Girls tend to have a sizeable collection of handbags and shoes. Personally, I have a larger collection of video games and consoles than I do of shoes and handbags. But that is not to say I don't like reading up on girly fashion every now and then.
Handbag.com is a site I like to dip into to satisfy my feminine side. It is stuffed with fashion, beauty, celebrity and entertainment. I like the way the site is laid out, with dropdown menus beneath the tabs so you can quickly jump to the content you are interested in.
The last tab houses "handbag tv", for those that want to just sit back and watch. It is well filmed and put together, with some great films if you want to look like a fashionista.
Overall the content is as gritty and frank as it gets for a girly rag. If you embarrass easily, you should probably avoid the "sex & life" section where tips are handled tastefully, but are still somewhat forthright.
Sampleswap.org is an old favourite of mine. I featured it on Webscape a couple of years ago, but since then, it has grown immensely and is definitely worth pointing you towards again.
It is basically a forum where musical types get together to talk about their passion. They swap ideas and rights-free loops and samples that you can use in the creation of your own musical masterpiece.
The forum is self-explanatory - check out the "Tips" section for some great ideas to help you in your composition. This understated and functional site allows access to the hundreds of samples through the links at the top of the page.
You can browse the drum loops, melodic loops, vocals and more, but you will need to be registered and logged in if you want to download audio files. They come in the .aif format which you can import into your music creation software to begin tinkering with yourself.
Download individual samples by right clicking the download link and choosing "save as". Or you can build a basket of sounds for which a link to a zip file will be delivered to your email address after clicking "download basket now" link.
Slideshare.net is another site where people post their work for the world to use.
It is simply bursting at the seams with Powerpoint presentations on pretty much any subject you care to mention.
Register free for the full range of features, then you can start browsing the vast archive of publicly usable slideshows.
You can e-mail them on, share them with friends, or even embed them in your own website or blog. From informative to artistic or just plain fun, Powerpoint presentations never looked so cool. I think teachers especially might be interested in using or sharing their work through this site.
Now, because public submissions are not screened by the site, you may occasionally come across unsuitable material. Use the "flag" option beside the presentation to bring it to the site's attention, as the terms and conditions are very clear in this area. When I contacted the owners about one poster in particular, they were super-fast and efficient in their response.
I was sent this YouTube link a few weeks ago and I absolutely fell in love with it. The video title "an engineer's guide to cats" combines my two favourite things: cats and being a geek.
It is not hard to see why this movie has had over 2.5m views. If you have found anything like this on YouTube that you think we should feature then please let us know.
I love the art section at 2.47 minutes in, and the ignoring game at 3.50, and the corporal cuddling section at 4.24.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~19~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
Bookmark with:
What are these?