Our family used to watch the Fourth of July fireworks on the Mall in Washington, D.C., each year. The heat and mugginess were intense, and, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it would start to drizzle. Families and their picnic gear coated every bit of grass, there were long lines at the port-a-potties, and getting back home afterwards was a logistical nightmare. Aside from that it was of course a lot of fun, and we did it for years. And the fireworks . . . oh, they were GORGEOUS. One beautiful display after another blossoming in the night sky.

     It seemed to me that the Internet would have lots of videos of fireworks that we could enjoy without the heat and the drizzle. Which it does, though I have to admit lighting up a computer screen isn’t quite the same as lighting up the whole sky. From fireworks this issue moves on to romantic and unromantic food and then to hikes. But the main thrust of the issue is things you can do with your photos/. Just keep scrolling down; they’re all there.

     Oh, and don’t miss the last item, “Live Dangerously Vicariously.” It’s fun!

     Janette

----Table Of Contents----

1. Create Your Own Online Fireworks
2. Free Fireworks Videos
3. How To Make Fireworks Videos
4. What’s That Firework Called?
5. Imaginative Picnics
6. Ice Cream In A Bag
7. Hiking Trails
8. Do Online Jigsaws – Or Create Your Own
9. The Sun Comes Up, The Sun Goes Down
10. One Of The Funniest
11. Crop, Sort, And Share
12. Proposal In Central Park In The Rain
13. New Ways To Share Photos
14. Live Dangerously Vicariously

1. CREATE YOUR OWN ONLINE FIREWORKS

     CRAYOLA meant this site for kids, but I had a lot of fun with it. Since I’m not a kid, it took me awhile to master the dragging and dropping bit. But, after years of passively waiting to see what fireworks would be dished out to me on the Fourth of July, it was fun to create my very own display. Your kids should enjoy this too.

http://www.crayola.com/gamesFun/games/console.cfm?game=fireworks&ok=true

2. FREE FIREWORKS VIDEOS

     Yes, the Internet has a website totally devoted to fireworks videos. How could it not? You can, if you like, get onto the site’s mailing list, to be notified when a new video comes out. I tried downloading one of their videos but ran into technical problems, probably because I didn’t have the ADOBE SHOCKWAVE PLAYER. Which is free, and you can download it here:

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/

     Bill had better luck than I and treated me to a loud PYROINNOVATIONS.COM fireworks video. I noticed a tab labeled “Adobe” lit up on his computer as the video played, so it must have been the Adobe Shockwave Player I needed all right.

     For some gorgeous fireworks, click on:

http://www.pyroinnovations.com/videos.html

3. HOW TO MAKE FIREWORKS VIDEOS

     The Zambelli fireworks family wants you to make a successful fireworks video. Read all about it here:

http://www.zambellifireworks.com/fireworksvideo.html

4. WHAT’S THAT FIREWORK CALLED?

     PBS is also happy to tell you what the different fireworks are called.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fireworks/gall_04.html

5. IMAGINATIVE PICNICS

     RECIPE LINK has some of the most imaginative Fourth of July picnic ideas I’ve seen – as in barbecued shrimp and grilled pizza.

http://www.recipelink.com/picnics.html

     And then there are . . . ROMANTIC PICNICS. Which leads to the question: Ants are romantic? Well, the site has a picture of a couple at a romantic picnic, and it does look like ants are the last thing on their minds. The site, LOVING YOU, is in fact a website about romance, as in “romantic finger foods.” The Internet has everything else, and I suppose romantic finger foods were bound to arrive sooner or later.

http://holidays.lovingyou.com/summer/picnicfortwo.shtml

6. ICE CREAM IN A BAG

     It sounds like something both kids and grownups would enjoy making and eating. I must add that my McAfee Site Advisor gave this kids’ site a yellow light rather than a green light. I checked into it, and they say that some OTHER programs on the site (obviously not the recipe for Ice Cream In A Bag) might be ones people would consider adware or be otherwise undesirable. And now you know.

http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/icecream.html

7. HIKING TRAILS

     AMERICAN TRAILS is, it says, “the only national, nonprofit organization working on behalf of all trail interests, including hiking, bicycling, mountain biking, horseback riding, water trails, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, trail motorcycling, ATVs, snowmobiling and four-wheeling.” For hiking trail information click on:

http://www.americantrails.org/

     THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL. The Appalachian Trail used to be the gold standard: If you’ve hiked the whole Appalachian Trail, which extends from Maine to Tennessee, you are a brilliantly successful, gold medal hiker. But now a new gold standard is opening up: the CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL. Its website says, “The vision for the CDT is a 3,100-mile primitive and challenging backcountry trail from Canada to Mexico along the backbone of America. Approximately 70% of the Trail is usable. However, many of those miles are in desperate need of repair, rerouting for sustainability, or removed from roads and motorized trails.”

http://www.cdtrail.org/page.php

     If you want to hike some of the usable portions of the Continental Divide Trail, amid rugged, majestic scenery, come here for information:

http://www.trails.com/continental-divide-trail.htm

     Or you may prefer a more sedentary challenge:

8. DO ONLINE JIGSAWS – OR CREATE YOUR OWN

     JIGZONE was recommended to us by reader Helen Jones, and our thanks go to her. Here you can play with jigsaw puzzles (thereby improving your spatial relationships, according to the “don’t get stupid as you get old” authorities). Or you can make jigsaw puzzles from your photos, or from the pictures Jigzone supplies. I was surprised to find that their puzzle of the day – one of many they supply – was an actual, traditional jigsaw, rather than the straight-cut pieces I had encountered at other sites. They’re put together online, though, and need to be shared online. But, let’s say you took photos of a party or a weekend with friends. You could turn your photos into an online puzzle as a thank-you gift to them, assuming they’re online too.

http://www.jigzone.com/

     If, on the other hand, you’d like to turn a photo into a traditional cardboard-backed puzzle, here’s how:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/22507/how_to_make_a_jigsaw_puzzle.html

     And to make a wooden jigsaw puzzle:

http://www.newpuzzles.com/instructions.htm

9. THE SUN COMES UP, THE SUN GOES DOWN

     These time lapse photos make it possible for you to move your cursor slowly to the right over the picture, and the day moves toward evening, then night. Move the cursor slowly to the left, and dawn, then daylight comes. You could consider this an exercise in Raw Power, if it floats your boat.

http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/flash/cntower_timelapse.swf

10. ONE OF THE FUNNIEST

     And here’s one of the funniest pictures I’ve encountered online.

http://www.tuxick.net/pics/humor/art-of-survival.jpg

     Is the photo real or a fake? I don’t know, but the site below tells you how to make fun fakes:

http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Howto.htm

11. CROP, SORT, AND SHARE

     Photo manipulating and sharing is a fast-moving art. Reviews more than a year old no longer reflect the best of what’s out there. As an example of the latest techniques, click below:

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5624/cartoonfk8.gif

     And, on a more mundane level, take a look at this recent article by Rob Pegoraro, who evaluates the online programs that help you assemble photo albums. He rates Google’s Picasa as best. Find the details below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502689.html

12. PROPOSAL IN CENTRAL PARK IN THE RAIN

     DIGITAL GRIN opens with photos of a Central Park proposal, then it lets you look at other photographers’ best work. And last, but by no means least, it allows you to post your best work for the world to see.

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=60134

     PHOTO.NET offers another place for you to upload and exhibit your best work. With this site, you can also get critiques, comments, and ratings from other members of the community.

http://photo.net/

13. NEW WAYS TO SHARE PHOTOS

     These sites want to help you tell a story with your photos. They assume that you have a blog, website page, or MySpace page onto which you can put the photos you’re sharing. Let me add that a “peanut butter wiki,” a web page made in the same amount of time it takes to spread peanut butter on a slice of bread, would also work beautifully. You do not have to be a computer genius to create one. (Check out peanut butter wikis by clicking on my March 1 issue in the lefthand column of this page.) Wiki pages would also allow your friends and relatives to add their bit to your photo “timeline,” which is what OURSTORY.COM is all about.

http://ourstory.com/

     TABBLO.COM also wants to help you tell a story with your photos. They will help you make artistic collages with your photos so that you can “delight your readers with amazing layouts of your online content.” Once again they assume you have a blog of some kind, which could easily be a peanut butter wiki.

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/

     Below is a site with the most popular Tabblos, so you can see what others are doing:

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/view/popular/

     PHOTO CUBES – Tabblo also tells you how to make a photo cube. You only need a color printer, some scissors, and, of course, the photos:

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/productinfo/cube

14. LIVE DANGEROUSLY VICARIOUSLY

     Looks like fun – if you’re brave enough.

http://www.influks.com/post1350.html

MISSED SOME ISSUES?

     Have I got a solution for you! Now that we are using a frame for each issue, you can just look over to your left and find all the back issues nicely set out. Simply click on the ones you missed. That means too that if your e-mail service provider gets sticky and decides that Tour the Sites is spam (it is NOT spam), you can foil it and find the newsletter at this address.

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WARNING!

     If your e-mail box sometimes gets full, you are in danger of falling off the subscription list of Tour the Sites. Not because I want to lose you, but because, if your box is full when I send out a newsletter, you are automatically kicked off the list. I don't like that policy, but I don't have any say. If you change your e-mail address or get a new kind of spam filter, you may also fall off. So do keep an eye on your newsletters, which should arrive around the first and fifteenth of each month. If you haven't gotten one for a month, let me know and I'll be happy to put you back on the mailing list. Because I'd really hate to lose you.

Janette
Newsletter@tourthesites.com

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© Copyright 2007 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.