Web Surfing
by Dick Kling

( A replay from June 2007)

French Grammar

You can learn French while laughing at this user-friendly, quirky website.  Originally created for students at the University of Texas, Tex’s French Grammar is a useful online guide to learning the French language, with a distinct sense of humor to boot.

Learners of French will find the unique process of learning with Tex both fun and effective.  The site uses the love-story of two fictional armadillos named "Tex and Tammy", and a host of other humorous French-speaking cartoon animals, as the background on which to educate students in the intricacies of proper grammar.  Bon Chance mes amis!!

|http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/overview.html
 

New York City

"New York City Walk" is a cool site that chronicles one man’s recent quest to walk every single street in Manhattan.  Read the story behind this eccentric undertaking, view the interactive map, and check out the great images he captured while on his peripatetic tour of the Big Apple.

http://www.newyorkcitywalk.com/
 

Japanese Name Translation

Japanese characters, known as Kanji, are beautiful symbols that non-Japanese speakers use for various purposes including personal tattoos, tracing their heritage, love letters, business exchanges and other unique reasons.  With an archive of over 2,000 professionally translated names, this great site allows you to see your name in the elegant calligraphy of both Kanji and Katakana.

http://www.japanese-name-translation.com/
 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium knows that it is one of the most inspiring and impressive institutions of its kind.  As their official site states, the heart of the internationally renowned aquarium is its mission to "inspire conservation of the oceans".

This wonderful website allows you to explore the aquarium’s current exhibitions, watch live Web Cams that allow you to peer beneath the surface, and read tons of articles on marine conservation.  Those who are inspired to take action will find information on the huge environmental challenges facing our oceans today, as well as avenues through to which to donate their time and/or money. 

http://www.mbayaq.org/


Abandoned Shopping Carts

We have all seen shopping carts marooned around our cities, modern-day "pack mules" left to fend for themselves.  This cool piece, brought to us by PolarInertia.Com, takes a more profound look at the place of the grocery store shopping cart in our urban landscape.

"Abandoned Shopping Carts" is essentially a photo journal filled with images of this intended supermarket object, which is often stolen and repurposed.  Images capture its use as a storage pushcart for the city’s homeless, as forsaken street litter, and even as a sole object left to float in the Los Angeles River. 

http://www.polarinertia.com/nov06/cart01.htm