Misc.
Section B • Page 5
The University Daily Kansas Thursday, September 21, 2000
Web sites give hours of fun
By Chris Hopkins Kansan online editor
We're heading into one of the slowest parts of the school year — no midterms for a while, but everything's still just warming up.
The Internet, like other forms of media before it, makes for great escapism when you're bored out of your skull. And some of the best sites for spending mind-numbing, pointless hours are referred to by Yahoo as "Web Installations." In essence, they're big, out-of-control art projects that fling you around randomly from one pretty page to another. Here are some of the ones that mesmerized me:
Chris Hopkins web editor webbedior@kanan.com
www.superbad.com
This is a fun little site with some nice pictures and interactivity that you can get lost in for hours on end. One highlight: a story about two boys playing with chemicals in a garage that ends when their dad pokes his head in and finds one of them chewing on tin foil. Oh sure, like that's never happened to you.
www.absurd.org
A site based on JavaScript which means
it's a bit more accessible, if less high-powered, than some of these other sites. It's got some fun interactive sections, including a mesmerizing section of mouse-controlled visuals. There's also a version of the arcade classic "worms" game. It starts with a white screen with a "Core meltdown" countdown then explodes into a series of opening and closing windows. Do not adjust your screen — they control what you see and hear.
adaweb.walkerart.com
One of several sites that are directories of installations others have done. Unlike some of the other directories, this one actually mixes and links them all together into a psuedo-cohesive whole. The Wonderland Products portion of the site is based on the layout of a house and is probably the pinkest site I've ever seen.
www.potatoland.org
This site is similar to Ask Jesus or any of the various Web page translation sites. It has several different systems that you feed URLs into, and then it takes the page and "shreds" it, spraying the HTML code and images across the screen. It's sort of like gawking at a really bad car wreck. You can also add your own text to a "landfill" of unwanted words, where it will be mixed with the rest to compost. Another program will yank images and text from a variety of sites and shred them all together.
These all are fun sites to blow an hour on and plenty of others like them, but try to watch the clock — you may forget to sleep.
KJHK's new rock rotation chart for Sept. 11-17 $ ^{*} $
15 Wawings, The Low to the Ground (Bobaled)
11 Elevend Dream Day Stalled Parade (Thrill Jockey)
1 Bjork Selmasongs (Elektra)
1 Koufax It had to do with Love (Heroes & Villians)
12 Koufaf it had to do with Love (Heroes & Villains)
12 SYR 5 (Riomt)
11 Arthur Dodge & the Horsefeathers Nervous Habit (self-
released)
11 Arthur Dodge & the Horseheads Nervous Ha-
re released)
11 Gilles Peterson Incredible Sounds of (Epic)
11 Go-Be待weens, The Friends of Rachel Worth (Jetset)
11 Kid 606 Down with the Scene (Ipecac)
11 Mark Kozelecki Rock 'n' Rail Singer (Badman)
11 Mojave 3 (AAD)
11 6th's, The Hyacinths & Thiatles (Merge)
11 Master Musicians of Jaujaka s/y (Point Music)
11 V/A H-I-fidelity Dux Sessions: The Second Chapter
(Guidance)
11 V/A Autonum 3003 (Bungalow)
11 Vitesse Chelsea 27099 (Hidden Agenda)
11 Damon & Naomi with Ghost (Sub Pop)
11 David Grubbs The Space Between (Thrill Jockey)
11 Galactic
11 isotope 21.7 Who Stole the I Walkman? (Thrill Jockey)
11 Joan of Arc The Gap (Jade Tree)
11 Max Tundra Some Best Friend You Turn Out to Be (Dominio)
11 New Amsterdames, The Never You Mind (Heroes & Villians)
11 Photek Solaris (Astrelwerkers)
11 Pinback Some Voices (Tree)
11 Pram The Museum of Imaginary Animals (Merge)
11 Rian Murphy & Will Oldham All Most Heaven (Drag City)
11 St. Germain Tourist (Blue Note)
11 Damien Jurado Ghost of David (Sub Pop)
11 Up, Bustle, & Out Rebel Radio (Ninja Tun)
* Numbers indicate how many times songs from that album
were played during the week.
Added to KJHK's playlist ...
1. Tristea Dream Signals in Full Circles (Tiger Style)
2. Ugly Duckling Journey to Anywhere (1500)
3. Mates of State My Solo Project (Omnibus)
4. Sea and Cake, The Oui (Thrill Jockey)
5. Freight Elevator Quartet, The Becoming Transparent (Caipirinha)
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