WEBWATCH INDEX

Fun

Aardman Animations - home of Wallace and Gromit
Allotment lovers unite! - here's your dream calendar for 2003 ...
Blue Mountain Arts - wide range of electronic cards
Chicken Run
Classic Greetings - more online cards
Classic theatre ... with cartoon guinea pigs
Free things online! - OSCAR's list of what's on offer for nothing
Gaun Yersel Moses - the Bible in Glaswegian verse. No, really.
Grand Illusions - optical illusions, tricks and brainteasers for all ages
Gurning - the peculiar art of pulling funny faces
ilovecheese.com - which sort suits your personality?
kidstart/prongo - online games and fun
Pollution counter - how much pollution is YOUR fault? Test yourself!
Snoopy.com - fun with the Peanuts characters
Seussville - the crazy world of Dr Seuss
Sheeptrax - wit and Christian humour from Bryan Hupperts, plus free drama scripts
Ship of Fools - satirical look at Christendom
Sodaplay - make your own animated toy
Stuart Little - website for the recent hit kids film
The Brick Testament - painstaking recreation of Bible stories ... in LEGO. Why? Who knows.

For some of these freebies there are conditions but others are available to anyone. All these, and more, can be found throughout the OSCAR website by typing the word FREE into the search box on the front page:


  • www.aardman.com - home of the splendid Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and all the other superb plasticine-y creations from committed Christian Nick Park and his team at Aardman Animations. Includes news of Chicken Run, their new hit film with Stephen Spielberg's Dreamworks studio

  • A bit of fun: the site for current children's hit film Stuart Little - and for those who like pulling funny faces, check out the Cumbrian tourist authority's 'gurning' pages. They're guaranteed to give you a giggle!

  • For a bit of fun, take a look at http://www.the-sheds.com/ - for all lovers of allotments, it's the 2003 calendar you've been waiting for

  • Classic theatre pieces like A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, and Pygmalion are always popular, but you haven't truly experienced them until you've seen them performed by animated guinea pigs! Go to: http://www.musearts.com/cartoons/list.html

  • "The family that plays together ..." If you're after family-friendly entertainment online - games the entire family, whatever age, can enjoy - visit KinderStart's game area for an extensive variety of linked game websites with an educational feel. And if you fancy digging deeper, try Prongo.com age-level games: ages 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12; along with brainteasers, ecards, top games, pick of the week and humour.

  • SheepTrax Media, featuring the "wit, wisdom and deep-thinking of humourist, author and musician Bryan Hupperts," is "giving away" its first release, an e-book (in English) titled Prisoner 354 and Other One-Act Plays. These comedic and dramatic works vary in presentation - some are "blisteringly funny, others sombre and pointed. All lift up Jesus," says Huppers, whose ministry seeks to reach high school and college age students.

  • www.grand-illusions.com/ - if you love optical illusions, puzzles and brainteasers, you'll love this site. Great fun for all ages

  • Yes, The Brick Testament really is stories from the Old and New Testaments portrayed in painstakingly composed LEGO scenarios, by self-styled 'Reverend' Brian Powell Smith. Word has spread like wildfire about this since it launched in October. Bizarre but well worth a visit.

    Gaun Yersel Moses is described as "A hilarious journey through the Old Testament in Glasgowspeak verse". All of the old familiar stories are included - each poem faithful to
    the original text but told in a way guaranteed to have you rolling in the aisles. Mind-boggling.

  • Answer nine questions to find out how much air pollution you were responsible for last month. This calculator can help you target your pollution reduction efforts to your biggest problems and not worry too much about the little stuff. It's US-based, but it's still fun - and food for thought. Head for http://airhead.org/Calculator/

  • If you'd like tosend an electronic card with a touch of class, try http://classicgreetings.com/

  • Easily the leading satirical Christian humour site - possibly the only satirical Christian humour site - is Ship of Fools, which manages to combine everything from daft news from the crazier side of Christendom, Gadgets for God (tacky items offered to tasteless believers) and caption contests with more serious articles and online debates. Well worth a visit, and sure to delight and annoy in equal measure.

  • Maybe you've played games on the Web, but Sodaplay is something altogether different. The site features virtual "toys" that you can build, animate, and interact with using your mouse. You construct what look like wire-frame models that behave according to physical laws. It's brainy fun for young and old alike.

  • You know the scenario: you've remembered a friend's birthday and it's too late to post them a card. Well, if they're online, why not send them an e-card? The sites on offer are quite sophisticated these days, and you can usually choose something animated, with music and your personalised message in a range of colours. One of the best known is Blue Mountain Arts' Electronic Greeting Cards - or just type "e-cards" into a search engine. If your friend isn't online ... well, it's either the apologetic phone call or the belated card. The choice, as they say, is yours!

  • Visit www.ilovecheese.com and you can marvel at the American Dairy Association's recipes and unbelievable cheese statistics. Best of all, you can take part in the 'Cheese Profiler', which finds the cheese which suits you best. Best cheesy grins, now.

  • Cartoon fun ... Generations have grown up with Peanuts and co, and while creator Charles Schulz sadly died recently, Snoopy and friends will continue to delight all ages. Check out www.snoopy.com

  • If you grew up with the dotty delights of The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and Put Me In the Zoo courtesy of the splendid Dr Seuss series, you really must pay a visit to Seussville, at least on the pretence of introducing your children (or grandchildren!). There's plenty of fun to be had, including games to download (check out the Hamulator!) as well as sound reading skills and moral lessons to be picked up.

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