The Symphony: An Interactive Guide
Take an absorbing "journey into the great composers' greatest symphonies" at this substantive resource created by two Queensland, Australia, teens as part of the Thinkquest project. The Quick Tour guided us from the Baroque to the early classical sonata form and on to Joseph Haydn, whose vast opus and innovative treatment of the genre earned him the title of "Father of the Symphony." We listened to the first movement of Beethoven's "Eroica" as we read about the composers of Romanticism, the distinctive styles of Brahms and Bruckner, the influential French composers, and the rise of modernism. The illustrated timeline and diagrammatic guide to symphonic form are first-rate learning tools for unschooled aficionados of all ages.
Billionaires For Bush (Or Gore)
George W. Bush, a mediocre golfer, is the rich son of a powerful Washington insider who has raised a mindboggling amount of campaign cash from wealthy corporate donors. Ditto for Gore. As the Billionaires for Bush (Or Gore) put it, "Although they differ on some policies and sometimes wear different colored power ties, we're confident that both candidates are deeply committed to economic inequality... Free the Forbes 400!" Peruse a detailed candidate comparison sheet, learn how to start your own chapter ("Don your black suits and evening gowns, and hit the streets!"), and read up on the much-anticipated Million Billionaire March.
"Street Level" is the tenth special issue produced by Feed Magazine, the New York City-based web magazine and fount of digital culture. This artfully architected collage of intimate cityscapes uses diverse media formats to reveal and report on urban spaces and urban visions. A series of webcams lets you travel from Manila to Montreal to Moscow in a click. Succinct, thought-provoking articles comment on a range of city phenomena including Bucky Fuller's proposed Manhattan dome, state of the art mapping technologies that create virtual cities, and the unrealized desert dream town Arcosanti. More great feed for thought.
Getting the Picture: The Art of the Illustrated Letter
Here's a web companion to an exhibition from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. The show celebrates the days of paper-based mail, before full-color HTML email, clip art, and embedded image tags. Illustrated correspondence was done by hand, with pencil, pen, even water colors or crayons. Marvel at Winslow Homer's 1876 letter recalling his war-time horror, a hand-drawn map that sculptor Alexander Calder sent to artist friend Ben Shahn on a 1949 postcard invitation, and an eloquent RSVP from William Wegman to a speaking gig with his famous Weimaraner Man Ray.
Aale van der Veen, an avid watergun collector, owns an impressive arsenal of over 1000 blasters, dribblers, soakers, and squirters. From the pressurized Power Blaster to the petite Dumbo Snout Douser, you're bound to find a piece that captures your imagination here. And the rows of iridescent pastel water guns floating against a black background remind one of the spooky jellyfish exhibits in aquariums. Needless to say, this site makes for great screensaver material.
Dreams of Space: Space Art in Children's Books from the Fifties to the Seventies
If you're a baby boomer, the child of a baby boomer, or just friends with one, you're bound to enjoy this whiz-bang collection of rocket ships, astronauts, and moon landings. America's fascination with space reached a fever pitch in the mid-Fifties, and many future NASA astronauts and engineers grew up on books with titles like Space Ship to the Moon and You and Space Travel. Many of the illustrations proved prescient -- witness the space shuttle-like rocketship on the cover of the 1956 book The Real Book About Space Travel.
Julian Axolotl is a portrait photographer, illustrator, and free spirit. His collection of over 4,000 images documents the exuberant faces of the fin-de-siècle scene: young digerati, designers, dot-commers, comix creators, and Burning Man girls and boys. Galleries bearing names like Parties, Open Source, and Edible Light offer thumbnails you can view in your choice of sizes. This canny photographer is both cultural anthropologist and philosopher. He writes, "I hope these photos help show how free and fun humans can be. In knowing that such joy can be so abundant, be sure you find all you can in your life."
So You've Decided To Be Evil: A Step-by-Step Guide to joining the Forces of Darkness
We're not condoning "lust, greed, debauchery, and the slaughter of hapless innocents," but if you're considering any of these pursuits, this handy how-to will set you on your way. Featuring chapter titles like Evil Henchmen Guide and Locations for your Lair, the guide offers eight simple steps to help jump-start your own global reign of terror. Where are good places to shop for impenetrable compounds? How do I build a really huge powerful weather machine? Robotic exoskeleton -- yea or nay? Find the answers.
