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Web Gleanings: The Best of Web Gleanings

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A Tribute to Judith Ames

Head to shoulder photograph of Judith S. Ames as an elderly woman. She smiles radiantly and is wearing a striped top. It is with some regret, but enormous gratitude, that I share the news that Judith Ames, who almost certainly holds the record for the most number of words published in EAA, recently informed me that she decided to retire as the columnist for “Web Gleanings.” Back in 1995 when I posted announcements for EAA editors, Judith, who previously was associated with the Japan Society in New York and has worked, among other endeavors, as an editorial and computer consultant, contacted me and proposed a regular column on the then-rather-new Internet. This issue is the sixty-second issue of EAA in our over twenty-two year history and Judith’s column has appeared sixty-one times. The only issue that Judith did not contribute a column was fall 2013 (vol. 18, no. 2). Judith had the perfect excuse for not publishing a “Web Gleanings” in that particular case because she authored the feature article “Tips for Searching Asia,” a great tradeoff! Working with Judith spoiled both me and our Managing Editors over the years. She always delivered and always provided so many of us with excellent websites. Judith was also early with her column almost all of the time and never late! An EAA Internet column will continue, but just as sports teams honor star performers by retiring their jerseys, in honor of Judith, the title of her column will be retired. She also will receive a lifetime “friends” complimentary subscription to EAA. We tried to do something special for Judith’s last column. Because of the nature of the Internet and the incredible number of sites that have appeared in her column, it is difficult to do a “Best of Web Gleanings.” However, Managing Editor Jeff Melnik and I, assisted by graduate student Nancy Asplund, carefully reviewed the most recent “Web Gleanings” columns and selected twelve active websites that we liked a great deal, carefully checked the sites, and in some cases, updated Judith’s descriptions because of changes on some sites that occurred since her original entries. We hope readers enjoy these sites and trust Judith likes our picks as well. Thank you again Judith for all you’ve done for EAA. I asked Judith to reflect upon her years doing the column, and she wrote the paragraph that follows.

— Lucien Ellington

A Goodbye and an Appreciation

By Judith S. Ames

My association with EAA began with the very first issue in 1996 and has lasted until 2017. I’m proud to say that only Lucien and I have appeared in every issue. Obviously, then, producing the Web Gleanings column was a labor of love. Unlike situations where love is not requited, in this case, the honeymoon lasted forever. I am very grateful for that. I’ve never had a more respectful, more productive, more pleasurable work experience. Lucien Ellington is a gem; please treasure him always. I have called him “a gentleman and a scholar.” Indeed, that is who he is. Thank you, Lucien, for all the good years.

The Best of Web Gleanings

A Sampling from Recent Issues

Spring 2010: Traditional and Contemporary Korean Popular Culture

Korea Society K–12 Resources

URL: https://tinyurl.com/lf9zo9f

These educational resources from the Korea Society include lesson plans organized by grade and subject, as well as multimedia on various topics on Korea. Lesson plans are presented in downloadable PDF format.
Winter 2010: Environmental Challenges and Asia Environment in Asia URL: https://tinyurl.com/lwvmoev The Asian Development Bank (ADB) maintains and updates this site. There are links to various environmental data on Asian countries and the ADB’s annual Sustainability Report; there are current environment-related news items and other resources for Asian countries.

Winter 2010: Environmental Challenges and Asia

Environment in Asia

URL: https://tinyurl.com/lwvmoev

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) maintains and updates this site. There are links to various environmental data on Asian countries and the ADB’s annual Sustainability Report; there are current environment-related news items and other resources for Asian countries.

Spring 2011: Teaching the Geographies of Asia

East Asia in Geographic Perspective

URL: https://tinyurl.com/lwtucmt

This is a site that can enrich any lesson about the geography of East Asia; there are articles, maps, and lesson plans. One can explore the site by Five Themes, including Location and Regions, or by Six Essential Elements, such as Places and Regions and Physical Systems. The site is organized according to the eighteen standards set forth by the National Council for Geographic Education.

Winter 2011: Food, Culture, and Asia

Asian Recipe

URL: http://www.asian-recipe.com/

In addition to many recipes, there are two special pages of interest. The links can be found in the left frame. 1) Evolution of Food, which is a simple overview of the cuisines in Asia, is well suited to a secondary school class; and 2) Food Timeline goes back to 17,000 BCE. Not all items refer to Asia, however. Each entry is linked to a detailed description of the food. In some cases, there are recipes associated with the food item.

Eating China

URL: http://www.eatingchina.com

This is a blog about Chinese and Taiwanese cooking and food products. There are recipes; posts about individual foods, like the Chinese radish; and food events. At the top of the main page are links to articles, book reviews, and some facts about Chinese food.

Spring 2012: Asian Visual and Performing Arts, Part I

Asia: All Regions

URL: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/

These pages are part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s prodigious “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” The home page is divided into essays, works of art, and chronologies. Selecting any of these will take you to “make a menu” where you can search by region of Asia. All objects cited here come from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Winter 2012: US, Asia, and the World: 1914–2012

The Road to Pearl Harbor

URL: http://1.usa.gov/UHzZ36

EDSITEment, a partner of The National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) and the National Trust of the Humanities, produces pages for teachers and students. This page offers lesson plans for grades nine through twelve and covers the years 1915–1941 in four lessons.
Spring 2013: Asian Visual and Performing Arts Part II Islamic Influence on Southeast Asian Visual Arts, Literature, and Performance URL: http://bit.ly/ZaFr6a As the title indicates, this article from the Asia Society provides details of the Islamic influence on Southeast Asian arts beginning over 1,000 years ago. The focus of the article is the influence on Indonesia, specifically the island of Java, from the writing traditions to puppetry. Readers can access a number of other articles about both Southeast Asia and other regions of Asia in the additional background readings that appear at the end of the article.

Winter 2014: Asia: Biographies and Personal Stories, Part I

Yasunari Kawabata—Biography

URL: https://tinyurl.com/k9y7nh2

Kawabata received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. This page provides a brief biography of Kawabata. On the left-side pane are links to his Nobel Lecture, the Banquet Speech, and a video documentary showing the moment he received notice of the awarding of the Nobel Prize.

Spring 2015: Southeast Asia in the Humanities and Social Science Curricula

Temples of Angkor

URL: http://tinyurl.com/n7prkvn

Part of the Google Maps “Trek” series, the Angkor region’s temples are available for a virtual tour. There are videos and many street views using the Google Maps technology to explore the temples in detail.

Fall 2015: Asia: Biographies and Personal Stories, Part II

Katsushika Hokusai Biography

URL: https://tinyurl.com/l9gge62

In addition to the biography of Hokusai, this site is breathtaking in its scope as it presents the “complete works” of the artist. One can view 205 prints individually or in a slideshow.

Winter 2016: Traditional and Contemporary Asia: Numbers, Symbols, and Colors

The Chinese Zodiac, Explained (video)

URL: http://tinyurl.com/zrujeym

This is a TED talk that focuses on the interest that Chinese people have in the signs of the Zodiac. The speaker looks at the cycles and the meanings of the signs, and the implications of some of the signs in making decisions. There are interesting details of how the Zodiac influences the birthrate