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>>> October 5, 2000
More than meets the eye Kawaii! Whether it's Transformers, hyper-advanced remote-control cars or ninja schoolgirl action figures, Japanese toys are among the coolest in the universe. Sadly, here in the frozen north we get very few of the truly great Japanese toy lines. But if you want to gawk check out CoolJapaneseToys.com, a site that reviews the latest out of Japan with lots of big colour photos to make you drool. An added bonus are links to online shops specializing in import toys, although you will have to pay the usual exorbitant import prices. Slime: Exotic pet fads come and go. We've seen ferrets, snakes, llamas, iguanas, and pot-bellied pigs. The next trend may come from an unlikely source, the pile of mulch festering in your backyard. They're called Myxomycetes, more commonly known as slime moulds, gelatinous mounds of living, moving slime. Some of them can get quite big, and even glow in the dark. Learn how to capture and care for your own slime mould at Myxo Web (www.wvonline.com/myxo/). Michael Citrome |
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>>> September 28, 2000
Mothers of invention Undercooked: They say necessity is the mother of invention, but if that old adage was true, why do we have the harmonica or the lava lamp? There are plenty of great inventions that don't serve any particular pressing need. Chances are, you've come up with a few yourself. Maybe your friends weren't too receptive to your lowrider riding mower, but the folks at the Halfbakery (www.halfbakery.com) are. The Halfbakery operates on a simple principle: post your half-baked ideas in the appropriate category (home, health, car etc.) and other readers will comment, and maybe even improve on your brainchild. Then again, with ideas like air-conditioned underwear featured prominently on the site, maybe not. Fold here: The Japanese art of origami involves turning a piece of paper into a three-dimensional sculpture using only frustrating hand contortions. Fascinating, but the traditional goldfish and orchids are a bit on the dull side. Why not fold up some X-Wings and TIE Fighters and have a space battle? Star Wars Origami www.ftmax.com/ArtLife/ Michael Citrome |
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>>> September 21, 2000
Forces of evil Raw knowledge: Everything2.com is like a caffeine-addled all-night conversation with an intelligent friend. Forget old media constructs, this metasite is something that's only possible on the Internet. Start out by creating an account and posting something--anything--to the database. It could be your bio, a term paper about Danny DeVito's career, or a revolutionary manifesto. You're now creating a node. Once you have it all typed in, put [square] brackets around any word you want, and the system will link it to the node (posting) about that word. So in short, everything links to everything else, and you can spend hours just flitting from one topic to another--and they said serendipity was dead. SimEvil: What would happen if you combined strategy game, The Sims, with the satanic blood bath of Diablo? Well it ain't a tea party, that's for sure. From CNET's Gamecenter.com it's Diablo Meets the Sims. Hot tubs of fiery lava and brain-eating zombies are new additions to the neighbourhood. Embrace the evil at www.gamecenter.com/Features/Exclusives/Diablosims/?st.gc.fd.fe.i. Michael Citrome |
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>>> September 14, 2000
Beats and squids Bass@Home: Straight outta Montreal, homebass.com delivers the latest beats straight to your computer screen. Developed by a team of local trained professionals, homebass is a site devoted to hip hop and drum & bass with an eclectic range. Although it's a new site, its creators promise constant new material. Definitely worth checking out on a regular basis. Napping: Remember Admiral Akbar from The Empire Strikes Back? He was the squid-like rebel commander who captained the Mon Calamari ship in the big space battle right at the end. We didn't see much of the Admiral after that, but apparently he's been hosting a talk show on the Internet. On X-E Tackles Napster (www.x-entertainment.com/messages/345.html), Akbar and a number of his Star Wars friends, including a jive-talkin' ass-whoopin' Mace Windu, discuss online music piracy in a chat show format. Things get a little strange when Mace walks in on Barbie and Ken going at it, but I'll leave it to your discretion. Michael Citrome |
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>>> September 7, 2000
Christians and robots Blasphemy: Billing itself as a "Christian Analysis of American Culture," ChildCare Action Project is one of the strangest unironic things on the Web. CAP reviews movies--not for their quality, but for their content, taken out of context and analyzed on a grid. Categories include "Sex/Homosexuality" and "Offence to God," and a favourite CAP complaint is about excessive displays of flatulence in kids' movies. Other critiques tinge on racism, such as mentioning a movie's display of a yin yang symbol as an offence to God. Of course, the CAP critic walked out in disgust halfway through American Pie. Something about baked goods. Be cautioned at www.capalert.com. RoboBall: This year's Robocup is over, and results are available on the official Web site at www.robocup2000.org. The world's most important robotic soccer competition, Robocup 2000 featured an all-Aibo league, with a team from our own McGill University. That's right, teams of Sony robotic dogs facing off on the football pitch. Oi! Michael Citrome |
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>>> August 31, 2000
Bitter critic I hate movies: Sure, the Web is a great soapbox for kooks who like to bash things we hold in high esteem in our society, but usually they have some other agenda--promoting weird religious beliefs or eugenics or something. Not so for The Filthy Critic. This guy hates everything. Give him a movie and he'll describe it in the vilest terms imaginable. He calls The Matrix "a Piers Anthony novel come to life." His review of Dogma includes "Blah, blah, fuck, blah, fuck, blah. Look at me: I just wrote a Kevin Smith movie." He threatens Rob Schneider's life for what he refers to as "Deuce Bigalow: Retarded Fucking Gigolo." Spread the anger at www.bigempire.com/filthy/. Circus time! Monkey bikes are tiny trail motorcycles from the '60s that make the rider resemble a monkey on a tricycle. There's no way to rationally discuss these weird little creations, so just check them out www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/7581/. This may be the next summer's big trend--or it may not. Michael Citrome |
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>>> August 24, 2000
Hello lamppost Mmmm.. peculiar: From the mind of Paul Lukas, creator of the brilliant and classic consumer culture zine Beer Frame, comes Inconspicuous Consumption, a Web site documenting some of the stranger products to be found on store shelves. Featuring in-depth investigations of such esoterica as a can opener that hasn't changed its design in 44 years, and very specialized types of screws apparently designed by someone with a twisted sense of humour, Insconspicuous Consumption holds a mirror up to the culture of consumerism. Except this mirror is held slightly askew. At www.core77.com/inconspicuous. Simon sez: From the local-boy-does-good department comes Lasers in the Jungle, the Web's leading Paul Simon fansite. Maintained by a local Simonophile, this site is a fan (and stalker's) dream, with exclusive and detailed information all about everyone's favourite half of Simon and Garfunkel. You'll find a complete discography, multimedia, an extensive archive of lyrics and chords and even some very Paul-Simon-specific humour. http://paul.simon.org and I'm feeling groovy. Michael Citrome |
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>>> 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 |