A collection of cool and interesting sites that we like, and think you should like too.

Post Archive April MrPicassoHead Storg.net E-Merl.com March You Are Beautiful

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MrPicassoHead



Have you ever wanted to paint like Picasso, or Matisse, or perhaps Rousseau? Now you can! Well, kind of.

MrPicassoHead, created by Ruder Finn Interactive, provides an interactive medium for you to show off your artistic talent. Choose from a variety of heads, eyes, noses, lips, etc., place them on a canvas a la Mr. Picasso, and save your creation to the gallery. Prior to saving, you can move the objects around at will, change the colors, flip any item, or move objects to the background. Once you’re finished, send the URL for your masterpiece to your friends and family directly from MrPicassoHead. Want to see what others have done? You can view the gallery either by browsing or searching. Beware, however, this site can be addictive.

 By the way, I use a Macintosh and found the site didn’t work well with Safari, but was fine with Firefox.


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Storg.net



Storg.net is a website with a sense of humour, and you'd be hard pressed to find one quite like it elsewhere on the internet. Collected in its pages are hundreds of weird and wonderful stories submitted by readers. These are the kind of stories you might hear told in a crowded pub, or which might be relayed to you by a friend who heard it from thier freind who heard it from thier friend . . .

Youthful adventuring, pranks, drug-addled misadventures, and unlikely urban tales populate the pages of Storg.net. There is, thankfully, a selective editor, ensuring that only decent stories get through. The ones that do appear range from utterly brilliant to criminal or unfunny. However, there's another nice feature to the site. Any reader can vote a story up or down, simply by clicking an icon (no need to sign in).

The "Next Story" button (which selects another story for you to read at random) is dangerously addictive. You'll find yourself always wanting to click through to just one more. Having said this, the number of stories does currently appear limited, and within a few hours you'll find yourself hitting repeats.

Storg.net is definitely worth a look. It's bold, unique and compulsive, and there are some real gems to be read and retold there. Check it out; it's the stuff of urban legends.


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E-Merl.com



E-merl.com-New Experiments in Fiction is the brainchild of Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. According to Mr. Goodbrey, “E-merl is where I catalogue my experiments in fiction and the comics form,” with the emphasis on comics. His current projects include All Knowledge is Strange and The Rule of Death.

All Knowledge is Strange contains, for the most part, standalone comics providing an unusual take on various topics. Titles include “Untrue Confessions of Abraham Lincoln--Part One,” "Things To Do In a Queue,” and “Cliches For New Religions To Avoid.” The Rule of Death is a serial comic that chronicles the story of Pete Colby, a man who can’t die. The first-time visitor may need to read from the beginning of this series to understand the current panel.

The site provides links to Mr. Goodbrey’s webcomics, print comics (for purchase), hypercomics, illustrations and hyperfiction. The latter should not be confused with hypertext, which contains links to additional information on a topic. Hyperfiction, as presented on this site, is an animated comic.

The comics on this site are thought-provoking and, often, irreverent. Some readers will find them humorous, others won’t. As one user put it, “Your comics are demented, and I mean that in a good way.”


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You Are Beautiful



Imagine you’re on your way home from a lousy day at work. Traffic on the expressway is at a standstill, and you’re griping to the windshield about that idiot co-worker, Mason. You look to your right and see the words “You Are Beautiful” painted in large white letters on a brick wall. Or perhaps instead of letters on a wall, you stop to get gas and notice a sticker on the pump containing those same words. Would seeing this make you feel better about yourself? That’s the hope of project You Are Beautiful (http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/).

According to the founders, “[t]he intention behind this project is to reach beyond ourselves as individuals to make a difference by creating moments of positive self realization.” The web site contains thousands of pictures and a few videos (most contained in a searchable database) showing examples from around the world of this endeavor. Individuals are invited to make a difference in their communities by creating their own You Are Beautiful installations and sending in photos of their work.

If painting a mural or hanging letters on a fence isn’t your thing, you can purchase You Are Beautiful stickers to scatter throughout your community. As an alternative, you can download a template, or you can design and produce your own stickers.

Do yourself, and others, a favor by visiting the You Are Beautiful web site to learn more about this simple plan to make the world a better place. While you’re there, check out the You Are/I Am books and postcards by clicking on the Collaborations menu option. You’ll feel better about yourself for getting involved, and you’ll make others know that, no matter their circumstance, they are beautiful, too.



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