http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/greatconversations/great-home.html

Before he died in 2003, the late classical musician Eugene Istomin sat down with some of his musical compatriots to record a series of programs titled "Great Conversations in Music". These four wonderful programs are included here on this website, which is maintained by the Library of Congress. The programs were produced and directed by Peter Rosen, and visitors may wish to start their travels through the site by reading a bit about Istomin in the short essay titled "Remembering Eugene Istomin". Moving on, visitors will find the full-length programs "The Pianists", "The Composers", "Chamber Music", and "The Virtuosos". Each program contains performances and conversations with people like Emmanuel Ax, Leon Fleisher, Charles Rosen, Lynn Harrell, and Yo-Yo Ma. [KMG]

http://www.gophila.com/soundabout/

Some Scout Report readers may know about "The Sound of Philadelphia", but have they ever encountered the "SoundAboutPhilly" site? If they haven't, they will want to do so at their earliest convenience. This series of "sound-seeing" tours are told by real-life Philadelphians, and dynamic mapping features, audio, text, and photographs accompany these lively tours. This whole project is sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The tours present a heady brew of Philadelphia lore, past and present, and visitors can wander through offerings like "History Unplugged", "Philly Noir", and "My Philly". Anyone who knows anything about Philadelphia will not want to miss "Philadelphia Flavorhoods", as it will take them through the flavorful haunts of Chinatown, the Reading Terminal Market, and the famous corner of 9th and Passyunk. [KMG]

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/tarahumara-people/gorney-text

The Tarahumara people of northern Mexico are well known for their long-distance running ability, and they have survived a variety of challenges over the past five hundred years, including the influx of Spanish conquistadors into their region. Recently, National Geographic sent Cynthia Gorney and photographer Robb Kendrick to take an investigative look into this unique group of people. Visitors can read their account here on this interactive feature, which contains both the published text and the accompanying photographs. The article looks at how the Tarahumara are coping with the increasing pressures of modernity, along with offering some commentary on their own cultural and social milieu. Additionally, visitors should not miss the GeoPedia article on the Tarahumara, as it features other online resources about them and an extensive bibliography. [KMG]

http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Art-Design/garde-meuble/

The Smithsonian Institute Libraries has placed their ten-year collection of Le Garde-meuble, a bi-monthly periodical interior decoration publication from France, online here. The collection covers the early years of the periodical, 1841-1851, and consists of more than 400 images. Clicking on "Explore the Collection" at the top of the homepage takes visitors to a search page that allows them to browse by "Style/Period of Furniture," "Type of Furniture" or "Volume". The type of furniture search feature is divided up into the broad categories of "Floor Plans", "Window Treatments", "Furniture-Casework", and "Furniture-Seating." Clicking on a broad category of furniture, such as "Sofas", under "Furniture-Seating", will allow you to choose a specific type of sofa, like "Chaises Lounges" and "Loveseats," or you can just choose "Show All." Once you've chosen the specific category you would like to see, click on it to see thumbnails, and then click on an individual image to see a beautiful color illustration that is so detailed and exquisite that even the shadows the furniture would cast are present in the drawings. Visitors shouldn't miss the "Beds (furniture)" category, under "Furniture-Casework," to see elaborate beds with canopies and curtains galore. Clicking on "Show All" will lead you to these sleep thrones. [KMG]

http://awic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=3&tax_level=1

The USDA's Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) was mandated by the Animal Welfare Act, and the website contains everything from current animal issues to workshops for those in industries that utilize animals to licensing forms. Specifically, the AWIC is designed "to regulate and improve care of animals in research, testing, teaching, and exhibition." The site includes the proposed government rules about animal welfare that are in their public comment period, and how and where to submit your comment. Visitors can click on "In The News" to see all the animal-related rules that are in their public comment period. If visitors want to learn about the origins of veterinary medicine, they can click on "Companion Animals" on the left side of the homepage to find a link to "Veterinary History Resources at the National Agricultural Library". Finally, AWIC provides very important information and resources on alternatives to animal testing, under "Alternatives," on the left side of the homepage. Here visitors will find links to websites that explain the principles of alternatives to animal testing, as well as several papers from conferences that address the issue. [KMG]

http://www.wpr.org/zorba/

Family doctor Zorba Paster's Wisconsin Public Radio show is healthcare's answer to Tom and Ray Magliozzi's Car Talk. Zorba Paster and his sidekick Tom Clark answer calls from listeners about healthy living, with a big shot of humor. Dr. Paster's website links directly from its host's site, Wisconsin Public Radio. To listen to his current show click on "Listen to show," on the left side of the page, to see a link to the current show and the three most recent shows. To listen to older broadcasts, click on "Browse Show Archives" and check out an archive of his shows beginning October 27, 2007. If you want some heart healthy recipes to savor, click on "Recipes" on the left side of the page to see recipes sent in by listeners, as well as from the good doctor himself. Each recipe includes complete nutritional information as well. Visitors shouldn't miss the "Resources" link on the left side of the page, for a slew of health-related web links plus articles by and about Dr. Zorba, such as "Vitamin D FAQ" and "Dr. Zorba Goes to Washington". Visitors should also check out "Past Featured Resources" for entries like "Tips for Condensed Soy Milk" and "Workplace Ergonomic Links". [KMG]

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/carviewsvirtex/index.html

In this online gallery of the British Library, they have taken an interesting approach to highlighting one of their collections. They asked Mike Phillips, an author and historian born in Guyana, to comment and react to their large British West Indies collection.
There are illustrations, maps, and pages of text from books written during the period of colonization, all with explanations and responses from Phillips. Although the images are interesting, Phillips' narrative is far more so, and it's like having your own curator walk you through this exhibit. And a curator, no less, who knows firsthand the painfulness of what the images represent. Interestingly, in his narrative in the section titled "A Personal Journey" he points out that while the illustrations of the slave trade in the books in the collection, are rather "sanitized" and don't depict the brutal reality of the treatment of slaves, the text of the books is very honest in its description of the brutality toward the slaves. Visitors can zoom in on each image as well as navigate with great ease within the image. Each image is of excellent quality, and can be printed out at full size. Finally, visitors who are interested in reading a brief description of Mike Phillips can click on a link at the bottom of the homepage. [KMG]

http://face2face.si.edu/

Online for less than a year, Face-to-Face is written by a team of National Portrait Gallery staff members with diverse responsibilities, from web design to curatorial. The blog is "dedicated to art, history, and the telling of American lives." There are four categories on Face-to-Face: Biography, Events, Exhibitions and News. "Biography" currently features an article series on presidential trivia, just in time for the election and "Exhibitions" provides coverage of current and recent exhibits, including "RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture", "KATE" - celebrating Katherine Hepburn's 100th birthday, and the saga of the reinstallation of the painting Grant and His Generals by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, oil on canvas, 1865, when NPG re-opened in 2006 after 6 years of renovation. And of course, since it's a blog, interested readers can sign up for the RSS feed of Face-to-Face, so as not to miss a thing. [DS]