| Journal E: Interviews 50 Cents Journal E has always been dedicated to the power of human storytelling, and its latest effort is no exception. Traveling around America with a card table and a handmade sign, NPR's Alex Chadwick engages normal, everyday Americans in interviews that "reflect the daily concerns and hopes of many." We watched San Franciscans discuss their choice for president, residents of Washington, D.C., talk about their lives in hopeful terms, and an ex-convict from Indiana talk about life on the road. You'll need QuickTime to watch the shorts, but don't worry -- text versions of the interviews are also available. |
| Adbusters: TV Turnoff Week Face it: You watch too much TV. We know, we know -- it's hard to resist when there are more quality viewing choices than ever, but don't worry, the folks at Adbusters have some advice on how to make the most of your TV-viewing time. Recycle it. Unplug your cable box. Bury your remote control. Instead of watching the idiot box, check out the site for ideas about non-TV activities, TV Turnoff rallies, and ongoing anti-TV campaigns. If you're shocked at the idea of turning off your TV for a solid week, peruse some of the disturbing figures about U.S. viewing habits -- they just might open your eyes. |
| Paint by Numbers Presented by the National Museum of American History, this site "presents the paint-by-number phenomenon as a window on the history of creativity, leisure, and domesticity in postwar America." Reviled by critics who saw it as a symbol of the mindless conformity brought on by the prosperity of the 1950s, painting by numbers nevertheless was embraced by many Americans with new-found leisure time and a modicum of artistic talent. Although hardly a cultural endeavor, people were inspired to pick up a brush and enter the world where anyone could be a Rembrandt. |
| Nina Paley Nina Paley is best known for her alternative comic strip Nina's Adventures, which enjoyed a seven-year run in several weeklies and "copyright infringement around the world." A two-year stab at mainstream material (Fluff) resulted in an artistic crisis that prompted Ms. Paley to turn to animation. Hooray for artistic crises! Check out Fetch, a cartoon involving adventurous canines, M.C. Escher, and Buddhist mandalas. Or explore the kinetic wonder Pandorama, which was hand-drawn on 70-mm film. You'll also find plenty of great comics and drawings. |
| Grain Elevators: Buffalo's Lost Industry Today, they are abandoned hulls of concrete and metal, but the monoliths left behind by grain giants once dominated the Buffalo skyline and are a testament to the city's history as an international shipping hub. Prior to the Erie Canal opening in 1825, grain from the Midwest was shipped to the East and Europe via costly and circuitous routes along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans. When the canal opened, Buffalo boomed as a global shipping artery. This site examines Buffalo's role in the transport of grain during the its heyday, and its demise after World War II when alternative routes such as the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada allowed larger ocean vessels into the interior of North America by way of the Great Lakes. |
| Congress Online Project The Congress Online Project is a "two year project to study Congress' use of the Internet, identify and award best practices, and provide guidance to help congressional offices use Internet technologies to inform and communicate with constituents, reporters, and the engaged public." You'll find a recent report on email overload in Congress, and facts like: 56 percent of all Americans have Internet access, their average connection speed is 56 kbps, and 76 percent of them check their email at least once a day. The study also includes a list of web design pointers for members of Congress, such as "avoid self-aggrandizing language and graphics." |
| Sunless.com You heard it here first -- Clara Pettitt's Sunless.com is The Mother of All Sunless Tanning Sites. This extraordinary resource is bursting with no-nonsense product reviews, strangely readable application tips, and smart commentary on the dangers of UV rays. It also "holds itself completely free of responsibility if you turn extremely orange after using any sunless tanning product mentioned at this site." Sunless-tanning skeptics (guilty!) will be impressed by the sheer devotion and care put into this site. Sunless-tanning practitioners will appreciate the wealth of knowledge here. And everyone else can check out the photos. |
| Beans Around The World What would possess two guys to mail a container of black beans back and forth to each other? Who knows, but their humble prank became an interesting photo essay when their pals brought the now infamous can o' beans along on their travels. Check out the beans perched proudly on The Great Wall of China, or just hanging out in front of Stanford's Hoover Tower. The bean guys are accepting submissions from fans, so grab a can of black beans and take a picture of it in front of your favorite local landmark. You'll be glad you did. |
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