bit to hard, her tongue was sticking out at odd angles, or when she was delighting us with a “hey, I’m just a person like you” moment. This page is a must-view. Right now. Do it. Go. September 25th, 2007, youforawhile.com Tori Amos Website Review: TheVelvets.com YouForAWhile.com is immensely thankful for the warm welcome into the Tori Amos Website community. What a bunch of truly talented, dedicated, passionate people we are (kind of like our heroine herself). As a way of thanking the community and to provide a service to new-budding Toriphiles in search of great Tori sites, the following is the first in a series of dedicated to reviewing, describing, and linking to the dozens of informative and inspirational Tori Amos Fan Sites. Let’s start with TheVelvets.com. Webmaster: Inge URL Inspiration: “Where are the velvets when your coming, coming down?” ~Hotel Summary: Photos, MP3 and video downloads, links, graphic art (i.e. wallpapers and avatars), updated frequently. Highlights: Honestly, the whole site is a highlight. But if forced to choose, the graphics section is the heart and soul of this site. Inge is a brilliant graphic artist (as is evident by the site layout and design…but that’s for later)–that the music of Tori Amos inspires her every cut, paste, font, effect, and adjustment is unmistakable. TheVelvets.com boasts 12-20 Tori-inspired icons/avatars for each album (over 100 in the case of American Doll Posse…which seems to have Inge particularly inspired), plus animated .gifs and live shots. The wallpapers are must-haves for any Tori-fan, especially those in the ADP or Beekeeper frame of mind (although all eras are represented). TheVelvets.com also hosts rare Tori photos, including shots of Tori with Tash and Tori’s wedding. My personal favorites are the photoshop manipulations (see Tori’s cameo appearance on the Titanic or Tori as the Mona Lisa). Other Pages/Content: No Tori site would be complete without lyrics of course. And TheVelvets.com is also home to some rare MP3s such as live bootlegs, talk show appearances, and improvs. Funny Tori videos hosted on this site will keep any Tori fan out of commission for a while. In the “informative” section, Inge provides a collection of Tori quotes, info on Tori’s pianos and fave dishes, and Neil Gaiman-isms. And…get this…Inge actually translates the Dutch Pilot bit from Not the Red Baron into English. TheVelvets.com also provides fellow Toriphiles shoutouts from the links page. Layout/Design: Genius, professional, state-of-the-art, and currently ADP inspired. Updates: Listed on the home page. The trend appears to be 3-7 times a month…always exciting and relevant. Communication: Link requests and other comments appear to be answered within 24 hours. This site also has a fully functioning myspace page on which to communicate with its webmaster. Future Projects: According to the homepage, TheVelvets.com is up to the challenge of compiling a large collection of meet and greet pics. This interactive component provides Tori Amos fans the opporunity to proudly display one of the best moments of their entire lives: meeting T. in the flesh. Sunday, April 3rd 2005, bloggingburt.blog-city.com Inge, 25, from Holland posted Sunday, 3 April 2005 As I was looking for the candle for the Pope (a request from my grandmother I gladly accepted), I found Inge, 25, from Holland, who has created some cool websites on her own. Her portfolio is here. Inge loves music and, in her own words... "Other than that: I love dark art, I love my friends, I love my family. I don't like beer. I love sleeping. I love creative people. I love people who inspire me. I love coffee. And I love people who take the time to visit my website." Inge is cool. The stuff I enjoyed the most were her animated gifs, such as the one here [Crucify animated gif]. Pay her a visit and check out her other animated gifs! Click here for a screenshot, or here to visit. |