Survival: Animated Knots

"This website is aimed at yachtsmen, scouts, climbers, fishermen and anyone else who needs to know how to tie Practical Safe Knots. Each animated knot 'ties itself' automatically and can also be 'tied' and 'untied' slowly to reveal its structure....These knots [are] based on experience, a careful review of major resources, and advice from many helpful contributors." -- from the website. <http://www.animatedknots.com/#KnotList>

Music: Marian Anderson

"This exhibition celebrates the artistic development and musical career of Marian Anderson. Renowned throughout the world for her extraordinary contralto voice, she is also remembered for her dignity and grace under pressure. Through the mechanism of recorded sound, we can continue to enjoy Ms. Anderson's renderings of Lieder and spirituals. Through the reflected light of photographs, we can glimpse the preparation and performance of her repertoire. And through the papers that she left behind, we can investigate and understand how, when, where, and with whom her life took shape, was enriched, and became enriching not only for her audiences but also for others in need." -- from the website. <http://www.library.upenn.edu/>

Music: 'the most important collection of rock recordings ever assembled' (WSJ)

"Wolfgang's Vault is the world's most exceptional collection of poster art, vintage t-shirts, concert photos, concert tickets and other rock music memorabilia. The Vault's holdings feature the complete archives of legendary rock impresario Bill "Wolfgang" Graham, whose headliners included Johnny Cash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Janis Joplin, Aerosmith, Jefferson Airplane, AC/DC and Phish. Here, you'll find rock posters, concert photos, remarkably preserved vintage t-shirts and more from over 17,000 concerts worldwide." -- from the website. <http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/>

Reading: The Online Books Page

The Online Books Page has links to more than 25,000 free books on the web: <http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/>

BTW, here are a few other good online sources for tips on books:

At the busy review site AllReaders.com you can search for books based on plot, setting, character, and writing style, among other options. <http://www.allreaders.com/>

whichbook.net lets you muck about in your feelings about what you want to read. "Instead of looking for a crime novel, you can look for a book that is unpredictable, very romantic and a little bit sad. Or a challenging book that's also funny with plenty of sex. whichbook.net will find titles which match your preferences. If you don't fancy any of the books offered, change your choices and try again - there are 20 million different individual permutations possible!" <http://www.whichbook.net/>

The Mostly Fiction! booklist, which grew out of a reader's obsession with flea markets, swap meets and used book stores, is easy to browse, includes suggested reading in various categories, and a newsletter. <http://www.mostlyfiction.com/>

isbn.nu "offers a quick way to compare the prices of any in-print and many out-of-print books at 14 online bookstores. You can view the results with or without the shipping costs of a single book, and also find the fastest source for a book from ordering to delivery. Search on the title, author, or subject to find books of interest, and then simply click Compare Prices to rapidly find the prices for that book." <http://www.isbn.nu/>

If your local library, your favorite coffee house/used book store, Good Will and Amazon have all let you down, there's always Book Finder, a search engine-style doorway to the wares of over 100,000 sellers of new, used, rare, and out-of-print books, over 1 million titles in all. <http://www.bookfinder.com/>

Instruction: Texas Hold 'Em...or Texas Fold 'Em

"Texas Holdem poker strategy for beginning online poker play is not that tough to learn. Basic Texas Holdem poker strategy requires you to learn what makes a good starting hand, learn when you are in good table position for the hand that you have and betting it, and finally (and maybe the most important) having the patience to wait for a good starting hand and playing correctly for the table position that you have. These three points are the three most important Texas Holdem poker strategies for winning online poker." -- from the website. <http://www.BasicTexasHoldem.com/>

Transportation: Rails Underground

"Metro Bits is about urban underground railways (metros or subways). The initial page in this collection, regularly updated and being kind of a flagship page of this website (and the most popular), is Metro Arts & Architecture." -- from the website. <http://www.mic-ro.com/metro/>

Music: RapNews.net

Rap News Network, providing news coverage for rap, hip hop, and R&B artists, has a new site design and features, including a popular artist index, CD & DVD releases, email alerts, blogs, and forums. <http://www.rapnews.net/>

Good Eatin': The dish on dining out in London

Unlike Zagat, a customer review on London Eating will tell you what a restaurant is really like. <http://www.london-eating.co.uk>

Media: Front Pages Around the World

Newseum shows today's front pages on 400+ international newspapers. A map lets you choose a country and then pick specific papers to look at. <http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/>

DWM: Benjamin Franklin web portal

"A comprehensive, one-stop site that includes carefully curated educational resources, Franklin's own writings and proverbs, and tens of thousands of websites scattered throughout cyberspace." -- from the website. <http://ben.clusty.com/>

Online Radio: "New Grass, Prog & More"

My absolute favorite* listening is NG,P&M on 365. Where else do you hear Lambchop, Grandaddy, Sparklehorse, Richard Thompson, Bruce Cockburn, Mercury Rev, m. ward, The Holy Modal Rounders, The Band, Jethro Tull, George Harrison, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Phish, The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, Yes, early Pink Floyd, Ian Anderson, The Strawbs, The New Grass Revival, Candlewyck, Railroad Earth, The John Cowan Band, The Yonder Mountain String Band, Bela Fleck, The Sam Bush Band, Darrell Scott, Druha Trava (hot Czech Bluegrass!), Steel String Theory, Hot Rize, The Biscuit Burners, The Country Gentlemen, Slipstream, John Hartford, Jamie Hartford, The Gordon Stone Band, The Waybacks, Nothin’ Fancy, The Larry Keel Experience, Mike Marshall, and Darol Anger on the same playlist?! <http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser/>
*at the moment