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Welcome to the 173rd issue of the Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter offering weekly insights into new, cool, useful, fun, unusual and interesting sites on the Internet.
In this issue:
- Turbulence
- The Nobel: Visions of our Century
- Journey of Kijana
- Short Takes
- Great Castles of Wales
- Rust Boy
- Math You Can Use
- Talking Boards
- Game Scene
- Subscribers' Sites
Turbulence
Web art is fast becoming one of the most creative of art forms, blending limitless imagination with evolving digital tools that let artists explore beyond traditional boundaries. At Turbulence, up to 20 such art projects are commissioned and presented each year to support and expose these emerging artists.
The goal: To support work that explores the possibilities of the networked medium. Visitors can experience the edgiest of the edge, from scenes inside and outside the International Space Station that explore anti-gravity and human perception, to a fabulous project that asks what music looks like and answers the question via custom software that draws musical patterns reflecting Beethoven and Philip Glass.
http://www.turbulence.org/
The Nobel: Visions of our Century
The Nobel Prize is more than just an annual medal for brain power: The work honored is a roadmap to intellectual, literary, scientific and social history since 1901, when the first Nobel was awarded. Visions of Our Century examines the history of the Nobel and the contradictions of peace and violence, advances and threats those discoveries represent.
The web site, mirroring the PBS series that began airing on December 12, is nothing less than "a serious meditation on the meaning of the advancement of humanity in our time," with interviews with the laureates as they explore the legacy of the world's most prestigious prize, from Alfred Nobel whose bequest created the prizes to timelines, quizzes, lesson plans and resources for science, peace and history studies.
http://www.pbs.org/kqed/nobel/
Journey of Kijana
Imagine taking four pals on a two-year land and sea voyage around the world on a yacht. Then add, letting the world peek through satellite transmissions and the web - like a hybrid "Survivor" and "Real World" on water, without the commercials.
In March 2002, the crew of early 20s adventurers sets sail to snowboard on Himalayan peaks, paraglide from the mountains of Peru and scuba dive with sharks in the Galapagos on "a celebration of youth, discovery and the spirit within us all." It should be a wild trip - and if you're between the ages of 18 and 23 you could be the fifth crew member, or just subscribe for e-mail updates to follow along from the comfort of home.
http://www.kijana.net/
SHORT TAKES:
Remembering George
Time.com has created this photo essay to honor George Harrison, the "quiet" Beatle, who recently died of cancer. Photos of the early Beatles, goofy "Four-traits" of them posing poolside, and links to other Beatles photos and related sites take visitors down that long and winding road to when there was a Fab Four, now reduced to a lonely-sounding two.
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/harrison/
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Weird Road Signs
"It was the best of signs, it was the worst of signs" is the apt theme for this personal web site that collects and displays dozens of photos of odd, amusing and just bizarre road signs. Take a look, and buy a magnet to remember the best - or worst - of signs.
http://www.signslanguage.com/
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Toaster Museum
They call you crazy if you collect toasters, or so says the collector himself, whose only problem is that he has hundreds of them. The Toaster museum shows off 183 toasters in the collection, from a rare 1920s German 4-slice device to a beautiful red Dutch model called Molly. He's looking for more, to buy or sell.
http://www.central-services.de/toastermuseum/
Great Castles of Wales
Medieval history buffs especially will enjoy this trip to the Great Castles of Wales, a tribute to some of the world's purest examples of fortified medieval architecture, found in a country that counts more than 400 of them.
The site offers an alphabetical listing of 18 different castles, with histories of the most important castles and detailed floor plans, aerial views and photos of all, showing the draw bridges, defenses, towers and gates, and then mapping each one. Related links lead visitors to still more sites about Wales and medieval history.
http://www.anzwers.org/free/castlewales/
Rust Boy
Rust Boy is not your average decaying kid, but an insect-like character created by Brian Taylor as the star of his digitally animated short film of the same name. The web site is a fascination, especially for film students -- an online chronicle of the film's creation, documenting it in exhaustive detail, from concept to story boards and image and sound tests.
First time visitors can catch up by reading the Diaries, beginning on April 1, 2001, when the project was launched. Then view story boards as Taylor's concepts were sketched, shaped and revised; read notes on the technical aspects of achieving such qualities as photo realism; and view video showing the actual tests of film segments, like walk cycles and title sequences.
http://www.rustboy.com/
Math You Can Use
If you think math is a four-letter word, check out Math in Daily Life, a web site that neatly answers the universal whine of math students: Why do I have to learn this stuff? If you ever need to buy a car (or insurance for it), follow a recipe, sail a boat, build a home, or bet on a horse race, you'll need math principles.
In short, the site walks visitors through common situations, from savings plans to cooking, to show how math can be helpful - even necessary - in daily life. From the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Annenberg Foundation, the site is designed for K-12 teachers but the average adult taxpayer will find it helpful too.
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/
Talking Boards
Remember sitting in the dark, cross-legged on the floor, your fingers resting on a little triangle as it glides over a board spelling out answers one letter at a time -- as the hair on your arms stood on end?
The Museum of Talking Boards celebrates the Ouija board, created from 1890 to 1950 by dozens of manufacturers with fanciful images of pyramids, swamis, black cats and witches, most of which were lost to the trashbins of suburbia. Here, visitors can view the boards, from the original 1891 wooden board made by the Kennard Novelty Company to the Telepah Board by the Psychic Research Association, consult an interactive board online, even learn how to make your own.
http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com
Game Scene
Take a break. Relax. Play a game at Game Scene, providing over 20 simple Flash games that require no experience but can become instantly addictive.
Alley Cat has users playing the role of the cat, jumping platform to platform to cross alleys; Cube of Concentration is the classic Concentration game played on a cube. With a list of the 10 most popular games, free stand-alone games to download and links to other Clever Media gaming sites, users can kill a lot of time here or strive for perfection and record your high scores for future players to challenge you.
http://gamescene.com/
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If you're interested in advertising in Cool Tricks and Trinkets, email
info@tricksandtrinkets.com
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SUBSCRIBERS' SITES - Many of our subscribers have fascinating on-line projects. This weekly section will introduce you to some of these sites. Please let me know about your project so that I might mention it in this section. Write me at
info@tricksandtrinkets.com
~John Stoller, CPA - Making IRS problems disappear.
~UK Christmas Shopping
ideas.
~NASCAR website that offers 2 FREE NASCAR newsletters.
~CocktailingIt.com - Fashion for Martinis
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Use a mirror in difficult times:
You will see both the cause and resolution.
~TAO
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Best wishes for a holiday season filled with peace and joy.
Charles Kessler
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