engines
| Google is currently the finest search engine around, and best of all, it is not owned by a multinational company (yet). The Usenet newsgroups option helps with finding answers to questions. |
web
journals
| This web log is written by a close friend of mine, Marylu. The travails of her life rarely overlap with mine, which can make it compulsive reading. And in lieu of domestic dramas there are always some interesting life observations to mull over. | ||
| A rivetting web journal maintained by a prostitute living in London. However, you may not want to read this one at work. She writes well, is selective in her choice of anecdotes, and is frequently hilarious. | ||
| Or Things my Girlfriend and I have Argued About. Funny English writer Mil Millington bitching about his partner, Margret. There's airing your dirty laundry, and then there's this... Good to see someone on the Internet who knows how to use italics. | ||
| A weekly list of ten remarks a commuter overhears on London's Underground tube network, and there are some screamers here. The Internet exists for sites like this one. | ||
| Lyn uses a weblog facility to cover movie topics and field comments from readers. Early days yet but it's filling out all the time. Her writing is crisp and she presents thoughtful topics. | ||
| Another web journal. Based in Melbourne, Hooverdust features a quaint design married to laid-back media reviews, photos and diary entries. Suck it does not. | ||
| I know it's either trendy to link to celebrities or to shun them. On the strength of his content I have decided to keep Moby as a regular, famous or not. Although I am no fan of his music, I find his weblog engaging. | ||
| Ditto what I said for Moby. Gaiman seems to relish interacting with his fans and web journal visitors, not to mention listing some amusing links. Gaiman is frequently effusive no matter how trashed he is after a publicity tour. | ||
| Here is the home of several social commentators with an old skool fanzine edge to their attitudes and writing styles. You may already know Hank Hankerson of Mondo Gore infamy. The other contributors on this acerbic website also revel in going against the grain. Updates have been infrequent lately, but take a look at the archives anyway. | ||
Mondo Gore was the first fanzine I ever collected back in Brisbane.
Published, edited and written mostly by the always opinionated US ex-pat Hank Hankerson, this
free local rag opened my eyes to enjoying trashy movies for their own (dodgy) virtues,
and to the censorship problems occurring in Queensland, Australia, and abroad.
And like all true zines, Mondo Gore had to have content that I was not that interest
in, namely hardcore music. But figuring I might learn something, I always managed to read Hank's album and live reviews.
 |
movies
| IMDB is a movie database that relies on contributions. Despite inaccuracies and advertising pop-ups, it is still the best general film resource on the web. | ||
| A superb DVD resource by Michael Demtschyna and an army of reviewers that covers the Australian market . The reviews address many technical aspects of any given release. Mandatory reading. Updated daily. | ||
| Formerly known as Terror Australis, this is an engaging Australian horror and cult multi-media site maintained by a dude called Craig, who lives in Melbourne. It has reviews, a message board, release dates, news items and other related material. Great design work, lively discussions, solid reviews, and frequent updates make this a winner. | ||
| The Mobius Home Video Forum is a message board covering cult, arthouse, science fiction, fantasy, horror, exploitation, European cult and Asian cinema. Informative and lively. | ||
| Intelligent film reviews by a critic who cites Pauline Kael as a major influence. Like most in-depth critics, Ian over-analyses at times, but his reviews are always thoughtful and usually eloquent. | ||
| Intense reviews by film theory graduate Bryant Frazer. While I do not always agree with his determinations, his writing style and opinions make for compelling reading. Also contains Bryant's personal web log and various movie links. Good stuff. | ||
| Movie and DVD reviews by Garth Franklin and ad-hoc contributors. Garth presents a 'man in the street' perspective on mainstream releases. His style is casual and entertaining. Seems to be updated monthly. | ||
| As the name suggests, Rotten Tomatoes lists the critical response to a given film across the world with quotes from and links to reviews. A good site for gauging the immediate or lasting impact of a movie. Some of the quotes they choose are hilarious. | ||
| What a winning combination: cult movies and metal music. This site from up north is still coming together (kinda like mine was for seven months) but it looks promising. | ||
| Contains articles and links relating to the late master filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick. Lots of material here to absorb and ponder. I can't get enough. | ||
| Gets into the nitty gritty of art house cinema, discussing creative talents who will never make the big time, and probably don't want to. | ||
| Film essays penned by fantasy writer Lucius Shepard. He does get carried away and often apes Harlan Ellison, but a creator's point of view is always fascinating. | ||
| No Free List is a very dinky Australian movie review site. What makes it stand out is the extensive stats database and functionality. I like it lots. | ||
| A useful online Australian movie guide. |
| Forget Amazon Dot Com. ABE lets you browse through every major bookshop in the world for the best price. Great for hunting down rare, out-of-print, or collectable editions. |
words
| An online dictionary search engine that scans other dictionary resources then returns the results. Very handy if the paper variant is out of reach and it includes a thesaurus. | Provides an introduction to this beautiful and challenging literary construct. |
| The Digital Broadcasting Authority website provides information about Australian digital TV broadcasting. Of most use are the digital programme schedules, the set top box listing, and the message board. |
censor
shit
| A superb Australian censorship website that lists movies banned or cut for their Australian release. It also has interesting censorship news items and links. Updated monthly – stay informed! | ||
| Electronic Frontiers Australia is another Australian website focused on Internet censorship and electronic controls. Contains many links to related articles. | ||
| "We are not a censorship body." The fuck they aren't. The Office of Literature Classification database is incomplete – maybe one day they will get it finished. For recent releases it is reliable. Customs confiscations are not usually listed, either. Bookmark the Advanced Database Search page for convenience. | ||
| A local censorship watchdog group. They were involved with attempted the Ken Park screening. | ||
| An excellent UK site covering all aspects of censorship, with a focus on movies and "nutters" both inside and outside British parliament. | ||
| A passionate Finnish censorship site that unloads details about Scandinavian and international censorship cuts to movies. | ||
| This page from the Sex Gore Mutants horror site provides an overview of the BBFC guideline revisions. | ||
| Another British anti-censorship site that contains interesting information about the BBFC and the US censors, the MPAA. | ||
| Irene Graham's long-running website has volumes of information about censorship. There are many links to studies on the supposed effects of extreme entertainment on the human psyche. |
9/11
truth
| I only found this Australian 9/11 website in April 2007, but it seems to be well advanced and regularly updated. It's introductory 9/11 For Dummies sections on the key problems with the offical story are very good. | ||
| Despite its use of the B-word, this news and information source is a good one-stop resource for keeping current on breaking 9/11 news. I tend to read it daily. |
art +
design
| Shows images of the superb macabre illustrator Wes Benscoter, although the image sizes are deliberately small in order to discourage unauthorised use. | ||
| A groovy furniture shop in Melbourne. Like many such shops, walking around inside feels like being in an art gallery. | ||
| Another Melbourne shop selling pieces that should be behind glass, not left strewn around for just anyone to sit on. |
music
| Although this site covers the new high resolution DVD-Audio and SACD music formats, the reviews themselves get right into the content. | ||
| The Rage website includes the playlist of video clips for the coming weekend. |
audio
visual
| A consumer review site covering hi-fi and home cinema equipment. The reviews are largely written by people who have recently upgraded, so they tend to miss glitchy problems, but this is a good starting point for research. | ||
| Demonstrates with actual screen shots why "widescreen" is the only way to see a film on home video. | ||
| An engaging site maintained by Aussie Stephen Dawson, a published audio-visual freelance journalist. His web log is informative and updated frequently. I like his writing style. | ||
| Packed with nitty-gritty information about headphone equipment and accessories, this site has tons of lengthy reviews, message boards and newsbytes to trawl through. |
info
| The website of New Scientist magazine makes for a good home page. It is updated weekly and provides current news items. Some of its articles are also accessible online for free. | ||
| As you can imagine this is a large site, probably best viewed with cable Internet access. Skip the Flash intro if necessary. | ||
| Follow the current activity of NASA's now doomed eye in the sky. The Mars photos were spectacular. | ||
| The home of the man himself, Professor Stephen Hawking. See photos of Jim Carey's visit to the Hawking household for dinner in June 2003. | ||
| Yes, this consumate political commentator has a website, listing the latest news items about American politics and comprehensively defending criticism against his documentary, Bowling for Columbine. | ||
| Copied from Moby's links. I love the images and also the clear explanations of each fascinating postcard from the Edge. These updates take you off the planet for at least a few minutes. Expand your horizons... |
misc
| An bloody funny site that reports the news as it really is. I have been told it's winding down so catch it before it does. | ||
| An amusing satire on US Whitehouse goings on. And don't they deserve it! | ||
| Macabre comics based on serial killer lore. While some are better than others, the hit rate is high. Love the N*Sync panel. |