Web sites offer exciting features

by Eric Schwartzberg
Web Watch columnist

With its eye-catching, easy-to-navigate graphics, Officially Denzel Washington on the Internet (http://dev.celebsites.com/denzelwashington/index_f.htm) is one of the best examples of a knockout Web site. The coming attractions, interviews and video clips make you wonder why any other site would dare step in the ring.

On the other hand, the aptly titled Whitney Houston Worship Page (http://www.whitney-fan.com/index.shtml) outdoes its "official" counterpart with a well-organized mix of audio and video downloads, high-resolution photos and detailed film and music sections. The "For Huge Fans" section offers a way to "replace the ugly startup and shutdown screens with Whitney pictures."

Slide on over to the James Brown homepage (http://www.funky-stuff.com/jamesbrown) for a slick tribute to the Godfather of Soul. Download samples and learn to play JB riffs courtesy of the convenient tablature, or make your desktop wallpaper funkier. The comprehensive discography should illustrate why JB merited the moniker "the hardest working man in show business."

Fans of The Artist Formerly Known as an Unpronounceable Symbol can get their groove on at his official site, NPG Online Ltd. (http://www.npgonlineltd.com). Peep the "groovez" section for unreleased Prince jams and "visualz" for video clips, but ignore the "newz" section of the site in favor of the eminently superior updates at Prince.org (http://www.prince.org).

Engrossing articles, celebrity interviews, recommended readings and movie reviews are just some of the highlights at Blackflix.com (http://www.blackflix.com). The site spotlights African-American movies, yields helpful hints for scriptwriters and provides an opportunity to discuss film-related issues.

For a glimpse at up-and-coming female African-American writers, actresses, athletes, directors, dancers, choreographers, models and singers, enter The Cocoa Lounge (http://nyamedivine.tripod.com), an attractive site created and maintained by "two young sistas" from Oakland, Calif.

Check into the wonderful world of daytime talk show hosts courtesy of Oprah.com (http://www.oprah.com) and The Official Queen Latifah Television Show (http://latifahshow.warnerbros.com). Both sites offer the standard fare about their hosts, but Winfrey's site features sections entirely devoted to food, lifestyle makeovers, the advice of relationship guru Dr. Phil and, of course, Oprah's Book Club.

And for those who can't get enough of Chris Rock, (today's scheduled guest on Oprah), the only site worth mentioning is the garish-yet-gratifying Reco's Chris Rock page (http://members.tripod.com/~Reco_Williams/CHRIS_ROCK.html). The content isn't very new, but where else on the Web can you find an interview with Rock's mom?

Schwartzberg, a junior journalism major, wants to know which sites you liked and disliked and why. Write him at ecstra@hotmail.com