COOL LINKS
This page will have links to sites that I feel are worthy of attention,
including some that are run by folks I met on the internet,
as well as those that are just plain fun.
Most recent additions; 16 March 2003
Links last checked; 9 July 2002
Playboy On-Line
This is the on-line version of the world famous men's adult entertainment magazine.
There is no full frontal nudity without a password on this site (you have to pay a subscription for that), but there are facinating articles and other items to read.
And, yes, I subscribe to the magazine and I read the articles!
"What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400,000."
Relive the memories of those three strange days of peace and music on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in White Lake, Bethel, New York. Even if you weren't born yet...or aren't certain you really were there...oh, wow, man...look at the colors!...
BLACKFIRE
A rock trio of the Diné tribe, born into the heart of a political land dispute area called Big Mountain in the Navajo Nation (You may have seen them at Austin's SXSW, Joey Ramone's "Blitzkrieg '97" or Woodstock '97 at Yasgur's Farm).
The members are the Benally siblings (brothers Klee and Clayson and sister Jenada, all children of Jones Benally), and their music has a powerful message. Their website lists information, lyrics, tour dates and their manifesto(!). The French magazine Beat called them "Navajo Punk Rock", but that's selling them short. I've listened to their CDs, and they successfully fuse contemporary musical stylings with the heartfelt concerns remiscent of the 1960s, with no punches pulled.
Their song "Resist" speaks volumes in a mere 3:20.
The band's most recent CD, "One Nation Under", features the very last recordings made by Joey Ramone (he sang backup on the tracks "What Do You See" and "Lying To Myself").
Their links page is most impressive!
Budweiser Budvar
(FLASH REQUIRED)
Did the US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch steal the name of their best selling beer from a Czech brewery? Well, this little company has been using the name "Budweiser" since 1265 to sell beer, even before Columbus set foot in the Americas! Visit the site, and be prepared for some eye-opening facts!
You can also visit this site for legal case studies.
NEWSFLASH: Budweiser Budvar is now available in the USA, but under a different name:
CZECHVAR!
WHAT KIND OF CARTOON DOG ARE YOU?
Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com. A clever little quiz to see what cartoon dog fits your personality. (I was "Mr. Peabody"!)
The Jack T. Chick Parody Archives
You know those fanatical little comic book tracts? The ones with heavy handed Bible pounding verses (and often very dubious artwork) and people falling into Hell screaming "YAAAAAAAH!" or evil people laughing like "Haw Haw!"? Well, there are some people who have actually made parodies of these tracts! You can even print them out and hand them to street-corner evangelists!
"Read your tract? Sure...if you'll read mine! Haw Haw!"
Thanks to Lynnette Payne for showing me this site, and to Charles Sherrouse for the updated URL!
(And just to show I'm not biased, visit the Chick Publications website!)
This is the (under construction) website of Paul Nitch, a talented commercial artist...as well as my second cousin and the guy who talks me through most of my computer problems, keeps hinting that I should have bought a Macintosh instead of a PC (Yes, Paul, my next computer WILL be a Mac!), makes the best damned coffee I've ever had, can whip up a margarita in a matter of seconds, knows more about HTML and computer graphics than I will ever hope to remember, and tells me about the cheapest places to eat in Las Vegas Valley.
General Edmund Rice
A website devoted to one of my ancestors; a Civil War hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipiant (He's buried at Arlington National Cemetary). (Website maintained by Steven Nitch [Paul's brother])
NEW WEBSITE URL AS OF 10 MAY 2007!
Nancy Scharff Ministries
Yes, I'm a Wiccan, and my cousin has her own Christian musical ministry. Go figure.
And if you like Contemporary Christian Music, listen to some MP3's of her music, and buy her CD's!.
World War 2 Poster Collection
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
An extensive on-line collection of Allied posters from WW2, designed to inspire or agitate.
Frosty's World War II Fun Page
Unusual detournment of Allied WW2 posters. Some genuinely funny, others bordering on bad taste.
"KNOW YOUR PLACE! SHUT YOUR FACE!"
Promoted as "Modern Propaganda Posters for Bush's America", these detourned WW2 posters will either offend you or get you off your ass! Incredible works by Micah Ian Wright (Read his IMDb biography here).
UPDATE: Whoops! Seems that Wright apparently LIED about his military service, and the closest he got to being a Ranger was the ROTC!
""You almost want to say, 'So what else is new?' Human beings are terrible liars. I still like what he did. He's a liar, but I still like his pictures." - Kurt Vonnegut, WW2 Vet/P.O.W. and the man who wrote the forward to Wright's book.
Recruiting Posters I Would Love To See
Phil Marlite's collection of detourned WW2 posters. His photo website is certainly worth a look...especially for the captions!
Billy Jack Enterprises
That's right, bwah! Billy Jack is back! The head-kicking pacifist that takes no guff from nobody! You can buy all four of the films in Tom Laughlin & Delores Taylor's series, including The Trial of Billy Jack and the long-unreleased Billy Jack Goes to Washington. Also availble are his western The Master Gunfighter, as well as books Tom has written on health, writing, and his exploits in being the grandfather of independant film-making. You can also read about his battles with Warner Brothers over the ownership of his original negatives, his work in psychology, his pioneering work in promoting independent films, his plans for starting a digital film studio and a proposed fifth film in the controvercial series!
Yes, the films may be a bit dated and preachy, but the theme of a single man against the system is universal. (Just tell me that Steven Segal's career wasn't at least partially inspired by these films, and that First Blood, the first of Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" films, wasn't inspired by Billy Jack.)
NOTE: The "Billy Jack" films are now available on DVD! You can also buy t-shirts!
SelectSmart
Interesting collection of on-line questionares. What religion do you really believe in? What is your personal philosophy? What type of pet would be best for you. What type of grass would be best for the lawn? Definately worth a visit!
Mark Rosenfelder's Language Construction Kit
Why not take the term "use your own words" to the extreme, and create your own language? Believe it or not, people have created their own artificial languages. Professor Emil Zaminhof created "Esperanto", J.R.R. Tolkien created "Elvish" for his Hobbit and Ring books, Anthony Burgess created "Nazdat" for his book A Clockwork Orange, and the newer versions of the TV show Star Trek have brought "Klingon" into the public eye. There is software available from this site, yours to download, so don't just sit there in front of a CDT...Go out there and exercise your frontal lobes!
Famichan's Theater
A talk show fumetti (comic strip with photographs instead of drawings) with toys for hosts and guests. It's as funny as it is cute! It takes a while for the graphics to download, but is certainly worth it! (Also, the website organizers sell out-of-print board games, including the late, lamented 3M Bookshelf games.)
Spümcø® Animation
What has veteran animator and director John Kricfalusi (also known as "John K.") been doing since he lost the creative rights of Ren & Stimpy to Nickelodeon (who promptly ruined it)?
He's been keeping very busy making cartoons and TV commercials! Have you seen his re-working of Yogi Bear on the Cartoon Network? His work for Icelandic rocker Bjork, or his Old Navy commercials?
Visit the website that he intends to "hurt television" with.
Vintage Vegas
Put on your smoking jacket, mix some Martinis, light a Cohiba, put on some lounge music, warm up the tiki lamps, stoke up the fondue, and toast the Las Vegas that used to be. Ah yes, the Silver Slipper, the Castaways, the Dunes, the Landmark, the (original) Hacienda, the Sands, the Mint, the Maxim, El Rancho, El Rancho Vegas, New Frontier, Ali Baba, Pioneer, Silver City, Desert Inn, Vegas World (well, maybe not) and the (original) Frontier (slated to be replaced with a San Francisco-themed resort)...(sigh)...At least the Moulon Rouge may come back from the brink...and the Aladdin has been re-built.
(View some matchbooks and postcards. Chip replicas are available for sale.)
TV Party
Archives of the best, worst and most unusual moments in the history of U.S. television. If you're from outside the USA, pay a visit and see just how awful commercial TV is in this country, and try to figure out why all the good shows get cancelled!
(A small fee is required to view the entire contents of this site, but with the bandwidth it takes up, and the depth and quality of the video and audio files on it, it is definately worth the money!)
MHP
ITV Southern England
Two interesting sites devoted to the world of vintage British television. Clips from selected British TV shows can be seen here.
Memorable Television
Extensive (perhaps a better word should be "exhaustive") database to international TV shows (with emphasis on USA, UK, Canadian and Australian programs), complete with a sevrice to help you track down VHS and DVD releases of your favorite shows.
Fairouz
The official website of Lebanon's most beloved singer. She's more than a superstar to the Lebanese (more like a national treasure)! I've seen her perform live in Las Vegas back in 1999, so I know what all the fuss is about.
The Austin Lounge Lizards
An intelligent, funny, and topical folk music group that I truly enjoy!
Kenny's a very talented folksinger and compser who you may have seen at some Renaissance festivals. I truly enjoy his work!
This website has been inactive recently. If anyone knows of Kenny's current status, let me know.
BRUTE!
Also known as Aidan Hughes, he is the genius behind the blunt and disturbing images you see on the recordings of the (late lamented) industrial band KMDFM. He began work with a small publication called Brute (the origin of his non-de-plume), and has done numerous commercial works (including, if you can believe it, Guinness brewery and the Royal Bank of Scotland!). Recently, he has lent his artitsic talents to the production of such computer games as Postal Rampage and ZPC-No Flesh Shall Be Spared.
He's also done work for an anti-Microsoft website.
Lindsay Publications
Mr. T.J. Lindsay tracks down out-of-print technical manuals, such as books on making your own crystal radios, smelting metals or rewinding automotive generators, and (if the copyright has lapsed) reprints them. He also sells original works such as books on robotics, making your own machine tools and solar cells, distilling your own alcohol, or teaching yourself calculus. Facinating stuff available here, and his catalog and website are written with a great sense of humor.
(With all the technical books he prints and sells, I can only wonder what his basement looks like! Maybe if enough of us pester him about his perpetual motion machine...)
Stereoscopy.com
This is a commercial site, but it has many links relating to "3-D" photography and supplies. Everything from custom View-Master® reels, cameras, Victorian "stereoptican" viewers, information on 3-D cinematography (Did you know Alfred Hitchcock originally shot "Dial M for Murder" in 3-D?), to full-scale professional equipment.
Worth a look (if you'll pardon the phrase) even if most of the site is in 2-D.
Miron Baskakov's (Untitled) Personal Homepage
Miron is a medical student in Russia whose interests are coin collecting, astronomy, microphotography, and the Beatles.
Heartless Bitches International and
The Darwin Awards Website
We might as well be honest about this. Sometimes people can be outright brainless, and a morbid laugh at their expense can be enjoyable. So, bring some laughter to your cold little heart (yes, you) and check out these two websites.
AltaVista Translation Service
An on-line Beta version of a translation program. Translate whole sentences, or even whole websites (!) in English to/from French, Italian, Spanish, German & Portuguese. But remember, this is automated translation, so language of the translation somewhat fractured may be.
Robert Weber's The Road
(Formerly Weber World)
Rob's a free spirit & poet. His site is still under (re-)constuction, but enjoy it as it blooms.
His new site, under construction, is here.
Chris Sutor's website featuring his character Cobalt, a superhero teddy bear.
Chris Butler's Future Fossil Music
The term "eccentric genius" comes to mind whenever I talk about this man. Read about his air oars (yes, oars that are used in the air instead of the water), his world-record setting 69 minute pop music single (no tape loops!), and the recordings he has made using antique audio equipment (such as mechanical spring-wound cylander transcribers and electronic wire recorders!).
DR. COSMO
This man, alias George E. Mahlberg, a self-professed "pixel junkie", runs a well designed and very interesting website, and created the now (in)famous "Singing Lee Harvey Oswald" photo from Bob Jackson's photo of Oswald's murder by Jack Ruby (Now availble as a t-shirt!) You must see this to believe it!
Tail Feather
The website-in-progress of Lynnette Payne, a friend of mine.
The Bran Flakes
This is Rev. Otis F. Odder's website devoted to his musical projects and found-sound work, including his musical group, The Bran Flakes. He used to run an archive of obscure recordings available on tape, but the demand of duplicating so many requests was just too great for him. Sigh...More's the pity.
The SubGenius Foundation
(The Church of the SubGenius)
This is the official website of the world's first industrial church, based on the teaching of the Saint of Sales, J.R. "Bob" Dobbs!
Repent! Quit your job! Slack off! Praise "Bob"!
George Goble's Extended Home Page
I don't know this man personally, but anybody who uses liquid oxygen(!!!) to light a barbeque grill deserves a link on this page. (Kids! Don't try this at home!)
He also invented the drop-in Freon® substitute, R-406A, which is probably already in your car's air conditioner.
Interesting Ideas
Photos of "roadside art", personal commentary and great (if rather offbeat) links!
Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren is a composer-lyricist1, rock star2, computer programmer3, singer, guitar wizard, keyboard player, producer, technology advocate4, cultural chameleon5, and he's got his own kick-ass website! (And he'll be selling his CD's and videotapes through it as well. You will go there!)
1Just about every damned bar band on the planet (at least in the bars I've been in) knows either "I Saw the Light" ("...in your eyes"), "Bang the Drum All Day", "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" or "Hello, It's Me". All are his compositions.
2He's a former front man of both The Nazz and Utopia.
3He invented the Flowfazer, which is almost like psychoactive chemicals for your monitor.
4He was experimenting with MIDI technology back in the 1970's, and his album "Acapella" features his voice, and only his voice, run through a microprocessor.
5He's recorded hard rock, symphonic rock (the album "Ra"), straight-forward rock'n'roll, Top-40 pop, Beatles-styled music ("Deface the Music"), a curious (but successful) mix of rap and techno ("No World Order"), and most recently, cocktail lounge-style bossa nova ("With A Twist").
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Wales, United Kingdom
URL: http://llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/
Yes, this is the name of a real town, (the world's longest name for a municipality; check the Guinness Book of World Records if you don't believe me), as well as part of the site's domain address (also the world's longest)! It's an interesting site as well. The town is rich in history, and there's much to look at, other than the sign entering the town. Planing a trip to Europe and want to send back a postcard with a unique postmark? Consider the little Welsh village with the (incredibly) big name.
(I had to check the spelling three times before I got it right! And don't ask me how to pronounce it.)
PrisonPenPals.com
If you're over 18 and will read past the disclaimer, enter this site and take a look at the lives of men and women in the world's jails.
The (intentionally anonymous) music and performance group that has succeeded in redefineing what we hear and see on stage.
Electric Sheep Comics
Patrick S. Farley's incredible collection of original comic strips, with equally incredible webcode! One of the best constructed websites I've come across! Check out his strips Saturnalia and Apocamon: The Final Judgement
...and to (appropriately) end the list...
Rectaltronics®
This is probably the most professionally designed gag website I have ever seen!
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