Ed's Picks For October 1997

1. The Janeane Garafalo Worship Page
   That sassy, kvetching, Gen-X comedian. Oh wait, that's me.

2. Web sites with a feminine influence.
   I used to read Cosmopolitan as my primary means of intelligence gathering on women. Now, I read web sites. Some of my favorites include Yoni, "Gateway to the feminine," and maxi. Just as the new female stars of rock and roll turned the obtuse male dominated paradigm on its head, so too the female stars of the web. I am getting a little tired of the play on "grrrl," though. We've got RiotGrrl, Modem Grrls, and gURL. Give it a rest, ladies. Ahem, grrls.

3. Eddy Melendez
   Meet my evil twin. He came up during one of my narcissistic Infoseek searches.
   Eddy writes: "Her name is Laina. I first met her at my Church. I used to be in the church band and she would go to the same mass. I got to know her better due to the youth group sessions that we both attended. I started falling in Love with her from that moment on."
   Awwwwww.....

4. The DNA Hyperdimension
   The web was meant for thinking outside the box. Challenging and trippy.
   "It occurred to me, that suckers have authority." -Public Enemy

5. The Drink Database
   Mmmm...cocktails, the one thing that separates man from the animals. There are tons of cocktail sites, including the shamefully slick Wired site, but The Drink Database gets kudos for its speed and breadth.

6. Random Urban Myths
   Conspiracy theories come and go, but urban myths are the stuff this country was built on, like that one about the dead baby. A random urban myth each time. My one complaint with this site is that when you click on it, it's hard to get back. Hint: don't use the "back" button.

7. SPAM Filter Page.
   Mail challenged individuals, take note! 15 simple rules you can apply to your copy of Eudora that will minimize the amount of Spam you get. Why should procmail users get all the breaks? Hey, while we're on the subject, check out some of the crazy mail I've received.

8. Beginner's Guide To Cryptography
   ALERT! Nerd reference. A hobby of mine, not because I'm terribly paranoid, but because I'm a strong believer in personal privacy. Strong cryptography is also critical to secure online commerce.

9. The Wesley Willis Home Page
   Wesley Willis is a 350 pound man diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffering from what he describes as "voices in his head." He is also a rock star, with songs like "Oil Express," about getting an affordable oil change, and "Casper the Homosexual Friendly Ghost," his tribute to the lovable cartoon character (I think).
   Rock over London, Rock on Chicago!!

10. The Mentos FAQ
    This has been a long running joke on Usenet and the web for years now, but I still can't get enough of it. If you want the less intense version of the Mentos experience, check out Are We Not Mentos?
    It doesn't matter what comes, fresh goes better in life, and Mentos is fresh and full of life.