Ghost Sites 06

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Ghost Sites

 · 5 years ago

  

 

 
----- GHOST SITES #6  [October 16, 1996]  
----- by Steve Baldwin 

                                       (steve_baldwin@hotmail.com) 

 

To celebrate Halloween, this week's Ghost Sites takes aim at dead and 
dying entertainment sites. Sorry, celebrity necros, I'm not talking 
about web shrines to dead stars like Bing, Elvis, Janis, Jim, Kurt, 
Marilyn, or Veronica - our focus is on decaying entertainment sites 
whose dysfunctional bit rot is making certain stars' careers look like 
they've flat-lined. 

 
*---- MADONNA ON IUMA ----*  
----- http://www.iuma.com/Warner/html/Madonna.html 

Madonna's always been aggressive in cyberspace, and recently released an 
Evita track that's got the rubes waiting in line. But the M-Girl would 
have a cow if she could see the sparse gray web page she's been stuck 
with on IUMA. This crude page, dating from late 1994, lacks Real Audio, 
E-mail links, and quotable quotes from the star. Apparently, Madonna's 
record company forgot to turn off Madonna's old pages when the label 
moved from IUMA to its own megasite sometime in 1995. Fans seeking 
fresher Madonna info need go to http://www.wbr.com/madonna/, better yet, 
slouch back to Madonn-a-Ween for true bedtime horror. 

Related URLs: http://www.pathfinder.com/entertainment/doublefeature/ 

[3 GHOSTIES]  Site is Dead, but Well-Preserved 

 
*---- JUDGE DREDD ----*  
----- http://www.music.sony.com/Music/ArtistInfo/JudgeDredd/index.html 

Remember Judge Dredd? This 1995 Stallone action picture was a critical 
and box-office snoozer, but Sony's promotional pages persist, and 
they're a gloomy techno-wasteland, with broken links to something called 
"Dreddspace" that was purged from Disney's servers a long time ago. 
Someday I'm sure web users -- like Judge Dredd, will unilaterally blast 
obsolete web sites like this out of existence -- until then, Hollywood 
relics like Dredd are doomed to live on like so much futuristic space 
junk. 

[5 GHOSTIES]  Site is Stuffed, Embalmed, and Ready for Internet Museum 

 
*---- MEGADETH ARIZONA ----*  
----- http://www.hollywoodandvine.com/Megadeth/Gifs/megadeth.html 

Capitol Records runs a fairly up-to-date music site called "Hollywood 
and Vine", but the portion of it devoted to Megadeth resembles a piece 
of rotting roadkill, with every graphic on the page smashed and broken. 
Recall that this very same content was one of the first really 
stimulating band sites to hit the web when it launched in early 1995 to 
promote the band's "Youthanasia" album. Leaving it to wither in the sun 
may be a form of frontier justice, but it's still Mega-Depressing. 

[4 GHOSTIES]  Site is Dead, shows Advanced Decay 

 
*---- JOHNNY MNEMONIC ----*  
----- http://www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/SonyMovies/06jonmnu.html 

If people wanted to see this tepid techo-thriller, wouldn't they have 
seen it 15 months ago? Perhaps this ill-fated site -- which has clearly 
outlived its usefulness -- represents a last-ditch effort by Sony to 
drum up interest in Mnemonic. Or could the all-powerful William Gibson 
be pulling strings to keep it alive? The more likely explanation is that 
Sony's new media staff simply forgot about the aging Mnemonic site, just 
as film audiences forgot the film when it was released last year. 

[4 GHOSTIES]  Site is Dead, shows Advanced Decay 

 
*---- JERRY GARCIA IS DEAD ----*  
----- http://www.pathfinder.com/people/jerry/index.html 

As Chevy Chase might say, "Jerry Garcia is still dead", and so is this 
special commerative site, put up by Pathfinder and People Magazine to 
serve as a virtual wailing wall for grieving deadheads back in August 
1995. If you enjoy the feeling of being frozen in time, bookmark this 
page - not a byte has changed in 14 months. 

In the site's defense, the Dead scene has been so quiet in recent months 
that any updates would probably be gratuitous, but a year's worth of bit 
rot produces some disturbingly undignified artifacts. Click on "Captain 
Trip's Memorial Wall" and you'll be greeted by the bland message: 
"Sorry, Captain Trip's Memorial Wall Is No Longer In Service". For God's 
sake, it's a memorial wall to Jerry - not a subway car with brake 
trouble. 

Related URLs:  
   http://www.pathfinder.com/people/jerry/nomore.html 

[5 GHOSTIES]  Site is Stuffed, Embalmed and Ready for Internet Museum 

 
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Copyright 1996-1999 Steve Baldwin Associates. 
Webdesign, hosting and publication by Disobey. 

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