these are links I collected from 1994 to about 1995 or 1996. So if they actually work, well, woah!
a sampling of The Weird, the Wild and the Wonderful on the WWW |
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Anarchy/Lawlessness/Tastelessness
the l0pht, in hackspell = warrants a look as a grungy punked out obnoxious new yorky black clad bootstrappin' hacker haven.Learn about barcodes that you might subvert the dominant paradigm. Or, get yourself a cool tattoo! (This and other strange questions answered by Beakman & Jax).
Believe the Internet is private? Try being seen.Bellingham Obscenity Trial Archive
transmit Retain your anonymity with anonymous remailers. Any post or e-mail sent through one of these servers will come out anonymous. If you plan on doing anything really illegal, chain a few of these together. There have already been cases of law enforcement warranting remailer info from sysadmins.
Ever wish you had a collection of bizarre tidbits? There's so many about these days, and they're so fun to read. The Wall of Shame has selected shameful strangeness, culled from various on and offline sources - newspapers, users, silent-tristero. Read the stupidity of mall culture in I want my two dollars, a conspiracy of deathgames and slavery by Ross Perot and Jimmy Carter, and what lengths pot users will go to for entertainment. Some funny, unnerving stories here.
Feeling threatened? Try some real time support for Warriors - a web page devoted to military preparedness. They have collected links and data "useful for war and contingency planning purposes." Weather, disaster - natural and political, weapons and news services in this militarized web zone. Many of the resources you might find elsewhere, but the attitude is rare. Watch the warning -Use of this or any other DoD interest computer system constitutes a consent to monitoring at all times.Good thing NetScape doesn't claim that (overtly).Amazing what mischief is wraught. For a tribute to the devious, devilish and deadly funny try Practical Jokes from alt.shenanigans. Beyond this link lies a 178k file, a litany of both the most elaborate and simplest of hijinks. The stories, written for the most part as first hand accounts, are simply hilarious. The jokes are ingenious! A great read - and virtually inexhaustible, since the file is so long. It gets you thinking...
explicit
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I know the web is getting big when Internet World beats me to covering an offbeat site. Regardless, Dan's Gallery of the Grotesque is worth mention for its explicit tastelessness. The exhibit Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is a shocker laden with textbook photos of the deforemed in death. If that doesn't do you, try the Foyer of Forensics for police photos of the disgustingly deceased, or the Neonatal Nightmares for depressingly deformed babies. Each page has over 15 preview images, available for larger, more detailed viewing. Some genuinely grotesque stuff here - twisted more by Dan's lighthearted commentary. This guy's a med student, obviously relishing his exposure to rare recordings of bizarre bodies. This site is not for the squeamish, and it may not even be for me. It is depressing and deranged - like nothing I've ever seen. |
For the poop on the Hacker/Phreaker scene, check out the Internet Underground. Claiming to carry "What they don't want us to know," this site's boldness is belied by the publishers disclaimer "In no way do I encourage you to do anything illegal. Far from it. Think of this as a guide of what not to do." But actions speak louder than words, right? This guy has done a nice job of collecting the essentials of online hacker literature.Foreshadowing the future indeed, Survival Research Laboratories have been building mega-monstrous machines, and battling them since 1978. Basically, they take military hardware and use it to create giant flame-spewing, projectile-launching, crushing, destruction-dealing devices. A BattleTech precursor, no doubt. Stop here for a taste of a distinctly American future entertainment form, and perhaps the future of warfare! Their images, interviews, history and plans all reside at this site.Some of our nation's top minds at MIT have come together to bring us the Guide to Lockpicking. There, you will find diagrams, as well as step by step instructions for foiling the Flatland model, and others. Don't expect a quick fix though, this is primary going to benefit determined lock-crackers who have the time to practice and make metal tools. It could teach you lock-picking from the ground up however, if you are ready to learn...
Want to Fuck with McDonalds? This text file, by Charlie X, from the Phrack Magazine Archives offers well researched, well thought out, and well documented tips and tricks for causing mayhem at your local MickyD's fast food emporium. From interrupting trash collection to hosting a senior citizen's day, Charlie X document details means for wreaking havok. Some of them are funny as hell. Includes three methods for finding out the computer dial-up number of a McDonald's near you and what to do with it when you have it. I can't say I approve of all the recommended methods, cuz some just screw over the low-rung employees, but it makes you realize how vulnerable this American institution actually is. (9/18/95) |
Tips and tricks for causing mayhem at your local Micky D's |
Noting a lack of WWW pages dealing with drugs and drug issues, I made a Drug Page. I have collected hypertext and other types of drug resources, including some drug photos, as well as info on sex drugs.From my Native American Resources page: a sordid tale of cocaine sherrifs, crooked judges, and your tax dollars spent to hound and persecute semi-innocent civilians awaits if you read the story of Eddie Hatcher Native American Political Prisoner in North Carolina. Shit like this turns my stomach, makes me doubt this democracy.There is a page devoted to tastelessness, Mr. Squick's Wet Spot on the Internet. Lots of info about and from alt.tasteless, and well as a few collectible gems and tasteless treasures.Random Weirdness
- 1933
- Webifying an established e-mail index Hyper-Weirdness by World Wide Web has collected pointers to online enclaves of off-beatitude and the bizarre. While not all of the material can claim the mantle of desparate strangeness, much of it does skirt the fringe. Covering spirituality ("kooks"), technology, politics, sex, drugs, and music - this place is the Yahoo of weirdness, wanting only for completion. Their coverage of FTP, mail and news is pretty good, their web page coverage is underdeveloped. They've got a lot of material to cover, so let's help them out!
- The man with the perpetual eye-twinkle: William Shatner, the ever earnest intrepid Enterprise captain of Star Trek fame has a page devoted to his short lived singing career. The Capt. James T. Kirk Sing-a-ling Page features Shatner struggling to impart the anguish of such favourites as "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" as well as part of the theme from Cyrano. Just when you thought the fun couldn't stop - Leonard Nimoy joins in with his own album. I'm not kidding folks - check it out for yourselves.
- An example of the uplifting self-help available on the Internet: How To Tell If Your Head's About To Blow Up. This reprinted article from the supermarket check-out line press features info on a May '94 outbreak of spontaneous head combustion.
- The folks at SCHWA are unrivalled propigators of trans-planetary propoganda, the self-proclaimed "leader in alien defense products". Enter their Factory Control Panels Building 1-A, and you can peruse text, images, movies and sounds - the inside poop on the alien scene. These folks will even sell you equipment to help resist a space alien attack - or at least come out on the right side when its all over! Some funny/surreal stuff here, the alien angle provides an alternative perspective on our current earth-bound situation.
- People will collect anything. In a telco's dream, people have begun to collect phonecards. I guess this is an old pheonomena in other countries, but we have not yet integrated these into American society yet. For an Introduction to Telephone Cards, check out this Finnish page. They have pictures of cards from different countries, as well as information about the phonecard mailing list and the technology behind these plastic postmodern art pieces.
- For everything Frog online, look no further than The Froggy Page. More unbelievable than the care devoted to this page on this subject is the amount of frog related resources that have been dug up and posted on this page. From sounds to pictures, scientific stuff to frog tales, if it is amphibian, and it goes "Ribbit!" it is on this page.
- Fellow former HotWired employee Ian McFarland has taken HotWired-Sponsor Zima's net.presence to a wacky extreme - with his page of Zima Cocktail Tips. For those of you who don't know, Zima is a new generation of beverage - tastes like Sprite, fucks you up like Malt Liquor. Lovely for those women and children otherwise not respondent to the efforts of beer marketeers! On this page, you can read tastey combinations like "Zima Zombie" - Zima, Captain Morgan's, Pineapple Hi-C and lime Crystal Lite mix and "Zima Zunrize" - Zima and Sunny Delight with grenadine syrup and a cherry. Users can contribute their own rezipes with an online form, and read other submissions as well.
- From MIT, step by step instructions on folding a paper crane. Master this difficult origami form in only 20 steps - each of which is text accompanied by a little picture demonstration.
- Only on the web: Vincent Voice Library, the largest academic voice library in the nation, has samples online from its tapes. Listen to George Washington Carver talk about peanuts, Anwar Sadat call for peace, or Betty Ford talk about being married to an insecure man.
- The Internet really has a place for everyone, even Vampyres Only; a site coordinating information about these much maligned creatures of the night. If you aren't sure, you can take a test online at their site to determine your vampyreness.
- At the Caption Competition you are asked to think of a caption for a painting, or look at other people's suggestions. Some are even funny!
- Victor Cate has published his page on how to legally avoid taxes - basically Libertarians with boats transcending national affiliation.
- Mr. Deadpan himself is online, and he's random. Generate for yourself a Steven Wright Fortune/Quote
Internet Culture
- Internet Spam-o-phelia at its absurdest - the Find-the-Spam. This page is either safely ironical, or severly brain damaged. Take the test and find out! Due to a commenting feature, the page is over 80k - fun spam comments - miles of vertical spam-oriented content streams.
- Directory of usenet faqs. A fantastically useful list of all the Frequently Asked Questions from the usenet newsgroups of the internet.
- Covering the subjects you don't get in your normal UseNetiquette guide, Net Scouts Handbook explains how to achieve a merit badge in each flaming, horndogging, and trolling.
- Inspired by Harper's Index, the Internet Index provides a telling, insightful, and interesting array of net related statistics.
- It's not very cool, necessarily, but it is important nonetheless. I have html-ed a first-hand account of an Internet User who had some posts used against him to justify his being essentially kidnapped and held against his will.
- A lot of Internet culture is made up of the personalities involved.
- Who's Who Online - who knows what that means - who knows who decides - who cares.
Culture At-Large
When the culture of Hollywood, or America at large, ends up on the net, the picture that emerges is often distorted and even twisted by the removal of traditional media spoonfeeders.
- Relive our shared cultural heritage - you won't believe what kind of memories TV Theme Sound Bytes can bring back. This a superb page - one topic, covered expansively, without too much hooplah. A user effort. He has culled the comedies (remember Sanford and Son?), the action shows (some of which had great themes - AirWolf, A-Team) - hell, they've even got the old Spider Man theme. I'm not sure that all of these have musical plausibility, but they certainly capture the mood and drag me right back to two feet in front of the screen, where I used to spend my weekends as a kid. There's a lot of work put in to this site. (5/20/95)
- A pillar of Internet use: Cardiff's Movie Database (or the USA mirror). An ever expanding collection of movie and television information - including films, directors, actors, goofs, reviews. It's user expandable, so it is bound only by effort. Movies lend themselves to this sort of cataloging - it's nice to see it being done right - open and free. (5/20/95)
- For television information, try TVNet - a page devoted to covering television from the web. Good resource coordination here, of some not necessarily good resources: all the networks, ratings, cable info and industry talk. I found most useful their list of broadcast tv related web sites. Their front page had some pretty excessive graphics, so the above link goes textward - check out their graphical home page, if that gets you off.
- A Bastion of Barbie - Plastic Princess Page. Pictures of this protowoman, more information on Barbie than I knew existed. People collect these things! That shouldn't come as any surprise, I guess - people collect phonecards, for gosh sakes.
- That American teenage rollmodel of Anarchy, Lawlessness, and Tastelessness, Jeff Spicoli, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, has a well crafted page set up in his honour. Gif, .au, and quicktime excerpts of his exploits are provided concerning his various run-ins through the movie. Relive the exciting classroom drama of the Beavis and Butthead prototype confronting the authority of Mr. Hand! Listen to his stunning insights on organ donation! All this and more await at the Jeff Spicoli site. Also includes links to other relevant resources. Whoa dude - killer site.
- Watch the clash of the culture titans - some guy transcribed the infamous David Letterman show with Madonna. Funny and telling - you decide who won. Madonna definitely comes across a bit stronger in my book - not willing to sit through pre-programmed television niceness. Give 'em hell girl!
- Oooo! Love that vitrol! I admit, I watch Melrose Place regularly, so I was pleased to find this site. Now I realize that this will become an integral part of my viewing experience. These guys have nailed down this show and done a brilliant job of putting together a weekly summary that exposes the shallowness while still maintaining a certain warmheartedness for those archetypes we follow weekly. Their biting prose and no-holds-barred analysis makes for a great read, especially if you know the characters and the general mentality of the whole proceeding.
- Someone at MIT has collected together a whole bunch of College humour.
- The File Room recording and reciting incidents of cultural censorship
- For information on the idiot box online, look no further than the Television Pointers page. Here is collected the latest links to televsion related pages.
- The height of humour, the pinnacle of pith, the voice of vitrol, the spectacular Simpsons are now online
- Music is always the voice of culture.
- The Beer Home Page covering beer culture from the net.
- Enlightened Imperialism: The World Bank has its outpost on the web
- Various International Home Pages from the Home Page of Poland. If you'd like, go ahead and download a big graphic that was taking up too much loading time that reads TERAZ POLSKA.
- More than you ever wanted to know about the voyages of the Enterprise is available on the Star Trek page
- My childhood Spidey-Friend! - The lyrics to the Spiderman cartoon TV show are online!
- Some person has exerted themself to create the Weekend NPR's All Things Considered Home Page.
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This page and all its contents Copyright 1994, 1995 Justin Hall. All rights reserved. Contact me with any questions you might think of, permissions you might want, or problems you may have.
Yer Mama Net Productions / Justin Hall / <[email protected]>
