Rafi's Favorite Miscellanea

Little Apple Dolls
http://www.littleappledolls.com/
Created by Ufuoma Urie, these faceless dolls are very cute, yet very haunting. And they have a very interesting story to go along with it.

You Can't Do That On Television
http://www.ycdtotv.com/ (information)
http://www.ycdtotv.de/ (graphics)
If you were growing up in the 1980s and had cable (or were living in Canada), chances are you watched this popular children's sketch show very regularly. And if you say the magic phrase, you get a bucket of green slime poured on your head. What is that phrase? Go on -- I dare you to say it. The .com site has plenty of information on the series, while the .de site has loads of graphics to enjoy.

Australian Television
http://www.austvhistory.com/
Site dealing with the history of television in Australia, which is practically American television in an alternate parallel universe.

Studio Toledo at deviantART
http://studio-toledo.blogspot.com/
A friend of mine from Toledo, OH -- a fine artist himself -- set up this site, showcasing his talents and opinions.

Engrish.Com
http://www.engrish.com/
Lots of pictures, mostly from Japan, of a form of distorted, incorrect English called "Engrish". Many fans of "HK DVDs" of anime already know this "language" by heart.

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
http://www.michfest.com/
Located in the woods of western Michigan, an hour's drive north of Grand Rapids, it's an annual week-long feminist get-together with music, workshops, shopping and much more. Like Woodstock, but for women (sorry, I mean "womyn"). The name would merely suggest a concert, but don't let the name fool you -- it's practically an entire working community where women work, learn and play, and men stay home (reading between the lines, you have to be a woman to get in). In fact, it's location and directions are so secretive, it's practically a "secret club" with all the trappings, other than a secret handshake. Rafi would really love to go to this -- she would fit in; unfortunately, being a man, I wouldn't (I wanna go!).

Melissa Ferrick
http://melissaferrick.com/
One of America's popular independent artists, she is practically a female Bruce Springsteen, with the voice of another Melissa -- Etheridge.

Planet Sark
http://www.planetsark.com/
Website from a woman who takes her creativity very seriously.

Maple Leaf Web
http://www.mapleleafweb.com/
Site that explains the Canadian political system in detail, in easy-to-grasp language.

Chuck69
http://www.chuck69.com/
A man who's not afraid to speak his mind about Stern or Bush (neither I'm fond of). (Some material may offend some.)

Alles über South Park
http://www.sp-studio.de/
Wish you were a "South Park" character? Now you can be one, with the Flash-powered creator. Site's in German, but creator's also in English.

Radical Software
http://radicalsoftware.org/
Website about the defunct magazine that covered the video revolution of the early-1970s.

The Telethon Years
http://www.thetelethonyears.com/
A fan site about a Labor Day tradition -- Jerry Lewis' annual telethon.

Lorem Ipsum
http://www.lipsum.com/
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse congue. Nunc lectus nisl, placerat quis, aliquet sit amet, cursus tempor, nisi." That's Latin for, "dummy text".

Geta Shop Akai Hanao no Jojo
http://www.karankoron.com/
A place to learn about, and buy, those quirky Japanese platform sandals. In Japanese and English.

Yoko Trading
http://www.yokodana.com/
Would you like a kimono to go with those geta? Now you can buy used kimonos by the pound. Or buy them new. Or make your own.