New Paths

“Alpine,” by Greg Martin.

Here are some of my favorite websites, organized by topic. Click a link to go to one:

Art & Photography

The Art of Greg Martin — see breathtaking imagery of the Northwest United States. (I borrowed his “Alpine” image for this page.)

Art of Henry Fong Design — Henry is a skilled artist with 20 years of experience. His artwork for the Netflix series, Cowboy Bebop, especially of the “Bebop,” showcases his talent.

Dominik Śmiałowski Photography — I stumbled upon this Polish photographer named Dominik while checking out his awesome project called “Pilot’s Melancholy.”

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Authors & Writing

  • A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry — Brett Devereaux shares interesting articles about ancient and military history and explores how armed conflicts are depicted in fantasy and sci-fi movies.
  • Peter F. Hamilton’s Facebook Page — an awesome writer of sci-fi who really knows how to build epic worlds.
  • Tugster: a waterblog —- a blogger I found years back, who covers interesting tug and ship traffic on “the waters that link the five terrestrial boroughs that comprise New York City as well as immediate adjoining waters.”

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Faith

Bible.com — This website lets you read the Bible, follow reading plans, and use the Bible App on your phone or tablet. It is very user-friendly with reading plans, a mobile app, and community features. For a someone just starting to learn about the Bible, may be the best because it is easy to use, has simple reading plans, and works well on phones and tablets. (Click here to download the mobile app.)

BibleGateway.com — This website lets you read and compare many Bible versions and has helpful tools like devotionals and audio Bibles. It is easy to use with lots of translations and study tools. (Click here to download the mobile app.)

BlueLetterBible.org — This site helps you study the Bible deeply with things like word meanings in Greek and Hebrew, commentaries, and study guides. It is great for learning the Bible’s original meanings and deeper study. (Click here to download the mobile app.)

GotQuestions.org — This site gives answers to thousands of Bible and faith questions in a way that’s easy to understand. It is great for quick answers when you’re confused or curious about something in Christianity. (Click here to download the mobile app.)

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Movies & Music

  • Internet Movie Database (IMDb) — a great resource for fans of movies and TV, this site provides comprehensive coverage of films, television shows, home videos, and video games. It includes details like cast and crew information, plot summaries, reviews, ratings, and more.
  • TuneFind — If you’ve ever paused a show or movie and wondered, ‘What is this song,’ and then Googled lyrics you misheard — same here. Try TuneFind. It’s free. It knows.

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Science Fiction

  • admiralbuck — Bill Krause has a knack for building model spaceships, mostly from the universe of Star Trek.
  • Alien Explorations — Dominic Kulcsar explores the Alien movies and Swiss Surrealist artist H. R. Giger, with entries that include rare photographs and other unique bits of information.
  • The Alien Universe Timeline — Scott Middlebrook has built a site that goes beyond its timeline to include well-researched pages on the vehicles, planets, and astro-cartography of this well-imagined universe.
  • John F. Mullaney Visualisation — John’s ability to visualize “cutaway” illustrations of science fiction vehicles from Alien, Firefly, and Star Wars, is fascinating.
  • Mffanrodder’s Blog — a Millennium Falcon collectors page that always has something of interest to see.
  • Nostromo Unplugged — Adam Savage-Hill shares lore of the movie Alien (1979), often complemented by illustrations, rare photos, and interesting production information.
  • Strange Shapes — Johnny Kennedy focuses on the content from the Ridley Scott’s Alien and Prometheus, James Cameron’s Aliens, and David Fincher’s Alien³.

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J. R. R. Tolkien

  • J. R. R. Tolkien at the Bodleian Libraries — The online gift shop of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, where beautiful merchandise is available for purchase. The Bodleian Libraries host a large number of Tolkien’s manuscripts.
  • J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University’s Raynor Library — The collection contains the original manuscripts and multiple working drafts for three of the author’s most celebrated books, The Hobbit (1937), Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), and The Lord of the Rings(1954-1955), as well as the original copy of the children’s book Mr. Bliss (published in facsimile form in 1982).
  • Jenny Dolfen Art — German illustrator known for her illustrations of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
  • Lord of the Rings Project —  a great site for “visualizing Tolkien’s works on the web,” this site has and extensive genealogies, a timeline of Middle-earth, and even statistics of its population.
  • Middle-earth Blog — Michael Martinez has been writing Tolkien essays for about 26 years, starting with online posts in the late 1990s and notably on Suite101 from 1999 to 2003, continuing through his blog and books to the present.
  • The Official Tolkien Bookshop (HarperCollinsUK) — The official publisher of J.R.R. Tolkien.
  • The Roving Ranger — The weekly newsletter on all things Tolkien curated by Marcel R. Bülles aka the Tolkienist
  • Tea With Tolkien — Kaitlyn Facista is the creator of this online community inspired by the works and Catholic faith of JRR Tolkien. This site includes an active online book club, dozens of printables and downloads, and years of podcasts and blog posts to both inspire and equip Tolkien fans.
  • TolkienBooks.US — Useful for researching different editions of Tolkien’s works, this site is an illustrated bibliography whose intention is to show the pertinent details for every major work by J.R.R. Tolkien that has been published in the United States.
  • Tolkien Collector’s Guide — an extensive site about Tolkien’s works, featuring a Guide to Tolkien’s Letters.
  • Tolkien Library — an extensively researched site, featuring articles, news, and book reviews related to Tolkien’s works.
  • The Tolkien Estate — The official site of the association the manages the intellectual property of J.R.R. Tolkien.
  • Too Many Books and Never Enough —  The weblog of Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull, husband and wife Tolkien researchers and co-authors of J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator(1995), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion (2005), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2017), and The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien (2024).

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