The Land of D
http://www.primenet.com/~xtorres/d/

The Land of D is dark in appearance, sinister in style, and rich in imagination. This "fully interactive" affair engages visitors in fun but foreboding activities, many of which "may not be suitable for immature audiences." These activities include a mind game of riddles and sundry hijinx; interactive adventures through ominously flavored fictional installments; and an open forum for airing random fantasies and other deep, dark secrets. The highly creative energy put into this site makes for an entertaining place to pass the time. - Katherine Stevenson

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Star Blazers
http://www.primenet.com/~kosh/YAMATO/yamato.htm

If you're a Japanese animae enthusiast, then this site is sure to be a hit. Hey, it may have even been the show "Star Blazers" that turned you on to the cartoon craft in the first place. Star Blazers claims that the space saga of the same name, which aired on American TV a decade ago, is the epitome of the Japanimation import, and it's here to explain why. The site also offers a complete chronology, story lines of the series, and ordering information. And while the site isn't all that visually dynamic, the contents are clear and well organized, and the pictures can be viewed at your discretion. - Katherine Stevenson

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Unsolved Mysteries
http://www.unsolved.com/

It may be in the "entertainment" category, but Unsolved Mysteries means serious business. The TV show claims success in solving numerous mysteries, all thanks to the aid of its audience. Indeed, we're talking about putting hoodlums behind bars, providing answers to unexplained deaths, and reuniting long-lost lovers. And while the Web site doesn't feature the gripping reenactments that bring the TV show to life, it does offer plenty of material for the wannabe sleuth, including in-depth synopses, Special Bulletins, and a menacing Gallery of Fugitives. - Katherine Stevenson

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The Pseudo Online Network
http://www.pseudo.com/

This clever multimedia venture of some New York City publishers, artists, and cyber-geeks offers hour-long, real-time programs reminiscent of college radio fare. Show selection is diverse, covering everything from poetry to hip hop to hacker chat. The site features a nicely crafted guide to the network's online programming: Click on any day of the week, and the site displays a full schedule of shows. Color, animation, and tasteful design work together to provide a pleasant backdrop for the audio content. The site also houses games, a pop culture zine, and miscellaneous QuickTime clips that can be experienced at any time. - Katherine Stevenson

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Sea World/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database
http://www.bev.net/education/SeaWorld

Pack up the kids, we're going to SeaWorld. This is the sort of fun and educational site teachers will rave about at the PTA meeting--while Junior sits home taking advantage of the babysitter's nap to log on to something more sinister. All pessimism aside, you should check out the virtual safaris, great photographs of the animal kingdom, interactive Ask Shamu section, and fun facts about wildlife. And for those of you who appreciate irony, the site is brought to you by the same people that will be getting Junior drunk for the first time in only a few short years. - Daniel Alarcon

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Whole Pop Catalogue
http://www.slip.net/~iceberg/wpc/wpc.htm

Finally, the Web site that isn't afraid to ask whether you like your pop culture sauteed, fried, baked, flame-broiled, or steamed. How about a side of fresh mass-media phenomena over light greens? Our special of the day is pop icons served with a little historical spice. Whole Pop is, you guessed it, all about pop, and it's celebratory without a hint of regret or worry. Drive-ins, hoola-hoops, and Barbies compose our cultural legacy, so you'd better love it or head for the woods; it's everywhere, brothers and sisters, and if you don't get it, it will get you. - Daniel Alarcon

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Jerry Lewis Comedy Museum and Store
http://www.jerrylewiscomedy.com

Although this site never explains the whole French adulation thing, real Jerry Lewis fans won't mind. After all, for the tried-and-true fan, any reason is a good reason to hear that trademark cackle. You'll love the RealAudio welcome from the man himself; you'll happily peruse the biography and learn things you never knew (J.L. was nominated for a Nobel Prize?); and you'll even have trouble prying yourself away from the product-filled store. Take home the magic! Seriously, if Jerry Lewis is your thing, then this site rules your planet. No true fan will miss it. - Daniel Alarcon

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Anita Liberty
http://www.hbo.com/liberty

What a sad world we live in. After millions of years of evolution, this can't be the promised land: taking advice on "the RIGHT way to eat a kiwi" from a faux-artsy, digital poet/clown. This is more depressing than cloning. If Anita Liberty existed, I would hunt her down. Instead, I've got to hold the writers responsible. Here's the premise: Anita Liberty (could she have a more preposterous name?), a twenty-something "artist" living in NYC, gets back at her ex-boyfriend "Mitchell" by humiliating him with a Web site. How cute. Mitchell was a fool to date such a pathetic, melodramatic, shallow, worthless person in the first place. We can only respect the guy for getting up the guts to finally leave her. Whoever put money behind this project should be embarrassed. - Daniel Alarcon

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Homicide: Second Shift
http://www.nbc.com/homicide

How to use a Web site to complement a hit television series: Give the people more of what they want. Create a following by giving them something they can't get on the boob tube. Use the latest software, and don't skimp on the story. Homicide: Second Shift is where it's at. The site features the same mean Baltimore streets and the same dingy police headquarters, but online it's the opposite shift, and people are still dying. Make no mistake--if you know the series, then you know this is morbid, depressing stuff. But it's still excellent. Here's another reason to tune in now: There will be new episodes on the Web all summer, while its television counterpart rehashes the repeats. Due to the graphic scenes and content, children should be supervised at this site. - Daniel Alarcon

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E! Online
http://www.eonline.com

E! Online is filled to bursting with banners and captions promising the latest in showbiz gossip, word from behind the scenes, and ways to stay in the know. The Web site follows in the footsteps of the TV show of the same name but wisely refrains from simply recycling what can already be found on the tube. Besides the daily updates of movie and music news, the site offers an array of celebrity quizzes, riddles, and games to play. Visitors can also post questions to on-site stars and peruse the Q & As of those featured in the past. Sure, it's a lot of fluff and folly, but E! Online can be an entertaining escape. - Katherine Stevenson

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RoadKill
www.hbo.com/RoadKill

Site of the month!!
Tramping has been a tradition with the men in my family: Both of my grandfathers hopped trains as young men, and I was raised on tales of my father thumbing his way up and down the West Coast. For my part, I spent a couple of teenage summers hitching around Cape Cod and later traversed the continent from Boston to Berkeley. I can still remember every truck stop I dined at, every culvert I slept in, and the prickly weather along the way. Most of all, I remember the characters that make a trip like that so surreal: the pot-smoking priest in Colorado; the lead-footed maniac with his photo album full of transvestites; the tough-luck divorcee whose Chevy broke down near Truckee; even Penny, the bomb-sniffing dog. So it's with a sense of personal nostalgia that I review the efforts of documentarians Drew Feldman and Lila Gorchev, who took to the road to film and interview hitchhikers across the country. While the film itself was in post-production at press time, abbreviated versions of the episodes appear weekly, each one comprised of transcripts--punctuated by video outtakes and sound clips--of the subjects bantering with each other and the filmmakers about their lives and travels. The handheld camera angles and weathered typefaces owe a lot to MTV, as does the practice of culling entertainment from carefully edited live film footage. From the Navajos picked up on Route 66 to the Cuban refugee standing in the rain on I-5, the riders are almost all down and out, and the stories they tell provide windows to their very different worlds. Though most of the dialog is textually presented, it conveys the rich variety of contemporary American dialects. Heading north after the Jerry Garcia memorial in San Francisco, an adventuresome young fan relates his flirtations with heroin in Deadhead vernacular: "I shot shiva three or four times, bro. Shiva makes you just palpate like a vegetable... I'm just lucky the feeling it gave me was nontriumphant." My one problem with RoadKill, in the end, is in its decidedly grim skew, from the unfortunate connotation of its name to the emphasis on desperate characters. It's as if the filmmakers had set out to find exactly what they got--the seamy heart of free-riding in America--and edited out the rest. Maybe the roads are uglier now than I remember, but, in any event, RoadKill is still an intriguing look at an oft-overlooked subject. - Steve LeVine


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