Events
* The Electronic Marketplace: The Nasdaq Stock Market and Stanford University are hosting a one-day conference Tuesday in San Francisco on financial services and e-commerce. Scheduled to attend are Nasdaq Chairman Mike Brown; a former SEC commissioner; Stanford law and business professors; executives from Netscape, CNet and Yahoo; and others. Topics will include securities litigation and tracking securities fraud on the Internet.
* The Sound of the Future: Music and technology leaders are converging this week for the first MP3 Summit to discuss the impact the two industries are likely to have on each other. Thursday’s event, at UC San Diego, will examine piracy, hardware, software and distribution. MP3 is an abbreviation for the technology used to store music files on a computer disk. For more information, go to https://www.mp3.com/conference.
Cyberspace
* Strange but True: Edgy and weird, Stet magazine (https://www.stetmagazine.com) is one of those sites where you never know what you’ll find next. Recent examples include Freaky Franks, a game in which you decide what toppings you want on your virtual hot dog (offerings include peanut butter, Bosco and a Barbie head); interviews with questionably famous people, including Wendy the Snapple Lady and movie critic Roger Ebert; a treatise on junk food; and advice from a 9-year-old columnist. If you don’t find any of this when you visit, there’s an archive of the kooky stuff they’ve been up to.
* What’s Haute, What’s Not: Fashion devotees will want to skip right to Hypermode (https://www.hypermode.com/), an e-zine with terrific graphics, neat gizmos and tons of fashion info on what’s hot now and what will be soon. It’s got articles, fashion spreads, message boards, links and an archive.
* Generation Next: “Generation in Circuit is our name for the collective efforts of youth to join together in forming our own community and to make our voices heard,” proclaim the authors of the Generation in Circuit Webzine. Written in English and French, GiC is for, by and about young people online, with recommended sites and columns. Point your browser to https://www.community.net/~gic/.
A couple of newly teenaged girls reign over Phitzzat, and they’re just talking about stuff that interests them: boys, parents, fashion, makeup, movies and music. There are also message boards and chat rooms. Phitzzat is at https://www.angelfire.com/ny/phitzzat/.
* Feminist Perspective: Older girls and media junkies will find plenty to keep them busy at Maxi (https://www.maximag.com/). Maxi takes a microscope to the media--from the conventions of Time to the blatherings of Jane--from a ‘90s feminist viewpoint.
* The Gay Life: Shescape Online (https://www.shescape.com/) is one of the better-written e-zines for lesbians. There’s a first-person from Candace Gingrich, sister of Newt; tips on how to recover from summer parties; articles on beauty and health; essays on favorite women; and a list of women’s organizations and events.
Gay Place is a news magazine for those interested in gay issues, though it addresses other areas as well. The site has world news, editorials, a list of gay pride events, cartoons, columnists, advice, book reviews and more. It’s at https://www.gayplace.com/.
* Thumbs Up: CineZine is for film fanatics, though visitors should know that the movie reviews are rated R--for sarcasm and blunt honesty. At the Web site (https://members.aol.com/CineZine/main.html), you can check out back issues, but otherwise it’s pretty much e-mail-based. Is it worth it? Yep, especially if you can’t get enough casting, development and studio news (OK, gossip). It also has reviews; stuff the editors like and hate (not restricted to celluloid); and the weekly list of the 10 top-grossing movies.
* Filling the Void: Lack is the Webzine for those without. Without what? Who knows--maybe focus. Recent offerings include “The D-Train Diaries, a True Story of Commuting on the 6th Avenue Express,” “Childhood Poetry From the Mean Streets of Shorewood, WI” and synopses of super-8 films. Lacking something better to do? Head to https://members.aol.com/lacksector/lackhome.html.
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Please send site suggestions to cutting.edge@latimes.com.
