The
Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony Project.
'Elizabeth Cady Stanton it was, who proposed in 1848 that the first
convention for woman's rights proclaim it "the duty of the women of this
country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective
franchise." Susan B. Anthony, then a schoolteacher, paired up with
Stanton in 1851, forming one of the most remarkable partnerships in
American history--a fifty-two year friendship based on their mutual
commitment to establish "perfect political equality among all classes of
citizens." '
Survival International: Bushmen.
'The 'Bushmen' are the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, where
they have lived for at least 20,000 years. Their home is the vast
expanse of the Kalahari desert.'
School Sanitation Toolkit.
'Worldwide, an estimated 83 percent of the primary school-age children
attend school. In most developing countries, the sanitary and hygienic
conditions at schools are often appalling, characterized by the absence
of proper functioning water supply, sanitation and hand washing
facilities...'
link
14th December
Fatal Flood.
'In
the spring of 1927, after weeks of incessant rains, the Mississippi
River went on a rampage from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, inundating
hundreds of towns, killing as many as a thousand people and leaving a
million homeless. In Greenville, Mississippi, efforts to contain the
river pitted the majority black population against an aristocratic
plantation family, the Percys-and the Percys against themselves. A
dramatic story of greed, power and race during one of America's greatest
natural disasters.'
Bottle-Cap Monument.
'It's not the most expressive bit of folk art ever, but this decorated
shed in Stevens Point, Wisconsin,
is an example of the kind of vernacular creativity that comes at great
effort but goes away quickly, almost casually.'
FBI Files on the Moorish Science Temple of America.
'The Moorish Science Temple of America was organized in 1913 in Newark,
New Jersey. The Temple was investigated by the FBI in 1953 for violation
of the Selective Service Act of 1948 and Sedition. In September of 1953,
the Department of Justice, concluded that prosecution for violation of
the Selective Service Act was not warranted. A 1940 investigation was
conducted to determine if the Moorish Science Temple of America was
committing subversive activities by adhering to and spreading of
Japanese propaganda. The investigation failed to substantiate that
members were pro-Japanese.'
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn - Autobiography.
'I was born at Kislovodsk on 11th December, 1918. My father had studied
philological subjects at Moscow University, but did not complete his
studies, as he enlisted as a volunteer when war broke out in 1914. He
became an artillery officer on the German front, fought throughout the
war and died in the summer of 1918, six months before I was born...'
19th Century India.
'The study of 19th century India (years 1801- 1900) provides a glimpse of
India in its earlier centuries, while many records of the period are
available due to the western influences...'
Stanley Szwarc Metalwork Sculpture.
'Stanley Szwarc's brilliance comes across in every object he makes, their
facets reflecting the complexity of his artistic vision as much as they do
the light. In the dozen or so years since he starting piecing together
scraps collected at the machine shop where he works, Szwarc has made
thousands of boxes, vases, crosses, key fobs, earrings and other objects,
no two alike. A musician and bookkeeper before he emigrated from Poland,
Szwarc is diffident about his talent, but there is no mistaking the
creativity behind his flights of ornamentation. '
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures.
'This is a dictionary of algorithms, algorithmic techniques, data
structures, archetypical problems, and related definitions. Algorithms
include common functions, such as Ackermann's function. Problems include
traveling salesman and Byzantine generals. Some entries have links to
implementations and more information.'
Slang City.
'It's the online home of American slang!'
Tule Tree, Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico.
'The mighty tree in Santa Maria del Tule, has a circumference of over
160 feet at its base, and is between 2000 and 3000 years old, making it
one of the oldest living things on earth. '
'Arbol del Tule is Mexico's most famous tree, and some say the world's
largest single biomass. The Tule tree and its environs comprise a unique
natural monument, an attraction for locals and visitors alike. '
BrainInfo. Structure and atlas of the
human brain.
'BrainInfo is designed to help you identify structures in the brain. If
you provide the name of a structure, BrainInfo will show it and tell you
about it.'
Secrets of a Master Builder. How James Eads
tamed the mighty Mississippi.
'A self-made man and one of America's greatest engineers, James Buchanan
Eads led a life inextricably intertwined with the nation's most
important waterway, the Mississippi River. He explored the river bottom
in a diving bell of his own design; made a fortune salvaging wrecks; in
the 1870s built the world's first steel bridge over the Mississippi at
St. Louis; then deepened the river at its mouth, turning New Orleans
into the second largest port in the nation. By the time of his death in
1887, Eads was widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential men
of his day.'
Mount Athos: The Holy Mountain.
'Is the centre of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism. Set in an area of
outstanding natural beauty, it is a treasury which houses and guards
many artefacts and monuments of religions, national and artistic value.
It is also a "workshop" where religions arts and crafts are still
practised to this day, and where deep and genuine spirituality is
allowed to flourish and bear fruit. As an institution Mount Athos is,
and has been, the chief standard bearer of Orthodox Christianity. '
List of Popes.
The history of the Papacy from St. Peter to Benedict
XVI; links to biographies of each Pope.
The Yuan Surname.
History of a Chinese surname.
'The surname originated from a noble family of the ancient state of Chen,
in what is now eastern Henan province. The written form of the character
took its current standardised form around the 1st century. During the
Han Dynasty, it was associated with the powerful Yuan clan of Ru'nan and
later during Jin and Southern Dynasties, with the Yuan clan of Chen...'
Seattle Power and Water Supply Collection.
'This collection showcases images of hydroelectric power and water supply
facilities built in Washington State from the late 1890s to the 1950s.
Many of these dams, power plants and reservoirs were built in some of
Washington's most rugged terrain and had features that represented
significant engineering feats of their time. Many of the projects were
conceived of and developed by important businessmen and politicians
such as Reginald H. Thomson (City Engineer) and J.D. Ross, superintendent
of the Seattle Lighting Department...'
Arrr!!! Sea Shanties and Drinking Songs.
'We'll sing any song about the sea, or about drinkin' rum, or about
being at sea when ye'd much rather be ashore drinkin' rum with pretty
lassies who're also drinkin' rum.'
FBI Files on Lucille Ball.
'This concerns Lucille Ball's testimony at the 1953 House Select
Committee on Un-American Activities hearings which reflected her
registration to vote as a communist in 1936 due to the insistence of her
grandfather.'
'I Love Lucy'.
LambdaMOO.
An virtual house, online community and social
experiment, with LambdaMOO map.
The United Nations' Millennium
Development Goals.
'The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - which range from
halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing
universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 - form a
blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's
leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented
efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest.'
Ancient Scripts.
A compendium of worldwide writing
systems from prehistory to today.
Alaska's Digital Archive.
'Alaska's Digital Archives presents a wealth of historical photographs,
albums, oral histories, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects,
and other materials from libraries, museums and archives throughout
our
state. '
The Astronomy Cafe.
'Do you have lots of questions about space that you can't seem to get
answers to? Would you like to learn about a career in astronomy, Big
Bang cosmology, and many other HOT topics in astronomy? Sit down, grab
a cup of your favorite beverage, and have a look around!'
link
Anthony van Dyck. Art.
'The seventh of twelve children born to a wealthy silk merchant
in Belgium, Anthony van Dyck began to paint at an early age. By the
age of nineteen, he had become a teacher in Antwerp. Soon afterward,
he collaborated and trained with the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul
Rubens...'
The Walls of Pasaquan. Roadside art.
'That Eddie Owens Martin, creator of this fabulous environment near
Buena Vista, Ga., was a crackpot is hard to deny. A fortune-telling
ex-street-hustler, he created a personal religion that enshrined himself
as a saint and his family farm as a holy place. Yet the strength of his
vision is so great as to make his spirituality not only palpable in bricks
and paint, but even credible...'
Memorials of Madhya Pradesh.
'The author traveled extensively in the state of Madhya Pradesh in
Central India in the year 1976-1977 to observe, discover, study, and
photograph the memorials scattered throughout the state. '
Influenza 1918.
One of the deadliest pandemics in human history.
The Renaissance.
'The Renaissance, also known as "Rinascimento" (in Italian), was an
influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific
revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European
history. It marks the transitional period between the end of the Middle
Ages and the start of the Modern Age. '
Arch-Wizard. Confessions of the admins of one
of the earliest MUDs.
The Report from Iron Mountain.
'The Report From Iron Mountain was a hoax written by Leonard C. Lewin in
1967 and published by the Dial Press. The idea for the Report came from
Victor Navasky. In 1966, Navasky read an article in the New York Times
on a stock market downturn due to a "peace scare". This gave him an idea
for a report that would get people thinking about a peacetime economy
(the hoax came out during the Vietnam War) and the stupidity of the arms
race. '
The Public Papers of President Ronald W. Reagan.
'The Public Papers of the President: Ronald Reagan, 1981-1989 contain
the statements, speeches and papers released by the Office of the Press
Secretary during the Reagan Presidency. '
Michel Foucault Resources.
'This site provides a variety of resources relating to the work of the
famous French philosopher who lived from 1926 to 1984.'
The Battle of Clontarf.
'The battle of Clontarf, fought outside Dublin on Good Friday, 23 April
1014, was the greatest battle of the early period of Irish history. Its
lustre has not, over the intervening centuries, been dimmed; rather has
its fame increased, so that it has come to be remembered as an event of
a golden age, a mighty feat of arms of which Ireland was capable 'ere
her faithless sons betrayed her'.'
British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and
Protectorate 1638-60.
'The "English Civil War" of the mid-17th Century was part of a wider
conflict that involved Scotland and Ireland as well as England and
Wales. Also called "The Wars of the Three Kingdoms" and the "English
Revolution", the British Civil Wars and Commonwealth period laid the
foundations of the modern British constitution...' Timelines,
biographies, etc.
Diggers,
Ranters and
Levellers.
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Archives.
'Scattered across a vast expanse of water as wide as the continental
United States are over twenty-one hundred islands that make up the
cultural region known as Micronesia. The area includes three major
archipelagoes: the Marshalls, Carolines, and Marianas. (Culturally,
Micronesia includes Kiribati and Nauru, but the separate political
history of these countries excludes them from the archives discussed
here.) Having passed through colonial rule by the Spanish, Germans, and
Japanese, the islands of Micronesia became a United States administered
United Nations strategic trusteeship following World War II. This new
arrangement was named the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
(TTPI)...'
The Sands Mechanical Museum.
'The Sands Mechanical Museum contains many mechanical wonders, including
antique coin operated games, nimble cars like the Super Seven and Elise,
and unusual time pieces...'
Anglo-Australian Observatory Images.
'This page is the gateway to a unique collection of wide-field
astronomical photographs, mostly made with the telescopes of the
Anglo-Australian Observatory by
David Malin.'
Revolution by Design: The Soviet Poster.
'Lenin created the first truly modern propaganda machine, and its most
colorful, dramatic and original form was the poster...'
Visual Culture and Health Posters.
'Public health has a long and distinguished visual record. From
seventeenth-century engravings to the latest digital images, visual
representations have played a critical role in educating the public
about modern health crises. But what purposes do these images serve
beyond their immediate role in disease prevention and health education?
What do they tell us about the history of health care, or attitudes
toward our bodies, or the world that we live in?...'
The Highland Clearances in Scotland.
'In the 19th century, something happened in the highlands of Scotland
that should never have happened at all. The Highland Clearances were a
shock ripple from the wave that was the battle of Culloden. Years
afterwards, when the rest of Britain was waking up to a new era of
civilisation and enlightenment, greedy landlords of estates and lands
in the highlands of Scotland began to remove the local people to make
way for sheep. Sheep were given priority over people, but not just any
people. For the folk burned out of their homes were the decendants of
the clansmen, the native people of the land - the highlanders...'
The Hurricane of '38.
'As the storm made its way across the Atlantic and up the eastern
seaboard, there was little warning. Radar had not been invented. The
National Weather Bureau predicted it would blow itself out at North
Carolina, but it didn't. No one had ever seen a storm like this...'
Drama.
'This site contains a collection of original plays and screenplays,
criticism and links to other sites concerned with theatre. It publishes
both classic and contemporary works, and would be delighted to consider
your work if you'd care to submit it to our editors for review.'
The Ghost Dance.
'The Ghost Dance, also known as the Ghost Dance of 1890, as noted in
historical accounts, is a millennialistic spiritual movement among
Native Americans that began toward the end of 1888 and reached its peak
just before the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Although the religion is
still practiced, it enjoyed only a short period of popularity.'
Judy Garland.
'Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an American film
actress who is considered one of the greatest singing stars of
Hollywood's Golden Era of musical film, known for her intense acting and
for her strong, husky voice.'
Space Opera in Scientology Doctrine.
'In Scientology doctrine, space opera was the term used by Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard to describe extraterrestrial civilizations and
alien interventions in Earthly affairs. It forms a major element of the
beliefs of Scientology. Hubbard claimed that the modern-day science
fiction genre of space opera is merely an unconscious recollection of
real events from millions of years ago...'
'... Arslycus was an ancient civilization located in space, rather than
on a planet, as this was at a time when "nobody had invented planets
yet." Hubbard described it as being notorious for its mind-numbingly
tedious jobs, putting thetans to work for "ten thousand lives in
Arslycus, on the average", spent doing nothing better than polishing
bricks.'
Profiles in Science:
The Salvador E. Luria Papers.
'Salvador Edward Luria (1912-1991) was an Italian-born bacteriologist
whose pioneering work on bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) with Max
Delbrück demonstrated that bacterial resistance to phage infection
occurred through genetic mutation, and that bacteria were suitable
subjects for genetics research...'
MemoryWiki.
'Have a good story? Tell us. Enter the title of your memoir, when
it happened and your name (if you want). Then click the button to begin
writing. '
Buddha - A Hero's Journey to Nirvana.
'The essential message of Buddha's life is that each of us (irrespective
of sex or creed) is capable and deserving of Nirvana, having a potential
Buddha hidden in us. Buddha was born an ordinary mortal. His path to
fulfillment was not smooth and uneventful. Rather it was a journey
full of exciting experiences and mistakes made. He learned from each
of his mistakes, making it a springboard for all future, and finally
the ultimate success. The day we realize and awaken the Buddha within,
that would be our own Nirvana, which though personal, would bind us to
all humanity like never before.'
Miss America.
'Tracking the country's oldest beauty contest -- from its inception in
1921 as a local seaside pageant to its heyday as one of the country's most
popular events -- Miss America paints a vivid picture of an institution
that has come to reveal much about a changing nation. The pageant is about
commercialism and sexual politics, about big business and small towns. But
beyond the symbolism lies a human story -- at once moving, inspiring,
infuriating, funny and poignant. Using intimate interviews with former
contestants, behind-the-scenes footage, and photographs, the film reveals
how the pageant became a battleground and a barometer for the changing
position of women in society.'
Neuschwanstein Castle.
'Even before he died, the king had already become something of a
legend. "I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others",
Ludwig once told his governess, and it is this mysterious element that
still fascinates people today. The poet Paul Verlaine called Ludwig
II the "only true king of this century". The shy dreamer, who had none
of the typical characteristics of a popular king, lives on, still
idolized, as "the Kini". '
'His palaces, which were barred to strangers, have been visited by over
50 million people since his death. They are records in stone of the
ideal fantasy world which the king built as a refuge from reality. His
historic, poetic and ideal interpretation of his role as king was
finally his downfall. It is possible that he preferred to die rather
than return to reality...'
Porgy and Bess.
'The historic saga of George Gershwin's immortal American opera is
traced from the publication of DuBose Heyward's novel PORGY in 1924,
continuing on to the opera's premiere in 1935 and the many legendary
productions that followed through the decades. Kitty Carlisle Hart,
Francis Gershwin Godowsky, and scholars share their insights and memories.
Narrated by Ruby Dee, this documentary features many cast members in
interviews and performance clips, including Leontyne Price, William
Warfield, Maya Angelou, Diahann Carroll, Grace Bumbry, and Willard
White...'
Angel on Death Row. The real life cases in
"Dead Man Walking"; different views on the death
penalty from US Supreme Court Justices Blackmun and
Scalia, and the Catholic Church.
My Own Private Bangalore.
'The city of Bangalore today is famous for its multi-national call
centers, burgeoning software industry, fresh beer, imposing Government
buildings and the shopping districts. However, many journalists from
foreign countries who would visit these attractions (and especially the
Infosys campus) and then visit Kamat at his residence, were shocked by
the alternate Bangalore Kamat lived in. "Most Bangaloreans (the people
of Bangalore) do not frequent the pubs, do not own computers, or do not
shop in the Commercial district"-- Kamat would point out to them...'
The Crisis in Russia. Russia after the 1917
revolutions.
'The characteristic of a revolutionary country is that change is a
quicker process there than elsewhere. As the revolution recedes into the
past the process of change slackens speed. Russia is no longer the
dizzying kaleidoscope that it was in 1917. No longer does it change
visibly from week to week as it changed in 19l8. Already, to get a clear
vision of the direction in which it is changing, it is necessary to
visit it at intervals of six months, and quite useless to tap the
political barometer several times a day as once upon a time one used to
do. . . . But it is still changing very fast. My journal of "Russia in
1919, -while giving as I believe a fairly accurate pictureof the state
of affairs in February and March of 1919, pictures a very different
stage in the development of the revolution from that which would be
found by observers today.'
Levenshtein Distance.
'In information theory, the Levenshtein distance or edit distance
between two strings is given by the minimum number of operations needed
to transform one string into the other, where an operation is an
insertion, deletion, or substitution. It is named after the Russian
scientist Vladimir Levenshtein, who considered this distance in 1965. It
is useful in applications that need to determine how similar two strings
are, such as spell checkers.'
History of the NAACP.
'The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or
NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights
organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1909 to work on
behalf of black people. Members of the NAACP have referred to it as The
National Association, confirming NAACP's pre-eminence among
organizations active in the Civil Rights Movement since its origins in
the first years of the 20th century; little need was felt to specify
which "national association." '
A Chef and His Library.
'Chef Fritz Blank's culinary library helps to illustrate how a homegrown
Jersey boy became one of America's foremost French chefs. Since surviving
a 1987 Dumpster fire that otherwise gutted Blank's original location of
his restaurant, Deux Cheminées, his collection has grown to over 10,000
volumes of cookery books plus recipe pamphlets, menus and other culinary
ephemera. '
'A Chef & His Library examines a paper trail of the influences--from his
grandmother's cooking lessons to his career as a clinical
microbiologist--that shaped Blank's culinary education and sensibilities.
"My library may not be the biggest or the best or the most antiquarian,"
says Blank, "But it does reflect my tastes." '
Cult Sirens.
Hammer horror actresses, Bond girls, Fay Wray, etc.
Parts of the site may not be safe for work.
Legends
of America. A travel site for the nostalgic
and historic minded.
'When you travel, do you often wonder what happened at "this place"
in the past?; Who lived here?; What were they; like?; How did they
live their daily lives? If that's the case for you, here at Legends
of America, you will find content-rich travel destinations of the American
West, including Route 66, ghost towns, outlaws, treasure tales, and even a
few ghosts that we bump into along the way...'
La Llorona - weeping ghost of the Southwest.
'The legend of La Llorona (pronounced "LAH yoh ROH nah"), Spanish for
the Weeping Woman, has been a part of Hispanic culture in the Southwest
since the days of the conquistadores. The tall, thin spirit is said
to be blessed with natural beauty and long flowing black hair. Wearing
a white gown, she roams the rivers and creeks, wailing into the night
and searching for children to drag, screaming to a watery grave...'
The Spanish Civil War. Extensive historical article,
illustrated with images such as contemporary art,
posters, photographs.
Mother Goddess as
Kali - The Feminine Force in Indian Art.
'Kali is represented as a Black woman with four arms; in one hand
she has a sword, in another the head of the demon she has slain,
with the other two she is encouraging her worshippers. For earrings
she has two dead bodies and wears a necklace of skulls ; her only
clothing is a girdle made of dead men's hands, and her tongue protrudes
from her mouth. Her eyes are red, and her face and breasts are besmeared
with blood. She stands with one foot on the thigh, and another on the
breast of her husband...'
E Is For Ecstasy. Online book, published in 1993,
detailing the author's experiences.
Trail of the Hellhound: Delta Blues in the
Lower Mississippi Valley.
'When blues musician Robert Johnson wrote "Hellhound on My Trail" he
conjured the archetypal image of a bluesman, outcast from proper society
and stalked by personal demons. On our trip through the Lower
Mississippi Valley we will learn about the blues and the local musicians
who catapulted this art form to international prominence...'
Missouri's Dred Scott Case 1846-57.
'In its 1857 decision that stunned the nation, the United States Supreme
Court upheld slavery in United States territories, denied the legality
of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to
be unconstitutional. All of this was the result of an April 1846 action
when Dred Scott innocently made his mark with an "X," signing his
petition in a pro forma freedom suit, initiated under Missouri law, to
sue for freedom in the St. Louis Circuit Court. Desiring freedom, his
case instead became the lightning rod for sectional bitterness and
hostility that was only resolved by war.'
Habitat for Humanity.
'Since 1976, Habitat has built more than 125,000 simple, decent houses.
'
Libertarianism.
'Libertarianism is a political philosophy that holds that all
individuals should have the liberty to do as they wish with themselves
and their property as long as those actions do not infringe on the same
liberty of others. Thus, liberty is equalized among individuals, with no
individual having more liberty than any other...'
link
El Greco.
'This major retrospective exhibition consists of approximately 70
works by the great 16th-century painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known
to posterity as El Greco. '
The Sixties Project.
'One of the challenges of putting together a project on recent history
is that so many folks have lived through the era and have opinions about
what happened. The Sixties Project is designed not only to be useful to
scholars and students, but to provide a place where those who lived
through the Sixties can tell their own stories about the era, meet
others with common interests, and reflect on their experiences...'
Utamaro.
'Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1808) is regarded as one of the foremost
painters of beauty, or the "bijinga" genre. (I recently saw that 1946
classic film "Utamaro and his 5 Women", the title of which is a play on
the name of his triptych "Hideyoshi and his 5 Concubines", the publication
of which landed him in jail in 1805. The event figures prominently in the
film.)...'
Blaise Pascal.
'Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623-August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician,
physicist, and religious philosopher. Pascal was a child prodigy, who was
educated by his father. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and
applied sciences, where he made important contributions to the
construction
of mechanical calculators and the study of fluids, and clarified the
concepts of pressure and vacuum by expanding the work of Evangelista
Torricelli. Pascal also wrote powerfully in defence of the scientific
method...'
The Constitution of North Carolina.
'North Carolina has had three Constitutions in her history as a State:
the Constitution of 1776, the Constitution of 1868, and the Constitution
of 1971...'
Heidi.
' "Heidi" is a delightful story for children of life in the Alps, one of
many tales written by the Swiss authoress, Johanna Spyri, who died in
her home at Zurich in 1891. She had been well known to the younger
readers of her own country since 1880, when she published her story,
Heimathlos, which ran into three or more editions, and which, like her
other books, as she states on the title page, was written for those who
love children, as well as for the youngsters themselves. Her own
sympathy with the instincts and longings of the child's heart is shown
in her picture of Heidi...'
The Religious System of the Amazulu, 1870.
'This book is composed of a series of interviews conducted by Callaway
with Zulu informants, of which only the answers of the natives to
Callaway's questions are usually given. As such, it is made up primarily
of prose explanations of concepts and ideas that Callaway, a more or
less sympathetic English missionary, found to be of interest. There are
no sacred narratives, transcriptions of ceremonies, or anything else of
that nature, although the book is still interesting, and in many ways
more informative than it might be otherwise.'
The Peng Shuzi Internet Archive.
Chinese socialist and dissident.
'Peng spent 5 years in a Guomintang (Chinese Nationalist) prison and was
freed in 1937. Maintaining an underground presence against both
Guomintang and the CCP on the one side and organizing against the
Japanese occupation on the other, Peng contributed to the building of
the underground communist opposition in occupied China. After the war
and these Trotskyists started recruiting, Peng fled to Hong Kong ahead
of the CCP repression. He was then able to be the key correspondent for
the Fourth International by reporting on the repression of the Chinese
Trotskyists during the 1951-1953 period when Mao's forces destroyed all
independent workers organizations under the cover of the US assault on
the Korean peninsula. '
Memory Overflow -
'digital
archives
of human
experience,
stories,
memoirs,
memories,
fiction,
poems,
and
visual
histories.'
How To Tell The Birds From The Flowers.
'This is a book which belonged to my great-grandmother that I have
enjoyed since childhood. I noticed the copyright had expired in the US,
so I scanned it in so everyone can read it. '
Porgy
'I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, where city planners with an
eye toward those all-important tourists from Oshkosh and Vermont have
repackaged the town's fire-and-brimstone zeitgeist into a sanitized
Southern fried trifle that goes down sweeter than pralines on King
Street-where tourists from Wal-Mart America cruise the streets, stuffing
themselves on the Old Slave Market, Fort Sumter, Rainbow Row till
they're too complacent to wonder where the jazz is, why the tour guides
keep chattering about "servants," or how many gentrification carrion
birds the polished brass on the new tourist and convention center is
going to send wheeling over the peninsula's remaining black
neighborhoods...'
Beatrice Portinari.
'Dante first met Beatrice in Florence, his home city, when he was nine
years old and she was eight. This meeting occurred roughly around 1274.
She was dressed in a soft crimson cloth, and wore a girdle about her
waist. Dante instantly fell in love with her, thinking of her as angelic
with divine and noble qualities. Yet this was to be one of only two
times that Dante and Beatrice came into close contact...'
Life Patterns.
'A pop-up Java applet that displays a collection of the greatest
patterns ever created in Conway's Game of Life. '
Profiles in Science: The Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Papers.
'Albert Imre Szent-Gyorgyi (1893-1986), a Hungarian-born biochemist,
was the first to isolate vitamin C, and his research on biological
oxidation provided the basis for Krebs' citric acid cycle. His discoveries
about the biochemical nature of muscular contraction revolutionized the
field of muscle research. His later career was devoted to research in
"submolecular" biology, applying quantum physics to biological
processes...'
Pop Hangover.
A satirical look at American TV, with a focus on
reality TV.
Gods of Japan: A-Z Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist and
Shinto Deities.
'After moving to Kamakura in 1993, I became intrigued by the many deities
and faces of Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism. There are over 100
temples and shrines near my home, many dating from the 8th to 13th
centuries, many open to the public. There are now 1,000+ photos in this
library, ranging from the treasures of Kamakura to those of Nara, Kyoto,
and elsewhere in Japan. '
Titian and the Commander.
'This focused exhibition highlights the Getty's recently acquired Portrait
of Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis of Vasto, in Armor with a Page by Titian,
presenting it alongside two other paintings d'Avalos commissioned from
Titian...'
Through the Eyes of a Child: Presidential Portraits
Made by Children.
'Many children send pictures to presidents. When we are young, we think
that the president will cherish our artwork--perhaps even hang it on his
refrigerator. But as we get older, we think that a president would never
save such a small gift, knowing how many he receives.
But those drawings were saved. Every president since Herbert Hoover, who
has a museum in the Presidential Library system, has saved most of the
gifts that have been given to him. That includes those given by young
children, and those given by heads of states...'
Coney Island History.
'Coney Island was considered the world's largest and premier amusement
area during the first half of the 20th Century. It was a beach resort
that provided carefree entertainment and thrilling amusement park rides
to the millions of residents that lived in New York City.'
Convict Central.
'Most family historians in Australia regard a convict in their ancestry
as enormously desirable. "Convicts to Australia" is intended to guide,
inform and entertain those just starting the hunt as well as the more
experienced researcher. The site is a 'work in progress' and data is
being added regularly. '
Nigerian Music.
'When we first meet Israel and Ngozi Nwidor and Barine Wiwa-Lawani
in a displaced persons camp in Benin, we hear the voices of their
fellow refugees singing about their plight. When they and others Ogonis
were forced to flee their homes, their musical heritage traveled with
them...'
The Official Kwanzaa Website.
'As an African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions
throughout the world African community, Kwanzaa brings a cultural message
which speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the
fullest sense. Given the profound significance Kwanzaa has for African
Americans and indeed, the world African community, it is imperative that
an authoritative source and site be made available to give an accurate and
expansive account of its origins, concepts, values, symbols and
practice...'
