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The Philosophy Magazine Online
THERE IS A GENERAL RULE of internet text - the cleverer something is, the smaller typeface it is written in. In which case, Jeremy Stangroom's TPM online is very, very clever indeed.
TPM Online apparently attracts around 30,000 visitors every week and the paper-based magazine is "amongst the top two or three most widely read philosophy periodicals in the world". A close look at this intriguing website suggests why. In addition to a dazzling array of philosophical articles, a 'philosophy café' and a philosophical quote-a-day service to your inbox, there are unexpected brow-furrowing delights. Ever wondered just how parsimonious you really are? The 'Morality Play' feature asks you to make a series of moral decisions according to certain scenarios. Your answers are processed and compared with the thousands of other respondents - giving you a parsimony rating! Such are the delights of interactive philosophy. Not to be missed.
York Vision Online
Recent winner of the 2002 Guardian Student Media awards for Best Website, York Vision Online is the smart online presence of an independent campus newspaper. All the features that you would expect from a professional newspaper are here, even down to the design and the archive of earlier issues. There is an emphasis on politics and commentary, including lively reporting of current student direct action and its consequences. Vision writer Gareth Walker won the Guardian awards' Student Columnist of Year, and his articles on the site are exemplary.
One slight grizzle: as with so much online material, grammatical errors seem to be regarded as par for the course. Come on email generation, we know you've already been staring at the screen for hours, but one more proof-read wouldn't do any harm, would it? No, the spell check's not enough...
Anything Left-Handed
Do left-handers really feel this marginalized? Apparently so. If you've ever felt, ahem, left out, this is the site for you. Revel in the esteemed company of famous left-handers: Winston Churchill! Mark Twain! Eminem! Buy the left-handed fountain pen that will transform your scruffy, inky mess into the calligraphy of the gods! And why stop with the obscure products, when you can purchase the left-hander's grapefruit knife or boomerang?
As you might expect, there's plenty of comforting evidence for the cerebral superiority of the left-hander too. Did you know that 4 out of the 5 original designer of the Apple Macintosh computer were - wait for it - left-handed? Presumably this is because they are on equal footing (handing?) using keyboards. However, your child's development may be horribly stunted by unthinking right-handed hegemony in the classroom. Either way you've got an excuse for failure and/or unrecognised brilliance.
Miss Your Mum?
'Sound advice for students and people leaving home'. You can tell from the dodgy wallpaper and clip-art style graphics that these web pages are probably some kind of government-funded project - although there are no credits visible on the site. Disregarding the décor, this is actually a very useful resource. The advice on all essential student matters, such as money, renting, jobs and health, is clear and succinct. Budding protesters may wish to peruse "What to do if you are arrested". Lazy students are warned: "Do not choose a bank purely because it is nearest to your house!"
Miss Your Mum? provides a solid basis of knowledge for anyone thinking about leaving home. It doesn't mess around with the usual tricks - freebies, painful 'humour' pages, overuse of exclamation marks!!! and might just impart some useful information at a time of need. Worth a click. |
