General Interest
As the price of fuel continues to rise, this site continues to be as timely as when it first came online in October 1999. The site is maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and it provides fuel-saving tips, fuel economy estimates, and so on. From the homepage, visitors can click through sections that include "Gasoline Prices", "Gas Mileage Tips", "Hybrid Vehicles", and "New Fuel Economy Ratings". As one might expect, the "Gasoline Prices" area allows users to find the lowest gas prices in their area, learn about saving money and fuel with gas mileage tips, and also learn why gas prices are so high. In the "Your MPG" area, visitors can calculate their own miles per gallon and also compare their measurements with other users. Finally, visitors can also access this information on their mobile phones through a specially designed site that includes fuel economy ratings, fuel cost estimates, and annual petroleum use. [KMG]
http://www.lincolnandthecivilwar.com/Activities/Arkansas/Arkansas.asp
When people think about the Civil War, they probably recall major conflicts at places like Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. Admittedly, not many may think of the 771 battles and skirmishes that took place in Arkansas, but this website offers up a variety of first-hand accounts and reporting from the Hot Springs state. The site was created by Harper's Magazine as part of their "Lincoln and the Civil War" database, and it features historic newspaper accounts and writings from Harper's Weekly, the New York Illustrated News, and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. Visitors to the site can learn about Arkansas's history before the Civil War, and then move on to read an essay on the state's strategic location by Gregory J.W. Urwin. Visitors should also not miss articles from "North and South Magazine" on some noted battles that took place within the state, such as the 1864 skirmish at Poison Spring. [KMG]
In the last four months of 2007, poet Kwame Dawes traveled back to his home of Jamaica to talk to people on the island who are living with HIV and AIDS. His work was sponsored by the Pulitzer Center, and this site offers a very rich portrait of these people, and as Dawes himself says, "These people taught me how to write about hope." After watching a short introduction narrated by Dawes, visitors can immerse themselves in the site by reading some of the poems Dawes wrote after being on the island, listen to the voices and experiences of those he met during his travel, and also look through an extensive image gallery. One section that should not be missed is the "Vital Voices" area, which includes interviews with people living with HIV and AIDS and those who care bout their well-being and survival. The site is rounded out by a selection of poems set to music and images by composer Kevin Simmonds. [KMG]
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2007/48/
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been developing a series of informative videos for educators and members of the general public, and this online presentation about landslides in the San Francisco Bay Area is a nice addition to this body of work. This particular film looks at the various catastrophic landslides which have affected the region over the past twenty five years, along with offering an exploration of the dynamics behind landslides and the contributing factors to their severity. In the video, visitors will hear from scientists, Bay Area residents, and others who have experienced landslides first hand. The site also includes links to reports by the USGS on the areas affected by these periodic landslides. One could imagine that this film could be used in a physical sciences classroom at many different levels of education. [KMG]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/stemcells
It's quite easy to stay abreast of all the developments within the world of embryos and stem cell research with this handy site created and maintained by staff members at the Guardian newspaper. On their page, visitors can read news reports from the frontlines of scientific research in these areas, and also check out the latest posts from the weblogs they maintain on these matters. Further down the page, visitors will find a selection of specialized reports on both stem cell research and the manipulation and transformation of embryos. Visitors can also sign up to receive an RSS feed and even learn about related subjects, including genetics and biotechnology. [KMG]
http://content.lib.ua.edu/cdm4/about.php
For devotees of Alabama history (and even for those who aren't), the University of Alabama's Digital Collections are a real find. Currently, the site offers up more than a dozen digital collections, including The University of Alabama Encyclopedia and the Hugh Davis Farm Journals. The Hugh Davis Farm Journals are quite a find, as they offer an insightful portrait of a 19th century attorney and plantation owner in Marion, Alabama. Here visitors can read his farm journals, which contain records regarding slaves and accounts of life on the plantation. The other collections offered here include the Marjorie L. Smith Slide Collection of images related to cotton agriculture in the 1960s and selected issues of the University of Alabama Yearbook, which is titled "The Corolla". [KMG]
http://www.lib.usf.edu/public/index.cfm?Pg=HamptonDunnPostcardsCollection
The University of South Florida has expanded their digital collections by leaps and bounds in the past few months, and this particular addition is a real find. The Hampton Dunn Postcards Collection contains over 2600 digitized postcards that feature scenes from early twentieth century Florida. Within this collection, visitors will find color images of street scenes, natural vistas, and Floridians at work and play. Visitors will find plenty of urban scenes, along with some rather fascinating images of various public parks and gardens scattered throughout the Sunshine State. Browsing the collection is quite easy, and visitors can also search the collection in its entirety. Finally, visitors should also browse through some of the other digital collections offered by the University of South Florida Libraries. [KMG]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents this full retrospective of the French artist Gustave Courbet (1819–1877). Courbet has been called the first modern artist for his tendency to paint explicit nudity and celebrity life style. About 15 images, selected from the 130 in the Museum exhibit, can be seen on the exhibition web site. Images of Courbet's work provided here include portraits and landscapes. Also included in the online exhibit is an example of a unique nineteenth-century photograph by Gustave Le Gray, "The Great Wave", which may have inspired Courbet's work, The Wave. In addition, visitors can listen in on an interview with curator Gary Tinterow speaking with the figurative painter John Currin about Courbet's influence on his work. [DS]
