Recently reinvented and redesigned, the How Stuff Works site is looking better than ever. As a lover of history, I wandered on over to their history section, and was excited to see new interactive features on "What Happened at Kent State?" and "How Prohibition Worked". Good stuff here!

These days, there's a search engine for everything. It's appropriate that Soungle offers interested parties access to high-quality, royalty-free animal sounds. Check out the melodic whale songs here and feel free to search for anything from the fruit bat to the common bear.

This site brings together the visual aspects of today's news items in one riotous format, complete with thousands of images, tags, and other goodies. Visitors can click on through to various news items related to each image, and also just wander around for fun!

Yo-Yo Ma is no stranger to musical improvisation, so it was great to read that he had recently allowed anyone to remix and play around with one of his tracks from his newest album. Check out the results on this site from Wired magazine, and you might be inspired to create your own musical bricolage...

C-SPAN recently created this informative website with information on the Presidential Transition, and it contains a number of commentaries by former White House Staffers, political experts, and others. The site is rounded out by a collection of relevant documents and links to other relevant C-SPAN sites.

With the approach of Halloween, it seems appropriate to root around the web for something candy-related. I'm glad to report that I've struck Yellow #5 and cacao gold with this delightfully saccharine weblog offered up by the National Confectioners Association. Visitors can read about interesting new products, watch a video of candy corn being made, and even learn more about sensible candy consumption around Halloween. Needless to say they have an excellent blogroll (shouldn't that be candylogroll?) and past entries can be browsed by categories, which include history, drinks, and white chocolate.

Here at the Scout Project we like to laugh and think, often at the same time. As it turns out, so do the good folks at the Improbable Research organization. On this site, visitors can learn about research they've uncovered that spans everything from patents on a method for restaurant patrons to not calculate a tip to some truly bizarre anti-terrorism devices. Then visitors must not leave without also checking out their annual IgNobel Prizes, which are held every year at Harvard. Of course, those with flowing locks (and those without) should browse on over to their Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists.

The world of roller-coasters can be fraught with dissension and debate. The Ultimate Rollercoaster website doesn't shy away from such matters, and visitors with a passion for such matters will find plenty to keep them entertained here. Visitors can read about the new Evel Knievel Roller Coaster at Six Flags, St. Louis and the fabled Kentucky Rumbler wooden roller coaster that reigns supreme over Beach Bend Park. Don't forget to look in on their book of records and their extensive online photo gallery. The coverage here is uniformly solid, though there's precious little on other aspects of the amusement park experience, and nary a word on carnies or the relative merits of differing methods of corn dog preparation.

You may have ironed a Kenneth Cole shirt on top of a marble table top in a jiffy, but have you ever tried to get a wrinkle out of a blazer whilst on top of the highest peak in Britain? Ian Ambrose has, and the BBC recently reported on the extreme ironing activities of this former soldier in this online article.

Is that new George Clooney movie being filmed in your neighborhood? When was the last time that restaurant around the corner was paid a visit from the health department? Can I find photographs of the corner of Columbus and Broadway and North Beach? EveryBlock has answers to these queries, and many, many more. The site was started in January 2008, and it pulls data from government proceedings, daily media reports, and other sources to offer a very specific profile of neighborhoods and ZIP codes across Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. All visitors need to do is type in an address, zip code, or neighborhood and they can browse around items of note to their heart's content. It's quite a bit of fun, and visitors can even learn about building permits, liquor licenses, and of course, restaurant inspections.

If you're looking for more information on Sheffield United, Derby County, and dozens of other soccer teams around Europe, Africa, and other continents, this mashup site is rather fun. Bringing together information from Google Maps, weblogs, the BBC, and other sites, the site lets visitors scroll around for the latest news on their favorite team.

Since his time as a founding member of the Talking Heads, David Byrne has been intimately involved with all aspects of the music business. Recently, he chimed in with this nice piece in Wired magazine about the future of selling, producing, and buying music.

The OED's Word of the Day is always welcome in my email inbox, and now I think I'll also be taking a look at Vocab Rehab, offered up from the good folks at Mental Floss. Each word comes with a pronunciation guide and a few sentences where the word is used in context. I'm pleased to announce that I now know what a charabanc is (a sight-seeing motor coach) and that I'm quite the Tom Wolfe votary (a devoted admirer). Enjoy!

The end of the year can be a stressful time for a variety of reasons, and these helpful guided relaxation techniques from the University of Wisconsin's University Health Services are worth a look. Visitors can download these short audio files and take them along on their portable mp3 player or just listen to them at home.

Norman Mailer passed away earlier this month, but this rather neat piece of political ephemera recently appeared online. It’s a rather delightful piece of Big Apple cartography (complete with a rather playful design) from the 1968 mayoral campaign ticket featuring Mailer and another icon of literary punditry, the often controversial Jimmy Breslin.

Wired magazine doesn't shy away from tough topics, and this collection of links about lead in lipstick is a fascinating find, even though it's more than a bit troubling

Ron Nief and Tom McBride of Beloit College have been writing the Mindset List for almost a decade, and it's always a treat to read. The Mindset List "identifies the experiences and event horizons of students as they commence higher education". So for example, this list includes the following entry at number 10: Pete Rose has never played baseball. No doubt the list will inspire a few debates, some nodding heads, and perhaps enlightened conversations.

Creative ideas about city planning and sustainable design are coming from all quarters, and the UrbanLab design firm in Chicago has a few of its own. In this recent proposal by Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen they have created a system of ecoboulevards that are part aesthetic pleasure and part water treatment plant. It's a fascinating idea, and this online presentation will shed some light on their proposal

Do you know the difference between a pad and a regular old apartment? Are you confused between what some call the fuzz and a standard-issue police officer? If you don't, you probably should take a listen to this famous 1959 album recorded by the late theater improviser legend Del Close and John Brent. It's a send up of instructional albums and the lingua franca of certain members of the Beat Generation.

Driving alone can be a lonely experience at times, and it can be fun (and good for the environment) to have company along the way. Billed as "the ride revolution" GoLoco allows people to arrange shared rides and to share trip costs online. Just type in where you'd like to go and when you'd like to depart and you can see if anyone is going your way!

Whether you are working at Cold Spring Harbor or the local Culver's, live music can certainly make the day go just a bit faster. So why not take a look into the Internet Archive's Live Music Archive? With over 2400 bands represented (whew!), visitors can listen to thousands of live concerts here at their leisure. The Grateful Dead has their own section, so why not open up a container of Cherry Garcia and listen to their 1973 appearance at the venerable Dane County Coliseum....good times indeed!

Bidding on hotel rooms online can be an enigmatic proposition at times, leaving even the most carefree traveller to wonder whether they will end up with bed-bug bites, a smoke-filled room, or near an industrial park. This website relies on input from those who made successful bids on sites like Hotwire and Priceline, and visitor can look around to find out what specific hotels they might be talking about when they mention a three star for 67 dollars in Boston's theater district...and dozens of other places as well!

Those entertaining and enlightened folks behind the Ig Nobel Prizes and the famed Annals of Improbable Research also are responsible for this distinguished club for scientists. You must have flowing locks to join up, and those distinguished members show off their tresses at this site....

Geoffrey Chaucer is perhaps best known for the bawdy and amorous tales that are contained within the Canterbury Tales. But did you know that Chaucer also has a weblog? Of course it's not actually Chaucer writing, but the entries are faithfully composed in Middle English, and it's well worth a look. Of course, all of this begs the question: What would Boccaccio blog?

The guys who make up the San Francisco-based sketch comedy group Kasper Hauser like to tell it like it is (in an absurd fashion), and in this rather hilarious exchange, they engage in a bit of tom-foolery with a would-be email scam artist.

Today, most people know Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue through the greatly abbreviated version that is used for a rather large passenger airline company's TV ads. Back in 1924, Gershwin sat down and recorded the piece for the first time with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. The good folks at The Internet Archive have placed that rather compelling recording online, and it's worth a listening. Gershwin breezes through his part, and the clarinet glissando is miles away from the overly sappy versions one hears in more contemporary recordings. It's definitely worth a listen!

Savvy Internet gurus have been talking about the various social, political, and economic implications of the good ol' World Wide Web for well over a decade, and this recent article from Wired Magazine's own Clay Shirky offers a bit more insights into how new (and old) sites are working on developming not just niches for their products/concepts/ramblings, but meganiches.

One of them was a 20th century English actor with emphatic diction who distinguished himself in film and on the stage, despite the fact that his personal life seemed to overwhelm him at moments. The other was a 17th century poet in the metaphysical tradition whose work remains compelling and fascinating to this day. Richard Burton reads some of John Donne's poems on this site, provided with the kind permission of Harper Collins Audio.

Once upon a time, in a world not quite unlike our own, record-hounds had to wait patiently for new singles to be released. Of course, in our own time, no one has to wait too long for anything, including the latest tracks from their favorite Brazilian DJ, classical pianist, and so on. One way to take a look at new music (at no charge) is through an audio blog aggregator, such as this one titled The Hype Machine. Visitors can search for new tracks across the audio blogosphere, or look for old favorites. One recent search found such gems as the theme music from television's beloved animated series, Pac-Man, and David Bowie and Bing Crosby duetting down the lane with The Little Drummer Boy.

It's rather hard to find actual music videos on television these days, as reality fare tends to dominate such networks. The folks at Pitchfork have compiled their own list of their personal favorite 100 music videos, complete with witty commentaries and the like (and of course, the video in question for your viewing pleasure. There are a few real gems in here, including A-Ha's brilliant sketch-filled Take on Me. Visitors should also go directly to the ponderous and Wagnerian video for The Jackson's 1981 masterpiece, Can You Feel It. With an introductory narration by Ken Nordine, this video features all of the Jacksons as giants in a land of rainbows and ethereal creatures....good times.

Those looking for playful and insightful romps (infused with a dose of ardor) through a variety of topics, including Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance, Beethoven's love letters, and Lady Godiva's famous ride should spend a few tranquil moments on this site...a rather nice diversion!

To be an effective auctioneer, you have to have a clarity of tone, good intonation, and a host of other qualifications. On this site, visitors can listen to audio clips of champions of the World Livestock Auctioneer Championships...impressive stuff.

So you think that movies are beyond reproach in terms of their use of mise-en-scene and devotion to historical accuracy? This site will tear down these illusions, as it reveals the dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of mistakes that inhabit the frames of films such as Titanic, Troy, Jaws, and Gladiator.

With the motto, "Discover. Preserve. Protect.", the website Cinema Treasures is quite enticing. Visitors can browse through a cornucopia of information about old movie theaters, their architects, and industry news. Definitely worth a look, even for the most casual cinephile!

Designed and maintained by an international community of coffee-lovers, this site has it all: reviews of coffee and coffee-related products, important resources, and a number of trenchant pieces of writing, including "The Barista Code of Conduct".

While the OED definition of this word may be something like "pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others", the Chicago version of this word translates into a somewhat unrestrained comedy ensemble. Visitors to the site can peruse the archives of their radio show (which airs on Chicago Public Radio) or view a number of video clips of the troupe in action. Good clean (well, at least sometimes clean) fun for all, and many a Second-City reference here.

"Culture Jamming" is a way that artists and others offer trenchant social criticism. Usually, this is done by modifying billboards, putting bizarre pieces of art into museums surrepitiously, and so on. One such proponent of this activity is the well-known culture jammer, Banksy. At this site, you can check out some of his more recent projects.

Well, while the Chronicle of Higher Education may still garner a great deal of attention from those seeking the latest information within the wide world of higher education, this up and coming site is definitely worth a look as well

This handy website lets visitors fill in the blanks of current news stories as taken from the BBC and CNN news feeds...warning: this can be addictive once you start!

Yes, people around the world enjoy caffeine a great deal...this recent feature from National Geographic offers some nice insights into the whole business...

For those of you would like to send an electronic greeting with a bit of that old-time telegraph feel, take a look at this site. It's quite fun, and visitors can send "retrograms" for free.

While some might have a bit of a problem with office clutter, it would appear that many of the entries in this contest may have mountains of problems with clutter....

Perhaps you too have wondered how all those "beautiful people" have made it into the NY Times Wedding announcements page, published every Sunday. Well, this blogger doesn't spare any punches as he suffers no fools, and even takes on the Hamptons...good fun here!

Well, it's official...David Beckham will play himself in an upcoming soccer trilogy tentatively tield "Goal!" Interestingly enough, in the film he will be playing for Newcastle United, which may annoy the folks back in Manchester!

The famous diary of Samuel Pepys, the noted 17th century London diarist, is being placed in this weblog (with a new entry each day)...definitely worth a look, and some good background on Pepys and the project as well is also made available here

It appears that a major retailer has taken great exception to a few images contained within the newest book by the well-known comedic iconoclast Jon Stewart....

This hilarious website profiles egregious offenders of key changes (or modulations) in popular music...some who have done it will not suprise you (the glam rock band KISS for example), and some should know better (Michael Jackson, in his 1987 hit Man in the Mirror)...definitely worth taking a look at.

The History Channel has devised this nice site that deals with the history of various popular toys and games, including Barbie dolls, crayons, and Monopoly. Also, there are some short profiles of famous game inventors, like the Parker Brothers.

Michael Intintoli is a retired professor from Temple University who wrote a book that takes a critical appraisal of the soap opera and its place in American society. The entire book, containing chapters such as "Guiding Light as a Socially Constructed Reality" is available at this site for general perusal.