Network: Websites

Pagan Federation Online

http://www.paganfed.demon.co.uk/

In a word association test the phrase "summer solstice" is likely to elicit Stonehenge as a response, whether or not the person being tested has pagan leanings - the battle of the beanfield and media stories about razor wire and exclusion zones round the stones have seen to that.

Last year, things were more civilised and the signs for this year's solstice, according to a thoughtful section in The , are even better. English Heritage, the National Trust and pagan groups have co-operated to work out access for those who have applied beforehand. With the moment of solstice being at 8.49 tonight, today and tomorrow are deemed sacred by different pagan traditions, so events and rites will also take place at dawn tomorrow.

Summer Solstice

http://www.treasure-troves.com/astro/ SummerSolstice.html

This site explains and catalogues the changing date of the solstice over time. The overview of the astronomical significance of the event is well presented and just the sort of thing to point children at. This would be an exact science, you might think, except that the times produced differ by up to 10 minutes from those which are predicted by the US Naval Observatory.

Where on Earth is Duncan?

http://www.whereonearth.com/is-duncan

Live mapping lives. Duncan Mortimer has driven round the world in a Mini once, and to mark the 40th and final year of production of the marque, he's off again, raising money for a variety of cancer charities into the bargain.

This time he has gone all hi-tech with a Global Positioning Satellite system, a GisData digital map of the world and MapInfo Professional software. Not only does he know where he is, but anyone logging on to this site can follow his progress around the world.

Future_Suture

http://www.imago.com. au/future_suture/

As a new medium, the Web is still relatively unexplored. Old media transferred online is the norm, but not here. The strange, occasionally frustrating and sometimes impressive multimedia projects showcased here are hosted from Perth, Western Australia, in a joint initiative between the Film and Television Institute and the Imago Multimedia Centre, with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. Four individual projects are online - Tetragenia, Project Otto, Radium City and Horizons - plus an essay about the rationale and philosophy of the interface.

The worlds vary but revolve around how the Web mutates traditional art and media into new hybrid forms - you will have to cast aside any linear rationality here.

Some installations, such as Horizons, will only work with Netscape 4.05 or later versions. Others just make demands on the user. The humorously paranoid Tetragenia starts off with a screen containing nearly 4,500 words on terms of use that are almost as amusing as the contracts foisted on content providers by some corporations trading on the Web in real life.