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Webwatch 2006-10: The Lighter Side of the web

Webwatch is a column published in the Covenant Companion Magazine every month. It is written by Heidi Griepp, manager of Covenant Internet Services and an avid web wanderer. This month, Webwatch looks at humor, entertainment, and the power of art.

Humor, playfulness, and creativity are gifts from God. And this month we take a look at all three. In this Webwatch you will find sites that are funny, some that are serious but very creative, and some that are just playful.

www.ship-of-fools.com/curses/index.html
Ship of Fools is a parody website. It’s been featured in Webwatch before and although the entire website is worth checking out for your amusement, this time I am featuring one particular area in the site, the Biblical Curse Generator. You just hit a button and the site shows a randomly generated curse from the Old Testament. It’s both humorous and a good outlet.

Possible Use: This is a great way to bring a little humor to your day and get to know the Old Testament prophets. Try saying one of these next time someone cuts you off in traffic.

Rating: The randomness of the content is fun. ★★★★★

www.pandora.com
Type into this website a favorite artist or song and it will create a radio station of music similar to that artist. Created in 2000 by a group of musicians and music-loving technologists, Pandora gives recommendations based on the music you already like. I typed in Kirk Franklin, because I love gospel music and I got hours of music by Kirk Franklin and artists similar to him. You can also put in two artists if you want to mix things up even more. After a few songs you have to register but registration is free. You can also create multiple stations and switch between them.

Possible uses: Find new music and create a radio station you like.

Rating: This is a very enjoyable online resource. ★★★★★

www.archive.org/details/movies
The Internet Archive is a nonprofit Internet library. It’s official purpose is to offer permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. It’s fun purpose however is to allow anyone to download old movies (among other things) for free. The site includes text, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages. You can download old films that are in the public domain and watch on your DVD player, including Charlie Chaplin movies, Black Stallion (1938), His Girl Friday, Little Rascals shorts, and old cartoons. There are not many new release movies, but it is a fun place to check out the oldies and movies made by independents. The only warning is that anyone can contribute movies or content to this website, so keep that in mind as you search.

Possible Uses: Watch old movies online or download for your own DVD.

Rating: It’s an ugly website but it has really great content and lots of it. ★★★★

readymech.fwis.com
For those of you who are the creative crafty types with paper and scissors, this website is for you. It features many paper toys you can make. Just pick one, print it out, and follow the directions. To see them all make sure to scroll left to right, not up and down. These paper toys are designed to print on 8.5” x 11” paper. You’re going to need a roll of double-sided tape, and an X-acto knife, some nice thick matte paper, and ten to fifteen minutes to  put it all together.

Possible Uses: Craft time for parents and kids.

Rating: A fun, creative, crafty website that’s well designed, but I don’t like the left to right scrolling. ★★★★

www.kidcameraproject.org
The New Orleans Kid Camera Project was created to give children a way to respond to Hurricane Katrina. With photographs, mixed media, and creative writing, the youth of New Orleans give us an unfiltered view of their home. They tell us what it means to return to a devastated city, and give us a look at the recovery work that needs to be done. My favorite picture and explanation is “Kicking and Breaking” by eleven-year-old Vadal, who writes, “One day I saw a broke truck and kicked it. Then I thought I could take a picture. Then I took the picture.” He uses his art and creativity to express his anger at the broken things in New Orleans. Many of the pictures and explanatory captions are wise and reveal a lot about what the children of New Orleans are dealing with.

Possible Uses: See New Orleans in a new way. Beware—a couple of these pictures might make you feel a little teary.

Rating: A well-done, artful, and empowering website. ★★★★★

sundayscribblings.blogspot.com
This is a blog website for those of you who write. Sunday Scribblings was set up to provide inspiration and motivation for anyone who enjoys writing and would like a weekly challenge. Each Friday a question or statement goes up on the site. By the weekend’s close, people have reported back with responses on their own blogs. Recent challenges include finishing sentences like “The monster who...” or writing in response to a line like “Two peas in a pod” or “With baggage...”

Possible Uses: Unleash your creative writing skills. Play with words and stories.

Rating: A fun way to be a part of a writing community. You do need a blog, however, to be involved. ★★★★★

All Webwatch reviews are for informational and resource purposes only. The Evangelical Covenant Church does not endorse any website, organization, or content. From time to time some of these links will go dead or they will be sold. When we learn about this we will take the link off. If you see a dead link please let us know. Copyright The Covenant Companion.