The findingDulcinea Blog

Sweet Sites | Don't Know Much About Music?

In the research section of our Web Guide to Music we’ve touted allmusic, an underrated encyclopedic resource of artist biographies and album reviews. If you’re reading a review of an album on Answers.com or in the iTunes Music Store, it often originates at allmusic.

Stream through your favorites in dozens of genres with Lala, a site that lets you both stream and download music. In a companion piece to this blog post on findingDulcinea, “Enjoying Music on the Web—Legally,” we discussed Lala and a few comparable sites. Lala stands out because of its extensive archive of 7 million songs, including classical, country, classic rock, pop, jazz and indie rock. Artist pages on Lala often include bios, as well as links to similar artists and Lala users who streamed or bought the artist.

Essentials of Music is a classical music destination with composer biographies, MP3 samples of their work and articles on major eras in classical music. The site is based on the W. W. Norton book title, “Essential Classics.”

Parents, get your children educated about classical music with Cincinnati Public Radio’s Classics for Kids, a site with radio shows, audio samples, articles on periods and composers, special features and games.

Mainstream and indie music fans alike will appreciate the new Billboard. The site used to be a hard-to-access database of music charts and news. Now it’s a glossy, colorful, multimedia-filled publisher with interactive music charts, news, interviews, concert coverage and more.

If you like Billboard, be sure to check out “5 Must-Book Music Sites,” a must-read for indie music fans that are just getting their feet wet online. It features five top sites in five categories—concert listings, MP3 blog, music magazine, lyric database and video site—as well as five runners-up.

Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development

Do You Know What’s in Your Food?

You’ve snugly secured your lunch, a chicken sandwich with vegetable fixings and mayo, in plastic cling wrap. But is your lettuce local, your chicken free range and your plastic free of #3 PVC? True, the thought of eating only perfectly clean, chemical-free food seems at times an overwhelming task. But the clutter of opinions and information on the Web has slowly given way to a more organized set of standards.

Some products are easier to dissect, ingredient-wise, than others. For instance, in the GLAD Web site FAQ section, the company reveals that it does not use PVC or BPA (Bisphenol-A), a potentially harmful and oft-debated ingredient used in many plastic water bottles.

But not all companies make the contents of their products available to consumers. Luckily, there’s GoodGuide, a so-called “B Corporation” that harnesses “the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.” The staff at GoodGuide ranks products’ impact on human health, the environment and other social factors, such as labor force. To determine rankings, GoodGuide consults with experts at academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations, considers government data and works with “private research firms.” The site is in beta, but plans to eventually allow users to sort through ranked products according to their own value systems. Read the GoodGuide Transparency Manifesto to get a handle on the site’s ambitious mission.

GoodGuide cofounder Dara O’Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley, was profiled by Michael B. Farrell for The Christian Science Monitor last month. O’Rourke explains that GoodGuide can help people “make better choices about what they buy,” and contends that “[t]ransparency will make the world better.” O’Rourke’s endeavor, which has involved “scientists and engineers working out of an office in downtown San Francisco” over the past year or so, already boasts 75,000 rated products. GoodGuide seems fast on its way to becoming “a sort of CliffsNotes to the confounding and complex world of ingredients typically—but not always—found listed on the back of everyday products,” Farrell noted.

Concerned consumers can also turn to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an organization that provides helpful information on food additives like artificial food dyes, caffeine and high-fructose corn syrup. The site also discusses the safety of the additives in its glossary, and has a list of banned additives.

And for general advice about reading and understanding food labels, read findingDulcinea’s "Foodie" column on the subject.       

Sarah Amandolare
Senior Writer

Sweet Sites | Refuge From the Apostrophe Apocalypse

Grammar vigilante and candidate for living definition of the word “cantankerous,” Stefan Gatward of Tunbridge Wells, England, has been vandalizing signs so that they display the proper use of an apostrophe. For Mr. Gatward, The Times of London reported, a sign on St John’s Close that reads “St Johns Close” is a symbol of a larger cultural problem.

As the recent findingDulcinea article “What’s Happening to Writing Skills?” reveals, Mr. Gatward is not alone in decrying the decline of language. If only he’d known about the blog Apostrophe Catastrophes, perhaps he’d have put down the pen, snapped a photo and reveled in the support of the syntactical community. Fortunately for language enthusiasts, the Web boasts several oases of grammatical correctness and linguistic love.

The fiercest syntactical debates tend to be transatlantic, but American grammarians can still find a home at World Wide Words, which considers “international English from a British viewpoint.” Michael Quinion, author of “Why Is Q Always Followed by U?” and former columnist for The Daily Telegraph, has collected over a decade’s worth of his own articles on individual words, turns of phrase and eclectic themes, such as “the vocabulary of British lotteries” and “tourism’s lexical legacy.” He also answers questions and reviews books about language, ranging from “The American Heritage Dictionary” to pop-grammar hit “Eats, Shoots and Leaves.” World Wide Words is basically a one-stop shop to satisfy any linguistic curiosity, but if you’re still not sated, his “Other Sites of Interest” provides an exhaustive index of the Web’s offerings.

Reading blogs and columns is one of the best ways to keep abreast of trends in the word world. Schott’s Vocab, a New York Times blog, “explores news sites around the world to find words and phrases that encapsulate the times in which we live or shed light on a story of note.” If you’ve become written-word weary, tune in to actor Stephen Fry’s BBC radio show on language, “Fry’s English Delight,” which recently pondered the meaning of “hallo.”

For more of a community, join alt.usage.english, a large grammar newsgroup that rivals the Secret Service for seriousness of purpose. If you’re too intimidated to participate, take a look at their extensive archive, but beware: their FAQ section alone contains 220 topics.

Jill Marcellus
Senior Intern

Sweet Sites | A Eulogy to Kennedy and Obituaries

Photo: AP

Last night, Sen. Edward Kennedy passed away after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. Any newswire reveals this much, but only the obituary pages offer a comprehensive look at Senator Kennedy’s life and national importance. Technically an announcement of death, an obituary can also serve as an authoritative biography, and it is often written while its subject is still alive and continuously updated until its fatal debut. Before you tire of the phrase “lion in the Senate,” read the following thoughtful and detailed looks at Senator Kennedy’s life, and bookmark those newspapers’ obituary sections for some excellent biographical resources.

Declaring Sen. Kennedy “a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life,” the six-page New York Times obituary delves scrupulously behind the senator’s public image, offering a detailed, chronological account that balances the discipline of his public career with his private excesses and troubles. After an overview of the circumstances of Kennedy’s death and his recent role in the health care debate, reporter John M. Broder breaks down the phases of the senator’s life, from a youth overshadowed by more powerful brothers to his role as influential statesman. The Times supplements its written obituary with multimedia resources, including a 13-minute video tribute.

Focusing more on his legislative accomplishments and priorities, The Washington Post obituary provides a slightly different emphasis in its extensive coverage of Kennedy, but still wraps up with a thorough and interactive biographical timeline. Reporter Joe Holley also offers his personal reflection on the senator on the Post’s “Post Mortem” blog, which goes behind the day’s obituaries in regular features like “The Daily Goodbye.”

For an international perspective, including details on how he “annoyed several British administrations,” read Kennedy’s obituary in The Daily Telegraph. Interspersing its obit with illuminating quotes and anecdotes, The Telegraph offers a more personal and visceral account of the senator—and of its other obituary subjects—than the American papers do.

Finally, if you would like to research an older or more obscure death than Senator Kennedy’s, the Internet Public Library has written a helpful guide to finding obituaries.

Jill Marcellus
Senior Intern

Discover a Culture Through its Cuisine

Mollie Caselli writes for GulliverGo, a new study abroad and travel Web site.

When I studied in Paris I took courses in French language and history. Classes were challenging, but my experiences with the local cuisine introduced me to the real Parisian culture. Whether you’re at a food market, birthday dinner, or learning to cook homemade pasta, the local recipes will teach you about daily life.

You can mark the days, seasons, and holidays by what you eat. If you’re Greek, it’s sweet bread at Easter, Baklava at Christmas, and Greek Avgolemono (lemon and rice) soup on Sunday. My Italian family savors a pot of Crab Cioppino every Christmas Eve. Christmas in Paris: I overindulged in La Bûche de Noël (cake bread) and Stollen bread. You know it’s a hot day in Spain when locals spoil themselves with Gazpacho. Anyone can experience these cultural treats; you just have to be a little open-minded.

Visit Local Restaurants

Don’t just open a tourist guide and find the most popular restaurant. Check out those hole-in-the-wall joints. You know, the homely ones where people speak the native language. Carry your language dictionary and you’ll be able to translate what’s on the menu.

Learn to Cook

Take a cooking class abroad. Whether it’s a day or a week, learn how to create your favorite food. You will not only discover its history, but you’ll also take a piece of your host country home with you.

Live With a Family

It might sound daunting, but live with a local family. Maybe you already have family abroad. Get to know them. I lived with a host family in Paris. We shared conversations over dinner. I even helped cook for a birthday party. Some locals invite travelers for one night. You’ll enjoy great food, but you’ll also learn how families value their time together.

Go-Go Boots, Baby Boomers, Peace Movements and Pop Art: Minced Metaphors of the 1960s

AP
The Woodstock Music & Art Fair of 1969, perhaps one of the least dramatic events of the decade.

There’s a new line of thought being developed by many journalists. They’re making a plea for a fresh look at the protesters that have usurped town hall debates across the country, arguing that many civil rights activists in the 1960s didn’t always know what they were doing either, as Mitch Albom suggests.

Albom may be onto something. The 1960s may not be as rosy as second wavers and civil rights activists imagine. In the early 1960s, black people rose in rebellion all over the Deep South in response to the memory of slavery. Their deep and constant humiliation was found in poetry, music, occasional outbursts of anger and more frequent sullen silences as they pledged themselves again and again to passive resistance.

The 1960s also marks the decade when two buses left from Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961, only to be burned, with riders beaten because of their affiliation with other Freedom Riders; when prisoners, instead of shattering rocks on a work gang in Georgia, smashed their own legs with sledgehammers to call attention to the daily brutality they suffered; and when civil rights workers go missing. Come to your own conclusions about Albom’s analogy. There are plenty of resources for mining the Internet for cultural and political historians of the 1960s. Here are a choice few of them:

PBS produced a timeline of the 1960s with resources for teachers and students.

The Seattle Times presents a discussion of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement.

Ron Jones’ famous social experiment, The Third Wave, was a proto-fascist movement among his high school students in 1967, and is a cultural artifact of the 1960s.

Ella Baker, who advocated for civic engagement in a participatory democracy, is one of the superstar civil right activists of the 1960s, and has a Web site dedicated to retelling her biography.

To sate the increasing interest in presidential private thoughts, catch up with John Quincy Adams on Twitter, read George Washington’s diaries or visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum to take a peek at Johnson’s diary. 

Joshua Goldberg

Museums Hold the Key to International Treasures

The Chateau de Versailles

Mollie Caselli writes for GulliverGo, a new study abroad and travel Web site.

You’ve accomplished the big hurdle of moving to a foreign country to study abroad. Good Job! What better way to learn about your new culture than by checking out its museums, eating its local cuisine or hitting up festivals? Whether it’s archaeology, film, art or sports cars, you can learn a lot about a host city by what it values most in its museums. Here are a few to check out. For any museums, remember to carry your student ID card for extra discounts!

Versailles, France: Palace of Versailles. When you need a break from the excitement of Paris, hop on the train for an hour and spend your day at the Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV turned the court of Versailles into the center of political power when he moved there from Paris in 1682. Today the estate features royal apartments of former kings and queens, a grand opera, the famed Hall of Mirrors and Louis XIV’s prized gardens. It’s a worthy day trip from Paris.

Naples, Italy: National Archaeological Museum. The National Archaeological Museum in Naples is one of the most impressive in Italy. The art, sculptures, mosaics and literature provide a glimpse into Greek and Roman antiquity. Of course, art history buffs that yearn to see those Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces in person should head north to Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.

Dublin, Ireland: Guinness Storehouse Take a break from the castles and galleries for a real taste of Ireland. Built in 1904, the Guinness Storehouse building housed the fermentation process of Guinness beer until 1988. Not only can you sample a pint, but at the top of the museum you’ll also catch one of the best views of Dublin.

Sweet Sites | Graphic Gourmet: All You Can "Eat" Online

A screenshot of foodgawker.com

From “Top Chef” to “Julie & Julia,” from the Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise” to New York Magazine’s whopping 82-burger slideshow, delicious food has become the new cultural obsession. But has it also become a treat for our eyes only? Michael Pollan recently fretted so in The New York Times, arguing that proper, wholesome cooking has migrated from the pots and pans of the American kitchen to the Food Network’s primetime lineup.

Don’t tell Pollan, but we’re about to enable America’s food-porn addiction. We researched the tantalizing world of food art, photography and sheer voyeurism on SweetSearch, and turned up the following (sesame) seedy side of the Web. Plenty of sites serve up photographic fodder, but few can beat Photograzing from Serious Eats, foodgawker or the aptly named FoodPornDaily for lush and delectable pictures. Although the latter two sites offer neither more nor less than their URLs promise, the Serious Eats main site features recipes, restaurants and food news from all over the country—in addition to tasty photos, of course. The restaurant-review site Menuism earns honorable mention in the low-hanging but mouthwatering fruit category: It allows users to browse for restaurants by food photos.

As the photographic equivalent of street food or carnival fare, the above sites offer little for a higher-brow palate. Fortunately, there’s a range of food art and food-centric social commentary that caters to the tastes of both voyeur and connoisseur. WebEcoist offers “15 Fascinating Food Artists and Sculptors,” an excellent introduction to food art that features potato chip portraits, elegant butter statues, surreal foodscapes and a “Biscuit City.”

Time Magazine’s feature “What the World Eats” shows 15 families from all over the world with their entire week’s food allowance spread out before them, providing a fascinating look into geographical differences in diet. Similarly, Mark Menjivar’s “You Are What You Eat,” presented by Good Magazine, captures the contents of strangers’ refrigerators, and the simple Tumblr “Hospital Food” collects photos of meals from sickbeds worldwide.

Finally, there are plenty of resources for budding food photographers. Check out Rob Willey’s advice in his Food & Wine Magazine article “Shoot First, Eat Later,” Photojojo’s “The Ten Tastiest Food Photography Tips,” “little nuggets from the front lines of food styling and photography” from the blog “Still Life With” or, for a behind-the-scenes look at a professional in action, watch Cooking Up a Story’s “The Art of Food Photography.”

If you’re still not sated, findingDulcinea offers lots of news and features on food, and don’t miss our Web Guide to Food for recipes, restaurant reviews, special diets and more.

Jill Marcellus
Senior Intern

Sweet Sites | Interviews and Talks with People Who Should Be Celebrities

Everywhere you turn, you see or hear about Jon and Kate, Lindsay Lohan, Lindsay Lohan's spray tan product, Jennifer Garner's cute kids, and Posh & Becks' shopping outings. These people are celebrities, technically speaking, but there are many other people out there, living and deceased, who were celebrities in their time, or should have been. We've uncovered a number of sites that host interviews and talks with notable people from many walks of life. Some of these Web sites might be familiar to you, but some may appear to be diamonds in the rough!

TED is probably the most well-known site for inspiring, amusing and cool talks with innovative thinkers and leaders. Learn about emerging technologies, the fashion world, religion, medicine, and much more from the Web site of the TED Prize and annual TED Conference.

The Mike Wallace Interview is a collection of interviews by Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" conducted between 1957 and 1960 and hosted by the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center. This generous site features interviews with pioneering people like Frank Lloyd Wright, Gloria Swanson, Eleanor Roosevelt and Aldous Huxley.

Charlie Rose has recently revamped the Web site for his PBS show and now includes free and lengthy archived and recent interview segments with actors, sports stars, economists, politicians, authors and much more.

The Paris Review "Interviews" section features an archive of interview excerpts with authors dating back to the 1950s. They are in text-only format, but very worthwhile.

Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development

If you're really into lectures, see our previous entry, "5 Must-See Lectures."

Summer Spotlight: Slow Down and Read

You read more things on the Internet every day than you can possibly count. Every day we’re being told to speed up, sign on, log in. If you’re on social networking sites, you get hit with a barrage of links every hour. Maybe you just read headlines, or the first paragraph. After all, you’ve got to finish quickly so you can race on to the next thing.

As we move into the summer months, however, it’s a good time to slow down a little. Even though we live in a world where it’s essential to be tech savvy, it’s equally important to do some things the old-fashioned way. In short: It’s time for you to read a book.

Of course, books and the Internet are not mutually exclusive. In fact, if Google’s new deal with book publishers gets approved by the courts, you might be able to read many books online through Google books. As a result, we’ll get access to out of print books, but we’ll also still be in front of our computers.

And that may be a problem, argues the talented and perceptive novelist and essayist Zadie Smith, who says that the Internet does so much damage to our attention spans that completing projects, especially writing projects, is practically impossible. She calls the Internet an “absolute disaster for writers.” But there are some studies that suggest the opposite: the Internet and other digital technology may actually be helping writing.

The Internet doesn’t have to be a "disaster" for readers, especially if you use it to research books or book events and then go explore in the real world. Start by choosing a great beach book; several are noted in our “5 Must-Reads for Summer” feature.

Then, consider sharing your renewed love of books with others by seeking out literary events in your area. Attending a reading or a book festival is a great way to share your love of literature, and get unwired for at least an hour. Happy reading!

Rachel Balik
Senior Writer