Welcome to the 163rd 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:

- Pictoplasma
- Floating World of Ukiyo-e
- Eye Witness Account
- Short Takes
- Mesoamerican Ballgame
- The Great Outdoors
- Dental Health Portal
- Elements of Hindu Devotion
- Curious Media 
- Subscribers' Sites 


Pictoplasma 

Pictoplasma is a collection of over 2,800 contemporary character designs from 306 artists and designers worldwide, and they range from the familiar, like Mario, to the obscure, like Snowcat, a Korean creature who looks like a box on legs. 

Besides the characters, there are icons, mascots, fonts, illustrations and more, designed for commercial purposes like logos or just for the fun of it. The Exhibition shows diverse styles from cozy bunnies to urban hip-hop. The Archive is searchable by name, style, country or character, and the PictoOrphanage offers unclaimed characters for "adoption." The site doesn't own the works, but puts interested clients and collaborators in touch with the artists represented.

http://www.pictoplasma.de/

The Floating World of Ukiyo-e

"Shadows, Dreams, and Substance" showcases the spectacular holdings of the Japanese art of Ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating, or sorrowful, world) and is the first public viewing of this collection from the Library of Congress. 

Ukiyo-e was practiced in the city of Edo (now Tokyo) from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and its themes were inspired by the "pleasure" quarter of Edo famed for its brothels, kabuki theater, fashionable restaurants and street entertainment. Thus, many of the prints, wood blocks, books and drawings depict actors, erotic scenes and beauties, plus landscapes that detail the cultural and historical environment of the period.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/

Eye Witness Account

Visitors to this site will feel like Zelig, the Woody Allen character who was eyewitness to historical events, as they read personal accounts, hear the voices and see the photos from the ancient world through WWII. 

Fascinating stuff greets every click, like an American GI's tale of his 2-day London pass with in 1944, or Pliny's account of the obliteration of Pompeii by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. All from first-hand sources, special treats are Snapshots, with rare black and white photos linked to historical tidbits, and Voices of the 20th Century, with audio recordings of such treasures as a comedy routine about 1942 gas rationing by Jack Benny, Gracie Allen and Eddy Cantor.

http://www.ibiscom.com/

SHORT TAKES:

Icon Town

Icon Town is a virtual community made up of free icon sets, where users register a 'plot' of land and build an icon to set on the plot. Visitors can study the town's blueprints, move their cursor over a house to learn who lives there and then stop by Town Hall to become a citizen.

http://www.icontown.net/

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Yazoo Records

Those who loved the music from the film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" should check out this site that preserves American ethnic music of the 20s and 30s on CD quality recordings. Much of this early music is all but lost, and in some cases just a few copies of the original 78 rpm recordings have survived. The CDs are available for purchase through this online catalogue.

http://www.yazoorecords.com/

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When I Am King

This five chapter Web-based comic series, started in October 2000 and completed in July 2001, is based on a king who, after a life-changing dream, sets out to make sure his dream is realized. More fascinating than the story is that the series was created entirely with a computer - no pens or papers involved. (Some adult content.)

http://www.demian5.com/

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The Mesoamerican Ballgame

For 3,000 years, Mesoamerica, in the subtropical regions between North and South America, was home to some of the world's most advanced civilizations. Their ballgame, the first team sport, was a game of life and death -- the loser was sacrificed for the prosperity of the community. 

Here you can take a front row seat to view the pageantry or suit up and play the game, an elaborate form of hackey sack using balls made of the native rubber plant. Or just explore the culture and the court, and play a less risky trivia game based on Mesoamerican culture. 

http://www.ballgame.org/

The Great Outdoors

PBS, always a source of learning about our world in the most beautiful ways, has gathered outdoor programming content from 30 stations across the country to create American Field Guide, with the invitation to "Immerse yourself in the great outdoors without ever leaving your desk." 

Wilderness is about sight and sound, and the content here relies on video and audio to let city dwellers coast to coast experience the nation's animals, ecosystems, plants and more. With over 1,200 videos of America's wilderness, armchair adventurers can escape for a moment into the woods of Northern Maine with a naturalist or into the skies over Arizona with an aerial photographer.

http://www.pbs.org/americanfieldguide/

Dental Health Portal

If your idea of hell is having a root canal, a little preventive education about dental health might keep you out of the chair. Intelihealth, a leading provider of online health information, teams with the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine to get to the root of dental health at this comprehensive site of news, tools, tips and risk assessments. 

A variety of topics is covered, from cosmetic dentistry to dental phobia, including features like Ask the Dentist and links to Intelihealth's other resources like the Medical Dictionary and Emergency kit. It's all user-friendly too, with easy pull-down menus that let you drill down into specific topics, from gum disease to implants.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtDNT/WSDNT000/24724/24724.html

Elements of Hindu Devotion

Hinduism, practiced by 900 million devotees in India alone, is both a simple and complex faith that embraces diversity and encourages daily spiritual, emotional and artistic acts of devotion. 

Those acts are carefully depicted at "Meeting God," an online exhibition by the American Museum of Natural History offering artifacts, symbols, photos and explanations of the devotional substance of Hinduism. From worship in the home, community and the temple, visitors learn about the processionals and festivals, the temporary or "ephemeral" shrines, the vows and trances, and the preparations for death and rebirth that comprise the sacred acts of the Hindi. 

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/meeting_god/

Curious Media 

Figuring out how to navigate through Curious Media is half the fun. A creepy Cheshire cat-like host grins at users, but - here's a tip - lift up the rug to explore the art, toys, animations and experiments cleverly hidden in, under and around this ingenious site. 

Users can interact with just about everything, from line drawings that wiggle and squirm to vines that grow and flourish or crash and burn with the click of a mouse. Your cursor works like a finger poking and prodding the art - all of it a little puzzling, like the random Words from the Alligator: " her cup smashes her rain." Don't ask, just play.

http://www.curiousmedia.com

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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

~ Looking For Someone -Located a long lost relative or loved one.

~Galaxy Wares- Unique gifts at low prices, and free shipping.

~Spike's & Jamie's 911 Memorial Page

~The Busy Person's Guide to Chile Peppers 

~Big Jeeps

~TLC Photo Restoration

~TinyApps.Org - a guide to very small software for your PC.

~Welcome to Trap Creek, Lebam, Washington


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You could labor ten years under a master
Trying to discern whether the teachings are true.
But all you might learn is this:
One must live one's own life.

TAO

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Have a great weekend.
Charles Kessler