January 10, 1997

Rhyme Dictionary
Roses are red, poppies are orange, . . . hey, what the heck rhymes with orange? Makeshift poets can find the rhymes to impossible words like umbrella, orange and others. Or try to stump the computer with words you think will never end up in a sonnet. Roses are red, violets are purple, I drink milk that is left out to curdle?

Spungifeel Comix and Somedaze Cartoons
The Quiggly Boy, Crazy Mr. Jivey and Little Big Belittled Man all have strange tales to tell in their comic book landscapes. Read samples of comic book artist T. Weier's work and learn about his many characters trying to survive in their episodic dreamlands.

Vespa Scooter Obsession
Forget all about the great American car and hop on a nice European Vespa motorscooter. One man's vehicle has become another man's two-wheeled obsession. Read an essay about scooter restoration, or look up scooter rides in the Northern California Scooter Council events calendar. If you are looking for a scooter to buy, scan the list of vintage Vespa serial numbers spanning from 1946 to 1966.

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices
Bob McCoy, the museum's curator, has gathered a veritable encyclopedia of the world's most inane and useless information about how to cure what ails you. Many of the items in the museum, located in Minneapolis are on loan from the American Medical Association, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the St. Louis Science Center and the National Council Against Health Fraud. Some of the things in the museum include soap that sudses off pounds, weight-reduction glasses and a foot-powered breast enlarger.

Riot Nrrrds
Move over Riot Grrrls, there are some geeks coming around the corner and they sure are angry. A nrrrd can be "someone who has a life outside of computers but who regards techno-gadgetry, hacking and coding to be essential to everyday life." Read about Cyber-Hinduism and the Church of the SubGenius in the Religiosophy section, or play Mastermind and Celebrity Painter in the Java games section. The site also has its own zine called Fluf, with rants by a very angry young nrrrd.

The Women of 1970's Punk
Before angry female singers such as Courtney Love and Gwen Stephani took over the alternative music scene, women such as Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich were blasting boys off the stage with their version of angsty punk music two decades ago. This site explains the history behind infamous punk girl bands including the Slits, X-Ray Spex, Crass, the Mo-Dettes and many others. No band is complete without an image, so go to the punk fashion section to see why designer Vivienne Westwood was so important. There is also a Women in Ska music section for those rude girls online.

The Long Hair Site
Lasses with long locks are the centerpiece of this site. When you have extra-long hair, you have to know how to take care of it. This site has hair tips, right down to the proper way to wash it all. Read interviews with girls who have long hair to find out the problems they face, including getting their hair stuck in car doors. Ouch!