Site of the Week
My Life As a Blob http://www.discovery.com/area/nature/jellyfish/jellyfish2.html
This website, from the Discovery Channel, is basically a collection of great photos of jellyfish. What sets it apart is that it takes a truly unusual approach to the biological gallery theme: treating each species featured as a different character in some kind of sub aqua screenplay.
The ‘cast’ of our show includes a jellyfish called Sting, ‘played by’ Aequorea victoria, Hector the heteropod snail, ‘played by’ Carinaria cristata, and a number of other spectacular blobs, each with a picture and description.
The cast appear in separate sections devoted to feeding behaviour, locomotion, reproduction amongst other things - each with plenty to read and learn about. The photos can also be viewed one after another in the All Jelly Slideshow. A fairly small but perfectly formed movie can be downloaded, which is actually three short clips of vividly coloured jellies pasted together. Well worth a look.
Younger surfers will love this site - it’s a just shame that there’s not even more reading and viewing material. It’s OK though - you can venture into cyberspace for more details by checking the links section.
Richard Northover
Info-content * Readability *** Appearance ** User friendliness ** Kids *** Plug-ins QuickTime or RealPlayer