Two from the Museum of Modern Art:
Alberto Giacometti [Flash, .pdf]
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/giacometti/
Artists of Brucke: Themes in German Expressionist Prints [Flash]
http://www.moma.org/brucke/
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City has two new exhibitions available for Modern art lovers. As the sole US venue, MoMA organized the exhibition Alberto Giacometti to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Swiss artist's birth. The accompanying Website presents 26 works -- sculpture, paintings, and drawings -- in crisp, high quality images accompanied by explanations, a complete checklist, a brief biography of the artist, chronologies, and a useful bibliography for in-depth reading. The second show, Artists of Brucke: Themes in German Expressionist Prints, is the first-ever online-exclusive exhibition by MoMA and Second Story Interactive Studios. The exhibition focuses on themes central to the Brucke movement and has been brought to life through animation, music, narrated quotes, and high quality artworks to evoke the mood and passion of German Expressionism. One tiny criticism for these well done exhibitions is that the bibliographies offered online for both exclusively list printed books, dissertations, and articles omitting any online resources, alas. However, both feature stylish presentations with appealing content and are highly recommended. [DJS]
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Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Alphonso Michael (Mike) Espy [.pdf]
http://www.access.gpo.gov/oic/index.html
Former Secretary of Agriculture Alphonso Michael Espy was investigated for allegations originating in 1994 of possible violation of federal criminal law by accepting gifts from organizations or individuals with business pending before the US Department of Agriculture. In a final report released October 25, 2001 and now available online, investigators from the Office of Independent Council Donald Smalz state their conclusions that Secretary Espy had indeed committed improper behavior and that, "among other offenses, companies with financially important matters pending before USDA gave Secretary Espy -- either directly or via members of his family or his girlfriend -- numerous gifts in an effort to garner his favor." Tyson Foods, Inc., Crop Growers Corp., and Sun-Diamond Growers of California are among the six corporate entities convicted. The full report contains five large chapters, a conclusion, chronology, three appendices, and comment letters, including one from the attorneys of brother Henry Espy, Mayor of Clarksdale Mississippi. [HCS]
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Two Sites on the Effects of September 11 on Web Information
The Post-September 11 Environment: Access to Government Information
http://www.ombwatch.org/info/2001/access.html
Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism: "National Security" Toll on Freedom of Expression
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism_militias/antiterrorism_chill.html
OMB Watch (a watchdog agency of the White House Office of Management and Budget, which in part overseas information collection and dissemination to the public) is currently maintaining a list of governmental Websites that have removed information in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. For example, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has removed documents from their Website that detail the specifications of energy facilities in the US. The listing has brief descriptions of the newly missing information and direct links to the sites. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an organization dedicated to "educate the press, policymakers and the general public about civil liberties issues related to technology; and to act as a defender of those liberties." On the page Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism, the EFF (in part) tracks Websites shut down by the US government, other governments, and Internet service providers because the material they contained was deemed "questionable." The site, which is continually being updated, also offers several other examples of the September 11 attacks' effects on Web information availability. [JAB]
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The Canadian West
http://www.archives.ca/05/0529/052901_e.html
From the National Archives of Canada, this Web exhibition includes over 200 pictures, maps, and documents on European exploration and settlement of Western Canada, from the 1600s to 1930. The Canadian West also features materials on the effects of European immigration on indigenous peoples of Canada. There are three major sections: Anticipation, Contact, and Accommodation. Anticipation contains early maps, primarily from the eighteenth century, that show European cartographers' best guesses at the lay of the new land. Indian treaty medals and photographs of students at Indian industrial schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are some of the illustrations in the Contact section. In Accommodation, see items documenting the urbanization and industrialization of Canada, such as a map of Tuxedo Park, a proposed development of Winnipeg, and road maps from the 1920s. Visitors can choose to browse the collection by media type, year, or title by clicking the Index. There are also links to related Websites, a reading list, and a Thematic Research Guides link, which leads to databases of genealogical information and patent letters from ArchiviaNet, the National Archives online research tool. [DS]
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Internet Archive
http://www1.archive.org/index.html
The Internet Archive is the "parent" site for two sites previously reviewed in the Scout Report, Election 2000 (see the July 13, 2001 Scout Report) and September11.archive.org (see the October 19, 2001 Scout Report). The Archive has been cataloging Webpages since its inception in 1996, and for their fifth anniversary has opened the archive to the public by launching their "Wayback Machine." To operate the "Machine," users type a URL into the search box, which will call up dated, archived pages of the site. The Internet Archive holds ten billion Webpages, making it the largest known database. Since announcing public access to the overall database, the site has experienced a great deal of traffic. They are in the process of adding servers, but users should be warned that, in the meantime, access may be tricky. The Internet Archive is a nonprofit, which has received funding from a number of sources including the Library of Congress and the National Science Foundation. [TK]
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Three Educational Math Sites:
Number Patterns Fun with Curves & Topology
http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/jbfunpatt.htm
Investigating Patterns: Symmetry and Tessellations
http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/jbsymteslk.htm
Investigating Patterns: Polyhedra Pastimes
http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/jbpolyhedra.htm
Educational consultant and textbook author Jill Britton is the author of these metasites listing Web resources for grade 5-8 mathematics. Each metasite revolves around a certain topic. For instance, the first site, Number Patterns Fun with Curves & Topology, is an index of eighteen subtopics such as prime numbers, the golden ratio, Pascal's Triangle, mazes and maps, etc. Under each subtopic, an annotated list of Web resources (from other authors and organizations) points to tutorials and fun activities for students as well as printable activity sheets and lesson plans for teachers. The second metasite, Investigating Patterns: Symmetry and Tessellations, contains subtopics such as soapbubbles and honeycombs, Islamic tessellations, M.C. Escher, symmetry by paper folding, and more. The third metasite listed here focuses on polyhedra with activities ranging from creating three-dimensional polyhedra with gumdrops and toothpicks to examining Ernst Haeckel's nineteenth-century sketches of polyhedral structure of Radiolaria (a plankton). Other types of links given on these pages are to merchants selling educational materials, sites on the history of mathematics, and activities with holiday themes. [HCS]
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Eartheasy
http://eartheasy.com/homepage.htm
Given the tough economic times in the United States (and elsewhere) and renewed discussions about how to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, this site, while not new, is timely. Eartheasy, a personal offering from Greg Seaman, grew out of Seaman's experiences living with his wife and children on a rural island in Vancouver. The site aims "to encourage, inspire and inform people of the inherent wealth of a simpler, less material lifestyle." The site design mirrors its mission, with a front page presenting six snapshots that connect to the main sections -- live, grow, eat, play, wear, and give. Each of the sections offers information on a number of topics ranging from energy efficient appliances to natural lawn care to kite flying and much, much more. The live section includes a page of briefly annotated links for readers looking for more information, and Seaman welcomes suggestions for additions to the site. A nice stop for those looking to pare down their lives or thinking about how to focus more of their attention on what is most important to them. Seaman explains, "If the Eartheasy site gets you thinking about what constitutes true wealth in your life, and the implications our lifestyle and consumer choices have on the environment, then this web project will have been truly worthwhile." [TK]
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