If you correspond with me via email, you may have noticed I’m not the sort to forward chain letters, photos of cats, conspiracies quickly debunked on Snopes (a.k.a the “Urban Legends Reference Page”), or links to idiot Flash animations.
But that’s not to say I don’t appreciate the funny and strange stuff the web has to offer. This girl I work with frequently forwards me weird links and I always try to one-up her with my own. We usually fire off a minimum of two and sometimes as many as eight daily, usually before work or during lunch, lest you think I shirk at work. Some are “global,” while many are NYC-based (we’re a selfish bunch). They range from groans or quick, one-off laughs to genuinely handy or inspiring deposits of information.
A lot of the best links originate in that best-of-the-best weird-links depository, Boing Boing. I get a lot of mine serendipitously through link-farms such as del.icio.us or from top-secret sources. I decided to pull my three favorites from each month of this year’s first half. I typically have a disproportionate number of Boing Boing, Flickr and Wikipedia links, but I’ve attempted to under-represent those here. Have fun and enjoy ’em while they work.
January
- Photos of girls eating sandwiches. Is it just me or are these strangely erotic?
- Make deadly weapons out of office supplies. The “60-second shiv” made me laugh out loud.
- A New Yorker profile of Johnny Carson. From 1978.
February
- A cat gnawing on a hot dog. “Smelly cat, smelly cat/What are they feeding you?”
- The life of a Times Square McDonald’s bathroom attendant. This locally based group of merry pranksters rocks. Check out more of their escapades, including mass subway de-pantsing, on their site.
- Take better digital photos at night.
March
- Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974. I am suddenly not hungry. Maybe that’s how Weight Watchers works.
- Create your own comic strip.
- What song was #1 when you were born? And what does it mean? (Mine’s Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.” My god, what a weenie song that is.)
April
- The New York Public Library Digital Gallery. Strangely addictive. The inspiration for my popular blog entry, “95 Years Ago.”
- Express Train. Travis Ruse takes one photo a day in NYC’s subway system.
- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey. Remember these? From Saturday Night Live? Ha ha!
May
- Photoshopped romance novel covers.
- Random live webcams. Select the “Display Mode” menu at the bottom of the page and change it to “Animation of last snapshots.” Marvelous.
- Baby’s first T-shirt. Warning! Not-for-Republicans-style humor!
June
- Rejected “Love Is...” comics. Warning! Not-for-Mom-style humor!
- Stuff On My Cat. Self-explanatory.
- John Doe, worldwide. Steve, a previous boss who’s British, says “Fred Bloggs” instead of “John Doe.” And I thought it was just him.