General Interest
Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas has embarked on a number of intriguing and worthy projects during his career, including a series of ambitious recordings with the San Francisco Symphony and a number of well-received concerts with the late Sarah Vaughan in the 1980s. Most recently, he has teamed up with PBS (and his colleagues in the San Francisco Symphony) to create the “Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music” television series. Visitors to this site can explore the very fine multimedia presentations that are meant to accompany and enhance the entire educational and aesthetic experience of the television programs. Currently, there are multimedia profiles of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”, Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony and the development of Copland’s approach to creating an “American” sound. Each site features a brief introduction by Thomas, and then visitors are invited into the score to follow along as the piece progresses. In the top left-hand corner of the score, visitors can watch Thomas as he conducts. Overall, the experience of this website is stimulating and edifying, without being visually (or aurally) overwhelming. [KMG]
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/elearning/Periodic%20Table/AnimatedPeriodicTable.swf
The odds are that most Scout Report readers have never seen such a highly animated version of the periodic table of the elements as this, well, rather highly animated table of the elements. Upon entering the site, visitors can browse through the alkali metals, the alkaline earth metals, and both the lanthanide and actinide series. As users move their mouse across the table they can learn each element’s boiling point, its oxidation states, its atomic weight, and its density. One of the other nice features of the site is that visitors can also look at each element’s bonding structure. It’s a very well-designed site, but if visitors find themselves confused, they can also click on the question mark for help and general assistance. [KMG]
http://ea.webjunction.org/do/Home
The work of public librarians is tremendously important, and it also comes with a unique set of challenges. In order to address some of these challenges, Libraries for the Future launched the Equal Access professional development program in 2003. They also took the time to create this website, which brings together a wide set of resources designed to assist public librarians. Specifically, the program is interested in exploring new uses of technology and serving an aging population more effectively and efficiently. First-time visitors will want to jump right in and look over the “Tools & Resources” area. Here they will find information on such topics as outreach, public awareness, and effectively managing volunteers. The resources are drawn from the experiences of libraries across the country, and visitors will appreciate the breadth of materials. Additionally, there are a number of online forums that are worth viewing. [KMG]
George Plimpton passed away several years back, but visitors to this site might forget that he is no longer around when he almost jumps off the screen as this website opens up. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that a photograph of him dressed in admiral-type regalia pops up, but given his penchant for investigative and interactive journalism, this probably won’t surprise Plimptonites. Designed as a tribute to the life, times, and spirit of the late founder of The Paris Review, this website contains an interactive timeline of Plimpton’s life (appropriately titled “Chronicles of George”), coupled with a photograph gallery. Beyond a doubt, the most delightful section of the site is the “Arcana” area which is an assemblage of different photos of Plimpton. As users move their pointer across each image of Plimpton, there are treated to a bit of his writing, which range from his (very brief) experience as a Detroit Lion to his travels with Muhammad Ali. [KMG]
http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/
For aspiring auteurs and other such types interested in film and television, it may be difficult to get an audience with Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, Mira Nair, or David Cronenberg. However, all of those persons are available here at the Moving Images Pinewood Dialogues online archive. Created by the Museum of the Moving Image, these fascinating conversations were originally recorded as part of a lectures series sponsored by the Museum. In total, there are 41 dialogues offered here, and they date back to March 1, 1989, when they sat down to talk with Sidney Poiter. Other guests who have dropped by include the late Chuck Jones, David Lynch, George A. Romero, and Atom Egoyan. Visitors can listen to each program, or download each conversation to take with them. Transcripts also accompany many of the programs. [KMG]
http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit/
It isn’t every day that one gets to view a transit of Mercury. In fact, it’s an event that only occurs approximately twelve times a century. For those of you who missed this event on November 8th, the researchers and scientists at the Exploratorium in San Francisco have created this program that contains the complete event and offer it to visitors to this lovely website. The transit was recorded from Kitt Peak in Arizona, and visitors to the site can watch a brief introduction to the program, and then watch various images from the webcast, complete with audio commentary at the beginning of each hour of coverage. [KMG]
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2006/Manet/index.htm
This small web exhibition from MoMA shows how an artist responded to a political event in the 1860s. There was photography in the mid-19th century, but making a picture required a long exposure. Because of this process, events were not often photographed as they happened, and the images that were produced were not circulated instantaneously as they are today. Between 1867 and 1869, Edouard Manet produced three large paintings, an oil sketch, and a lithograph depicting the execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, who had been installed by Napoleon III of France, a ruler Manet opposed. He used written and graphic accounts from French journals and newspapers such as "L'Indépendance belge" and "Le Figaro" as the basis for his works. The best feature of the web exhibition is the Timeline, which is arranged with Manet's creative events on the left, historical events on the right, and many links to supporting information throughout. For example, as Maximilian was arriving in Mexico in the spring of 1865, Manet was completing his painting The Dead Christ and the Angels. By beginning with the Timeline visitors can see the convergence of these events, and then find links to more information as well as a larger view of the painting, currently owned by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. [DS]
http://www2.tech.purdue.edu/at/courses/aeml/index.html
Purdue University is well-known for their various engineering programs, and they have also distinguished themselves through their work in aeronautical engineering research and practice. This website is designed to provide instructional materials for aviation educators, and one can imagine that such materials might work well in classroom slide presentations as well as for students who might be seeking a visual aid. The materials are basically organized in one long continuous list, and visitors can just scroll through them at their leisure. Among these materials, visitors will find photographs of landing gear equipment, squat switches, crush plates, and the tell-tale corroded electrical terminal. Finally, in their “General Materials” area, visitors can look over a presentation on turbocharger systems and consider a presentation on engine theory. [KMG]
