I think it was Churchill who when asked what constituted Naval traditions replied ‘Rum, Sodomy and the Lash’. So with that in mind, why not take a look at some of the happy songs all those sailors used to sing onboard their ships, as well as discover a lot of interesting resources at Work Songs of the Sea.
It seems there are countless fans of this growing phenomenon called ‘reality tv’ – which means you sit in reality doing nothing at all, apart from watching other people experience reality. (Gee, that makes such sense, right?) And keep an eye out for a new game called The Runner, which is a disturbing whisper of things to come, in this genre. A one-stop resource for a wide range of this kind of show can be found at Reality Fans.
Another one of those cool things that we could do locally, and put on the web, but no one seems to have bothered. Do you remember taking a ride as a kid on holiday, in one of those famous rickshaws down in Durban? Well, take a look at The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh.
For strange calendar art from the Forties and Fifties – and in particular a really odd fetish involving ladies’ underwear and celery – go take a look at The Peculiar Art of Mr. Frahm.
Then for some interesting and occasionally disturbing pictures from the various European frontlines that you wouldn’t have seen in your local TV guide magazine, take a look at a photojournalist’s online portfolio at Yannis Kontos.
So you’re drinking lots of water, because its healthy for you and you maybe even believe the local Water Department’s statements about tapwater being healthier than many of the commercial water products on sale. Unfortunately, this isn’t everyone’s viewpoint. Go consider some alternative views at A Poison Called Fluoride. And then, for a lot of reading material to make you rethink some of the things your dentist takes for granted, try Protected Pollutant.
By now most folks have seen The Exorcist, and have probably wondered what all the fuss was about, for so many years. However, its not widely known that the writer of the original book got his inspiration from a real event. Keep the head-swiveling to a minimum as you advance towards The Haunted Boy.
Real hardcore physics stuff. Some experiments have been done which seem to be causing ‘anti-gravity’ effects which can’t be possible under the current models of the universe. If you’re a physics fan, then go read and download the data, for proving or disproving, at AntiGravity.
Then regular science for the rest of us, and for a cool combination of education and comic books, take a slow browse through the very detailed Periodic Table of Comic Books.
Feel like giving government web pages a makeover? At last you can get your own back, by translating entire web pages or just blocks of text into a variety of dialects, ranging from ‘moron’ through to ‘redneck’ and ‘hacker’. Go see what improvements you can make online – you couldn’t make them worse, after all – at Text Translator.
Tired of aging opportunistic weirdos telling you to just ‘say yes’? Come to terms with your own inadequacy and lack of motivation by checking out a magazine that’s designed for all of us who grow little devil horns in response to ‘motivational speakers’ and the generally optimistic… embrace the joys of Failure Magazine!
So how gullible are you? Are you one of the folks who helps clog the net by forwarding the latest shock-horror emails that you receive to everyone you know? If so, then perhaps it’s time to take a casual stroll through the Museum Of Hoaxes.
Until the next time, if rampant sailors and motivational speakers don’t get me.
Ian Fraser is a playwright, author, comedian, conspiracy nut, old-time radio collector and self-confessed data-junkie. Winner of numerous Vita and Amstel Awards, he’s been an Internet addict and games-fanatic since around 1995, when the Internet began to make much more sense than theatre.