HALLOWEEN Top 3

1) Hallowindow. This is cool. This site advertises a product which allows for spooky projections on one's windows to scare the crap out of small children, at least, as they approach to trick-or-treat. There are a ton of stores and web sites out there selling items for creating a haunted house, but the original Hallowindow is, well, an original. THere's also a Hallowindow II and III now.























But the original is slick and creepy and still my fave, after watching all the previews.























2) Girls and Corpses. It's not really a "Halloween site." It's actually a really creepy all-year-round thing, but it's more than creepy enough to be included in a Halloween top 3 because apparently there's a hard copy edition of this magazine available.



















































Enough said.

3) Anomalies Unlimited. This site has little informational tid-bits about various so-called anomalies, such as death, ghosts, aliens and chemicals.

Save a Real Pumpkin, Carve a Virtual Pumpkin

Well Halloween, my fave time of year, is right around the corner, and that means it's time to get our jock-o-lanterns on. I always feel bad for the poor pumpkin, though, and if you're like me in that regard, then this site will be perfect for you, as you can carve up a pumpkin guilt-free.




















Just use the virtual carving tool to make the jack-o-lantern that's just right for you.




















When you're finished, the application takes you to a screen where your finished work is all lit up by a virtual candle placed inside, just like a real jack-o-lantern. This way, you also don't have to worry about the house catching on fire.


















You can re-do it if you don't like how it looks. You don't even have to carve a face on it. Use your imagination. It could say your name,


















or carry a message to the world.

Oculizer!

This is Spacializer--a glowing mass of orbs the swirl around each other and make synthetic sounds when you mouse over them. If it does anything more than that, I have yet to discern what that is. It doesn't clearly demonstrate anything about audio engineering, other than reminding us it exists, and that everything is assumed more entertaining when pretty lights are involved.

















Some more of that.

















This is the Oculus. I also have no idea what it really is or does, but it too consists of objects that orbit around each other producing synthetic sounds.


































You can move the yellow object, which is a mass of symbols, with your mouse and place it atop the big round thing with symbols.

















And this will frequently result in the yellow mass of symbols separating and surrounding the large round thing like a ring.

















Once that happens you can move these symbols individually and drag them over the large round thing, where often nothing will occur, and frequently they just sit as the round thing continues to rotate around its axis.


















But sometimes, i guess if the right symbol is placed just right, I really don't know, the round thing will open, hense its being named as an oculus i guess, revealing a very simplistic puzzle where you drag little square tiles with symbols so that they line up inside this shaft.

















At which point the object closes up, consuming the row of symbols,


















And then opens to reveal the same simplistic "puzzle" again. Hours of fun.

















These guys should collaborate and make a weird symbol thing that's kind of a puzzle but that is also illuminated and colorful, while continuing to produce odd sounds. Call it the Oculizer.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a WTF!?

Okay here's a site that you can use to share your sexual abuse history with thousands of strangers on the web.










What could be more healing?

You can browse through the images of "teddy's" standing in for victims of child sexual abuse to share their stories. People can send in cards, via mail or the web, explaining how old they were when abused, and by whom and then each card is given to a teddy bear to hold for the camera.




















This card reads:



















I shutter to think how many pedophiles visit this site to fantasize and masturbate while reading the sex stories left to dangle from various teddy bears.























This one says:



















I shutter again to realize that there is an event to stand up against child abuse that takes the form of a "carnival." It is actually called "The Carnival against Child Abuse." There's a "Carnival Against Sex Crimes Too," which I suppose means all sex crimes. A carnival, though? This conjures the idea of freaks and clowns and sexual deviants in and of itself. Hardly a safe haven against child sexual abuse.








I felt abused by this site. And you can file an abuse card of your own, so I did.























And I do feel better now that I spoke out against the abuse I endured.

This Broth Tastes Like Pretty Pictures and Community

The Broth is a site about community and art, and community art, where you can work on pieces of art collaboratively, chat live with Broth peers you "meet" on the site, and show off your artistic talent, if you have any, which as we will see I do not.














Anyway, one of the most active group art pages is the broth "mosaic," an ongoing work original to the site that remains at the forefront, and continues to feature tiles to work with instead of the more recent option of creating, in other rooms, with "spray paint." You can watch as community members move the tiles around to create something knew, or make a move yourself if you log in.



















There are plenty of other public works, meaning someone else created the "room" but that the public can come in and can alter or add to what has been designed previously.





















I created a couple rooms of my own that people have added to. Here, a bowl has been added to the scene of my red wine drinking, and some moron has put an umbrella in my wine glass. Glad we're working together on this.















But tiles are hard, so i created another using the spray paint feature. That's hard too. Someone added the sun.














And then there are those participants with an ability to create in these mediums, and they submit some fairly cool shit they let others view but not touch.
































Can't say I blame them.