CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: WEB WEIRDNESS ABOUNDS: NEW BOOK SPOTLIGHTS ECCENTRIC CREATORS (COLUMN 20)

Cybertip: To order "The World's Weirdest Web Pages and the People Who Create Them," contact No Starch Press at 1-800-420-7240. The web address is http://www.nostarch.com. It seems reasonably priced at $12.95.

Anybody who's ever surfed the web knows there's a lot of odd stuff out there. One new book unveils the darker, stranger side of the web. A San Francisco Bay area author, Hank Duderstadt, has done a lot of research and published his results in "The World's Weirdest Web Pages."

Not only has Hank surveyed the strangest sites on the Internet, he has interviewed the people who create them. Here are three things he has discovered:

-- Any weirdo can broadcast his message internationally.

-- Any perversion, religion or political thought can find its place on-line.

-- Anyone can stumble on sick, gruesome or gross web sites.

Mostly, Hank looked at personal web sites. That's where he found the most bizarre sites.

He couldn't pick a winner. "To pick one as being the most bizarre is like trying to pick a winner in the presidential debate."

Joni: There are eight categories: animals, art, body parts, collections, food, interactivity, obsessions and religion. Please don't take any of these categories literally. Each of the 40 sites fits into a category somehow, but sometimes it's a stretch. I have to admit some of these pages we can't share with you in our family publication.

Peggy: Another word of warning. Most of these addresses are long and convoluted, unlike commercial sites, which are usually simple. But we're voyaging out there anyway. Let's check out the Sea Monkey Worship Page first.

http://users.uniserve.com/(tilde)sbarclay/seamonk.htm

Joni: Visitors are greeted by a waving, cartoon sea monkey and this definitely is a tongue-in-cheek page. It provides a lot of in-depth information, but you can't really tell what's real and what's not.

Peggy: The site creator, Susan Barclay, says sea monkeys are amazing pets -- portable, active, disposable. Her goal is world domination by sea monkey enthusiasts and creation of a page that might make people laugh once a day. Here's one for my husband -- the home appliance shooting page.

http://www.csn.net/(tilde)dcbenton/has.html

Joni: The author asks the question: How many times have you wanted to kill a machine, take a sledge hammer to the VCR you never figured out how-to program or take a .44 Magnum to a computer that keeps eating your floppy? The creator of the home appliance shooting page has put his words into action.

Peggy: Let's head directly to the Slugfest '96. Unfortunately you don't get to shoot anything. They went to the mountains of Colorado to shoot old electrical appliances to pieces and lived to tell the tale, complete with photos.

Joni: Interesting enough, the icon for each photo is a little bullet. You can look at the remains of an old Mac, a blender and a microwave. You can also view an AVI movie of the event.

Peggy: The photos are pretty big and take a while to open. I don't have that much time. Let's look at Rude Things in My Fridge instead

http://www.wbm.ca/users/kgreggai/html/fridge.html

Joni: Kevin has this thing about leaving things in his Kenmore a little past the expiration date -- like years. He's developed a fascination with the transformations that result.

Peggy: Not surprising -- a fly walks across this page. Every month a new substance joins the ranks of the rancid. Despite images of rats and indescribable food, we opened the fridge door -- close it, close it!

Joni: As the fridge opens, the Addams Family theme plays. I must point out there is no relation. There are two d's in Addams Family. This month's food is green pepper, goo stew, ooooooh.

Peggy: You can check out other things he has discovered rotting in his refrigerator, mushrooms, carrots, hot dogs, etc.

Joni: I like this site. This is quite clever. He also offers a Night Gallery of other Halloween-type horrors, 365 days a year. But for better feelings, head on over to the interactive ego booster.

http://web.syr.edu/(tilde)ablampac/ego/index.html

Peggy: Every few seconds, a new compliment loads on the screen. You are very special. You are the best. Why can't I be like you? You have no equal. When they made you, they broke the mold. You have unsurpassed greatness.

Joni: I'd say this page has great taste. Our complaint is it didn't have enough original messages. On the other side of the spectrum, you can visit the Abuse-a-tron.

http://www.xe.net/upstart/abuse

Peggy: Absolutely for free, they will heap abuse upon you -- abuse like "You carry pieces of garbage in your pockets for ID, you stumpy, cat-litter slobbering, camel feeling, misanthropic dependent of yogurt culture dropout." You can keep it coming or say please no more.

Joni: When you've had enough, you can heap abuse upon them. You can send them what you'd like to see appear on the site.

All in all, we like this book, although I'm not sure how much time you could spend at these weird sites.

Peggy: Hank leaves us with this admonition: "Of course, give any of us a little space on the Web and some encouragement (like a bottle of Jagermeister and a box of Lorna Doones), and we too may find ourselves publishing our hair-brained theories and scattered philosophies -- you know, the ones that were better off locked in the safe deposit box."

What's your favorite weird web site? E-mail us at movnldd.net.

See you in cyberspace.

~Joni Adams is managing editor and Peggy Scott is graphics editor at the Southeast Missourian.