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>>> February 4, 1999 Titanic in my Star Wars Like peanut butter and chocolate, it only seems obvious after the fact: Titanic and Star Wars, a combination that can't be beat. This delectable mixture comes in the form of Sim Wars, a mixture of two seemingly incongruous computer-generated animation sequences. Rather than let the HMS Titanic computer model gather digi-dust, some of the minds at Digital Domain took the good ship out for a spin around Tatooine. What results is a very slick, fun to watch Star Wars spoof, with the Titanic playing Star Destroyer and a lifeboat replacing the X-Wing Fighter. It's 15 megs and you can find it here: http://www.dailysci-fi.com/media/SimWars2.MPG. |
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>>> January 28, 1999 The truth is in here Joe Firmage has become something of a hero of late. You may have heard of him in the news: he recently left US Web/CKS, the $2 billion company he helped found, due to controversy over some of his views--in particular, his belief in UFOs. However, the best part is, no one can accuse him of doing this for any economic motive--he's already rich, and he's certainly not helping his reputation. He has a great Web site called The Truth, which includes a series of documents known as the Majestic 12 (MJ-12) documents. To find them, once in the site click on "They Are Watching Us Now." There are scans of the original documents and some analysis. If it's real, it's pretty heavy, and if it's a hoax, it's a damn fine one--which raises its own questions. On his site you'll find a condensed version of his upcoming book, The Truth. |
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>>> January 21, 1999 Cones through the ages An oft-overlooked area of scientific study is the traffic cone. Which is shameful, really, as traffic cones--those orange pylons that mark construction sites, obstacle courses and the like--have been one of the greatest helpers of humanity throughout the industrial age. Thankfully, this situation has been rectified with the Traffic Cone Preservation Society. The sites contains a traffic cone field guide, which you can use to identify cones in the wild. The guide tells you how to recognize the deadly Conus Estheris from its more benign cousin Conus Leprecus. Examine the evolution of the traffic cone via the pictorial history of cones through the ages. And, lest we forget, the contributions cones have made to pop culture are also chronicled. On your way out, check out other cone-related links and be the first of your friends to join the Traffic Cone Preservation Society. |
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>>> January 14, 1999 Kodak moments At the last drop on Splash Mountain, the famed log-in-water ride at Disney World, an automatic camera snaps a picture which you can later pick up. Wouldn't you know it--some people actually flash the camera. While the over-exposed photos normally get destroyed, some intrepid employees smuggle them out of the Disney bunker. And 15 of them ended up on Flash Mountain. There's also a link to a site running a contest to find the splash flashers in real life. And then there's Jurassic Girl, who's become a bit of a celeb for her quality flash of the automatic camera on the Jurassic Park ride. Get a check up from Doctor Girl and maybe grab some Fast-Food Girl on the way out. Not for the kiddies. Bork, bork, bork: Get the skinny on swearing like a Swede at Anne & Johan's Cursing in Swedish website. |
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>>> December 17, 1998 Disinform yourself Disinformation (www.disinfo.com) is a handy site for all your subcultural searching and yearning. Aiming to be the search engine of subculture, Disinformation is a well-designed and highly organized site. Disinformation is divided into six areas: propaganda, revolutionaries, censorship, counterculture, counterintelligence and newspeak. On the site you'll find tons of useful information and some good reading--which is welcome, given political counterculture's tendency towards overwrought manifestos and calls to arms. Of particular interest to pranksters and media jammers is the section on barcodes. Learn how to make and break barcodes. Slap a $2 barcode onto a $10 item--fun for the whole family! There are plenty of valuable links here, so it's worth trawling, even if you're not of the mind for reading. |
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>>> December 10, 1998 Going, going, gone! Online auctions are great deals--if you're a resident of the United States, that is. Enter Bid.com (www.bid.com). Originally a U.S. online auction, Bid.com has teamed up with Rogers New Media to offer (at long last) a Canadian version, which uses Canadian dollars. There are a number of different categories to choose from: computers, notebooks, monitors, upgrades & accessories, office products, cameras & optics, consumer electronics, travel, sports & fitness equipment and a treasure chest. The pickings are a bit slim compared to U.S. auction sites, and the prices aren't super, but it's a start. If you are inclined to do the gymnastics involved in ordering from a U.S. site, a good one to check out is Onsale (www.onsale.com), with hourly auctions, a large selection and great starting bids ($1) on a lot of products. |
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>>> December 3, 1998 Come sail away Tired of all the "keeping-the-country-together" talk? Why not get away to a new country, one being built from the ground up? Visit Oceania--The Atlantis Project (www.oceania.org). This site's been around for a while, and I often wonder if it's just a hoax/joke or someone with a serious, albeit far-out vision: to build a nation on a man-made island in international waters. On the site you will find rendered images of the Oceania model, as well of some sounds of Oceania. There is also a lengthy Oceania constitution (in English and Spanish), not to mention the Laws of Oceania. The Oceania mall has slim pickings, though you might want to pick up a bumper sticker or flag. The most attractive product offered, though, is the Oceania passport. Confound border guards, impress your friends. Be the first on the block and get a special price on the first run. |
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>>> November 26, 1998 Web sites for the curious voyeur Finding yourself bored with your life? Why not bore yourself with someone else's, half a world away, at Icepick (www.icepick.com). Built by Alex van Es from the Netherlands, the site initially started as a way to keep tabs on his house while at work. The site built up, and now you can examine all sorts of quantifiable minutiae that make up Alex's life. You can look through his trash (he scans the bar codes of everything he throws out), see stats on toilet flushes (599 since September 12), what's in the fridge (and when it was last opened) or who's at the front door and how long they ring. There are 6 cameras set up around the house so you can keep tabs on van Es, as well as his cat. Or you can go vote at the MP3 alarm clock for van Es' wake-up song. Amused to death: Looking to kill some time? Why not visit the Centre for the Easily Amused (www.amused.com), and amuse yourself, easily. |
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>>> November 19, 1998 Working 9 to 5, and then some Join the collective of job-haters at Working Stiff (www.pbs.org/weblab/workingstiff/). Working Stiff's slogan is "work, bitch, act," and the site provides the perfect forum. Satisfy your voyeuristic inclinations with "workplace diaries"--accounts from fellow stiffs on the front lines of inane corporate culture. You'll find features ranging from "Is My job Killing Me?" to "Twisted Knickers" (dealing with office romances). There is also a place to "Speak Up" on the job-related discussion board. Garner some free advice on your workplace dilemmas and test your workplace stress with the "Stress-O-Meter". Then visit the "Action Guide" and move beyond bitching. Another aptly named work-related site is Disgruntled (www.disgruntled.com). The most interesting thing on Disgruntled is the plethora of short work-related horror stories posted by many wage slaves. |
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>>> November 12, 1998 Cat-scan fever Everyone loves kitties, and nothing's cuter than a kitty in a weird or bizarre position. Check out the Cat-Scan Contest (www.cat-scan.com), a site put up by Ontarian Cliff Bleszinski. While Cliff loves cats, he also thinks they look pretty funny when scanned--yep, put Fluffy on the glass plate and press return. The contest is over now, but the pics remain for one and all to look at. Or to fume at. Equally entertaining is the hate mail Cliff has received as a result of his contest, also available on the site.
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