Tuesday, June 9, 2009

quest for the perfect avatar






.
. . .Okay, I know. In case you didn't notice, I had 17 different avatars today. And now,
am back to the one I started with. My cool
framed sunglasses pic suddenly lost its
cool after someone said it reminded them
of "Chucky". That's when I switched to the vintage Hanes ad girl.
I was prompted to find yet another one, since my little Hanes girl's head was cut off in the tiny sidebar followers profile. So, I embarked on a quest for the perfect avatar.

I finally found a decent photo of myself; not too old, not too fat.
Downloaded it into my profile; pretty good so far. The crucial part is
the further shrinking to the comment box size. This is where the rub
comes in. Either one of your eyes disappears completely, or it
magically crosses. And if your eyes stay straight, then there is the
problem of the teeth. If you are smiling with your teeth showing, one
of the front teeth comes up missing. I don't know about you, but
heavens to murgatroyd, I don't want to comment on a hundred blogs
with a cross eyed, toothless version of myself.

My personal computer tech told me, "Mom, it's the pixels." I know,
I know. But just knowing it's the pixels, doesn't solve the problem.
The next picture I tried was fine, but the small version made me
look like the Quaker Oats guy. Not the image I want to portray. The
photos that turned out the best were those of Juliette Binoche and
Myrna Loy. I suppose it's because they have such beautifully
symmetrical Hollywood faces. Well, I guess I'll stick with my Hanes
ad girl for now. She's a step up from the Quaker. And besides, she's
bookish, like me.

54 comments:

  1. I love her!!! And you are soo right about those profile pictures and pixels!!!! Really frustrating! Very witty post! Love it! ~Janine XO

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  2. When I click to follow someone's blog my avatar is a tiny part of one eye in a big white box. The rest of the time it works pretty well. I took it from a bit of artwork I made while in school.

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  3. I love the Hanes girl too. But I liked your profile pic, never thought of Chuckie once when looking at it. I think they need to make the size of the profile pics just a tad bit bigger too. either that or make them so they can be enlarged when you click on them. maybe that will happen some day...lol

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  4. I never thought of Chucky either.

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  5. Lovely.

    Both before.

    And after.

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  6. I dunno, she appears stern, naked and bookish... I wonder if she's a confused Puritan, aka, a Quaker Oats woman.

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  7. Hello Willow,

    I must admit that I don't usually allow the pics to open in the comment box! But I have always liked the Quaker logo and wouldn't mind a bit if you used it! You will have noticed that I just stick with the same pic of myself. Maybe the less recognisable it is, the better!!

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  8. I love it that your personal computer tech calls you mom...mine too! I've always like your photo.

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  9. This is so funny. I hear you about not wanting to appear cross eyed and toothless on a bunch of blogs. Heavens, that will happen soon enough in real life. I do like the Hanes girl.

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  10. I liked your profile pic better to be honest. I think trying to work out what photo of yourself to display on the internet is always a hassle. Do you go for the flattering shots that aren't really true to you? Do you go for the crap shots to be modest (NO!) Do you chicken out and use an Avatar such as mine? Maybe. It represents the inner me! I thought your other photo was quite glam and Juiette Binoche anyway. No Chuckie crossed my mind!

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  11. The question is - What comes between you and your books? . . .

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  12. I like your new avatar,
    but I liked your old one also.
    I have no idea if my avatar-cup shows up only half empty or what. It always looks full when I am looking!

    The avatar is quite useful when there are people of the same name commenting.

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  13. You look adorable hiding behind all those books!

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  14. Willow - hi there,
    I would like to know why that little pic is called an avatar?

    Happy Days

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  15. Willow,
    I see the resemblence. No, really, I do! :)
    rel

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  16. Yes, I think she suits you!

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  17. I need to change mine (a new haircut several months ago made it obsolete) but somehow that always sinks to the bottom of the To Do list.

    Based on your experience, maybe I'll leave it there for a while!

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  18. lol. think she is perfect. in a non cross eyes full mouth of teeth way...maybe she is just hiding it behind the books.

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  19. Willow, I think you do a fabulous job of representing your many interests and unique outlook on the world with all your different faces. My picture is 10 years old...it was made moments after a yearbook rep announced my next deadline, and one of my student staff members caught the REAL me!
    "Oh my Gawd...please get me through this!" After our shrimp pasta cook-a-rama last night...I need to borrow your Quaker Oats Man!

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  20. I too, have to watch the pixels. I end up spending a lot of time re-sizing the pics. And you don't get much choice with the blooger( not a typo ) limitations.

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  21. Now, I actually liked your old avatar. I liked your old banner, too. But I really like this banner. It gives me bad thoughts, though. I keep wondering how to steal it.

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  22. This is why I use a 'piece' of a painting I did because it doesn't matter if it gets cropped or in what way; it was a piece to begin with and it remains a piece. Brilliant, I know! ;-D

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  23. I like your old photo, it had an element of cool to it, Willow. I've had the same pic for a year and have to make a change too.

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  24. Delwyn, I added a link to a previous post I did on the meaning of avatar. Just click on the word. I wondered the same thing!

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  25. oooh, I was always so busy reading what you had written I didn't spend a lot of time looking at your avatars. I saw you and thought what an interesting person with a great sense of humor (that was the Hanes girl plus others.) Honestly I enjoy your comments and pictures all together. And you are far and away more appealing than Chuckie.

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  26. I love that photo - it is gorgeous - sexy and bookish like you said (kind of like me, maybe without the sexy, LOL). I hope you find the perfect avatar!

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  27. You could edit the pix, downsize them pixel-wise before loading ..

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  28. i like your old pic too...but this new avatar will work until you find something just perfect.

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  29. Loved this post and love the new avatar. Still, I am blown away by your header everytime I come to your blog. I hope you don't change it anytime soon.

    What you write about avatars is so true. Especially for those of us who don't disclose our faces. Although most of my dance students know I have two blogs. Luckily for me I had a colleague who was a wizard at Photoshop and knocked my avatar up in no time. And I've been happy with it ever since. Sometimes people ask me, 'How did you manage to put the Cuban flag up on the top of the Big Ben?' My answer is: 'In the current political climate of MPs' expenses and the Labour party coming apart at the seams, do you think someone would have noticed a Cuban stealthily climbing up the walls of the Big Ben to put his flag up there as if he was claiming the building for himself? Nah, mate, politicians in the Parliament are too busy these days trying to save their own careers to notice something like that'.

    Many thanks for this fun post.

    Greetings from London.

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  30. Chucky? How rude!

    It's not possible that you looked like the Quaker Oats guy - are you sure about that?

    The book girl is nice, classy. I always prefer seeing your real face which I find neither fat nor old. But avatars are personal - gotta have the right one. Good luck!

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  31. I totally agree about the crossed eyes and teeth! My teeth don't go missing, they just overlap each other! I love the Hanes Girl...she's so YOU!

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  32. We love seeing all your little avatars--never know who you're going to be today! We're so boring...

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  33. I knew it, it must be time for a change. Why didn't someone send an announcement?

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  34. LOL--well,you know, I happen to love oatmeal cookies, so a reminder of the Quaker guy wouldn't bother me in the least.

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  35. Willow is as Willow does....its all beyond me and besides, your blog always looks sharp and snazzy to me...
    Who is the lady in the Quaker hat?

    Thanks for you comment on 'the Tush' looking uber cool standing next to her Reliant Scimitar.

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  36. She is certainly lovely - and very bookish - but don't know what an avatar is? Enlighten me please.

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  37. Weaver of Grass, for my previous post on avatars, click on the highlighted word in the body of today's post. :^)

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  38. Michael, don't you have Quaker Oats in the UK? The Quaker guy is the logo on the box of Quaker brand oatmeal.

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  39. I hate all the pictures of myself so have reverted to flowers.
    I told my friend Celeste to take a picture of me the other day that didn't make me look ugly......
    haha

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  40. Your blog is so good because you care so much - there's no way I could bring myself to put that much energy into such a search! I just choose a picture I like and that's it.

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  41. OH Willow this is precious. I am laughing trying to see you with one crossed eye and and toothless and old and fat. I love the pictures of you that you've shared. The light and texture are demure, with your elegant cheeks and soft hair. Nothing of Chuckie!! Chuckie??(dumb bugger needs supplemental brains).

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  42. It looks fine and sexy on my computer, so I vote for the current avatar.

    I vote for anything that looks fine and sexy on my computer.

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  43. A step up for Quaker? Oh, most definitely1 Ha.

    I so know what you mean about eyes crossing, etc as an image is squeezed done thus its best to create it at size anddn import at 100% but blogger doesn't always allow one to do that. It depends on size you select and final size --if small enough it won;t try to fix it through html sizing which is horrible. I don't know if any of that makes sense but nevertheless I do like your avator now anyway.

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  44. I didn't know that was a Quaker pic!

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  45. I like the self-portraits (photographs) you've been doing. Just reduce one down to 100kb before uploading to your profile. LBx

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  46. Yes, I think this avatar works well.

    Sizing stuff in html does screwy things to images--like making someone looked cross eyed,etc.

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  47. How frustrating to have your body parts magical morph before your eyes! I do like the Hanes ad girl pic, but look forward to one of you when you're ready.

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  48. I love the one of the girl with the books - that's so quirky and like you. She also reminds me of Audrey Hepburn.
    I'm lucky, my tea-cozy cat fit the box, but there is a bit chopped off on the bottom.

    Kat

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  49. Your avatar looks lovely, Willow. I didn't realize the 'alter-ego' aspects until I clicked on your link just now. I've had the same one since I started blogging - just the real me and my family!:)

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  50. I love the current Hanes avatar but the Quaker guy isn't bad too 'cause it really catches the eye! You find the greatest stuff!

    I can't take pictures of myself...they don't "come out right"...
    So, I have settled for the one I could connect with the most!

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  51. I thought the framed sunglasses pic looked like C Zeta Jones.
    :)

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  52. I like the Hanes girl. It is a fun avatar and just somehow fits you. I use my cat, it is better that way. Took me a while to even figure out how to put a picture there. But yea, I did it. I probably will not change mine, because I really cannot remember exactly what I did. So I am happy to have any picture now.

    God bless.

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  53. Hi! Willow,
    What a very interesting and "funny"
    post!...Just like Megan, and other commenters,I never thought of "Chucky" neither...my only thoughts of your avatar "cool" pic of Willow,(with shades on!)and I loved the antique picture frame surrounding your picture.

    By the way, Thanks, for the link!
    Take care!
    DeeDee ;-D

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)