http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/drg/index.html

It's difficult to track the changing tide of global power, but the Washington Post has offered this rather intriguing resource for doing just that. Essentially, the Global Power Barometer (GPB) provides "a relative measure how well various nations, ideologies and political movements are exercising their power to move global opinion and events in the direction they desire." Part of this analytic process is provided by the Denver Research Group (DRGI), and the GPB gauges both "opinion and hard fact." On the GPB page, visitors can look at the "Today's Drivers" section to learn which nations or groups are influencing the GPB and also learn more about critical issues in the news. On the right side of the page, visitors can look at a visual representation of the GPB. Moving down the page, visitors can also chime in with their own comments and read the views of expert panelists on recent events affecting the GPB. Finally, visitors can also learn more about the methodology used to create the GPB. [KMG]

http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/detail.php

During August 1936, Adolf Hitler's Nazi government played host to the Summer Olympics and many international observers and commentators wondered whether the United States might elect to boycott the Games entirely. They did not, and the triumphs of runner extraordinaire Jesse Owens were a highlight of those rather dark times in Germany. This engaging online exhibit on the Summer Games of 1936 was created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to complement a recent in situ exhibit at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. Visitors can make their way through sections that include "Germany", "Sports", "Boycott", "To Berlin", and "The Aftermath". Each section contains brief essays on each subject, nicely complemented by period photographs, digitized documents, and other items of historical importance. Visitors should not miss the "Boycott" section, as it contains first-hand recollections from various athletes on the situation in Berlin, including the perspective of Jesse Owens. [KMG]

http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1717

How do you solve a problem like solids, mathematically speaking? Well, you could use this rather fascinating resource provided by the Convergence magazine. Offered as an educational resource by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), this particular resource brings together the work of the Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli (c.1445-1509) and the geometric sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci. Both men were interested in geometry, and this piece offers up a number of plate facsimiles of illustrations created by Da Vinci. Here visitors will find an introduction to this educational resource, along with illustrations of cubes, octahedrons, and cylinders. The accompanying article was written by Frank J. Swetz, and it is easy to see how these materials could be incorporated into a classroom discussion about the history of mathematics. [KMG]

http://www.exploratorium.edu/imaging_station/index.php

In the summer of 2004, the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco unveiled their very ambitious and interesting microscope facility. Over the past few years they've spent a considerable amount of time and money on this project, and they've also created this fine website to offer those far away from the Bay area some access to this project. First-time visitors will want to click on the "Features" area to get started. Here they can look at the cells of sea urchins, blood, zebrafish, and frogs. Each feature has images of the cells, along with complete background material on the work that is being done through the use of these high-powered images. The "Gallery" is a great place to stop next, as it contains dozens of high-resolution images and movies created with research-grade microscopes. Here visitors can learn about cell motility, development, and immune response through looking over this extensive gallery that covers the gamut of different cellular activities. Finally, the site also contains an "Activities" area that includes classroom activities, printable flipbooks, and desktop wallpaper. [KMG]

http://vc.lib.harvard.edu/vc/deliver/home?_collection=rubbings

Several scholars and collectors, such as Langdon Warner and Lawrence Sickman, have presented their extensive East Asian rubbings collection to Harvard University, and these materials have remained a valuable resource for decades. Persons working in the fields of Chinese history, biography, epigraphy, calligraphy, and fine arts have come to Cambridge to consult the rubbings, and now many of them are available on this site. Visitors can browse the rubbings by title, name, subject, or genre for starters, and then move on to perform detailed searches as well. Some of the more notable rubbings in the collection include those from Xiaotangshan stone chamber, Wu Liang Shrine, and the Buddhist grotto sites in Gongxian and Longmen in Henan Province. [KMG]

http://www.osv.org/collections/index.html

Located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Old Sturbridge Village is a living museum which seeks to offer a portrait of rural life in New England from the 1790s to the 1830s. Their collection of archival materials contains over 60,000 artifacts made or used by rural New Englanders. A healthy selection of these items are available for viewing on this site, and visitors with a penchant for material culture, folkways, and American rural history will be find much to keep themselves occupied here. First-time visitors to the site may wish to read the brief overview offered here and then click on through to the "Online Collections" tab. Here visitors can perform searches across the entire collection or just view one of the 14 thematic collections offered in this area. These collections include "Ceramics and Glass", "Fine Art", "Foodways", and "Native American". The "Foodways" section is quite a find, as visitors can look over a nice selection of sauce pans, kettles, and a rather elaborate step stove. [KMG]

http://www.mmc.gov/

Established in 1972 under Title II of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) is primarily concerned with "the protection and conservation of marine mammals." Visitors to the site can learn more about the MMC's work, read pending and recent pieces of legislation related to the protection of marine mammals, and also look over testimony proffered to Congress by members of the MMC. Most visitors will want to look over the "Species" section as it contains information on those particular mammals that are currently covered under the Protection Act. Researchers and policy analysts will most likely want to look at the "Reports" area as well. Here they will find annual reports, workshop reports, and timely publication like February 2008's "The Biological Viability of the Most Endangered Marine Mammals and the Cost-effectiveness of Protection Programs". [KMG]

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/alisonwatt/

The Rootstein Hopkins Foundation Associate Artist program at the UK National Gallery funds artists for a two-year period. During this period, the artist works in the National Gallery studio "with the brief of creating new work that relates to the Gallery's permanent collection." Alison Watt is the seventh Associate Artist, and has created a series of paintings titled Phantom, that explore reproducing fabric, and fabric-like forms, in paint. On the website, visitors can watch "Alison Watt on Film" which is a series of three short videos covering her time at the national gallery. The first video presents Watt speaking about what it's like to spend two years working at the National gallery, surrounded by paintings that have been an inspiration throughout her life. The second video, Fabric and Flesh, has Watt examining Ingres's 1856 portrait Madame Moitessier and the last is a silent video showing Watt at work. [DS]