Charlotte, NC, has seven Sister Cities around the world, and Arequipa, Peru—also known as the White City—is one of them. Students from UNC and an Arequipa university have created an attractive website, The White City Stories.  Click on the small pictures to view stories about various aspects of life there and what the students learned on their trip. The Sister Cities movement aims to show that people are more alike than different. (Kim Komando)

There are references to food all over David's Links, but The Food Timeline has to show up here in Culture. It starts at about 17,000 BC but gets really interesting for me around 1850 AD. That's when you start coming across goodies like Boston cream pie, breakfast cereal, Christmas pudding, and pizza as we know it. Each carefully chosen entry contains fascinating lore, memorabilia and recipes that have been gathered from all over the Internet as a labor of love by a librarian. The result is comprehensive and quite delightful to browse through. Did you know that Buffalo Wings were first served as recently as 1964? (Netsurfer Digest)  I just had to add a sample item from the 1780s: Martha Washington's Great Cake (one of Mrs. Washington's favorite recipes): “Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream…” My mouth is watering already.

"The International Herald Tribune is the premier international newspaper for opinion leaders and decision makers around the world.. . .  The IHT is trusted by its readers because it is independent of any political or commercial interest.”—or so it claims. Now owned by the New York Times Company, the IHT is standard daily reading for the American expatriate community, while its IHT online edition offers an international perspective on events for all readers. (David Henry)

The New York Times weekly Review of Books is often required reading with its thoughtful analyses of major issues, and such is the case with Tony Judt’s article Europe vs. America. While the three reviewed books make a forceful case that Europe is doing much better than the US in the areas that really matter, the reviewer rejects some of the more outlandish claims and strives for a balanced view of future relations. (Netsurfer Digest)

What does the rest of the world think about America? Until recently, it was unlikely you learned much of that from our domestic media and perhaps you didn’t care. In an effort to redress that imbalance, Watching America gathers reports and opinion from major press organs around the world, some friendly, some less so. Judging by the UK sources listed, material comes from the intellectual end of the spectrum. (NPR)

“The Earth is not rotating…nor is it going around the sun.” This caught my eye at what I initially thought was a tongue-in-cheek satirical site at The Earth Is Not Moving.  Not so: the failed PhD author has gone to a tremendous effort to take on Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, Freud, the Kabala, NASA and no doubt many others in a hard-hitting effort to discredit any science not consistent with a literal interpretation of the Bible. You are asked to keep an open mind. (Netsurfer Digest)

Any interest you may have with (first) names can probably be satisfied at The Baby Name Wizard. See how the popularity of your name has risen or fallen over the last hundred years. Find out trends in the popularity of names chosen for today’s babies as well as a back story for each. The Sample Entries button is a good place to start. The best part for me is the Name Voyager (requires Java)--a stunning interactive timeline display of all names at once. (Netsurfer Digest)

This is a rather unusual Culture item. What we consume individually, whether as food, energy, transportation, or share of the local infrastructure, can be represented as a number of acres, according to the Ecological Footprint Quiz. It’s rather humbling to take the quiz and find out, as I did, that I require about four times as many acres to sustain my lifestyle than the average for everybody on earth. (Sierra)

People who habitually make puns must be prepared for groans from any normal person within earshot; we kids were seasoned groaners because of our Dad’s awful puns. It may be a Brit thing. Check it out at Shop Horror – Funny Shop Names, where you’ll find a collection of photos of High Street shop front punning names, like Beau Thai advertising a Thai restaurant, or Paws for Thought in front of a pet shop. (Netsurfer Digest)

The Russians Are Coming!  The Russians Are Coming! No, wait, they are here already, at Pravda's English Edition, that is.  It's rather strange to read about recent major events through the eyes of Russia's greatest newspaper.  It's straightforward reporting, occasionally flippant, and not at all like the bureaucratic, formal style we used to have relayed to the West during the Soviet era. Don't forget to look for an apparently regular feature called FunReports.Com, which might make you blush. (Chuck Runkle)  That two-year-old entry doesn't do justice to some of the other features of this interesting site. It's highly informative to read news items that never make it to our supine Press and the hard-hitting opinion pieces too--always with a touch of that sardonic humor so beloved of the Russians.

If you happen to have a copy of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the original with a modern version side-by-side, you might want to dust it off and keep it handy while you visit The Chaucer Metapage Audio Files. For here you will be able to listen to English as modern scholars believe it was spoken more than six hundred years ago. What do you think of Tom Hanks' rendering of an extract from the Prologue? When you hear these extracts, it sometimes seems they are easier to understand than the text version you are following at the same time. If they still don't make sense, try listening to the fourth sample, which has the original and modern versions juxtaposed line-by-line. (Netsurfer Digest)

What little I knew about Buddhism failed to elicit that much interest, and I have to admit that after visiting Visions of Enlightenment, Understanding the Art of Buddhism, I am not tempted to delve much further into this exotic religion, despite its promise of tranquility and harmony with the Universe. Assembled by the Pacific Asia Museum, the site is noteworthy for four highly creative personal photo essays using Flash technology. A timeline shows the spread of Buddhism across much of Asia, including its four variants that evolved in different regions. (Netsurfer Digest)

The Web Marketing Association named Saudi Aramco World “Best Magazine Website” for 2004. Surprised? Not me; I have enjoyed the lavishly produced print publication for over two years. It is designed to broaden knowledge of the cultures, history and geography of the Arab and Muslim worlds and their connections with the West. It's produced every two months and you can get a free subscription on request at the website. You'll find no politics here, only well-written cultural articles. For instance, the September/October 2005 issue has stories on the new Arab-American museum in Dearborn, MI; Mount Ararat For Sport; Oman's Oasis on the National Mall; The Arabs of Brazil and The World's First Soft Drink. (David Henry)

What were the Crazy Fads people took up during the 1930’s for instance? Stamp collecting, Monopoly, Drive-in theaters, Zoot Suits and Betty Boop, among others, according to the website.  It also describes them for each decade from 1900 to the present (with 2000’s fads including Thongs, Ipods, Reality Shows, Atkins Diet and Mobile Phone Cameras.) They assign balsa wood airplanes to a 1960’s fad, but I built my first one in 1939. (bored.com)

You may be familiar with Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it probably will") but have you ever come across its British equivalent, Sod's Law? This is a more refined version developed by a corporate panel of experts and consists of a complicated formula involving five factors. This formula leads to the following: "Things don't just go wrong; they do so at the most annoying moment". Examples: your e-mail crashes just when you are trying to send in your report before the deadline, or the water in the shower goes cold just when you are in the middle of a shampoo. They claim it has been extensively tested on over 1000 subjects; IMHO this corporation obviously has too much spare time or money on its hands. (Netsurfer Digest)

The first time I mentioned weblogs in Culture, I linked to a site whose purpose was only to index thousands of blogs. That has its place, but now I have a better idea: I'll pick one out that appeals to me and share it with you—Living Small. The housewife-author lives in Montana and chronicles her daily life, thoughts and musings--she wonders how to find time to finish her second novel. As a published writer, Charlotte Freeman knows how to describe modest day-to-day local events, people and public affairs in an interesting way. If you like what she has to say, maybe you'll also be interested in her "Blogs I Read.” I may have stumbled across another hugely addictive time waster here. (Netsurfer Digest)

The World Monuments Fund has an interactive world map on which little dots represent the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites, published every second year. The WMF then proceeds to raise private funds to help preserve these lesser-known wonders. You'll find one in the England, none in France or Germany, but quite a few in the Middle East and the USA. Whether this reflects the preservation that has already taken place in a country, I don't know; but it certainly betokens a wonderful philanthropic spirit. Check some of the great photos in the Gallery. (Union Jack)

Don't you just hate all those button-laden remote controls that we seem unable to live without these days? Well, at the cost of just one more, you might be able to restore some sanity to your life. TV-B-Gone has ONLY ONE BUTTON and you push it if you want to turn off any and all TVs in your vicinity. Can you imagine, it might even lead to the opportunity to engage in the dying art of ordinary conversation, or to read a book in blessed peace? Imagine also the havoc you can wreak in your nearest Circuit City as you secretly turn off all the display TVs at once. (Netsurfer Digest)

If you don't want to find out about death, skip this item. For the rest of us, there's a pretty interesting site based on The Australian Museum's Death - The Last Taboo exhibit, so this is not  morbid or sci-fi; it's simply factual and well done. Here's a few of many questions you can dig into:  How did they dispose of the dead in different cultures throughout the ages? What actually defines death? (There are legal, religious and clinical definitions.) What are (or were) safety coffins? What happens in an autopsy? As Peter Pan says, "To die will be an awfully big adventure." And while we're on the subject why not visit Tombstone Generator to see just what your tombstone would look like with your own five lines of text engraved thereon. Whatever will they think of next? (Netsurfer Digest)

After that previous item, don't you just get so fed up with all the gloom-and-doom news that afflicts us every day? Whether it's newspapers, TV news or radio news, it seems that they all feel obliged to trumpet the worst of what's going on–and they declare it's what the public wants (more likely, it's what their owners want.) Well, it's not all like that, as is amply demonstrated at Happy News, a conventional news site where all the stories are upbeat. You can be sure they will find the bright side to any story–or not print it at all. You can also submit your own happy story; and if it's accepted, you'll get paid. (Washington Post)

One man's food delicacy is another's disgusting, nauseating yuck as extensively exemplified at Weird Foods from Around the World. In addition to discussions of various unusual ingredients such as ants, caterpillars, and crickets, you can actually find recipes for delicacies such as Banana Worm Bread and Rootworm Beetle Dip--and that's just in the Bugs category.  Even in the Drinks category, you'll find delights like Baby Mouse Wine, Ammonia Coke, and Tea with Yak Butter. You may contribute your own unusual food secrets to this highly entertaining site. (Netsurfer Digest)

One of the great wonders about the Internet is when you occasionally stumble across a masterpiece. Such was the case when I found the Canadian Museum of Civilization, located in Gatineau, Quebec, a suburb of the Canadian capital Ottawa. It includes several additional museums in the one complex: the Canadian Postal Museum, the Canadian Children's Museum and the newest addition (May 2005), the Canadian War Museum. They are housed in a magnificent set of new buildings that appear to be all voluptuous curves. And there is an exclusively online Virtual Museum of New France. Browsing through the marvelously rich list of collections (click the Site Map), this looks like a great treasure for Canadians and visitors alike. (David Henry)

Der Spiegel is a prominent German newsmagazine, broadly comparable to an American weekly such as Time. "With the launch of our international site, SPIEGEL finally brings its unique voice to English readers. We offer a selection of original daily features, news, exclusive SPIEGEL stories and an overview of what German newspapers and commentators are writing." Note that the online edition has daily updates, plus there is a free e-mail edition. At Spiegel Online, click on the German Site link at the top if you prefer to read it in German. (Les Kizer)

It's low-key and unpretentious and reminds me of a kinder, simpler time. It's Wanda's Country Home, a very attractive looking and sounding site, with a whiff of the Inspirational, yet practical enough to include some delicious looking recipes. I was seduced by the invitation to "Come on in and make yourself at home, get a cup of tea and plan on staying for a while." This is a charming site that will appeal to grandmas, moms, and kids. On request, Wanda will send you a weekly newsletter with more of the same. (Jason Williams)

I was quite amazed at what I found at Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing. Parents write in asking for suggestions for their forthcoming infant, or proffering their own far-out ideas; in both cases, they frequently elicit hilarious comments added by the site owner. Honestly, I can't imagine how prospective parents dream up such names; one couple, for example says : "So far we have come up with:
Boys: Finn, Drake, Regan, Hazen, Tannith
Girls: Mehina, Miette, Acenzion, Reina, Sarika, Taise." 
Visit the site's home page for more about baby names. (Netsurfer Digest)

If you are only dimly aware of the blogging phenomenon, suffice it to say that thousands, nay millions, of otherwise normal people have now jumped on the recent Internet blog bandwagon to write up their innermost thoughts on practically anything and have them posted out there for the whole world to read. Personally, I chose not to join this stampede, but I was intrigued to learn that some sane people have undertaken to select the golden nuggets from among the mountains of trash and present them for our enjoyment. One such site is Metro Blogging that offers the best of blogs describing what's going on in great cities around the world, such as London, Vienna and Tokyo, plus seventeen major places in the good old USA. Well worth a look; this site appeals mostly to the young at heart, I believe. (Netsurfer Digest)

"It was a dark and stormy night..."  So begins the opening chapter of a minor novel by an even more minor Victorian novelist, Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton.  His efforts have been mocked in Creative Writing classes ever since, and in the recently announced winning entries in the 2004 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Here you can find the winning efforts of scribblers around the world attempting to come up with the worst opening sentences for a novel. As with other awards, this contest has now morphed into something more elaborate with multiple categories, such as Purple Prose, Children's Literature, and Romance. Awards include Winner, Runner-Up, and Dishonorable Mention, but since this is a University-sponsored contest (San Jose State), that's it: there are no cash prizes. Mildly amusing.  (Recycled)

First, I have to declare my interest, or lack of it, in the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame website: I am not a sci-fi buff. But I believe many seniors are, hence this link to one of Paul Allen's latest ventures (He was co-founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates.) Judging by the front page, this is a classy operation. "Most museums can show you history -- only this one can take you into the future." Don't forget to pay it a visit next time you are in Seattle. (Netsurfer Digest)

Americans have always been inveterate collectors--of practically anything, as you can see at Unusual Museums of the Internet. This is a master ring site, meaning that websites with a common interest, in this case unusual museums, link to one another and make a master index site of themselves. Some random examples from the 107 museum websites listed here include the Wooden Nickel Museum, the British Lawnmower Museum, the Toilet Museum, and Rosie's Needle Book Museum. If you have always wanted to know what zymoglyphic means, why just visit the Zymoglyphic Museum!  (Tourbus)

Every good Muslim is expected to perform the Hajj once in his/her lifetime. It's a kind of pilgrimage to Mecca and its surroundings in Saudi Arabia, and if you think security conditions there are not likely to be good for Americans, you can take the Virtual Hajj instead. Non Muslims can get an inside look at ceremonies they would be barred from in the real world. This is a beautifully done BBC multimedia presentation, together with some live video clips, and gives a glimpse of this profoundly moving and equalizing experience. (Netsurfer Digest)

The BBC has a range of interactive Surveys and Psychology Tests you can choose from including Spot the Fake Smile, Personality, Perfectionism, Careers and the intriguingly titled What Sex is Your Brain? Each test takes ten minutes or so and is followed by a written profile that compares you to the (UK) population at large. After taking the Morals test, I found I differed a lot from most of the respondents, which could be bad--or maybe good? (Netsurfer Digest)

I never cease to be amazed at the extent and depth of the features on the BBC websites. Some of these have been criticized in Parliament for going beyond the terms of the government's license to the Beeb. Nevertheless, let's enjoy them while we may. This one is called BBC Languages, and I noted links to French, Spanish, German and Italian lessons, with quizzes, and audio-visual support, all at both beginner and intermediate levels. But when I clicked Other, it turns out the site has similar facilities for some 30 other languages, to say nothing of the online news broadcasts in 43 languages. (Netsurfer Digest)

There are references to food all over David's Links, but The Food Timeline has to show up here in Culture. It starts at about 17,000 BC but gets really interesting for me around 1850 AD. That's when you start coming across goodies like Boston cream pie, breakfast cereal, Christmas pudding, and pizza as we know it. Each carefully chosen entry contains fascinating lore, memorabilia, and recipes that have been gathered from all over the Internet as a labor of love by a librarian. The result is comprehensive and quite delightful to browse through. Did you know that Buffalo Wings were first served as recently as 1964? (Netsurfer Digest)

When Christmas comes around each year, how many of us stop to wonder how it came about and what were the origins of the end-of-year holiday? Its history can be traced back via various Scandinavian, Roman, and German pagan festivals to the Mesopotamians of 4,000 years ago. The date of what we now know as the celebration of Christ's birthday was not fixed until about 350 AD, by Pope Julius I. The whole fascinating background can be found at the History Channel's Christmas page, where there's also lots to read about World Traditions (click the country of your choice on the world map), Santa Claus, and Christmas Trees. (David Henry)

Most of us probably have at least a smattering of knowledge about Greek mythology, but how many can say the same about Hindu beliefs that go back seven thousand years? The Seattle Art Museum has an exhibit entitled Stories of Krishna, Adventures of a Hindu God. This Flash presentation takes a series of paintings and adds interactive elements to them to pique your interest. The presentation is smart enough to keep the accompanying explanatory stories brief, with an occasional question thrown in to see if you are paying attention. (Netsurfer Digest)

What do you think of The Joy of Soups, where they offer wild-sounding recipes for Pretzels and Beer Soup, Medicine Soup and Soup to Lose Weight By to say nothing of many more familiar recipes. There's lots here to interest every cook and for those who love their food. You can post your comments on any recipe, too.  Super Bowl soup, anyone? (Netsurfer Digest)

Vexillology is a lovely word that means the study of flags, and a great site containing everything you ever wanted to know--and more--is at Flags of the World. Imagine, over 22,000 pages and 40,000 colorful images of flags. Just for the USA, there have been 27 flags, from the 13-star flag of 1777-1795 to today's 50-star flag--and 51 stars (future) all beautifully illustrated. You can find maritime, military and state flags among many others--and similar variety for just about every country in the world. (Russil Tamsen)

When it comes to pets, there are those who go ga-ga over them, those who get goose pimples over them and those who get married to them. That's not a misprint, there really are people who do this at Marry Your Pet, an amusing but unashamedly commercial site. Apart from displaying a photo of you and your pet there for all the world to see, you can have a Simple Wedding for $7.95, and receive an "official" marriage certificate. This being the good old USA, there's also a Big Wedding and a Biggest Wedding for fees I'm too embarrassed to quote. (Netsurfer Digest)

"The Chap is a quarterly serving of advice on personal grooming, revolutionary etiquette and common courtesy, offering guidance to those cast adrift in a world of increasing vulgarity." No doubt this is not everyone's cup of tea, but it should appeal to the Anglophiles among us.  The printed magazine actually exists and supports those who lament the passing of the days of sartorial elegance, good manners and decent beer. Read The Manifesto to see what the Brits are up to now. (Netsurfer Digest)

What's the origin of the expressions Back to Square One, A Bad Hair Day, Fool's Gold or In Like Flynn?  Discover the origins and meanings of idioms in everyday use at Idiom Site, where you can "find out why you say what you say". Apparently A Bad Hair Day originated in the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Neat Net Tricks)

George Bernard Shaw used to claim he could tell his location anywhere in England to within five miles merely by listening to the local accent. You can listen to English accents from all over the USA and the world at Speech Accent Archive. These recordings of the same sample paragraph taken from your city, state or country make you wonder how accents arise in the first place, and why they are so different. As for identifying where you are, that's pretty tough. (Netsurfer Digest)

Back in the forties and fifties, before the interstate highway system, you would drive along a highway and see a one line ad on the side of the road. A few moments later you would see a second one liner, then a third and a fourth. Your attention had been grabbed by a Burma Shave commercial, and you generally drove on in a good frame of mind because you had completed this neat quatrain. You can relive some of those experiences at Remembering the Good Old Days. (Dick Sipe)

So you thought Amazon.com just sold books? In addition to consumer electronics, you can buy kitchen and housewares, sporting goods, music, games and apparel (by brand--DKNY, Gap etc; by seller--Nordstrom, Polo). But what attracted me most was the new Gourmet section, where you can order practically any kind of specialty food from hundreds of  retailers. Just the Indian food section had 160 items on offer--but rather pricey I thought. (NPR)

If you are in to poetry, there's a website made for you at Poetry.com that says its database features over 5 million poets you can search on. You won't find your favorite well-loved poems here; rather it's for amateur poets to post their poems on the site and maybe win a prize. You will find a poem-of-the-day, haikus, contests, rhyming dictionary, the top 100 poems and the like. (Smart Computing)

Don't miss one of the finest sites on the Internet, redesigned in a compelling format for your pleasure. Nova is one of public television's jewels and the curious can find stimulating and thought-provoking topics covered here with some thoroughness. The site covers "What's coming up on TV" as well as past episodes that can be searched for by keyword. You can even view certain episodes complete on this site. (Netsurfer Digest)

That peculiarly American phenomenon, the Outhouse, has spawned an illustrated site stuffed with outhouse lore of every conceivable type, from the history of Thomas Crapper to a course in outhouse digging to outhouse races in Michigan. There are folks who spend ages collecting this stuff from all across the country, presumably to share with their aromatic friends. To each his own. (Netsurfer Digest)

And now for something completely different...since you're reading David's Links you'll probably enjoy James Lileks, a syndicated political humorist from Minneapolis. His website is a treasure trove of goodies, with collections of matchbook covers, motel, diner and restaurant postcards from the 50's, youthful comics, painted ads and curious money from around the world. There's a strongly sardonic, critical tone to his commentaries--and the political scribblings are neo-conservative, so be warned! (Smart Computing)

Dan Heller is a photographer of some renown, so when he decides to visit Cuba, we can look forward to his portfolio  portrayed at Cuba, Its People and Culture.  You'll love the huge smiles universally displayed in the friendly people photos, and enjoy too the arty shots of decaying building facades and lovingly repaired 1950 Chevrolets. Perhaps he'll succeed in helping to bridge the political divide between our peoples by this wonderfully un-selfconscious display.  The parent site has 12,000 professional images from all around the world.  (Netsurfer Digest)

What are crockets, finials and spandrels? Before you visit another Gothic cathedral, take time out to view Gothic Dreams, bone up on their terminology and read background articles. In addition to Cathedrals, the parent Earthlore Explorations site also has major sections on Ireland, Mysteries, Astrology and Symbolism. Perhaps a bit professorial in tone, the content is nevertheless easily accessible through well chosen illustrations. (Netsurfer Science)