I really can't explain this site to you, except to say that the name doesn't lie. These people are confused. The online presence of British print mag Dazed and Confused suffers from one of the worst designs I've seen out there. Forever sending you in circles, if you follow seven different links you'll wind up at the same place. You have to be pretty determined to actually find any content. Most of the writing focuses on British music and spotlights rock stars and famous people of all shapes. The reviews, interviews, and so on are really good at times, lackluster at others-which I would put up with if they weren't so hard to find. D&C has a very odd way of trying to make a point; maybe it was over my head, but I doubt it. - Daniel Alarcon
Bastard Nation, a left-wing adoption support group (for lack of a better description), wants to hear your reunion horror stories. Don't bring your warm and fuzzy "my birth mother loves me" tales here. Like other marginalized groups gone before, the adoptees behind Bastard Nation have reclaimed the once-demonized moniker for their own. If you find this offensive, avoid the site altogether. However, if you identify with the attitude or are curious about the flip side of adoption, you may find this site interesting. Resources for adoptee rights comprise a large part of the content, but sharing stories and humor softens BN's hard edge. - Clary Alward
While the site seems unfortunately named, "The In-Site to Parenting...Prenatal to Preschool" provides an incredible amount of useful information to parents and expectant parents. Several articles, such as New Baby Shopping List, tell new parents things they may not have considered, while Ask the Expert lets readers pose their own questions. Parents can swap pointers on a well-used message board, and links to online baby shops let you get everything you need without leaving home. All in all, Baby Bag is an excellent resource and a must-see for parents of toddlers. - Mike Hase
Those who have chosen vegetarianism as a lifestyle will find a home at this online incarnation of Vegetarian Times. Serving primarily as a hook for the print edition, the Virtual Vegetarian serves up substitution ideas, a message board discussing the various aspects of vegetarianism, and a number of recipes each month. Demonstrating some vegetarians' live-and-let-live attitude, the site proclaims that you are an "unfeeling, know-nothing, meat-eating murderer" if you dine high on the food chain. Maybe. Then again, maybe we have incisors, canines, and eyes in the front of our heads for a reason. Please direct indignant e-mails to TongoV@aol.com. - Mike Hase
If women's shoes represent much more than footwear to you, then drop by the Shoebox, a site that "introduces you to two women who wear and worship beautiful shoes." A strange little site designed, I guess, for the shoe fetishist, Shoebox tells us the most intimate thoughts of Maria and Veronika, two women with a "passion for provocative shoes." Background images of women in shoes and women sucking on shoes complement the text. You can also view clips from Maria's second feature film, The Elegant Spanking. Those with a serious shoe fetish will enjoy this site, while others will find it plain silly. - Mike Hase
Sure, "real astrology" is an oxymoron, but what can you do? Rob Brezsny, whose Real Astrology column appears in not quite 100 alternative newsweeklies and community events calendars, has joined the brave new world of online shovelware. Featuring a sassy, impertinent authorial voice, these columns are far more entertaining than the competition written by little old ladies who take themselves (and their bouffant hairdos) way too seriously. Brezny begins a prayer for his readers thusly: "Oh Goddess, you Dumb Fast Streamlined River of Electricity, oh you Smart Slow Smoldering Lump of Angel Fat Left Over from the Big Bang..." No one else writes like Brezny. You'll either love it or hate it. - Gary Barker
For parents of young adults or zygotes, or anything between those extremes, ParentTime is attractive and interesting. As with most of the sites on Time-Warner's Pathfinder server, the amount and variety of information here is staggering. If you want to know about your baby's case of pinkeye or your teenager's case of genital herpes, you'll probably find it here eventually. It might take weeks of dedicated wading through the voluminous quantities of informational McNuggets, but you'll find it someday. The site includes information on such diverse subjects as car repair, beauty treatments, holiday planning and-just when you think your brain can't hold anything else-more. - Gary Barker
This site supplements a quarterly Buddhist lifestyle magazine. Annual subscriptions to the real thing will set you back $24. There are six main sections in the site: Buddhism 101, Cafe Nirvana, Monk's Bag, Spokes, Dharma Center Directory, and Dharma Connections. With the exception of Cafe Nirvana (perhaps intended as an example of the sound of one hand clapping), information in Tricycle HUB is plentiful and easily understood. The site features two glossaries, information on meditation and gardening, an introduction to Buddhism, a summary of Siddhartha Gautama's (Buddha's) life in the sixth century B.C., news articles and Web links pertaining to Buddhism, various ruminations on Buddhism, and so on. - Gary Barker