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Welcome to the 174th 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:
- Independent Films Portal
- The IG Nobel Prize
- The Artchive
- Short Takes
- Tastings
- Sun Salutation
- A Modern American Realist
- The Birders Network
- Online Newsstand
- Subscribers' Sites
Independent Films Portal
Tired of plopping down $8 or more for yet another dumb and dumber Hollywood movie? Go independent at IndieWIRE, a site for independent filmmakers and viewers that makes you believe in the art of moviemaking again, whether you're behind the camera or in front of a screen.
Created in 1995, the site is the thumbs-up leader in exploring independent filmmaking. Indie enthusiasts will feel like insiders as they browse detailed production notes on films in progress or read reviews of films as they make the festival rounds. Filmmakers get daily business news and lively message boards. For the rest of us: interviews, production stories and reports from film festivals around the world.
http://www.indiewire.com/
The IG Nobel Prize
If you've hand it up to here with brainiacs, take a trip to The Ig Nobel Prizes, honoring goofballs whose achievements "cannot or should not be reproduced." The Igs are annual prizes that celebrate the unusual and honor the imaginative in categories that mirror the Nobel Prizes. But different.
Past winners include the author of a report on injuries due to falling coconuts, the inventor of airtight underwear equipped with a charcoal filter that removes unpleasant gases, and the founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society. Created by the science humor magazine "Annals of Improbable Research" and the computer geeks and sci-fi nerds of Harvard, the prizes are awarded at a gala ceremony by real Nobel Laureates in October.
http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-top.html
The Artchive
From Baroque to Dadaism, art should be shared and enjoyed. But artists have rights too, and Artchive manages to walk the line between exposing art to a wide audience without toppling over into infringement on artists' copyrights.
With several galleries, from images to theory and criticism, the site has some cool extras. At the Rembrandt One-Man Show, for example, use the Imagefinder to zoom in on exquisite detail. Art Links leads to some of the most interesting art sites on the web, and Art Reviews delivers reviews appearing in Glyphs, the online art review site. Images can be downloaded for personal use, and the offerings are vast, organized in more than 25 categories from Bauhaus to Futurism.
http://www.artchive.com/
SHORT TAKES
Smoking Gun's Best
From the blizzard of boilerplate, press releases, and banal pronouncements, Smoking Gun has selected the 2001 Documents of the Year in categories like "Scariest Document," "Creepiest Jail Memos," and "Tackiest Police Press Release." Visit the Archives or Featured Document for more info gathered by the freedom-of-information sleuths at Smoking Gun.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/doc_o_year/doc_o_year.shtml
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Scary Squirrels
The Squirrel Anti-Defamation League would have a field day with Scary Squirrels, where the cute little acorn-eating furballs are routinely called chitterbox demons, squirrel abduction stories abound and visitors vote on whether squirrels' origins are natural, supernatural or they just crawled up out of the ooze. Look out Bullwinkle, Rocky's got fangs.
http://www.scarysquirrel.org/theory/theory.html
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Weather Calculator
Weather wonks will want to blow over to the Weather Calculator, which explains the National Weather Service's new method of calculating wind chill temperature, updating a 62-year-old standard. Changes between the new index and the old are compared, with conversion utilities for Fahrenheit to Celsius and Miles Per Hour to Kilometers Per Hour.
http://ggweather.com/windchill.htm
Tastings
Just in time for New Year's Eve, Tastings brings a world of wine, beer and distilled spirits to your computer screen with the motto "Like what you drink, drink what you like." This online journal of the Beverage Tasting Institute is not about boozing it up, but about savoring the pleasure.
The Wine section database has 30,000 wines with features on how to taste, talk and buy like a sommelier. The Beer section explains stouts to ales, the brewing process, even the right glassware to use to properly tip the suds. At Spirits, visitors explore 1,000 distilled spirits, learning the fine distinctions among Scotch, Irish and North American whiskeys, with tips on how to stock your bar with the best on a budget.
http://www.tastings.com
Sun Salutation
Yoga, the centuries-old Eastern philosophy, is fast-becoming the fitness soulmate for thousands. Whether you are a high-powered exec trying to keep your heart beating and your pulse down, or a weekend athlete hoping to avoid injuries, Yoga Journal is the place to start - and return to - for extensive information on this physical and spiritual health regimen.
From the 25-year-old magazine of the same name, the interactive site shows visitors how to put yoga into action in everyday life. New to Yoga brings neophytes gently into the yoga world. Poses is a searchable database to help you find stronger abs or relief from fatigue. At Meditation, visitors get guidance to help them focus on the moment and achieve balance.
http://yogajournal.com/
A Modern American Realist
Burly, white-haired and bearded, Robert Wittig is the opposite of the celebrity artist, a realist in life and in work. Wittig is an unschooled artist who interprets in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink and charcoal what his eye lands on in Chicago's dark alleys and sunlit patches of pines.
The site has the feel of a personal journal, though the art is center stage -- and fine. Just browsing the images is worth the trip, but visitors can also read Wittig's commentary on his process in Demonstrations and Groups, subscribe to his newsletter to engage in conversation with him, visit galleries that exhibit his work or purchase that gorgeous watercolor they've fallen for.
http://www.robertwittig.com/
The Birders Network
"Look up, but then look out - it's contagious" seems an apt theme for birders, people who compulsively look for and identify birds. Birders themselves consider their hobby something of an addiction, and it's a habit to be fed at The Birders Network.
With high-quality original materials about wild birds, birding, bird watching and birders, the site offers sophisticated online field guides with text, photos, animated sonograms, interactive maps and photo indexes, often integrated with virtual tours of specific birding locales. Simulated birding tours, photo galleries and rare bird alerts make this the perfect nesting spot for birders before they stalk the fields.
http://www.a2z4birders.com/
Online Newsstand
From Aircraft Economics to the Mongol Messenger, All You Can Read is like the crowded little newsstand on the corner, only cleaner and easier to find - it's right on your desktop.
Find any magazine, from hobbies to teens, and newspapers from around the world by searching categories based on interest area or country, and the site will link you to its web page. The Top 20 List takes users to the most popular magazines and newspapers, and a handy My News section, lets you register to keep track of periodicals on your subscription list.
http://www.allyoucanread.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
~Songs by Sooz
~Dr. Labush's Links To Learning
~StudentsVille - Studying and Living in Florence.
~Crimson Cauldron - Bright Blessings and the Merriest of Magick
~John Stoller, CPA - Making IRS problems disappear.
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OOo-(_)-oOOo--------
One side of a ridge is cold and foggy,
The other is hot and dry.
Just by choosing where you stand,
You alter your destiny.
~TAO
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Best wishes for a holiday season filled with peace and joy.
Charles Kessler
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