The Sixties

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I was watching an informercial featuring Sixties music when the idea came to me to look up websites devoted to that tumultuous decade. I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t until I changed my search to “60’s memories” before anything interesting showed up. Here is what I came up with for the bell-bottomed, tie-dyed, Beatles-loving Make Love Not War generation. It’s nice to know that not all of us tripped out at Woodstock, because we were too busy raising children or engaged with our first jobs, or were sending care packages to relatives and friends in the military.

 

A Sixties Jukebox (http://moreoldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.). A big thank you to my friend, Charlotte, who sent me this link. If you don’t want to pay for the set of c.d.’s advertised on television, this might be the next best thing. Listen to Donovan, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Beatles (of course), and dozens more of your favorite groups from decades past. If you have sufficient memory on your computer, you can leave the jukebox playing as you surf over to other Sixties websites.

 

60’s Museum (www.60smuseum.org/). Someone from McHenry, IL started this website, but I am not sure if the project is still alive or not. The objective was to have a bricks-and-mortar place somewhere in the Northwest burbs. Despite its lack of updating, this website shows care and quality. It is worth a look.

 

Sixties City (www.sixtiescity.com). This is a British version of the 60’s nostalgia phenomenon. It has less relevance to us stateside because many of the references, outside of the Beatles, are unfamiliar.

 

Woodstock Story (www.woodstockstory.com). There has been a lot of talk about Woodstock this year because 2009 marks the 40^th anniversary of the iconic event. This site is also promoting West Fest (October 25) in San Francisco. Once again, we midwesterners get pushed out of the loop. East coast, West coast, and then there is Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid. I guess that’s the midwest’s nod to the big, big concerts.

 

The Old Hippie’s Groovy Site (http://members.aye.net/~hippie). This site proves that old Hippies never die, they just adjust to new social conditions and take up new causes that need to be addressed. This site is full of rants.

 

Hippydom (http://hippy.com/hippiedom.). This offers a fairly thorough look at Hippie culture, including a large section devoted to the Merry Pranksters—Ken Kesey’s band of tripsters.

 

Jeffs60s (www.jeffs60s.com). Jeff is an ordinary guy who happens to be a writer and graphic artist who has put together a visually interesting look at the day-to-day life of a sixties school child. His collection of memories are fun to read by those of us who lived those years. It answers a lot of those “remember when?” questions.

Halloween

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It happens every year at this time. I go through each calendar month without mentioning anything relevant about it until we get to Halloween. Then, for some reason, I find myself scouring Halloween sites to tell you about. I like to find new ones, when possible, and often the websites I may have cited last year disappear into the land of the lost. My list is not very long this year, so I expanded to include November 1st’s Day of the Dead.

Virtual Carve a Pumpkin (http://carveapumpkin.bhg.com/). Say you want to get into the spirit of Halloween without making a lot of fuss, or mess. Here is your chance to “carve” a pumpkin and show it to the world. You will be given a half-dozen choices each for pumpkin color, eyes, nose, and mouth, and you can combine them in any number of ways. The only downside is that you will have no pumpkin seeds to roast when you’re done.

Extreme Pumpkins (www.extremepumpkins.com). Browse the photo gallery of some amazing, orig carvings here. I have come to dislike those stencil-cut jack-o-lanterns, but these extreme pumpkins are definitely worth taking time to see. There are how-to’s in case you want to tackle a carving project. Good luck.

Pumpkin Gutter (www.pumpkingutter.com). Scott Cummins creates interesting dimensional carvings, plus he provides peculiar and fascinating facts about the orange fruit.

Costume by the Stars (http://astrodispatch.com). Here’s a twist on how to decide what to wear on Halloween. Find out what planet rules your ascendant, and then dress according to that planet. For example, if it’s Mars, you could dress as a warrior. My planet is Neptune, so I might choose some fantasy figure, or just drape myself in yards and yards of a glittery fabric.

Unique Costume Ideas (http://crafts.suite101.com/). Look for a link to “101 Halloween Idieas” and you’ll be all set. You could dress up as a cloudy sky, and all it takes is some cotton balls and a few other items. There are dozens of links to very interesting Halloween websites, so this is a great jumping off point. I found myself on a page describing Halloween coffins, and yes, you can buy several varieties of them for your yard, or party. And if you want more links to pumpkin carving sites, you will find them here.

Day of the Dead (www.inside-mexico.com/featuredead). This site provides a nice description of the celebration that takes place across Mexico. There is a nice folk art gallery, too. You will want to learn more about those sugary confections made to honor relatives and friends who have passed away. Most importantly, you’ll learn that there is nothing macabre about this day of remembrance.

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Links I Like

o here I am, revealing the sources for the many, many wild, weird, interesting and usually dispensible websites I have mentioned over the past few years. Yep. I’m revealing my sources—well, most of them. I can guarantee that you will find at least one of these sites you will want on your list of bookmarks. I am not adding much commentary to the list this week. I hope you will be curious enough to follow the links and discover whole new avenues to explore. Note that many on the list originate as blogs from blogspot.com.

Streamings (http://streamingthings.blogspot.com). Tasteful, refreshing, and new. It just entered the world of the Internet in July. But it has caught my eye and I keep checking back.

Urlesque (www.urlesque.com). What a contrast to Streamings! This site’s main focus is highlighting viral videos and top trends.

Linkfilter (http://linkfilter.net). The site’s administrator wants original posts (from contributors), not something everyone on the ‘net has already seem. Very useful, and intelligent.

Information Nation (http://informationnation.blogspot.com).Graphics make it pretty. Captnkurt, the blogger, does much hasty scribbling, too.

The Daily What (http://thedw.us/). Heavy on video clips, and liberal use of inappropriate language. Not a favorite.

Pop Urls (http://popurls.com). This is an aggregator of Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Flickr, Youtube, Metafilter, and more. The headlines have to grab you in order to get you to click on a link. Over all, the site provides an overview of hot topics running through the online world.

TYWKIWDBI (http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com). It’s pronounced “tai-wiki-widbee. Why the strange name? That’s anyone’s guess. The subtitle is “things you wouldn’t know if we didn’t blog incessantly.” The blog owner says that he tries to be the cyberequivalent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities.

Bifurcated Rivets (http://catless.nd.ac.uk/). The format here confounds me. It’s hit or miss, clicking on links described only as “hah” or “interesting” or “hmmm.” That’s about as descriptive as the commentary gets. But when you bear with it awhile, you can strike gold.

Blog on a Toothpick (http://steveisbored.blogspot.com). Visually very pretty.

Blogadilla (www.blogadilla.com). Love the background wallpaper! This is where I recently found many references to Kanye West’s “imagonnaletyou…”

Buzzfeed (www.buzzfeed.com). This is another big, shiny site. It is the first stop for those who need to know the absolute latest viral web phenomena. If you read it here, chances are you will later see it on the television news.

Bits and Pieces (http://bitsandpieces.us/). Chock full of interesting stuff and a banner that changes daily.

Small Bits and Pieces (http://smallbitsandpieces.blogspot.com). The focus is more on the oddball and bizarre.

There you have it. This is your chance to break away from the mundane and into worlds that can send you deeper and deeper into cyberspace. Get ready to get lost.

A Sea of Trivia

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Once again, I was swallowed up in a sea of trivia as I accessed the “buzz” across the ever-expanding Internet. The term “vast wasteland” came to mind. Then I realized that I needed to hunker down and take responsibility for the time wasters that end up in this column. The places I use as jumping off points to what used to be interesting nooks and crannies will be mentioned here next week. Then, I will be doing some digging to find new jumping off points that lead to some stuff with more depth. I am open to suggestions as to where to begin. Write me with your ideas.

Ima Let You Finish (http://imaletyoufinish.com/). The lesson here is to not find yourself in the position of Kanye West, whose rudeness at the music awards has spawned this global running joke. Sooner or later the site will cease to be popular, as new gaffes by different celebrities will capture the world’s attention. But, you did wonder where the phrase “[he'll] never live it down” came from, right? That was before the Internet and the power of going viral. Some of the examples here are gifts of sharp wit, and others and downright disgusting in their own right. I am not sure what will be happening by the time you read this, but right now the game is to keep coming up with fresh comedic fodder for “Ima let you finish.”

Sexy People Blog (www.sexypeople-blog.com). My first reaction was that the site’s goal was to be mean and snarky. I try to avoid those kinds of sites. But then I realized that the subtitle of the site, “a celebration of the perfect portrait,” was more a commentary on the skills of certain commercial portrait photographers. There is an irony in the naming of this web blog, and as you explore it, you will be paying more attention to backdrops, poses, clothing and timing (usually bad) of the clicking of the lens. These people paid good money for their portraits. They did not get their money’s worth.

Gary Duschl, Gum Wrapper Champ (www.gumwrapper.com). Gary holds the Guinness World Record for the longest gum wrapper chain in existence. Gary is shown on the site semi-wrapped in his creation, which, by the way, consists only of Wrigley gum wrappers. His chain is over 58,000 feet long. To put that in perspective, the chain would cover the length of 194 football fields. Gary began his chain in 1965. He has put in some twenty two thousand hours of work on it, and is not finished. I say that because he welcomes contributions of wrappers (Wrigley only), which he will mark with the donor’s name and make it easy for the donor to locate on the length of the chain. Okay, so you are wondering how much money Gary has spent on gum since beginning this enterprise. Would the figure $90,000 blow you away? It is close to that.

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