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 May 20, 1998 In this issue: |
 Simple Sweet Salty Silence Sound |
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Sorry, junior, but Pop Culture is more than a buzz phrase. It is a
movement, one that is threatening to usurp all other forms of culture in
favor of the new order. You can get your knickers all in a bunch over
it, or you can allow the Passenger to help you adjust. Sit back, prop up
your dogs and relax -- this won't hurt a bit unless you struggle.
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BEAT IT, I'M READING THE FUNNIES
Jitterbug Fantasia bills itself as "the
Internet's premier humor magazine," perhaps out of some advanced irony
-- there is very little here that might be wet-yer-pants funny to the
average Joe Beercan with a cable modem. But that's not the point.
Jitterbug Fantasia steers clear of the sophomoric gibberish clogging the
web and opts for a sly, intelligent approach to the related arts of
life, love, humor and fresh-faced antagonism. The bawdy Victorian comedy
of "The Garden of Earthly Delights" ("I'm wearing women's underwear
right now... That's why (this) letter reads so slowly -- I have to keep
slipping off to the boudoir and breaking commandments") takes its sweet
time to sink in, as do the teenaged meditations of "Buffalo Girls," but
they're well worth the invested time. For instant gratification, set up
the hilarious Shockwave game "Godzilla vs.Tamagotchi" and laugh yourself
into an apoplexy. |
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SURF AND PILLIAGE
From one of the forward-thinkers that brought you the Internet Pizza
Server comes Beej's Pirate Image
Archive, quite possibly
the coolest thing The Passenger has ever laid his land-lubbing peepers
on. So they ran some of their opponents through, keel-hauled the rest
and ventilated a few forts -- did that make them a bad lot? This
terrific archive -- filled with illustrations, period documents and maps
-- may help you to make up your mind on the matter. If not, a vast
(avast! har, har) listing of pirate-related links will finish the job.
We sail with the tide, lads and lassies. |
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THE THINKER
Nonverbal is The Passenger's kind of site,
with the content driving the graphics, and a wealth of thought-provoking
reading. "The Ideatrap" is a grand and glorious thing -- a medium for
the exchange of ideas, from the practical (what to do with those old
coffee cans?) to the delightfully eccentric (Jeff Ong deserves
investment funds from Wolfie Puck for his "Dog Restaurant" idea). If you
have a scar with a story behind it, don't hesistate to add it to
Nonverbal's growing reserve of "Scarstories." And don't fail to
scrutinize the list of everyone site designer Noah Nakell has ever met.
What, no Kevin Bacon? |
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REVOLUTION NOW Pop techno? Jean Michel Jarre all but invented it. His driving, electronic beats have been the standard in Europe since 1976, and the innovator shows no signs of slowing or stopping his sonic revolution. His latest project, "Odyssey Through O2," marries the master's work to special remixes by Loop Guru and Hani, among others, placing them against an interactive image generator created by Belgian software designer ArKaos. The result is something as visually dynamic as the pictures Jarre's music places directly in your head. Stop, look and listen. The Passenger welcomes feedback of all kinds, but particularly loves those that begin with "Pay to the order of ...." Nevertheless, if you've seen a site you would like me to visit or you want to join my unholy cult ... er, mailing list, just do the do down yonder. See you next week, kids!
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