| Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design Direct from the official Bauhaus Museum in Berlin (a stern concrete structure that resembles a giant concertina), this crisp, clean, Teutonic web site pays homage to "the most important school of architecture, design, and art of the 20th century." The Bauhaus school of architecture (1919-1933) introduced the world to spare, industrial structures that have been interpreted as both breathtakingly modern and downright depressing. The school's aesthetic spilled over into photography, art, and the kind of product design found in museum stores all over the world. Love it or hate it, Bauhaus is still very much with us. Just ask anyone who lives in Brasilia. |
| Beer Advocate Would you like a hoppy ale, a crisp pilsner, a heavy stout, or a light lager? We're betting that the two beer lovers who created this site would answer that question with an enthusiastic, "Yes, please." Jason and Todd Alstrom's passion for beer is evident in the more than 1,000 beer reviews, which are broken down into six categories -- style, presentation, appearance, smell, taste, and notes -- and rated on a scale of one to five. If you're a neophyte to the world of beer and don't know your bock from your bitter, head over to Beer 101 for a quick tutorial. But if you spend a considerable amount of your time quaffing beers and deem yourself a connoisseur, maybe you have what it takes to become one of the site's top beer advocates. |
| Bath Postal Museum In these days of email, faxes, and instant messages, we tend to forget about the contributions made to world communication by the humble postal service. Thankfully, the Bath Postal Museum devotes its web site to the history of postal service in Britain and the world. From Egyptian papyrus missives to lacy Victorian valentines, the museum chronicles early messaging and mail systems. The postal service really came into its own during the Victorian era when the penny post made it affordable to send letters, even overseas. Learn how to cut a traditional quill pen, and then write a letter with a sense of history that email can't beat! |
| Everything About Bees Curious about bees? Then buzz on over to this fact-filled site to learn, well, everything about the "most important pollinating insects." Although there are over 20,000 species of bees, the site focuses on some of the main categories, such as the honey bee, bumble bee, and the dreaded "killer bee" (technically known as Africanized honey bees). Read up on orchid bees, brightly colored tropical bees that can sport tongues twice the length of their bodies, or learn more about those pesky sweat bees, which are attracted to human perspiration. After you've brushed up on your bee basics, maybe you'd like to try your hand at the ancient art of apiculture, commonly known as beekeeping. |
| Greek Food: A Complete Guide Warning: Don't view this site on an empty stomach. Compiled for your culinary edification by Greek-food enthusiast Matt Barrett, an on-and-off expat, this site whisks you through dining hotbeds of the Greek Isles one minute, gives a lesson in restaurant etiquette the next, then introduces you to some of the friendly locals. Then it's off to the olive stands for a quick respite before partaking in the true Greek snack: sardines. Take heart, your guide makes sure you wash it all down with a good wine or a proper ouzo. |
| smog.net Smog.Net is a "non-profit, artist-run joint that exists to draw attention to things that we find interesting." And there's interesting stuff aplenty scattered through this eclectic assemblage of artwork, writing, photography, and multimedia curiosities. Soak in the Day-Glo murals of artist Tibor Jankay, cogitate over the poetic observations of Carole Es, or wrestle with the stark portraits of photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Don't miss the Airstream Chronicles, an array of potentially fictitious but certainly entertaining photographs and stories centered on Art Bell's double-wide mobile home in Pahrump, Nevada. Fair warning: This web site contains some adult material. |
| Acoustics and Vibration Animations At first glance this site doesn't look like much -- just a bunch of linked technical terms like "Fourier Decomposition" and "Damped Harmonic Oscillator." But once you dig down, the animations that help you visualize concepts concerning acoustics and vibration are really quite amazing. Check out the animated GIFs and MPEGs that show the behavior of sound waves. Don't be scared off by the equations -- the site's a perfect place for the non-technical person to learn some basics about the world of acoustics. |
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