c|net Online
URL: http://www.cnet.com
Category: Media
Issue: 0596
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Shel Kimen
TITLE: C|NET ROCKSc|net has, beyond doubt, one of the best sites on the Web, and most certainly offers the best of media-related pages. It's an example of where online publishing can go, is going and should be. c|net online, a division of the television network, is easily as solid in content, and perhaps nicer because you get to choose if you want to "watch" the commercials. Get your technology-related news from work or home, or anywhere you happen to have a copy of Netscape 2.0. I highly recommend using Netscape: The site backs it's content with outstanding design, making full use of Netscape's enhanced features -- forms, tables, text formatting, multimedia goop, and should I go on? If it's possible, it's there.c|net should be read like a newspaper -- everyday. With a full time staff working hard to bring us the best of the best tech-related news, there's no chance you'll miss the hottest headlines. The site is constantly updated and also sports a wonderful, searchable, archive of past articles in case you *have* missed something. The features are, of course, well written and concise, offering a slew of hyperlinks to connect you to additional information, and as you might suspect, the site also has plenty of pictures that look high rez but take up minimal bandwidth. Sift through mounds of daily features, listen to reports via RealAudio, get personality profiles of the movers and shakers in the tech arena and whatever you do, check out the reviews section. If you're looking for good advise on products or Web sites, these cats will guide you to the action. c|net test drives modems, e-mail clients, Web authoring tools and picks a site of the day -- always cool and useful.More. More. MORE!c|net also has regular updates an how to find a job, resources for women online, a kids section and on and on it goes. While a site this full with so much serious content runs the risk of being too dry, boring or staid after a few repeated visits, make no mistake: c|net is interesting, insightful, intelligent and entertaining -- consistently. And in addition to all it's offerings about news and Web technology, c|net is also responsible for software.com (a mega-database for freeware and shareware), DREAM technology (for intelligent agent interactive advertising) and co-sponsors E!Online (the entertainment channel.) Don't miss this.
Overall Rating: 18

The Discovery Museums
URL: http://www.ultranet.com/~discover/index.html
Category: Science
Issue: 0596
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Shel Kimen
Ahh, an example of how to promote a science museum -- effectively! The layout and top level organization is clean and looks swell enough. More than enough useful information about the logistics of the museum are readily available -- directions, hours of operation, phone numbers and special exhibit information. And the slide show tours offer a strong impression of what you might actually find if you visit the real-life museum. It's extremely well done and a good example of how people can use the Web to enhance local communities.
Overall Rating: 16

Court TV Home Page
URL: http://www.courttv.com/index.html
Category: Professional
Issue: 0596
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
You can't be serious. A television-related site chosen as Professional Site of the Month? We Internet-users are far superior to television watchers, right? We can't denigrate the interactive and information packed Internet by judging it on the basis of a television product that happens to have a Web site. Television is the opiate of the masses! The Internet will save the world! (And we all know that the Internet was really invented by dolphins using extraterrestrial technology.) Court TV's Internet entrant, the Court TV Law Center, is not only a good source of law information, it also manages to redeem television, as much as that is possible. The site's basic utilities are a search engine and a glossary of legal terms. The glossary isn't comprehensive, but it does cover enough ground to clarify any of the cases presented here. The search engine is a good shortcut for finding a particular case without going through any indexes. The home page, like any good table of contents, organizes the site by departments and features. When I was there, O.J.'s face adorned the feature section, with a hyper-link to his deposition in the civil suit brought against him by the Goldmans. Can we ever escape O.J.? Also featured was a special area on the Telecom bill which had recently passed, containing many articles about various aspects of the legislation and what it would mean to Internet users. The 20-plus articles here provided more depth and clarification than you would get from reading the actual text of the bill. The departments include case files, a library, games, a kids section, and a store. Of course, Court TV's idea of games isn't the typical puzzle or maze a lot of other sites offer. It has various historical cases in which you are invited to identify the facts, make arguments, and decide the case. This is the kind of stuff that law students live for. The library section isn't Harvard Law, you couldn't use it as a substitute for Lexis, but it does have articles and files on cases that would be of interest to casual users. Under the Newsmakers reference, you can find out the legal gossip on your favorite stars. Call it pop law, but it is good for really understanding the big cases in the papers, and looking really smart at cocktail parties as you offer your informed commentary.
Overall Rating: 17

ESPNet
URL: http://espnet.sportszone.com/
Category: Sports
Issue: 0596
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
What do you want? You want highlight films? Boom. It's got highlight films. You want play-by-play? Boom. It's got play-by-play. You want player interviews? Stats and box scores? Sports talk? That's right. Boom. You betcha. ESPNET SportsZone has it all -- on your computer, right there, and in your face. Bet your Bulls' tickets on it. SportsZone offers the best, most comprehensive, multimedia sports coverage on the Web today. From video clips to sound files to link after logically placed link, you won't find a more gigantic resource of up-to-the-minute professional sports information. The array and timeliness of the content sets a benchmark to which other news organizations should aspire. Indeed, in one form or another, SportsZone offers all one may find on ESPN's cable TV network. The site is rife with impressive, innovative features. In no particular order: Video clips of amazing plays. You're watching the 5 p.m. news and see Shaq hit the first three-pointer of his career. You book on over to SportsZone, and -- *yes* -- it's the Video Play of the Day. Download the QuickTime or AVI clip, and you've saved Shaqidocious for posterity.Game flow graphics. At this point, SportsZone begins to compete with TV. If your favorite games aren't televised, you can use your computer for real-time statistical accounts of games in progress. You say pretty, constantly updated graphics aren't enough? Then check out the play-by-play descriptions. Celebrity Q&A. SportsZone gets you closer to the competitors by letting you submit questions to select players. And we're not talking back-up tight ends and the third-round picks who play garbage minutes. We're talking legitimate blue-chip names like Ken Norton Jr., Sean Elliott and Greg Lemond. Ride'em if you have to -- these guys are tough, and they'll answer tough questions.Sports chat. Why call up talk radio shows and wait on hold when you can instantly argue about sports with fans worldwide. SportsZone's chat function is quick and reliable, and the level of debate tops America Online.OK. Enough said. SportsZone is the ticket. Pass those Beer Nuts, and quit blocking the computer screen.
Overall Rating: 18

The Travel Channel
URL: http://www.travelchannel.com
Category: Travel
Issue: 0596
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Shel Kimen
Whether you travel like Paul Bowles or Lady Di, the travel Channel Online is certain to satiate your needs. To begin, the site, an extension of the Cable TV channel, is a pleasure to look at. Sweep through organized, clean pages with beautiful pictures (that are easy on the bandwidth) or rest a while in one of the sites many flavorful sections. The travel Channel has it all; vacation ideas and recommendations, online chat forums, photo galleries, hot topics and of course links to other esteemed travel-related sites.I checked the site at the peak of Mardi Gras, and the special focus on the New Orleans festival ranked as an exceptional treat. First, the Travel Channel makes use of all the latest Netscape tricks -- and it offers a choice: Frames or No Frames. As one who believes Frames are akin to the Anti-Christ, I was pleased with the option. Outstanding. And the info wrapped up in those pages could easily stand on it's own as a respectable Web site. It's fat with details about Mardi Gras history, customs, recipes and travel tips. Plenty of photos, and again, wonderful design.The site offers TWO chat options, in case you wanna exchange woes about a bumpy cruise or get insight on your future travel plans from someone who's already been there. The first chat area is set up as a traditional BBS (bulletin board) in which users post messages to a "topic board" and other users post messages to the same board to reply. It's very much like a Usenet thing. But the travel channel also offers a Frames based Web chat, in real time. Very much like an IRC thing, for those who want more of an immediate dialog. (Warning: It's not terribly fast.) The posting board seemed considerably more active than the Frames chat, but again, it's always nice to have choices.The photo gallery is by far the most exceptional and entertaining aspect of the site though. Not only do we get to look at stunning photographs from around the world, broken into categories -- Asia, Western Europe, Africa, but the photographs are submitted by viewers of the Travel Channel and visitors to the Web site. Tres Cool!Overall The travel Channel should amuse, entertain, and at times, enlighten with advise and interesting articles. It's a definite must for anyone who considers themselves a "traveler."
Overall Rating: 18

@tlas
URL: http://www.atlasmag.com
Category: Art
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Just about every artist and writer dreams about having their own publication, a journal they have control of where they can publish work of fellow artists based on its merits rather than how well its been accepted by art critics and reviewers. Unfortunately, publishing requires a good deal of capital, which mostly goes for printing and distribution, and that means advertiser support, with all the inherent loss of content control that that implies. But the relatively inexpensive publishing medium of the Web has allowed Olivier Laude to achieve that dream of a true artists' publication. @tlas is dedicated to publishing various visual arts works in the categories of photography, illustration, design, and multimedia. According to Olivier, "I have always dreamed of publishing a paper magazine that would be beautifully printed, cover stories (photo-journalistic and documentary) in depth and be designed by the best in the business." And with a number of artists already on the fledgling site whose work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine, @tlas is shaping up will into Laude's vision. "These kinds of ideas do not really emerge from publishing conglomerates because they are afraid of hybrids that do not fit niches within the market." says Olivier in explanation of why he has chosen to become a publisher. The concept and content are great, but it wouldn't be a site of the month if it wasn't for the excellent graphic design of Amy Franceschini and Michael Macrone. Amy's work has also included a special site for the last San Francisco mayoral elections entitled Electomatic (http://www.electomatic.com), while Michael is a very experienced graphic designer in the print medium and has also authored six books. Olivier has worked as a professional photo-journalist for the last three years, and has some of his work in the photography section of @tlas. But while publishing a Web site is inexpensive, it is not free, and Olivier is already hitching up his capitalist train. @tlas recently gained Organic Online (http://www.organic.com) as an official sponsor to provide server space for the site. And, according to Olivier, "We want to turn commercial and sell advertising." Okay, Olivier, we all know that making money can be a nice thing, but keep your hands on those editorial controls.
Overall Rating: 17

The Toro Company
URL: http://www.toro.com/
Category: Corporate
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
An unlikely candidate for the high-tech world of the Web, but Toro has put together an excellent site. All of you tech heads out there may be thinking, "Toro? Don't they make ide controllers?" Sorry kids, but Toro is the yard care specialist, making equipment for all kinds of outdoor environmental management. And by management I mean riding lawn mowers! Even though the lawn we had when I was growing up was only about 30 by 20 feet, I had always wanted a riding lawn mower. And even now that I have a car (and no lawn at all), I still think a riding lawn mower would be great.Toro's home page really shows where its heart is, too. When it launched it had an "under construction" sign on the corporate info link, but the sections for the consumer product line and yard care questions were up and running. The consumer product area is a well-designed candyland for anyone that occasionally likes to work in the earth, but with a lot of horsepower. The browser is met by an index of products that range from tractors to outdoor lighting. While some of this may seem overwhelming to the landscaping dilletante, the folks at Toro are real friendly. The section with the more serious equipment (tractors and snowblowers) have a utility that will suggest the right tool for you, based on your answers to a questionnaire (although I would just go for the most power you can afford). The lighting section shows the many different styles of outdoors lights, and has a whole section on how to design a lighting plan.The yard care section features a virtual expert named Earl who you can offer advice about lawn maintenance. Earl's "vocabulary" is somewhat limited, though, since you can only type one word queries into the search form, and if they aren't specifically about lawn care, Earl will be stumped (so save your ide controller questions for Gina Smith). Or you can use the browse function to find answers to lawn care problems. A number of documents, in official FAQ format, deal with grass, weeds, leaves, and pests. Rock on, backyard warrior!
Overall Rating: 17

Alexander Palace Time Machine
URL: http://www.travelogix.com/emp/batchison/
Category: Humanities
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Shel Kimen
In the fashion that follows all royal history from Czars to kings, Alexander's palace is a fine example of soap opera a la hypertext with valuable historical insight. The site was originally constructed as a monument to the palace that Catherine the Great commissioned for her grandson Alexander Pavlovich in the late 1700's. But in the process of explaining all the rooms with maps and photographs, and digital images of the treasures that lied within the stucco and brick masterpiece, comes an outstanding historical tour through the lives of Russian Royalty from 1800 to the Second World War.The site creator, Bob Atchison says he became obsessed with the palace when he read about Anastasia in the second grade. The site, miles thick in every direction, is concrete proof of this obsession. Visitors will find themselves transported through the lives of everyone who dwelled in the palace -- servants and royalty, guests and war commanders. He is almost obnoxiously descriptive as he tells us about "golden strands" in Rasputin's beard and Anastasia's "blue eyes, light brown hair and a fine thin nose like her mother's." At times there is an overall kitchiness feel, like that of an online role playing game; "Do you want to go inside the palace?" or "If you look up to the right you'll see a frame laced in gold." But it seems to work well here in creating a mood and has a general effectiveness which is compelling enough to keep visitors "in the palace" clicking and learning away.While the site is not without fault -- numerous typos, a few poor HTML editing skills and even a some grammar errors that make some of the reading a bit choppy -- given the breadth of content covered (in a well organized fashion I might add!) it's very well done. It is certainly one of the most sincerest of HTML efforts I've seen from a part time page creator. As a matter of fact, this project is Mr. Atchison's first HTML creation, and he's managed to make fine use of Tables and images; it's readable and has several well constructed out pages. Russian history buffs should definitely take note of this one.
Overall Rating: 18

SPIV
URL: http://www.spiv.com/spiv.html
Category: Media
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Shel Kimen
If Spiv is any indication of what mainstream Web-publishing is headed for, we're in for an outstanding future! Spiv, Ted Turners twenty-something e-zine, is prepared and packaged for the urban hipster a la cyber culture. My first inclination is to lash out at yet another media king's attempt to buy out, chew up, and spit back at us our own ideas at an inflated price. But in this case, I am glad to say, I just don't think that's true.It seems Ted and the white collar boys are giving Spiv considerable editorial control and creative freedom to make the zine what it needs to be -- a fresh, intelligent, idea space that speaks Web to the people who know it best. Spiv has collected an outstanding group of editors who are in fact very involved in the wired community, from David Pescovitz of *Wired*, *Boing Boing* and *The Net* freelance fame, to Rebecca Paoletti who has written for *MIGHT* and edited *SOMA Magazine*.Spiv hits fashion, sports, lifestyle, music, and tech culture full force with smashing wit, knock-out graphics and an all around cool attitude that is never ever "too cool." Spiv is always fun and always accessible. Check out the latest in skater wear or read music scene reports from across the country. Chat with X-Girl model Cara Friedrichs or read a scathing rant about Pat Buchanon. Personality to politiks, it's all there.Editor of Spiv, Rebecca Paoletti, started the site with the creation of Shiitake. Not so far from a mushroom trip, the Shiitake section will dazzle you with games, quotes, a hot hot hot pink background, and the most clever use of a Web chat I've seen so far. But, perhaps the amusement flavor is best represented in Zooey, the section for fashion, urbanism, and attitude. "Zooey was my second site creation when I got to Spiv," said Paoletti. "The fun and scary thing about it is the number of people who really believe that she exists, that this NYC high school senior we created is real, and wants to go on dates with any number of college guys who write to her! I adore answering her email..." (Wink. Wink.)In plain English: Spiv Rocks!BLUE LIGHT
Overall Rating: 18

Today's Calendar and Clock Page
URL: http://www.panix.com/~wlinden/calendar.shtml
Category: Reference
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Poor
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
Computers can't give us back rubs, or blend perfect vodka martinis, but they can free us from the drudgery of methodical number-crunching. Are you prepared to compute the countdown to the new millennium in years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds? That's right, friend, you've got better things to do; swigging vodka martinis immediately comes to mind. But now computers can do busy work for busy people, and that's where Today's Calendar and Clock Page comes in.This site is nearly graphically barren, but infinitely compelling. As soon as you enter, you're hit with a barrage of numerical data to help you set your bearings across the space-time-history continuum. For example: "Today is Sunday, March 17,1996... Eastern Standard Time is 4:43 PM... This is the 11 week of the year... This is the 77th day of the year... Year 221 of American independence... 45th year of H.M. Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada... 3rd year of the 693rd Olympiad... Buddhist Year 2539... Atomic Era 55... Modified Julian Day 50159 ... Solar Cycle 17..." And so on and so on until you're so terrified by your own universal insignificance, you decide to blend another vodka martini.Once you digest all of these date stamps -- 25 of them roll out as soon as you load the page -- you can move downward to 62 different links designed to put time into historical, cultural, religious, and even astronomical perspective. Some links serve purely utilitarian purposes. For example, IslamicTimer 2.1 is designed to help the Muslim faithful plan their days around times of prayer. Another link, The Moon Phase Page, provides you with an image of how the moon will look from earth based on time coordinates of your choice. Other links predict impending doom. The National Debt Clock keeps a running tally of the depth of our monetary mire. At press time, the number reached into 13 figures. Let's not get into specific dollar amounts, or once again you may be reaching for that martini shaker. The World Population Clock tells us that the globe is burgeoning to the tune of 6 billion souls, and by 2050, 9.5 billion earthlings may be jockeying for elbow room. Whether you're interested in utility or entertainment, the Clock Page is a fascinating resource. Now let's look forward to the day when "wrist browsers" hit market.
Overall Rating: 16

Cyber Seuss
URL: http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/drseuss.html
Category: Literature
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
Chances are, sometime around age four or five, you begged your mom for a heaping plate of green eggs and ham. You had no idea what turned the eggs green, and you weren't too hip to the concept of pork products, but you wanted your green eggs and ham, gosh-darned it, because one Mr. Sam I Am didn't want his, and you knew he was missing out on some fancy eats. So your mom fried up some ham, and threw some spinach into some scrambled eggs, and served them to you on an enchanted platter. And then your mom tried food coloring in the eggs after your spinach sensors went off, and you ran screaming from the breakfast table.The object lesson behind *Green Eggs and Ham* is just one of many espoused by the late Ted Geisel, Dr. Seuss. Geisel died in 1991 at the age of 87, but his rhyming morality tales continue to influence kids worldwide. Geisel won a Pulitzer prize in 1984, and his 47 books are published in 18 languages. The entire Seussian phenomenon can be found at Cyber-Seuss, a site that offers hoospiferic helpings of Seuphonius triptitude. The site's main draw is its 15 online story books. You'll find standards like *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* and *Yertle the Turtle*, as well as more obscure tales like *The King's Stilts* and *Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose*. After you envelope yourself in nonsense words and delightful rhyming schemes, you can skip on over to obscure curios like Seuss-oriented ASCII art; a contest asking you to choose your favorite among The Grinch, his indefatigable doggie Max, and little Cindy Loo Who. There's also a sound file of the Grinch theme song ("You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch..."). The site deals in the type of minutiae one finds only on the Internet; to wit, in 1972, pundit Art Buchwald borrowed from Geisel the following sentiment: "Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now! The time has come. The time is now. Just go. Go. Go! I don't care how. You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now!" Indeed, Geisel was a man of moral and political conviction. Both children and adults will find much to learn from this endearing, whimsical and burgeoning Web site.
Overall Rating: 18

Cockroach World
URL: http://www.nj.com/yucky/roaches/index.html
Category: Science
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
Witness the noble cockroach. Six legs, sturdy, determined. Soul of a warrior, heart of a tiger. Eternally maligned but so often misunderstood. Have you hugged your cockroach today? Cockroaches ain't bad folk, they're just the victims of bad press. For the real skinny on these lovable garbage-eating vermin, scurry straight on over to Cockroach World. Dr. Betty "Bug Lady" Faber, an entomologist with the Liberty Science Center, presents roach-oriented information with such levity and spirit, you'll hardly notice that you're being schooled in serious science. The site hits you from a variety of angles to impart just about every niblet of cockroach information one could imagine. The Around the World game provides you with a full dossier on a particular breed of cockroach, and challenges you to correctly pick the roach's geographical point of origin. A Day in the Life of Rodney Roach provides a wry chronology of a cockroach's typical day: "10 pm. Rodney waves his antennae, picking up wonderfully icky food odors from the garbage and the delicious smell of rancid milk. He ventures from his hiding place. His eyes tell him that it's dark and safe, but he is guided by his sense of smell. He joins his family and friends already at work on the garbage can. They eat gobs of fat, takes sips of old beer, and finish off with rotting peach skins -- a five-star, gourmet meal." Poor Rodney. Life is tough. If you have unusually urgent cockroach concerns -- and who doesn't? -- you can send the Bug Lady specific questions (she answers one query each week), or go straight to the Roach Facts page. Betcha didn't know that powdered Oriental cockroaches make a dandy diuretic? Or how about the scrappy, unflappable Headless Cockroach? Decapitated cockroaches can continue doing their essential cockroach business for about a week. They only die because they can't consume water. Video, sound and image files augment this wonderful site, but a simple text catalog of urban roach folklore may be the main attraction for macabre visitors. Even titles like "Roach Toasties," "Horror In Pearland" and "Why You Should Brush Your Teeth" cannot adequately describe the terror dished up by the alarming department. Giddy up, Rodney.
Overall Rating: 17

Escape Artist Mathew Cooper
URL: http://www.loop.com/~straitjacket/
Category: Vanity Pages
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
The typical vanity site doesn't offer an excessive amount of... oh, shall we say... intrigue. Some woman owns a cat named Motorboat; she writes about her cat named Motorboat. Some kid plays third tuba for the Portland Youth Symphony; he writes about playing third tuba for the Portland Youth Symphony. Some guy's favorite food is Nutella on wheat bread; he writes about the joys of eating Nutella on wheat bread. Simple. Easy. No frills. No pressure. Just tell us who you are. We're in, we're out. But Mathew Cooper throws a knuckleball into the whole vanity site phenomenon. Cooper is an escape artist of all things -- that's right, like Harry Houdini -- and a fine oil painter to boot. What's more, his grasp of site design is exemplary. Cooper's pages are top-notch both in content and aesthetics, and his site can be digested in its entirety in less than 25 minutes -- a time limit that should be considered a requisite for inherently self-serving pages devoted to a single individual. Using Netscape's Frames feature, Cooper presents a vertical array of hot buttons on the left side of his display. Click on a button, and a new theme pops up in the main window. The Dislocation button sends you an explanation of the physical process behind Cooper's particular brand of escape artistry: "My shoulders do come out of the socket area but do not really go to the point of dislocation." Scary stuff, Mat. You'll also find photos of Cooper shackled in chains, images of his oil paintings, and links to handcuff collections, a lock-picking guide, and a Houdini page. Of course all this isn't to say that Mat's site, despite all of its chi-chi accouterments, isn't still just a vanity site. Witness this biographical account: "I woke up the next morning in my own vomit. It was everywhere. I have the same birthday as Jimi Hendrix. I believe he died this way but I guess it wasn't my time. I spent a couple of hours apologizing to my Mother in between dry heaves." Scarier stuff, Mat. In the main, Cooper's pages are well-crafted, wonderfully illustrated, and fun to read. Escape from the doldrums of the 9-to-5 rat race, and lose yourself in this confident expression of self.
Overall Rating: 18

OncoLink
URL: http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/
Category: Health & Fitness
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Not Rated
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Minda Sandler
We all know someone who's life has been touched by cancer. This year, 550,000 Americans are expected to die of the disease -- or 335,000 more people than died of cancer in 1971 (check out http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/canceri.htm for more such statistics). Once a disease so feared and mysterious its name was only whispered, cancer is demystified at OncoLink, a site created by the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center and the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Geared to health care personnel as well as patients and their families, OncoLink was the first multimedia oncology resource on the Internet. The site is a gold mine of links, with a great search engine to help you cope. Perhaps the best way to get started is with the Disease-Oriented Menus section, which provides general information about cancer and a list of medical issues -- pain management , for instance -- related to its treatment. Here you can learn about chemotherapy and surgery options, as well as non-traditional treatments; get a list of cancer terms; and find statistical information not only about cancer, but about the war against it. Topics are grouped by type of cancer for easy searching. Click on the "Special Report: The War on Cancer" to get a list of the top 50 cancer hospitals in the U.S. From there click on a state or metro area to get a list of hospitals specializing in cancer care. It's a great place to begin your own battle with the disease.For more specific information, visit the Medical Specialty-Oriented Menus. There's also a comprehensive list of links to journals and newsletters relating to cancer -- everything from the American Journal of Pathology and the Cancer Biotechnology Weekly to Cell Online and The New England Journal of Medicine. Perhaps most useful to patients is the Psychosocial Support and Personal Experiences area, which focuses on ways to cope with cancer and loss. The candidly shared and poignant experiences of cancer patients and survivors are chronicled here. You can also get a list of support groups for both patients and their families. Visit the Financial Issues for Patients section to get comprehensive information about billing, insurance, and assistance programs.If you want to get in touch with clinical trials related to cancer, that's all here, too. This site maintains links to studies under way at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute, among others. You can also discover the latest cancer-related conferences and meetings going on around the world. Plus, there's a comprehensive resource list above and beyond even what you find here.Because there's so much of interest, the OncoLink site creators even include a statement saying that you are free to make copies of material you find (for personal use only). If all of it seems a bit overwhelming at times, you can rest your eyes on rotating artwork by children who are patients at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania.
Overall Rating: 13

Adaweb
URL: http://adaweb.com/
Category: Art
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Heidi Swanson
The instant I ventured into the Adaweb realm my sensory overload meter hit the red line. This site establishes a much needed platform for Web specific content in which contemporary artists can discourse with the Internet community. As platforms go, it's a rather lofty one, so you may want to don your highbrow reading specs and grab an encyclopedia of obscure references before climbing aboard. Adaweb currently serves up six segments featuring an impressive variety of heavy-hitting content. The first level, *Project * houses works created specifically for the site, while *Influx* becomes the digital display case for works that exist in real space. Not only does Adaweb feature a vast array of artists, but it presents their work in a clean, even elegant, manner. Navigate seamlessly from Julia Scher's coldly voyeuristic *Securityland*, right into a warm, peppy, Armani-models-visit-the-Emerald City-type of piece about love as perceived by Group Z, for instance. The clean design and site architecture of Adaweb help make the site more hospitable to an ever changing guest register and the site designers have used HTML to visually optimize the layout without crowding in too many bells and whistles or overshadowing the content. And for those browsing with slower connections, the creators have made a conscious effort to keep their page sizes down to a minimum. Hot and cold, soft and hard, glaring and subtle, Adaweb encompasses the entire spectrum in one cohesive design providing an electronic forum for experimental artists to display the fruits of their labor. It's a dynamic achievement not only worth the first visit, but, as with all the best zines, one to bookmark for future visits.
Overall Rating: 18

College Money Matters
URL: http://www.infi.net/collegemoney/
Category: Education
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
I know it's crass to speak of education in strictly financial terms, but sooner or later you got to admit: It all comes down to money. There's no guarantee that a college degree improves your financial worth, but one thing's for certain: You have to ante up just to get in the game. This site from Signet Bank provides a pretty extensive overview of the whole higher education money game. Especially useful is the book *Don't Miss Out: The Ambitious Student's Guide to Financial Aid* , which lays out the basics of finding funding and planning your finances over the long haul. Not only is the entire text presented online here (read "free"), but it's updated for to coincide with the coming academic year. You can browse the chapter contents quickly, gleaning the information you need and disregarding the rest. Simple as that; no outdated book left moldering on the shelf, no trees sacrificed to your momentary needs, just the info you need now, on your monitor. Of course, this being a corporate site as well, the bank has its own interests. Electronic forms are provided for ordering student loan applications and the like; there is no pressure to do so however. The biggest benefit for Signet is probably just the good reputation the largess garners, not to mention the dollars the publicity could mean farther down the road. A square enough deal, seems to me. Also useful to the college hopeful is the Financial Aid Time Line, which gives a prescribed chronology for securing tuition dollars, a concise budgeting worksheet , some tips on managing your cash flow, and a brief tutorial on building credit (tread carefully over that one, kids). When you've exhausted the resources here, there's a page of associated links to keep your surfing on track. There'll be plenty of time for distraction when you're basking in the cool shade of the ivory tower.
Overall Rating: 16

Totem
URL: http://www.totemweb.com/
Category: Professional
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Poor
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
This Italian architectural zine is an eye-catcher that makes good use of the latest in new media, while at the same time keeping its design clean and simple. The table of contents is laid out on a colorful checkerboard image-map with shockwave elements built-in. News headlines and alternating images flash on and off in the squares. Be prepared to wait for the show however; on any connection slower than a 28.8 the table will drip down your screen like cold honey. Still, the wait is worth it for Web design enthusiasts. The calendar is laid out in horizontal frames, so that you can browse the competition timeline, say, then tabulate over to the events schedule with a click on the menu. No changing screens; the navigation is built into one page. This feature saves time while expertly managing the information. At this writing, interviews with architects are the mainstay of Totem's original material. Downloadable audio files allow you to listen to them when you please. Two features that will be operational by press time should be of special interest to architects and designers. The Forum will be a platform for discussing ideas online and the Archive will store back issues; note, however, that "a nominal fee will be charged for contributions retrieved from the Archive." I have to wonder, though, if anyone will want to retrieve anything from this resource? For in the end, the downfall of Totem is its content. The reviews are short to the point of near-uselessness and the writing is in sore need of editing (preferably by someone with proficient English, but for whom "archi-talk" is Greek). The editorial in this premiere issue reads like a manifesto for clarity but is itself mired in words like "homologation" and a general morass of excess verbiage. Architects will probably take issue with the slur on their lingo, in which case they may find a home here. That's not so bad. Totem has a good foundation and the potential to be a master work.
Overall Rating: 16

The Main Quad
URL: http://www.mainquad.com/
Category: Lifestyles
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Bremser
When it comes to get-rich-quick-off-the-Web schemes, I've seen enough con games aimed at naive college kids to make my stomach turn. Frankly, not far from college age myself, the usual attempts are characterized by ridiculous "be hip like me" poses, horrible *Wired* magazine-type graphics, and pathetic jargon like "kewl" and "killer." The quad is better, significantly so. It's simply a no-nonsense resource for college students. The images are well tailored and smooth, not jarring, in-your-face, neon things-- no blinks, no silly scrolling Java script. It's all so straightforward. "Student Services," is in fact student services. The "U-Wire," is exactly what one would suppose it to be (a news wire for college newspapers), and the "Dean's List of Web Distinction" is, yes, the cool links tenant of the site. And while the opening page takes the form of a giant image map, it loads quickly and offers a text based menu system at the top for those of us with slower modems or browsers that don't support image maps in the first place. Thank you!Perhaps this site doesn't need to add contrived flavor and style a la MTV because there is actually a *reason* to visit. High content, low fluff. The student services area, flagged with a big banner that says "free" is packed with great goods. Stay atop current issues affecting campuses, check out the ride share board, get tips and a template to compose a resume, then send it off to over 150 companies (with a single click). Or just create a multimedia love note for that boy in your English class. Wink wink.Most impressive is the "make a Web site and store it here" section. Yup, their gonna house your home page, for free! With options for easy and advanced Web mavens, anyone can do it. Select "easy," answer a series of questions, and wait for your content to run through a template and output a Web site. Unlike other Web-maker templates, you get the option to pick fonts, colors, sizes, etc. The advanced area is merely a form ready for code that you can either type online or cut and paste from your desktop editor. They've also arranged an FTP site to upload images if you want pictures on your new page. Unfortunately, the maximum space allowance is 150K-- not a whole lot -- but it's great for resumes and general personal information. I'd say, if you're in college you'll probably find much of use here. And, uh, it's killer, dude.
Overall Rating: 18

Cyber Seuss
URL: http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/drseuss.html
Category: Literature
Issue: 0696
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Jon Phillips
Chances are sometime around the age of four or five, you begged your mom for a heaping plate of green eggs and ham. You had no idea what turned the eggs green, and you weren't too hip to the concept of pork products, but you wanted your green eggs and ham, gosh-darned it, because one Mr. Sam I Am didn't want his, and you knew he was missing out on some fancy eats. So your mom fried up some ham, and threw some spinach into some scrambled eggs, and served them to you on an enchanted platter. And then your mom tried food coloring in the eggs after your spinach sensors went off, and you ran screaming from the breakfast table like a child possessed.The object lesson behind *Green Eggs and Ham* is just one of many espoused by Ted Geisel, or Dr. Seuss. Geisel died in 1991 at the age of 87, but his rhyming morality tales continue to steady the character of international youth. Geisel won a Pulitzer prize in 1984, and his 47 books are published in 18 languages. The entire Seussian phenomenon can be found at Cyber-Seuss, a site that offers hoospiferic helpings of Seuphonius triptitude. The site's main draw is its 15 online story books. You'll find standards like *How the Grinch Stole Christmas* and *Yertle the Turtle*, as well as more obscure tales like *The King's Stilts* and *Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose*. After you envelope yourself in nonsense words and delightful rhyming schemes, you can skip on over to obscure curios like Seuss-oriented ASCII art; a contest asking you to choose your favorite among The Grinch, his indefatigable doggie Max, and little Cindy Loo Who; and a sound file of the Grinch theme song ("You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch..."). From here, the site investigates the type of minutiae one might only find on the Internet. In 1972, pundit Art Buchwald borrowed from Geisel the following sentiment: "Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now! The time has come. The time is now. Just go. Go. Go! I don't care how. You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Richard M. Nixon, will you please go now!" Indeed, Geisel was a man of moral and political conviction. Both children and adults will find much to learn from this endearing, whimsical and burgeoning Web site.
Overall Rating: 18

World of Coasters
URL: http://www.rollercoaster.com/
Category: Pasttimes
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
There are two types of people in the world, those that like roller coasters, and those that don't. The latter will get a touch of dread at the mere mention of roller coasters; show them a real one and their knees will go weak. The roller coaster fanatic, on the other hand, will get a wild look in the eyes at the sound of a train racing along steel tracks. A certain monomania overcomes the fanatic at the sight of tracks reaching skyward; all they want to know is: Where's the line start? Roller coasters, with their immediate, motion-driven thrills don't seem like a great fit on the Web. After all, what could be more dissimilar than the programmer, stationary, crunching code and the screaming, maniacal thrill junkie riding out the spectacular drops and sharp, banking turns of a classic coaster track? World of Coasters, however, proves that the Internet is for everyone. While the site is generally maintained by one person, various sections are edited by volunteers, demonstrating the enthusiasm for coasting online. The coaster reviews comprise a good part of the site, with entries organized by ride, park, and author. The site takes reviews from anybody who wants to relate an experience, while some are submitted by regular contributors that have been on coasters all over the U.S. But this is a big site, and most of the content has been contributed by fans. There's also a section devoted to news, such as the construction of new and innovative coasters. Fanatics reading these items probably drool on their keyboards in anticipation of a ride's opening date. Some of the text gets a little bit technical as when coaster manufacturers are discussed. (Apparently "Morgan" is somewhat questionable, while "B&M" is good.) Another section, devoted to stats, details the fastest, steepest, and highest coasters in two categories, wood and steel.The site is a great example of an active, community-driven home page, and has close ties to the newsgroup rec.roller-coaster. The design isn't great, but fits; the logo has a certain amusement park gaudiness. Technically, however, it's great, boasting a search engine, a survey form, and a message board.
Overall Rating: 17

SubSITE
URL: http://sunsite.unc.edu/subgenius/
Category: Religion
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
This is the only religious site I've seen that fully embraces the medium, with animations of looming heads and lightning-struck brains and mushroom clouds. Not your old time religion, by any means, but good enough for me. Okay, but seriously, the folks behind this site may be taking a once-great gag too far. Don't get me wrong: It's fun, and funny, and all that -- almost as funny as Zen Buddhism -- but somebody out there's actually pushing this stuff, proselytizing as if it were for real! As if it wasn't all just an outrageous hoax! As if they've started to believe their own lies! Huh, you say? Who are they? What in God's name am I talking about? The Church of the Subgenius is what! The Campus Crusade for Bob! The Campaign for World Wide Slack! The whole weird movement of dangerous freaks who, apparently, don't know when to let a joke go! Still in the dark? Go see for yourself (God knows, I can't explain it).Take a drive into the mind of Bob Dobbs; learn all about the fictitious former salesman turned deified, disembodied head; discover for yourself the hypnotic thrall of the slack ethic; bombard yourself with strange, twisted images that have no apparent connection to anything; visit the "Things to Want and Buy" catalog for the latest in DobbsWear and Slack Threads; send checks, if you must, to the First Stangian Orthodox MegaFisTemple Lodge of the Wrath of Dobbs Yeti, Resurrected; do whatever you want,...just don't go to any Devivals fer chrissake, or, if you do, don't tell me about it. I don't want anything to do with it. This site -- great as it is -- is as far as I go.And don't send me any flames denouncing this as an insult to the Religion category; the way I see it, it's no more commercial, no more profane than the 700 Club. But it's loads more fun. Send your flames to Bob.
Overall Rating: 18

SportsLine USA
URL: http://www.sportsline.com/
Category: Sports
Issue: 0796
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Blue Grrrl
This site is all about the red, white, and blue of American sports -- quite literally, the layout is almost exclusively fashioned after the US flag. It's got your baseball, football, hockey, and golf (as well as soccer, tennis, and thorough Olympic coverage.) SportsLine is part of the new paradigm of subscription based Web sites. Pay $4.95 per month for exclusive member-only content -- daily features, columns, and game coverage (newscaster style), or a one time $39.95 for an annual "box seat" subscription. While I'm wary of any site that charges for access, SportsLine also has a significant amount of free content to offer, such as news, updated (to the minute) scores, and live chats with the players. April's line up held chats with Joe Namath, Kevin Greene, and Michael Lewis to name a few. You can run for miles through the member-only content which, for sports fans, is worth the $4.95. Besides what's already been mentioned, SportsLine offers daily sports feeds from the associated press wire, links to contact sports heroes, and an audio arena, updated every morning at 8:00 AM. The audio section is exceptionally cool because it offers the files in Real Audio, .wav, and Streamworks formats! There are no strategic alliances to force you to use one or the other. Members also get to play fantasy sports games, like chat-based muds and moos -- be the pitcher on your favorite team or score the home run of a lifetime. The fantasy section is actually quite popular, and hosts a well-established community of players. That alone could be worth the monthly fee.Technically the site is running about par with the rest of the corporate lineup. There's some nice use of Forms and Tables; the CGI scripts are exceptionally fast; the chat is supported via Netscape's new chat client; and the transactions in the mall and registration are handled on Netscape secure servers. The baseball diamond animated gif is kind of nifty too.Overall, SportsLine gets a high five and is well worth a regular spot on your bookmark list, with or without the membership. -BG
Overall Rating: 18

WellnessWeb
URL: http://www.wellweb.com/
Category: Health & Fitness
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Minda Sandler
WellnessWeb is a great idea, and a valuable resource. Its mission is faultless -- to help patients discover the best and most appropriate medical information and support available -- and its philosophy -- that patients should provide more input into the delivery and future direction of health care -- admirable. It's an ambitious and impressive outgrowth of a group of health care providers, patients, and family/friends of patients, who have gotten together and created this hundred-page-long network for patients. WellnessWeb's approach to the topic of Prostate Cancer illustrates the site's compassionate emphasis on empowering patients through knowledge. The page sets the stage for discussion, with critiques and expositions of the controversies surrounding current treatment. Visitors will also find a list of available treatments (which link to supporting material) and the latest news regarding the condition. They can leave an e-mail question for an expert to answer; read first-person accounts of living with prostate cancer; discover tips and insights from patients; and glean even more information from news group postings (WellnessWeb scours 10,000 newsgroups to make sure it doesn't miss anything). Further support is provided through a glossary of terms, and a list of doctors, support groups, hospitals, and books. This exhaustive approach is echoed in the other health categories of the site, which include Women's Health, Elders Watch, Heart Center, and Smoker's Clinic. The Women's Health area reviews various medical tests, like mammograms and Pap smears, talks about illnesses that strike women, like breast and cervical cancer, reviews various hormone replacement theories, and connects you to women's forums and resources. Especially valuable, not just to a patient but also to his or her family, is the Elder Watch area. Here you'll not only find information on such older persons' health concerns as glaucoma, heart disease, and memory loss, but also links to the ElderHostel Web site (http://www.elderhostel.org/) and the Seniorsnet site (http://www.seniorsnet.com/), an in-depth exploration of long-term care. There's also a good overview of living wills. It's not all serious, though. For lighter stuff, check out the Be Happy Be Well area, designed as a Stress Control Menu. There you'll find an innovative hodgepodge of stuff, such as links to sports, travel, and national park sites, a real dialogue about soap dispensation, amusing stories about pets, puzzles, and other stuff to take your mind off illness or disease. And keeping with the goal of patient empowerment, there's a whole Grassroots area that encourages visitors to e-mail in their comments, submit an article, send letters to Congress, and get involved in other actions (e.g., Save the Rain Forests). There are also mega-lists of resources, references, and links to connect you to newsletters, hospitals, books, support groups, databases, and much more. I can't applaud the spirit and the effort behind this creation enough and encourage anyone with health-related questions to visit here long and often.
Overall Rating: 18

Kubrick Multimedia Film Guide
URL: http://www.lehigh.edu/~pjl2/kubrick.html
Category: Film
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Heidi Swanson
Quick! Name the contents of the survival kit in *Dr.Strangelove*. How about the stash in Alex's pockets in A *Clockwork Orange*? If visions of black combs and ball pens, prophylactics and pep pills escape you, it might be time for a refresher course at the Kubrick Multimedia Site. From creator, Patrick Larkin, here is a site dedicated exclusively to the work of Stanley Kubrick, the award-winning producer/director of *2001: A Space odyssey*,*The Shining*, *Lolita*, *Full Metal Jacket*,...need I go on? This site functions on a very basic level, its sole objective to provide a reliable source for Kubrick information with all links directly tethered to Stanley Kubrick and his acclaimed body of work. From the get-go the site leaves film interpretation to the viewer, delivering up Kubrick marginalia for its own sake only. No Bells, no whistles, just crisp imagery, bankloads of sound, choice video, and -- like that special toy Grimace-mobile stashed in your Happy Meal -- the added bonus of a super stealthy backstage pass delivering all the dirt on up-and-coming projects. Key words found in the Rumor Mill this week were Cruise, jealousy, Kidman, and sexual obsession. I must admit I have a special place in my heart for any site with a section dedicated to gossip. And as long as we're on the topic of other people's business, how about our host? When did Patrick develop this all-consuming fascination with Mr. Kubrick? Well, at about the same time that I was sneaking into the basement to catch late-night showings of *Zapped* and *Fast Times*, Patrick was catching *A Clockwork Orange* on Showtime. Immediately taken with a filmmaker so engrossed in the zeitgeist, Philip eventually turned his hand to the current project. It's a shame, however, that Kubrick's attention to detail and visual flare haven't carried over into Larkin's realm. In all honesty, after the first pages, the visual and technical quality of the site drops like a barrel over the falls. I think maybe the philosophy here is some kind of Zen acquisition:"Build it, and the graphics will come." But fear not, you're still in for a treat. This site is heads and shoulders -- maybe even an elbow or two -- above most other sites in terms of sincerity and commitment. The content is there, and trust me, if the Kubrick Multimedia Site can't provide you with the fix you need, it will point you to places that can.
Overall Rating: 16

The Digital Photography Exhibit
URL: http://www.bradley.edu/exhibit95/
Category: Art
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Lauren Guzak
In much the same way that The National Endowment for the Arts will always be the victim (or benefactor, for that matter) of the changing tides of public policy, so the Web can be targeted by those who wish to restrict its contents. For the moment, though, it continues to be a forum where myriad art forms can be published for a relative pittance.An exceptional example what the Web can do in this respect is the Digital Photography Exhibit, a juried show of some 45 images created by artists working in digital photography. The original Exhibit in 1994 was one of the first art galleries to be presented online. It consisted of both the Web site and the actual show at the Art Guild gallery in Peoria. Defined by the jury as "a two-dimensional image which originated in a lens-imaging device (that) was then brought to completion on a computer," digital photography includes images originally captured by analog film cameras, video cameras, still-video cameras, digital cameras, and 3D-scanners. The artwork itself is diverse, challenging, and representative of a wide range of techniques and artistic visions. If you like the work well enough to put it on your wall, you'll be interested to know that many of the prints are available for purchase. The quality of the images from the 38 artists represented is, in and of itself, enough to recommend this site. But more impressive than its parts is the site as a whole. The functionality and background design are engaging yet unobtrusive from start to finish, and the technology is never invasive of the overall experience; headers, toolbars, and buttons are well-placed, there to let you easily navigate the site, not distract you from it. The "space" that houses the digital artwork was finely crafted by three students-- Kevin Reynen, Danny Jacobs, and Dave Dreghorn--as an independent study project at Bradley University.(Reynen, Jacobs, and Dreghorn also created the PhotoShock v1.1 "Digital Fauxtography" image manipulation project. It's a funny, interactive Shockwave piece with Bob Dole and Bill Clinton at center stage behind podiums. Change the backdrops and/or their looks--from a hippy Clinton to a pea-green Dole-- for some amusing images.)Now in its third year, the 1994 and -95 exhibits are still available for viewing. Enjoy.
Overall Rating: 18

Tweak
URL: http://www.tweak.com
Category: Media
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
The Web has lead to many online magazines, but until now I would have said the only one that mattered was Word (http://www.word.com). Tweak is a zine that rivals Word for design quality and content but has a style all its own. The creators may feign humility, insisting as they do that they "are not the next big thing," but their creation belies them. Think of it as punk rock in 1976, lounge music in 1990, or rockabilly in 1950; which is to say, the edge. Tweak opens up with a "splash" page, (the closest thing a virtual magazine has to a cover), featuring a random image. My first hit opened with what looked like an Aztec statue. A later visit turned up an ostrich. The splash page is timed to roll over to the main index page where the true innovations of the site are unveiled. One is a slick little Java applet that opens an extra Navigator window containing a menu bar . The independent navigational tool is a nifty alternative to Frames. Tweak consists of four sections: First Person, Muck, Exon, and Phone Tag. Muck's icon is a rake, which should clue you in to the nature of the content. The only article available on my visit was a deconstructive expose of Disney's ToonTown, unraveling the values implicit in the Magic Kingdom's newest installment. Admittedly, this is the kind of content that will sit best with the cynical gen-Xer set. Exon is devoted to flouting the Exon Amendment, also known as the Communications Decency Act. Articles here include a detailed description of drug use and a tribute to masturbation. Again, not for everybody, but then that's the cutting edge for you. Phone Tag is devoted to "Interviews with people we could get a hold of." The people reached include Kim Deal, of The Breeders, and Paul Barker, of Ministry. First Person embodies the mission of the magazine, to include a personal perspective in journalism. The anecdotal stories there are about disparate events like a mistaken police raid and a 30th birthday -- real stories about real people, well-written and executed. So visit Tweak often. Make the site so popular that it starts getting big, fat advertising revenues. Make the editors so wealthy that they'll trade in their youthful ideals for families and four car garages. Then, fifteen or twenty years from now, maybe some young punks will sneer at them. For the moment, they're not trying to cause no big sensation,...just talking 'bout the generation.
Overall Rating: 18

Fresh Cup
URL: http://www.freshcup.com/
Category: Professional
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
In the old days of snail mail it was a lot easier to keep a secret. Various cliques, cabals, and professional associations had their own journals, catalogs and house organs that, when sent to the wrong person, provided an unexpected and intriguing glimpse into an unknown world. In these changeful days of cyberspace, journals are being published online, so getting information an inside look at one of these secret societies is no longer confined to happenstance. A little idle surfing and, suddenly, you're immersed in the arcane world of animal husbandry, say, or salvage diving, or, in this case, the specialty coffee business.For a trade publication that has migrated to the Web, Fresh Cup looks great. Usually people don't take the time to design such a clean, crisp presentation, but coffee sellers probably have a little more energy, and waste a lot less time sleeping than the majority. (Actually, to give credit where credit's due, the site was designed by Siprelle & Associates). Fresh Cup doesn't break any new ground in online publishing, mind you, but it does transfer the print publication paradigm very well, handsomely interspersing text and graphics. In other words, a Java or Shockwave enabled browser isn't necessary.The content is written for people in the business of buying and selling specialty coffees; Ethiopian Roast, Kona Gold, Sumatra Blend, etc., as opposed to Maxwell's, or Folger's. And, of course, Fresh Cup is based in the Pacific Northwest, where gourmet coffee is as common as water. The site not only publishes articles from the print publication, such as a monthly list of movers and shakers in the coffee world, but also gives information on trade shows and -- something coffee enthusiasts should appreciate -- recipes. The concept of coffee recipes was new to me too (you just put the coffee in the filter and run hot water through it, right?), but every cafe and espresso stand, is competing to come up with the ultimate mix that will keep the customers coming back. To wit, the Mocha Frost, which combines espresso, chocolate milk, and licorice, among other things, to add a little frosting to the caffeine experience. Fresh Cup adds a new dimension to the offers a look at a world few of us knew was out there, but that most of us appreciate, especially in the morning.
Overall Rating: 17

ArchNet
URL: http://www.lib.uconn.edu/ArchNet/
Category: Humanities
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
A branch of the vast WWW Virtual Library project, ArchNet is a simple, elegant resource page for archaeologists, housed at the University of Connecticut. An exceptionally well-presented page, the content is accessible in a number of formats: in text only, with Frames, or in any of several European languages. Similarly, the material can be viewed by topic, geographical region, or in the table of contents. All this makes for a degree of customization rare to the Web, and for researchers, students, and casual visitors alike, the experience is sure to be enhanced. Like any good library, ArchNet has resources for everyone, from the curious child, to the student interested in a career in archaeology, to the professional archaeologist. ArchNet has a software archive for researchers; programs available include statistical applications, mapping software, even a program for analyzing arrowheads. Educators will find excellent links to course materials from the University of Connecticut, plus online tutorials, and information on college archaeology programs. The less focused visitor will doubtless find plenty of mind broadening diversions here, as well. While, visually, the ArchNet interface may not be anything to brag about, the site is still better than most of its counterparts in the humanities and reference categories. It transcends the default gray, at least, and boasts an icon-driven table of contents. But the real measure of the designs success is its functionality. There's a wealth of information here, to be sure, and navigating in Frames makes it very manageable, more like the "real" library experience, i.e., as if everything were really under one roof. The ArchNet database can be easily searched with *Excite!* Search results are may be grouped by confidence or subject and are assigned values accordingly. Like most resources on the Web, this project is growing daily; as such, regular visitors will want to check in with the News and Information Systems segment periodically. New sites are listed there as well as news about the project. By policy the site does not include links to commercial endeavors, and all sites are reviewed for the quality of their content. All told, this is a commendable effort on the Web and simply should not be missed.
Overall Rating: 18

Hawai'i -- Independent and Sovereign
URL: http://hawaii-nation.org/nation/
Category: Political
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
I must admit, I would not have been inclined to take this site seriously were it not so well done. For anyone interested in online activism, nationalism, direct democracy, or even just the land under their feet -- the *aina* as Native Hawaiians call it -- this site is a required stop. The case and the cause are stated here in no uncertain terms: "In 1893, the United States illegally overthrew the Hawaiian government. Until today, the Hawaiian people lack a recognized form of self-governance. In 1996, we have a choice. The Native Hawaiian Vote asks all Hawaiians, 18 and over, in Hawaii`i and oversees - 'Shall the Hawaiian people elect delegates to propose a native Hawaiian Government?'" Not a pressing question for us *haolis*, but before you dismiss the notion pretentious and delusional, (as Newt Gingrich has), you may want to review some of the material here. For instance, did you know that the United States Government has formally apologized for the overthrow of Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani? (Students of history may recall that the queen acquiesced only under duress.) There is at least one international legal expert who thinks that the wording of the apology could provide grounds for secession and independence. And while I concede that it's unlikely to happen, I was impressed by this electronic plea for independence on several counts. First of all, the site is lovingly constructed, with all the latest gadgetry in place; Frames and animations have been put to fine use here. Secondly, the graphic design, while by no means a showstopper, is a serviceable platform for the information, and competent enough to attract the idle Web surfer. Finally, and most importantly, however, the argument for sovereignty is convincingly thorough and presented in a tone that is serious without ever becoming hostile. In fact, the tenor of the site is vaguely reminiscent of Bob Marley's music: hopeful and defiant without being bitter. And for those who think of "virtual communities" as comprised of people with diverse backgrounds from around the globe, this is a fine counterpoint: A real world, cohesive community using the Internet as a central medium, a meeting place, a virtual piece of turf, and a rallying point. I have no idea how many Native Hawaiians check in with the site or even support the cause, but the foundation is in place and its solid. Time, I guess, to raise the flag and see who salutes.
Overall Rating: 18

No Shitting in the Toilet
URL: http://www.magna.com.au/~nglobe/nsitt/contents.html
Category: Travel
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
A self-declared "celebration of everything that is perverse about travel," this site will be a favorite with veteran travelers everywhere, right down to the scatological title. After all, what traveler hasn't suffered bathroom mortifications to the point where it no longer seems odd to discuss the subject with perfect strangers? Folks who wouldn't have said "shit" if they'd had a mouthful prior to traveling are suddenly going on and on about some intestinal crisis that struck them dumb and blind near Delhi. Travel does that to people.I'm not talking about package tours, you understand, but ,rather, travel of the backpack and flophouse variety; travel on the cheap to what are, let's say, sketchy destinations. As such, tourists with no inclination to venture off the beaten path won't find much to like at NSITT. It'll be about as appealing to them as venison to a vegetarian. Fair enough. More adventurous travelers, however, will find more relevant content here than in a month of Sundays elsewhere on the Web -- and all of it original. The creator of the site is an anonymous Aussie with incurable wanderlust and experience to spare. His observations on travel are wonderfully pithy; he's never self-indulgent, and the writing is full of hard-won wisdom and droll one-liners. "I defy anyone to gaze upon a plate of Ugali," he writes in a section on swindles, "and claim that they haven't been ripped off. Even if they got it for free."His site is no design marvel, but it is clean and consistent, better presented than a good many large, commercial sites. Speaking of which, NSITT even boasts a few advertisements; no small feat, considering the potential for it to offend, what between the title and the icon, a variation on the universal symbol for prohibited behavior. Neither of those things -- the title or the icon -- are gratuitous, I should quickly add. Inspired by an actual sign, hand-painted on a water closet somewhere in China, the title sums up the author's notion that "travel is never as you expect. You end up in situations that defy logical and rational thinking. Yet you end up having a brilliant time, not in spite of these situations, but because of them." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Overall Rating: 16

Christ in the Desert
URL: http://www.christdesert.org/pax.html
Category: Religion
Issue: 0896
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
The monastic life never looked so good. Home page to a Benedictine cloister in northwestern New Mexico, the Christ in the Desert site is like an oasis, a welcome break from all the hundreds of dry, graphically bereft religion pages out there. The artwork alone makes this site worth a stop, from the Santa Fe-style illustrations to the tremendous exhibit by photojournalist, Tony O'Brien. (For slower browsers, there's a text version, but the images are worth the wait). For the curious, there are brief asides on monastic topics such as Gregorian Chants, psalms, liturgies, and scriptoria, as well as a look at the various handicrafts produced by the brothers: candles and greeting cards, quilts and woodcarvings. Links also connect to scholarly resources. In the news section, visitors can keep up with the monastery's construction project: a hay bale structure being erected by paid laborers, volunteers, and, of course, the monks themselves. Workshops are being conducted simultaneously in "sustainable building."Visitors who wish to stay at the Abbey are encouraged to e-mail for reservation materials, and there's ample information provided online as to costs, rules, schedules, and the like. Be advised: two days is the minimum stay and, unless you're ready to take the solemn vows and don the robes, the maximum is two weeks. And while you can't bring your Walkman, the PowerBook will probably be all right.The most surprising feature of the site has to be "scriptorium@christdesert," the registered trademark of the monastery's fledgeling Web design business (the Benedictine's believe in working for a living, if you didn't know). That's right, the brothers are taking this show on the road; or rather, inviting the world to bring it to them. There it is, brothers and sisters, the modern world. Monks in cyberspace. Jesus Christ, what's next?
Overall Rating: 18

Communication Arts
URL: http://www.commarts.com/
Category: Art
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Lauren Guzak
Strictly speaking, Communication Arts, "the essential creative resource,"is a professional print journal for graphic designers and others in the visual arts. The magazine is so rich and engaging, however, that even non-aesthetes are apt to snag a copy off the newsstand now and then. Now the impressive design magazine is online.Communication Arts' primary function is to showcase the best in design from around the world, examples of which you can find in the Exhibit Online. There's an open solicitation for work to display -- commercial artistic endeavors from packaging to direct mailers, shopping bags to CD covers. Following are background information, creative credits, and convenient thumbnail images of featured projects.Showcasing the best in design is not Communication Arts only function, however. This site is packed with resources for designers "to enhance their work and careers and [serve as] a catalyst for bringing community to visual communicators around the world." Resources include links to relevant hardware and software Web sites (including FTP sites where you can download software upgrades); a listing of the latest digital products and services; and a national database to find service bureaus that can output your work.The Business and Career section has a job board with listings for jobs offered and wanted, both of which had a fair amount of up-to-date activity. The Legal Affairs subsection, with posted articles from the Communication Arts' legal affairs columnist, Tad Crawford, addresses issues of copyright ownership, usage rights, and contracts--subjects which have been blurred as designers move into electronic media. Articles that were posted when I visited covered topics such as structuring your business, properly registering copyrights, and getting permission to use celebrity photographs.There's also a searchable database of design firms, advertising agencies, photographers, illustrators and multimedia developers whose work has appeared in Communication Arts over the last two years. And if you're looking to do research on a specific subject, you can turn to the database of books on design, advertising, and technology that have been reviewed in the magazine over the last five years. Communication Arts also sponsors a number of annual competitions, including the Interactive Design Competition , the winners of which are distributed on CD-ROM each year. Ultimately, professional designers and anyone else with an eye for smart graphics will find CA to be a treasure of information, tools and ideas.
Overall Rating: 17

Matchbox
URL: http://www.matchboxtoys.com
Category: Corporate
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Lauren Guzak
As a child I spent many a Saturday afternoon playing with my brother's matchbox set, pushing the little die-cast wonders through the underbrush of the deep shag in my father's house, humming the theme to Speed Racer.Former Matchbox owners will do lots of reminiscing as they cruise around this site, but that's just a pleasant by-product of the experience. The real draw is all of the great cars and tracks, from the Matchbox Originals (a tribute to the first line of vehicles produced some 40 years ago) to the Torque Spin Racers that run on towering three-feet tall Zero G tracks. You can even give the tracks a virtual test spin in the Zero-G VRML environment!Starting with the Mega-Showroom, you'll find four different product lines: the 1-75 Line, Super Rigs, Premiere Collection, and Originals.The original and classic models are great, but I was really turned-on by the high-tech stuff, like the Super-Flex Chassis system. "Whip through super-tight hairpin turns with ease," utilizing this newest Matchbox car technology which features "independent twisting halves that give these racers incredible handling." Or check out the Anti-Grav Racers, which have a "two-position aerodynamic body with extending rocket flame features, unique gravity-defying features, and a self-leveling cockpit." Not to mention the Zero G Rail Ripper, which is both a laser track and an adjustable jumping set (!!!) with special track connectors that let you reconfigure up to six different jumps.Should you be looking for a higher degree of interactivity, you can create your own personalized vehicle in the Custom Auto Body Shop. Take your basic pick-up and add all of the details to taste--from the engine style, to the paint job and decals.Other activities include the "Get in the Fast Lane Contest," where the Grand Prize Winner gets their name on a Matchbox model. Last year's winner, ten-year-old Kyle Wieder, had his name emblazoned on the #7 blue Thunderbird Stock Car, "an honor that's generally limited to race car drivers and superstars." There's also an Ask the Expert, FAQ, and Collectors' Links.This site could have you back on your knees in the shag, humming that old tune. Go Speed Racer, go.
Overall Rating: 18

You Can with Beakman and Jax
URL: http://www.nbn.com:80/youcan/
Category: Kids
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Jok Church teaches kids science with his characters, Beakman and Jax, in a weekly comic strip and on the television show Beakman's World. The Beakman approach to science is wonderfully practical, answering all those perfectly perplexing questions that kids ask like, "Why do feet smell?" and, "How do you make paper?" The explanations stress the importance of each question up front, accompanied by experiments that kids can perform in order to grasp the concepts themselves. Perhaps best of all, the experiments and questions are all archived on the Web site making it a worthy addition to any kid's bookmark list. The site broadcasts two positive slogans, "You can" and "A good question is a powerful thing," which encourage kids to follow their curiosity to its most favorable end: Knowledge.The site begins with a "You can" experiment designed to give kids some insight into how a computer monitor works. This particular demonstration employs a graphic with 8 horizontal white lines against a green background. Visitors are instructed to stand across the room and blow a raspberry while looking at the screen, making the image jiggle. Beakman explains that the monitor is constantly redrawing the image, and that rattling your head like that allows you to see the normally invisible redrawing action.Another section features 50 questions that kids have sent in, with appropriate experiments and explanations. One question asks "Where do dreams come from?" Seems like a pretty tall order, but Beakman's answer is simple: they come from you. Two experiments lend considerable insight into the workings of the unconscious. In the first one kids are told to write the name of an object on one side of a piece of paper, then, on the other side, a list of all the things that object reminds them of. The disparity gives kids a hint at the difference between the conscious and unconscious mind. The second experiment involves active dreaming, which, although it may seem like a pretty self-aware exercise for kids, is handled in a way which is easy to apprehend.Other sections of the site include pictures from the Hubble telescope and links to good science sites on the Web. All in all, this is a rich resource that not only teaches kids facts, but teaches them how to learn and reason for themselves. Excellent. Now someone tell me why the sky is blue.
Overall Rating: 17

National Public Radio
URL: http://www.npr.org/
Category: Media
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
One of the many things a Web site can be is an online supplement to an "offline" media program. An inveterate public radio junkie, that's how I use the National Public Radio site. Let's say I want to know what the topic of discussion is for the day on *Talk of the Nation*, for example, or what the next book-of-the-month selection is; I just stop in at npr.org and check the program listings. Ray Suarez's talk show is just one of many programs on NPR, of course; *Morning Edition*, *All Things Considered*, and *Fresh Air* all have similar offerings. What's more, there is a strong audio component to the NPR site. Making extensive use of Real Audio, the site allows you to listen to audio files without long download times. From the top of the main menu, for example, you can get streamed audio of the day's news updates. It's an easy way to catch up online, without having to turn to the newspaper or other print sources. It requires the Real Audio Player, of course, but, no worries, you can download it online at or just travel via hotlink to the Real Audio page from the NPR site. Keep in mind that while there are gopher files available at npr.org, the complete NPR audio files are archived at Real Audio. With Real Audio installed on your machine, you can listen to past programs in their entirety, offline at your convenience or while you continue to surf. The sound quality leaves something to be desired here, but it's a pretty impressive capability, nonetheless.Other features of the site include links to NPR member stations, around the country and overseas, information on ordering tapes and transcripts, and NPR's own style guide online -- a worthwhile bookmark if, like me, you're prone to forgetting the difference between "further" and "farther," "flaunt" and "flout." If you listen to public radio and haven't yet discovered npr.org, you're in for a treat.
Overall Rating: 18

Fidel `96
URL: http://www.iuma.com/imagesmith/fidel/
Category: Political
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Good
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
Funnier than an exploding cigar (except in large segments of South Florida, where the humor tends to get lost in translation), the Fidel `96 site hinges its running political satire on one simple platform: Elect Fidel Castro President of the United States. The last commie holdout in the Western Hemisphere, Cuba has been a thorn in our sides since our man, Batista, got the heave-ho. Even today, Cuba plays a major part in the national debate. Jesse Helms, for one, has made a career of loathing *el presidente*, and even before JFK played the chilling game of brinkmanship with Kruschev, Cuba was an American obsession, calling up romantic images of nights on the *malecon*, Hemingway, and cigars. Damn, if we could only smoke those cigars! Maybe that's it: maybe we just hate that bastard Castro for taunting us with those damned *puro finos*, immune not only to counterinsurgencies, but to something as fundamental as lung cancer. He's been laughing at us and our *yanqui* preoccupations with every drag. But while Washington fixates on our island neighbor, the populace at home has turned increasingly ugly. Talk of revolution seems to be on the lips of Americans everywhere, from disaffected suburban kids, to armed-to-the-teeth militias, to the volatile urban underclass. At Fidel `96, they suggest you vent those frustrations at the voting booth and elect the old enemy as Commander-in-Chief. It's an idea that makes Oswald's *Fair Play for Cuba* look downright diplomatic in comparison, and yet...well, it doesn't sound so bad when you think about it. Consider the site's run-down of Castro on the issues: He's tough on crime, pro-literacy, and he's no wimp like Bush and Clinton. And on as hot a topic special interests? "A lifelong foe of special interests," the site reminds us, "he nationalized every major industry." To see what kind of response this seditious line of humor engenders, check out the stringed BBS. You can even put in your own two cents worth (be warned, though: it gets ugly). And while Castro hasn't announced his candidacy yet, you can join the campaign or even support the cause with your dollars: check out campaign merchandise, especially the colorful Fidel `96 bubble gum cigars. A popular item in Miami, I'm sure.
Overall Rating: 15

Proximus Corporation
URL: http://www.proximus.com/
Category: Reference
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Good
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Damn near every issue of Popular Mechanics since 1965 has had an article on the car of the future which invariably has a video screen that allows the driver to pinpoint his or her location on a map, or scroll through various electronic maps to find the best route. Unless you buy your automotive accessories from The Sharper Image, though, you probably don't have an electronic map viewer on the dashboard yet. You do, however, have one on your computer. Proximus Corporation has put together a giant digital road map of the U.S., and licensed it to various Web directories, such as Yahoo!, Lycos, and InfoSeek. And while the Proximus home page itself is nothing to look at, it does links to all the licensee interfaces.Proximus has its own well designed interface that licensees can use, but some, like Yahoo!, have chosen to design their own. In any case, the functionality is basically the same, whatever the interface. Here's how it works: The first page allows you to enter a street address, city, state, and zip code. Clicking the submit button will then load another page with the map interface and a map of the requested vicinity. The exact location of the street address is marked with a red "X." Proximus claims you can find any address in the U.S. this way. The default map size is a 17K GIF image, but you can choose the medium size, 22K, or the large size, 28K, depending on how much time you want to spend downloading the thing. The interface also has a "zoom" feature, so you can see how many cross streets there are between point A and point B. Or you can zoom out to find the nearest freeway offramp, etc. Clicking on the sides of the map will show you the next quadrant in whichever direction you choose, which means, I suppose, that you could click your way across the entire country.On some of the licensee sites there is an added feature that allows visitors to search for the geographic location of an e-mail address or domain name. As far as e-mail is concerned, the efficacy of such a search is problematic given the imperfect nature of e-mail registries on the Internet. And then, of course, there are all the deeper questions that arise in the face of this technology. Sure, the Proximus service is a boon for party hosts and their guests -- no need to sketch out the obligatory party map anymore, just type your address into the map server, print, and voila -- but it's also a windfall to net-savvy party crashers, repo men, and stalkers. Those who cherish their privacy above all else will, no doubt, find this one disquieting.
Overall Rating: 17

Federation Internacionale de Football Association (FIFA)
URL: http://www.fifa.com
Category: Sports
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
The international governing body of the sport of soccer, FIFA oversees the world's single most popular sport. Many Americans still scoff at that last designation, unimpressed even by the `94 World Cup, hosted on their home turf. It's boring, they are bound to say. Not enough scoring. (Nevermind that a nation enamored of sports as leisurely as baseball and golf should think to call anything slow.) I think this attitude goes deeper than a mere disinterest in the game. It's just a theory, understand, but I think it's more symbolic of a general parochialism -- the old, isolationist tendencies that keep us an ocean's length from even those countries we share our borders with. We'd rather not attend that wild party, known in the rest of the world, as "football." Football hearkens back to the old country, and as we all became, across generations, "Americans," we tried to -- had to -- forget our heritage. And so we invented our own, new games; baseball, basketball and football -- the American version, that is -- are all homegrown pastimes, don't forget. Well, whether or not that tossed-off theory holds water, I think its time we got back into the game -- *the* game -- with its overtones of war drama (a not so subtle element in light of British hooligans and South American stadium riots) where nations pit their champions against the other side's champions and root as if the last tatter of national pride rode on the outcome. Everyone gets drunk, the country shuts down, and either mourns or celebrates in unison. It's cathartic. We could use a good catharsis.But that isn't even what I like so much about it. Let me tell you what I like so much about it: I like the fact that in international soccer, teams invariably play according to the national character; that is, the style of play is as true to the country as it's food, language, or style of dance. Thus the World Cup champion Brazilians play as if they were dancing samba: loosely, gracefully, and exuberantly. The Germans play as if they were building Volkswagens or Mercedes Benz's; not much flair or imagination, but they get the job done, solidly. Cameroon plays a straight-ahead, fast game, amiably and with no discipline at all. Colombian football is just plain reckless, the goalie abandoning his post once a game to play the ball to midfield. And on and on. Want to know about a country, watch it's soccer team. At the FIFA site you can educate yourself as to the sport's illustrious history while keeping up on the latest results of contests around the world. Women's soccer is prominently featured as are international junior competitions. There isn't much in the way of multimedia here, or even an abundance of photo images (the latter would be a welcome addition), but as the `98 World Cup in France approaches (qualifying matches are already underway) this is one for fans of the sport everywhere to bookmark. See you in France.
Overall Rating: 18

Crash Site
URL: http://www.directnet.com/Crash/
Category: Zines
Issue: 0996
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
*So you say you want a revolution, we-ell you know...*The kids at Crash Site, part of the Big Gun Project (which is really big), play at apocalypse, nihilism, and destruction, (emphasis on the word, "play"). Despite all the jawing at this site about militias (they "heart" them) and guns, (they heart them, too), and revolution, they're really just disaffected kids, fresh out of college or the suburbs (N.B. I don't really know their backgrounds, but I'd bet my shoes on it), badly needing to vent some spleen. The pages are all rife with the same unrelenting dissent and dread of the future. And something else, a kind of "white rage," that would be laughable if it weren't so persistent. I don't mean to suggest by "white rage," that this is some sort of skinhead prop or anything. No, it's less focused, and takes aim more at that amorphous thing called "the system," than any race or creed. So, that's part of it: the *rage* part. The *white* part has something to do with the panoply that finds its altar here, and something I noticed about it: the cultural icons are almost exclusively white. Consider: The Beastie Boys and House of Pain, two white rap bands -- one Jewish, one Irish -- are, unofficially, Crash Site emblems of rap. Charles Bukowski and Kathy Acker are predictable literary heroes, but where are Leroi Jones and Ralph Ellison? Militias figure largely in the Crash Site trope, but Malcolm X and the Black Panthers? Absent. Which isn't to say that you won't find any black voices or emblems, here, but to show which way the balance leans.Crash Site is page after page of challenging, in-your-face imagery (the graphics are consistently impressive, some of the best on the Web) and argument. Most of it is stuff that, to put on the jargon, I ain't down with. Not at all. "We'd like to say we dig all militias, but along with espousing admirable values of violent overthrow,... many of these cuckoo-birds promote a goofy neo-christian anti-semitic viewpoint." So starts one argument. It ends like this: " Would we want to have these folks ruling? No. But that's not really the point.The time is well nigh to split the whisker, roll your own, and start a militia." All right, sure. Then what? Crash Site, finally, is long on gripes, short on answers. Clicking on the hypertext that reads, "Join the Crash Militia!" brings you directly to the free merchandise page. Posters and stickers. Dissapointing to say the least.If you've read this far, you're probably wondering why I deemed this a site of the month in the first place. Fair enough. I've been asking myself. I suppose it has something to do with respect for effort. Reluctantly, I have to admit that the scope of these pages is impressive, even if the quality of the rhetoric sometimes flags. There is a strident sincerity behind the project, which, even if I find it wrong-headed is good to see in a generation (my generation) known for its apathy. So, while I hope they never find anything to aim their guns at, I also hope they keep it up. If I don't often agree with them, I never find them boring.
Overall Rating: 18

M&M's Studios
URL: http://www.m-ms.com/
Category: Corporate
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Will someone please explain for me the appeal of snack food personifications? I mean, how can you watch a California Raisin or an M&M dance around on the TV screen, then chomp a whole handful into paste? Either the association is not being made between the characters and the product, or we're sophisticated enough to recognize the association without taking it too far. Or could it be that we're all acting out a survival-of-the-species, predator/prey drama; i.e., we delight in watching the gazelles prance across the plains, but hunt them down and barbecue them nevertheless. Something to think about. Anyway, that's just what ran through my mind while checking out the M&M's site. It's a brilliant production, really, and sure to delight the kids. Adults, be warned: There are brain-twisting reality blurs here that are probably best left unanalyzed, not to mention browser-twisting technologies. Come equipped with Shockwave. The home page is a parody of "Variety," Hollywood's industry newspaper. It's covered with clickable articles about the red, yellow, and blue animated M&M's from the TV commercials. Exploring this site, you get some idea just how extensive the characterizations are. Red is the egotistical Hollywood star; Blue, the artsy, cool one with the beatnik aesthetic; while Yellow is a depressed klutz. I'd say he's a bit underdeveloped as a character, but perhaps its just a shortcoming of the M&M who plays him... The "Lab" section of the site is devoted to three Shockwave games, which aren't exactly groundbreaking but are well-programmed and fun. To enter the "Lab," you have to enter your year of birth in a form field. If you are too old, your access will be denied. Between you and me, I had to spoof it with 1984 before I could get in. Reload the first screen a couple of times to see some different shockwave animations. As for eating your little friends, well, ... that's up to you.
Overall Rating: 18

Small Movies
URL: http://www.city-net.com/~fodder/index.html
Category: Film
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
There's never been any shortage of enthusiasm on the Web. Sites on every conceivable subject have been thrown together like pancakes on Sunday morning by folks so jazzed they could barely hold their water. These sites are inevitably gushing with information so arcane that only the initiated can get past the title.Ostensibly, Small Movies is that sort of site as well, dedicated as it is to an endangered craft: 8-mm movie making. In the age of video, after all, with it's immediate gratification and technology even a chimp could master (never mind the lousy image quality), the old 8-mm movies have become about as quaint as tin-types and magic lanterns. And as if that isn't enough, Kodak has recently discontinued manufacture of all sound-striped film, adding to the format's demise. But Small Movies never says die: The creator urges you to lodge a formal complaint with Kodak, even if the issue doesn't directly affect you -- consider it a general protest against that old bugaboo, obsolescence. What sets Small Movies apart from all the other passionate sites on the Web is the level of care and expertise that obviously went into it's making. The site is a masterpiece of web design, uniting considerable technical content with a clean, intuitive layout that makes the going easy and the material manageable. The graphics are consistently, and fittingly, retro, many of the images no doubt lifted from the pages of old tech manuals. Navigation from the home page is intuitive without resorting to the print model table of contents. "Mind your cursor!" warns the site's creator, "links can be anywhere." And they are. The experience is non-linear without being labyrinthine. Content includes concise and in-depth information on everything from the availability of film stocks to camera guides, the history of the format to building your own printer. It's wonderful reading, really, made moreso by the infectious enthusiasm behind the information. Even if you've never owned a Super-8 camera or had the itch to make movies, this site is engrossing. If you're lucky enough to still have one of the whirring wonders and can get your hands on some film, you'll doubtless be amazed by this online resource. Bookmark it and get down to work,...while you still can.
Overall Rating: 18

Nye Labs Online
URL: http://nyelabs.kcts.org/
Category: Kids
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
Bill Nye *is* the Science Guy. Folks in Seattle also know him as Speedwalker, Captain Flanker, and Rainbow Man the Refrigerator Magnet from the local comedy show, *Almost Live*, but his principal persona, the alias that has propelled his syndicated TV-show is Bill Nye, the Science Guy.A former Boeing engineer-turned comedian-turned TV-host and science educator, he's the guy we all wish had taught us chemistry (or physics, or biology, or you name it) in high school. This site is packed with the kind of stuff that should have been in the curriculum back then, but wasn't -- or was, but was rendered about as interesting as leftover meatloaf by some well-meaning but soporific instructor (sorry, Mr. Mills). As with most so-called "kid's sites," I found myself learning plenty (one of the bonuses of the job, I suppose: remedial education). There are a number of ways to navigate the site. The one I found most useful was the Nye Labs Online Map. A clickable flow chart, the "map" gives the lay of the land while providing some good insight into how information is organized on a website. Go to Nye TV to "see something very cool." (You'll have to download and install the VDOLive plug-in to do so, but it's worth it. You can link to VDO from the site). If your system isn't ready for that, no worries; even without the fancy technology, you'll find plenty of cool stuff. The Demo of the Day, for instance, serves up random experiments you can try at home. Don't have all the stuff you need to perform the demo on screen? Just hit reload for a new one. Each experiment is backed up with related links to supplement your newfound knowledge. And if its links you want, go to Web Search or have a look at Bill's Top Ten. The first link is the Disney site -- the folks who pay the bills (the Science Guy is no fool) -- but the other nine are non-aligned and excellent. Fans of the television show can check here for schedules and info on upcoming episodes. And if you still can't get enough, there are Quicktime clips in the Goodies section plus a sound file of Seattle rockers, *Mudhoney*, doing a cover of the theme song. If you want to own some Nyeage for the home library, you'll find the Disney video series in the Nyestore. Science, kids: It's a whole lot more fun than you thought.
Overall Rating: 18

The Electronic Policy Network
URL: http://epn.org/
Category: Political
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Lauren Guzak
HMO, BCCI, NGO, HUD... the flood of acronyms at The Electronic Policy Network (EPN) bodes well for those in search of substantive political reportage. Article after article is packed with hard-hitting leftist analysis of just about every political issue on the map -- ready to waylay conservatives with in-depth research and good old-fashioned common sense.There are four sections at the site: Economics & Politics, Welfare & Families, Civic Participation and Health Policy. Each addresses the myriad issues central to the current political, economic and social state of our country, that go generally underreported in the mainstream media. The depth, density, and quality of the information at EPN suggests that it will remain outside the ken of most Americans.Once you branch out to any one of the four sections you'll find refreshingly substantive articles like "The Taxophobes Strike Again." It's a paper from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities which methodically dissects and refutes a report from the conservative Tax Foundation. Every April 15th this organization puts out a report on the average total tax rate for the nation. The Foundation turns this average rate into a bold and catchy statistic. This year they claim that the average worker will have to work nearly two hours and 47 minutes out of each eight hour workday just to earn enough money to pay all of his taxes. But the article at EPN argues convincingly that the methodology and data used by the Tax Foundation are faulty, and tend to reflect the minority perspective of wealthy Americans over those of average means. According to "The Taxophobes Strike Again," in fact, the typical American works 39 minutes of an eight-hour workday (or about a month out of the year) to pay federal income tax. But don't take my version of events: Read the article to get the blow-by-blow (http://epn.org/idea/economy.html#EC7).Navigationally, the site at first seems to be a chaotic roll of the dice; on the EPN home page, there are simply too many options. Modeled after a subway map with different lines running to a multitude of stops is a little daunting. But, as with any schematic, the sense of chaos quickly dissipates and the confusion is short-lived. Quickly enough the analogy becomes an engaging road map to the site and its contents."Providing you with timely information and leading ideas about national policy and politics," EPN leaves no stone unturned, no myth intact -- it's definitely not for those in search of lightweight political pabulum.
Overall Rating: 18

Literary Kicks
URL: http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/LitKicks.html
Category: Literature
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
Levi Asher, young father of three quit his day job as a C++ programmer on Wall Street and built a web site. Not just any Web site, Literary Kicks is a big, sprawling hypertext biography of The Beat Generation. A tight-knit literary movement after the fashion of The Lost Generation in Paris, The Beats have inspired readers ever since Jack Kerouac published his cross-country reverie, *On the Road* in 1957. For Levi Asher, miserable in the drudgery of his suit-and-tie position at J.P. Morgan, the siren song of The Beats was just too strong to resist. What is excellent about Literary Kicks and sets it apart from the hordes of online devotionals, is the extent of original material, most links referencing other points within the narrative rather than outside sites of dubious quality. To my mind, the popular mechanism of hyperlinks and cross-references is too often a dud; uneven and disruptive, as dismaying as it is edifying. It's put to good use here, however; the impulsive, non-linear quality of the navigation befitting the subject, the consistent voice keeping it fluid. Whatever thread you choose to follow, it's a bit like floating a different fork of the same river. Asher's reverence for his subject is apparent throughout his site. He has doubtless invested a lot of time (and a lot of himself) in the project, researching and writing about all the personalities in the beat milieu, as well as the cultural influences which helped shape them. Thankfully, though, his fanaticism is balanced with a healthy measure of criticism. Without being cynical about it, he acknowledges his idols' obvious faults, as husbands, as lovers, as fathers. One of the more interesting segments of the project, in fact, is his interview with John Cassady, the son of countercultural hero/paragon, Neal Cassady.Asher is a writer himself. You'll find his own fiction at . Called *The Queensboro Ballads*, it's an "experimental novel in the form of a folk rock album." I admit I didn't get too far along the A-side of the experiment, but one thing was apparent from the outset: This is autobiography beneath a thin veneer of fiction, ala Sal Paradise, a.k.a. Jack Deluoz, a.k.a. Jack Kerouac. It's a decent effort, the prose competent but a little flat. The real attraction is Literary Kicks. Whether you've dabbled in Beat literature, read everything from A to Z, or are looking for a good introduction, the site is a wonderful experience, and one of the few sites I can think of that remains fresh even after return visits.
Overall Rating: 18

National Geographic Online
URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com
Category: Media
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
From it's inception at Washington D.C.'s Cosmos Club in 1888, the National Geographic Society has been encouraging world-wide exploration and discovery in an effort to "increase and diffuse geographic knowledge." The society is responsible for producing one of the world's truly great magazines as well as some of the finest film documentaries anywhere. That despite all this, 108 years later, the country in which the society was conceived should be so thoroughly ignorant of geography is, well, ... a little disgraceful.So, ...welcome to the latest project from the esteemed organization, National Geographic Online. Sponsored by Apple Computer and the American Plastics Council (hmm) this is a big site with content covering nearly everything under the society's umbrella, from grant programs, to television productions, to its ongoing educational endeavors. Speaking of which, this site could as easily be classified under Education or Humanities; educators will want to bookmark it as a valuable resource (K-12 lesson plans and materials are available for download) and as a point of reference for curious students. The Question of the Day is a good place to get your bearings, and see how your geographical knowledge rates. Here's a sample from the archives: "Which country is farther west--Guatemala or Cuba?" If you guessed Cuba, well ... it was a tough one; the Central American isthmus has a big wow to it that swings farther west than you might think, thereby forming the Caribbean. You can navigate the site by means of the "passport" menu or click on "Go" for the index (recommended). To get the most of the site, you'll need a host of plug-ins. Click on "Gear" to get fixed up. From there you're ready to explore some of the finer features of the site, pulled from the pages of the magazine, and tricked out with multimedia. The interactive content is geared for a younger audience than the magazine, with contests thrown in and more ideas for teachers with wired classrooms. Older visitors may wish to skip to the synopses of the month's feature articles or to the cover story which receives more generous treatment. It's no replacement for the newsstand copy, but it will give you some highlights, and a place to explore further. Traveler magazine is also on the Web, and parents should know about World magazine online, which the Society produces specifically for children. Also worth looking into are the cartographic department which boasts the Map Machine and the Photography page for tips and contest information. Like I said at the beginning, this is a big site, and, judging by the size of the staff, it's a sure bet to grow. Visit when you have plenty of time to explore and don't forget to bring the kids. They'll thank you someday, when they're planning that trip to Guatemala City.
Overall Rating: 18

Virtual Galapagos
URL: http://www.terraquest.com/galapagos
Category: Travel
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
The Galapagos, a volcanic archipelago off the coast of Ecuador, is one of those storied places on the globe, calling up passages from Melville, or images of pirates. It was on the Galapagos, of course, that young Charles Darwin began seriously investigating the notion of evolution, while he was taking scrupulous notes on finches, marine lizards, giant tortoises, and boobies. Like the Himalayas, The Great Barrier Reef, the African Savannah, and other fantastic locales, the Galapagos have an important place in history -- especially, natural history -- and a reality apart from the image. This site, the second of Terraquest's excellent virtual destinations -- the first is Virtual Antarctica at -- uses a real world journey as the basis for an online exploring the current reality of the islands and it's governing country, Ecuador. A masterpiece of Web design, Virtual Galapagos is layed out in clean, graphically rich frames, and organized according to six basic categories. "Atlas" gives visitors their bearings with excellent maps of the islands and Ecuador -- click on a quadrant or isle for more detail. The "History" section animates the geography, with tales of pirates and explorers. Links within the text take you further into the subject, connecting you with supplementary materials such as the pertinent chapter from Darwin's *The Voyage of the Beagle*. In "Expedition" and "Dispatches" you get a briefing on the Terraquest folks, their gear, and the itinerary for the trip, complete with daily reports from the team and direct links to the relevant maps. The trip may be over, but it's archived here in depth and indefinitely. For multimedia materials, be sure to go to the Quicktime VR gallery. Be warned at the outset that this is a heavily-sponsored endeavor and operates subtly as a brochure for World Travel Partners, Mountain Travel Sobek, Kodak and others. It's not a big detraction; the ads, such as they are, are largely unobtrusive. IBM sponsors a segment called "Education Workbook" which gives teachers ideas for integrating the virtual experience into the classroom. (For the curious, the 10-day cruise with Sobek, not including airfare to Quito, and other sundry expenses, is $3395 per person.) Terraquest is also allied, in some fashion, with noted environmentalist David Brower and his organization, Earth Island Institute. As such, you can expect an agenda that promotes eco-tourism while condemning most other human activities on the Galapagos. It struck me a little arrogant, this view, and prone to oversimplifications. Despite dispatches like the one that begins, "Ecuador is an Indian nation" and another averring that immigrants "come from the mainland of Ecuador [to the Galapagos] looking for an easy living in the tourism industry or in illegal fishing" the site pays a good deal more attention to the well-fed, easy-living Terraquest team (professional eco-tourists) than to any Ecuadorian of any ethnicity. Nevertheless, the site has a lot to offer, to educators, to travelers, to anyone who browses the Web to broaden their horizons. It's a beautiful introduction to a unique spot on the globe and well worth the visit. Bon voyage.
Overall Rating: 18

RGB
URL: http://www.publish.com
Category: Web Technology
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Heidi Swanson
From A to Z, RGB, *Publish* magazine's on-line companion, is the site for the inside track on electronic publishing. Archives. Black Box. Copiers. Distribution. Electronics. Fonts. Graphics. Hardware. Illustration. Jobs. KPT. Layout. Monitors. News. Order forms. Photographs. QuarkXPress. Reviews. Secrets. Typography. Utilities. Visualization. Web. Xerox. Yellow. Zines. You name it, RGB's got it. The zine itself may lack sass and flash , but the content here is top-notch. Whether you're wondering about trading in your floppies for zips, or just nosing around for the right type foundry, RGB is ground zero, page one for anything related to electronic publishing. From design considerations to pre-press issues, printing to electronic distribution, RGB hammers home practical and authoritative information, with a little bit of entertainment value thrown in for good measure. "But the graphics aren't all that swank or savvy," I can almost hear you saying. "And the buttons don't pop, spin, or whistle at me. And *gasp* there are no gaussian blurred drop shadows, or Kai backgrounds." Well, don't you worry about that; everything's going to be just fine because: one, the site is a cakewalk to navigate, and, two, there's no danger of developing liver spots while the pages load. This is one example (of many) in which less is more. And anyway, you're here for more than pretty design; you're here for the goods: product reviews, production tips, industry news, shareware, and more. Check the archives for back issues, articles indexed according to subject. As far as how-to design content on the Web goes, RGB is a great white shark in a sea of bottom feeders. So, if you want to stay afloat in the increasingly competitive world of digital publishing and design, latch onto this publication like a remora. It'll keep you in the higher echelons of the food chain, so to speak.
Overall Rating: 18

Total Baseball
URL: http://www.totalbaseball.com/
Category: Sports
Issue: 1096
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
For fans of the sport everywhere, Total Baseball is as good as it gets. This site is loaded with baseball history, baseball personalities, baseball stats, baseball everything. Like the paper volume by the same name, Total Baseball Online is the official encyclopedia of the national pastime. Adding value to the whole enterprise, the Web site allows you to join BBS discussions, post your questions to the editors, and subscribe to baseball-oriented newsgroups. Navigating in Frames, visitors will find easy access to the information -- stats and stories, both -- laid out in careful detail and generously illustrated. The history section is especially good, intelligently written and comprehensive, with sections on the "Negro leagues" as well as Japanese, Caribbean and minor league ball. The "Players" section gives concise, informative bios for the all-time greats, from Hank Aaron to Cy Young; speaking of whom ... did you think Cy was shot for Cyrus, like I did? Guess again. In the section on nicknames you get the real origin of the moniker. It's from cyclone, for the effect his fastball had on the backstop; that is, it "looked like a cyclone had hit it." Of course, true aficionados would scoff at a trivia softball like that one. For them, there's the Total Baseball Player Register, which allows users to get comprehensive stat summaries for any player who ever swung a bat in the big leagues, including dates, career averages, team affiliations, and more. So you knew Cy was from "cyclone," eh? Well, what can you tell me about Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons or Tiny Leonard? Don't understand the significance behind all the averages, anyway? No worries; the site gives excellent explanations of how the numbers are crunched and what they mean. The only regrettable thing about this site is the amount of time you can wile away here revisiting the legends of the game: Names like Joe Dimaggio and Satchel Paige, Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays, Dizzy Dean and Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and Casey Stengel, Roberto Clemente and Ed Delahante... It just goes on and on, resonating like a nursery rhyme, a fan's dream.
Overall Rating: 18

Levi's
URL: http://www.levi.com
Category: Corporate
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Adam Douglas
Certain corporate entities are so much a part of our lives, you'd think they wouldn't even need to advertise. The company that invented blue jeans, Levi's and it's trademark product are at least as American as apple pie and baseball, and certainly more pervasive. You're probably wearing a pair as you read this. Founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss who figured, correctly, that the material used to make tents and covered wagons would make a good pair of pants, Levi's has endured changing times and fashion upheavals ever since. The classic 501's, after a few modifications, have stayed the same sine 1922, and the denim jacket, introduced in 1953, is still popular after all these years. The dates come courtesy of Levi's very big, very engaging Web site: a multimedia extravaganza that goes all-out in an effort to attract folks to it's online promotional effort. The history section was, not surprisingly, my favorite segment of the site. Laid out along a timeline, the site shows, at a glance, when copper rivets were introduced, say, (1873) or when belt loops became a fixture of American fashion (not until 1922). There's a slightly patronizing "history quiz" that tests your knowledge of 1930's America, and how Levi's helped shape Depression-era fashion. Also worth a look is the Denim Dictionary, chock full of alphabetically organized Levi's trivia. Did you know about the "crotch rivet," an extra copper rivet that, until 1942, graced all 501's. Apparently, cowboys complained to Levi's that when crouching around the campfire, the bygone rivet tended to heat up, causing much discomfort. The site gets a little out of control when it veers away from jeans street to venture down every subcultural alleyway in existence. What, after all, do raves, anime, spoken word performances, Haight-Ashbury, and space aliens have to do with what pants I wear? Why would I want to read the bio's of the "stars" of their European commercials? Not content with it's already prominent place in fashion culture, worldwide, it seems Levi's wants to create its own subculture, based on their media presence and association with hip ad firms (Tomato) and graphic designers (Designers Republic). The clothing is already classic, with vintage 501's and jackets selling for hundreds of dollars. But then again, sites like these can no longer rely on others to create content for them; unlike television, where advertisers could just sandwich their pitch between the shows, the Web model requires advertisers to put on their own show. All the same, there is such a thing as trying too hard. And Levi Strauss is teetering on that edge.
Overall Rating: 18

The Contortion Home Page
URL: http://www.escape.com/~silverbk/contortion/
Category: Bizarre
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
For most of us, the "art" of contortion is a strange joke, an activity confined to freak shows and obscure Eastern religions. Even the most cultured among us, when faced with the sight of a human being contorted in such a way that their head is between their legs and facing in the WRONG direction, are liable to say something along the lines of, "Now looky there: that person's all bent around every which way." It just doesn't inspire the same awe and reverence that ballet does, or gymnastics. It's more likely to make us wince than applaud.Whether contortionism is an oddity or an art may be an open question, but make no mistake, there's an active, worldwide contortionist community, It may have remained in the shadows until now, but The Contortion Home Page changes all that, baring the arcane world to the light of day. With materials on how "normal" people can train to be contortionists it may even promote understanding and a new era of appreciation. This site is not just a fly-by-night Internet joke page, mind you, but a practical encyclopedia of contortionism designed by two aficionados and practitioners of the discipline, who go by the Internet names of Sir Supple and The Silverback. Good Web page design calls for a certain measure of simplicity, which The Contortion Home Page manages by sticking to just four sections: Photos, Literature, Contacts, and Links. The photo gallery is a good place to start as contortionists are performers, first and foremost, and play to the eye. The gallery does not disappoint, with pictures organized according to the various performers, artists with names like Raven Merle, and Charis, Queen of Elastic. The extent to which they can stretch their bodies is amazing, straining the imagination as much as it does the tendons.The Contortion Home Page is not just about gawking at this rarity of human endeavor: the literature section provides the context necessary to appreciate the "how" and the "why" of it. Documents explain how a contortionist trains, how the natural flexibility of the youthful body must be retained by constant stretching. If even the most accomplished contortionist stops training for a year, it seems, they may never contort again.The contacts and resources section offers free info and gives enthusiasts an outlet for purchasing video tapes of performers such as Ula, who in one scene "surprises unsuspecting travelers by jumping out of their suitcases!" For people who intend to follow contortionism, there's a newsletter, "Limber Times," as well as a CD-ROM.
Overall Rating: 18

Pearl Harbor Remembered
URL: http://execpc.com/~dschaaf/
Category: Humanities
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Poor
Aesthetic Quality: Poor
TechnoSmart Quality: Poor
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
It is hard to judge a memorial site like this one by the usual standards. Indeed, by any standards. Nevertheless, I hope that the creator of these pages continues to add content to the initial fruits of his labors. It's a noble enough project, but for now, visitors, I fear, will be disappointed. There are a couple of grayscale maps of the attack, a "Remember Dec. 7th!" poster from the aftermath, a list of casualties, and a few photo images embedded in the narrative of an invasion survivor. More such links, not to mention more narrative, would enrich the experience. The site is a private effort, though, and as such deserves praise. To do justice to the horror and history of the event, however, more work needs to be done.
Overall Rating: 12

American Museum of Natural History
URL: http://www.amnh.org/
Category: Humanities
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
A tour of this site is an educational experience from the splash page onward, especially if you are as dim as I am. There's no use in denying it anymore; I scored just under fifty percent on the Sci-Q Quiz in the Museum's Education segment. I'd like to claim that the questions were all tricks and that I'd been duped, but what good would it do me? Time to face facts: when it comes to the sciences, I'm just plain ignorant. As such, this resource did me a world of good, packed as it is with fascinating information, all beautifully presented.At the home page be sure to move your mouse along the row of colorful icons in the heading. You'll get concise definitions of the various disciplines which the icons represent and which fall under the Museum's purview. It's a quick, graceful way to get a sense for the breadth of the subject before venturing further. For the accursed Sci-Q Quiz click on Education. As of this writing, it's the only feature in the section, but they promise to include more "activities and resources for children, teachers, and parents" soon. Under Research, the curious will find information about the Museum's various projects, facilities, and expeditions, featuring an intriguing aside on paleontologists at work in the Gobi desert. The About the Museum bit is primarily for New Yorkers or lucky folks planning a visit to the actual Museum, located in Central Park West. Transportation information, schedules, and a searchable exhibition calendar are all available. Which brings us to the heart and soul of any museum: the exhibits. The pages devoted to amber in the exhibition, *Amber: A Window to the Past*, are riveting. Amber is a tree resin renowned for its use in making jewelry and other cultural artifacts, which is important to scientists as an astonishing natural preservative of small organisms such as insects. Of course, you can't mention the Museum of Natural History without also mentioning dinosaurs. You'll find them here in *Fossil Halls*, an exhibit which traces the development and family relationships of vertebrates. Frames-capable browsers will yield a clickable, expanding hierarchy here which leads visitors through an excellent, if rather involved, tutorial on everything from dinosaur mandibles to prehensile forefeet; you could spend hours here alone. In fact, the list of interesting features just goes on and on from sidebars like, "Personalities in Paleontology," to mainstays like "Treasures from 125 Years of Discovery," where you can browse some of the more notable fixtures from the permanent collection. Be on the lookout for interactive elements in any and all of the displays, like the timeline that spans the rings of an ancient sequoia trunk. It's an entertaining diversion, which will doubtless help increase your knowledge. Come to think of it, you should probably look around a while, *then* take the quiz. But, of course, that won't leave you with any excuses.
Overall Rating: 18

Editor and Publisher Interactive
URL: http://www.mediainfo.com/edpub/
Category: Professional
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Emily Soares
Editor and Publisher Interactive is a dream come true for anyone in the journalism game or anyone interested in any aspect of the publishing scene. The site combines an online version of Editor & Publisher , the print magazine, with links to a wide array of reference sites, accessed from a Research page that itself is worth the bookmark. You'll find home pages for newspaper companies, free news services, research facilities, press associations, wire services, major online services,.... If it has to do with news, it's here. Looking for an online newspaper? As of this writing the E&P Interactive Online Newspaper database comprises 1521 entries. The News Page features lead stories from the E & P print edition, and a summary of news items on information technology from Educom, a Washington, DC-based consortium of colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. If all of this sounds like too much info to be easily accessed, rest assured that Editor & Publisher Interactive is well-organized and logical, like good editors and publishers should be....but seldom are. For those not familiar with the print version of E & P, don't be intimidated by the name. This is not simply a professional journal; its articles are important reading for anyone interested in current political and media issues. A quick search of available articles offers up substantive pieces on the Freedom of Information Act, the slave trade in Sudan, and the how much the US government pays for secrecy. The site doesn't call itself "interactive" for nothing. In the E&P Interactive Forum readers are encouraged to respond to a topical article such as the one entitled, "Newspapers Must Save Their Own Lives." Enumerating the ways in which newspapers have lost touch with readers, Rolfe Neil, publisher of The Charlotte Observer , sets forth a nine-point plan. There's something oddly comforting in debating the fate of newsprint online, as if the death knell may not toll awhile yet. E & P Interactive, for all its attention to news gathering technology, still manages to convey images of hard-boiled, chain smoking reporters tapping away in shirt sleeves and loosened ties for a paper that represents a real city and not just a cyberplace. When you're surfing the Web, overwhelmed by the flood of news and information that seems to come magically, out of nowhere, it's easy to forget that there are individuals out there who still do the legwork to make sense of it all before it hits the page -- sorry, screen. E & P Interactive manages to provide an unparalleled resource for research, while presenting articles that remind of us the very real business of reporting and publishing, both online and off.
Overall Rating: 18

Voyager Company
URL: http://www.voyagerco.com
Category: Media
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Good
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Sure there are a lot of Pulp Fiction sites on the Web, but none that compare to this one. The slick, professional graphics seem to float up off the white background, like hovercrafts. The content is uncluttered and thorough, including speculation from various Internet users about the contents of the briefcase,Tarantino's influences, trivia from the movie that.... oh, wait a minute,... this is a review about the Voyager Company site; I got a little sidetracked in the Pulp Fiction section, he heh. Now then, Voyager's site is one of the paragons of good Web design, with a home page that's updated daily and content based on a plethora of projects in all kinds of media formats, from Interactive CD-ROM titles to laser disc and video collections, and ... well, Web design. Voyager's work reveals educated and eclectic tastes. A list of its projects reads like a roll call for the avant garde: with titles like Laurie Anderson's Green Room , Art Spiegelman's Maus , and the digital version of inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal's Live from Death Row, Voyager keeps CD-ROMs from becoming passe. Movie buffs should know about Voyager's Criterion Collection, a compendium of classic and contermporary films on laser disc. Even if you don't have a player the site is worth browsing for its considerable content, with excellent pages devoted to each director in the series. To its credit, Voyager also hosts projects that don't have anything to do with selling products. Consider the Guerrilla Girls site, devoted to a group of feminist artists with a biting sense of satire. A poster they produced for the 1992 Republican convention bore the heading "Republicans do believe in a women's right to control her own body!" underscored with images of nose jobs, liposuction, and breat implants. Clearly, this is a company which isn't afraid to offend.Also hosted by Voyager are two eminent literary journals, The Paris Review and Grand Street.. Here you'll find exceptional poetry, fiction, and interviews, not to mention more Tarantino (with Dennis Hopper,Grand Street, August `96). The online issue only publishes excerpts from the print version, but it's still a great source of free content. Also be sure to check in for a preview of Narrative Corpse, an experimental, comix-style "chain story by 69 artists," the results of which are positively weird, if not exactly exquisite.In the end, this company is involved in things too numerous to mention. But one thing for sure: The Voyager imprint is a reliable mark of quality content and design.
Overall Rating: 17

Mr. Nefff's Mambo Karaoke Steakhouse
URL: http://www.teleport.com/~zoetek/mambo_karaoke/entrance.html
Category: Music
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
You want alternative? I'll give you alternative. Step into the totally whacked out world of Mr. Arthur Nefff (three f's mandatory), a home page so strange that "strange" isn't the word. Erstwhile front man for the Midwestern musical sensation, The Pachinko Playboys, Nefff specializes in a hybridized musical form featuring Latin rhythms with an Eastern twang -- way East, that is, like Tokyo. It's a bizarre commingling; East meets West with surprising results.OK, now, don't think I'm not hep to the obvious parody, Nefff's fictitious album covers and bogus band history. But while The Pachinko Playboys Record Museum may be nothing more than a stupendous gag, ("By 1969, we had lost our way," writes Nefff, "breaking up during the recording of the unreleased 'Let It Be Bop,' which had few, if any, Oriental influences, unless you count the feedback free jazz sitar solo.") the site is not entirely a joke. Click on "Japanese Mambo Jukebox" to see what I mean. The bands on this page are for real, honest-to-goodness Japanese mambo ensembles. Download songs from acts with names like *Frank Chickens* and *Shang Shang Typhoon* for a taste of this new genre. I don't know about you, pardner, but I kinda like it. Fans of the style (are there any out there?) should follow the link to the excellent *Pizzicato Five* fan page (http://www.clark.net/pub/fan/pizz.html), not to mention the pages, official and otherwise, of various other big name lounge acts: Esquivel being perhaps the best known.As for Mr. Nefff, he's an oddball -- a *hen no gaizin*, as they like to say in Nippon -- with an ... ahem ... unique sense of humor. His only real musical sampling on the site is an atonal interpretation of an old pop culture standard. "Zestfully clean, Zestfully clean," he croons spastically, "you're not fully clean unless you're Zestfully clean." Now if that's not alternative, I don't know what is.
Overall Rating: 18

without, unfortunately providing links to comprehensive news sites, so that women can catch up on the larger picture while they're at it. And, although the "Go Vote 1996" tag links to Lifetime's Election page, a substantive discussion of how election issues effect women is missing. Moving on to category number two, Style gives an indication of where the site's creators are coming from. A debate over whether or not blondes have more fun is about as hackneyed as it gets, and the links to fashion houses comprise the rest of the offerings.Other sections present themselves more effectively. There are useful features in the Work section that profile professional women and rank 100 of the best companies for working mothers, based on pay rates, promotion and childcare practices. But the consumer information available seems overshadowed by a lurking corporate presence, as in the Leasing v. Financing comparison, brought to you by Ford. The Body area deals with health and fitness, offering some unbiased, information, unaffiliated with any products and brought to you by the National Women's Health Resource Center. Check out the Cash page for some decent investment advice, with tips on how to store away funds for the house, vacation, or grad school you've been dreaming about. In the Women's Wire Web area, there are some very sound articles about breaking into writing for TV, how to become a webmistress, multimedia producer, environmentalist, etc. And last of all, an obligatory shopping link. I can't decide if I'm put off by this inclusion. Consumerism is not a gender-based thing, but do men's sites link to shopping pages? Probably. Ultimately, everyone is looking for something special in gender or ethnic-specific sites, and no, you can't please everyone. I was just a little disappointed to see many the standard "women's magazine" model trotted out as if there were no alternative. The Who We Are section lacks an editorial statement, a conspicuous omission in a such a subject-specific publication.
Overall Rating: 18

The Why Files
URL: http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/
Category: Science
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
A site co-sponsored by the The National Institute for Science Education and The National Science Foundation, The Why Files is a great idea, expertly executed and perfect for a science ignoramus like myself. Based on the simple notion of explaining the science behind the news, The Why Files integrates the much dreaded topic into the day's events, thereby making science matters matter. (Educators take note). Can't understand all this noise about mad English cows? Wondering about the reliability of all those dad-blamed political polls? Lost in the debate on The Endangered Species Act? All these issues and more have been profiled (and archived) at the site, each one given a straightforward treatment, while neither oversimplifying nor pretending to have all the answers. Indeed, most of the stories take pains to proffer contrarian viewpoints and link to other relevant sites on the Web. Each story also contains a bibliography.The pages are well-illustrated and easy to navigate. Difficult words are hotlinked to glossary definitions, and pages are numbered so you can jump around within the stories. Other jumping off points are the Sports and Cool Science Image segments. In the Sports section, you can quiz yourself on basic scientific principals as expressed in terms of sports. Not as compelling as the rest of the site, the questions are also geared a little lower. In Cool Science Image, you click on intriguing photos to explore the subject further. Visitors are encouraged to send in their ideas and photos for new installments in either section. Far and away, though, the best part of the site are the stories, which may be accessed via e-mail as well. Check for new stories weekly or subscribe to the mailing list at: majordomo@whyfiles.news.wisc.edu. It'll help you make sense of the headlines.
Overall Rating: 18

Mo Hotta Mo Betta
URL: http://www.mohotta.com
Category: Shopping
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Two dissimilar antidotes to the modern malaise have gained popularity in recent years: cigars and hot sauce. The cigar resurgence has been fueled in large part by celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Madonna, and Michael Richards, (Seinfeld's Kramer), and taken up by a post-yupster generation hell-bent on enjoying the finer things even when they can't afford them. The (slightly narcotic) effect of a good cheroot on an existence made bland by the constraints of modern society, is to make that existence even blander, to dull and soothe like a painkiller. By contrast, hot sauces, which are all the rage in the specialty gourmet market, are the accouterment of those who seek to restore some edge to their lives. Face it: Just because your life has lost its piquancy, doesn't mean your food has to.Featuring products with intimidating names like Dave's Insanity Sauce, Pure Hell, and Endorphin Rush, the Mo Hotta Mo Betta company sells condiments that are sure to rekindle the fire in your belly. The sauces are made by small companies all over the world, and can be ordered from Mo Hotta via mail, e-mail, and telephone. Though the small operation has had a paper catalog since 1988, its Web site, designed by Studio G (http://www.etropolis.com/studiog/index.html) has really garnered it some attention. Sporting a look like something from Crayola, the somewhat crude, yet engaging artwork is consistent throughout. There are no photographs at all, in fact; even the product pictures are drawings.The content of the site is ample and well-integrated. The splash page gives visitors an option between the text and graphic versions, while the index breaks everything down into four simple subject areas: the catalog, an "About the Company," recipes, and a contest. The catalog is, of course, the most extensive part of the site. Each sauce has a humorous description that reads like the items in the J. Peterman catalog, only a little more whacked. The recipe section has a good many ideas for cooking with the sauces that Mo Betta sells, even including recipes for desserts and beverages. A Bloody Mary sounds good, but a spicy hot Peach Pie? The contest section features games of the "guess how many gumballs in the jar" variety, with prizes that would make any hot food aficionado slather. How's about four pounds of Red Savino Chilies, eh? One a day would keep life interesting.
Overall Rating: 18

GNN Travel Center
URL: http://bin-1.gnn.com/gnn/meta/travel/
Category: Travel
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
Real travel, ideally, is more footloose and shambling than tourism. Travel is humbler in means, tourism an extravagance. Tourists tick off sights like chores on a "to do" list -- now the Coliseum, now the Piazza San Marco; been there, done that. Travelers, by contrast, wake to consider the map over coffee. Where to today? South, across the border, or east to the mountains? Maybe nowhere; after all, you just got there. Maybe you'll make a day of chatting up the locals, shopping for gew gaws and gri gris...or doing f@#$ all, if it suits you. At the risk of alienating both camps, GNN's Travel Center seems to straddle the distinction.Content is everything on these pages. The table of contents is almost entirely void of graphics, the pages almost invariably white. There's no shortage of images, however -- Alison Wright's photo essay on Tibet is excellent, as is Linda Connor's Labyrinth -- but these reside in deeper territory, and there's no overall design to unify the features or compel you to go there. But do go. It's a minor shortcoming, more than compensated for by the quality of the writing, interviews, and resource information at the site. You'd be hard-pressed, for example, to find better travel writing than the prominently featured essays by renowned Welsh author, Jan Morris. Morris's pieces and the lengthy interview with writer/naturalist, Peter Mattheissen, should be enough to lure any armchair traveler out of the Barcalounger. The lesser known writers are also worth reading; if they're not exactly household names, neither are they rank amateurs. The editor's notes operate, loosely, as an index to a variety of travel-specific websites, with links and commentary organized under an array of themes ranging from online mapping services to electronic site guides. It's a required bookmark for the inveterate traveler, keen on exploring.A feature which nudges the project closer to the more mannered, upscale journals like *Conde Nast*, is the rather large section devoted to food and wine. . While the writing in the section is good, (Bob Thompson's notes on everything from Chilean Reds to shi shi Champagnes had a refreshing knack for cutting to the chase) the material seemed out of place and a little frivolous. Culinary angles on subjects like the Chinese diaspora helped bring the subject back into the fold, but, even then... My gripes aside, the Travel Center is a great thing, a worthy addition to any travelers' bookmark list. Hopefully, the site will evolve into a showcase for the best travel writing and resources on the Web, and resist the impulse to become merely the online equivalent of the Sunday travel section.
Overall Rating: 18

Tokyo Rockin'
URL: http://rd-gk.ntv.co.jp/tko.rockin/
Category: Zines
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Japanese pop culture has lately enjoyed a wave of popularity in the American underground. With Hello Kitty characters accessorizing the young hipsters, Manga racks beginning to dominate comic book stores, and more and more slickies paying lip service to Anime, the trendsetters appear to be residing in Tokyo. To rise above the tired crowds, then, with their shallow, cliched references, the true hipster needs to dig just a little deeper. That individual at the art reception who can posit, knowingly, "You've just got to hear the music of Demi Semi Quaver. Emi-san's voice is ethereal," will surely stay out in front of the competition. But getting the inside track on what's hip-happenin' on the Japanese pop scene has never been easy. Fortunately for you, Tokyo Rockin', a Japanese e-zine that publishes interviews with artists and musicians from the native avant garde, has an English language version on the Web. Not just any English, mind you: This is English a la *Nihongo*, a beautifully offbeat patois born of bad translations and cross-cultural confusion. Consider the rap issue, featuring Japanese hip-hoppers Shakka Zombie and King Giddra. "King Giddra came from Venus," says the rapper of his namesake. "He is a space monster. Light beams come out from his mouth, but in this case it is our words that come out. It is aiming peoples brain. It comes after listening to our songs sensuously. We want to break every persons mind." Isn't it great to see that Japan is still captive to the monster fetish? The far-out graphics and weird text are well-integrated at Tokyo Rockin', each interview accompanied by a generous amount of artwork, including photo layouts of interviewees, sound bytes, and movie clips. Navigating the site takes a bit of work, however, since the first page doesn't give many clues as to the scheme of things. Just remember, unless you read Japanese and have the corresponding language kit on your system, don't take the Domestic route: You're an Alien. Also, keep in mind that the cover page graphics are generally enormous; Tokyo Rockin' is nothing if not high-bandwidth. If you want a listing of all the Tokyo Rockin' issues, head for the Super Index.Perhaps the most endearing thing about Tokyo Rockin' is the name of the creative team that launched it. The Space Travolta Crew (dig the logo), a group of graphic designers and writers, also produces a wild multimedia show for Japanese television called Neo Hyper Kids. Only in Japan. Go go, Godzilla.
Overall Rating: 18

Webmonkey
URL: http://www.webmonkey.com
Category: Web Technology
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Heidi Swanson
Introducing Webmonkey, another signature HotWired venture put together by 14 hip, young South of Market-eers. Webmonkey tempts all you strung out HTML junkies with all the latest fixes to amp up your websites and home pages. With something like the weekend garage mechanic approach, Webmonkey delivers nuts and bolts in the form of straightforward how-tos. That is, if you can make it past through the Java-enhanced front page. I crashed twice from work, once from home. Which makes me wonder why Jeffery Veen (Webmaster monkey, columnist, and HotWired Interface Director) integrated a relatively hefty Java applet on the front page while, in his column, voicing apprehensions about whether or not Netscape Navigator 3.0 will be a stable Java Client. Given the choice between hip technology or functional technology ...well, the HotWired gang is known for screaming mach 5 down the hipster highway. Putting design issues aside, this is prime real estate for bookmarking. These columns have saved me hours of nail-biting, head-scratching, and wading through swamps of HTML, shareware, and poorly written READ ME! files. Jill Atkinson demonstrates how to use Frames using the down-to-earth metaphor of a picnic plate to represent her subject: chicken in one frame, pasta in another, etc.. Emily Tucker tutors visitors on the finer points of slimming and trimming GIF animations, reiterating the stance that "small images are surely a Webmonkey's most prized possession." Put on your post-modern goggles for a peek at generative art using Javascript, and post your thoughts and feedback to the ongoing threaded discussions. The threaded discussions are a crucial element of Webmonkey, giving the site its pulse. Each column has a designated thread. See right through Transparency? Any animation tricks up your sleeve? Think Navigator 3.0 blows? Discovered a useful plug-in? Well, then, here's your soapbox. Last on the list of percs is the Webmonkey tune up which tests your browser for Web surfing essentials. Right now, the recommended beach bag includes Frames, Java, and a few select plug-ins. Webmonkey is a site by developers, for developers. If you want a quick understanding of the mechanics behind the Web and ways to improve your own online projects, park your browser in Hotwired's new grease shop for an hour or two. They'll get you running smooth.
Overall Rating: 18

Entropy8.com
URL: http://www.entropy8.com/
Category: Vanity Pages
Issue: 1196
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Unknown
Taking the screen shots here, I felt a little bit like the hiker who, aiming his camera at a panoramic mountain sunset, despairs at the futility of his effort. Perhaps that's waxing a little too reverent,...but not much. Entropy8, the "labor of love and frustration" of Auriea Harvey, a young designer who just happens to be black and female, is a masterful example of Web design and digital self-expression. It's a little crude, then, to classify this page under "vanity." The real vanity will be in trying to express how great the site is.As much a marvel of programming as it is of design, the site boasts expert Java scripting, some beautiful animated gifs, a truly graceful use of Frames. It's a high bandwidth affair, of course, and she knows it. But if you're willing, it's worth the wait. Follow her instructions on the home page and turn off the tool bar. You won't need it; the site spawns a separate, graphical menu to facilitate navigation. A nice artifice, it dazzles without overshadowing the design. Thematically, the site is part riff on chaos, part private showcase. "So here is the dream," Miss Harvey writes at the outset, "It is what it is. This site is my personal experiment with a personal goal in a public space." So it is. A section called "The Disease Manifesto" is an artful exploration of angst -- not angst in any watered down form, either, but the real thing, the sickness unto death. The tone is dark but not despairing.Her family is prominently featured elsewhere on the site, in a disarmingly candid and dignified way. Some of the clan contribute their writings. Grandma just goofs around with the camera. Musing on the lives of her forbears, Auriea writes a little mournfully, "These pictures were taken before I was born or too early in my life for me to remember. The course that lives took shaped me more than I want to admit." If that seems self-indulgent and over-serious, a closer look will reveal a lively and self-deprecating wit beneath it all. In her gallery of notebook covers -- each one a work of art in itself -- I spied this passage written in faded ink, "Chaos is still my Life. This is my Life. This is my mind. I design Reality. We design the future. This is kind of a stupid thing to say, but I say it anyway. This is the cover of a sketch book and I want to completely cover this with words. But as usual I don't know what to write. I guess I could lapse into my old quotations phase. Quoth Aaron: 'I'd rather be insane than stupid. But i'd rather be neither than both.' Quoth Bill...." It goes on and on like that, without ever really filling the page. And I like that; don't ask me why, but I like that very much. In the end, this page is self-expression, plain and simple, and how much you take to it will probably depend on what you make of the personality behind it. Clearly I liked her very much. In a cacophony of voices, hers rings true.
Overall Rating: 18

The 80s Server
URL: http://www.80s.com/
Category: Entertainment
Issue: 1296
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Wayne Cunningham
Decades have come to be so iconic, representative not only of a time, but a style. The phenomenon dates back at least a century, to the "Gay 90s," when it seems everyone partied a lot because it was the end of the century and the beginning of the Industrial Age, which they apparently thought was a good thing. The "Roaring 20s" were another particularly noteworthy decade. More partying. Now, it seems, recent decades are being recycled, with "groovy" fashions from the 70s revived for the 90s, and a nostalgia for the 50s marking much of the 80s. Of course, there was a lot more to the 80s than a revival of 50s-style politics. Sure, the era was dominated by Ronald Reagan and his true blue "Morning in America" crew, but, more significantly, the period ushered in the most extreme hair styles known to man.While, for many of us, it was hellish to live through the 80s, a glance in the rear view mirror gives it all a different look, distant and comical. The 80s server delivers all the ingredients quintessential to 80s culture: bad music, awful television, horrible movies. Like the decade, the home page is garish -- think neon jogging suits or hot pink lip gloss. Hulk Hogan, the pro wrestler-turned-superstar, is prominently featured. So is Pee Wee Herman, kid's show host/onanist. Navigation is a bit difficult from the slapdash page of enticements. And, unfortunately, a few of the sections are empty as of this writing--no small thing if your connection is slow. Then again, considering that the page is run by three "children of the 80s" (read "slackers"), that's not a huge surprise. If you're a young veteran of the era (why else would you be here?), try out the trivia games that test your knowledge of 80s marginalia. A Shockwave file opens the section with the computer's voice from the movie "War Games": "Shall we play a game?" And don't miss the game, "Who can it be now?" where contestants try to match band names with their corresponding pictures. The crown jewel of the 80s Server, though, has to be the Jukebox, which features more than 150 songs from the 80s in RealAudio format. "Too Shy," by Kajagoogoo, "Smalltown Boy," by Bronski Beat, and "Karma Chameleon," by Culture Club, are just a few of the hits. And what hits!Man, those were the days.
Overall Rating: 18

PlanetOut
URL: http://www.planetout.com
Category: Lifestyles
Issue: 1296
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Eric Meub
The heterosexual majority may be willing to settle for a Global Village, but PlanetOut offers the gay, lesbian, bi and trans community a City. And it's a city with a heart."Imagine a world" says founder and president Tom Reilly, "where everyone can be exactly who they really are." At first blush, this invokes a spectrum of lifestyles, from circuit-party boys to opera divas, dykes-on-bikes to lipstick lesbians. But there's a loftier ambition here: "Online" as Reilly puts it, "is a great place to *practice* coming out." The queer community includes folks who live remote from city resources, or who have to combat isolation and loneliness. PlanetOut offers comfort, support, community, and identity. And it does so with energy, flair, and a fresh presentation.Winsome photos of couples and individuals underscore, with all the polish and wholesomeness of a Gap advertisement, the message of acceptance. Hell, straights have benefited from good PR all these years, why not queers? The images are fun for those already out as well as encouraging for those still in the closet. Some will protest that packaging homogenizes diversity. The photos, however, try to capture that diversity, at least with regard to gender and race. The only images I missed were those of our elders: "Queer" is not synonymous with "young", after all.PlanetOut offers destinations such as "People", for connecting with individuals, "NetQueery", a "dashboard" to gay Internet resources, and "Civic Center", the site's political core, providing links to important queer political organizations: one-stop-shopping for gay activism. The informational content of PlanetOut is found in "QRD" and "Kiosk". "QRD" (Queer Resources Directory) is the Main Library in this gay metropolis. This is no-nonsense stuff. Visitors can access up-to-date material on HIV, racism, state and federal legislation, religious intolerance, you name it. The destinations in "Kiosk" could be satisfying sites in themselves: There's "PopcornQ", a critically acclaimed film and video directory that opened last June; "News Planet" surveys domestic and international events of queer interest; And my favorite, "Shout": a showcase for everything queer in the arts and entertainment. Reviews can be found under "Shelf-Life", "Flix", "Spins", "MMMedia", while "The Box" provides an exhaustive survey of upcoming queer-related television programming.The gay, lesbian, bi and trans community has often suffered for its lack of cohesion. No mere Web site can solve that, but PlanetOut provides a haven of knowledge, nurture and dignity: a real Home in the City.
Overall Rating: 18

First Monday
URL: http://www.firstmonday.dk/
Category: Professional
Issue: 1296
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Lauren Guzak
First Monday is a peer-reviewed journal about the Internet, on the Internet, covering a breadth of issues as they relate to the new technology. Although it makes the rather haughty claim of being a "truly scientific journal," that "expands the frontiers of academic publishing," First Monday is a compelling endeavor, sure to find an appreciative audience among the Web cognoscenti. While each issue is marked by a lineup of seemingly divergent topics, the touchstone of every article is the Internet and the "Global Information Infrastructure." The commitment, according to Editor-in-Chief Edward Valauskas, is to "larger concerns in the Internet community over trends." That simple mission is made manifest in articles like the one entitled "Indonesia: From Mainstream to Alternative Media," by Andreas Haresono.As with most of the pieces in First Monday, Haresono's piece serves as a catalyst for substantive debate on information technology. In it, he addresses not only the history of media control in Indonesia, but gives an in-depth analysis of the current state of Net communications in the infamously repressive country. Haresono's piece is well-researched and thorough, with numerous hyperlinks to a variety of obscure newsgroups and Web pages including the "Indonesia-L" mailing list and a news agency called "PIPA" at gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:2998/7REG-INDONESIA?PIPA. PIPA, or "the pipe" was established by professional journalists in Indonesia who were unable print their reports in that country's mainstream media.Past issues of First Monday are archived in the Index. Other provocative titles from the vault include: "The Mysterious Disappearance of the White House Speech Archive," by Richard Wiggins and "Possible Economic Consequences of Digital Cash," by Tatsuo Tanaka. The site also features relevant book reviews and interviews. Be warned: none of this is light reading. The journal is available in three forms: monthly, via the First Monday listserver; as an annual CD-ROM containing all articles published that year; and, of course, at the Web site, where you can subscribe, read the journal, and submit manuscripts for publication. Paper versions are available upon request, but, hey, it's a self-declared "experiment in electronic publishing, exploring the possibilities of communicating in this Internet medium," so try to resist the urge for the hard copy. Remember, there's no such thing as a hyperlink from the printed page.
Overall Rating: 18

alt.culture
URL: http://www.altculture.com
Category: Reference
Issue: 1296
Content Quality: Excellent
Aesthetic Quality: Excellent
TechnoSmart Quality: Excellent
Site of the Month: Yes
Author: Patrick Joseph
Ostensibly a page to promote the book by the same name, the alt.culture Web site may be destined to overshadow it's much-praised, bestselling print predecessor. Tailor made for hypertext, the material here--part dictionary of cultural literacy, part deconstructive commentary--makes for an informative, entertaining, and freewheeling romp. A good deal of the fun here is in following whatever thread you find yourself on. A search of alt.culture's database for comic, Harry Shearer (you gotta start somewhere), led me down a connect-the-dots course marked by: Saturday Night Live; comedian, Adam Sandler; filmmaker, Tamra Davis; Hang Ten surfwear; and, finally, the "infantilization" of street fashions. Of course, I needn't have followed that particular sequence nor stopped there. From infantilization, part of the so-called "pathetic aesthetic", I could choose from close to thirty links, ranging from closely related entries, like Urban Outfitters, to others far-flung: What does Vick's VapoRub have to do with it?And the plentiful links are only half the story. The writing at alt.culture is consistently breezy and intelligent, packing in as much edification as the brief format allows. And even prosaic topics are given interesting treatment. A potentially numbing entry on pagers gives a short rundown on the ubiquitous gizmos, moving fluidly from sales figures to song lyrics from New York rappers, A Tribe Called Quest, and neologisms like "beeper babies," the nineties equivalent of "latchkey kids". Off-site links supplement the material, as do photo images, soundclips, and video outtakes. The site is fully searchable and incorporates a number of WWW search engines as well. Visitors can also wend their way by autopilot or click "random" to be dealt an entry from anywhere in the deck. Don't agree with alt.culture's take on some aspect of pop culture? Want to add an entry for some new phenomenon or upspeak? The site invites visitors to submit new entries and corrections for consideration. They also maintain a BBS forum, for what it's worth. The dominant strings when I checked involved a cat fight over Courtney Love's fitness as a mother and Tom Cruise's cultural status: Icon or no? That nonsense aside, alt.culture is da kine, as the kids like to say. At over 900 entries and growing, you can spend a lot of time down this particular rabbit hole. My only question is how they expect to sell any books? I am sure the paper version is a fine resource, but, friends, this one was made to be online.
Overall Rating: 18