THE NET V. JANET RENO: INDECENCY LAW PARTIALLY ON HOLD
The backlash against the US "Communication Decency Act of 1996" is underway. Aside from symbolic protests of black backgrounds and blue ribbons, several major free speech advocates have launched a suit against Janet Reno (who, we suppose, doesn't agree with the legislation anyway) in her capacity as Attorney General of the US. Confusing everyone, a federal judge has upheld parts of the law and blocked others, calling the term "indecent" too vague while legally approving of "patently offensive". The more networthy plaintiffs - the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and ClariNet - are joined by less e-focused groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Check out any of the following: EFF: "http://www.eff.org/" EPIC: "http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorship/lawsuit/" ClariNet: "http://www.clari.net/suitpage.html" ACLU: "http://www.aclu.org/"
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS IN CYBERSPACE
The event took place February 8. Over a thousand photographers dispersed throughout the world captured photos and stories of the wired world. The results were submitted via the Internet and put together by a team of editors from some of the biggest and best print magazines. It's all here at this site and we cannot possibly do justice to the variety of photos and stories to be found here. Just take our word that if you spend some time browsing you'll be richly rewarded. Start at the site map and click on the themes for the best experience. Work will go on at this site until March 17, when a permanent exhibit with even more stories and photos will be posted. "http://www.cyber24.com/"
INVEST REAL MONEY IN POLITICAL FUTURES MARKET
The Iowa Electronic Markets are real-money futures markets for contracts based on economic and political events such as elections. While this is an academic project, you can make - or lose - real money. You purchase futures contracts for a chosen outcome of a political race, and if you're right you make a profit. If not, you lose the bundle. The action isn't confined to the US. You may also invest in a number of races from Austria and British Columbia. There are spiffy graphs of the action, the latest quotes, and many links to related sites. In fact, aside from the futures market itself, this is a great index of political websurfing, ranging from candidate's sites to media analysis to polling data. Definitely bookmark material. "http://www.biz.uiowa.edu/iem/"
CHINA TURNS THE SCREWS ON LOCAL INTERNET USERS
In a predictably totalitarian move, China has decided that all Internet users in that country must register with the state security department and that international Internet access must be routed through state-controlled gateways. Concern over "non-Asian" values, pornography, and potential damage to state security provide the justifying loincloth wrapped around these restrictions. In a related move, businesses in China will no longer be allowed to import financial data electronically, but will have to get if from government sources. Predictably, a black market of Internet addresses has reportedly sprung up. CNN's short story provides a few more details. "http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9602/china_information/"
It's the Year of the Rat. This site has all your New Year needs, including an index to other sites, some Chinese New Year songs, a Net postcard service, graphics, a zodiac fortune page, and even a list of activities in various communities around the world. Given the item above, kind of an odd juxtaposition of joviality, but there you are. "http://harmony.wit.com/chinascape/ChineseNewYear/"
WHITE HOUSE ACCIDENTALLY BLOCKED BY SURFWATCH
In case you haven't heard, SurfWatch makes software that prevents access to objectionable sites, used primarily by parents to shield their kids from reality, leading the offspring to enter politics when they grow up. In any event, one of the pages on Socks the cat's virtual tour of the White House contains the word "couples" (as in Bill and Hillary, Al and Tipper). This subversive phrase was deemed too shocking for underage eyes, leading to the blocking of the entire White House site. Saner heads eventually prevailed, once the White House webmaster complained. Is this comedy or tragedy? Despite the absurdity, kudos to SurfWatch, which is, in the greater scheme of things, part of the solution rather than the problem. "http://www.surfwatch.com/" "http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/kids/html/couples.html"
He's been a cult phenomenon for years, redefining the very notion of action hero. Watching one of his movies is as much fun as seeing a tornado rip through a trailer park full of Hollywood executives. What's more, aside from being possibly the best screen athlete ever, he actually can act. Though Jackie's been making great movies for decades, he's been relatively unknown here in the States. This is about to change with the release of his new feature "Rumble in the Bronx". A major publicity blitz brings with it this action-packed Web site. Aside from the usual plot synopsis, clips, and interviews, you'll find a guide to Jackie's personal appearances, merchandise info, CuSee-Me clips, e-mail, and even a Shockwave analysis of his stunts. If nothing else, check out the video clips. Awesome! "http://www.rumble.com/"
Ever wonder what cookies.txt (Windows) or MagicCookie (Mac) was doing on your hard drive? Those files are collections of little data caches put into your computer by some of the Web sites you browse. Sites taking advantage of this feature use your cookies file to store information they can access the next time you - or someone else on your machine - visit. Such information may include which pages you look at and how long you stay at each. One example of cookie use is the Microsoft Network, which allows you to customize which features you want to see when you show up there. We just thought you should know....
"Ask Dr. Internet" is a well-written FAQ about numerous aspects of the Internet and computers in general. With sponsors that include Project Gutenberg, the site is nicely organized and full of information for both newbies and intermediate users. Advanced hackers will probably yawn their way through it. Question and answer topics range from "Why can't I get e-mail to some people?" to "What is a name field and why do we need one?" to "Is the Internet Still Getting Bigger?" Pointers to numerous other useful Internet pages are provided. "http://promo.net/gut/"
Everyone with a Web site or, for that matter, with a Web browser can pick up their very own "Anarchy Award: the Best of the Web". If you've spent any time netsurfing, you've noticed the plethora of virtual awards displayed on Web pages. The Anarchy Award offers every Net junkie the chance to review his own site and award himself the ultimate crowning glory, Anarchy's "The Best of the Web". Anarchy reserves venom for other Web awards like Point Communications. If, as Lycos and Alta Vista claim, there are 16.5 million valid Web pages, Web cruising for 24 hours a day while spending 10 minutes at each page would let a Point surfer visit its famed top five percent in only 15 years. Keep those acceptance speeches under 20 minutes, please. "http://www.anythingbut.com/~chant/anarchy/"
A site that includes its own calibration tests for adjusting your monitor to correctly display their images is one that takes its art very seriously. Its mission is to document photography as it transforms from analogue to digital media, using images with content value and not just interesting technique. The works of these various, mostly Latin American, artists address issues of personal importance: reminiscences of Havana; documentation of Guatemalan coffee harvesters; street children in Mexico City; even abstract erotica. Well worth a visit. "http://zonezero.com/"
STRIKING ART FROM HAITIAN WING OF ELECTRIC GALLERY
Begin with a brief, interesting article on the history of the vibrant art of Haiti, then go see the unusual and colorful work of Haitian artists. The works are for sale; size and price are listed. The latest exhibition here is of the Voodoo flags used in ritual ceremonies. The images are presented in reasonable sizes and numbers per page, with larger images available. "http://www.egallery.com/haiti.html"
More than just another online art museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art's exhibition of 19th century American art is an art history education. The paintings are presented in gray-scale with enlarged color details to the side. Descriptions of each painting and artist can be browsed in three ways: in short blurbs on the page; through links to the Britannica Online; and in RealAudio files. Unfortunately, the gray images lack oomph next to the color panels, but connections to other paintings by an artist somewhat make up for that. The site disappears at the end of February, so get it while you can. "http://clever.net/19cwww/exhibit.html"
The Norton Museum in Pasadena has put part of its Great Masters collection online with lots of heavy hitters like Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, and Rodin, all nicely arranged with informative text about each painting or sculpture. There's also a representative sample of the museum's quite large South Asian sculpture. Not an extensive site, but well done. "http://www.citycent.com/CCC/Pasadena/nsmuseum.htm"
Sokari Douglas Camp is a Nigerian-born artist living in England. Her Masquerade sculptures combine both her African cultural experiences and her British art training. You can find articles by and about the artist, samples of her work, and a downloadable portion of a documentary which is being shown at her current exhibit at the Museum of Mankind in London at: "http://www.arc.co.uk/sokari/home.html"
The Lost World, Michael Crichton's sequel to Jurassic Park, is the subject of a Web page set up by his publisher, Random House. The stylishly designed site offers users an automatic guided tour of the eerie world of bio-engineering gone wrong, as well as excerpts - audio and text - from the novel. Notable sights at the site include scads of dinosaur, genetics, and paleontology sites, a Web contest related to the book's release, video clips from the Jurassic Park movie (with the first T. rex scene!), and short synopses of some of Crichton's other works. As soon as production on the Lost World movie begins (unless it already has), this site will find its monthly hits increasing exponentially. "http://www.randomhouse.com/site/lostworld/"
Sandbox Webzine is an Internet offshoot of Sandbox Magazine, a New York arts community publication, dedicated to "exploring the themes of creative and subversive play in the arts and culture". The site's dazzling (and dizzying) presentation gives the casual netsurfer a taste of the eclectic articles and poetry that appear within. Notably, there are interviews with a Yanomami shaman, and with the owner and operator of a gallery known as the Body Archive, dedicated to piercing, tattooing and other forms of body modification. There are three issues of the magazine stored at the Web site in electronic form, and instructions on how to subscribe to the snail-mail version. "http://www.echonyc.com/~sandbox/index.html"
Piety. Wholesomeness. Family values. If you're looking for any of those, just be sure to give Fat City News a wide berth. This satirical, sarcastic e-zine pulls laughs out of its e-hat with articles like "Why Nixon Rising from the Depths of Hell Is the Only Hope for America", which holds up the late ex-president as the only savior from the mediocrity that the American elections are unleashing on an unsuspecting populace. This is hard-hitting, below the belt, hilarious stuff, but is certainly not for the easily offended or delicate of constitution. "http://www.dnaco.net/~exposure/FCN/real-index.html"
If you're a SF book buff, you'll want to visit this site. Baen Books has put together an attractive, informative, and compact collection of information about their new books and authors. They have interviews with authors, preview chapters, cover graphics suitable for computer wallpaper (for sale), and even a contest. You can also browse their online catalogue. "http://www.baen.com/"
James "the Amazing" Randi, a prestidigitator of no small skill and a personal hero of our own editor, has been debunking bunko-men for decades with the insight that only a skilled magician can provide. The MacArthur Foundation recognized his contributions with one of their famed genius grants a few years ago. The details of Randi's successful court battle with Israeli "psychic" Uri Geller are available as are the explanations for many psychic phenomona which were exposed in his Nova special. Background information on Randi, his bibliography, and plenty of links to other skeptics' sites are available. "http://www.mamboland.com/randi/randi.html"
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE YOURSELF A CONCRETE-MIX ENEMA?
Do you really want to know? OK, then. The Rectal Foreign Bodies Page offers a proctological perspective on the apparently widespread practice of stashing foreign objects (bottles, light bulbs, concrete mix, etc.) in that ever-popular place where the sun does not shine. Here, you are guaranteed to gain many insights (hehehe), thanks to a few demonstrative x-rays and photographs. And if that's not enough, other butt-related sites are provided. But what happened to Mr. Concrete Enema? "The attending physician recommended a psychiatric consultation, but the patient declined." "http://www.well.com/user/cynsa/newbutt.html"
The Mary Rose Virtual Maritime Museum has a tight focus for its audience: naval archaeologists and other history buffs. It's sponsored by the Mary Rose Trust to illuminate the story of a sunken and raised Tudor warship. Some details, such as a passage about the Mary Rose's surgeon, are gripping: "One of the three syringes was found in the chest, these had blunt ends and were probably used either to drain wounds or treat syphilis with urethral injections of mercury." Ouch! Great pains were taken in this Web restoration. Its dry conservatism may not spark a treasure hunt, but it aims at currency with references to Prince Charles and the Wilkinson Sword - and as long as pirates roam the seas, warships will hold interest. "http://www.synergy.net/homeport.html"
You want globes, you got globes. This site is a geographer's nightmare: hundreds of globe images with names like Conformal Projections or Ice Caps and Permafrost, but no text explaining what's represented or how. And they're all displayed against a hideously vivid rainbow background with mucho animation. Some of the images are quite nice though and the globe icon collection is potentially useful. The historic maps are particularly fascinating. But visit wearing your darkest sunglasses. "http://hum.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/glob/glob1.htm"
NO WEALTH, BUT PLENTY OF HEALTH ONLINE
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Health and Science magazine has its own Internet site. If you're the kind of individual who is entranced by reports on fruit flies and craves to know whether neutrinos have mass, you'll love this Web page. The health-related topics are not as prevalent as the science stuff - despite the nagging note about the need for adults to get booster shots - but reading about Jurassic frogs and the virtues of bats lowers our blood pressure, at least. "http://sln.fi.edu/inquirer/inquirer.html"
DEBUNKING THE MYSTERIES OF THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
A James Randi in the making has devoted a page to the Bermuda Triangle. Why do strange things seem to happen in the triangular space between Bermuda, Miami, and San Juan, PR? Wrong question. Ask why people believe they happen. Here's a great place to start exploring the possibilities and weeding out the myths. It's not the most professional looking site out there, but we commend the effort. "http://tigger.cc.uic.edu/~toby-g/tri.html"
Dino Russ's Lair, which we reported on back at the K-T boundary, has moved. So has that energetic UniSci - again. But we expect to hear from them again next month. Russ: "http://denr1.igis.uiuc.edu/isgsroot/dinos/dinos_home.html" UniSci: "http://unisci.com/unisci/"
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