The Strangest of the Strange

Posted by E

Thursday, August 9, 2007

I have to admit that one of the things I love most about the interweb is the sheer amount of pure absurdity you can run across. I made a few forays into this kind of territory 10 years ago, just for the sake of a few chuckles. (Yes, 10 years ago, so pardon the horrible page design.) But as the webs have matured, people have found methods to use this new medium in interesting ways. I present below a handful of some of the more amusing sites I've come across in my travels. For some of you, these may be old hat. I'm not going to try and claim that I am the only one that knows of them. Some, AYBABTU, for example, took on a life of their own. Others are just...yeah.

Our first site is one that I love to throw out in polite conversation because people never know quite how to react to its existence. Do you like Leonard Nimoy? Do you like salsa? Do you think Leonard Nimoy should eat more salsa? Well then, perhaps you should join up with this site and make your demands known.

How about Roy Orbison? Have you ever wanted to read a story about him being wrapped in Saran Wrap? How about a whole SERIES of stories? They're out there, if you're interested.

Have you ever found Jeff Goldblum's gaze a bit offsetting? Would it upset you to have him watching you in your most private moments?

This next one is an oldie, and in its day spawned an entire "ate my balls" subculture. The original is long defunct. This link is brought to you by the Internet Archive wayback machine.

Have you ever been fascinated by the ancient Japanese art of creating and maintaining bonsai trees? Haven't you always secretly wanted to do the same with kittens?

My next two entries are a little more adult in nature. Do you remember the 80's cartoon, Thundercats? Have you ever wondered how they'd look naked? Or have you ever played with a Lego set and wondered where the little Lego men came from?

To finish up, I'll send you off with a true internet classic. AYBABTU (Otherwise known as All Your Base Are Belong To Us). This little gem was discovered as the intro to the Sega Genesis game "Zero Wing". The voices are added for emphasis and were not originally part of the game. AYB spawned a true internet meme some 7 years ago, culminating in songs, stories, movies, hackings...you name it. This one is my personal favorite.