Sites and Soundbytes

Early Christian Writings is an amazingly complete collection of New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, and Church Father writings. The site is not searchable but can be browsed.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BrainMaps is an online brain atlas that features scanned images of brain sections. You can search by keyword, browse the top searches, view the scans by species, or learn the terminology.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recipes Today is a site that specializes in healthy food for families. They offer food and nutrition news, recipes, articles on cuisines, parties, and cooking, and much more.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Musipedia is an online music encyclopedia that has several fascinating services. You can search for a song by humming, click on the keyboard to type in a melody, add a new melody of your own, and join the discussion boards.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wink is a social search engine that searches through people's tags to allow you to find the top entries for a given search term. You can search without joining the community, or join for free and be able to import your del.icio.us bookmarks and tags. They have featured collections of links that everyone can participate in. This is a slightly different service than other tagging and social sites I have seen.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PropSmart is a search engine for real estate that lets you do a quick search by location, MLS number or PLS number.  Then you results are displayed as a list and accompanied by a map.  This site is easy to use and offers different listings than some of the other large realty sites. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Newsvine is a site that combines tagging with news coverage.  The site has news from the World, the U.S., sports, politics, technology, entertainment, science, business, and health.  You can comment on each story, add your own personal tags, subscribe to their feeds, or use Newsvine to add news to your blog. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RSS 2 PDF lets you create pdf files from RSS feeds, Atom feeds or OPML files.  You can either show the images or choose not to.  It is a slick way to create handouts, files for your website or other documents that will let you introduce your blog or RSS feeds to others.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Supreme Court Zeitgeist is a mashup that covers the Supreme Court.  It draws links from Google News, del.icio.us and Technorati.  So you get news, tags, and blogs all in one place. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wayfaring is a mapping site that lets you make your own personalized maps with destinations marked, share the maps, and look at maps created by others.  You can also connect with others and create a map together. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arcaplay is a brand new games site, offering online games. They incorporate Web 2.0 features like tagging and rating.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upcoming.org is a site that does online calendaring.  You can manage your own calendar online, share events with your friends and family, or add your calendar to your own site via syndication. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Springdoo is a site that lets you add voice to your emails.  It is a free service that doesn't require any downloads to function.  You will need a mic, but beyond that no extra equipment is needed.  The system creates a link that is placed into your email, so this doesn't contribute to bloated emails.  This is definitely one to check out.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

gOFFICE is an online word processor that gives you documents in pdf format.  They offer nearly 1,000 sample texts to help you write your own letter, free fax service, free postal delivery, letterhead designs, and plenty of fonts to choose from. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Glypho is a new community way of writing novels.  Jot down your story idea, get ideas from around the world about character and plot ideas, everyone interested can write a first chapter, then there is a vote to see which is the best contribution and the story goes on to the second chapter in the same way. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Conversate is a site that lets you create an online space in which to conduct a discussion.  You create an account, start a conversation, and then invite the people you wish.  They offer a bookmarklet for your toolbar as well.   This is an interesting alternative to group email discussions which can be difficult to follow and get lost in your inbox.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Judy's Book is a site filled with reviews of stores, restaurants, doctors, real estate, and more.  The reviews are submitted by locals who have a place to either recommend or warn about.  You can contribute your own reviews as well.  Even nicer, you can subscribe to the RSS feed for any city you like and then you will get updates when people add reviews. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Orangoo Spell Check is an online spell checker that will spell check in 27 languages.  Just paste the text you want checked into the box and click on check spelling.  The site defaults to English, but is easily changed to other languages with a couple of clicks.  This is handy for bloggers who use software that doesn't have a spellcheck or for commenters who don't want misspellings on their postings. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WorksCited4U is a handy free service that converts your information on sources into an MLA formatted bibliography.   The online service asks you a series of questions about your source such as format, author, title, city of publication, publisher and year.  Then you are presented the information in the correct format. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2006 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced!  Here are the winners:

FICTION




March, by Geraldine Brooks



HISTORY




Polio: An American Story, by David M. Oshinsky



BIOGRAPHY




American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin



POETRY




Late Wife, by Claudia Emerson



GENERAL NONFICTION




Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya, by Caroline Elkins

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Knopf presents Poem-a-Day where you can subscribe via email to get a new poem in your inbox every day.  If you prefer, you can listen to the poem being read aloud by the author by downloading the podcast version.  You can also just use the website and read the poem there.   So many ways to celebrate National Poetry Month!

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The BBC now has a portal dedicated to its blog community.  The portal offers the newest posts on BBC blogs, information on blogs and blogging, a chance to share feedback, and a list of all of the BBC blogs.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fold is a customized start page that is now in public beta.  You must be running Firefox as your browser in order to use it.  Fold offers personalized calendars, weather reports, RSS feed reading, Flickr access, and much more.  Though I am not someone who uses a personalized start page, I did like the feel of this one more than others that I have tried.  This is worth a look.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All for Women is a community forum for women to come together to talk and share thoughts and ideas.  There are sections on relationships, family, home, entertainment, health, beauty, shopping, finance, games and special occasions. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How2Skate has all you need to learn how to do skateboard tricks, plus tips on improving your skateboarding, ramp plans, news, and an online forum. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

National Institute on Aging is a site from the National Institutes of Health that offer health information, research, grants, news, and events of interest to those working with the elderly. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Presentation Zen is a blog that offers great advice for giving presentations. The emphasis is on simplicity, clarity and making sure your files are accessible if something goes wrong. If you give presentations at conferences or more informally, you will want to read the tips here.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congoo is a very interesting new service.  By signing up for a free Congoo NetPass, you are able to access articles from sites that would normally charge a fee for access.  Yes, there is a limit to how many articles you are able to access on each site, but for many of us, we simply want to get to one specific article and not pay a monthly subscription fee.  Congoo only works on IE right now, but it does come with a handy toolbar, allowing you to search both premium content as well as open web content.  This one is definitely worth a try!

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daily Mashup gives you a collection of all of the popular photos from Flickr, popular links from del.icio.us, and popular news items of the day.  This is a quick stop to see what is happening on the web today. 

"Mashup" is a new term that describe a website composed of items from several different sites.   Most of them track tagging sites, photo sites or news, anything that changes on a regular basis.  They are meant to save you time and make accessing popular items easier. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The National Cancer Institute has a resource-filled website.  It offers information on types of cancer, clinical trials, treatments, prevention, screening, and coping with cancer.  You can also learn more about cancer statistics and ongoing research. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ChangeNotes is a service that tells you when a site has changed.  You register on the site and then enter the websites that you want to monitor.  Then you are sent emails when the site updates.  This is a slick way to stay informed of changes on sites that don't have RSS feeds.  However, I have tried several of these services and they seem to be hit and miss.  If you register a site that updates its date on its page every day, that often counts as a change.  Even worse are the ones that get new ads every day and then you get an email informing you about that.  Just something to be aware of when selecting sites to monitor. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Lebovitz has an incredible culinary blog that documents his eating as an American living in Paris.  Even better, he does Chocolate Tours of Paris! 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lazybase is a site that allows you to create a database online that you can share with others.  Instead of a login, you are given a unique URL to access the database, so all you need to do is share the address with others and they will have access and the ability to change things as well. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Popurls.com is a site that offers lists of the top sites referenced by a variety of services.  The lists include digg, del.icio.us, furl, spurl, flickr, reddit, tailrank, and slashdot.  This is a quick one-stop site to view a snapshot of what is happening online. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gibbity is a site that provides a chance for you and others to collaboratively review games.  You can find information on a specific game, tag and review games yourself, browse games by tag, read gaming news, and even subscribe to the news and new reviews via RSS. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TV Turnoff Week is a natural program for libraries to partner with and support.  Think flyers that recommend reading for different levels, information on how much TV is being watched by families, and much more. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mystery*File is a site dedicated to mystery books and authors.  You can read author interviews and profiles, read articles, find out about mystery magazines, fictional detectives, and book reviews, and join the forum. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

URLFAN ranks sites according to how many blogs are referencing them in real time.  View the top 100 ranked sites or see the current leaders.  On the current list, the exact hot links are listed under the main site so you can see exactly what bloggers are blogging about. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Get Writing is a site from the BBC that starts you off writing.  The site lets you read top writing, take mini-courses to improve your writing, read articles about writing, find inspiration, listen to audio or watch video clips, and follow useful links to other sites. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shopzilla is a site that combines reviews by people with price comparison and product comparison.  Do a search or browse by category.  The site also has buying guides for popular products like TVs, digital cameras, MP3 players, computers, and printers. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Zillow.com offers valuations and information for real estate and homes.  Buyers  can use the site to compare home values in neighborhoods, sellers can use it to price their own home accurately, and owners can track the value of their own homes.  I like the fact that the site doesn't require you to enter contact information, like so many of the realty sites do. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The British Library has a collection of sound recordings available online.  The collection includes bird calls, wildlife noises, music, drama, oral history, and sound effects.  Only select items are available online, but there are enough here to enjoy for some time. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PeopleBot is a white page directory that has a handy feature.  It allows you to search for a name without having to specify a state.  The majority of other white page directories online require you to limit your search by state.  So if you know the person's name but not the state he/she lives in, this is a great site to check out. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

EBay has announced that they will start offering RSS feeds for individual searches!  Hurrah!  A customized feed will be available for any search you wish.  This may just be the thing that gets more people using and understanding RSS feeds.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reality Blurred is a site dedicated to reality TV.  It offers news on what has happened in recent episodes, information on specific shows and when the next season will be arriving, and commentary on the quality of the episodes. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Medpage Today is a site that offers health and medical news that you can personalize.  They have headlines, conference reports, teaching briefs, and news by specialties.  Specialties include allergy, cardiovascular, dermatology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology, infectious disease, neurology, OB/GYN, pediatrics and psychology.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The American Women's Dime Novel Project offers information on authors, publishers, series, and covers as well as an archive of dime novels.  The novels range from 1870 to 1920.  They demonstrate how dime novels helped change gender and class roles in the United States. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AgricultureB2B is a directory of agriculture sites.  Browse the collection of sites that are nicely categorized under general subjects like biotechnology, environment, farm animals, chemicals, crops, and equipment.  You can also read the latest agricultural news via the site.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AmphibiaWeb is a site dedicated to amphibian biology and conservation.  You can browse the database of species or search it.  There are photographs, calls and video. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 4:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kosmix is a search engine specifically for health sites.  Enter a health term and you will get a list of results as well as a list of the results broken down by categories, so you can see which results contain treatments, causes, symptoms, alternative medicine or message boards. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feed Rinse is a tool that lets you filter your RSS feeds.   You can enter individual feeds, or an entire OPML file then choose the keywords or tags to filter out.  After that, the feeds are cleansed and ready for you to subscribe to.  With the free version, you can have five feeds through the site.  Premium subscriptions will be available soon. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Fat Man Walking website is definitely worth visiting.  Steve Vaught is walking across America to "lose weight and regain my life."  On his site you can see where he is, join the discussion group, read his journal, and see the books he has read on his journey.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2005 OCLC Top 1000 is a list of the top 1000 titles owned by members of OCLC from around the world. It makes for a fascinating list.

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

co.mments lets you follow blog comments by creating bookmarks and RSS feeds that focus on one specific post.   Register at the site, the just load the bookmarklet onto your toolbar and start using it.  You can also manage the conversations you are following easily on the site. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RawSugar is a site that combines social tagging of sites with a search engine.   You can also browse directories of sites where topics are arranged in hierarchies.  Each directory can be subscribed to via RSS or emailed to your Inbox. 

Posted by Tasha Saecker at 5:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)