Want to make your favorite restaurant dish at home? Check out CopyKat Recipies to search for the recipe.

“Claiming inspiration from “old-school American values mixed with a little punk-rock idealism,” Mike Brodie, aka The Polaroid Kidd, hopped trains across the U.S. for seven years, documenting his friends, lovers, and travels with a Polaroid and a 35-millimeter camera and amassing a critically acclaimed body of images.” His own site is static and he has supposedly given up photography.

Maps of War “was created to help people understand current events, as seen on TV and in our newspaper headlines, as being one small chapter in the much bigger and longer story of human history. Each map is well-researched and based in fact, and none of the work is meant to be biased or political. No spin or opinion, just fact-based conclusions about the history of war.”

Raise “is an online gift card marketplace where you can sell gift cards for cash or buy discount gift cards to all your favorite brands.”

Cooks.com is an extensive recipe and cooking site that also offers nutritional information, a forum and a free newsletter.

AdFlip says it is the “worlds largest archive of classic print ads.” It seems most of the content is for paying members, but you can browse through quite a few free examples.

Cyndi’s List “has been a trusted genealogy research site for more than 20 years. Cyndi’s List is free for everyone to use and it is meant to be your starting point when researching online.” I have relied on this site for research many times over the years. One of the very best genealogical resources on the web.

While Amazon has succeded in convincing many that they have the lowest prices online, take a minute to check out BookFinder. They have “made it easy to find any book at the best price. Whether you want the cheapest reading copy or a specific collectible edition, with BookFinder, you’ll find just the right book. BookFinder.com searches the inventories of over 100,000 booksellers worldwide, accessing millions of books in just one simple step.”

The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture “is primarily a collection of landmark agricultural texts published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. These full-text materials cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science, forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science. Teams of scholars selected the titles in this collection for their historical and scientific importance.” This free resource offers 2,084 books and 36 journals ranging from 1623 to 1969.

I first came across this site several years ago when I was looking for information on Buddy Rich. Drummerworld “is a encyclopedia-like website and features Drummers from all genres in the history of Jazz and Rock – from the past till present times.” This addictive site includes photos, videos and extensive biographies.

ScienceDaily “features breaking news about the latest discoveries in science, health, the environment, technology, and more — from leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.” Don’t forget to sign up for their free email newsletter.

Poets.org “is produced by the Academy of American Poets. The site was launched in 1996, becoming the original online resource for poems, poets’ biographies, essays about poetry, and resources for K-12 teachers.” They also offer a free email newsletter.

The Foundation For Intentional Community states their mission is to “support and promote the development of intentional communities and the evolution of cooperative culture.” Communes today are associated with hippies and as settings for horror movies, but exploring this site should help part the curtain of old stereotypes.

If the suggested viewing Netflix offers you is coming up a little short try What’s on Netflix for some ideas. Whether you are looking for some recommendations or want to dig into a sub-genre, it’s all there. A very useful site.

Gnod is a project of Marek Gibney’s that allows you to “use the latest technological advances to make us all discover more and better things.” Input a few samples of music, products, art, literature or movies that you like and Gnod will make recommendations of new things to try.

Black and WTF is full of funny and bizarre, mostly vintage, photos. The site has not been updated for a few years, but it still makes for addictive viewing.

Have a good weekend!

While there are plenty of prepper sites on the web I decided to link to the Fed’s site for the basics. Ready asks you to “do four key things: (1) stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) build an emergency supply kit, and (4) get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.”

Julia Solis has been photographing abandoned buildings and underground spaces for 20 years. She is also a writer, event organizer and curator. Check out her site to find out how she blends all of these interests.

“In the decades around 1600, the astrologers Simon Forman and Richard Napier produced one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history. The Casebooks Project, a team of scholars at the University of Cambridge, has transformed this paper archive into a digital archive.” A fascinating and addicting look into what was considered medical treatment during that time period. Selected Cases In Full “transcribed the full text of several hundred cases and grouped them by theme. These transcriptions are intended to be read alongside the edition and the images of the manuscripts on the full Casebooks website.”

The Soil and Health Library “provides free downloadable e-books about radical agriculture, natural hygiene/nature cure and self-sufficient homestead living. There are secondary collections involving social criticism and transformational psychology.”

I subscribed to the Taste of Home newsletter just a few months ago and I have been overwhelmed by recipes and cooking ideas. When they bundle a type of recipe to include in their mailing it will have 10 to 100 varieties. (example: 55 Chicken Skillet Recipes) You can use the recipes as is or cobble together your own version from the many they offer. A site worth your attention.

“The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. We are a community of learning and the opener of doors. Join us on a voyage of discovery in person or learn and explore online.” I have been a reader of their excellent magazine for years. You can subscribe to their free newsletter here.

Artcyclopedia is searchable database of 9,000 listed artists, 2,900 indexed art sites and 160,000 links to other sites. You can search by name, artwork title or art museums.

I think I remember reading some movie reviews years ago by Joe Bob Briggs, but I had not thought of him since then. Somehow I recently rediscovered him and have really been enjoying his writing. He offers much more than that on his offical site.

Have a good weekend!

Shelly joined Ibotta in 2014 and has made almost $3,000 since then getting cash back on purchases. Click here for details.

Gimp, a free alternative to Photoshop “is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins.”

Check Unclaimed.org to “Conduct a free multi-state search by going directly to MissingMoney, the NAUPA-sponsored search engine, or search state-by-state on individual unclaimed property programs by clicking the appropriate jurisdiction on the map or drop box below. You should search in every state where you have lived.” Worth checking, you never know.

C. S. Lewis “was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day… Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. C. S. Lewis’s most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.”

Have a good weekend!

With a previous blog (you can check it out here) I ran a series called the Weekly Roundup, which would link to sites I thought were useful, interesting, or both. I enjoyed sharing what I found so I am going to revive the series on this blog, but not weekly for now. Welcome to The Roundup.

Check out Family Handyman for great how to tips, do it yourself projects, videos and much more. Make sure to subscribe to their free newsletters while you are there.

Project Gutenberg “offers over 58,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired.”

The Senior List states “ Older adults and caregivers turn to our experts for objective guidance — from care alternatives to the best senior products.” Make sure to check out the Senior Discounts section. If like me you don’t qualify, share the site with parents or grandparents.

Theodore Dalrymple has been a regular read and a favorite of mine for several years now. You can read some of his essays and learn more about him here and here.

Have a good weekend!