Fun Stuff updated June 28, 2005You know how some people like to forward material they find online?URLs, flash animations, quippy little tales, etc.?to people they know and (presumably) like? Yeah, well, I pretty much try to avoid doing that whenever possible. Those of you who know me well will probably confirm that if I send you anything like that, it's because I have a pretty solid idea that you'll actually be INTERESTED in what I'm drawing to your attention.Of course, there are many cool things I find (or, more often, have brought to my attention by an attentive friend) that I'd like to share ... but my hate of SPAM (even well-intentioned SPAM) is such that I generally err on the side of caution and never pass them along to anyone. Well, today that changes. But instead of emailing, I'm just going to post some links here. This has the dual advantage of NOT clogging up your in-boxes AND allowing the possibility that someone whose email address I don't have can enjoy the fun, too. In no particular order, then, here are some cool things I think you ought to check out when you have the chance.
Homestar Runner: I realize that MOST of you already know this website filled with AMAZINGLY funny Flash animation, but there are still SOME of you who don't. Find a moment when you have an hour or more to lose as you find yourself unable to stop laughing and combing deeper into the archives. Be sure you start by clicking the "First Time Here?" button on the main menu ... it REALLY is the place to start.
Trip Wonker: This is a simple optical illusion that has kept me entertained for weeks. At least, I HOPE it's an illusion ... otherwise I've been letting Cthulloid monsters into my brain for weeks, and that can't be good.
Engrish.com: One of my favorite things about living in Japan was all the ways that English was misused in packaging, advertising, and especially visitor's guides. This site collects photos of what we used to call "Japanglish" but really is better described as "Engrish."
Political Compass: Another one of those online quizzes, but I really found this one interesting. It plots your position on two axes: Left/Right (as in political coservatism) and Authoritarian/Libertarian. Yes, the questions are loaded, and sure you could get vastly different results for yourself depending on when you take the test, but that's really one of the main points the point. (Just so you know, my score was -6.62 R/L, -5.23 A/L ... or more leftist than the Dhali Llama and more Libertarian than Nelson Mandella ... who knew I was such a pinko?)
Chemical-Free Freezer: Amazing. So what will science come up with NEXT?
FCC Song: Well, here are my political leanings showing again, but Monty Python member Eric Idle has recorded a song that sums up many of my prevailing attitudes toward our current Presidential administration. WARNING: Do NOT visit this site if you are easily offended (and even those of you with strong senses of humor would probably do well not to visit it while at work ... it's a bit "blue").
Tim Robbins' Speech: And while I'm letting my politics out of the bag, I think this speech that Tim Robbins gave to the National Press Club is just brilliant.
Starship Exeter: Ah, those wacky fans. What will they think of next? No ... let's not explore that question too closely.
All Your Base: And last but not least, the classic "All Your Base Are Belong To Us." Yup ... it STILL makes me laugh.
Spidey vs. Doc Oc: This short film is done entirely with Lego toys (and computer effects) ... and it's really cool!
RPG Dissertation: Michelle Nephew (one of the high muckity-mucks at Atlas Games) has published her PhD Dissertation entitled Playing with Power: The authorial consequences of roleplaying games (H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien). On this academic site you can read a 24-page preview or pay to get the whole thing (either printed or in PDF format).
Homestar vs. TMBG: What happens when you slam two geek favorites together? You get Nerd Nirvana! This link takes you to a video the "Experimental Film," the first single from The Spine, They Might Be Giants' latest album ... and it is directed by Strong Sad and The Cheat from HomestarRunner.com. Joy!
One Ring Zero: Speaking of off-beat music, I heard an interview with the bizarre, literary, and quite inspired band, One Ring Zero. (They actually use a claviola!) Their latest album, As Smart As We Are features "lyrics contributed by seventeen of North America's top authors."
A Shuggoth on the Roof: This amazing Quicktime file presents a mockumentary that somehow manages to cover Broadway musicals, H.P. Lovecraft, and local theater troupes all in a single film. And don't forget the tentacles!
The Eye of Science: This German site features microscopic pictures of all sorts of things ranging from bacteria to flora and fauna to teeny tiny submarines. I LOVE microscopic photography, so if you know of any similar sites please pass them along.
Elite Designers Against Ikea: This appears to be a home page for a tongue-in-cheek series of British ads for Ikea. A jolly good laugh, but I doubt they'd fly here in the States.
Quantz Nihongo: Quantz is an online comic that has the same illustrations EVERY day (that's part of the joke). Even if you don't like the regular strip, if you like Engrish.com, you'll want to give this page a look ... Quantz strips created by Japanese EFL students.
Screen Cleaner: You say your computer screen is dusty and spotty? Well, here's the perfect way to keep it clean and shiny.
Virtual Stan: You say there's not enough Stan in your life. Well, now the solution is only a click away. Thank goodness Virtual Stan doesn't have an exclamation point or I might be out of a job!
Space Tree, the Space Tree in Space: This is a series of Flash animated cartoons. It's not as good as Homestar Runner, but it's amazing how fast it grows on you.
Tombstone Generator: Ever wonder what future generations will see when they stop by your graveside? Well, through the magic of the Internet you can see for yourself.
Kitten Cannon: Just like it sounds, this Flash animated game gives you a chance to fire a cute little kitten out of a cannon in an attempt to make it go REALLY far. Be warned, the kitten does NOT fare well. In fact, it meets quite a gruesome end EVERY time. But if you can get around that, it's kinda fun.
Perspective: Another bit of Flash animation. I think it's best viewed without any description. Let me just assure you that it's not political, it's not offensive, and it's sure blew my mind the first few times I viewed it.
De-Animator: A Flash animated side-view shooter where you play a poor, doomed investigator trying to quell the hordes of reanimatec corpses created by Herbert West. It PERFECTLY captures the mood and intensity of the final moments of just about any Call of Cthulhu game. It makes a difference when and where you shoot the zombies ... and in the end you're doomed no matter what.
A Murder of Scarecrows: This Flash animated game didn't really capture my imagination at first. I enjoyed the creepy, Edward Gorey-esque style ... but the concept didn't grab me. Then I played it a few times and I was HOOKED. Scarecrows come to life when you hit them with the seeds, swiping at swooping birds. Anyway, trust me, the game is LOTS of fun.
Cancer Killing Virus: When I saw this I just sat still and stared in awe. I've always figured we'd eventually cure cancer ... but I didn't expect to see such a thing until near the end of my lifetime. Still, this is just a preliminary finding. We may still be a dozen or more years away from a material that can be TESTED on humans, let alone a treatment that would be widely available.
6 Million Dollar Man: Actual bionics that can be attached and made to function through the use of the brain alone. Sure, we're still quite a long way from Steve Austin, cybernetic super spy ... but it's still pretty damn cool!
The Eye of Sauron: No, it's not a dead ringer (pun intended) ... and yes, there's a scientific explanation for it ... but still ... IT'S THE EYE OF FRICKIN' SAURON!!!
Geek Fantasies: This site has a series of VERY short films of bikini-clad young women saying suggestive lines while interacting with geek paraphernalial -- rolling dice, playing video games, etc. It's cheesy in the extreme, but still pretty funny.
Limerick Dictionary: Back at TSR I used to have a white board where I posted a Limerick of the Day. That endeavor would have been MUCH easier if I'd had access to this web site. You can look up limericks by subject, by author, or just browse randomly.
Thundercats, HO!: Remember the Thundercats TV show about those anthropomorphic cat-people whose spaceship crash landed on a planet run by a mummified monkey and his animalistic henchmen? Well, this site has a map of the land where Lion-O and his cohorts fought Mumm-Ra.
Thundercats, #%&*!: Speaking of the Thundercats, this site has a bunch of outtakes from the TV show's recording sessions, most of them featuring various cursing in character. Man, that Lion-O sounds like a sailor on shore leave!
Cthulhu Car: This ad for the Toyota Vios has something man was not meant to know.
Dalek Song: Don't ask me to explain WHY this little robotic song makes me laugh so much ... it just does. And if you're a Dr. Who fan, it probably will have the same effect on you.
D&D Made Simple: FINALLY someone has been able to explain how D&D works in a simple flow chart. The next time I have to miss a game day, I think I'm going to give this to one of the other players and let them use it to run my character.
Cthulego Rising: Photos of an amazing and darky hilarious diorama that man was not meant to view ... made entirely of Legos.
The Muppets Do Serenity: Take Joss Wheadon's characters from Firefly, mix with figurines of Jim Henson's Muppets, and pour into the mold of a Mad Magazine movie spoof, and you get this eight-part photo play. Sadly there isn't a central page, I must link to each page separately 1 * 2 * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 * 7 * and finally ... 8.
Remixed Movie Trailers: It seems like one of the biggest trends online these days is for amateur film makers to take popular movies and make new trailers as though the movie was from an entirely different genre. It's hard to explain, but my favorites so far are Shining, Sleepless, and Brokeback to the Future.
YouTube.com: This site is filled with gems like a David Hasselhoff music video or The Narnia Rap as well as commercials like this banned XBox360 ad or this European Nike ad and even inexplicable clips like two Chinese boys lipsynching.
Lebowskifest: The Dude abides ... I don't know about you, but I take some comfort in that.
Fear of Girls: This is a HILARIOUS short film that is too close to the truth about many gamers for us to do anything but laugh along ... and cringe.
10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts: This article provides enough raw material to keep my d20 Modern campaign going for the next 5 years!
Musical Vikings: What if the Vikings fought sea battles using magic, electric guitars, and giant robots? What if, indeed!
Optimus Keyboard: Oh my GOD! I want one of these ALMOST as much as I want a robot dog!
Songs of Science: You know the They Might Be Giants song Why Does the Sun Shine? Well, this is where it came from!
Ultimate Gamer Test: I got "over 99%" ... which seems to indicate I got something wrong ... or they just don't give out 100%.
Seat Guru: This site provides information on airplane seats. I mean DETAILED info, like leg room down to the cenitmeter, and which seats have power outlets (I never even knew that ANY of them did). A worthwhile resource for anyone who travels a lot.
Mentos & Diet Coke: By now I'm betting that most of you have heard about the explosive results of mixing Mentos and diet soda. Many of you will have seen one of the many videos documenting the effect. But have you seen it set to music?
Granny Gamer: This report about a grandmother who loves video games more than her grandkids is, in a word, disturbing. Maybe it's all the cussing she does, but I think it's REALLY her cackling laugh ... *shiver*
Pulling Gs: Have you ever heard that the G-force of high-speed aerobatic maneuvers can cause you to pass out? Well here's the proof. I'm not saying that I'd be any less prone to it than poor Steve ... I'm just saying that I probably wouldn't have put the tape online.
Google Mars: Being able to look at pictures nearly every inch of the Earth getting dull? Well, put aside Google Earth and Google Maps and start exploring the red planet!
Throw Paper: Bored? Want to practice your waste paper basketball skills but don't want to kill trees to do so? Well this site is just for you. And I have to admit that I find it inexplicably FUN!
Cheap & Cheesy Adv. Gen: Not sure what to throw at your D&D characters next weekend? This simple little plot randomizer is JUST what you're looking for. As a professional game designer I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I think I'm going to get A LOT of use out of this.
My Kind of Hymn: Only for those who don't take their religion TOO seriously. WARNING: Foul language ahead! Listen with headphones (at least the first time).
Hey Ya! ... Mellow Style: I'm impressed not only by how COOL this cover sounds, but even MORE by the fact that the timing is so dead on to the original despite the wide stylistic differences.
Presidential Rock: Sure, Bill Clinton played the sax ... but W sings U2!
THAT'S White: Oh, Weird Al ... how we've missed you!
Skanic: This one is serious (atleast it is if you're a fan of ska). Skanic is a terrific band based here in SD County and WELL worth seeing. Buy a CD ... what'll it hurt?
iGallop: I don't know why they just didn't call this the iSex ... I mean, c'mon!
Carver: This is one of the most amazing vehicles I've ever seen. I SO want one! Not QUITE as much as I want a robot dog, but still.
Talking Robot Dogs: Yet ANOTHER reason to want to own an Aibo ... it's smart enough to evolve its own language!
Where No Man Has Inspired Before: Inspirational posters like the kinds that are so popular with HR Departments around the country ... only with a Star Trek flair.
Everything I Need To Know, I Learned From Gaming: More inspirational posters, this time with words of wisdom from the gaming table.
Board Games Online: This German website lets you play some of your favorite European board games online ... and it's FREE!