OBSESSIONS AND CURIOSITIES
(The picture above, by the way, I took in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in 2001. The hand on the front page of this site is also from Rajasthan - I found it in a junk shop in Udaipur)
The National Council for Dull Men has a wonderful page of links when even watching clouds is getting just a little too exciting. If, like me, you have got to the age when garden sheds offer a strange fascination, this site will help you. On the other hand, if you would rather have a Hole in the Head than look at pictures of Socks With Sandals, well, I've just given you the link for that too. For those less-than-dull The Church of the Sub-Genius provides the one true religion. For other insights in to Modern Living I would suggest this very fine Flash animation (the same guy also made flow which I won't attempt to describe - just have a look at it), the sensible Urban Legends site, and, for those susceptible to conspiracy theories, Crank Dot Net. I don't actually believe in conspiracy theories but I find them an endless source of fascination and it's nice to find people who actually believe in something these days. For rather more serious alternative journalism there is Disinformation, Counterpunch and Indymedia. If that's not underground enough for you, try this. Or even better, an actual gateway to hell.
Fireworks are one of my obsessions but don't really work well on a computer screen. But if you ever get a chance to see the work of Christophe Berthonneau and groupe f who have turned pyrotechnics into an art form - well just drop everything and go. In 2006 I took a Category 4 training course with Fantastic Fireworks (Category 4 are the serious fireworks the public can't buy) in an attempt to both professionalise and exploit this obsession. (Fantastic Fireworks, by the way, are the people who broke the record by letting off 56,645 rockets in 30 seconds one day in Plymouth).
If, like me, you suffer from a Macintosh habit (computer rather than raincoat) I would suggest MacSurfer Headlines that has links to most of the Mac news . Other minor obessions include 20th light fittings such as the Anglepoise, which I occasionally restore as a hobby. I'm currently working on a rare (only made 1935-38) 3-step base 1227. I have a Bestlite as well.