Artopium Newsletter
Issue 2, Vol. 1, 3/2006

Contents

1. Artopium 3.0: a 3 year journey (or, "Mike's Rants")
2. I Question Reality, part II: Rafu (A short story by
Chris Minley)
4. Creative Trivia
5. A Call to All Writers!

Artopium 3.0

Artopium has gone through a journey of megalithic proportions,
evolving out of what once was only a mediocre site to one not only
boasting over a thousand titles but featuring MANY new capabilities.
Some of these new features include a more robust search engine, more
security, an easier to use navigation and graphical interface, and
much more! Below is a copy of a bulletin I've been posting on
MySpace, with a deatailed list of the major improvements that have
been made recently.
If you don't have a MySpace account, or have never seen
Artopium's MySpace page, then I encourage you to visit by clicking
the link below. Be sure to read the Artopium Blog for details on how
MySpace members can have their work placed directly into the "Artopium
Top Titles" and onto Artopium's front page!

http://www.myspace.com/artopium

New Improvements!

* 100 percent of the graphics and HTML were re-designed from scratch
to provide a higher quality presentation of your Creative Works to
potential buyers and an easier navigation of the site.

* Artists can now add their Myspace URLs to their Artopium profiles
providing a link back to their Myspace page.

* All javascript was made 100 percent FireFox compatible. This was a
big issue for most people and I'm glad to say everything now works
fine in FireFox or just about any other Mozilla browser.

* The login system was improved to be more secure, and now uses your
email in place of a username to ensure easier access to your profile
information.

* The My Artopium Member Area is now broken up into several sections
making it easier to navigate and make changes to your profile.

* The rating system was improved to include a base rating system that
stabilizes ratings against the fluctuations of the number of visitors
to the site.

* The main navigation was moved below the main title to provide a more
natural look.

* More categories were added to the Cyber Gallery and Fashion sections.

* The URL provided to artists as a link to their Artopium profile page
has been simplified so that it is easier to distribute for promotion.
Artopium profile URLs will now always be
"http://www.Artopium.com/YourDisplayName". The static HTML page that
this URL now takes you to is better coded for search engine placement.

* The help section was re-written to reflect all changes and is easier
to understand.

* Almost the entire Artopium Library was re-written to be easier to
read and to answer questions more thoroughly and effectively.

* The Artopium Forums now has more and better categories for topics
and does not require registration of any type to start or reply to
topics.

* Sign up is now easier and quicker as unnecessary steps have been
removed and better explanations have been provided.

* The Artopium Artist Index, located in the Artopium Library has been
fixed so that all artists are represented with correct links instead
of gibberish. The Artist Index is crawled periodically by various
search engine web bots for indexing into the search engines and will
now ensure better indexing of every artist on Artopium.

I Question Reality, part II: Rafu
(A Short Story/Essay by Chris Minley)

Mako is quick to impart to the villagers the way to escape the
coming wrath. He administers their way into the new obedience and the
life of stone and the temple as the town center. This is the age of
dawning, of astronomy and mathematics, of relationship with God and
man through his ambassador, Mako.
He confers with the boat builders, the craftsmen and those who
understand metalworking. Where they made hooks and spears they now
set their minds to pulleys and poles that might move the massive
granite, cut blocks of marble, polish off the quartz. Precious stones
and metals are found and the devotion of the people causes them to
create great works of art commemorating the temple to their fierce
but faithful God, Rafu. Mako makes a stronghold to preserve all that
is not used, and the treasury grows.
Finally, one summer ending and the first nips from ocean side
arriving, the temple is finished, and it glistens in the sunrise. No
one has lived long enough to see such beauty in all Mako's heritage,
and here is he, dressed in splendid robes. He has heard from
neighboring villages that the blood of animals can sanctify a man
before his God. An animal whom can be guilty of nothing is more
presentable before its maker, so being sprinkled with its life
(however temporarily), making one able to endure the presence of God.
Mako has slain the first bull ever slain for purposes other than
eating and his assistants take the bowls as they fill, all the
tribesman standing about in the square before the temple, and they
douse Mako. The strangest sensation comes over him and he quakes to
his knees. A hush falls over the crowd. Looking up again he glances
over his children. Sali is among them and his eye lingers there
before he speaks.
"There is an evil coming. You are blessed because the temple
built by your hands belongs to Rafu. You are blessed because all
that you own you have dedicated to Rafu. You are blessed because you
trembled and bowed when Rafu shook the world. You are blessed, but
an evil is coming and there are too few of you to withstand it. The
temple is great but it is empty. Rafu calls you to be brave. You
craftsmen, who gave perfect service in the rendering of heavenly
things in the new metals, you sea worthy men who applied the skills
to the construction of walls and corridors, roof and sound structure,
you women who's tapestries have no equal in all the land and have
beautified the house of our God, give up your men to Rafu in your
great love that we have seen demonstrated. Men, give up wife and
daughter in that same love. Our house is too small, and the evil
approaches. Rafu has shown me a horde like a plague of locusts, and
they will cut down all before them with blade and arrow, and they
will be here in the fifteenth year after this blessed day of
appropriation to god. We are made right in his eyes, and he has
told me how we will save ourselves. Our men will become our
military might, trained continuously in preparation for the coming
onslaught so that we might prevail against this evil through the
foresight and the wisdom of Rafu. The women and the children will
provide food for the whole. All who are able to carry grain and to
fish will be employed in that service, but the greatest service will
be given in the fertility feasts. All able women will give
themselves as pure and holy gifts to first the holy elect, and then
the military might to ensure that they have every chance to produce
offspring and build up our house! All praise Rafu!"

To Be Continued...

Creative Trivia

1. Was singer David Bowie’s first single with the group:
A. Davie Jones with the King Bees
B. The Konrads
C. George & The Dragon
2. Did the guitar get its name:
A. in ancient Rome
B. in ancient Greece
C. in ancient India
3. What does the term "sfumato" mean?
A. The yellowed tone that old varnish takes on, because it
resembles tobacco smoke discoloration
B. Making the background recede by creating an almost foggy
desaturated effect.
C. A type of painted sky popular during the Renaissance period
(Italian term).
D. An artist who doesn't smoke - rare indeed!
4. Does the Egg Tempera paint used today still contain real eggs?
A. Yes
B. No

Answers to last issue's Creative Trivia questions:

1. What was the first year the Oscar Film Award was awarded?
B. 1929
2. Which of the following bands was formerly known as Sharp Young Men?
C. Faith No More
3. Where was Andy Warhol born?
A. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4. Who wrote the popular science fiction book "Stranger In A Strange Land"?
B. Robert A. Heinlein
5. In what year did Christian Dior launch the first line of clothing
bearing his name?
B. 1947

A Call To All Writers!

Do you have an article, essay or short story you would like to see
published in the Artopium.com Newsletter? Please send all submissions to
mike\@artopium.com. This is your chance to be read by hundreds
of subscribers! Of course, if we decide to publish your work you will
see and have a chance to approve all final edits before publication.