| What Is a Print? This nifty Museum of Modern Art exhibit describes the fine art of printmaking, an ink-on-paper format, in which images are created using various techniques of indirect transfer. Printmaking is centuries old -- the first woodcuts appeared in ninth-century China. In the Renaissance, artists like Breughel and Rembrandt created etchings using acid to incise line drawings on a metal plate. Lithography (crayon or ink on stone) flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, as in the work of Toulouse-Lautrec. Screenprinting (serigraphy) came into its own with the poster and pop art of the 20th century. Think Warhol, Marilyn, Campbell Soup. Enjoy the galleries. |
| Here Today, Here Tomorrow: Varieties of Medical Ephemera The National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, celebrates the bric-a-brac of medical history -- "those transitory and commonplace documents of everyday life which were not meant to survive, but surprisingly did." Gone are the glory days of Ms. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, a tummy-ache cure for kids that contained a goodly amount of morphine. Sadly, the medicinal wonders of the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company (Kickapoo Indian Cough Cure, Kickapoo Indian Worm Killer, etc.) have also been lost to time. But thanks to the miracle of digital-preservation technology, you can now revisit these miracle cures of yore. |
| Baseball Primer Billed as "Baseball for the Thinking Fan," this site offers a range of opinions and information on all things baseball. The sabermetric gurus from Baseball-reference.com stretch out and write about the whys and wherefores of the American pastime. Check the Transaction Oracle to get the scoop on why players were sent down, brought up, or let go. Read a defense of the recently retired and much-reviled Albert Belle, or take a look at a fascinating story on baseball in Cuba. All articles allow user comments, so feel free to add your two cents about whether Player X is a bum or a hero. Just be prepared to back it up with some hard evidence because these guys don't mess around. |
| American Masters: Edward Curtis Since its rediscovery in the 1970s, Edward Curtis's controversial work has caused debate both on and off Indian reservations. This site focuses on critics' accusations that Curtis posed his subjects and fabricated traditional Indian life from his own imagination. Be sure to watch the video clips of Native Americans discussing their personal relationships with Curtis's photos -- some of their viewpoints might surprise you. Topics like "Stealing the Soul or Preserving the Legend" and "Dressing Up, Who's Idea Was It Anyway" make for fascinating reading, watching, and discussion. |
| WWII: Collections + [RE]collections Based on the recollections of World War II veteran William Yenofsky, this multimedia exhibit traces his four years of combat duty: "The year is 1941. I am a modest, unassuming individual, not overly aggressive, yet, I am drafted into this situation because the United States is at war and a 'man has to do what a man has to do.' I am issued a uniform, a rifle and I am taught to kill." You won't find any Hollywood sentimentality here: Sergeant Yenofsky offers candid accounts of his experiences as a young officer in North Africa, as a participant in the Anzio invasion of 1944 ("a fiasco"), and the liberation of Dachau in 1945. |
| Yamaha Paper Craft They bring you everything from snowmobiles to stereo. Now, this huge Japaneses conglomerate gets down with paper folding. They'll help you make things with paper that are so amazingly detailed it's hard to believe. The current Rare Animals of the World series offers instructions on how to make a gorilla or a California Condor. It's time-consuming, but if you want to make the perfect paper gorilla, it isn't going to be easy. While the animals may be cute, the real challenge is in the origami motorcycles. If you're able to complete the XJR 1300, you should apply for the title of Origami Master. The instructions may be daunting, so make sure to read the tips before you start. |
| Jackie Kennedy White House Tour In February of 1962, CBS television aired a tour of the White House conducted by the nation's First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Nearly 80 million Americans watched as Mrs. Kennedy led the tour through the East Room, State Dining Room, Red Room, and other rooms that shespent months restoring and redecorating. Follow along as this site presents part of the televised tour, complete with the questions asked by CBS reporter Charles Collingwood and the answers given by the First Lady. |
| NIST Stone Test Wall At the southwest end of The National Institute of Standards and Technology Campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, stands a unique stone wall. Deer have been known to scamper out from the surrounding wilderness to investigate the curious edifice. Comprised of over 2,500 individual samples of stone, the wall resembles a patchwork quilt of marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, and dozens of other rock varieties. It was built in 1948 to study the effects of weathering on natural stone types. But it's a work of art in its own right. |
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