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>>> July, 27 2000
Sphere hilarity Pop!:As seen on the Comedy Network and fresh from their appearance at Just for Laughs, the Balloonheads are also the stars of their own Web site at www.balloonheads.com. This site has video clips of all the Balloonhead episodes. Set in an Italian-narrated world populated with balloon-headed celebrities and creatures that exist solely to pop them in order to kill them, Balloonheads is one of those things you don't soon forget. Especially recommended is Episode 12, featuring Alfa and Romeo, the Italian superheros, and their enemies, the Boys in the Hoods, the KKK boy band. Game sounds II:Hot on the heels of metalcore video-game musicians the Minibosses, DJ Pretzel is serving up a hot order of classic video-game themes, remixed in techno, drum & bass, jungle and hip hop styles. Massive breakbeats and twiddly NES sounds will leave you nostalgic for the days of Super Mario Bros. and Young MC. Check it at http://remix.overclocked.org. : Michael Citrome |
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>>> July, 20 2000
Tone Loc Rockin' the ringer: At one time, mobile phones just rang, bleeped or chirped. Nowadays, everyone carrying a Nokia is blasting electronic symphonies at anyone in the general area. The result is that nobody's quite sure whose phone is the one ringing, and a sudden burst of electronic tones will send a crowd scrambling for their pockets. Realizing this, some smart minds got together and created a site called YourMobile: www.yourmobile. com that lets anyone with a PCS phone on a compatible network choose from hundreds of ring tones and have the tones sent to their phone, for free. We're not talking about nursery rhyme rings here either: there are hundreds of songs from the '50s to today, including tracks from the Smiths and Dr. Dre. Once you select your rings, the Web site will send a message to your phone with the tone included. Just press a button to accept, and it's saved in your phone. The site has a comprehensive listing of compatible phones, and even if you can't receive tones on yours, there are instructions on how to enter the new tones manually. : Michael Citrome |
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>>> July 13, 2000
Back to basix Od' skoo: Law one of video games states that systems come and go, with older consoles eventually replaced by those newer and faster. Law two states that any system sufficiently out of date, thanks to the foggy memories of those who played it as kids, will become a classic. The fortuitous combination of fast computers and a surge of interest in classic video games has created an emulator revival. For the uninitiated, emulators are programs that fool your computer into believing it's actually a Colecovision or a Turbo Grafx 16. Download one of these babies, and you'll be playing Rush'n'Attack in no time. Classic Gaming (www.classicgaming.com) is a great place to start, with oodles of info on how to use emulators, along with links to download the original games. 2600's revenge: Aalgar Electronics has created a new Atari 2600 console, replacing the wood panel aesthetic with sexy iMac plastic. It may just be a big industrial design joke, but there's no denying it's cool. Stir the dead at www.aalgar.com/aalcorp/062900/index.html Michael Citrome |
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>>> July 6, 2000
Raggasonic Potty for Potter: While the entire world is abuzz over the latest novel in the Harry Potter series, nefarious forces are at work to ban the book series for promoting Aquarian godless values. Help put a damper on their repressive snit with Muggles for Harry Potter(www.mugglesforharrypotter.org) , a site dedicated to preventing the book series from being taken off the shelves. BR> Or, if you enjoy Mr. Potter and his magical turnips, point your browser to FANDOM Harry Potter (www.fandom.com/harrypotter) , a site on the excellent FANDOM network of fan-run media sites (www.fandom.com) for a daily dose of Harry Potter info. Dub selecta!: One of the Web's most unique video games, the extremely addictive Riddimwise (www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/2597/Rwise.htm)challenges you to identify over 100 reggae riddims (drum & bass sequences) sampled from '60s ska to the latest ragga sounds. The site also includes an encyclopedia of riddims, so you can know the names of all those backing tracks Beenie and Bounty are up on, as well as a how-to guide to making your own soundbwoy killah riddim. Irie. : Michael Citrome |
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>>> June 22, 2000
Massive Don't grow up:Sugar cereal memories: Almost any kid who grew up in the '80s watched a lot of Saturday morning cartoons. Unlike today when "teen dramas" and big-hair religious programming dominates weekend television, the '80s were a time of brightly coloured, surreal cartoons featuring laser-gun-toting warriors fighting huge underground slime beasts. All this has resulted in twenty-somethings wandering around with vague memories of Inhumanoids and that cartoon with the fake ghostbusters and the gorilla. '70s cartoons have had it good too long, because the '80s cartoon revival starts right here with '80s Cartoon Alliance (8ca.homepage.com), a site with a year-by-year index of '80s cartoons. It's all here, from MASK to COPS to Glo Friends. The site includes stills and links to where you can buy videos. Robotical!: Red Robot (www.redrobot.com) is, according to its tagline, a little different than the other robots. It's also a very funny Web site, with content that's entirely user-submitted. What's more, if you send them something and they use it, they pay cold, hard American currency. Michael Citrome |
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>>> June 8, 2000
It's a conspiracy! Kooky kapers:Who built the pyramids of Egypt? Why is there a Masonic symbol on the American dollar bill? What was really in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Crank Dot Net won't answer these questions, but if you're a paranoid conspiracy freak, it'll certainly give you some more to ask. This collection of texts and links about pseudoscience, religion, conspiracies and the paranormal will keep you busy for days. Just cover your monitor with foil to make sure "they" can't see. Put all the pieces together at: www.crank.net. 8-bit rock: The type of phenomenon that could only find a home on the Net, The Minibosses are a rock 'n' roll band with a very unique style. They play old-school video game theme music with a metal edge, and distribute their tunes for free on the Web. Anyone who wasted their youth in the '80s playing 8-bit games like Castlevania, Contra, or the ueberclassic Metroid will recognize the themes. This is perfect summer party music for geeks. Press start at: www.minibosses.com. Michael Citrome |
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>>> June 8, 2000
It's a conspiracy! Kooky kapers:Who built the pyramids of Egypt? Why is there a Masonic symbol on the American dollar bill? What was really in the Dead Sea Scrolls? Crank Dot Net won't answer these questions, but if you're a paranoid conspiracy freak, it'll certainly give you some more to ask. This collection of texts and links about pseudoscience, religion, conspiracies and the paranormal will keep you busy for days. Just cover your monitor with foil to make sure "they" can't see. Put all the pieces together at: www.crank.net. 8-bit rock: The type of phenomenon that could only find a home on the Net, The Minibosses are a rock 'n' roll band with a very unique style. They play old-school video game theme music with a metal edge, and distribute their tunes for free on the Web. Anyone who wasted their youth in the '80s playing 8-bit games like Castlevania, Contra, or the ueberclassic Metroid will recognize the themes. This is perfect summer party music for geeks. Press start at: www.minibosses.com. Michael Citrome |
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>>> June 1, 2000
The time machine Comicdoobiest: Ah, for the heady days of '70s underground comix. Those little black and white packets of subversion created an entire iconography, with a visual style and catchphrases that can be found the world over. One of the comic characters that everyone recognizes but no one seems to identify is Vaughn Bode's Cheech Wizard, a little guy whose torso is mostly covered by an oversized hat. Part acid-damaged Wizard of Id, part violent Broomhilda, Cheech Wizard has been resurrected at The Vaughn Bode Site at www.pha.jhu.edu/~jdavies/bode where scanned comix are available to all. Don't forget to smash the state. Font-o-rama:Planning that big housewarming party but your invitations lovingly laid out in Helvetica Bold just don't make the cut? Fret not, friendly homemaker, you can be the host with the most with just one visit to www.chank.com/rotodesign/fonts/fonts.html. Just sit back and relax as you select from over a dozen retro '50s fonts from Rotodesign, available for both PC and Mac. Your hipster friends will know you can jive, dig it! : Michael Citrome |
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>>> May 18, 2000
Das Kalkulator Soviet samples: Some Web sites are devoted to, well, esoteric topics, but are fascinating nonetheless. Few people would check off the "vintage Soviet calculators" box on the interests part of a survey form, but a Web site called MOSCOW might change that. Short for Museum Of Soviet Calculators On the Web, MOSCOW is a fascinating tour through the history of electronic calculators made throughout the Soviet Union. In addition to samples of monolithic Soviet design, toaster-oven sized calcs with squint-to-see displays, there are also some astonishing modern designs. This site is a must for electronics geeks and industrial design fans alike. It's all summed up at www.taswegian.com/MOSCOW/soviet.html. Rage: Brand spanking new from AltaVista is Raging Search, a search engine that is not only blazing fast and remarkably thorough but also Spam-free. The means that looking up images of paintings of dogs playing poker won't result in all manner of pornographic nastiness. The machine is at www.raging.com . : Michael Citrome |
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>>> May 11, 2000
Return of the toys Rubber men Millions of small creatures lurking everywhere. That's what M.U.S.C.L.E. stood for, and the little pink--and later multifruit-coloured--wrestlers that made up the toyline are among the best remembered of the forgotten '80s playthings. Ask any fellow child of the '80s about M.U.S.C.L.E. and they'll lapse into that mouth-open eyes-rolled-back nostalgia pose, then quickly snap out of it with a comment like, "I had the one with 6 arms" or "my dog swallowed one." These little plastic freaks have achieved quite a renaissance on the Web, with almost a dozen pages devoted to them. The most essential link is Darrin Vindiola's M.U.S.C.L.E. Preservation Society ( http://members.aol.com/VINDI/MUSCLE.html). From there you can find out the origins of M.U.S.C.L.E., where to buy the toys and some of the interesting things people have done with them. 4 sides The square is a fascinating geometric shape. This site, home of Square Systems, has links to many interesting Web pages all about squares. Expect many 90 degree angles. Be there or be uhh.. at http://www.square.com. : Michael Citrome |