Welcome to the 133rd 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:

- March Madness 
- Fire and Ice
- Politics as Usual
- Short Takes
- The Hoax Museum
- World Resources Game
- The Broadband Generation
- Renegade Cartoons
- Geography Lessons
- Subscribers' Sites

March Madness

Most true basketball fans will agree that there is no other sporting event as thrilling as the NCAA Tournament, otherwise known as 'March Madness'. 

FinalFour.net is 'the official website of the NCAA' and if you're a basketball nut, plan on spending a good portion of your workday browsing through it. The site caters to all aspects of college hoops, past, present, and future. 

The tournament started today, so it's a great time to review the divisions and match-ups, get insider information on individual teams, players and coaches, and plan out your TV schedule. There is also a phenomenal archive of video clips called the Intel Video Jukebox, which contains some of the greatest moments in the sport. Just look for your team and you'll find a selection of streaming footage of some of their most exciting games. 

Fire and Ice

Nature, in its stillness, is probably the most beautiful subject the eye can view. Since childhood, Mark Dornblaser, an admired nature photographer and adventurer, has managed to photograph our natural environment in its most stunning moments of radiance and solitude. His pictures make nature look even more beautiful than it already is.

The site displays his collected works, accrued through years of traveling to some of the most pristine environments in the world. Browse through the seven major sections of the gallery, Fire and Ice, Cape Cod, Badlands, Alaska, The West, Nepal and Africa, or read through his travel journals. 

All photos are for sale online and can be matted and framed for an additional cost. Lovers of nature and photography will enjoy his work, as well as his unwavering dedication to the appreciation and protection of our natural environment. 

Politics as Usual

In lieu of the recent presidential election and the never-ending debate over 'Campaign Finance Reform', it has become obvious that money can push a candidate far down the political path. What is not so obvious is, "Who is doing the pushing and why?" 

Motherjones.com explains the 'business' of campaign financing by our nation's top industries, providing insight into the people, issues and numbers involved. Even more interesting is the Mother Jones 400, a list of the top four hundred campaign contributors, the industries they are linked with, their personal interests and how much money was donated. 

SHORT TAKES:

Theme Park Insider

If memories of Disneyland still make you smile, or if the mere mention of Magic Mountain immediately widens your children's eyes, then perhaps it's time to take the family on an All American Vacation to a theme park. 

ThemeParkInsider.com will guide you through the entire 'fun park' industry, with detailed listings and descriptions of every major park in the US and Europe. Visitors will get insider information on the best rides, games, shows, restaurants, as well as tips on which parks are more suited for infants, young children, teenagers, adults, etc. 

Just remember to buckle your safety belt, throw your arms in the air, and try not to eat too much cotton candy before hitting the roller coasters. 

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Postcards from the Edge

Of course everyone you know thinks you're an international jetsetter, buy how can you prove that you spend your time hopping from one exotic locale to the next? For a small fee you can send a real postcard from a foreign country, which is a lot cheaper than a plane ticket and a tour guide. 

PostcardLand.com allows you to send postcards from over forty countries for a small fee plus the cost of a stamp. Just use your credit card, and fill in the recipient's address. You'll have no problem convincing your friends that you're taking some personal time in the Seychelles Islands or on an important business trip in Cameroon. 

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Brain Gym

Power walking, Spinning, Tae-Bo and Jazzercise are some of the latest workout crazes for improving health and looking great. Lost in all this perspiration is the mind. Doesn't the brain require a similar commitment to health and fitness? 

Brain.com offers a cyberspace gym with the latest equipment to help keep the mind limber. Flex that medulla oblongata by working out your brain with tests for memory, IQ, attention and reflexes, thinking, and emotions. A great site! 

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The Hoax Museum

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the act of creating a hoax is defined as 'contriving wonderful stories for the publick'. The larger the audience, the more effective these deceptive schemes become. Not to be confused with urban legends, practical jokes or fraud, a true hoax is able to generate intrigue and astonishment, forcing people to 'question their assumptions' and 'to wonder what is real and what is not'.

Famous hoaxes such as 'The Moon Hoax of 1835', in which the New York Sun claimed that a certain astronomer had discovered life on the moon consisting of blue unicorns, hoards of roaming bison and a strange creature called a man-bat, is just an example of the seriously entertaining subject matter you'll find at The Museum of Hoaxes. 

Stories are organized by the century they took place in, with an additional section for everything that occurred before 1700 (don't miss the story of Pope Joan. There is also a category on the history of April Fools' Day, which may give you some ideas for the upcoming holiday.

World Resources Game

Anyone who's ever played a role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons, knows that they are an extremely fun way for you and your friends to escape into another world for the weekend. Instead of slaying dragons and searching for gold, imagine if you could solve problems, address world issues, wage war or do just about anything else you wanted! 

Funded by the World Game Institute and other independent benefactors, Net World Games are highly interactive role-playing games that can be played online. You'll need a game master, or judge, whose job it is to conceive of the story and, based on the players' decisions and actions, determine the path and outcome. 

Players can engage in these games with friends or recruit others online. There are a number of different games to choose from, such as A Bridge to the Future (which involves saving the planet) and Free World (where you can do basically whatever you want).

The Broadband Generation

If your college years are supposed to be the best years of your life, then they just got even better. Zilo.com is a new community that targets college students, otherwise known as 'the broadband generation', in an effort to provide them with interactive entertainment via their computers. 

It is part television station, part magazine and part online campus, complete with a full roster of original programming. It even has its own revolutionary video game entitled Zilo Universe. Visitors will also find new music, listings of television and on campus events, and endless entertainment. Choosing your college schedule has never been this much fun. 

Renegade Cartoons

Cartoons continue to be an intelligent and hilarious source of entertainment for children and adults, as well as the subject of more than a few 'Tricks and Trinkets'. Founded in 1992, Renegade Animation works with an excellent staff of writers, producers and animators all focused on one goal....making great cartoons. 

Designed in the quirky, old time style reminiscent of The 'Jetsons' and 'Rocky and Bullwinkle', their animation and website are filled with the sarcasm, eccentricity and wit that is crucial in the creation of cartoon magic. 

The site also features every episode of their original series, Elmo the Aardvark, which in our opinion is pretty special. The coolest part is that you can play arcade games while you wait for the cartoons to download.

Geography Lessons

As far as this educational website is concerned, understanding the subject of geography requires a lot more than memorizing world capitals and learning how to read a map. Geography.com is split into two separate sections, Physical Geography, which deals in tornadoes, tectonics, etc., and Human Geography, an extensive topic that incorporates aspects of industry, sociology, natural resources and agriculture. 

The homepage is covered in questions that link to detailed explanations, such as 'How do volcanoes erupt?' as well as more complicated subjects including modern social, economic and political issues.

Many of the answers to these questions are written explanations equipped with photos and cartoon-like moving maps that show the various stages of a natural event. Great for the young, the old and everyone in between, geography.com is a bottomless source of information on our planet and its inhabitants. 

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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

~Mardi Gras Home Page - Cajun & Creole Recipes

~Loudon Nelson Senior Computer Center 

~Kesti's Homepage - Resource for alternative healing, herbs, etc.

~Website Doctor - Website Diagnosis And Repair.

~Michael's light toys - Battery-powered lights for runners and other night uses. 

~Show Horse Planner - Site dedicated to the horse show enthusiasts.


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When birds fly too high.
They sing out of tune.

TAO

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Have a great weekend.

Charles Kessler