This page is dedicated to those places and things which are...well....out of the normal range of subject matter, so to speak.
In other words, I couldn't really think of anyplace else to put them...but I couldn't just discard them out of hand, because they're just so darn much fun to sink my teeth into. So here they are---you make the call.
Last updated on November 4, 2002
First, I've got something to get off my chest. Be prepared to duck, 'cause here it comes, straight from the shoulder...
I'm a guy...who LOVES Food Network!
Okay, okay, I said it...Food Network is one of my new favorite things to sit at the tube and veg out by. There are several reasons for this, but one of the biggest ones is that Food Network introduced me to this "Alton Brown" feller. If you're like me, and have seen the Food Network show "Good Eats", you know exactly who I'm talking about.
Alton Brown is a happy weirdo who has, among other things, managed to put together a cooking show that's actually fun--and worthwhile--to sit down and watch. It's a sort of "Wolfgang Puck-meets-Bill Nye the Science Guy" affair that uses off-center humor and pop-culture to sweeten the pot, as Alton goes into the history and culture of different foods as well as how BEST to prepare them---and, sir or madam, that word BEST is capitalized for a reason. One of this guy's trademarks is his quasi-scientific approach to the art of cuisine. He knows EXACTLY what goes where when, and that's EXACTLY how he does it while you're watching. He presents his recipes not so much as "recipes", but as methods of construction, with clear step-by-step notes and alternatives---as well as the reasons WHY he cooks these things the way he does. (And some of the gadgets this guy uses will have you quoting Jack Nicholson as the Joker...."where does he get those WONDERFUL toys?")
In short, Alton Brown does his homework on everything he makes, and presents it in a way that even such a fractious entity as a high-school sophomore would find interesting. Check this guy out---you'll probably get just as hooked as the rest of us.
The Onion
As a working student--or was that a studious worker?--in Denver, I discovered this fine publication in the student union coffeehouse. Immediately after reading the front page, I realized I had bungled onto something that made the National Enquirer look like stereo instructions for the blind.
This newspaper--which, by the way, shamelessly bills itself as "America's Finest News Source"--goes galumphing its way through territory that the Weekly World News would have tossed away as too ludicrous even for them. And while they certainly cannot be said to even pretend to be a "legitimate" newspaper, the no-nonsense format and deadpan writing style with which they put forth their stories makes the reading all the more enjoyable. Peeling through the many layers of The Onion's skin will yield many a raucous treasure indeed.
The MUD Connector
DISCLAIMER: ALL PIGS, SPA-GOERS, FEMALE WRESTLERS, AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR FEMALE WRESTLERS---YOU GOT THE WRONG PLACE, JACK!!! GET A NEW SEARCH ENGINE!!!
Okay, now that we got THAT outta the way....
When I say MUD, I mean M.U.D.---as in Multiple User Dungeon. The upshot is that if you like playing games like Dungeons + Dragons and Palladium and so on, but are so desperately shy that you don't want anyone else in the room while you're doing it, hey---heaven is here, and it's open 24/7! This is a collection of over 1,000 MUDs, most of which are completely free to play, in a multitude of categories. No matter what you like to play, they've got something akin to it here, and only a small fraction of them particularly care what color your money is. So if you have some free time on your hands and nothing to do with it, come on in---there's always room for one more!
Andy's Page of Funny Stuff
This here is what you call a man with a mission. From what I've been able to gather, somebody at the office/ball field/funeral parlor did something to really hack him off (I have no idea what), because it seems that he has been inspired to go out and find all the crazy, off-the-wall, gloriously inane, and otherwise creative methods of annoying his fellow man that he could. The result....well, most of his web space has been devoted to this heinous pastime, but not to worry---any misgivings you might at first have concerning his misogynistic nature will be disspelled by the sheer hilarity of the means he has seen fit to employ. In other words, faithful ones...it ain't nice, but it's pretty funny. Check 'im out---but watch yer back.
Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince named Chuck, who heard rumors of a haunted fortress lying somewhere far away in a distant kingdom. So, being of an inquisitive nature, he and another handsome prince named Steve packed their noble steeds, and rode off into the forbidding depths of the Asphalt Desert, to see if the rumors were true....
Okay, I know it's corny, but that's pretty much how it all got started.
Chuck found out, from his e-buddy Steve, that there was a phone booth standing all alone in the desert, somewhere near Barstow, CA. Out of curiosity, Chuck found the number, called it at 0230 in the morning.......and got a busy signal.....
I'll let Chuck tell you the rest.....You just gotta see this. It'll renew your confidence in what can only be politely referred to as "that old-fashioned American pioneer spirit".
This particular chunk of virtuality is the creation of Kevin Lin, a professional Web-meister hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, who would appear to have a singular passion for puzzles, brain-teasers, and other intellectual meanderings. But please don't mistake him for simply another bored puzzle nerd---the walnuts that grow on this tree are tough to crack indeed. Trust me on this---I tried some of the recent ones, and they made even my somewhat-more-than-respectable brain jump out of its cranial prison cell to go on an extended Excedrin expedition.
On top of excellent mindgames of his own, Kevin has put together an impressive list of links to other tidbits related to puzzles and their kin. That, along with the kind of smooth, polished presentation you could only get from a guy who spins Web-strands for a living, makes the Grey Labyrinth a pleasure not to be missed by those who consider themselves limber of mind.
