I’ve been meaning to mention the ABC No Rio site for months, but I keep forgetting because someone sent me snail mail about it and I lost it in my pile of junk around my computer. I just ran across it again, so here’s the address – http://www.abcnorio.org/ . The site contains information about what ABC No Rio is about, a listing of what projects they are doing, and a list of upcoming shows and how to get your band a show. I didn’t realize, until going to their site, how much they actually have going besides punk shows. They have a Mac computer lab, a zine library, a screen printing business, a darkroom, and more.

Junto! is a band from Canada that plays melodic hardcore (judging by the mp3 file on their site). Their web page is worth checking out to see how a band page can be done right. They have news about the band, which is actually updated, a history page, a page of lyrics and sounds (some Real Audio and some MP3), and a list of promoters in Western Canada. Pretty much everything you need to know about the band. Check Junto! out at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Mezzanine/6697/ .

For some sounds from old school punk bands, check out Old School or No School. Featuring a ton of rare (and often shitty sounding) songs in Real Audio format, this site also has reviews of old school stuff, an album of the week, a list of tapes for trade, and more. You’ll find Old School or No School at http://www.innetix.com/~mikhail/oldschool.html .

Fuck Ideologues is a zine consisting of nothing but writing. They have their first issue up on the web, and there are a dozen or so pieces here, with 2/3 of the articles being rants / non-fiction, and the other third fiction. For the most part, the pieces are well thought out, and in some cases even have bibliography entries! They also take submissions, so if you want something to read, or are looking for somewhere to submit your opinions, you can check it out -- http://members.aol.com/ropex/ .

Troll Online is a new zine that the web designer promises me will come out on a monthly basis. As of this writing, he’s on issue #2, so if he’s still on #2 when you check out his site, you know he lied. This has a few record reviews, some tour dates for various bands, a handful of links, and not much else. I think he’s taking contributions, though, so head over to http://www.troll-zine.freeserve.co.uk/ and give him a hand.

Anokpeace is a cool little anarchy site. The author gives his opinions of his favorite anarchist bands of the past, has a good start on a political literature section, and has a couple of interviews online. Not much here yet, but still worthwhile for the essays. You’ll find Anokpeace at http://www.angelfire.com/in2/anokpeace/index.html .

The aptly named UK Punk deals with, you got it, UK punk. Cool thing is, this site actually contains a lot of bands that you’ve probably never heard. There are sound files, interviews, gig reviews, message boards, interviews, and address of zines, etc. There is a ton of information here. UK Punk is at http://members.tripod.com/ukpunk/ .

Okay, so the rest of the sites this issue aren’t Punk, but they do have some cool stuff, and are worth visiting. Scummagazine is a "skating,graffiti,music" online zine. They have a list of US Skateparks, a message board, music reviews, and more. The only problem with this site is that it focuses on rollerblading more than skateboarding. Blahhhhh. Check it out at http://www.scummagazine.com .

Another great non-punk site is Word at http://www.word.com (it’s a wonder Microsnot hasn’t tried to sue them for the name). This is an online magazine that has offbeat features, some of which are hilarious. They make heavy use of video and other new media formats, so you have to have a decent system to see some of it, but you’ll probably find yourself visiting this site all the time, once you see what it has to offer.

DEN (Digital Entertainment Network) is a site that is trying to become and online TV network. Again, you’ll need a decent computer to visit this site, but if you go, you’ll find a channel on snowboarding, rollerblading, and the like, and a punk sitcom written by Joe Escalante of the Vandals. You can visit DEN at http://www.den.net .

RTMARK is an organization that "supports the informative alteration of corporate products". They basically fuck with corporations by pulling pranks on them, such as setting up phony websites, using products as they aren’t meant to be used, and more. It’s kinda hard to explain in the space I have left, so just visit their website at http://rtmark.com .

Okay, so that wraps things up for this month. You can e-mail me at netpunk@diehippiedie.com, or check out my old columns at http://www.diehippiedie.com/netpunk/ . And, of course, I’m always available via the old post office at PO Box 8059 Santa Cruz, CA 95061. See ya.