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If you prefer the finesse of Harvey Keitel to the bombast of Will Smith, and the subtlety of a Gus Van Sant film to the broad brush of Spielberg, you'll appreciate the interviews, profiles, and articles hubbed at Wide Angle/ Closeup. A noncommercial site, WA/C spotlights the "arts and craft of film," pulling most of its content from interviews conducted by the site's creator, respected journalist David Morgan. Read revealing Q&As with Terry Gilliam, Keitel, and Martin Scorsese, as well as with dozens of other filmmakers and workers of cinematic magic.
You've slaved for months on your Web site, armed with HTML For Dummies, your favorite bookmarks, and lots of strong coffee. Now for feedback—and here's where WebSite Garage comes in. Pull up to its virtual shop and enter your site's URL (non-frame sites only, for now). Moments later you're presented with a check list, detailing how your site scored in load time; dead links (it checks the first 25); popularity (defined by the number of other sites with links back to yours); HTML design (prompting technical wrist-slaps such as, "end tag does not match any start tags"); and spelling. If you want help improving your site, the WSG will give some assistance gratis—but the more substantial overhauls (consulting, complete site analysis, and registration with search engines) will cost you bucks. A fantastic resource and one that all first-time designers should consult to see if their new project runs like a 1998 Lexus or a 1973 Pinto.
Do you turn on the TV instead of the stereo to hear music? Can you name the original 1981 MTV veejays? With the launch of Streamland (sponsored by Levi-Strauss) you can now soak up the newest batch of rock videos without leaving your computer. Download the latest RealAudio plug-in (with RealVideo capability), and you're set to watch vid clips in their streaming entirety. The current roster includes about a hundred titles; most lean in the alt.rock direction, but hip-hop and electronica are edging in as well. To replicate the MTV experience select the mix function, which streams continuous videos to your computer (you can minimize them to the corner of your screen while you take care of business). Computer killed the video star? Time will tell.
Almost everyone has, at one point or another, dreamed of appearing on the silver screen. And while that only becomes a reality for a select few, the rest of us can achieve those dreams vicariously by following the lives of our favorite stars. This new site, sponsored by the New York Times Company, makes tracking your fave celeb—or any other luminary in movie, music, TV, book, or theater land—a lot easier. Read the latest general entertainment news deadlines, or choose your favorite star and gawk away. One small design blunder, however: "Home" buttons are impossible to find once you stray from
the launch screen.
C|net, arguably the leader in online computer news reporting, just launched what it hopes will become the "most comprehensive resource for hardware information on the Web." If this preview release is any indication, the company is well on its way toward getting its wish. Neatly divvied into 11 product categories—from handhelds to servers, with places for almost everything in between—Computers.com features price and performance evaluations,
reviews, purchase suggestions, and a consumer advocacy column. Though its product selection isn't nearly as vast as what you'd find at more established reviews sites, Computers.com already qualifies as bookmark material for anyone considering making a computer purchase large or small.
The number of sites promoting a hate agenda—and the obligatory media hype surrounding such developments—continues to grow. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, "the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse coalition of organizations committed to the protection of civil and human rights in the United States," has decided to combat the hate directly from its own site. Read about the organization's pressing concerns (disability policy, hate crimes, fair housing, etc.), and find out how your senator voted on civil
rights-related bills. Most of the conference's 185 partners are linked here; if you want to be notified of civil rights developments, you can sign up to have them e-mailed to you directly. A tremendous informational hub that should not be missed.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) relaunched its Sitings section last month, turning what was once a simple links repository into a butterfly-like explosion of articles, experts, and even more links. If you're a die-hard environmentalist or just someone who likes the outdoors, you'll find relevant links aplenty here, broken down into easily definable subcategories. In addition, Sitings hosts a variety of experts in sundry environmental fields who are available for email Q&As. The section most likely to deliver a jolt is the Black and White factoid hub, where you can mull over such alarming stats as "Since 1945, the world has averaged one nuclear explosion every 9 days."
December 1, 1997, was World AIDS Day. Despite recent gains in treatment, AIDS remains a leading killer with little sign of abating. AIDS Action, dubbed "among the country's most powerful advocacy groups" by the New York Times, has launched this ingenious Internet campaign (lasting until December 1, 1998). What's it all about? Rather than asking people to gather at the mall in Washington, DC and deal with inaccurate head counts and hotel hassles, the organization is providing electronic "signs," which activists can send to the White House and to congressional leaders. What's more, each week a different speaker will contribute a video presentation related to the fight against AIDS. Download the nonstreaming file, or read the text version. Never has activism been so easy, or so important.
Been to a cocktail party lately? How about the office watercooler? If so, you've undoubtedly heard talk about the biggest weather phenom since the Willard Scott hairpiece debate: El Nino. Aside from revitalizing the West Coast's roofing industry, El Nino could cause widespread havoc around the world with its ocean-warming, storm-whipping ways. Find out exactly what the hype is about and how long this irregularly occurring months- to years-long storm been around. You'll also find a bit puddle full of links, and El Nino-related news stories.
Even though many of us plan trips this time of year, few of us are probably planning the types of once-in-a-lifetime jaunts this site offers. No offense to Aunt Edna's poundcake, but how can a trip to the relatives' compare with whitewater rafting in Belize, or a stroll through the Galapagos Islands? This exciting new site profiles adventure-travel locations and trip ideas, and interviews masters of the craft for their personal tips and anecdotes. After you return home from Aunt Edna's and promise yourself that your next trip will be a vacation, head here and start brewing ideas.
A kind of Sharper Image for the flea- and tick-carrying crowd, Rwoof promises that "only the best-tasting, nutritious, fun, beautiful, high-quality, and wholesome products" make it onto the site. That translates into delights like "natural piggie treats... from our friends at Oink-Oink." After your online canine shopping spree, peruse the pet horoscopes; learn gourmet "appetizers, main course and dessert!" recipes for your doggie's delectation; or join the birthday club, so Fido need never feel neglected on his special day. Rwoof takes major credit cards, but will not accept payment in the form of rolling over and begging.
This new portion of the National Audubon Society site focuses on North American bird species that are declining or threatened--but not yet in critical danger. The idea is to encourage public awareness of at-risk birds before expensive and difficult last-minute intervention is required to stave off extinction (as happened with California condors, whooping cranes, and spotted owls). The text sometimes seems a bit hyperbolic: Is "golf-course development" really a major culprit in the loss of habitat for Abert's towhees? Still, it's a great idea handled well--thoroughly documented and nicely illustrated--and made especially poignant to us by the surprise inclusion of one of our favorite birds (the black oystercatcher). Link back to the main NAS site for a guide to National Wildlife Refuges, Audubon-sponsored bird counts, and lots about the organization.
If you're eating Chinese food with a group of friends, and you don't like the fortune in your cookie, do you quickly reach for the extra one, in hopes that its fortune will be brighter? Or do you just tag"… in bed" to the end and toss it aside? Now, thanks to the Web, you can become a master of your own destiny… sort of. This new hub draws dozens of free horoscope sites together into a single orbit. Select your sign, choose a daily or weekly prediction, and read away. Don't like the first one you see? Try another … in bed.
Though the group has faded from the public eye since its mid-'80 s Human Rights Now! blowouts, Amnesty International continues its tireless crusade to expose (and eradicate) human rights violations wherever they occur. And this year, there's cause for celebration. No, China didn't release all its political prisoners; the Declaration of Human Rights has turned 50. Read all of this seminal document online, find out how countries from Brazil to Tunisia are celebrating, or join Amnesty International—all within this
poignant, vibrant site.
It takes a long time to load, but then you see why: Mark Boyle has packed his site with stunning photographs, capturing landscapes and plants in Tasmania and (mostly Western) Australia. Boyle, who lives in Perth on Australia's far western coast, has a knack for capturing light on stone (check out the shots of Uluru [Ayer's Rock] and Wittenoom Gorge for fine examples); but even more striking is his ability to render the starkness of a lush setting (as in his photos of a canola field and of Tasmania's Lake Dove). If Boyle had included some commentary on the locales depicted, we'd have been tempted to place this in our Travel category; but it's fine art as well. Highlyrecommended.
Ever since Matthew Brady, photojournalists have posed a provocative challenge to their print colleagues. Relying on pictures to tell a story demolishes the fiction that print reporters (even avowedly "advocacy"-oriented ones) perpetuate: that the words they choose depict—or at least distill—everything newsworthy about the event covered. In contrast, a photo "journal" collects of discrete scenes captured from the camera's precise viewpoint; the photographer's role as judge and (in some cases) orchestrator couldn't be clearer. Moreover, good photojournalism becomes a transcendent art form in itself. For examples of why the genre both aggravates and compels, visit UM, an "independently operated, nonprofit online magazine dedicated to the advancement and expression of photojournalism." The four contributors (all in their mid-20s) display intriguing snapshot essays whose subjects range from
vérité camera-unconscious folk to everything-but-the-rabbit-ears posers. Worth visiting and taking seriously.
Covering the lore, art, medicine, music, religion, and dance of American and other cultures, the real-world UCLAFA harbors an incredible depth of folk wisdom and ephemera. The companion Web site summarizes the archives' holdings, presents student projects, and promises to post some fantastic resources (like the entire Hinman Collection of early 20th-century photographs) online in the coming year. For now, though, the best features are the searchable video collection index; the Ask the Folklore Expert service; and the Folk Art Gallery and Special Projects wing, which features a spirit medicine botanicas exhibit and a couple of cool audio clips/transcripts of hoodoo practitioners discussing their craft. Excellent links and a connection to the freestanding Folk Medicine Archive top off the onsite offerings. UCLAFA should just keep getting better and better.
When Beat poet William S. Burroughs first cut up his writing and reassembled the words in a hodgepodge manner, he probably didn't guess that his technique would become the model for the magnetic poetry kits currently adorning refrigerators across the country. If he had, he'd probably have died a much richer man. Now you can bring the fun right to your computer with Dave Kapell's Java-based poetry kit. View recent compositions for inspiration, brush up on your meter skills, and start scrambling.
The emergence of temporary workers has dramatically changed the way U.S. companies and individuals view labor. The phrase "Let's bring in a temp to do it" often masks the adjoining refrain: "And we won't need to pay health care!" Who are these interchangeable vertebrae in the corporate backbone? Temps have their own sarcastic voice online with the launch of this biting new weekly zine. Read gripes of the week; learn new temp terms (“glorified gopher," for example, means "any 'general office' position, all of which rank right above 'intern'"); play a hilarious Shockwave game; and forever change your nonchalant attitude when hiring a temp for the day.
Spike Lee has a thing for timing. His latest effort, 4 Little Girls, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature on February 10, the same day HBO launched this new site. Most of us have heard the story of that Sunday morning in Birmingham, Alabama nearly 35 years ago, when a bomb tore through the basement of a black Baptist church, killing four innocent girls. Lee's film explores the origins and aftermath of that event through archival film footage, home photographs, and interviews with those whose lives were affected. Visitors to this official site can read bios of the
victims, follow a civil rights timeline from 1600 to 1969, and enter their thoughts about racism in a site-sponsored contest. Promised upcoming features include a photo museum, chat room, and documentary video and audio clips.
With beaucoup ballyhoo, IDG (the Web Magazine Online's parent company) recently launched the Internet Industry Standard, a weekly newsmagazine covering the Internet economy--a cross, the founders hope, between Variety and the Economist. The publication boasts some impressive founders, including its president and publisher John Batelle (a seasoned management exec with Wired Ventures) and editor-in-chief Jonathan Weber (former technology editor for the Los Angeles Times). The Standard will launch this spring, but its companion Web site is offering a sneak peek. Wade through the prominent subscription and ad pitches, and you'll find high-quality sample articles covering e-commerce, e-cash, and new media executive recruiting, all of it rendered in an accessible editorial voice and clean design. No telling how the magazine will develop over time, or how it will fare in a crowded market. But for now, it's the newcomer to watch.
Founded just after World War II, the Council of Europe is an international organization, the main goal of which is "to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law" in its 40 member states. The council's new Web site offers an online catalog of some 400 self-published books, covering topics such as international and European law, human rights, education, culture, health, the environment, and COE activities. Sounds dull as dirt, right? Think again, mon ami. If you have any interest in the history of the past 50 years, check out Voices of Europe, 1949-96, a collection of speeches (from Victor Hugo through Churchill, Havel, and Gorbachev) tracing the idea of Europe as megastate. An added (and unexpected) bonus is an incredible collection of annotated links to all sorts of pan-European organizations.
Didja hear the one about the suspected murderess who was found hiding out in a Florida nudist colony? These and other sordid tales are standard fare on America's Most Wanted, Fox's extremely popular (and extremely lurid) true-crime TV show. AMW specializes in dramatized crime stories, at the end of which viewers are duly deputized to be on the lookout for the associated criminals and/or missing persons. The official AMW Web site carries this TV-watching-as-crime-solving scheme into new, interactive territory. You'll find thumbnail sketches of each case, with all the pertinent deets (date of birth, eye color, identifying scars, etc.); a news ticker detailing recent case breaks; the Locator, which lets you search for miscreants by name, location, type of crime, or date of broadcast; and, last but by no means least, an e-mail tool for reporting sightings or tips.
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Last update: 11/09/1999
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