SHENJEE'S INTRIGUING TAKES ON LIFE
Shen's Teahouse is an honest, perceptive woman's insight into her own
Chinese culture and a few other traditions. An oasis in the fluff and
tumble of the WWW, she talks about sexual liberation in Taiwan, the
modernization of China, and the problems therein - such as the history of
polygamy in the cultures and the jealousy it inspires - peppered with
ancient stories and sayings like "One night conjugal love is worth a
hundred days of grace." Stop by for a cuppa cool stuff, indeed.
<http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/3955/>
APHRODISIACS, AND CURSING IN SWEDISH
Want to learn how to say "Eat (expletive commonly used in place of feces)"
in Swedish ("Kyas mig i arslet")? Or how to seduce your lover with a
cunning aphrodisiac? This site has some winning methods of making new
friends. Find out how pine nuts, onions, and Parkinson's disease drugs can
improve your love life and then kiss it goodbye with a fruity foreign
phrase of nonchalant disgust. Really hear how to say "Hell, the kid's wet
his trousers!", and work your way through the gradually more ferocious
terms of abuse. Learn something of the Swedish culture as you go, such as
the fact that sexual and religious phrases are rarely used as swear words.
<http://www.santesson.com/aphrodis/aphrlist.htm>
OPPROBRIUM, THY NAME IS BULWER-LYTTON
It was a dorky and academic little contest till the press blew it up into
public consciousness, but now, my friends, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction
Contest, which "challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the
worst of all possible novels", is an annual and upon-us event beloved of
smirking evening newscasters who celebrate talented scribblers who strive,
like us, in love and obscurity, till hard returns do us part, to bring to
light the most wretched prose possible, for the sample contest entries
alone on this wonderful Web site put smiles on the faces of even the
unfeeling illiterate: we know, we have seen them; we have called late at
night to share our secret verbal Lyttonian pleasures with other
connoisseurs of the corny, the unquiet, and unrequited multitudes of
farceurs and fanciers of fame and infamy who deluge the contest judges
annually with such whimsically horrific and sublimely absurd dredgings of
the unspeakable unimaginable that only your visit to this excellent site -
driven by this splendid statement of fact, falderal, and fiction - can
unvilify. <http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/>
What does one get for the person who believes in nothing? A Web site,
apparently. The Nihilists' Corner is a celebration of the belief, the
conviction that there is no basis for knowledge or truth or for any of the
complex belief systems that humanity has built for itself. The site is the
brainchild of Elishah Shapiro, a.k.a. the "Field Marshal", a LA area artist
and would-be politician who made a bid for the presidency of the United
States at the helm of the National Nihilist Party, and who more recently
ran for the office of LA County Sheriff. The site contains many of his
thoughts and impressions, as well as links to other noteworthy nihilist
sites on the internet. <http://members.aol.com/nihilist01/corner.html>
SHLEMIEL, SHLEMAZEL, THE NET: A SHIDECH MADE IN HIMMEL
Ever wonder what Laverne and Shirley chanted before the theme song of their
TV show? The Ariga web site has a page geared towards resolving this and
other Yiddish expressions. The site contains a glossary of some common, and
some not so common, Yiddish expressions as well as a description of the
biblical or Cabalistic origins of the more esoteric and obscure entries.
The page is an invaluable aid for any goyim who wonder why someone is a
"mensch", or has "chutzpah", or perhaps what one is toasting to when one
hoists a glass and says "le'chayim". Any websurfer who passes this site up
would have to be "meshugeh ahf toit". Look it up.
<http://www.ariga.com/yiddish.htm>
This is an interesting concept. The site features puzzles that trade upon
the commercial fascination of the American consumer. You can play the
retail alphabet game, or name that slogan. We are sure that the information
gathered from those who participate will be of great use to advertisers as
a means of checking the effectiveness of their advertising slogans and
programs. Along the way you can have some fun. We made it to level 10 of
the brand unawareness game and scored five out of five at the easy level of
name that slogan. <http://isy1.isy.vcu.edu/~jkatzen/consumer/>
A self-proclaimed small site, the Paranormal Project hopes to grow into a
place for the dissemination and discussion of the more obscure paranormal
phenomena (like some are mainstream...). It intends to focus on some of the
more bizarre aspects of the paranormal. A couple of the titles present now
serve to illustrate their direction: Evil Clowns (terrestrial perverts or
freaks from another dimension?) and Mothman (Neither moth nor man, this
being terrorized the Ohio River Valley during 1966-67). Also peruse stories
about teleportation, a most unconventional mode of transportation, along
with links to other unusual sites. <http://tenthmuse.com/paranormal/>
Perhaps you've heard about kidney harvesters preying on unsuspecting
business travelers or about the aircraft carrier refusing to give
right-of-way to the lighthouse. These fabricated tales, typically passed on
by word of mouth, chain letter or e-mail, are the stuff of urban legend,
and fodder for Barbara's Tales of the Wooden Spoon. Alligators infesting
the New York sewers? Not true, according to Barbara. Find out which legends
are based in fact and which are simply folklore (no word on evil
clowns...). Some interesting computer virus stories can also be found.
<http://www.best.com/~bmikkels/spoons/spoon.shtml>
JURASSIC PARK ON THE WEB... AGAIN
What do you do if you're Steven Spielberg and your movie "Jurassic Park"
made more than the gross national product of several third-world countries
combined? The answer, obviously, is SEQUEL!!! To promote the upcoming "Lost
World: Jurassic Park" movie, Universal Pictures has created a Web site full
of Shockwave animations, sound bites (chomp!), stills, and other goodies
from the movie. A particularly interesting section dedicated to InGen,
Jurassic Park's fictional parent company, is presented as a bona fide
corporate intranet, complete with employee handbooks and statements from
management. The hype machine is screaming far louder than the T. rex is, so
let the marketing begin! <http://www.lost-world.com/>
National Geographic's "Pirates" is an inviting diversion for the junior
surfer set. As might be expected from a National Geographic production, the
site features entertaining graphics, crisp writing, and solid information
on a fabled scourge of the sea. Pirates hosts an interactive game, which,
while maybe tame to the point of stupefying for the twitchy,
trigger-fingered Nintendo set, does manage to communicate an amazing amount
of information on the subject at hand in just a few pages. Links to other
pirate sites, a bibliography, and a terrific tale about the infamous
Blackbeard round out the Geographic's pirate harbor, a spot worth hoisting
sail to. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/>
Based on the book by Jack Mingo and the Berkeley Pop Culture Project, this
attic of pop relics houses such things as the hula hoop, comics,
Etch-a-Sketch, Beatniks, and Betty Boop. Discover the histories of the
drive-in movie (from wrestling matches in the wide bench seats to
scrunching up in tiny Japanese cars) and food emporia, how chewing gum
originated from spruce resin and beeswax, and the changes in the humble
pinball machine (from a couple of flippers to Whirlwind with a tornado to
blow the ball around). These tempting trivial tidbits changed your
lifestyle. <http://www.slip.net/~iceberg/wpc/wpc.htm>
A WEBMASTER'S GUIDE TO SEARCH ENGINES
Attention, webmasters and Web marketers! If you haven't visited A
Webmaster's Guide to Search Engines, what are you waiting for? The more you
know about search engines the more likely search engines will index your
site the way you want it indexed, and the more often surfers will find
pages you want to be found. Calafia Consulting has put together a dandy
site devoted to this topic. You'll find an overview, descriptions of
popular search engines, news, resources, and other things
search-engine-ish. Did you know there's an easy way to use AltaVista to
find out which Web sites link to yours? A few tips here could bring you
kudos, cash, or who knows what else? <http://calafia.com/webmasters/>
Our intrepid reporter braved the crowds of this, the mother of Net
conventions, and has this to say: Microsoft and Netscape had the largest
exhibits, but the really funny thing was the way Microsoft and Netscape
"partners" were distributed around the floor. Both giants had their little
"partners" arrayed as a buffer between them. All these poor little
satellite companies, each one limited to a single table or booth, face off
as their supergiant masters stare at one another across the gulf.
Fascinating, in a contempt-filled, sociological, bugs-under-the-microscope
kind of way. <http://events.iworld.com/spring97/iw/>
Yes, it's Academy Awards time again, and if you're anticipating the Oscar
ceremonies so much that you can't stand the wait, a visit to the official
Academy Awards Web site should reduce your blood pressure. There's a
countdown of the number of days until the March 24 ceremony, contests to
play, and trivia to pursue. You can even find out such minutiae as what
attire the stars might be wearing, what famous people are writing for the
show, and a complete list of feature films released in 1996 that were
eligible for nomination. <http://www.oscar.com/>
TAKE A TOUR THROUGH LOUISIANA CUISINE...
That a respected chef of Cajun and Creole cuisine clearly explains both the
steps in his recipes and the rationale behind each supplies reason enough
to read further. But for him to place each recipe and its evolution into
fascinating historical context makes this site nourishing in many more
ways. Chef John Folse of New Orleans does all this with exerpts from his
book, "The Evolution of Cajun and Creole Cuisine", as well as many renowned
recipes. Start with the basics of making a roux or your own andouille
sausage, then tackle such masterpieces as crawfish etouffee or seafood
gumbo. Success is guaranteed by the clear directions. You can even order
specialty ingredients directly online. <http://www.jfolse.com/>
...THEN DRIVE ON FOR TEXAS BBQ...
Texas just does everything on a larger scale than the rest of us and Texas
cooking is no exception. With over 200 recipes in Grandma's Cookbook, an
interactive area for exchanging tips with other foodies, a calendar of food
events in Texas and monthly features on such Texan staples as cornbread and
lemon meringue pie, this site captures the ol' Texan flavor in more ways
than one. <http://www.texascooking.com/>
A group of volunteers have assembled a site commemorating the 130th
birthday of the 220-mile wagon route from Kansas through Oklahoma to Texas
named for the kindhearted trader, Jesse Chisholm. Obviously a labor of
love, it's mostly text, with some bits of Americana like the Stephens
County Historical Museum in Duncan, Oklahoma. It's worth a look if just
because this is one of few sites to tell stories of the Wild West that
speak of fairness and civility between the whites and Indians.
<http://www.unicusnet.com/chisholmtrail130/>
HOW TO SEE THE WORLD ON $25 US A DAY
In 25 chapters, 80,000 words, and 120 illustrations comes How to See the
World on $25 a Day or Less. Written by John Gregory, who has traveled in 35
countries on eight low-budget trips, this book also has tips, comments, and
humor from travelers of every kind. A thoughtful and thought-provoking book
presented with style on the Web, this is a good place to invest some time
to get a different slant on the joys of experiencing other countries and
cultures. <http://www.artoftravel.com/>
The Travlang on-line translation dictionary site allows the unilingual an
easy means of translating their words and intentions from one language to
another. Simply enter the chosen word and presto: a translation appears in
the language selected. English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish and the
ever-popular Esperanto are among the dozens of languages available for
translation. By the way, the Travlang site is far more than just these
piddling small dictionaries. It also has mapping/hotel/directions/general
purpose travel data. It is, in fact, very handy indeed.
<http://dictionaries.travlang.com/>
AIRCRAFT ARCHAEOLOGISTS SEEK EARHART EVIDENCE
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery is dedicated to
discovering, saving, and preserving rare and historic aircraft. The team
currently seeks the remains of aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator,
Fred Noonan. <http://www.tighar.org/>
HOME AQUARIA AND FISH RESOURCE
This extensive archive provides a plethora of data regarding aquaria and
their inhabitants, from freshwater to marine, from tropical to temperate.
You'll find catalogues, a glossary, a FAQ, a searchable database, and good
links. <http://www.actwin.com/fish/index.cgi>
If you're a college student, are considering college, or work for one, this
site may make your life easier, or at least more interesting. The College
Club offers free online networking. You can look for a job, check out the
local scene, visit the graffiti wall, or visit a matchmaker.
<http://www.collegeclub.com/>
Cut your teeth on Mayberry trivia at his site, which features a trivia
contest based on "The Andy Griffith Show". Do you know how much Emma pays
for her pills? <http://www.northst.com/mayberry.htm>
Roe v. Wade, Miranda v. Arizona, Reno v. ACLU - all the great ones, and
several lesser decisions you've never heard of, reside at this searchable
index of US Supreme Court decisions.
<http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html>
So you're asea, and you see a ship pass by but you don't recognize the
flags. Turn here for help. This site features just about all the world's
flags, and that includes more than mere national banners. Check it out.
<http://flags.mmcorp.com/>
Are you witty, but lack an outlet? Bursting with humor, but reward-free?
Write the funniest caption for the cartoon of the week and you'll win
something or other. Loads of other games are here, too.
<http://www.game-land.com/games/funny/>
The debate rages on even among Netsurfer's big bananas: is the Mac dead?
Whether or not, it's still cool, and this little piece of software is
further evidence. Hotline is Mac-only chat/file transfer (but not IRC or
FTP) Net software that we got up and running in five minutes. It is
designed to take advantage of the MacOS in ways Unix protocols cannot, and
so is faster and more elegant. We were so impressed by Hotline Client, we
downloaded the Hotline Server software and set up our own desktop server in
ten minutes. Although still in beta testing, Hotline impresses even our
jaded selves with an incredibly easy and useful interface. Windows versions
are promised for eventual release. Anyone out there want us to run our
Hotline server? Just say so. <http://netspace.net.au/~hinks/>
IF YOU MUST HAVE MORE SHAREWARE, LOOK HERE
Despite a flashing advertising banner that reminds us of sleazy roadside
neon and the obnoxious pasting of text over adjacent, colored backgrounds,
this site lives up to its billing. It is really a place for shareware
junkies who must have their daily or weekly fix of programs from the
try-before-you-buy market. You can find the usual operating systems here
(minus UNIX flavors) along with the opportunity to sign-up for a weekly fix
through Junkies News. Also check out the cool weekly reviews of shareware
packages with downloading links. <http://www.sharewarejunkies.com/>
We have reached no conclusions as far as our problems shipping to CompuServe subscribers go. We have learned that some other e-mail e-zines ("Les Chroniques de Cyberie" and "Mr. Media", for example) don't get through to any CompuServers. We suspect it may have something to do with non-numeric e-mail addresses, but hundreds of experts (well, maybe one or two) are working hard (well, sporadically) to demystify the problem. COMMUNITY SERVICE
SAVE THOSE POP-TOP TABS, REALLY
Every once in a while, we're e-mailed an e-mail chain letter, requesting
postcards for non-existent dying kids or some such false nonsense. That's
what we thought was happening when we received a missive asking netizens to
send pop tabs to a school in Illinois. We dug a bit, and it turns out the
letter's true. To help teach his students about the Holocaust, teacher
Kevin Daugherty wants them to collect six million pop-top tabs from soda
cans. They're a bit behind, though, and he's requesting that you mail him
any you might collect. It's a worthy, and surprisingly factual, project.
Send your tabs to Students of Mahomet-Seymour Jr. High School, P.O. Box
560, 201 W. State Street, Mahomet, Illinois 61853, or for more info, e-mail
Kevin at mailto:kdaugherty@ms.k12.il.us or visit the Web page.
<http://www.ms.k12.il.us/msjh/holo.htm>
SEND THE CAT IN THE HAT A CARD, AND HE'LL BUY A BOOK
Random House Children's Publishing has launched a year-long celebration of
the Cat in the Hat's 40th birthday, highlighted by an offer to help needy
children learn to read. For each birthday card you send, Random House will
donate a book to the National Center for Family Literacy. Children are
encouraged to make their own cards and send them directly to The Cat in the
Hat c/o Random House Children's Publishing, 201 East 50th Street, Mail Drop
30-1, New York, NY 10022. <http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/birthday/>
A long time ago, on a Web page far, far away, we featured the Internet
Sleuth, one of the first searchable indexes of searchable indices. It has
its own URL now. May the search be with you. <http://www.isleuth.com/>
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