| American Roots Music PBS consistently produces outstanding companion web sites to accompany its TV programs, and this thoughtful exploration into the roots of American music continues in that tradition. Interviews with roots music pioneers -- Bela Fleck, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, and B.B. King, to name a few -- provide insight into how roots music started in America. Eternal Songs offers detailed descriptions of key songs that reflect the American experience, while The Songs & The Artists section lists the songs heard on the TV series and gives biographical information on the musicians who've been essential in the development of the genre. |
| A More Perfect Union Through historic photos, first-person accounts, music, and text, this Smithsonian site immerses you in the world of Japanese-Americans from late 19th-century immigration through the injustices of World War II and beyond. The harsh conditions in the internment camps and the artwork created by internees are carefully documented. The sections on the 100th/442nd segregated military units are especially heart-wrenching -- these battalions suffered huge losses, yet were some of the most decorated U.S. military units ever. The final sections on postwar justice and Japanese-Americans today are an inspiring triumph over a dark era in American history. |
| Daypop Millions of web sites exist on the Internet, and many of them -- newspapers, online magazines, and weblogs -- are updated daily. Daypop harnesses the power of the Internet and "crawls the living web at least once a day to bring you the latest information relevant to your searches." Currently indexing over 5,800 sites, the site aims to be the Web's current events search engine. And if you're interested in finding the most-popular stories being linked to by webloggers from around the world, head over to the Daypop Top 40 for a fascinating look at the world around us. |
| VWvortex From the humble "bugs" of the '50s and '60s to the busy beetle of today, Volkswagen automobiles have developed a fervent following. Step into the Vortex and experience the pinnacle of VW enthusiasm. Motor over to the features section and check out incredible DIY projects, get the scoop from auto shows around the world, and take an informative factory tour. You'll also find the latest news, a lively forums area, and resources for owners. VW owners swear by their cars, and when the sweet-lookin' 600hp W12 coupe hits the freeway, you'll probably swear, too. |
| Devices of Wonder How appropriate that the grand J. Paul Getty Museum, perched above the glitzy entertainment capital of the world, would premiere a collection of artful optical devices -- "seductive ancestors of modern cinema, cyborgs, and computers." These clever items are old-school entertainment. For instance, the beaded Indonesian shadow puppet, skillfully manipulated by a dalang (puppeteer), served as village reporter by using dozens of voices to enact local news stories. The English contribution to mass media includes cinema tropes, mechanisms where beautiful slides appear to be animated by the turn of a crank. Take your time and poke around -- imaginative treasures are waiting to be discovered. |
| Levitated Want to visit a zoo full of cool animations that change daily? Levitated presents "daily modules of visual goodness for education, elaboration, and collaboration." These open source creations are in Flash 5, and budding Flash-smiths can download the files to get under the hood and tinker with the code. Don't miss the Maeda Path game -- a tone poem/maze puzzle that you play with your mouse. Other engaging modules demonstrate chaotic attraction, ambient rotation, node patterns, and other exotic animations. Jared Turnbull appears to be the primary artist/author/programmer. Thanks for the movable feast, Jared! |
| Ken Blackburn's Paper Airplanes and More If man were meant to fly, God would've given him wings. Or so goes the old saying. Tell that to Ken Blackburn, record-holding paper airplane architect and "pilot." His site offers the complete tale of his world record, the upstarts who surpassed it, and Blackburn's eventual return to the top spot. Other bits of flotsam include an essay on aerodynamics, a history of paper airplanes, and links to books, related sites, and, yes, a Yahoo! club for paper airplane aficionados. If you've ever folded a piece of notebook paper and daydreamed your creation into the sky, this site is a great place to take off from. |
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