General Interest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/
Measuring something as subjective as the feeling or state of happiness is a tricky business. While some may take pleasure in closing a big financial merger, others may be content to watch a babbling brook as they sip lemonade. The BBC has never shied away from taking on such weighty matters and they have recently created this website to complement their ongoing series titled “The Happiness Formula”. Users may wish to orient themselves to the site by viewing some of the short video clips featured on the right-hand side of the site’s homepage. The site also contains material on the relationship between economic success and overall happiness levels and the health benefits of happiness. The site is rounded out by a place where visitors can offer their own suggestions for improving happiness and another area where they can take a quiz on happiness. [KMG]
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml
Committed to vigilance, integrity, and service to the United States, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency performs a wide range of tasks every day, including monitoring the borders of the country as well as investigating disputes over imports and exports. On their site, users can learn about the agency’s latest accomplishments and read about some of their most recent initiatives along the Mexican border. The fact sheets area is quite good, and it contains information on port security, trade, travel, canine enforcement, and their “On a Typical Day”, which offers some statistics on what occurs on the average day at the agency. The site also contains a number of very pragmatic resources, such as the “Know Before You Go” brochure, which is designed to inform U.S. residents what they may and may not bring back to the States after a trip abroad. Finally, for those persons considering a career with the agency, there is a “Careers” area which offers a listing of available positions. [KMG]
http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/feeding_desire/
To the millions of individuals with harried lifestyles, the artistic flourish or design of a fork or knife may escape notice. However, the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in New York is intimately concerned with such matters, and they have created this delightful online exhibit that explores the design of various table tools and accessories from 1500 to 2005. As its focal point, the website is primarily concerned with the “Big Three” of the table: the fork, the knife, and the spoon. Visitors can browse through the interactive timeline offered here that traces through each utensil’s respective evolution, as well as read three short “biographies” of each. Along the way, visitors are treated to images of a ponderous spoon from 17th century Germany and a dagger-like knife from 16th century France. The site also contains a number of specialized thematic offerings, such as short essays and images that address the ergonomics of the table, flatware for children, and the naturalism movement in tableware design. [KMG]
Bankruptcy: Maxed out in American [Real Player]
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/bankruptcy/
Credit Score, Reports, and Getting Ahead in America [pdf]
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20060501_creditscores.pdf
More and more Americans are experiencing problems with their credit, and in a rather ominous trend, the year 2005 saw a record number of personal bankruptcy filings. The first site offered here was created by the American Radio Works documentary group, and it profiles the current state of personal bankruptcy, along with offering some investigative reporting on the credit reporting industry. Visitors to the site can read about the personal experiences of those profiled in the program, listen to the radio documentary in its entirety, and also offer their own experiences with bankruptcy. The second link here leads to a paper from Matt Fellowes of The Brookings Institution that reports on the growing role of consumer credit reports and scores in the ability of families to get ahead in terms of obtaining loans and insurance. The well-written 20-page report reveals some interesting facts, including the finding that the South has the highest concentrations of consumers with weak credit scores. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/frozenangels/index.html
Since the creation of that now celebrated sheep Dolly in Scotland back in 1996, there has been a deluge of talk (and significant scholarly work) about the possibility of creating scientifically engineered humans. This recent documentary from the people at the Independent Lens organization takes a close look at the current research being done in the field of reproductive technology. On the homepage, visitors can look through sections that offer profiles of the people featured in the film, ask questions of the filmmakers, and also read a provocative and thoughtful essay by Professor Lori Andrews of the Chicago-Kent College of Law about the ethical ramifications of various reproductive technologies. Visitors will not want to miss the “Talkback” area, which features some rather heated debate and a few retorts, which might be expected given the sensitive material covered by such a program. [KMG]
Like a smart mob, SwarmSketch communicates online to bring people together to complete a task, in this case a collective sketch. Currently, the swarm is sketching a map of New Zealand. At the site, visitors contribute a short bit (100px) of line, and then have the chance to vote on whether existing lines should be darker or lighter. SwarmSketch has been running since September of 2005, so there are lots of past sketches to browse, on a wide variety of topics from the Rwanda Genocide to the World's Ugliest Dog. One of the site’s best features is the animated viewing of the history of each sketch - individual users can only contribute a small piece of line, so the pictures grow bit by bit, without a single sketcher dominating the composition. You can also sign up for an RSS feed, to be notified on what the swarm is drawing today. [DS]
