Welcome to the 132nd issue of the Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter offering weekly insights into new, cool, useful, fun, unusual and interesting sites on the Internet.

In this issue:

- One Weird Lady
- Obscure Cities
- The Joy of Learning
- Short Takes
- Swiss Poster Art
- Nirvana of Music
- Young Again
- A Family Affair
- Virtual Five-Star Hotel
- Subscribers' Sites


One Weird Lady

'The Simpsons', which premiered on television over ten years ago, demonstrated that cartoons can be as entertaining to adults as they are to children. Shows such as "Futurama", "King of the Hill", "Daria" and many others have recruited a significant following of "grown-up" viewers.

Emma is the subject of 'Weird Emma', an online cartoon that is as bizarre as it is hilarious. With a cast of talking animals (including her dog who speaks with an Irish accent), the episodes are only about a minute long, but what they lack in length they make up for in content and originality.

Obscure Cities

If you are not already familiar with the popular comic series 'The Obscure Cities', this website may prove to be a little daunting at first. The brainchild of esteemed Belgian authors Schuiten and Peeters, the series describes a parallel universe to the one in which we live.

What makes the website so special, besides the fact that it is a portal to a marvelous world of intellectual fantasy, is the power of the graphic design. Use the 'cube' (you'll understand when you see the site), to navigate through the Major Cites and other sections.

What you will find is incredibly beautiful design and architecture, supported by a highly developed plot that should be considered nothing less than art. When you visit the site, make sure to bring a little patience, curiosity and a Shockwave Player with you. The reward is an introduction a universe that is as mysterious and interesting as our own.

The Joy of Learning

Succeeding in elementary school will always demand a lot of studying, and for many brings back memories of hours spent with our faces buried in those dreaded textbooks. Technology, however, has opened up some fascinating environments in which children (and adults) have the freedom to learn in a dynamic and entertaining way.

Sprocketworks.com, founded by Animatrix, is an interactive site whose goal is 'to make children fall in love with learning'. A range of topics including US History, Space, Birds, Chemistry, Oceans, Art and much more are taught with the help of games, interactive diagrams, charts, film shorts and other exciting mediums through which knowledge becomes more 'digestible' for children.

This website is a great way to make your kids enjoy studying, and when they're not using it, you may want to brush up on some of those subjects you failed in the fifth grade!!

SHORT TAKES:

Karaoke Fun

If your problem is that you love Karaoke but hate being embarrassed in front of a crowd of your drunken peers, this site is the perfect solution. With free karaoke software and a jukebox with over 10,000 selections you'll have no problem finding some of your favorite pop songs or oldies from the vault.

Eatsleepmusic.com also features articles on the history of Karaoke, as well as stories about the Japanese cultural phenomenon abroad. This definitely beats singing in the shower; just make sure your windows are shut tight.

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Anatomically Correct

Most of what we know about our bodies is limited to the idea that 'muscles look good (we all want great 'abs', 'pecks', biceps, etc.). However, a lot more can be uncovered about the human muscular skeleton by looking just a little bit below the skin.

This university funded website offers a guided tour of the muscular anatomy of a human being. A picture accompanies every muscle, and its function explained by a list of categories that include Origin, Insertion, Action, Innervation and Arterial Supply. Aspiring Doctors, bodybuilders and knowledge-lovers will all enjoy this site.

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It's Time to Rhyme

While some poets and songwriters may frown, many will smile when they see the home page of Rhymezone.com. The site enables visitors to enter a word in exchange for a list of all the English words with which it rhymes.

You can search further by seeing whether the selected word appears in famous works such as Shakespeare, The Bible, Mother Goose, The Encyclopedia, published quotations, etc. There are online poetry 'slam competitions', and a section where you enter you very own submissions. See, it's getting to us too.

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Swiss Poster Art

For over five decades Switzerland has been at the cutting edge of poster art, its form, style and visual technique, and even holds an annual Swiss Poster of the Year competition to recognize the most unique and creative designs. Lovers of art and advertising alike will appreciate this collection of Swiss Poster Art, presently on display at Carnegie Mellon University and at Swissposters.com. With over sixty entries, all dated from 1971 to the present, the site is a small museum of posters.

You can browse through the gallery of selected pictures or search by name and designer for a specific piece. If you are not familiar with poster art, the Info section of the website provides a fairly detailed of history of the origin and progress of this modern form of design.

Nirvana of Music

As music has become an increasingly commercial and international industry, many of us have become interested in more than just the sound coming out of our stereos. Anyone who is obsessed with the music world needs a place where they can hear about new releases, buy books and albums, read current news, and delve into lengthy, stimulating articles on a variety of characters and subjects in the music world.

Mojo magazine has been around since 1984 and has consistently produced a high-quality magazine rife with fascinating articles and content. Mojo4music.com is the website behind the UK publication, and since its debut earlier this year has proven itself as a habit for online music addicts.

There is a ton of material to browse through, such as the Review Archive, News, Feature Articles, information about the Current Issue and New Releases. Shop in the Mojo Store, play crossword puzzles or subscribe to the actual magazine. Definitely read the About Us section to get an idea of what this great music magazine and its vision are all about.

Young Again

If the stress and responsibility of adult life is getting you down, perhaps its time for you to feel like a kid again. Nostalgia becomes humor at Yesterdayland.com, and anyone born in the last seventy years will get a kick out of the content on this website.

'Dedicated to the preservation of our pop culture', Yesterdayland is definitely a tour down the many memory lanes of childhood, from the TV shows we used to watch to the video games we used to spend all of our quarters on. Many of the sections are formatted into timelines, by decade, and include subjects such as Fashion, Saturday Mornings, Primetime Television, Movies, Lunchboxes, and Pop Music.

There are featured articles and current news stories and updates on personalities from the past, as well as My Yesterdayland, where you can create your own user identification. Ahh, the good old days…

A Family Affair

Being a great parent can be a challenge, requiring education, a lot of love and a bit of improvisation. Probably the most important career in the world, parenting is a constant learning experience and a full time job.

Family.com is a website devoted entirely to the many topics and concerns related to family life and parenting. Visitors can browse through a ton of tips and articles about domestic life that cover marriage, pregnancy, and the several different stages of childhood.

Polls and opinions regarding children (what to feed them, buy them, where to take them and how to teach them), as well as articles on things as serious as married life and as lighthearted as Easter egg hunts and birthday cakes are easily accessed on this well organized, high-content site.

Virtual Five-Star Hotel

The Habbo Hotel is a bit different from other hotels in that it's not real (at least we don't think it is). It is a five-star luxurious Internet hotel, a community that houses thousands of citizens interacting with one another in the hotels' many different areas including The Dirty Duck Pub, the Cunning Fox Gamehall, Café Ole. Club Slinky Helsinki and of course the hotel lobby.

Registering yourself into this virtual community can be a lot of fun, as you can create your own identity, stroll into the various sections of the 'hotel', talk to people, make friends, etc. While the site has some bugs and demands a few minutes to download shockwave, the graphics are great and the experience is very cool.

Have a nice stay!!

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SUBSCRIBERS' SITES - Many of our subscribers have fascinating on-line projects. This weekly section will introduce you to some of these sites. Please let me know about your project so that I might mention it in this section. Write me at info@tricksandtrinkets.com

~Charlie K Designs - Banners, buttons, and tiles for Personal and Business sites.

~Canapril's Free Cards - Send a Free card to friends, for any occasion.

~WOLFDENTRADER - Loom beadstrips using authentic Native American designs.

~Carolyn's Compositions - A talented composer dreaming of reaching the people.

~ Gordon's Simpsons Site

~SailCat Graphics - Source for freeware, sorted, tested and classified.

~2001 Freebies UK - Free Stuff for the 21st Century.



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Umbrella, light, landscape, sky-
There is no language of the holy.
The sacred lies in the ordinary.

TAO

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Have a great weekend.

Charles Kessler