|
>>> August 17, 2000
SPLAT! Drop it: Although their moniker conjures up images of buff British paratroopers, the Drop Squad are actually a group of students from Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, New York. On one fateful day in 1992, they decided to form a secret society whose main exploit would be dropping various things from various heights and documenting it on film. The resulting displays of gravity and tangles with campus security can now be found at www.dropsquad.com. No question, this collection of images and text goes a long way towards conclusively illustrating that tennis balls, typewriters and McDonald's hamburgers are no match for Newton's third law. Post-MP3: Contrary to commonly held belief, it's possible to pirate music without the aid of a computer and an MP3 player. The well-researched Web site (www.osopinion.com/Opinions/Wes/Wes2.html) explains how anyone can illegally copy music with the help of an ordinary household radio receiver and tape deck. Shocking! Just wait until the RIAA hears about this. Michael Citrome |
|
>>> August 10, 2000
Beer and Jesus Thirsty? If you're at all a typical Montrealer, much of your warm-weather thoughts are probably devoted to imbibing cold beverages, most likely of the barley and hops variety. But have you ever considered the myriad cold liquids that have passed through the parched lips of the populace? Did you know that it was Cliquot Club, an Eskimo-themed ginger ale, that introduced the first soda can? Or that during WWII, the U.S. Army sent camouflage beer cans to lubricate the troops at the front? For all this and more, take a virtual tour of the Beverage Container Museum at www.gono.com/vir-mus. Go fish: Not from the creators of popular Web-portal Ask Jeeves, comes Ask Jesus, a site where the son of God will personally search the Web for you and deliver the results using His eternal wisdom. Actually, the results are more smartass than divine, but only a papist would be offended by the Jesusifier, which translates any Web page into something... well... biblical, accompanied by a snappy midi soundtrack. Yea verily.www.askjesus.org. Michael Citrome |
|
>>> August 3, 2000
I'm ready for my close-up Popularity contest:Do you think you have a beautiful face? Should you be modelling self-adhesive moustaches in magazine ads, if such a product existed? Are you a shameless attention-seeker who can only get ego-gratification by having many people compliment you? If so, run, don't walk to RateMyFace ( www.ratemyface.com ), where thousands of people's faces are on display. Constant voting determines who is most beautiful and cruel comments make the lower-ranked feel worthless. Putting your photo online is free and anyone can vote and post comments. For a slightly less subtle take on the same phenomenon, check out Rate My Picture ( www.ratemypicture.com ), which should probably have been called ratemytits.com--no nudity, but we all know what's going on here. Ramenation:uMunch.com delivers Asian snack food to your door from their Web site at www.umunch.com. They have everything from coconut jelly to squid jerky, easily accessible through a user-friendly interface. There's also western snack foods and chocolate. With this much variety available, this site could easily turn into an obsession. : Michael Citrome |
|
>>> 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 |
|
>>> 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 |
|
>>> 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 |
|
>>> 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 |
|
>>> 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 |
|
>>> 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 |