lanetary Scorecard chronicles Earth's attempts to send probes to planets within the inner solar system, awarding Terra a point whenever it successfully orbits or lands a craft on another planet. Earth's celestial opponents score whenever they manage to block an attempt.
The scorecards for Mercury, Venus and Mars list each attempted mission, when it was launched, the Earth nation (or "player") responsible for it, a link to the mission profile and a brief summary of what went right—or wrong.
With the amount of bad press that the various planetary space programs get when something does go wrong, visitors might expect Earth to be trailing most of its solar kin, but in truth it's 1-0 with Mercury, 23-18 with Venus and trails Mars by only three (total score: 17:20). Of the three scorecards, the Mars one is the most intriguing. It starts off tongue-in-cheek with the Martian "invasion" of Grover's Mills, N.J., in 1938, and then switches over to real missions, beginning with Russia's Marsnik 1 in 1960. Reading through the summaries is a blast—the sports metaphor works well, and the light, amusing style is as entertaining as it is educational.
— Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—April 5, 2004
isitors to Neil Gaiman's weblog won't find Dream or Death or any of the rest of his Endless. Nor will they find questing Norse gods or lost underground cities. What they will find is an author freely conversing with his fans on a wide variety of subjects, news about current and upcoming projects, and occasional posts about life in the modern age.
Aspiring writers will find plenty of advice and commentary from Gaiman, who frequently comments on the industry, and what it takes to become a professional scribe. Topics have included the value of master's-level writing programs, life as a mid-list author and the pathetic nature of plagiarists. He covers a variety of other subjects as well, including comic books, theater and even The Muppet Show.
Elsewhere on the site, fans will find an "Exclusive Material" section featuring essays by Gaiman, including "I, Cthulhu," a amusing ode to Lovecraft's work; "Where Does Neil Get His Ideas?" in which he describes his writing process; and even an essay about cities written for SimCity 2000. There are also essays about Gaiman's work by other authors, including the very useful "Sandman Summary," which provides a comprehensive overview of the series. "The Stories" is a bibliography of his work, while "Message Boards" provides fans a place to chat about the author. Finally, the site includes an extensive archive of Gaiman's postings, dating back to his original 2001 entries in support of his novel American Gods.
— Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—March 29, 2004
ired of hearing that old cliche about virtue being its own reward? Looking to change life paths in the most radical way possible? Perhaps it's time to take a quick surf past So You've Decided to Be Evil, a Web page that outlines a host of opportunities to serve the forces of darkness.
The brainchild of author Neil Zawacki, this Web page seeks to lure potential lunatics into the evil lifestyle. It is an in-depth treatment of evil issues, from villainous motivations (should a newbie evildoer focus on being power-hungry, greedy or vengeful?) to the best place to locate a secret hideout. While acknowledging that many would-be villains aspire to be criminal masterminds, this site also reminds visitors not to neglect the possibilities inherent in career tracks like Cult Leader or Horror Movie Villain.
So You've Decided to Be Evil has a straightforward design and few graphics, focusing on getting its message across through its essays. Each piece provides whimsical reading to anyone who has wished, even momentarily, to escape all life's responsibilities by turning to the Dark Side. That is not to say just anyone can become a villain: The site's Evil Quiz determines a visitor's aptitude for wickedness. For those who pass muster, though, the page goes on to offer advice on evil fashion and managing henchmen. It also has more specialized tactical information on thwarting the forces of good, for example, and formulating deathtraps and evil schemes.
For SF fans who enjoy seeing the genre's conventions lampooned, or any Web surfer who had not realized that the Army of Darkness recruits, So You've Decided to Be Evil will brighten even the bleakest of days.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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