General Interest
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/absalom/
Published in 1936, "Absalom, Absalom!" is a work by noted American author and Nobel-Prize recipient William Faulkner. The book takes place around the time of the Civil War and is narrated via a series of flashbacks. This website, which is a fascinating interactive companion to this remarkable modernist novel, was created by Stephen Railton and Will Rourk of the University of Virginia. Visitors to the site's homepage can read the user instructions, and then look through the chapter-by-chapter chronology as they see fit. After looking over the chronologies offered here, visitors should click on over to the "Faulkner on Absalom, Absalom!" section of the site. Here they can listen to Faulkner talk about selected passages from the work at various lectures he gave at the University of Virginia in 1957 and 1958. The site also contains printable versions of the chronologies for those who wish to consult them in an offline setting. [KMG]
http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/educate/list.asp?key=56
Over the past couple of years, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has revamped their website, and they have also embarked on an ambitious podcast series. Currently the site contains over 70 podcasts, which cover topics like bookmaking, experimental filmmaking, and the craft of sculpture. Generally the podcasts are related to recent exhibitions and viewings at the Hirshhorn, but most of them work quite well as stand-alone explorations of artistic endeavors and pursuits. Some of the highlights here include a discussion with Dietrich Neumann about the "blurring of illusion and reality in architecture and film" and a conversation with artist Alyson Shotz about her provocative work that recently appeared in the Hirshhorn's "Currents" installation. [KMG]
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx
Before any trip, it might not be a bad idea to consult this fine site created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is easy to use, and visitors can get started by using their online "Yellow Book" feature offered on their homepage. With this feature, visitors can look up travel health information for over 90 countries. Further down the homepage, visitors will note that the "Specific Topics" area contains information on required vaccinations, yellow fever, mosquito and tick prevention, avian influenza outbreaks, and other public health matters. Those persons who might be traveling with special needs will want to take a look at the "Special Needs Travelers" section, as it includes updates on travelers with HIV, disabilities, or those who might be breast-feeding. On the right-hand side of the site, visitors can look over the "Announcements" area and also take a look at their podcast series. [KMG]
http://www.davidrumsey.com/recentadditions.html
Passionate about cartography and maps in general since his youth, David Rumsey has amassed an amazing collection of maps and map-related ephemera over the past several decades. The Scout Report has profiled this site a few times over the past years, and the online David Rumsey Historical Map Collection continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This new site is a perfect way to keep tabs on the latest additions to this ever-growing collection. Here visitors can look at the materials added to the site chronologically, and some of the more recent highlights include the addition of the famed Celestial Atlas from 1822 and the London Atlas of Universal Geography from 1838. And this is far from all, as visitors can also avail themselves of the New Mercantile Marine Atlas from 1922, which includes 200 marine charts (complete with shipping routes) and an early Rand McNally Road Atlas from 1927. [KMG]
Drawing on a wide range of experts, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation works on funding high quality and promising research projects from around the world and serving in an advisory capacity through their efforts in Washington D.C. On their homepage, users can look at their online discussion board, read resources for patients coping with this condition, and become acquainted with their research funding opportunities. Those persons who have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma can click on the "Get Help Now' area to submit questions to a medical professional. Scholars already in the field can navigate over to the "Research" area to read up on their grant programs and read research articles and publications relevant to mesothelioma. The site is rounded out by an "Advocacy" area, which provides information about interested parties wishing to help out this cause. [KMG]
http://www.usmayors.org/publications/
Many urban areas are faced with similar problems, and it makes sense that many mayors in the United States have joined forces with The U.S. Conference of Mayors in order to speak with a unified voice about the issues that urban areas struggle with on a regular basis. With that in mind, the Conference of Mayors has put together this sage site which contains a diverse set of policy publications and attendant prescriptions addressing everything from brownfields to climate protection. The papers are organized chronologically and they date back to 1993. All told, there are over 50 papers available here and some of the more recent titles include a report on hunger and homelessness in American cities and an omnibus survey on cities' water management policies. [KMG]
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/Tools/
Colleges and universities around the world have embarked on a new era of assisting teachers with their classroom manner and organization. The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Pennsylvania State University has created this site to give educators access to a wide range of excellent teaching and learning tools. The materials and resources here are divided into the following sections: "Course Design and Planning", "Teaching and Assessment Strategies", "Tools for Course Evaluation", "Tools for University Assessment", and "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning". Within these sections, users can read and download specific activities geared towards syllabus improvement, writing effective and meaningful tests, and incorporating problem-based activities into the classroom. Overall, the site is well designed and it is one that educators and the like will want to pass along to their colleagues across campus. [KMG]
http://moma.org/exhibitions/2007/multiplex/
Taking its name from the type of American movie theater that houses a large number of screens in order to provide a wide variety of movies, the web site for Multiplex, an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), teaches an art history lesson in an entertaining fashion. Introductory comments from Deborah Wye, curator of the exhibition, point out that it was around 1970 that our current pluralistic view of art came into being, "a complicated artistic terrain with a range of widely divergent approaches." Close to 60 works can be viewed at the site, organized into three sections. "Abstractions" includes works such as Robert Mangold's Distorted Circle within a Polygon I, 1972. "Mutability" where one can view Articulated Lair, 1986, by Louise Bourgeois, and "Provocation" which includes the video Gordon's Makes us Drunk by Gilbert & George. [DS]
