A fascinating and disturbing archive of depictions of slavery in Confederate currency. President Andrew Jackson eliminated the Federal Bank in 1832, and dozens of state-chartered banks proceeded to issue their own bills. In the years before the Civil War, these bills began to reflect the increasing political divisions between the North and South. "Just as railroad locomotives and factories provided the themes for many illustrations on Northern bank notes, slaves often provided inspiration for those in the South. Artists depicted slaves as happy, healthy workers, and portrayed overseers and owners as benevolent. Cotton, the commodity with which the South backed its money, also adorned the face of paper money."
Happy Cow's Global Guide to Vegetarian Restaurants (And Health Food Stores)
Vegetarians don't love animals, they just hate vegetables. Or so says the humor page at Happy Cow's impressive index of over 1,600 vegetarian restaurants and health food stores scattered across the globe. Vegetarians heading to Jerusalem, Santiago, Cardiff, Christchurch, or Malacca may want to give the Happy Cow a gander before taking off. For that matter, vegetarians going pretty much anywhere may want to check in with the site. Don't miss this week's featured restaurant, the German Bakery, a cute little croissants-and-salad joint in the village of Laxman Jhula, in Rishikesh, India.
Early twentieth-century Richmond, Virginia, looked quite different to the present-day city. This online exhibit of more than 600 postcards documents many of the buildings and structures that no longer exist or have been substantially changed. City Hall and Broad Street Methodist Church provide a glimpse of the city's beautiful architecture at the turn of the century. Take a stroll down Broad Street or Main Street, check out Murphy's Hotel, or get a bird's eye view of this wonderful city.
VW-F-V: Volkswagens in Film and Video
This growing compilation is "devoted to sightings of air-cooled VeeDubs" in all media -- film, music video, television, advertising, and print. VW-F-V is updated often, as classic bugs show up in unexpected places, like Bon Jovi's music video of It's My Life and VH1's Top Fifty Soundtracks countdown. You won't find the name of the song in that new VW ad here, because, frankly, curator Jim O'Malley's not interested in the new-fangled water-cooled models. But if you understand the old VeeDub attraction and have a sighting to report, he'd love to hear from you.
"Our goal is to create an archive showing the texture of city life: its joys, tragedies, rituals, and surprises. We want to create a diary of Chicago, in pictures and words, that captures the everyday lives of Chicagoans." Perhaps taking a cue from the "Day in the life of..." photography series, dedicated photographers have spread themselves far and wide across the Windy City, creating this mosaic of luminous snapshots.
Roger Johnson's homespun photo gallery features welcome signs from all 50 United States and doubles as a travelogue of roadside attractions across America. Roger and his identical twin Rodney began the project in 1989 on a car trip to the Grand Canyon, and completed their collection with a visit to Hawaii in 1996. In addition to images of the larger-than-life signage (think license plates on steroids), you'll also find state capitals, nicknames, birds, and flowers.
This site is "dedicated to preserving, protecting, and defending the world's right to learn about, understand and enjoy T.J. Hooker." Focusing on the show's imagery, themes, music, and the all-important presence of William Shatner, the site's attention to Hooker detail is impressive. Its authors break down some of their favorite plots, provide background on the characters (including a young Heather Locklear as Office Stacey Sheridan), and offer soundclips of the absorbing and fascinating dialogue. You can even join in the struggle to get T.J. Hooker back on the air by signing up for the "No Hooker -- No Peace" campaign.
The classics are well represented in this simple, text-only collection of urban legends, one liners, and drinking games. The Neiman-Marcus Cookie Story continues to annoy, Bart Simpson's Chalkboard Exercises still features several zingers, and Things You Would Never Know Without The Movies remains a delight. And you can always count on Interesting Facts for clever cocktail party banter: goldfish have three second memories, it's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open, an ostrich's eye is bigger than it's brain, etc. Browse and enjoy, but whatever you do, don't forward.
