Part of a larger film site, FilmZone's 1996 Summer Season Predict-O-Scripts made us laugh out loud. Based only on their psychic powers and movie trailers, Rich Dahm and Dan Vebber tried to predict not the scripts but the plots of this summer's blockbuster hopefuls. We bring you this site now because it allows you to compare past predictions and upcoming tests with reality. Sadly, most of the cliches are bang on. Some are uproarious. Check out "The Phantom" and "Striptease" in particular. "http://www.filmzone.com/GenPlex/summer.html"
As the site itself states, the tenements on Manhattan's Lower East Side can be called "urban log cabins". Whether you call them pioneers or refugees, the residents of these buildings moved into these buildings upon arriving in the United States, primarily from Europe. Over 10,000 people lived at the site of this exhibit, 97 Orchard St., between 1870 and 1915. Click on a room in the Urban Log Cabin link to find out who they were. The building was boarded up in 1935 for over 50 years and kept much of its original decoration and architecture. The Excavation page presents some of the recovered artifacts, including 13 layers of wallpaper. But the magical attractions here are the QuickTime VR movies of the two focal apartments, belonging to the 1870s' Gumpertzes and the 1930s' Baldizzis. It really is like being there. "http://www.wnet.org/tenement/"
Apparently, the Court of Last Resort is a non-legally binding arena in which you can resolve conflicts outside the judicial system. The attraction for plaintiffs and defendants is the resolution of conflict and a cash award. The attraction for visitors is the entertainment found in the misfortunes of others, the chance to be a juror, and the possibility of a cash award. Cases are listed with testimony, evidence, and a debate forum in which the two sides can be cross-examined via e-mail. The biggest problem we have with the site is that most cases seem to be made up. Though funny, the Case of the Flustered Feathers and the Case of the Tasty Tubers can't be real, can they? "http://www.sandbox.net/court/pub-doc/home-x.html"
A strange force appears to be binding movie stars together. After careful investigation, a research committee has discovered that this force is... Kevin Bacon. Huh? This site takes any actor listed in the Internet Movie Database, and tracks them via the smallest number of movie links to that footloose guy. Example: Patrick Stewart, Star Trek's Captain Picard, has a Bacon number of 2, because he was in "L.A. Story" (1991) with Steve Martin, and Steve Martin was in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) with Kevin Bacon. It's quite odd. As far as the authors can tell, none of the Movie Database's 174,000 actors has a Bacon number greater than 4. Good luck trying to get a 5. "http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~bct7m/bacon.html"
Apart from having one of the more impressive domain names on the Net, the Encyclopedia Mythica is an ever-growing repository of the myths and legends that enthralled our ancestors around the fire in the centuries before television. Netsurfers with a mystical bent will enjoy the vast collection of data on the gods, goddesses, and monsters that the cultures of the pre-industrial world created. Perhaps of special interest to all those barbarians out there: the site lists all the ancient pagan feast days. Prepare the goats and the fatted calf! "http://www.pantheon.org/"
SURF WITHOUT REVEALING WHO OR WHERE YOU ARE
Now you can surf the Web with the security of knowing that personal information about you, your computer, and your domain will not fall into the wrong hands. The Anonymizer service acts as a go-between for your visit to other Web sites, and it generally keeps your name out of the logs that many sites keep. They also have some good links to sites with info on privacy and security. "http://www.anonymizer.com/"
IT'S THE STAR-STUDDED, BIG-MONEY GAME SHOW PAGE!
And the question is: where can you celebrate the strangest TV ritual of the 20th century? The Game Show Page, of course. That's right. Now you can revisit late, great shows like "Match Game", "Tic Tac Dough", and "Password" alongside die-hards like "The Price Is Right", "Jeopardy", and "Wheel of Fortune". Memories will flood back when you see photographs of Allen Ludden and your favorite emcees. You can also listen to a few snippets of intro music, look up the rules of the games, or leap across the pond to the UK Game Show Page. Come on down! It can all be yours! "http://silver.ucs.indiana.edu/~wlambert/GameShows.html"
Warner Bros. has a cool site for kids of all ages. Go behind the scenes to watch how animation is done from idea to final product or catch up on the latest news about the company's kid shows. You can visit the games gallery to find puzzles and games to occupy your time. The jazzy site takes some time to load at 28.8 kbps but serves up videos, sounds, and Shockwave stuff. Plan to play for some time if you visit. "http://www.wbanimation.com/cmp/ani_01hm.htm"
A second fine page from the land of Bugs came to our attention. As if it weren't bad enough that you're singing to yourself "We're tiny, we're toony...", now you can let your kids teach themselves the Warner Bros. versions of some classic children's songs through the Looney Tunes Karaoke site. There are ten different songs for them to sing along with and you can download the necessary RealAudio program right there. "http://www.kids.warnerbros.com/karaoke/"
Providing more definitions than a Scientology book, this site is pretty but a little irritating. Maybe it's not the site so much as the story itself, which depends entirely too much on make-believe words. Fortunately, one of the main features of the site is an http-sensitive glossary at the bottom of the page which you can consult at any time. The story is a running tale of the adventures of Adam Kaadmon, an alien who dreams. "http://www.lvli.com/adam/"
While this Night Gallery is not affiliated with the Night Gallery TV show of yore, it provides you with an equally creepy adventure. You'll find famous and not-so-famous ghouls and their creators plus a relatively pithy reference guide to monsters, movies, and actors. If your browser is game, check out the frames version for some nifty tricks (dripping blood, blinking eyes, etc.). If you don't have the Crescendo audio plug-in, be sure to download it. It's well worth the effort to listen to the fabulous selection of monstrous music. All in all, if you're looking for a fright of a site, this is most certainly it. Not recommended for younger viewers. "http://www.wbm.ca/users/kgreggai/index.html"
FROM THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY TO DEEP THOUGHTS
Ever at a loss for the right pithy quote to toss out at a pivotal moment? Wonder where you can find Aristotle alongside Hagar the Horrible? The Quotation page not only has an entertaining selection of randomly listed quotes from a variety of sources and a good search engine for finding a topic-specific one among the some 20,000 accessible, but even has a place for you to contribute your personal stash of gems. A valuable resource. "http://www.starlingtech.com/quotes/"
Anyone who manages a Web site or creates home pages has had occasion to use a search engine to dig up some arcana on Web design or HTML syntax. With Absolute Resource, you may never scan again. This is an awesomely complete collection of every technology associated with Web design and presentation. These long pages load fast because they are image free. Navigate through major categories of "Creation", "Refining", "Options", and "Kitchen Sink" subdivided into hundreds of individual links to definitive sources at other sites. The value here is in the organization and centralization of these resources. If you were to navigate all these links, you would definitely go, as promised, "from webbie to webmeister". Truly, a gift to all who code HTML. "http://www.southwind.net/~miked/resource.html"
ANOTHER NETSURFER BOOK REVIEW: "HOOKED ON JAVA"
Joanne's been hard at work shoveling book reviews our way. This time, it's "Hooked on Java" (Addison-Wesley Publishing Company:1996), by Arthur van Hoff, Sami Shaio, and Orca Starbuck. The review should have accompanied the last issue, but your publisher forgot to put it online. Ironically, your more goofus than gallant editor accidentally and independently forgot to include the article in NSD 2.23, thus saving the aforementioned publisher some embarrassment. We had a hearty chuckle over that one. [ Ah, Laurie, ever the consummate spin-meister - The Aforementioned Publisher ] "http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/books/book.02.24.html"
MORE WONDERFUL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We know you busy little netsurfers have been pecking away for a month and a half, hoping beyond hope to get your witty missive into the not-yet-but-undoubtedly-soon-to-be famous Netsurfer letters to the editor page. Brace yourselves. Here is the next installment. "http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/letters/letter.02.24.html"
What else would you expect of National Geographic but a superbly designed effort? A yellowed adventurer's notebook dotted with antiqued maps and RealAudio sounds makes the virtual whitewater trip down the River Selway, for example, both entertaining and educational. You learn river rat lingo, how to paddle rapids, and about the natural denizens along the shores. Stories this month also feature South African parks and Incan ice treasures. The site is rounded out nicely with a chat area, stuff for kids, and info about the Society itself. We feel this may be one of the best e-zines we've ever covered. "http://www.nationalgeographic.com/"
Next time someone says "Geez, you're a nutcase", don't get offended. In Finland, the respect for nutcases is equivalent to that offered geniuses elsewhere. Galileo Galilei is just one nutcase they hold dear, for it is not a derogatory term, but one meaning a creator of original ideas, thoughts, and insights. So much so that the current/just-ended 1996 International Nutcase Festival is/was the hot place to be seen and heard. A friendly, if slightly stilted page (due to some dodgy translation), the Nutcase Office calls for you to pledge your friends as potentials. What a chance to show them how much you care. "http://www.kemi.fi/~kylahullu/eengl.htmlx"
Nothing sexy here, just well written dispatches - part meditation, part travelogue - from the near and far edges of the world. Digital artist/photographer Mike Naimark went on assignment in 1995 for UNESCO, documenting endangered cultural sites. He reports back in very personal terms from Angkor Wat, Timbuktu, Dubrovnik, and Jerusalem. Worth the visit, even if you have to type this out. "http://www.utopia.com/mailings/rre/Field.Reports.-.UNESCO.World.Heritage.Endangered.Cities.html"
This site is the product of a great idea for a truly educational and enlightening experience, sharing human stories from a child's perspective. Travel with the team from GlobaLearn as they circle the Black Sea to gather personal stories and photos from the kids who live there. In March, they visited Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. This is a place where the world's kids can get to know more about each other, and about their common and uncommon experiences. "http://www.globalearn.org/"
Call it Yahoovich, maybe. Russia on the Net delivers a similarly organized directory of hundreds of Web sites, though all are in Russia or associated with Russia. And, yes, a few are in Russian. A capsule overview of each site lets you know what to expect. Is this the world's shortest URL? "http://www.ru/"
MapQuest, an eminently useful road map search and display engine, now lets you search outside the US. Although you can't look up non-American addresses, the utility of an already indispensable site has increased tenfold. "http://www.mapquest.com/"
In a great Web application, this CGI script, located at a site appropriately named Oscariana, displays one random quote after another from the inimitable Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately, the graphics must take advice from Wilde's own words: "Nothing succeeds like excess." "http://www.walrus.com/~jonnonyc/cgi-bin/quotes.cgi"
A good idea that beams images of flowers, elephants, monkey wrenches, etc. to your little love muffin. We sent a turtle. The message suggests buying the real thing with the senders' credit card, and may confuse the receiver. But it's the thought that counts. "http://www.virtualpresents.com/"
SLICK, SOPHISTICATED CYBER-SOAP
The East Village Soap is a sophisticated version of the old photo cartoons found in English magazines, bar the speech bubbles. By sophisticated, we mean a cool soundtrack, drugs, spunky images, and the ability to join a clique. It's all very 1990s. Fix your hair and log on. "http://www.eastvillage.com/"
If you're feeling a bit weary of inner-city life, we suggest a visit to the town of Marblehead, Mass., where the worst that can happen is that your dog will be flashed or a drunken duck will wobble across your lawn on its way to a fight. If small town police blotters amuse you, definitely drop in. "http://www.star.net/people/~masterds/funny/police.htm"
Please, take your seats. Toiletology 101 is billed as "a complete course in toilet training, or everything you ever wanted to know about your toilets." There's not much potty humor here, except for the URL. It's all rather delicately presented. Tools, parts, what makes a toilet flush, etc. Simply siphonic! "http://www.vni.net/~kayk/toilets.sht"
HEY, KIERKEGAARD - WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Guess we'll never know what he'd think of this Web site, which has been lovingly constructed in his name. But now you can find out what this 19th century philosopher, the father of modern existentialism, thought about theology, guilt, and all the other really heavy topics. "http://www.webcom.com/sk/"
Bill Johnson is an experienced scriptwriter. He offers his experience free for your benefit at his page, Essays on the Craft of Dramatic Writing. If you want to go whole hog, you can sign up for his online course. "http://www.teleport.com/~bjscript/index.htm"
If something is going on somewhere in the world, this site'll have it on file. Trade shows to holidays, Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, this is the place to look. "http://www.eventseeker.com/"
As a wise publisher once said, "It's sites like this that make me want to get out of bed in the morning." Well, he said something like that, and he's not even named Luke. If you are, run on over to the Official Registry of Persons Named Luke. "http://haven.uniserve.com/~lukec/luke.htm"
THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS TO COME FROM YOUR PC
Move over RealAudio, because smells have arrived. A brand new technology, RealAroma, will have you enjoying olfactory pleasantries delivered to you via the Internet even over 14.4 kbps connections. The smells, generated with the RealAroma encoder, are actually created locally at your own system using the RealAroma Drive. The external drive, soon to be standard in most new PCs, connects to any SCSI port. Using the SmellEncoder and simple ATML (Aroma Text Markup Language) extensions, Web content creators can deliver both custom odors and any of hundreds of pre-defined smells including Sweaty Headband (#8D33FF), Spaghetti Sauce (#E6E8FA), and Ammonia (#900033). Look for future announcements about SmellU-SmellMe Aroma Conferencing software. "http://www.realaroma.com/"
Boasting "Every Commercial Software Product on the Market", the Benchin' Software review collects descriptions and user reviews of a vast array of software. The listings are intelligently categorized and can not only be searched but filtered based on your operating platform. Registration (free) is required to get detailed vendor information, participate in forums, and to append product reviews. Reviews are somewhat sparse, so registrants are promised a prize after 25 submissions. Specific software areas are linked to topical news and a site to make online purchases. With all these great features, the site should be a sure winner, yet it seems a little too full of itself and in the end even gets vaguely annoying. "http://www.benchin.com/"
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