Well, it is "one gal's guide to good stuff," after all. So here are some sites that I like to visit, each chock full of their own particular pleasure-giving potential. And, since I firmly believe that the pleasures of the analog world should not be forgotten, please visit The Reading Room for some "luddite links" that are not to be missed.

1966 - A History of Mod Fashions for Designers, Historians and Sixties Buffs What a fun site! Lyn FitzGerald is a costume historian who did her thesis on Mary Quant, so you can rest assured she knows her mod fashion. You and I, on the other hand, can learn all about mod history here, from who the top models and designers were, to what movies and TV shows typified the look and the era. There's also a great page of retro design links.

A Visit to Yesterland - The Discontinued Disneyland God bless my Aunt Norma. Not only is she a lovely person, but she took me to Disneyland in 1967. I was six years old then, and absolutely the right age to appreciate everything about it (except for The Pirates of the Carribean, which I rode with my head buried in Norma's lap). I've only spent a couple hours in allegedly "Magic Kingdom" since then, but it was obvious that things just weren't the same. Luckily, this site keeps all those wonderful old attractions alive, including the recently retired submarine ride. My only regret is I never got to ride it as an adult, the better to appreciate its cheesy qualities.

Blast Off With The Saturn V Featuring Orbit I love "America's Answer to the Beatles" -- The Saturn V Featuring Orbit! If you dig real music of the frantic twistin', shoutin' sort, you'll frug right over to this page. Be sure you order up The V Jive (that's "five jive," ho-dads), a fine publication for which I have been known to occasionally write. And when in S.F., don't miss their action-packed performances at such bastions of West Coast hepitude as The Purple Onion and The Bottom of the Hill. Disclaimer: If you really must know, my husband's in this band. So what? I'd love The Sat V even if he wasn't! As long as we're on the subject, here's some of my other favorites in the 60s/garage genre: Fortune & Maltese and the Phabulous Pallbearers, The Hate Bombs and The Untamed Youth.

Dewey Webb Page Confidential OK, no beating around the bush on this one: in a perfect world, this would be my site. The books Dewey writes about in his Pulp Fiction section would all be in my library. Oh, yeah, that's right -- many of them already are! What good taste this man has! Yes, Dewey Webb is the man who (1) introduced me to the one and only Paul Wilson (see my rant in Zines! Vol. 1 or the section devoted to Paul in Al Hoff's Thrift Score for the low down on this genius of our times); (2) he sent me my autographed copy of Vonda Kay Van Dyke's That Girl In Your Mirror; (3) he's been a Mystery Date fan since the beginning. In short, he is a god. Besides that, Dewey maintains a site chock-full of pop culture craziness, from b-movies to paparazzi to his "Objets of the Week." And get this -- he actually updates his site on a regular basis! You need this!

Zona: The Girdle Zone Zona is Latin for "girdle" and that's just what this delightful site is all about. But make no mistake, as Zona editor and proprietor, Virginian, states "Though matters of sexuality are discussed, those looking for pornography should turn elsewhere." Those looking for wonderful personal stories and terrific archives of "girdleana" should look no further. I particularly enjoyed Virginian's sweet, nostalgic story of the Girl in the Pale Blue Girdle. Mystery Date readers accustomed to my (most generally negative) memories of growing up female may wish to read Suzanne's essays The Appeal of Girdles for Some Women and First Girdle Purchase. In these pieces, Suzanne recalls with pride and pleasure the long-ago Easter of 1962, when she was allowed to wear a girdle for the first time. All in all, a first-class site.

Grrl Enterprises The Fully Caffeinated World of Felix Here are two "personal" sites that are well worth checking out. Bonnie Burton is a foxy girl about the web whose Grrl Enterprises site features outstanding graphics and a whole bunch of tremendously fun stuff. Need relief? Then try one of 32 identical "pills" each linked to a different wacky web site (the two I recently looked at featured Spirit Photography and Serial Killers v. Mass Murderers). Or read Bonnie's take on dating, books, zines, work or her fave, Bettie Page. Meanwhile, my pal Lucy Huntzinger is the mistress at The Fully Caffeinated World of Felix, a well-designed little site that's absolutely chock-full of personality and fine writing. I particularly enjoy the gallery of Lucy's ever-evolving hairstyle. She also keeps an online diary (Aries Moon) that's simultaneously sweet, funny and revealing. By the way, both of these gals do a tremendous job keeping their sites updated on a weekly (at least) basis.

The Fortean Times online I've been reading The Fortean Times for years now, and the online version of this "Journal of Strange Phenomena" is just as much fun. Dedicated to continuing the work of writer/philosopher Charles Fort (1874-1932), the folks at FT maintain the proper line between credulity and skepticism while they report on odd happenings around the world -- with a healthy sense of humor.

And, if you like the Fortean Times, you'll like: Strange Magazine . . .which covers the same territory as the Fortean Times, but with a more sober outlook. I particularly like Strange's focus on "cryptozoology," or the search for hidden animals. These animals can range from the probably mythical (like Nessie -- hey, I'd like to believe in it, but why hasn't a dead one turned up by now?) to the definitely real (like the Giant Squid, see below). Less downright entertaining than FT, but compelling nonetheless.

Giant Squid Page Don't get me started. I love the giant squid, and now you can too. Alas, they didn't find one on the recent expedition funded by the Smithsonian Institute, but any day now they'll track one down on film. In the meantime, you can read all about this wonder of the deep at this informative site. And, no, I don't know why I love 'em like I do, but just ruminate on this fact -- a giant squid's eye can be as large as a hubcap. That's big, folks.

Taylorology One more link in the mysterious vein. This superbly researched e-zine focuses on the unsolved 1922 murder of William Desmond Taylor. Taylor was a film director whose killing was one of a string of scandals that plagued early Hollywood. If you're a fan of Hollywood Babylon, Taylorology will prove to you that the truth is often as juicy as fiction.

Tampax Avert your eyes, boys. While this site is pretty dull on the whole, I love the pages where they describe the "different" product lines available in the U.S., Canada and Europe. I mean, we all put our pants on one leg at a time, if you catch my drift.

And while we're on the subject, you really need to visit the very excellent Museum of Menstruation. They recently received some items from the family of a woman who had been married to -- are you ready for it? -- a Kotex ad man in the 30s and 40s. Am I jealous? So much so that this page should be a even shade of pea green. And this page just keeps getting better: don't miss the new Cabinet of Curiosities of Women's Health, currently featuring an illustration of "The Touch," a 19th century method of pelvic examination in which the woman remains fully clothed and the physician genteely averts his eyes!

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