Just to show that journalism isn’t necessarily the last refuge of ethics and morality – for some quick and alarming reading – take a look at a collection of the ‘stinkiest media moments of 2001’ (and some of them are pretty darn stinky and frightening to boot) at Media Beat.
Then, staying in ‘What Was I Thinking?’ territory, get ready for a ride into insanity at the 100 Dumbest Moments in E-Business History. And for some variations on this theme, dip into the dubious joys of Internet On A Stick.
So what happens if you like cold beer and have access to jet engine technology, and decide to combine these two? Correct! You end up with Jet Engine Cooled Beer!.
Gear change. Feel the urge to read a magazine with more than the usual TV star profiles? Dip into the interesting world of the supernatural, paranormal and generally odd (ie: all the cool stuff) at Mystery Magazine. Then, you may not have heard of Charles Fort, but take a read through an online magazine, dedicated to his obsession of collecting and cataloguing real news items of things which don’t ‘fit’ into the accepted views of reality, at The Fortean Times.
More obsessive stuff. For a glimpse into the mind of someone who seems to have a seriously cheerful interest in food and prices, as well as a willingness to write about them – go do some browsing and drooling over the very readable articles (take the ‘What Jim Had for Dinner’ link) at The ChowHound.
Given that DVD’s are currently the coolest way to collect amazing films in a high-grade format, take a look at a site dedicated to cult and wonderfully cheesy movies on DVD at DVD Drive-In. And then the mother of all BIG online DVD sites, which has literally thousands of titles worth grabbing. (As a horror fan, to test their range, I looked at their horror section. They had 12 pages of horror DVD’s – each page containing around 80 titles.) Go browse forever at DVD Express. Locally the DVD range is insultingly small – this next site had 1 horror movie on offer. Compare the above site, to Incredible DVD. And then another local DVD site – containing a huge range of just 9 horror titles – look at DVD SA.
Its fun knowing that in 20 years time, people will be laughing at the current generation of rave-puppies and hip-hop fans. How do I know? Look at this very cool site filled with styles, adverts and fashion from a mere 20 years ago, and be afraid. Go to Yesterday Land!.
Staying with nostalgia, for those who were around when the TV series ‘Taxi’ showed here – you’ll recall the odd gibberish-spouting character called Latke. This was the ultra-strange Andy Kaufman, whose story was told in the recent Jim Carey flick Man on the Moon. For some interesting online reading, try Andy Kaufman.
Longtime gamers will recall a great artificial-life ‘sim’ game called Creatures, well – for an interview with the programmer behind the game, as well as a glimpse into the current state of affairs of making ‘real’ artificial life. Creatures. Salon Interview. Steve Grand.
If you remember the game, which featured little beings called Norns, which could even be posted around the Net by fans, then cautiously approach a site which is devoted to torturing these creatures (as well as providing more info on AI research) Tortured Norns.
Angered by someone or something? Feel the need to write about it at length? Go vent your spleen online and share your anger with the entire world. (Or at least the elite section that has access to things like electricity, computers and the Internet.)Storm over to Angry.
Finally, for a local outlet for homicidal anger at seemingly moron-filled South African companies, go see which well-known companies are being hilariously slandered and are making the ‘most complained about’ list, at Hello Peter.
Until the next time, if an awful lot of insulted people 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.