Free of the usual romantic rhetoric, this handsome site explains just who
and what mummies are, why and how they were made, and the rituals that
surrounded them. Start with an overview of how climate and soil produce
natural mummies, and how embalmers set about mimicking the effect in
meso-America and Egypt. Finish with a look at sarcophagi and funeral
processions. The site even traces changes in practices over dynastic
Egypt's 3000-year history, including the influences of later Greek and
Roman occupiers. Throughout, the site is smart and efficient, its well
written text illustrated effectively by well chosen photos. Ever perverse,
we so admired its leanness that we wished there was more.
<http://members.aol.com/mumifyddog/whatis.html>
THERE'S MAGIC IN THE WEB OF IT
If you like it when David Copperfield asks you to put your finger on the TV
screen or when Penn and Teller (well, really just Penn) tells you to tape
some three-of-clubs-revealing video, then Trendy Interactive Magic is the
site for you. Of course, if you just do it for Copperfield's (or Teller's)
sex appeal, then there's not much there for you, although the rabbit is
kinda cute. Logical minds will figure out both online tricks, but don't
spoil the secret for all the others. Fans of magic, be sure to bookmark a
gem here, the Magic on TV page. It lists who's going to be on which shows
when and what tricks they're going to be doing, if that information has
been released. Oh - remember to clean the fingerprints off your monitor
after you leave. Magic fingerprints really mess up the resolution.
Trendy: <http://pw2.netcom.com/~sleight/interactivemagic.html>
TV: <http://pw2.netcom.com/~sleight/tvmagic.html>
When you find yourself with several hours to spare, delve into Jackson
Garland's definitive Zodiac Homepage, dedicated to the serial killer of
that pseudonym. The presentation intrigues, laying out the murders one by
one along with evidence, suspects, and updates. It's a treasure trove of
information for amateur sleuths or a spot where gore-hounds can do some
virtual rubbernecking. Jackson cleverly retrieved Killer Fonts' Zodiac font
to copy the killer's handwriting throughout the site. Spooky, eh? We're
sleeping with the lights on tonight, and if anybody stocky pulls up in a
car next to us, we're gunning it.
Zodiac: <http://www.humboldt.edu/~jrg1/zodiac/>
Killer Fonts: <http://www.killerfonts.com/>
A NEW UTOPIA, OR AN OLD OCEANIA?
We remember well Oceania (NSD 0.23), and we're still waiting for it. That
bodes ill for New Utopia.... According to presumably pseudonymed Heinlein
fan Lazarus Long, the decline and fall of the United States, the last great
world superpower, is imminent. When that happens, Prince Lazarus (formerly
Mr. Long) suggests it would be nice for the incredibly rich and talented to
be safely ensconced in his New Utopia, a collection of seaborne platforms
he and his followers intend to build in the middle of the Caribbean. The
Principality of New Utopia will be modelled on a combination of Monaco and
the Cayman Islands - without taxes, pollution, and crime - based on a
blending of the philosophies of Ayn Rand and Robert Heinlein. Any budding
libertarians could do worse than to check out New Utopia's Web site.
New Utopia: <http://www.new-utopia.com/>
Oceania: <http://oceania.org/>
Kuo Wan bears some relation to other games like Civilization, SimCity, and
Monopoly. After entering a Hong Kong-like locale where free market forces
determine everything, you are sent to do business and thus take over the
world. The game plays a little slow over a 28.8 kbps modem, but we liked
the interesting side comments in what appears to be Swedish, the native
tongue of the webmeisters. Maybe someday all of New Utopia will compete
vigorously to win Kuo Wan. Sounds right up their alley. Or should that be
canal? <http://www.unusual.se/webgame/default.htm>
CLASSIC GAMES FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT TANGIBLE FRIENDS
Classic Games is a free multiplayer Internet gaming club that features
old-fashioned games like Hearts, Go, Bridge, Checkers, Hex, etc. along with
a friendly chat. By running in Java on both client and server sides, the
games let you compete with players on Macintosh, Unix, and Windows
machines. It's easy enough to create or join a game table for whole
families to play. Good site if you can't find a foursome you can make
coffee for. <http://www.classicgames.com/>
Like fish? Surf a bit at Gorton's Fish Sticks for product recipes (Fish
Stick Pita Pizzas, Parmesan Fish Stick Dippers, BBQ Fillet Sandwich, and
other treats we'd never imagined), along with homey personal
time-management tips (e.g. put a light in every closet). You can exchange
recipes and preparation tips through Gorton's message board. Fish 101 has
plenty of piscatorial trivia of the sort that kids like to recite at the
dinner table. A short history of the company is a nice touch. (How many
corporate Web sites devote a word to their past?) Fish stories flesh out
the easy surf, although these are more tidbit than tale. Gutting fish is
messy, but this slick site has a clean appeal that highlights the joys of
middle-class maritime cuisine. Next time we're in the frozen-food aisle,
we'll remember this stop along the way. <http://www.gortons.com/>
HYPERACTIVE KID SEEKS STUFFED TIGER
Calvin and Hobbes, the late, great syndicated comic strip, provides the
focus of reverence at this little site, full of excerpts from the
misadventures of Bill Watterson's clever, imaginative, dangerous little boy
and the lovable, sardonic stuffed tiger he often conversed with. The site
also captures some of the best the strip had to offer, including both the
first and the last Calvin and Hobbes appearances. Rumors have it that a
movie is in the works, but we'll file those between "no way" and "not
blooming likely". It's best to bone up on your Calvin and Hobbes, and your
Watterson (great interview!) now, before the site gets shut down for
copyright infringement. <http://home3.inet.tele.dk/stadil/calvin.htm>
Collaborate in the creation of an Exquisite Corpse and expand the
boundaries of your mind. This slightly surreal site is dedicated to the
dark side of the human imagination, and includes oddities such as the
Cadaver game, a collection of gothic art, and an ongoing story to which all
can contribute. The heart of the site is a collection of essays and notes
about gothic and horror writers through the ages complete with
illustrations powered by Java. For an artistic and well-presented shiver
down the spine, visit Power to the Imagination.
<http://library.advanced.org/10664/>
Don's Boss Page is an ingenious Web site devoted to helping employees fool
their bosses into thinking they're hard at work when they're actually
surfing the Web. Except for those of us whose job it is to surf, this site
makes really good sense. At first glance (and particularly, from across a
cubicle), it appears to be a spreadsheet with numbers and bar graphs. If
you scroll down the page, you'll find everything from "stealth surfing"
tricks to downloadable panic buttons. The "Personal Protector" window
enables users to surf far and wide, while keeping Don's Boss Page near at
hand. <http://www.donsbosspage.com/>
Psst! Linda! Don't let the boss see, but this is great! It's Whats4Sale.
Comparison shopping. Shhh! That's right, shopping. It's, like, comparison
shopping. See, it's got this database. Sales items at Bloomingdale's,
Circuit City, JC Penney, Land's End, Sear's.... All kinds of places. What?
Sure! Computers, Fashion, Home stuff, TVs, the works. Check out the product
reviews. They link you to the store's home page, a store locator, the
manufacturer, and stuff like that. It's cool - it even taught me how to fix
a zipper.... While we're here, you can help me get Bob a TV for Christmas.
Front or rear projection? Ulp, here's the boss - get Don's Boss Page up.
Why, yes, Mrs. Parker, we're just doing a little collaborative research on
our coffee break. See you later. Geez, talk about slavedrivers! OK, turn
the monitor this way. Now here's what you enter in your browser....
<http://www.whats4sale.com/>
SHOPPING, ABOVE THE OZONE LAYER AND BELOW
The Virtual Emporium is the Web counterpart to a New York City store that
supplies computer terminals which you can use to shop online at Virtual
Emporium and get that virtual in-store experience. Got that? You can browse
specials or turn to the gift finder for suggestions or to the personal
shopper for specifics. Goods from many major brand names in every category
populate the virtual shelves and the site is well laid out and fast to
load. One of Virtual Emporium's claims to fame is that this site was chosen
by the Mir cosmonauts to do their online shopping while orbiting the Earth.
Talk about a long distance call! Wonder if they ordered any of the Two
Buddies BBQ Sauce.... <http://www.virtualemporium.com/home.shtml>
NEW YORK CITY, FROM CAMELOT TO LIBERTY
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of New York's
five boroughs and the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) plans special
exhibitions to mark the occasion. But it's not as if it had to look for
something to do. With over a million artifacts, the museum is well placed
to chronicle the city's history and, for that matter, much of modern world
history. MCNY's Web site offers generous access to several current and past
exhibitions and their artifacts. Not surprisingly, the theme of immigration
colors much of the site, either implicitly or explicitly. The exhibitions
carry you from tenement to Rockefeller's dressing room, from kick lines to
diplomacy, from Camelot to Liberty, and from the American Revolution to the
Gulf War. <http://mcny.org/>
Australians Anna and Anthony Butterfield spent their winter vacation in
Anna's native land, Viet Nam. For our enjoyment, they offer from that trip
more than 60 photos in which they had the grace and sense to let
architecture, nature, cityscapes, and locals dominate. With rare exception,
only the people seem not to be faded or in decline. The photos harbor
intriguing contrasts, gray and at the same time vibrant with color. In a
land of ancient, ornately carved, brightly painted, decaying gates and
monuments, of electric blue and saffron robes, delicate bamboo bridges,
pink and yellow skies, and picturesquely huddled fishing villages, Ho Chi
Minh's massive and characterless mausoleum looks as if it had been designed
by a granite wholesaler. The visual metaphor is perfect. Web authors might
also be interested in Anthony's own crisp freeware applet powering the
slide show. <http://www.ozemail.com.au/~butter/vietnam/>
Melbourne is a nice place to visit. One of our writers went there and said
"Yes, this is quite pretty." She didn't exclaim, "Why Melbourne is probably
the world's most liveable city!" Nor did she mumble in awe that "Melbourne
appears to be safer, healthier, cleaner and quieter than any other big city
in the world." While these blatant claims of self promotion (this IS
tourist information) are a little transparent, the site provides gig
guides, information, maps, transport and shopping and is decent enough to
provide links to other relevant sites. <http://www.melbourne.org/>
Tourists in Australia usually visit Sydney, Melbourne, the Great Barrier
Reef, or other attractions in the eastern half of the continent. But the
much more sparsely settled western part of Australia has its own, more
rugged attractions. Discover West Australia On Line is a virtual brochure
designed to educate and entice both international travelers and
Australians. The trivia page alone is worth a look, despite some atrocious
spelling. This site has plenty of the usual but useful information on
geography, holidays, tour packages, and so forth. A nice image map, color
photos, and other graphics help to enliven the logical design. Explore a
bit here, and you're likely to get the impression that western Down Under
is a swell place for a safari, fishing trip, beachcombing, or honeymoon.
Where else can you swim in seas made cloudy by coral sperm and whale
sharks? <http://www.discoverwest.com.au/index.html>
The India Daily site provides a constantly updated newsfeed direct from
India. The site is exactly like a good newspaper, laid out to make
navigation easy. Features include both local and regional news updated
every six hours, political, economic and business articles, the latest
gossip from Bollywood - India's answer to Hollywood - and the inevitable
sports pages. The India Daily has classified sections too, including a
Matrimonial section for lonely hearts - although there are no entries yet.
If you live in or are interested in India, The India Daily is an excellent
electronic resource. <http://www.indiadaily.com/>
Sponsored by the Kodiak Island Convention and Visitor's Bureau, this site
offers very complete information about the geography, economy, and travel
possibilities on this remote Alaskan island. Clickable maps, nice photos,
ferry schedules, even the local phone book are presented here for those
interested in planning a trip for fun or for work to Kodiak. A good useful
niche site. <http://www.kodiak.org/kodiak/>
As terrifying as it sounds, the Ugly Lamp Contest shows just how demented
the taste spectrum has become. We swooned at the leg-stand lamp (the
current leader), balked at the lurid Tiffany hallucinogenic nightmare, and
gazed starry eyed at the double-shaded lamp of delight. Ugly is in the eye
of the beholder. <http://www.findgreatstuff.com/uglylamp.html>
Think it's a typo? It's actually part of a plan to allow the gap-toothed
people of the world to unite, share their spacey wisdom (and late night Top
10 lists) and support each other through endless seed-spitting and sexiest
gap contests. <http://www.gap-toothed.com/>
While horrified to discover that Monday was going to feel like a Wednesday
(a very lame day indeed), we delighted in discovering most other days that
week would feel like themselves. Let's just hope next Monday feels like
Friday. <http://www.users.nac.net/werty/feelslike/>
HOW PROGRAMMERS HUNT ELEPHANTS
This and other essential facts are crammed into this extra large,
economy-sized home page, alongside programming tools, software, scripts,
jokes and information. Well worth digging into; you'll almost certainly
find treasure. <http://zippy.sonoma.edu/kendrick/>
World Wide Web Wiffleball is wiffle enlightenment, slightly paranoid that
it'll be sued for use of a trademark. Check out the rules, learn everything
you need to know about the National Wiffleball Championship, and peruse
more wiffleball links than you can shake a wifflebat at.
<http://www.wiffleball.com/>
REMEMBER BLISTERINE, AJERX, AND SLOPICANA?
The last of the Baby Boomers and first of the Gen Xers can take a trip down
memory lane with Wacky Packages, those amazing collectible stickers
featuring spoofs of popular household, food, and beauty products. They're
colorful. They're creative. And they're still pretty funny.
<http://www.wackypacks.com/>
<http://www2.pair.com/wacky/>
If you're the snoopy type, or you just want to know more about private
investigators and research and information retrieval, connect with the
InfoGuys' Web site. You can search through a variety of US federal
agencies, and access some popular news sites. And if you need a PI, the
site details how to hire a PI pro. <http://infoguys.com/>
ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES RESOURCE
If you'd just as soon spend the weekend hunting through old junk in a barn
or adding to your antique door knob (or whatever) collection, this is the
place for you. <http://antiques.miningco.com/>
Calling all do-it-yourself investors. This site publishes selected short
articles on investing, plus questions and answers from readers.
<http://www.investorsdiary.com/>
DID YOUR INITIAL NSD LOOK LIKE CRAP?
We discovered a bug in how we send out a subscriber's first issue, which meant that it was not diplayed correctly as HTML. In a nutshell, we reused some e-mail code in the latest incarnation of our mail list handler. We didn't set the headers quite correctly, so it was sent out as text. This is only a problem with the first issue you get. All subsequent issues should be correct. We can now start growing our hair back. If you think the content rather than the look is crap - well, we can't really help you there. Go see a taste impairment specialist.
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