The Star Wars franchise lumbers on, and the next installment is not too far off from being released. So keep an eye on this next site, which features behind the scenes gossip and info from the high-security film set of Star Wars Episode Two: www.starwars.com/episode-ii/.
And if you were part of the ranks of sensation seekers who went to see Eyes Wide Shut, and were disappointed, read up on what you didn’t understand at Opening Eyes Wide Shut: members.tripod.com/~lovepile/ewsx.html
It’s only a matter of time before some large chunk of rock and ice manages to smack into the earth, causing an awful lot of spilled soft drinks at least, and at worst, wiping us out as thoroughly as the dinosaurs. For an interesting downloadable read on the topic, try A Report on Near Earth Objects.
China continues its rather futile attempts to control how its citizens access the Internet. At last count it had closed over 2000 Internet cafés, and had forced some 6000 (that’s not a typo) other cafés to restrict how they operated. Read up on the latest repression at China’s Internet War.
There’re a lot of online PC magazines around, and most take themselves awfully seriously – so how about an online magazine that doesn’t, and in fact goes rather overboard in the opposite direction? Take a look – and be warned there is some adult language on the site, at PC Tyrants: www.pctyrant.com/
You may recall the excellent TV show dealing with new technology and developments, called Beyond 2000 – well, seeing as it’s not on air anymore, you can do the next best thing and get your futurist fix at Beyond 2000 Online!: www.beyond2000.com/. And sticking with future tech, something that’s kind of nifty and worth looking at, is Throwaway Recyclable Cell Phones: www.hop-onwireless.com/home.html.
They’re frightening, they’re predators and have been described as machines with knives for teeth – no, I’m not referring to Des and Dawn, I’m talking about sharks, of course. Discover the joys of diving amidst sharks, and other restful, happy and peaceful things to do off our coasts. Learn to walk on water at the Great White Shark Institute: www.whiteshark.co.za/
Unlike this corrupt government, real democracies are often so transparent it’s frightening to see it in action – take a look at a site which details which interest groups have handed over money to politicians – and it’s cross-referenced to the politicians’ own voting record on various laws. Gaze at democracy in action at Follow the Money!: www.tray.com/fecinfo/
If you’ve got some time to kill and are curious about aspects of your life, be it relationships, intelligence or a variety of other regions, then why not try some Online Psych Tests: www.psychtests.com/
Or if you’re happy being crazy, and believe that clowns and and mimes are evil and should be abolished, sign up at The World Anti-Mimic League: members.tripod.com/~okiecrab/ or Clowns!!: www.clownz.com/
Locally the public remains mostly ignorant of the killing of women and children by the old SADF, whereas in the US, the My Lai massacre is an infamous part of their Army history. Take a read at an all-too-brief interview with a helicopter pilot who turned his guns on his own side to stop them slaughtering Vietnamese civilians. The My Lai Helicopter Pilot: click here.
More stuff to cut ‘n paste while online, and this covers journeys through America as done by assorted authors – read to your heart’s content at Journeys into Literary America: lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/land/ And staying with literature, if you can’t afford to buy books, then maybe it’s time you rediscovered the joys of the much-overlooked concept of libraries, where you can ‘borrow’ a book to read – it’s a scary concept, I know. But it works. But first browse through the fascinating reading of on-the-job chaos as experienced by librarians, struggling to keep order in the face of what seems to be a rising tide of morons. Salute The Librarian Avengers!: www.librarianavengers.com
Until the next time, if clowns and Des and Dawn 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.