Welcome to the 143rd 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:

- Science For Everyone
- Sound Portraits
- Trash 4 Sale
- Short Takes
- Chicks Get Their Clicks
- Visual Genealogy Exchange
- Vivian Lives
- Search for Scotland
- Bizarre Stuff
- Subscribers' Sites

Science For Everyone

Remember when you were a kid and had tons of questions about anything and everything but no one was around to answer them? "Why is the sky blue?", "When will I get my period?" or "How does an airplane fly?" For today's wired kids, The BrainPOP gang is there to answer these questions and many more.

Their award-winning Health, Science and Technology site is based on original, animated movies created to explain the human body and the world around us in an engaging, interactive journey for kids. BrainPOP makes learning fun, in a safe environment, without sacrificing accurate information, which is something parents, teachers and kids will appreciate. A bookmark special!

http://www.brainpop.com/

Sound Portraits

Sound Portraits is dedicated to creating radio programs, which bring neglected American voices to a national audience. They can be heard on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Weekend Edition".

Sound Portraits is known not just for its cutting edge radio documentaries, but also for its innovative approach to disseminating ideas and sparking discussions on issues such as poverty, juvenile justice, prison, and race. One of my favorite stories is about "The Jewish Giant" who was well known to my family.

http://www.soundportraits.org

Trash 4 Sale

Auction sites are among the most popular destinations offering everything imaginable for the right price. But as tales of the substantial profits made through these auctions have spread, a few overzealous merchants are putting some fairly unusual items on the block.

DisturbingAuctions.com is a bizarre and sometime highly entertaining auction. Browsing through categories like Emotionally Scarring Toys, Figurines, or Home Furnishing will return haunting or humorous items (depending on your perspective) as the "Dean Martin Hand Puppet", the "Disembodied Farrah Fawcett Heads", or the "Deer Butt" (found under home furnishings). Caveat Emptor!

http://www.disturbingauctions.com/

SHORT TAKES:

Flip Book Pictures

Have you ever viewed animated movies while quickly flipping through consecutive photographs in a flip-book format? 

Welcome to the Post-It Theater, where the movies are all hand-drawn on Post-itŪ brand notes and scanned. Be sure to check in every week for a new feature.

http://www.bigempire.com/postittheater/index.html

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National Park Guide

If you're planning a trip to a National Park this summer, you'll want to bookmark this site created by the National Parks Service. It offers a drop-down menu of all parks and offers details on everything from camping and lodging to fees and activities. 

http://www.nps.gov/parks.html

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Exercise Assistant

My friend Jack never used to walk anywhere. When he went to the store, theater or a restaurant he always looked for the closest parking space and sometimes drove around for minutes to get closer. Sportsbrain.com changed all that.

Their wearable device records his daily activity and automatically sends his personal information to their web site. It is helping him become more conscious about exercising and his health. (Unpaid Testimonial)

http://www.sportbrain.com/Home/Home.cfm

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Chicks Get Their Clicks

After countless hours of surfing, Carly Milne, learned there wasn't a whole heck of a lot in cyberspace for Canadian women, so she created Moxie.ca where women can get their kicks and entertaining clicks. The site covers everything from reviews of the latest flicks, to subjects including sex, sports, health, entertainment, and more. 

If you missed your favorite TV show last night, don't despair! Boob Toob will give you recaps of your favorite chick shows, plus a whole bunch more about the idiot box. Nutrition know-it-all, Sara Best, helps you figure out what foods are bad, what vitamins are good, and what the heck that herbal remedy is supposed to do on Eve's Garden. A very cool site.

http://www.moxie.ca/

Visual Genealogy Exchange

Launched in September 2000, Ancient Faces has become the largest visual genealogy presence on the Internet by providing a free location for the exchange of photos. Thousands of photos are being scanned and then added to AncientFaces by their owners so that others researching their family trees can place faces with the names of their ancestors. 

People come to AncientFaces to add a more personal touch to genealogy, by adding stories and recipes that have been passed down through their families; thus ensuring their preservation for generations to come.

http://www.ancientfaces.com/

Vivian Lives

Part comic strip, part voyeur, part marketing presentation, part multimedia fun, this next site may be a lot of things aside from simple entertainment....and you're not alone if at the end of the day you're still wondering exactly what it is.

Meet Vivian, an appealing, vivacious internet avatar, who is living the 20 something dot-com lifestyle. With the latest Flash plugin and a fair amount of bandwidth, voyeurs can turn on and drop in to this young ficticious New Yorker's life. 

Tune in the vidcam and watch her at work, thumb through her diary for shopping recommendations, or mouse through her beautful brownstone apartment. It won't be long before you know more about Vivian than your next door neighbor.

http://www.vivianlives.com/


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Search for Scotland

Scotland's national identity has been casually referred to by outsiders as that of a "little brother" to Great Britain. What many do not know is that Scotland's rich and complex history provide a unique national character which cannot be ignored. In search of this somewhat elusive identity, the BBC has created an engaging online companion to the 10-part series entitled, "In Search of Scotland."

Visitors may explore the chronological development of this nation in sections including Mysterious Ancestors, the Making of a Union, and Impact of the Monk. Be sure to visit the Historical Oddities sections for some interesting reading, none so strange as the 200 foot woman who is said to have washed up on the shores of Scotland.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/

Bizarre Stuff

Do you remember some of the odd projects and experiments you did when you were a kid? This site is a warped semi-scientific cookbook of tricks, gimmicks, and pointless experimentation, concoctions, and devices, using for the most part, things found around the house.

The experiments are classics. Strange goo, radios made from rusty razor blades, crystal gardens and more. It is pure weird science and very entertaining.

http://freeweb.pdq.net/headstrong/control.htm 

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If you're interested in advertising in Cool Tricks and Trinkets, email info@tricksandtrinkets.com
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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

~Tom Around the World - Making the world a cooler place.

~In Loving Memory Of Jennifer Nixon 

~TLC Photo Restoration

~The Man From H.U.N.G.E.R.

~Alchemist Lair - Transform your home with fantasy items.

~Fukuoka Prisoner of War Camp - Life and Death at a POW Camp in wartime Japan.


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A sword is never sheathed
Until it has tasted blood.
A good swordsman
Is seldom seen with a sword.

TAO

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Have a great weekend.
Charles Kessler