go randomize() yourself
You know what’s fun?
Go to Blackmask, this great online archive of public domain books of all kinds - blows my mind how much stuff of all kinds they’ve got, seriously - and click on the small ‘RANDOM BOOK’ link in the top right quadrant of the page, right under the RIGHT HERE in the ‘ GO PROOF A PAGE, WE’LL WAIT RIGHT HERE FOR YOU’ link.
Check out what it gives you, then hit BACK and do it again.
Then do it again.
Know what else is fun?
Go to Wikipedia and click on the ‘Random article’ link in the lefthand sidebar.
You don’t have to hit BACK to do it again because the sidebar stays with you.
So do it again.
If any of the many of you out there know of any other sites with random type links like that, please let me know.
It’s fun and interesting.
Just like you.
January 12th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Well questia.com allows searches in books with a “lexile” setting, which will remove the “Jack & Jill” type books from the search results. Wikipedia is the best. Try wikisources & wikibooks. Also try “What links here” in wikipedia.
January 13th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Holy cow, Jeff, those are great links!
Questia seems a little pretentious, but still good.
The Wiki-etc links are just plain cool. When I click on the Random link and something comes up, and my reaction is ‘WTF is this?’ and I start googling whatever it is, well that’s just plain fun.
Thanks. But don’t stop now!
January 13th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
trouserpress.com for random alternative rock bands.
January 13th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
Thanks, aiabx!
The first entry that popped up was Radiohead which I’d heard of, then the next was JEN(NIFER) TRYNIN, unknown, then the Vibrators, again known.
To the rest of the world, http://www.trouserpress.com offers bios and discographies (curiously, not discos) for the artists and the opportunity to buy the albums through Insound, not that I could.
Keep’em coming, people!
i random() you!
January 16th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Ooo, love the Blackmask link, thanks for this!
January 17th, 2006 at 11:32 am
They have an excellent collection of public domain Canadiana, like Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill (pioneer sisters and writers), and Stephen Leacock (check out Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, if you aren’t already familiar with it…)
There’s a huge library of folklore from around the world, much of it written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in the style of that age and with the cultural superiority attitude you can imagine - but not always.
One of my favourites is Lady Gregory’s ‘Gods and Fighting Men’ (http://www.blackmask.com/books28c/godsfightingdex.htm), Irish folklore put into English in 1904, with a foreword by Yeats.
Cool stuff.