Links, Awards and Reviews "Thresholds: México and Central America" is a beautiful Web site worthy of a professional media company but emblematic of the kinds of upscale personal sites that now proliferate on the Web...it succeeds wonderfully."
— Tom Watson, The New York Times
This is an evolving page that will continue to grow with time. There are, and will be, links to interesting Mesoamerican sites about culture and ruins as well as other fascinating topics. If you have any ideas for additions to this list, e-mail those ideas using the envelope at the bottom of pages throughout Thresholds' site. Click on an area of interest in the box below to go to the appropriate links category. Enjoy!
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The Diego Rivera Web Museum This is a beautiful site about one of the most important muralists of the 20th Century. Galleries of photographs of he and Frieda Kahlo and others, examples of his work and information on his life, career and impact on the world.
Ruin Sites and Mesoamerican Culture
The Aztec Calendar Learn what date it is according to the ancient Aztec calendar. Find out how it works and how it is used.
Copán Ruins, Honduras For more information than here in Thresholds, take a look at what the locals have created for their magnificent national treasure.
GORP Great Outdoors Information on the Mayan Ruins of México, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.
Lake Atitlán Built by world travelers who finally settled on the shores of one of the most magnificent lakes in the Americas, this is a center of information regarding hotels, restaurants, shipping and shopping. On-line boutique.
Latin American Travel Consultants As the name implies, this site assists world wanderers in planning trips. In addition they offer free advisories for many Meso and Latin American destinations. See their informative newsletter: The Latin American Travel Advisor.
Maya Adventure From the Science Museum of Minnesota, a World-Wide Web site that highlights science activities and information related to ancient and modern Maya culture.
Mayan Ruins.org "a directory of the Maya ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Central America". The site information is good and a how-to-get-there section is very helpful, especially for some of the more remote sites. A good overall source for the ruins.
The MéxicoFile This is a great site for almost any kind of information on México. Written by a staff of extensive travelers to México, it offers up-to-date observations on everything from the present political situation to weather reports to available real-estate for vacation rental or permanent residency. It also offers a newsletter which is published ten times a year. Definitely a site for the visitor who wants to be a traveler rather than just a tourist.
México Connect "A bountiful playground of basic and curious information on all aspects of México, the country, its people, its culture and places to visit or live..." A wonderful panoply of browsing pleasure.
Rabbit in the Moon An great site containing research and discussion on Mayan ruins, Mayan hieroglyph writing and Mayan architectural models. Fascinating information AND you can create your name in hieroglyphs.
Virtual Palenque This site is simply incredible. For anyone who has never visited a Mesoamerican ruin site, Virtual Palenque will definitely let you know how it feels to be there. Requires Apple's QuickTimeVR plug-ins.
The World of Mayan Culture A broad-spectrum site from the Yucatán peninsula in México with information about history, culture, arts, politics.
Care2 "Make a Difference! Discover, share and take action. Green living, health, human rights and more..." This site is committed to conservation, endangered species and healthy green living. There are blogs to get involved in, a section for petitions on a number of subjects, green shopping and an incredible variety of subject matter and some of the best photographic images for e-mail cards on the net. Lots to do here. Jump in and get involved.
The Hunger Site Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger; 3/4 of the deaths are children under 5. This is an extremely important site where everyone can do something about it just by visiting. At no cost to them, visitors to the site are invited to donate a serviing of food simply by clicking on a button. The donations are paid for by corporate sponsors. PLEASE visit it once a day and help.
The Moonlit Road A gateway to the dark and mysterious corners of the American South, the site offers new, wonderfully written fiction by the region's storytellers on a monthly basis. Great visuals.
Shakespeare On-line This is a great site. All of his plays are here, with a glossary to help getting through some of those more obscure sonnets. Why not join a discussion group? A valuable resource.
Tapirback Enterprises A non-profit foundation dedicated to saving the endangered Tapir offers ways you can help this world-wide effort. Books, South American hand-woven tapestries and other Tapir-related products can be purchased on-line.The Yung Index For those familiar with this icon in the history of modern mythology, spirituality and psychology, take a look at this site. For those unfamiliar, become acquainted with the ideas of the man who still influences so much of how we see ourselves today.
4kids.org A site with info on a weekly feature published in newspapers all over North America. It is designed for kids (and their parents) to find fun, educational, and safe spots to visit on the World Wide Web.
Family First The web's leading site for family-friendly web site reviews. New sites are highlighted each day. Everything from Apollo 18 to travel in Egypt to games and quizzes. Another wonderful kid-cool, kid-safe environment.
Ethnographica An extensive, sumptuous collection of fine Oriental rugs with discussions on craft technique, history and geography. Exquisite museum and collector quality pieces are for sale. The site also offers links to other important sites about Africa, its culture, art, and people.
Journey of Wandering Paths A vivid, colorful, non-linear collage of paintings, drawings, collages, poetry and some of the best literary quotes you will ever come across. "A tribute to the realm of the imagination."
The Louvre Take a look at some of the most important art in the world in one of its most renowned cities, Paris, France.
Museums Around the World This site is out of the UK and is a treasure-house for those who love museums. The site has listings all over the world. Be prepared to get lost for hours just wandering around the galleries of the best and most exotic art there is.
The National Gallery of Art After many in-person visits to this phenomenal Smithsonian institution in Washington, D.C., the site has become a home away from home. RealAudio tours are available for some of the galleries.
Jimmie Spheeris Memorial Gallery An on-line, in-depth site dedicated to the life and times of Colombia/Epic recording artist, Jimmie Spheeris. Begun as a personal hobby documenting Jimmie's work, this site and Spheeris' fans have moved Sony to reissue his complete catalogue.
Joni Mitchell The official Web site for one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th Century. Almost anything you need to know -past, present or future- about this phenomenal Renaissance woman is here.
Silvanus Slaughter A great songwriter/composer with influences including Lou Reed, David Bowie, Ennio Morricone and Joni Mitchell. His music is the "adventures in the bondage of space and time, loss and love, as lived and sung through three American decades of riveting music celebrating alternative rock, jazz, funk, pop, samba, rockabilly, rave and western." Go and see what this mad genius is all about.
songwriter.com A self-supporting, independent collective of musicians building another alternative to the record industry's butt-wipe garbage. CD ordering and perusal available on-line. Join the collective!
Amber Online Amber is a film & photography collective based in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England. Amber Films, Side Gallery, Cinema and Café are all part of it. This website brings together a full sense of the activity, history and collections for the first time... This is a great site with some very engaging material. A must see.
Gertrude Blom Gertrude Blom is one of the world's finest, and under appreciated social observer photographers. Swiss born in 1901, she went to Mexico in 1940 where she lived until her death in 1993. She was a journalists, anthropologist, and documentary photographer who spent five decades documenting the Mayan cultures of Chiapas, Mexico, particularly the culture of the Lacandon Maya. She was also a pioneering environmental activist.
William Coupon International photographer William Coupon has photographed some of the planet's biggest celebrities, whether they be political leaders or legendary jazz musicians. His portraits of the world's subcultures are particularly spectacular. Also, see the photos of his international doll collection.
Indigenous Méxican Images Wonderful photographs of ruin sites, the Mayan people and indigenous sculpture.
Michael Kenna “His images hold a mirror to each viewer’s soul and conscience. They invite us all to participate in his experience, closing the circle between print, photographer and onlooker,” Ruth Bernhard’s essay in Kenna’s A Twenty Year Retrospective (Treville, 1994 and Nazraeli Press, 2002). It can't be better said...
Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is a photographic cooperative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer members. With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. A great site!
Temple University - Photography Temple This is an index of student studies on a number of the major movers and shakers of the photographic universe. Sometimes the "new" projects URLs are not linked up correctly, but the others are, and what a treat. I often come back to this site and learn something new every time.
Poetry of Light George Zucconi has shown his work in many venues across the United States, from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City to the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. From his bio: "The richness of nature and life begs one to form a collage from its objects, to reassemble fragments in such a way as to form a new picture." His subjects range from architectural to nature to ethereal composites of Chichen Itza. A wide variety of George's beautiful images can be purchased on-line.
Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives "The Image Archives illustrate the history of Santa Monica area from 1875 to the present day. The Archives consist of historical photograph collections, slides and postcards. The emphasis of the Archives is the City and its landscape, including views of Palisades Park, the beaches piers, historic buildings, hotels, bathhouses, Douglas Aircraft, streets, Venice, Malibu, Topanga, the Southern Pacific Railroad and more."
Terra Galleria "View on-line galleries of travel, adventure, landscape, and nature photography by Quang-Tuan Luong. The browsable image bank contains more than 22,000 pictures from around the world." Quan-Tuan has photographed all but one of the National Parks of the US. This site is huge and it's easy to spend hours getting lost in the gorgeous images.
Zoom Magazine "Zoom focuses on the work of the world's most talented photographers while making way for emerging talent and new trends." A terrific on-line magazine with great articles and interviews.
Thresholds has been reviewed or featured in many publications, including the following:
UNITED STATES Alabama
Montgomery Advertiser
Arizona
Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Republic
Chandler Arizonian
Mesa Arizona Tribune
Scottsdale Progress
Tempe News
Arkansas
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California
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Ohio
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Awards and Reviews (not inclusive)
THE NEW YORK TIMES- Tom Watson, DIGITAL NATION - (excerpt)
"...Some new media travel publishers seem to want to continue their personal journeys within the medium itself. Thresholds: México and Central America is a beautiful Web site worthy of a professional media company but emblematic of the kinds of upscale personal sites that now proliferate on the Web. Its creator, Jerry Simpson of San Francisco, describes the effort as "a maze of stories, photographs, travel journals and poetry. It is intended to allow the visitor to wander and view fascinating Mayan cities, sights in many towns and villages, and simply get a taste of people and places through a traveler's eye."
And on that level, it succeeds wonderfully, from its description of a clear, pollution-free sky over the Copán ruins in Honduras, to this passage about the wonders of the Uxmal Ruins on Yucatan Peninsula in México:
"It is sacred ground and anyone visiting would feel the electricity in the air. The architectural style is magical, the whole site extremely mystical. The gods are breathing in the very cracks in the rocks."
Simpson, currently a project manager [....], enjoys the personal views on travel and experience he finds on the Web and values them as highly as the information in guidebooks or on large travel sites. "I now surf through a few corporate travel sites, but am drawn to places not normally detailed in them," he said. "I mean, yes, I would like to go to, say, Turkey, but those monsters have little 'real' information on the old sector of Istanbul."
Personal sites have that kind of information, but he finds they very often offer no more than a veneer of insight. His own travel site is actually part of his creative travel experience.
"Thresholds brings me a keen satisfaction, creatively, and an opportunity to share that vision, that creativity, with those who come to visit the site," he said."
VASSAR COLLEGE- Jenna Lanterman, Office of College Relations
"Congratulations! Your site, Thresholds, has been selected as hotsite of the week by CoolSchool, a host of the best sites on the web for high school students and their teachers. CoolSchool hotsites are selected for their excellence in content and presentation and for their appropriateness for a high school audience. A brief description of your site is posted on the CoolSchool hotsite page. Please feel free to post the 'CoolSchool Hotsite' stamp on your page and/or link to CoolSchool (www.coolschool.edu).
Sponsored by Vassar College, CoolSchool is arranged in four categories: academics (go to class), extracurricular activities (hang out), college search (SAT etc) and teaching aids (teachers' lounge). The academic category is subcategorized along discipline lines--art, music, literature, social studies, and the like. In creating CoolSchool, our goal was to search out sites that combine depth of information with ease of navigation. Your site meets those criteria admirably."
WORLD VILLAGE FAMILY SITE- Rich Cunningham
"I usually try to come up with a tag line or phrase that describes the site that I want to feature on the daily Famsite. But the site today is introduced so well by its creator; I can't improve on it, and won't even try. His name is Jerry Simpson, and his site is called Thresholds.
"This site is a journey through México and Central America; a maze of stories, photographs, travel journals and poetry. It is intended to allow the visitor to wander and view fascinating Mayan cities, sights in many towns and villages, and simply get a taste of people and places through a traveler's eye. This is not intended as an academic presentation, although some may find it anthropologically interesting. As time goes on, more stories and images will be added. There will be well over 100 photos and many experiences to sample. This is only the beginning. The first Threshold. Enjoy your visit."
It is hard for me to improve on that. So I will echo his words, and ask you to enjoy your visit."
EYE ON THE WEB
"Feel like following a tour guide through México and Central America, but can't afford the travel costs? Well, cozy up to your computer screen and begin your tour through this site. Told from an artist's point of view, Thresholds offers stories, photographs, travel journals and poetry. Simply follow the directions and you'll be able to wander through Mayan cities, view great works of art and enjoy some wonderful Web writing."
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER- Leslie Gornstein
"Art, history and philosophy are combined in a rich site featuring one artist's journey through México and Central America, portrayed through stories, photographs and poetry."
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH- Paul Kyber
"This is an example of the power of the Web, which allows someone like Jerry Simpson to guide us through exotic locales through his own words and pictures. Not a fancy site -- no JavaScript-animated objects flying about, no Shockwave games to play -- just good detailed writing, poetry and pictures. Bookmark it, because you'll keep coming back."
WORLD SPORTS NEWS- Elie Khoury
"I have reviewed your site and found it to be creative and full of content. Congratulations – you have won the "The World Sports News Web Friendly Award." We have seen your site and believe what you offer is a great and useful service to the Internet community (by your point of view and ours also). Your site is easy to use, friendly and graphically pleasing! Overall, we believe it belongs in our list of award winners. Your site only enhances the originality of our internet community.
I hope this encourages you to keep up the great work."
