General Interest
The "slow-food" movement continues to gain steam around the world as more and more people are concerned about sustainable agriculture, eating locally, and so on. Since 2004, the Terra Madre organization has held an international conference every two years, which brings together cooks, academics, and others who are interested in "increasing small-scale, traditional, and sustainable food production." On their website, visitors can learn about these meetings, learn about their ongoing projects, read their weblog, and read through the "Voices" section. The "Voices" section is worth singling out for special attention, as it offers up first-hand perspectives on the ways in which different individuals are participating in various innovative local food production techniques and networks. Most people will find the "Multimedia" section particularly entrancing. Here visitors can view events from the conference, including interviews, short films, and photo slideshows. One feature that shouldn't be missed is "The Edible Schoolyard", this short "how-to" film aims to inspire school children to make their own gardens at their schools, and there is also helpful information for teachers included in the film. [KMG]
The University of Oxford offers free podcasts of lectures by Oxford professors on this very fine website. Nine different divisions of the University are represented, including the Humanities, Medical Sciences, Continuing Education, and Life Sciences. By clicking on "show media items" under the description of each lecture, you can see all the titles in the lecture series, and choose from there. In "Philosophy" under the Humanities division are the distinguished John Locke Lectures, which include twelve different talks. In the Social Sciences Division, you will find topics such as the "Environmental Change Institute Podcasts from Oxford University" that consist of lectures, seminars, and interviews. "Forced Migration Online Discussions" include exchanges between experts, interviews with refugees, and lectures at the Refugee Studies Centre. Overall, the site is a great educational resource and one that could be used in any number of classroom settings. [KMG]
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/francisbacon/explore.shtm
Tate Britain's interactive online exhibitions always offer a fabulous, well-designed alternative to visiting the physical exhibit. From September 2008 to January 2009, the Tate Modern is featuring the work of Francis Bacon, and in addition to images of Bacon's work, videos, and audio recordings, they also offer up snippets of interviews of the artist himself. By far the best way to view the exhibit is by clicking on "Launch guide" to use the interactive exhibition guide, where you can follow the arrows to explore themes running through Bacon's work, or just go your own route. Instructions are provided for navigation, and clicking "Instructions" in the upper right hand corner of the exhibition map allows you to view helpful instructions at any time. Clicking on any of the thumbnails of artwork or text in the rooms will enlarge the room. Additionally, right clicking on the background of the exhibit allows you to see a list of the rooms in the physical exhibit. The first three rooms feature paintings of Bacon's disturbing images of screaming men, who are often crouching in animalistic poses. By the 1950s Bacon was painting pictures of men and women with distorted bodies and faces. Since he was influenced by photographs, it is interesting to see, in room seven, some of the photos in question. By rolling over the blank spaces next to the paintings, you will see the original photographs appear. [KMG]
http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/MC-Middle-class-report.pdf
What is the middle class thinking? And who exactly is in the middle class? This thoughtful 169-page report from the Pew Research Center looks at the attitudes and lives of the American middle class in a way that will fascinate journalists, policy practitioners, and others. The report was released in April 2008, and visitors can read the entire report at their leisure, or they can also glance over an executive summary. The document is divided into two large chapters: "A Self Portrait" and "A Statistical Report". Along the way, visitors will note that there are numerous graphs, charts, and tables sprinkled through the text that help visually illuminate key patterns and trends. Overall, the report offers up a number of interesting findings, including the observation that about half of all Americans think of themselves as middle class and that for the past two decades middle income Americans have been spending and borrowing more. [KMG]
The diversity of the African press presents certain challenges and opportunities, and the African Press Network for the 21st Century (RAP 21) website brings together a number of high-quality resources designed to "facilitate the exchange of innovative ideas and the latest information about the business of newspapers, issues related to press freedom and career development opportunities". RAP 21 was launched by the World Association of Newspapers and the Union of Publishers in Central Africa in September 2000, and is currently supported by the Swedish press group Stampen. On the homepage, visitors can delve into the "Newspaper Management Archive", which contains recent news articles about issues facing African newspapers and media, including ethics, new technologies, media laws, online publishing, and reporting on HIV/AIDS. Additionally, users can also search the complete archives and sign a protest letter to assist the cause of journalism should they so desire. [KMG]
http://lib.virginia.edu/digital/collections/image/frances_benjamin_johnston.html
Frances Benjamin Johnston was a photographer who spent a significant portion of her life documenting the vernacular architecture of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Maryland, and a number of other states in the South. She began this documentary work in 1933 with financial backing from the Carnegie Corporation. After her work was completed, Johnston deposited almost 1000 of these photographs at the University of Virginia. Recently, the University of Virginia Library's Digital Collections group digitized these items and placed them online here. Visitors to the site can search the entire collection, or browse through a list organized by photograph title. The collection offers a broad and breezy tour of the all-too-often ignored world of vernacular architecture, and visitors will find photographs of debtor's prisons, austere log cabins, and a variety of seemingly mundane outbuildings. [KMG]
http://www.exploratorium.edu/evidence/index.html
To some, science may seem neat and tidy. Of course, scientists know better, and taken as a whole, the process of doing science is often quite messy. This fascinating interactive website created by the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco takes on the task of observation and investigation into human origins. The interactive exhibit and feature contains five primary sections, including "Observing Behavior", "Collecting Clues", and "Finding Patterns". Each section begins with an introductory essay and a selection of video clips featuring interviews with various scientists discussing their research and work. The subjects covered here are quite broad and they include fossil analysis, the evolution of primate behavior, and using new technologies to learn more about humans from their teeth. Finally, visitors will want to listen to a few of their podcasts. It's worth noting that the site is also available in Spanish. [KMG]
http://www.asiasociety.org/islamiccalligraphy/
This website from the Asia Society is actually two exhibitions in one: Traces of the Calligrapher and Writing the Word of God: Calligraphy and the Qur'an. The former focuses on the men and women who have practiced calligraphy, or beautiful writing, the most esteemed of the Islamic visual arts, while the latter provides a few samples of their craft. In the opening section, "Tools and Materials", visitors can view pens, brushes, and all manner of writing instruments, including containers in which they are stored. "The Training and Practice" section offers a glimpse at exercises used by calligraphers to hone their skills, such as an album of calligraphy exercises (mürekkebat) from Turkey, 1896–97. Finally, the section "Writing the Word of God" displays leaves from the Qur'an, arranged chronologically - from a folio of a Qur'an in Hijazi script, mid-7th century to a selection of the Qur'an in muhaqqaq script, Iraq, probably Baghdad, ca. 1370. [DS]
