Well, the column is in a new home, with better walls, roofing and much better owners – that said, let’s dive into the newest, weirdest and latest online sites.
In Copenhagen the local birdlife has taken to adopting various cellphone ring tones, presumably to stand out from the rest of the flock for their mating calls. I’m not kidding. Take a mouthful of birdseed and chew your way to New Bird Calls: click here.
Escort agencies in Las Vegas are at war, with rival agencies hacking each other’s phone numbers and redirecting calls in an attempt to corner the market in this lucrative business. For a look at the situation in the town so happy and wholesome, Stephen King used it as the HQ for the Antichrist in his uber epic The Stand, dial Escort Agency Wars: www.securityfocus.com/news/205.
By now you’ll have discovered just what Pearl Harbor the movie is like. (Hmm, what’s ‘rewritten history’ in Japanese?) For a glimpse at the actual reality down on the ground, as experienced by a young girl living in the area, down that sake and fly towards Pearl Harbor Diary: www.gingersdiary.com/. Or for another interesting read, this time from the point of view of a soldier – settle in for some fascinating reading at A Soldiers Tale:hometown.aol.com/jhmcgoran/.
And as we’re in the region of June 6th, the anniversary known to ardent film-goers as the D-Day Landings, someone decided to put GI Joe action figures into real photo’s of the event – and create something that’s not as tacky as you might think. For a surreal look at WW2 pix combined with GI Joe, take a thoughtful look at GI Joe: www.angelfire.com/al3/giphotojoe/index.htm.
Been rude in a restaurant lately? You might treat your waiter differently after reading some of the revenge stories up in this next site, which is something of a gathering point for the online irritated workers in the food industry. Tip well, smile and avoid the Hollandaise sauce at The Waiters Revenge: www.waiters-revenge.com/.
The blurring of so-called reality TV and entertainment continues, with everyone’s favorite cutie – Colleen from the first series of Survivor – about to star in a new movie about a guy who develops assorted animals powers. Yup, Hollywood is scratching for idea’s again. The Animal: www.mediatrip.com/theanimal/.
China continues its war on the internet, with the recent banning of new internet cafe’s. You gotta love an online article on youth that leads with the quote ‘They are going through a period of rebellion but inwardly are weak.’ Examine our trading partner’s mindset at The Beijing Review: www.bjreview.com.cn/bjreview/EN/Index.htm.
Given local TV programming, if you have the bandwidth, why not try watching an online video serial (requires Flash) dealing with a bunch of highly trained special forces soldiers doing the US governments bidding. So what’s new about this premise? Well, they’re vampires. Pass the garlic en route to Dark Commando’s!: www.darkcommandos.com/.
As the time ticks away before the execution of Timothy McVeigh, take a look at some good reasons to keep him alive. Interview with Oklahoma City Bomber Juror: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/okcjuror.htm
And then there’s What Really Happened in Oklahoma: www.brasscheck.com/OKBOMB/ and finally, into the edge of the wedge with Have You Been Told The Truth: www.devvy.com/oklahoma.html.
MS Internet Explorer, surprise surprise, has a bug which allows the bad guys to track your specific global ID number. You didn’t know you had one? Take a look at a security hole you may not have heard about before, at Internet Explorer Cookies!: read more.
And finally, for a weird look at the origins of this high-powered machine you’re taking for granted, try a site dedicated to early computers – back in the old days when PC magazines contained info on soldering and circuit boards. Binary Dinosaurs: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/
Until the next time, if NASA, the Chinese or waiters 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.