CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: INTERNET NEVER AT LOSS FOR WORDS WITH HUNDREDS OF QUOTATION SITES (COLUMN 94)

A rose by any other name, would still be the same. Is that the way that quotation goes? Not quite. The Internet can provide the exact quotation in a snap.

The Internet has all kinds of quotes -- daily, inspirational, humorous, famous and even famous last words.

Joni: The starting place, of course, would be Bartlett's Familiar Quotations online, which tracks passages, phrases and proverbs to their source.

www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/bartlett

Peggy: It seems Columbia University in New York City has a project to put entire books online. It's called electronic publishing. They have titles from John Bartlett to Agatha Christie to Emily Dickinson to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Joni: They have about 35 books online, and it was established in 1994. Since that time they've had 35 million hits. Apparently people don't mind doing their reading online.

Peggy: In Bartlett's, like the book, you can search by key word or author. Let's check "rose."

Joni: This would be nice for doing homework, reports or speeches. You could impress your boss or teacher.

Peggy: We've found the quote from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Officially it is "What's in a name. That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

Joni: Finding the answer wasn't bad. If you're a Shakespeare fan, they have lots of quotations from the Bard.

Peggy: Did you know this edition of Bartlett's was published in 1901. It was published electronically in 1995. The only bad thing is that these quotations were written before 1900.

Joni: You can look up quotations by names. There are several Adams and even two Scotts. What's this? "Right as a trivet." I've said things much more quotable than that.

Peggy: It's funny how many of these very old quotes we still use today. They are also surprisingly modern in meaning. "Why should the devil have all the good tunes?" says a 1700s-era writer.

Joni: There are lots of other places to find quotes. Let's head to the Land of Quotes.

www.quoteland.com

Peggy: Look here, Joni. You can add your own quotable quote to this site. You can search for song quotes, headlines, bumper stickers and stupid quotes.

Joni: Here are TV and movie quotes, so memorable they have to be listed on this page. You can even listen to some of these quotes using RealPlayer.

Peggy: We listened to Rhett tell Scarlet, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Oh look, it's the Knights who say Ni from Monty Python.

Joni: You can tell this list was compiled by a GenXer. It's not the list I would compile, but it's fun.

Peggy: They have sound bites from famous commercials. "Where's the Beef?" and of course "Meow, meow, meow, meow. Meow, meow, meow, meow" from the cat food commercial.

Joni: They have quotes by authors, including contemporary and historic authors like Martin Luther King, Lily Tomlin, Frederick the Great and Confucius. It's a real mix.

Peggy: You can also find quotes by topic, like anger, advice, computers, Earth and flowers. You can also read a random sampling of quotations from their database.

Joni: They even have a forum where you can talk with others about quotes. One of the forum topics is "I need a quote." The forums are moderated. That's interesting.

Peggy: Apparently the site's developer gets flamed (unpleasant e-mails) because he doesn't have more quotes from Shakespeare and Thoreau. He prefers not to repeat all the classics.

Joni: The developer began the site in the summer of 1997 when reading the eighth-grade section of the yearbook. This young man will graduate in the Class of 2001. He's 15.

Peggy: This illustrates the amazing power of the Internet. He has had more than 150,000 visitors.

Joni: Another interesting site called "Say What?" caught our attention at

www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/2110

Peggy: Quotes are listed in three categories: humorous, serious and literary. Under humorous, let's look at chocolate. "I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like."

Joni: One thing we found interesting on this page is that it is part of a quotation Web ring. It is linked with 172 quotation sites. You can either ask for a random site from the ring or look at all 172.

Peggy: Apparently quotation sites are very popular. Hey, the people in town who do motivational quotations on signs around town should know about this. You would never run out of ideas.

Joni: We found a site with quotes from famous women. I like this theory: "Use quotes for support and you too will never go to the podium alone." The developer also encourages you to start a file or database of your own favorites.

Peggy: She also suggests that when you don't know what to say to yourself or to others, quotes can be your saving grace.

Joni: You can search their database by subject or author. For example, we searched for words of wisdom from Oprah Winfrey.

Peggy: "Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." But beware, this site is trying to sell you software with 3,000 quotes. You can get some free, like Eleanor Roosevelt.

Joni: "Perhaps nature is our best assurance of immortality." On a lighter note, you can read the quotations that Bart Simpson writes on the chalkboard during the television show.

users.anderson.edu/~(tilde)kminor/fun/bart.htm.

Peggy: Here's a sampling: "Garlic gum is not funny." "I will not drive the principal's car." "Beans are neither fruit nor musical." "Five days is not too long to wait for a gun." "Organ transplants are best left to the professionals." You get the picture.

Joni: What's your favorite quote site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.