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prior listings

 

• Fat Truckers Union 3/31/02 
  Description: this is nowhere - art, music and big rigs rollin' down the highway (Flash)
  Comments: The old-fashioned marquee with chipped paint announces "this is nowhere" and the arrow is obvious.  You enter to yet another old sign along some small town highway.  Signage and blacktop roads, an immediate theme that puts you in that place along the road to somewhere.  But there's exits to choose from and "Nowhereville" is the perfect first choice.  I really liked "The Golden Age Of The American Sign" and if you just happen to be trucker, you will love the "Sweet Ass Rigs."  Keep goin' retro with the "Lost Billboards."  The next 4 exits will grab you if you need some good tunes for the ride.  Free t-shirt graphics and a screensaver are down the road a bit, and just when you start feelin' like you don't wanna leave, there's a choice of ten more real exits worth leavin' home for...   [linkdup << stereot]
   
• meaningless.com 3/30/02 
  Description: collection of poetry by Aaron Belz
  Comments: Today's pick comes from a guy named Aaron Belz who's currently working towards a Ph.D. in English Literature.  He's taught English at the college level and poetry reading and writing to grade school students.  As a columnist for a newspaper in St. Louis, he reviewed web sites back in 1997 and he was also a book reviewer for a New York magazine.  There's more.  Aaron was one of the co-founders of a design agency in St. Louis.  One of his partners was Eric Costello, the guy behind glish.com, a recent daily pick guest-reviewed by my friend Brandy.  Anyway, today's pick features Aaron's poetry and I think it's great – clean simple design with nice typography and good poetry.  You might also want to check out his personal site for the big list of all his writing...
   
• Designity.net 3/29/02 
  Description: publishing creations from you and others - animation, photography and design
  Comments: I discovered today's pick via coolstop's very own Visitors' Gallery.  Had Gabriele not submitted several images (1 | 2), I might never have known about his websites unless, of course, I was lucky enough to bump into them at one of the other "alternative portals" featured here.  I guess one gallery leads to another, because today's pick is also a collection of works submitted by a number of talented artists and designers.  The 40 square thumbs on the main page, arranged in 10 rows of 4, in itself is quite the piece of eye candy – click away, 'cause there's great art to be found.  And that's just the first of two pages of static visuals.  There's also a whole page of Flash animations from a number of different contributors.  You're not done yet – go to the "About Me" page and you'll find tons of stuff done by Gabriele – we're talkin' visual art to the tenth power...
   
• filter9™ 3/26/02 
  Description: gallery of motion, art and music
  Comments: I went for "Modern Traffic" when I first hit the page – a tasty "freestyle" piano solo.  Good choice – most relaxing with that first cup of coffee.  Nice background and color scheme on the interface with a window-within-a-window look – I wondered if that's an iceberg behind the site's name.  The image within it is cool.  After listening to the piano piece a few times, it was on to the "flashworks" where I found a piece called "subsurface" – text + motion = thought provocation – "blurred and unforeseen, shadowed / shaken and embittered, bruised / chaos permissible, ruin runs deep..." – 11 more pieces in that section – I like "Chino" and "overturne" too, but all of the works are interesting and original.  There's 10 colorful static visuals in "graficks" and "specialstuff" has some neat wallpapers – "stunning reverberations from the nascent mindset..."  Indeed!
   
• Flying Puppet 3/25/02 
  Description: interactive and poetic net art (Flash/Shockwave)
  Comments: A painter from Paris, Nicolas Clauss, decided to stop painting the "traditional" way.  Today's pick was launched last April with Nicolas' decision "to use internet as a canvas."  With the collaboration of several talented friends, Nicolas presents his art via Flash and Shockwave – "It's a place of experimentations offering several pieces where interactivity and play dimension are essential."  There is a section showcasing 8 of his static works, paintings which I'm guessing were done before the site was launched – they are superb.  Then, there's the interactive art – wow! – 30 pieces of multimedia magic!  As far as textual (informational) content goes, most of it is currently available in French only, but Nicolas is working on that.  The site design is excellent, though I'm not sure which member(s) of the team are responsible for it.  One thing I am sure of is that Nicolas, Jean-Jacque, Francois, and Frédéric have a special chemistry between them...
   
• r.gardiner photography 3/24/02 
  Description: Moody B&W photography of New York and London with a very personal flavor. The only gfx on the site are the photos.
  Comments: "I use black and white film to express how i am inspired by the great metropolis."  This photographer, whose time is spent in New York and London, sees the world as night and day – 16 photos for each is what adorns the pages and the site's clean and simple design is perfect.  There's "contact sheets" for each section – you can also browse each gallery by navigating from one photo to the next (and back) – yes – clean and simple!  The shot of a policeman at the World Trade Center, taken on September 11, 2001 is a photo that speaks volumes, and a picture called "Promenade in Snow" is superb.  "Pigeons" caught in Trafelgar Square in London also caught my attention – the sky in black and white is takes on a whole new flavor.  I also like "Umbrella" and an odd shot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (okay – one can't stay in the same city all the time, now, can they?).  "Fire Escapes" taken in Union Square, New York, is probably my favorite.  And, don't miss all the others 'cause they're all good and the "links" page has some choice pointers if photography is your thing.  Kudos to R. Gardiner, the photographer – nice stuff...
   
• acerbia 3/23/02 
  Description: welcome to the neighborhood
  Comments: Connected.  Interconnected.  Internet.  The interconnectedness (is that a word?) of the web can be astounding!  I already knew there was definitely a connection between a certain bulletproof character who calls himself D and a recent daily pick, a lady named Ann.  I also knew that Ann certainly had a connection with Davezilla, possibly the funniest guy you'll find on the web.  [Kitty, who is definitely one of the nicest people I've met on the web, is also a regular visitor of Davezilla.  Then again, a lot of people are regular visitors of the Zilla guy and Kitty is everywhere – really – she's everywhere!  And so on.  I could continue, but the point is that the web is definitely interconnected and all of the above also have "houses" in a place that sounds a little like "suburbia" – and so do a lot of other people.  But, seeing as I rarely divulge the name of the site that's being reviewed, let's just call the site with the name that sounds a little like "suburbia" something else – let's call it today's pick!  And now, we're back to "D" who just happens to be the guy behind today's pick, a site with the coolest sidebar I've seen and houses, 80 of them, adorning the page, one at a time.  Reload, reload, reload and the scene keeps changing.  The design is fun, the words are fun – D's spirit floweth over...
   
• No Bra Required 3/22/02 
  Description: Day to day life with breast cancer, weekly chemo sessions, and thought about an impending adoption.
  Comments: We have a close friend who beat breast cancer, at least for the last five years, and I can't help but think that her positive attitude and drive to beat it is what did the trick.  My wife Kim worked with her for many years and our friend is easily one of the most positive people I've ever met.  Then, there's a lady named Dori Johnson, who I just met on the web yesterday.  She's going through the weekly chemo treatments – "hair today...gone tommorrow..." – she's fighting it!  And like our friend, Dori's positive attitude will end up working in her favor.  Today's pick is Dori's personal journal, just launched on March 12th.  "There are very high highs and some really low lows, so hang on this will be fun!"  More than fun is what I'm thinking.  I find her writing interesting and her openness about something that really can't be that easy to share with the world downright refreshing.  The design is nice, too – great graphics and color and you can even "skin the site" for an entirely different look.  Dori also links to a fair amount of other content that predates the journal, and after checking out her new domain's tasty splash page, my guess is that the other content will eventually be incorporated into the new domain... then again, maybe not.  For now, it's all linked to from the journal and I suggest "my story" if you want to get a little deeper into Dori's life.  I learned that her husband actually shaved his head to support her in that tough first year – "from blonde, to bald, to brunette, and now back to bald.." – it can't be easy, but people like Dori prove that nothing is impossible...
   
• Paraphonic - Midnight Sounds 3/21/02 
  Description: interactive Quicktime movie - use your mouse to mix the sound
  Comments: I bumped into today's pick in the "editorial" section at surfstation (I love their new look, by the way), where Thomas commented "pretty damn nifty quicktime experiment. i´ve never seen anything like it?"  I've got to agree with Mr. Brodahl on this one – it's amazing!  To tell you the truth, this is the first interactive Quicktime movie I've come across and my "to do" list now includes checking to see if there is anything else like it out there.  The tasty visuals in the movie are accompanied by an even tastier soundtrack and you control the volume levels of its 4 tracks by hovering your mouse over various spots on the "record" next to the movie.  How'd they do that?  I played with it for a while and was astounded by how subtle mouse movements kept the mix fresh and engaging.  I see exciting possibilities through the little window that today's pick has opened – this is very cool...
   
• Artkrush 3/19/02 
  Description: a website about art™ – interviews, reviews, features and daily art news plus other art-related information
  Comments: For a site with an "LLC" behind it, today's pick has a remarkably non-commercial tone to it.  I have a feeling how they might be paying the bills and commend them for presenting advertising (if, indeed, there is any paid advertising) in such a low-key, non-invasive way.  There's a number of people behind the scenes – they even have a "Minister of Propaganda."  The site is all about the visual arts and the current featured artist is Katrin Sigurdardottir, a sculpture/installation artist whose work has been exhibited worldwide.  Twenty of her works are showcased – outstanding stuff.  The archive has another 13 featured artists in it – this one feature represents a significant amount of content all by itself.  Then there's the "featured articles" which likewise total 14 – in-depth, interesting reading for you art lovers.  Add "Eye to Eye" to the mix if you like interviews.  Then head to the "Projects" section, which I think is really cool.  "Exposed" is a collection of almost 100 "self-portraits" submitted by artists.  I love the guidelines – "Submit your most interesting or revealing self-portrait (any medium). And don't bother with the high-concept stuff (ex. toothpicks stuck in mud, or a hacked up Barbie), we want to see you." – and I love the submissions even more...
   
• biblicone 3/17/02 
  Description: digital plastic inserts for your underwear - internet design port-o-let
  Comments: Today's pick has been on the web for a few years now.  I remember visiting it a number of times since sometime back in 2000 and it seemed to be constantly changing (and growing).  Well, it's now on its 7th major version and has evolved into quite the "design port-o-let" – those are Mob's words, not mine.  It's cool that Mob has kept all previous versions intact – you can see how he kept honing the concept.  Check out 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 to see several rehashes of the same basic design – interesting.  This latest version is a great design.  I enjoyed just strolling through the cover image rotation – the "photo gallery" has more.  There's all kinds of content in the various "internal sections" – "slice o' time" and "mob-o-cut" are both rather amusing.  Something else is new in this version – in addition to the "site news" window, there's also a "public news section" where visitors can post.  Top it all off with an extensive alphabetized list of design links.  It's leaves me wondering if anyone will ever think of coolstop as an "alternative port-o-let" (hehe) – nice work, Mob!
   
• 100 Words 3/14/02 
  Description: The object: Write 100 words - no more, no less - every day.
  Comments: There's a little bit of a pattern to my madness this week.  Like yesterday's pick, my choice today has attracted a significant number of participants to contribute their personal thoughts, though it's not based on a specific theme.  Like Monday's pick, today's places several restrictions on the participants' submissions that shape their creativity, but in this case it's words that make up the content instead of images.  "100 words - no more, no less" is the first rule – "participants must complete the entire month in order to be included" is the second.  A new "batch" is started each month with a number of people participating.  You can view all of a single participant's entries in a given batch or, as an alternative, view all participants' entries for a given date.  Another way to start is to simply read a random entry and go from there.  What a cool twist! – "yielding a staccato-paced, erratic diary, or they could be read side-by-side, offering standalone entries, words and themes often intersecting by chance, circumstance or mood."  As an example of how successfully today's pick has encouraged participation, February had 39 people complete the batch out of 55 people who started – that's great!  The simple, clean, white-on-black design is perfect for this type of venue – easy to read with nice navigation and functionality – my compliments to Jeff Koyen for his unique concept and content...
   
• where were you 3/13/02 
  Description: site exists to gather the thoughts and emotions of everyday people to the events on and after September 11, 2001
  Comments: When JFK was shot in the early 60s, I remember people talking about where they were and what they were doing when the horrific event occurred.  I can't remember now what I was doing when it happened – I was just 13-years-old and it all seemed so surreal to me.  But, the media images of the event and seeing how people around me were affected are all still clearly etched in my memory.  The point is that major events impact our thoughts and emotions.  Moving to the present where the word "horrific" has taken on a whole new meaning compared to the 60s, we're all still dealing with our feelings, to some degree, over what happened 6 months ago.  How could we not be?  Yes!  I vividly remember where I was and what I was doing on the morning of September 11, 2001.  I doubt that I'll ever forget this time.  Today's pick was launched on September 15, 2001.– An 18-year-old named Marie Pelkey came up with the concept – 19-year-old Lane Collins designed the site – 19-year-old geoffrey Hicks was responsible for the "technology."  These three students obviously weren't around back in the early 60s to recall how people talked about where they were when JFK was shot as a way to cope with the terrible event – but they sure responded quickly to 911, having the insight to see that people will need, or at least want to share their own thoughts and emotions about it.  Almost 1,000 people from all over the world have already weighed in – perhap, you'll want to as well.  File this one under "the power of the web."
   
• TWOFIFTY 3/11/02 
  Description: A digital art gallery exhibiting the works of various artists. The simple but original idea is to have all artwork exactly 250 by 250 pixels in dimensions. It's interesting to see what imagination and creativity can accomplish in such a small, digital canvas...
  Comments: "Digital, Visual, Habitual" is what the main page title says about the site.  In the FAQ section, they make it clear that the site is "an exhibition, a showcase... by no means a contest."  Eighty digital artists have already contributed a total of almost 400 pieces to the galleries – excellent!  So, what's the twist?  The artwork has to be exactly 250x250 pixels in size.  This simple restriction puts just the right spin on the whole thing – one has to put their creative juices to the test when working on "such a small, digital canvas."  I really like the site's design, too – valid HTML4.01 with nice use of CSS – great interface.  Ates Goral, the guy behind the site (or at least one of the people behind it), has attracted some great talent with this "simple but original" concept – check out the "picks" for the pieces the editors like the best...
   
• lostpixel.com presents: 3/10/02 
  Description: a personal space featuring an open canvas to create and share drawings plus an isometric platform to view and build objects (Flash)
  Comments: Okay – so you've heard this before – I've got more pixels for ya today, kiddies.  At the top of the main page are 200+ links presented in an efficient way.  Grant says "You can tell alot about someone by their bookmarks" and his list of "links" tells me Grant's got good taste!  There's two Flash features that got my attention this morning – "Scribble V1.0" gives the user the chance to draw something (or modify another user's drawing) with a simple pencil tool – save it and it immediately appears on the list of works so others can see what you've done.  The other feature is similar, but instead of drawing, you move 3D building blocks (pixels, baby!) around to create your own unique piece.  I'm a sucker for interactive entertainment like this and even a bigger sucker for sites with "pixel" in their names ;-).  Grant does his fellow New Zealand designers proud...
  stereot >> For The Masses]
   
• www.anamikart.org 3/9/02 
  Description: We'd like to offer our vision of what should be the web – photos, sounds and grafix – zone-art is simple and ought to be so....
  Comments: Today's pick "is simple and ought to be so..." according to Motek, the French photographer behind the site – ít's about "cultural expression in the most various forms."  Simple, indeed!  The photos, divided into 5 different series, are nicely presented via PHP.  Series 1 and 2, the largest collections, share Motek's love for the colorful dj scene and people around him, while the other series appear to be being built around architecture, graffiti, and some more abstract concepts.  Besides the photos (which I really enjoyed), Motek provides one of the best collections of links I've encountered lately.  His talent to compose (which you'll see in his photos) is also demonstrated in the tasty, square, partial screen shots of the listed sites (about 200 of them).  Nice background graphics, too!  That's the whole thing, pure and simple – nice...
   
• Chilling Effects Clearinghouse 3/8/02 
  Description: Do you know your online rights? Use the information on these pages to begin evaluating legal threats to your Internet activity or to learn whether someone else may be infringing your rights...
  Comments: As far as design goes, today's pick is a text-intensive site that's right out of the book on usability – no flashy design today, folks.  Useful and relevant content can be just as cool sometimes, and today's pick is a "clearinghouse" of information pertaining to "online rights."  The Electronic Frontier Foundation has collaborated with a number of "law school clinics" to bring you a wealth of useful information on such topics as Copyright and Trademarks, Fan Fiction, DMCA, Parody Sites, and Linking.  Whether you're a website owner concerned with your First Amendment rights or the owner of intellectual property concerned with infringement, this site will help you make sense of the related legal issues.  Sample Cease & Desist Letters with analysis are at the core of its content and related news stories, FAQ pages, and additional resources are also provided.  Cool?  Sure!  What's that old cliché about knowledge...
   
• Streetmattress 3/4/02 
  Description: a web based outlet for urban art hunters
  Comments: Only on the web, baby!  It's global – it's real – it's fun!  Today's pick comes to you from street-level and you've got to give Noonan props for coming up with such a unique concept – streetmattresses as art.  Okay – so it really does sound silly at first.  Who would possibly be interested in such goofiness?  You'd be surprised.  There's almost 300 submissions from people all over the world – photos of all kinds of mattresses spotted on the street.  About 20% of the submissions come from Noonan and Adam, the guys behind the site, but there's 17 other people who have submitted at least 3 entries.  A guy named Matthew in Australia has already spotted 30 streetmattresses and Sunnydazeuk seems to have Sarasota, Florida covered nicely with 27.  Oddly enough, Adam also has spotted a number of streetmattesses in Sarasota while Noonan is busy spotting 'em in NYC.  Five more of the participants have at least 10 spottings to their credit – this is absolutely amazing!  A grandfather who visits the site says "this is a fun way to have the fun of hunting without whacking anything."  Good point!  Another visitor says "Man I LOVE stupid web sites, but holy god this one is a piece of donkey feces. And the fact that it seems well programmed makes it even worse."  Yeah, right – I'll betcha he's out there looking for mattresses, too!  It's nice to see people having such fun on the web by taking it to the streets, dontcha think?
   
• no.substance 3/3/02 
  Description: NO. 5U8574NC3 - prepare for the journey
  Comments: I'm not sure what to make of today's pick – it's kinda mystical.  "Its origin from NYC.  Its spirit in London.  Its money in Tokyo.  Based in Hong Kong.  Its love is music.  Good music.  Its love of graphics dying slowly..."  As far as music goes, there's a "playlist" dated August, 2001 that shows 20 titles that Drafus likes – no links, just titles.  It's interesting that those design sites which get Drafus' "ultimate respect" are also shown, but not linked – for some whacked reason, I find that refreshing.  Content?  There's six cool Flash visuals in the "gallery" and they're the same six pieces that were featured in the previous version of the site (which has a pretty cool interface).  The theme is "cosmic" and I'm guessing "rhodes to freedom" means that Drafus is a keyboard player on a personal journey from the world of design to the world of music – then again, maybe not...