Passionate Sites
by Diebold
Essen
FONTS
Early, early in computer history, the visually fixated latched onto the infinite
font-making possibilities in the digital world. Even in dot-matrix days, font addicts were
hard at it, creating and collecting new alphanumeric and dingbat designs. The onset of the
laser and inkjet printers freed them from all limitations. Now you can buy brand-x CD-ROMs
with 10,000 fonts for ten bucks. Or you can go to various obsessive-compulsive sites and feed your habit for
free.
Truly creative font designers can't let go either. Tom
Murphy is one such brilliant soul. His design talent is exceeded only by his
generosity. At his site you can get dozens of his envelop-expanding fonts for free. (The
font used in the title block for this piece in Magellan's Log 7 is one of Tom's.)
-«»-
LA FOLIA
In the half dozen centuries of the "modern" age, a handful of melodies
have embedded themselves in us. These are tunes, usually simple, which refuse to die. In
every period, musicians and composers keep going back to them, and we keep on whistling
them. Often we're not even aware of the source. "Greensleeves" is one example.
Another is a melody as well-known as "Greensleeves" but with a name known only
to musicologists. It's called "La Folia" and is what you hear in the background.
It appeared in Europe in the 16th century and is still with us in countless forms. At
least one human being is truly passionate about tracking down and cataloging the hundreds of permutations of "La
Folia."
-«»-
MODEL RAILROADING
First there were big trains, and then there were little trains filling basements
and attics and long winter nights everywhere. If the name A.C. Kalmbach means nothing to
you, you won't appreciate the passion here. He was the founder and first publisher of
Model Railroad Magazine in Milwaukee.
Atomic Age? Space Age? Information Revolution? No matter. The world still has people in it
who worrya lot about how to apply fake weathering to HO-gauge crossties to increase the
realism of their layout, and their beloved magazine is still going strong.
-«»-
CLASSICAL MIDI
Pierre Schwob appears to have a pretty good day job involving computers and
software and who knows what all. But his passion is clearly classical music. Not just any
classical music, but classical music rendered and reduced to midi format. His beautifully
designed midi classical site has won many
prizes, as it should. It is an astonishingly complete collection.
-«»-
SKYSCRAPERS
Dylan Leblanc has a thing about tall buildings. He's transformed his passion into one of the best-designed, one-subject sites
we've seen. If you have any interest in skyscrapers, you'll be fascinated by the various
features he's worked up, from a marvelous picture chart of ALL the buildings in the world
more than 1,000 feet in height, to a poll on best skylines in the world, to a remarkably
detailed and up-to-date page on buildings under construction and being planned. Or, if
that's not enough, try this
site.
-«»-
ISB
Now we begin to edge into the thinning atmosphere of the narrowly specialized
obsession.
There was a two-person group from Scotland in the 1960s called the Incredible String Band.
With wprds inspired by everyone from Buddha to Idries Shah and music inspired by everyone
from Hank Williams, Sr. to the Southern Baptist Hymnal, their records are holding up well
after all these decades. So are their fans. One, in Norway (!), has devoted his site to a
complete transcription of ALL the
Incredible String Band lyrics.
-«»-
IMPERIALS
Still barely in contact with Planet Earth, we find a passionate observer in Germany
who is fixated on an American automobile, the Chrysler Imperial is all its permutations.
His site, filled with lovely photos, is called "My Imperial photo collection of the most luxury
car ever."
-«»-
FORESKINS
Which brings us to this bunch of guys, see, in the UK, who apparently do nothing
but sit (or stand) around all day taking pictures of
their own and other people's foreskins and then (of course) put 'em ALL on the
Internet, since they assume everybody else is as fixated on their fixation as they are
(which is actually Diebold's Law No. 2).
-«»-
ITAG
Moving briskly right out of the atmosphere into deep, deep space, we encounter
those among us who believe that our ills come not from the greedy, nor from the poor, not
even from God, or the Devil, rather from a certain je ne sais quoi, how to say,
build-up of uh cranial pressure? Kindred souls whose head resonates at such a suggestion
should visit the International Trepanning Advocacy Group
asap.
-«»-
MASONS
Somebody in El Paso really cares a LOT about freemasonry.
-«»-
CORNFIELD MAZES
Some farmers are making more money off mazes than off crops. This site not only shows you where to find such a maze but also
how to build one in your own back forty.
-«»-
BUSHISMS
Jacob Weisberg of Slate Magazine is really passionate about what happens every time George
W. Bush sticks his foot in his mouth and keeps a running catalog of the man's
garbled speech.
-«»-
GLENN GOULD
Canada, especially Toronto, has finally figured out that the late pianist could be for
Toronto what Elvis has been for Memphis: big tourist bucks. They've responded with a truly
passionate site filled with all kinds
of Gouldiana, including streaming audio of a lot of studio outtakes.
Email us your favorite passionate sites
and we'll add them to the list.
Send this page to a friend.
Magellan's
Log VII
Magellan's
Log front page |