We've had a flaky Internet connection in the last month. Warner Cable has been out on three separate occasions and fixed the problem twice, losing all of our pending e-mail once in the process. I haven't had a lot of time to do research and since the current fix might not hold, I want to get a quick column out. I'm going to present you with a rich site that I've partially explored, which is one of the more creative sites I've seen lately. It's called "ze's page" and you'll find it at www.zefrank.com.
The site is the creation of Ze Frank, an artist who shows both great skill in web programming and a vast store of creative ability, sometimes unleashed in rather quirky ways. "ze's page" is organized into various categories, like "Interactive Toys," "Games To Play," "Things to Watch or Look At," "Stuff That Doesn't Fit In," etc. The first thing I saw at this site was "dtoyvsbyokal", one of twenty interactive toys available at the site. It is a kaleidoscope that uses a rotating wedge to scan an image you draw, to create the kaleidoscopic image. It has many different drawing tools you can use, as well as color and wedge speed control. Words can't do it justice - you just have to see it, and play with it, to appreciate it. Other good kaleidoscopes are "for shelda's mom" and "kal#2."
From the "Games To Play" section, I had fun with "simple game #2," which is similar to the ancient "Lunar Lander" game, but with an artistic twist. After many tries, I complete it in a little over two minutes (the record is slightly more than 10 seconds.)
If you venture into some of the other areas, like "Instructional / Educational Videos" or "Things To Read," you'll find some comic offerings that you may or may not appreciate. The pages' author has a quirky sense of humor. A typical example of this which I might recommend is "My Cat Annie" from the "Instructional/Educational Video" section.
You'll probably need either a lot of patience or a fast web connection to look at many of these items. Quicktime video and Flash multimedia player are also required for some items. There is a lot more at this site than what I've talked about. Check it out if you have some time.
CATBAR - Brain Candy #72 - A Quick Look At ze's page / Brian Rock / Nov 14 2003