Following on from last week’s collection of web logs, take a read of what would happen if Julius Caesar had access to the net and decided to do a traditionally self-obsessed blog. For anyone interested in history, this is a must read. Go dip into the fascinating Bloggus Caesari.
Something rather cool and amazing in the science department. You’ll recall the traditional Star Trek ‘beam-us-up’ mode of transport – teleportation, in other words. Well, Australian scientists have achieved this for real. It’s still a few years away from any real-world application, but the first step has been taken. Go read up at Teleportation Breakthrough.
As the war with Iraq looms ever closer, it’s becoming more and more relevant for any human with half a brain to read as much as possible, to find out what the reality is – as opposed to merely soaking up the rubbish that’s presented as ‘news’ once the poo begins to hit the fan. So, start your climb towards enlightenment at What’s Behind Bush’s War With Iraq. Then, take a thoughtful read of a story which goes into the tactical and mostly political PR reasons for Bombing Saddam.
One of the things that a war with Iraq will mostly likely do, is destablise the feudal mafia-like arrangement that keeps Saudi Arabia in a stable position to keep on selling oil to the West. To get a good idea of how oppressed life is for the average Saudi, take a browse through this truly huge collection of Internet Sites Banned in Saudi Arabia.
As the politicians in Seattle have discovered in this modern age of cellphone communication, you can assemble a crowd to protest and do battle with police in mere minutes. Read up on just one of the ways of making the upcoming World Summit an extremely interesting target at Cell Phone Biology. And then, although it’s just an advert for a book on this amazing new ‘swarming technology’ being used by protesters, it has some interesting sections. Go consider the modern face of protest at Smart Mobs.
Followers of culture and Hong Kong action flicks will know that the East has a very different take on reality that are often incomprehensible to Westerners. Here are just two short but interesting examples of this. First off, an American journalist got word of a strange Buddhist cult that seemed to somehow worship a large UFO, and went hunting in Bangkok for the cult. Go read the story of what they found, at The Buddhist UFO Cult. Then for something that might have your taste buds in uproar, try and picture a range of ice creams in assorted fish flavours – including squid. Go stare at Fish Flavoured Ice Cream.
Something cool for the film geeks. The Canadian maker of modern classics like Crash, Videodrome, Scanners, The Brood and many other disturbingly fun films that make for great popcorn-munching and thinking, has a new release coming. Go look at the odd site for David Cronenberg’s Spider.
The place where your computer lives tends to rapidly become a personalised area of space that is filled with everything you need for geek happiness. So a site that specialises in photographs of peoples PC’s is actually a lot more interesting than what it may sound like. Go browse just a few of the pix, and discover what I mean – at Snap Your Desk.
Then staying with the personal-yet-geek-at-heart, you probably have also experienced the angst over what to do with the vast amounts of mouse pads and other bits and pieces that you’ve assembled over the years. Take a look at a Couch Made From Mouse Pads.
You’ve seen animals eating a variety of things, ranging from their own dung to various grasses and plants. Perhaps there’s a certain method in their madness – go consider the implications of Animal Self Medication.
Take a look at the manipulation of the human mind, known as ‘advertising’ in this next site which shows you just some of the nasty and strange techniques hidden away inside otherwise innocent-seeming adverts. Go to Subliminal Advertising.
Until the next time, if virgins and Saudi’s don’t get me.
Websurfing Supplied by Megawan: http://www.megawan.net/
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.