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web.archive.org The Internet has developed at a mercurial rate compared with, say, democracy in the United States. You can find proof of that on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. With a nod to Mr. Peabody from “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show,” the Wayback Machine provides monthly snapshots of websites dating back to 1996. Check out your favorite news sites and see if you remember the simpler times on the ‘Net, when most people were using dial-up modems and AOL. One of the most significant evolutions in the archives is whitehouse.gov. In 1996, the site was all text, and its single offering was a (Google-less) search of presidential press releases. Today, you can watch video, listen to the president’s radio address and download quizzes for the kids. There’s even a Spanish-language version.
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Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired [abridged] England’s Reduced Shakespeare Company puts on abridged versions of the Bard’s plays and has now published a hilarious book of Shakespearean-based wit. The volume, by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, includes short, useful synopses of Shakespeare’s plays, including one-sentence plot summaries and morals. The plot of “Hamlet”: “Hamlet avenges his father and it only takes four hours.” The moral: “He who hesitates is lost. Fish or cut bait. Poop or get off the pot.” Pick up a copy and let it be your guide to this year’s Colorado Shakespeare Festival (coloradoshakes.org), which runs through Aug. 19 in Boulder.
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Amazon Fishbowl With Bill Maher TV talk shows are often just vehicles to plug movies, TV shows and music. But Bill Maher’s new program, recorded in an old warehouse and shown only online at one of the biggest retail websites on the Internet, doesn’t bother with the pretense. It’s a weekly, half-hour interview show, complete with monologue, commercials and musical performances. But here’s the difference: You watch the show at amazon.com, so you’ll find links to the books, movies and CDs that the guests are plugging. The show is entertaining, the guests are top-notch, and it’s a great use of the Internet’s potential. To paraphrase Timothy Leary: Turn on, tune in and get free shipping!
