| Editor's
Choice |
| October 29, 2002 |
The Big
Cartoon DataBase
If  not for IMDb's skimpy
cartoon offerings, this unparalleled database of cartoon
filmography might not exist. Four years ago, founder Dave Koch
sought episode guides for cartoons but came up short. So he
rounded up his creative posse and started scouring the Web for
toon-related information. They've compiled a massive
searchable list of all toons great and small, complete with
episode guides, crew lists, and synopses sprinkled with
anecdotal flavor. Studio heavyweights Hanna-Barbera, Warner
Brothers, and Disney are all represented, as is the seasonally
inclined Rankin-Bass, creators of Frosty
the Snowman. Check out the episode that saw Homer
Simpson attending
college, or reach further back to the '40s when Popeye
the Sailor reflected wartime sentiments. For some
Halloween nostalgia, visit universally loved Casper
the Friendly Ghost and It's
the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Fans of the esoteric
and rare are encouraged to write reviews and keep the
animation alive. (in Comics
& Animation) |
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| October 28, 2002 |
Lost
in Translation
When  used as intended, an online
translator converts one language into another. But when
creative people get hold of the technology and tinker around,
a translator can create a whole new type of surrealistic joy.
The uniqueness of this particular translator is due to the
number of translations it performs. By converting text into
five different languages and back to English, the site creates
a wild pinball-like effect as the text ricochets from one
meaning to the next. For example try translating, "The quick
brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." You'll end up with "Vixen
that the brown express jumped in the inactive dog." The larger
the passage, the greater the likelihood you'll end up with
text that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original. Cut
and paste to your heart's content, and have a blast with this
updated linguistic version of the telephone game. (in
Linguistics
& Languages) |
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| October 27, 2002 |
Lower
East Side Tenement Museum
Between  1870 and 1915, over 10,000
people -- mostly urban immigrants -- lived in one of the 20
apartments at 97 Orchard Street. Visit this site to explore
the tenement,
which typically housed seven or more people crowded into 325
square feet of living space. Visit a few of the families in
the Urban
Log Cabin section, which uses dollhouse dioramas to depict
the homes of Russian Jews, Polish immigrants, New Yorkers of
German descent, Greek Sephardic Jews, and naturalized Yiddish
families. Dig under the floorboards
to find old milk bottle tops, a Ouija board, cigarettes, and
shoes, or peel through 13 layers of wallpaper that date from
the 1870s to the 1930s. The QuickTime
panoramas of two apartments reveal expressive details
about people living under one roof. Look at the decorations a
Sicilian family used to make the best of their tiny
rooms. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum weaves a
colorful tapestry from the backgrounds of these working-class
Americans. (in Regional) |
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| October 26, 2002 |
NASA's
Origins Program
NASA  focuses its biggest telescopes on
galaxies, stars, planets, and life itself. The Origins Program
addresses two defining scientific
questions: "Where do we come from? and "Are we alone?"
Using both ground-based
observatories and space-based
missions like the Hubble
Space Telescope, NASA scans the skies. Scientists want to
find out how galaxies and planets evolved and created the
right chemical conditions to support life on Earth. Knowing
how our own planet developed helps scientists pinpoint other
planets capable of sustaining life. For a look at planned
spacecraft, check out the Origins
video. Learn about ultra-lightweight telescopes and other
new technology
being developed for the project. The timeline
of the universe gives a refresher course on the Big Bang
and what came after. If an extraterrestrial is out there, the
Origins Program may be the first to find it. (in Science
> Astronomy) |
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| October 25, 2002 |
New
Wave Photos
Music  aficionados consider the
late '70s and early '80s to be the black hole of music
history. Disco and corporate rock ruled the charts, but
something interesting was happening under the pop-music radar.
New wave and punk bands offered the original alternative to
music fans tired of Top-40 drivel. Phillipe Carly was one of
the disillusioned who flocked to this new breed of music, and
the photos he snapped of the era make for an entirely
entertaining retrospective of this subculture. Carly never
considered himself a photographer. Rather, he prefers to say,
"I was merely taking pictures." Well-known bands such as Siouxsie
& the Banshees and New
Order are represented, but the real treat is clicking
through black-and-white photos of obscurities.
From á;GRUMH...
to XTC,
the new wave movement is traced in this continually growing
collection. If you long for your own piece of "livin'
in the '80s," you're in luck -- all the photos are
available for purchase (droning synths not included).
(in Music) |
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| October 24, 2002 |
Invention
at Play
Remember  the halcyon days of finding
shapes in clouds, doodling
on paper, creating cities from building blocks, and just
letting your imagination run free? That same childlike
wonderment and imaginative play is what inspired many past and
present-day inventors. This Smithsonian exhibition invites you
to tinker around an invention
playhouse and see if you can spur any creative juices. In
the case of Alexander Graham Bell, a few paper doodles were
the first imaginings of the indispensable telephone. Drug
pioneer Gertrude
Elion likened her important experiments to playing with a
jigsaw puzzle. Through the inventors'
stories, you may notice a running theme of recognizing the
unusual, borrowing from nature, and asking countless
questions. You'll discover that necessity is not always the
mother of invention. Sometimes, you just have to think like a
kid. (in Science) |
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| October 23, 2002 |
TIME
Asia: Asian Journey
While  America's trains chug along
riderless and Europe's trains are packed with backpacking
college students, Asia's
trains serve as lifelines for local people in both remote
areas and big cities. This Time magazine site explores
the Asian continent by rail, from Pakistan to the Pacific with
many stops in between. Start with the table
of contents or simply poke around through the evocative
essays and lush photographs. Travel the old silk roads from
western China
to Kazakhstan or take the trans-Siberian
route from Beijing to Moscow. Discover how the legacy of the
British
Raj lives on in the iron horses that traverse the Indian
subcontinent, almost connecting the warring states of India
and Pakistan. From Burma
to Vietnam, through South
Korea and Japan, and across the expanses of China,
Asia is defined by the wonders and the horrors that trains
have brought into people's daily lives. This site is a
first-class ticket to view a continent on the move. (in
Recreation
& Sports) |
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