Multi-link Monday: Awkward family photos

Posted: Monday, June 08, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

How about another Multi-link Monday? I offer up five fun, time-wasting links, and you should feel free to suggest others in the comments.

• I really can't be too mean about Awkward Family Photos, because I have more than a few of these stuffed in albums and old boxes myself. But I will say that my prom photo backdrops were never this weirdly elaborate. And I really want to know the rules of this board game.

• Just another June bride, smokin' like a chimney. These vintage wedding-themed cigarette ads are really a trip back in time. You can browse through more cigarette ads at the Stanford School of Medicine's collection, "Not a Cough in a Carload." (Via Metafilter.)

• Check out Runpee.com before you go out to a movie. It tells you the best spot to dash out to the bathroom so you won't miss anything vital. (Thanks, Courtney!)

• Just don't have time for a theater-length film? Movies in Frames plucks just four frames out of entire movies and manages to tell a surprisingly complete version of each film's story. Check out the one for "Midnight Cowboy."

• Have you seen "Han Solo, P.I." (video link)? Who knew the daring space smuggler had so much in common with the Hawaiian detective? (Thanks, Kurt!)

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Return of Multi-link Monday

Posted: Monday, April 27, 2009 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

We haven't done five fun links of time-wasting goodness in a while. Here's a quintet of links I've been entertained by lately -- post your own new faves in the comments. Thanks!

• Foamigami: Amazing artworks created with those old-fashioned white styrofoam cups that I haven't seen since we all got landfill conscious a few years ago. (A reader sent this one in and I lost his or her name...thanks, reader!)

• Although Andy and Angela are broken up on "The Office," their wedding Web site is still alive, and a total hoot. The blend of Pachelbel's Canon and "You Can Call Me Al" by Andy's Cornell a capella group, Here Comes Treble, is sheer genius, but don't miss the tour of Shrute Farms, the bit about Angela's eight cats as ring bearers, and the photo of her dress.

• In my head, I am very crafty. But when it comes to actually sitting down trying to make stuff, I am all thumbs. So I appreciate knowing I'm not alone by reading this Weblog, Craft Fail. My favorite is "Fat Dog in a Little Coat."  ("Tommy Boy" fans are singing along.)

• And Craft Fail reminded me that it's been a while since I checked in on the awesome Cake Wrecks, a Weblog highlighting unbelievably horrible professional cakes. (They don't mock home decorators like yours truly -- people actually paid for these cakes.) If anyone had made one of those pregnant belly cakes for my baby shower they would have been wearing it, I'm just saying. I needed to scrub those images from my brain by looking at CakeWrecks Sunday entry, where they feature really GOOD cakes. Love these board games!

• One of the most memorable scenes in "Empire Strikes Back" was when Luke Skywalker tries not to freeze to death inside the slit belly of a Tauntaun. For an April Fool's Day prank, ThinkGeek.com pretended to sell a Tauntaun sleeping bag, complete with internal intestines on the lining. This fake product was so popular that the company is looking into making real ones. Why not? It worked for this 1982 Kenner action figure, with "open belly rescue feature."

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Ho ho horrible holiday links

Posted: Monday, December 01, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

How about another Multi-link Monday, holiday-themed this time? Feel free to use the comments section to send in your own suggested links. Thanks!

• Some people really go all out to turn their home into a spectacular holiday display. Others...well, thank you for playing. Ugly Christmas Lights features photos of those lightstravaganzas that didn't quite make the grade. A few examples: E for Effort, Suicidal Squarepants, and, my favorite, Christmas Hulk.

• Elf Yourself is back...take your favorite photo and turn that person into a dancing elf. Although I have to say, I kind of get more of a kick out of Yearbook Yourself, where you can see how you'd like in classic yearbook poses from the past. And I guess you can also Terminate Yourself.

• Ugly holiday sweater parties have become popular, although I think I donated or dumped my sure winners years ago. This site lets you make a tacky holiday sweater online and email it to a buddy.

• Not all my picks for holiday links are horrendous. Some are actually quite fun. Build your own snowman without getting your mittens dirty, with a little help from ice-cream icons Ben & Jerry. And I adore this classic online snowball-fight game, Snowcraft.

• Maybe you celebrate Festivus, the "Seinfeld" holiday "for the rest of us." Well, then you'll need a Festivus pole before you move on to the airing of grievances and the feats of strength.

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Halloween links: Costumes, pumpkins and monsters, oh my!

Posted: Monday, October 20, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

I'm of the opinion that no holiday offers as many fun Web links as Halloween. Here are five fun time-wasters with spooky, scary, monstrous themes. Boo!

• Kids today have such fancy-shmancy costumes. In my day, we had the cheapie plastic ones with the masks whose rubber bands would inevitably break and snap right in your face. Retro Crush remembers, and offers a photo gallery of the costumes I knew so well, from Rubik's Cube to Chachi to that super-creepy robot girl from "Small Wonder." Don't see your favorite retro costume on that page? Check this amazing gallery of old costumes and if you find it, e-mail it to your sister and remind her of the year she got to be Cinderella and you had to be Soupy Sales.

• Few people online wait for Halloween with the same anticipation that Matt of X-Entertainment does. Every entry in his Halloween countdown blog is worth reading, but this year, I especially liked his Whatever O Lantern contest, where he invited people to find a substitute for a pumpkin, give it a Jack O' Lantern type face, and send in a photo. The winner? A swimming pool. I also liked the Pop Tart O'Lantern, but you may have a different fave.

• Don't feel like getting your hands all gunky and carving a real pumpkin? There are plenty of online pumpkin carving sites, but I kind of like this one for its clean looks and simplicity. Here's a more cartoony one, if you prefer that look. And if you just want to look at amazingly arty pumpkins other people carved, check out Extreme Pumpkins. I kind of love the Nerd O Lantern.

• The San Antonio Express-News has a fun online Monster Maker. But one major flaw: You can't save and send your creation, you can only print it out. Hello, it's 2008, Webmasters of the Alamo City.  (Via Pop Candy.)

• This link is from last year, but I love it: Expensive purses that scarily resemble movie monsters. This melty face dude and his handbag twin may be my favorite.

Share your own favorite Halloween links -- from pumpkin carving ideas to candy to costumes to scary movies and more -- in the comments.

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Multi-link Monday: Trace your family surnames

Posted: Monday, October 06, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

How about another Multi-link Monday? I pull together five fun time-wasting links to start off your week, but remember, you, too, can suggest sites for me to include. Just post them in the comments, and thanks!

•  So I always thought my mother's maiden name was French, but according to World Names Profiler, it turns out it's a lot more popular in the Netherlands. Warning: Once you start typing family names into the World Names Profiler, it will be hard to stop, and you may need to start rethinking long-held assumptions about your family origins.

• Have you taken the color IQ test yet? You drag and drop different shades and try and arrange them by hue. It's simple to attempt, but so, so hard to get right. I'm gonna blame my monitor. Yep, that's it. I'm sure the color on my monitor is off.

• Dolphin Olympics is one of those really sweet, cute online games. You go, Flipper! (Via Metafilter.)

• I love this: A world map showing the locations where the photos on album covers were taken. Yes, I was once part of a group of four friends who re-enacted the Abbey Road crossing while in London, like 80 million other groups of tourists.

• A wonderful reader-submitted link comes in from Adrienne. She says: "I can't believe how bad I was at guessing world accents! Perhaps fellow readers will fare better."

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Cake wrecks, yearbook yourself

Posted: Monday, August 25, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

It's been a while, so how about a Multi-link Monday? You know the drill: I offer up five time-wasting but fun links to get your work week off to a smashing start. You're invited to add your own link suggestions in the comments.

• I took a cake-decorating class once. I had a blast, but I was humiliated by being the only person who finished the entire class and never once successfully crafted a frosting rose. So while I laugh my head off at the disasters on Cake Wrecks, I kind of feel their pain, too. Whether it's simply a super-inappropriate cake choice or a decorator who just didn't get it, this blog is hilarious. And the cakes features aren't by unpaid schmoes like me, they're cakes someone actually paid money for -- so their badness is kind of unforgiveable.

• My friend and co-worker Kim Carney found Yearbook Yourself, where you can upload a photo of yourself into the stereotypical yearbook shot of various decades. See yourself with 1980s big hair, or a late-'70s Farrah 'do, or...oh, wait, I can just look in my real yearbooks for that. I uploaded one of almost-10-month-old Kelly, and cracked up as I saw a little bit of what my little girl might look like in the goofy styles of yesteryear. She looks great with a 'fro, not so good with a 1960s Marlo Thomas flip.

• When AMC's fab "Mad Men" showed bits and pieces of Jackie Kennedy giving her 1962 TV tour of her White House renovations, I was itching to watch the whole thing. Apparently I wasn't the only one -- AMC has put the entire tour online (broken into four parts).  Oh, how long ago those times seem. Want more? Here are plenty of photos of the renovation. (Love the swimming-pool mural!) Apparently the new Oval Office was finished while JFK and Jackie were on their fateful trip to Dallas, and it was dismantled before Jackie even returned.

• I know some of you love online games and such, so for you, I present this simple, yet strangely compelling, Internet kaleidoscope. Trippy! (Via The Stranger's Slog.)

• Reader-submitted link: Thanks to Amanda for this fun one. She says "Here is a good time-wasting site. Supposedly it is an Air Force test. The object of the game is to move the red block around without getting hit by the blue blocks or touching the black walls. If you can go longer than 18 seconds, you are phenomenal.  It's been  said that the US Air Force uses this for fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes." Well, if that is true, then I'd be a heckuva Air Force pilot, since I lasted a gargantuan one second. I hope I will never have to defend our country from marauding blue blocks.

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Multi-link Monday: Celebrity apes, bobble your friends

Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008 5:25 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

I mentioned two weeks ago that I might be discontinuing Multi-link Monday due to the new group-blog format (and to the fact that it gets just a fraction of the traffic other Test Pattern posts receive). That mention drove Multi-link Monday fans out of the woodwork to leave comments pleading for the feature to stay. There may not be that many of you, relatively speaking, but you sure are loyal.

I'll try and keep the Monday fun going, but a warning: It may not be every Monday. And I need your help. When you see a goofy, fun, time-wasting site, post it in the comments of the most recent Multi-link Monday post. I'll elevate the best links to the next week's post. And thanks for the kind words.

• The Celebrity Apes Weblog is a bit creepy. It reminds me of the old "Planet of the Apes" movie series and I become convinced that the scenario in those films has come to pass. The Weblog takes photos of celebrities and replaces their faces with those of apes, and if you think that sounds quite a bit disturbing and also a little bit funny, you are right on both counts.

• I feel a little sheepish that I like this "find the six differences" game so much, because it resembles a simple game I used to play in my Highlights for Children magazine when I was a little kid. Find the differences and click on them as you find them. (Link via Ultimate Insult.)

• Need a home project? These folks decided to make a giant Kit-Kat bar at home, and as their photo essay shows, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They even impressed the logo into the top of the candy, just like on real Kit-Kats. Note that if you ate the whole thing, you'd consume about 45,000 calories. I can feel cavities forming just from thinking about it. (Via Web-Goddess.)

• XM Radio's baseball site has a fun feature: You can make a virtual bobblehead doll of yourself or a friend and e-mail it to someone. Hey, I'd rather be a bobblehead than a celebrity ape.

• I love touring weird little museums when we go on vacation. But this summer, with a new baby and soaring gas prices, we may not be road-tripping very much. Never fear, I can visit the Banana Museum online, since it's only a virtual museum anyway. Great old photos and labels, and I am fascinated with the eerily realistic banana carved out of bone.

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Know your 'Simpsons' characters? Candy bars? Quiz yourself

Posted: Monday, June 30, 2008 5:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

I'll likely be giving up Multi-link Monday as we transition to a group blog. It may not be a regular weekly thing, but I'll still throw in a good time-waster link or two now and then.

For now, how about an all-quiz edition?

• Which superhero are you? I'm Superman. Hmm. I guess I should be flattered, but I was rooting for Wonder Woman.

• Which supervillain are you? I'm Dr. Doom, followed closely by Lex Luthor. Awesome.

• Can you name all these "Simpsons" characters? Just type...they don't need to be in the order the photos are shown. And you don't always need full names. How could I forget the Simpsons family doctor's name? I really wanted to type "Cliff Huxtable." (If you want more quizzes like this, you've got plenty to choose from on this list, including Johnny Depp movies, "Star Trek" characters and more.)

• While we're on a "Simpsons" kick: Troy McClure film, or actual movie?

• Can you identify these candy bars from cross-section photographs? (Thanks to Paige for that link.) Here's the original candy bar quiz, too, from my own Minnesota Science Museum. I am ashamed at how well I did on these two.

 

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Translate English into ... nightingale?

Posted: Monday, June 23, 2008 3:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

The commercial contest is continuing, but in case you're already sick of griping about that one weird pregnancy-test ad, here's a quick Multi-link Monday

ENGLISH NEVER SOUNDED SO PRETTY
You've seen the sites that translate words into Swedish Chef, or pig Latin, or jive speak. But this is a new one on me. Type something on this site and it will translate whatever you typed into nightingale. No, really. Try it.

GETTING CARDED
I've had business cards in some form or another since I was 22, and the coolest one I ever had was when someone decided to print the backside of my cards in dark blue. Woo, hold me back! But this site shows some truly amazing business cards, including one that folds out into a car, and another that's a balloon. Noted hacker Kevin Mitnick's card is here, and it's made of metal with lockpicks stamped into it.

COLOR MY WORLD
This link isn't for everybody. It doesn't do anything or let you do anything, and it's a little awkward to read. Some of it's not even in English. But if, like me, you find yourself pondering color names on crayons and paint swatches, you might get a kick out of this wonderful list of names for colors. That's not pink, it's angel wing! (Via Metafilter.)

DON'T BE SOUR
Certain people in my office who shall remain nameless enjoy shooting soft foam darts at other certain people in my office. Those certain persons can only hope that other certain people never discover this pickle-pult, which would allow them to shoot terrified-looking plastic pickles at other certain people. Cowabunga!

GRAPH-O-MATIC
I think I've linked to Graph Jam before, but it's still hilarious. The site graphs song lyrics in an inventive way that you kind of have to see to believe. My current favorite: Money for Nothing.

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Multi-link Monday: Name that font

Posted: Monday, June 16, 2008 3:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under: Multi-link Mondays

Taking a one-day break from the TV commercial contest for another Multi-link Monday. Remember, you, too, can suggest links for Monday inclusion. Just post them in the comments.

NAME THAT FONT
Well, I had to guess on every one of these and got maybe one correct. But because there is a whole world out there of people who really know their computer typography, I present: Name that font!

WRITERS IN PICTURES
Photographer Susana Raab has some gorgeous images on her site. Click on "A Sense of Place" in the right margin to see photos of the homes of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and, my favorite, Eudora Welty. Just lovely.

'SIMPSONS' HONORS THE SCREEN
"The Simpsons" is chock-full of neat pop-culture references, from movies to songs to other TV shows. And the writers usually get it right, too. This page, showing "Simpsons" scenes right next to still photos of the films they were parodying, shows just how right they get it.

WEB CAM BEAUTY
Gas prices making you rethink that summer driving trip? This page soothes the pain be presenting live Web cams from the National Park Service. Especially breathtaking: Mount Rainier National Park, the monuments of Washington D.C., and Mammoth Cave National Park.

READER LINK: EX-BOYFRIEND JEWELRY
Reader Cherie writes: "I'm not sure if you have seen this site but it's a little amusing: Ex Boyfriend Jewelry.com. You can go and check out all kinds of jewelry (rings, necklaces, earrings, etc.) that were all gifts from ex-boyfriends/husbands. If you click specific jewelry, you can read the backstory of why the girl received the jewelry and what their creep boyfriend/hubby did to make them want to sell it. Enjoy -- I did."

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