http://backdoorbroadcasting.net/academic-service/

Founded as part of the Backdoor Broadcasting Company, Academic service "specializes in web-casting academic conferences, symposia, public lectures, workshops, and seminars in order to further the dissemination of academic research." Visitors can listen in to the fruits of their labors on this site, which includes both live broadcasts, and a range of archived events. It's easy to get started here, and visitors can click on the "Archive" to view some of their past events. Some of their latest additions include "Teaching History in Deep Time", "States of Mind: Development and the Life Cycle", and noted author Alain de Botton commenting on "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work". Another nice feature of the site is that visitors can view a list of upcoming events and take a look at their interactive calendar. [KMG]

http://www.esds.ac.uk/international/elearning/unmdg/

The United Nations continues to work on its Millennium Development Goals, which are meant to address human suffering throughout the world. While various media outlets have offered some coverage of these goals over the past ten years, some people may have not heard much about them. The unique learning materials offered on this site provide a bit of background about the goals and an increased understanding of the data that the United Nations collects in order to measure progress in these areas. Along the top of the site, visitors can look through the "Glossary" of terms and click on a link to get further help with using the site. The primary educational materials are contained within four separate sections that help users learn about the Economic and Social Data Services (ESDS) database, which is the primary data source for these types of international databases. Finally visitors can look through the "Activities" section to take in some hands-on activities that use various data sets from the ESDS database. [KMG]

http://books.google.com/books?id=r9QDAAAAMBAJ

Google has been expanding their periodical offerings through their archive of digitized books, and recently they continued their work in this area by offering access to Ebony magazine. The magazine was started by the late John H. Johnson in 1945, and since that time it has focused its work on offering insights and commentary into the African-American experience. On this site, visitors can read the majority of the back issues of this magazine, and they can use the site to perform detailed searches within each issue. The "Browse all issues" allows interested parties to view separate issues from the past six decades. As with other magazines scanned by Google, visitors can also look at the interactive "Places mentioned in this magazine" map near the bottom of the site. Also, a "Key Terms" section provides a brief summary of some of the places, events, and persons mentioned in each magazine. [KMG]

http://frontera.library.ucla.edu/

This remarkable collection sponsored by the Los Tigres del Norte Foundation and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center offers users access to thousands of Mexican and Mexican-American vernacular recordings. On this site, visitors can access lyrics, music, and various tales contained within these invaluable primary source materials. First-time visitors can get a feel for the materials here by clicking on the "Browse" tab near the top of the homepage. Here they can browse through the songs by genre, subject, label, or name. Visitors who might be more familiar with the site can use the advanced search option to search by keyword, subject, or format. Ethnomusicologists and others will no doubt want to revisit this site and let their friends know all about it. [KMG]

http://www.aarpinternational.org/database/

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) covers aging and aging-related topics quite well, and this website is one of their many compelling initiatives. The databases, AgeSource and AgeStats, on AARP's international website are designed to "facilitate the international exchange of policy and program-relevant information in aging." Under the "Aging Everywhere" tab is an interactive map that allows the visitor to read "Country Profiles" as well as read articles about a region selected from the map. A "Comparative Data Search" can also be done by clicking on the link above the map. There are multiple ways to search the information in the databases. On the left hand menu visitors can explore by topic or by region. Some of the topics include "Aging & Society", "Economic Retirement & Security", "Livable Communities" and "Long-Term Care". Searching for a particular topic can be accomplished by using the keyword search box in the middle of the page. The search can be further limited by deciding which databases to search, and by information type, geographic coverage, and language. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.

http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Fashioning-Felt/

Some may not know that felt is more than the green squares found at craft stores or the material found on billiards tables. Felt is a wool product that when made by hand, takes hours and hours to produce using water, agitation, such as rolling, pressure, and patience. This online version of the "Fashioning Felt" exhibit at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum has works that are comprised of hand made felt as well as works created of machine-made felt. Visitors can explore this unique medium by the keywords "Architecture", "Fashion," "Furniture", "Hand-Made Felt," and "Product Design" or by designer's name. The menu on the right side of the page has both of these options. There are many impressive pieces in the online exhibit, and the zoom and pan features that accompany each image allow the visitor to almost "touch" each piece. Visitors should not miss the fabulous piece entitled "Cityscape-New York Rug", which is a thick piece of cream-colored felt with a topographic map of NYC carved in it. Zoom in as far as allowed in order to "feel" it. The rug can be found by clicking on "Hive U.K.", under Designer. Visitors who want to find information on seeing the in situ exhibit can click on "Visit" at the top of the page to get directions to its New York City location. Check out the "Events" link, also at the top of the page, to find out what programs of interest are also going on at the museum when visiting. [KMG]

http://inst.bact.wisc.edu/inst/index.php?module=Book&func=toc&book_id=3

Created at the University of Wisconsin, the Virtual Microbiology site contains a wide range of high-quality scientific educational materials that are meant to supplement and enhance more traditional materials. This particular item is an online textbook, divided into eighteen chapters. Of course, there are the traditional text passages and charts to enhance all of the material, but there are also number of nifty videos that provide additional exploration of topics like pond microbes and hands-on demonstrations. Visitors can also sign up to receive updates about new materials that make their way to the site and they can also provide user feedback. [KMG]

To find this resource and more high-quality online resources in math and science visit Scout's sister site - AMSER, the Applied Math and Science Educational Repository at http://amser.org.

http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/exhibitions/glennbrown/

Glen Brown is a member of a loose group of British artists called the YBAs (Young British Artists), which also includes Chris Ofili, Gary Hume, and Peter Doig. Brown's paintings borrow from art history and popular culture by transforming a "familiar visual history into something extraordinary and alien." He has borrowed from Rembrandt, Fragonard, Salvador Dalí, Frank Auerbach and many others, including science fiction novels, but he does not use the original images for inspiration, instead he uses reproductions including postcards, books, and digital images from the internet. Brown's technical skill is legendary; he has the ability to create canvases as smooth as glossy magazines, although the works in the current exhibition use a much rougher style of brushwork. The exhibit covers Brown's work from the last eighteen years and is arranged into nine thematic rooms. Visitors to the website can see one example from each room, as well as a list of the other paintings in situ. For example, Room 1 features Brown's The Loves of Shepherds (after 'Doublestar' by Tony Roberts) 2000, what appears to be a space ship orbiting a sun; Room 7 focuses on the human figure and its representation in paint; while Room 9 contains Brown's most recent work. For an extra challenge, the online exhibit also provides an almost impossible online slider game, which cuts a Brown painting into squares, similar to Rubik's Cube, that participants must attempt to reassemble. [DS]