net surf
In Search of the Fashionably Wired Put the magazine down for a moment and take a good, honest look at yourself in the mirror. Chances are, what you're wearing is pretty scary. At best, it's passably dull. Oh, let's face it – your wardrobe sucks. Fashion sense? Forget it.
Woefully, the Net still caters to the fashionably challenged, so it doesn't surprise me that sites for the haute-ily wired are few. Unfashion prevails. Take Charlie's Sneaker Pages (http://www.neosoft.com/~sneakers/). I'd say Charlie knows more about athletic footwear than an extraterrestrial from Planet Reebok. With shameless links to a pile of resources, Charlie's page touches on such enthralling topics as "The most popular sneaker of all time?," "What side of the sneaker gets the logo?," and the ever helpful "Sneakers for Macintosh users." And don't miss the castle of the plastic princess: FAO Schwarz's virtual toyland (http://www.faoschwarz.com/barbietoc.html) will evoke nostalgia (read: trauma) for women who were first exposed to fashion via Barbie. Here, the bimbo diva continues her reign of torment, this time dressed by Christian Dior as Scarlett O'Hara.
For those who aim higher, however, take refuge at Lynda Stretton's Fashion Page (http://www.charm.net/~jakec/), renowned as the Web's first fashion resource. While other high-fashion sites have since appeared, the Fashion Page remains the best, because it's the most useful. Unsure of what to wear this summer? Lynda not only tells you what's new on the runways, she shows you – photos and video clips are a mouse-click away. Fretting over what to do with your hair for that important social function, ladies? Darling Lynda to the rescue!
Don't scoff, guys. Lynda also gives sound advice for those of us still fumbling with our ties. Through in-line images, she shows you how to tie a Pratt knot. And do you know how to read care labels? Or how to successfully mix 'n' match your clothes? I sure as hell didn't until Lynda led me to fashion enlightenment.
As for commercial sites, every fashionable netizen knows Fashion Internet and Lumière, in that order, are the places to see and be seen. The reporters at Fashion Internet (http://www.finy.com/) cover the New York runway scene with honesty and cynicism. Check out their straight-up, sometimes snide critiques of the latest from big shots like Ralph Lauren, Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan, and golden boy Todd Oldham, known for using fabrics with computer-generated color patterns. You can peruse drawings from various designers' sketchbooks and sneak a peek at what's to come. Fashion Internet's feature articles also impart practical information. A case in point: "Clueless Guy's Guide to Buying a Suit."
Billing itself as the "international online fashion magazine," Lumière (http://www.lumiere.com/) takes a more visual approach to net.fashion. With its white-on-black layouts filled with yards of photos, Lumiere is the online version of a fashion glossy. It covers the runway scene and is a hub for designer interviews. An excellent site for browsing with your T1 or ISDN connection.
The final must-bookmark site is N-touch magazine (http://www.dircon.co.uk/lcf/ntouch.html), which showcases the projects of students from the London College of Fashion in England. The wears on display may not be of much personal use to you, but it's fun finding out what the up-and-coming purveyors of good taste have up their sleeves. (Those body-painted suits are delightful, swee-tie!)
But, as you travel the fashion high road, it's best not to let it go to your head. Here to help is couture maven Sooty, who's compiled some choice quotes from today's top supermodels (http://http2.sils.umich.edu/~sooty/fashion.html). It's a sobering indicator that being a slave to style can have its side effects. As Veronica Webb testifies: "When my Azzedine jacket from 1987 died, I wrapped it up in a box, attached a note saying where it came from, and took it to the Salvation Army. It was a big loss." Tragic, Veronica, absolutely tragic.
Howard Wen ( href="mailto:102766.1042@compuserve.com">102766.1042@compuserve.com)
Open That URL, Stat! It's a simple case of Net development: an expert recognizes the absence of a key resource (in this case, an online list of hospitals worldwide), senses a need (among patients, health care professionals, and researchers), and satisfies it with a value-added service – a frequently updated compendium on an Internet/Web server.
HospitalWeb (http://132.183.145.103/hospitalweb.html) is the work of John Lester (lester@helix.mgh.harvard.edu) the computer systems manager at the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Lester's goal: to provide "a simple and globally accessible way for patients, medical researchers, and physicians to get information on any hospital in the world." He also started an unmoderated discussion group (e-mail listserv) to air opinions about the future of hospitals and the Internet. To join, send e-mail to hospitalweb@neurowww2.mgh.harvard.edu; type help in the Subject field for information on how to subscribe.
Virtual Carnies Every day, the Net morphs into an ever more fun-filled virtual online theme park. Now you can check out the real deal. The National Association of Amusement Parks homepage (http://www.sgi.net/napha) offers a Denmark-to-Disneyland history of amusement parks – for instance, did you know that the pleasure gardens of medieval Europe were the forerunners of our modern wonderlands? Bakken, a park opened just north of Copenhagen in 1583, remains to this day the oldest operating park of its kind.
The site's undergoing a redesign, so we can't guarantee that the quick-refresh virtual coaster ride will be there when you read this, but it's worth a look. Keep your arms inside the vehicle at all times. Among the delectable morsels offered by Doctor Fellowbug's Laboratory of Fun and Horror, The Daily Noise page ranks among the best. Surf to http://www.dtd.com/noise/ to catch the sample of the day!
So Sue Me! Would you trust legal information from a Web site that tosses out such phrases as "Get your rocks off" and "Sue your butt from here to Siberia?" Regardless, the 'Lectric Law Library (http://www.inter-law.com/) has something for everyone, from legal eagles to do-it-yourselfers, all served in bite-sized chunks generously peppered with snide remarks. Curious about sweepstakes scams? Wondering about the legalities of lie detectors or drug testing in the workplace? What about your legal rights if you receive a rain check from your local grocery store? It's all here, as are legal forms, statutes and case law, scholarly commentary, and, of course, lawyer jokes.
Be sure to check out the News Room. In addition to housing case histories pertaining to the Menendez trial, the Oklahoma City bombing, and O. J. ("enough junk to gag a wart hog," it warns), it also details the library's trademark dispute with Interlaw Inc. over the use of the domain name inter-law.com.
Even if you don't appreciate the humor on show, the library's lighthearted attitude makes for easy, browsable reading. In the site's own words, "No one has accused the library of being boring."
Book 'Em, Danno They sure do grow 'em different in Texas. When I got wind of the Dallas Police Homepage, I knew I had to check it out. Most law-enforcement sites are at worst hURL candidates, at best sources of raw material for cobbled-together desktop patterns of the country's 10 most wanted. Not the DPD's. These cowboy cops got it going on. This page is well designed – official yet appealing – and the content is the best example I've seen yet of a virtual community policing effort.
Located at http://www.airmail.net/dpd/, the site details a slew of crime-prevention programs that actually help people, while also giving crime statistics and their geographical breakdown. (I like clicking on color-coded maps and checking out the homicide rates of cities I've never been to.)
The DPD has removed "jack-booted government thugs" from my lexicon. According to Tim Allen, an officer in the Computer/Crimes Analysis Unit, "The local FBI office thinks we're too liberal, because we believe in things like PGP, good search warrants, and First Amendment rights on the Internet." Imagine that, and in Dallas no less.
Skip to My Loo If the North American Stone Skipping Association (NASSA) didn't exist, Pee Wee Herman surely would have made it up. Authored by Jerdone McGhee, Guinness World (stone skipping) Record-holder from 1988-1995, the NASSA homepage (http://www.ccsi.com/yeeha/nassa/a1.html) promotes stone skipping as not only one of the most ancient sports, but as a "natural non-competitive recreation."
Peruse an outline of the world's only stone skipping book (The Secrets of Stone Skipping), or view video stills from various competitions – including Jerdone's record of 38 skips in 1994. "Skip stones, not school."
I-Way Robbery? FBI Director Louis Freeh warned us about terrorists, narcotraffickers, and pedophiles … now we've got DigiCrime on the Web. Located at http://www.digicrime.com/, this pernicious criminal organization, which shamelessly bills itself as "a full-service criminal computer hacking organization," offers various "services" apparently designed to ensnare gullible Web surfers. Don't be fooled! DigiCrime's "Internet survey" asks for your mother's maiden name, your Social Security number, and your bank account number – definitely not your normal survey questions. We smell a rat. The same goes for its password generation service. As for the computer infection scheme, that one speaks for itself.
In the Q&A section, you'll be asked, "What exactly is DigiCrime?" Read the answer if you haven't yet figured out what's going on. And under no circumstances click on the link that reads, "Don't Touch This." You have been warned.
Wholly Webbed Although Buckminster Fuller first wrote about whole systems in his 1969 work Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, a systems-based idea of connections among all things has managed to shrug off exacting definition. With strong regard for a universal holonomy, strengthened in resolve by scientific explorations in chaos, complexity, and quantification, members of the Whole Systems discussion group share provocative notions that would make Fuller proud. Topics have included: Virtual Society and Sustainability, New Circuit Designs for Motherboard Earth, Object Orientation Paradox, and Social Artistry. A short quote by pdx4d@teleport.com is a good example of the substantive content: "What you see on your screen is more nature – human language variables shifting this way and that, propagating waves of meaning, all within nature's biome, and not consciously guided by any one ego." To get involved, send an e-mail message to listserv@netcom.com with subscribe wholesys-l in the body of the message. For even greater wholeness, hit http://newciv.org/worldtrans/whole.html and participate in the paradigm's evolution.
Keyboard Envy, and So Much More It won't ask you about your mother, your childhood, or your recurring nightmares of homicidal doughnuts, but http://sunsite.unc.edu/jembin/mb.pl will deliver a Jungian personality analysis via CGI-script. Get supine and plot your propensity for introspection and spontaneity, among other personal quirks and qualities. Couch sold separately.
(Stereographic) .Sig o' the Month () () () () () () () () () /[] /[] /[] /[] /[] /[] /[] /[] /[] -##.._.##–..##.—..##_..—##..-##...##–..##.—..##. -|//..|//..|//-.|//–.|//—.|//.—.|//..—|//..–|//_ —..—..—..—..—..—..—..—..—. —..—..—..—..—..—..—..—..—._.—.__ –..–..–..–..–..–..–..–..–..–.*.–.__.–. thale@novell.com, unofficially speaking .–..–._.–.3D waterskiing!*
Thanks to the Wired 4.03 Surf Team Jesse Freund jfreund@wired.com JC Herz mischief@phantom.com John Makulowich mailto:john@trainer.com Jon Orwant orwant@media.mit.edu John Reul johnreul@aol.com Sandy Sandfort sandfort@crl.com
