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prior listings
prior listings
Please note: Our format changed as of 10/18/07 – see the front page and full archives for more recent listings. Thanks.
- PeopleForFun Laboratory 2/28/03
Description: fla source files, actionscript library, plus other useful resources (Flash)
Comments: Today's pick has been listed here at coolstop for almost 2 years, but a recent visit told me it definitely belongs with the best of the cool. What a great resource for Flashers (no, not that kind of flasher, silly), and boy, has it grown! The current version ("Evolving Fantasy") features over 120 Flash samples with downloadable source files. There's also an excellent "actionscript library" of over 60 code snippits you can copy & paste, plus several other useful tutorials. The talented trio behind today's pick are obviously in it for the fun and offer the downloads for free (for personal, non-commercial use). "Feel free to adapt any tutorials and scripts for your own use, but please credit us." Seems likes a pretty fair deal... ;~]
- astronautdinosaur.com 2/27/03
Description: I take pictures of dinosaurs and make paintings of dinosaurs and astronauts.
Comments: "This website is mostly my fault" says Scott Listfield, who credits his friend Joanna for coming up "with most of the good ideas." Scott's got this thing for astronauts and dinosaurs, which is apparent in his paintings, but the key attraction you'll find at today's pick is the photo-documentation of Scott's travels with a little plastic dinosaur that Joanna gave him. Apparently, Joanna travels with them and takes a lot of the snapshots. Dinosaur (yep, that's his name) is captured "peeing in a pool" in Miami Beach, Florida, devouring plastic people somewhere in Massachusetts, prowling for Spice Girls in London's Trafalgar Square, and mingling with some of Scott's friends in New York City. I swear! I'm not making this stuff up... ;~)
- They Rule 2/26/03
Description: aims to make some of the relationships of the elite of the US ruling class visible - a starting point for research about these powerful individuals and corporations (Flash)
Comments: In 2001, 6 men and 1 woman were on the boards of 26 of the top 100 companies in the U.S. The map of these "7 most powerful" individuals makes the point and is currently the most popular visual representation. Another map, the next most popular, makes the same point just as powerfully, in a different way. The project is based on data from 2001 but a new version is in the works, based on newer data and planned for release later this year. Josh hopes to update the data annually moving forward. So, What's the point? Simple. There's relationships, or inter-connections among the most powerful people in American business and government that "are not always visible to the public eye." This online Flash application allows users to see those connections clear as a bell. Not only that. Users can create new maps or add annotations or other connections to existing maps, or comment on a map's "pop-up message board." Or - start from scratch by accessing data for one of the companies on the list, expand it, add related URLs, etc., and then save it as a new map to share with other users. Click on one of the elite's briefcase for a menu of options, including a web search or seeing a list of his/her political donations. Totally enlightening! "The people who head up these companies swap on and off the boards from one company to another, and in and out of government committees and positions." Seeing is believing, baby! [NET ART NEWS]
- bjfelix 2/25/03
Description: skinnable, personal design space
Comments: Web design and scripting are hobbies for Felix a/k/a BeeJay a/k/a bjfelix, a 20-year-old in Berlin waiting for the summer semester to start his studies in Justice. For now, he's got some time on his hands and it looks like he's having fun with his personal site. I liked the "dirty" skin and "BLUEpleasure" wasn't bad, either. Then, I found the "Zak McBeeJay" with the mysterious, pixelated interface and found myself having fun with his site, too. There's 5 different skins to choose from and each is an entirely different style from the others. The site's content includes digital art, downloadable programs, script tutorials, a downloadable guestbook script BeeJay wrote, and a few other amusements. Call me silly, but I got a kick out of BeeJay's disclaimer. I have to commend him for telling it like it is, short and sweet. Read it first, and make sure you have "strong nerves" before following the link to "RuSsiAN rOuLEtte" – don't want you to blame BeeJay (or me, for that matter) if it gives you any stupid ideas... ;~))
- caffeine artworks 2/21/03
Description: online portfolio and personal playground
Comments: I'm with Pakke when it comes to being anti-decaf and "drink coffee by the buckets" too. But, don't try this at home kiddies 'cause your eyes might end up looking like the guy's in Pakke's logo. Design, photography, and graphics are "hobbies" for Pakke and his personal space is a place to share with other designers and help improve his skills. He's been designing/developing websites for a few years, but is getting into graphics and photography "more and more" lately. Like many designers, he calls it a personal playground and the art and portfolio sections show that Pakke has some really good skills (and natural talent) already, thank you. There's also a few tutorials plus some downloadable brushes and textures. Frankly, I like this guy's style... [the 5 line self portrait]
- olafpix photo site 2/20/03
Description: a collection of original photographs, free to download for non-commercial use
Comments: In many cases, when I'm reviewing a site and not sure how to describe it, I'll go to the source and look for the description meta tag. I tried that today and am glad to report I didn't use what I found. But I did get a kick out of it, so here you go. "Don't look any further. This is 100% pure FAT BMX. Updated monthly with the latest news & gossip, hot pin-up girlies, interviews, music, video, contest reports, scenes and more. We tell it like it is!" You won't find any of the above at today's pick, but you will find a collection of interesting photographs and they make it a point to say they support plagiarism. You're free to download images for non-commercial use only and though they'd like you to credit them if you use an image, it's not required. I say give 'em a little credit. It's probably good karma. You can view 9 random thumbnails at a time and when you click one, you'll get the photo in a pop-up, along with a dropdown menu to view sets of images in similar categories. There's also a section of downloadable wallpapers in the works. Cool little pix site... [robocore.]
- Image*After 2/18/03
Description: free images and textures database
Comments: "The cool guys" behind today's pick, Lex, Tristan, and Stefan, hope to offer a large database of highresolution images for free*. Excuse me, guys, but I see you already have over 4,000 images in the database, which seems pretty large to me, and there's plenty of tasty images to choose from. Okay, so they must mean they want to get really large, "so almost everyone should be able to find what they're looking for." They're adding 5 to 10 new images daily, so just do the math, baby! This well-designed resource for creatives is on the move...Free is big buzzword on the web, so please be sure to read the terms and be fair to this generous trio if you plan to download any of the big images in their database. "Because we know how hard it is to find good material to use for your work, we offer everybody who wants to, our highresolution pictures for free through this website. Keep in mind though that these are NOT meant to be stock-photos or stand-alone pieces of work - they are raw material, to be used and/or edited for whatever purpose you see fit." Fair enough, if you ask me... [weblog wannabe]
- 777RUN 2/17/03
Description: Run's personal space (Flash)
Comments: The odd character with "777" on his abdomen and a heart that literally bleeds must be Run, the guy behind today's pick. Among the sections of Run's Flash site, you'll find a gallery of his illustrations, a thing called "Daily Grind" with pages of tasty collages, a graphical linkpad (have I just coined a word?), and a winning movie that asks "what is the price of sin?" Finding that stuff is half the fun in this well-designed, toon-like personal space, which will probably be most enjoyed by those in explore mode. Do you feel lucky?
- VivaciousWeb 2/14/03
Description: personal art and design website
Comments: Spart's latest update is a set of 5 images called the "Stained Series." It's interesting to see the various images that went into "final piece" with its deep, dark reds and faint, intricately layered backgrounds. The series, in effect, shows how the finished piece evolved in Spart's mind. That's probably why I like the "battles" so much, too. They similarly document an evolution of ideas, but when two minds are involved in the process, the results can be unpredictable and quite surprising in the end. Very interesting. There's almost 3 dozen more individual pieces of Spart's original digital art to enjoy, going back to 1999. When he put the new site design up last August, he said "all I need at the moment is a small and simple site." This personal webspace is rich in creative, visual content and the simplicity in design makes it all the more appealing to me...
- anna :: portfolio 2/13/03
Description: art and photography of Anna Oguienko (Flash)
Comments: According to Mircea in the news at Experimental Magazine, Anna Oguienko is just 18-years old. After visiting her site and experiencing the quality and depth of the content plus a really nice Flash interface, I just have to say "Amazing!" The works in Anna's big portfolio are neatly organized...- experimental – fashion, collage, sculpture, murals, and animation
- fine art – drawing, water colour, sketches, lifedrawing, happy, and painting
- photography – life, still life, light, colour, texture, and england
- digital – illustration, print, and experimental
- Witold Riedel :: NYC 2/12/03
Description: using photography and drawings to investigate unexplored spaces in a seemingly explored universe
Comments: Witold, an artist living in New York, hasn't had a car in 7 years. "I like to take the subway. I love to walk." And in his travels, he loves to draw. Back in November, he started his "Subway Sketchbooks" and has been posting pages from the small moleskine mini-books to his blog. Witold's little "visual adventure" already has 47 pages and is absolutely superb. Drawing on a moving train has its effect on the art, for sure. Imagine drawing on packed subway train, standing up, as it moves down the track, shaking at times. Lines become shaky but in the case of Witold's drawings, it only adds more magic to the work of a guy with a big imagination. Read what he says about some of the pages and you'll realize that he's seeing more than meets the eye. The sketchbooks and the blog are just a part of it. See the "catalogue" for more drawings plus some of Witold's photography. I really like his diptychs and his 600x250 photos, sort of like widescreen for the soul... [Brilliant Corners]
- c71123 2/8/03
Description: it's all part of the process
Comments: Aspiring artist Jonathan Keller has been doing something daily since October, 1998 (excluding an 8 month period he spent working in Antarctica) and plans to do it until the day he dies. "Only then will it be complete, and worth it's true value." His girlfriend thinks he obsesses over the project too much. Jonathan agrees, but he appears to be on a mission. Others have thought about doing the same thing, but Jonathan's actually doing it. As his girlfriend says, "The more you do, the more you get done." So, what it is that he spend a minute or two doing every day, day in a day out? He takes a picture of himself, being sure not to smile to keep the shots "subtly objective" Over the years, this project is sure to become more and more interesting. When Jonathan reaches my age, it could even become scary (hehe). The "BoxBots" project is pretty cool, too. Obsessed art...
- nicole is online 2/7/03
Description: a gallery of illustrations, animations, and graphic experiments (Flash)
Comments: Considering where I found the site (see review), I'm not at all surprised how good it is. The large showcase of illustrations and animations of French graphic artist Nicole De Rueda are presented via an artsy Flash interface. The sounds are hypnotic and the art, colorful and engaging. Nicole's beautiful place... online.
- ColorMatch 5k 2/5/03
Description: select a matching 6-color palette for your website
Comments: Simplicity doesn't get better than this! An online JavaScript application, only 5k in size, that suggests a palette of six colors to use, based on a color you like. Somewhere in Denmark, a person who prefers to remain anonymous bought a domain name and put this excellent little utility online for us. How useful! Thanks, whoever you are... ;~))
- pickone 2/4/03
Description: photography and Flash of David Hoffman and others
Comments: One of David's "Family Members" was a daily pick here on 8/19/01. It's still one of the best photography sites in the portal cool zone in my opinion. [Another of the member sites houses 2 of David's photographic series, all taken with a Nikon Coolpix880. One of those series had 80 different shots you can send as e-cards and the photos are outstanding, in that series as well as in the "South Africa" series. Considering the nice Flash interface, that site was going to be today's pick. But after going back and exploring more of David's photos taken with various other cameras and several of his Flash pieces, plus the work of some other talented photographers, today's pick is definitely the right choice if I only wanna pick one. It'll lead you to the whole family if you've got the time... [linkdup]
- GFERNA 2/3/03
Description: on-line portfolio of design + photography from Argentina
Comments: Today's pick is a showcase of the visual work of Argentinean designer/photographer Guillermo Damián Fernández. The site works fine in Mozilla-based browsers, but Guillermo's site design is optimized for (and looks better in) IE. To be honest, I wish that stylized scrollbars were part of standards instead of being proprietary to IE. Why? It would be nice to be able to improve the look of scrollbars in all browsers or, at least, improve the look in IE without having to give up validation. Oh, well. Guillermo's portfolio is rich in visual content. There's splashes, wallpapers, some nice graphic design samples, and Photoshop brush sets, plus tons of photos (21 different sets), both 35mm and digital. My favs? The wallpapers and photos, of course... ;~)
- Brock N. Meeks Photography 2/2/03
Description: I've never considered myself an "artist." The camera changed all that.
Comments: Brock's not a web designer. He credits Gabe Rubin for his site's excellent design. Brock's a journalist who's accustomed to "using words to paint pictures in people's heads" but something happened when he discovered photography. He realized he was an "artist." In my mind, his photos are dazzling. There's 4 galleries and new "projects" in the works plus the "picture a week" feature, intended "to produce at least one good photo a week and put it 'out there' for the world to see." The shots he's put out there so far are really good, so we'll be watching... [Design-Index < Design Challenge]
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