Site Seeing

By JULES ALLEN
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 7, 2002

Feel free to browse

Body language

members.aol.com/nonverbal2/diction1.htm

Nonverbal clues say more about what you're trying to say than you would imagine. The business suit, the Adam's apple, they all scream something. If you're interested in the theories as to just what they say, this site's for your bookmarks. I stumbled on this wonderful collection while searching for "homunculus" (don't ask) and have been picking away at the entries ever since. There's no matching clue for the nonverbal (and verbal) abuse you get when you spill espresso over a friend's laptop, yet the site is still worthwhile.

The beat goes on

www.RatherGood.com/vikings/

Poor old Led Zeppelin. It has become a target for people with a sense of humor. First, there was Dread Zeppelin, the reggae band -- fronted by an Elvis impersonator -- that covered its songs. And now this site, which isn't half as long lasting as the cover band. If you're sitting in a cube this morning, crank your speakers up and draw a crowd. It'll keep the kids and co-workers with simple minds amused. Sure, it gets old. But, boy, it's a rib tickler for a few minutes.

Joy of trash

www.TrashLog.org/

Garbage as art? Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. But anything with a black background and decent photography could pass as such. Take this site: It's a collection of -- literally -- garbage photographed and displayed for your high-brow pleasure. Okay, I'm being mean. The whole thing really does work well, and it's clearly a labor of love. The Sept. 27 entry is frameable as is May 25. I think I've found a new inspiration for covering up my bare white walls.

Ahoy, mate

www.Pirated-Sites.com/

Tom Lehrer would be pleased. Here is a site that's dedicated to superhighway robbery of look, feel and, in some cases, content. Skip past the opening page, unless something grabs your attention, and head for the archives. You'll be amazed at the stupidity of some of the entries. For example, borrowing design elements from the International Herald Tribune has to be up there with trying an armed holdup at an NRA convention. And who would want to be Noah Grey? His site seems to have been ripped off by multiple wanna-be designers.

Novel idea

www.NaNoWriMo.org/

Sure, it's a dumb-looking Web address. But, as the old British comic line goes, never mind the quality, feel the width. And more width than quality will be apparent come Nov. 30. Based on last year's National Novel Writing Month jamboree, more than 700 contributors qualified to tell people at parties that they are, in fact, novelists. The idea is to write up to 50,000 words and upload them to this site. And you have the Great American Novel. The great thing about the whole tongue-in-cheek effort is you can enter this mostly judge-free contest gratis. A suggested donation of $10 is tucked away in the frequently asked questions, but nobody will be turned away. And, yes, there are T-shirts to be had, too.

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