April 5, 2002

Australian Bilby Appreciation Society
What has point ears, a long nose, a fluffy tail and an Australian accent? I'm not sure, but it's really cute. The bilby is an endangered marsupial from the bandicoot family. Ironically, because the rabbit population is competing with bilbies for food and habitats, Aussies are trying to replace the icon of the Easter rabbit with an Easter bilby to raise public awareness of this cute little critter's plight.

Exploding Dog
You send Sam Brown a title such as "You'll never make it in three minutes" and "I like hot dogs" and he'll draw a stick figure type drawing of it. Pretty neat. My favorites include "The white sound in my head" and "What the hell is that?"

Iron Chef Haiku
Show your appreciation of the campy Japanese cooking show Iron Chef with a haiku.
The best one:
Chairman Kaga said,
If memory serves me right,
Too often today.

Should I Stalk William Shatner Test
When you think of William Shatner do you push your tummy out as far as you can and say, "But, Ssssspock"? If someone says Picard could take Kirk in a fight, do you argue relentlessly until all chances of a mature relationship with a woman are gone forever? Perhaps you are ready to stalk William Shatner after all.

Richard Sala
I am forever amazed with the level of creativity of some illustrators' and comic book artists' Web sites. Richard Sala is without a doubt one of those awe-inspiring artists. Any site animation that has navigation icons sneaking up on a woman tip-toeing across you screen is a-ok. Get information about some of his graphic novels such as "The Ghastly Ones" and "Peculia." Or simply browse through is impressive portfolio.

Mattress Trash Authority
Ever spot a discarded mattress in a street alley and simply ignore it? The Mattress Trash Authority sees these stained and abandoned sleeping spaces as something more than just junk. In fact, the site features over 270 photos of thrown-out mattresses around the world. Plus you too can submit photos of mattresses you see lying around in your town.

Flash 99% Good
So you want to snazz up your Web site with a few Flash animations? Before you do anything, go to Flash 99% Good. You might learn a thing or two about design and usability from this Flash First Aid Manual. Get the help you need from handy tips, tutorials and bad flash examples.

Medicine and Madison Avenue
Can you believe that at one time cough drops were marketed as a solution to smoker's cough? Or that some laxative companies advertised that all of women's "minor ills" revolved around suffering from chronic constipation? Browse through medical advertising from the 1910s through the 1950s on Medicine and Madison Avenue. It's surprising to see what companies could get away with claiming in their print ads -- for example check out the pre-Viagra craze of high-potency Vitasafe capsules. Of course, during the World War II time frame many of the ads say little about the product and more about how great it is to be living in America.