ok, so we know we owe it to you. our featured sites of the month section has been lagging for the past few months, so it's about damn time that you got a bunch of neat recommendations to continue and expand your mint rubbing experience.

so now then. first, there's a site included in the confessions category - you know the type: lowbrow.com, notproud.com or postsecret.com. well, the new addition this month is a site called group hug - check it out. i don't know about you, but this kind of sites sort of fascinate me. i still can't figure if this is a good thing or bad one.

next, let me introduce a somewhat similarly-themed site called found, which sort of takes confessions one step further, in the sense that it features found items; there's some junk for sure, but some of the stuff is genuinely intersting: various notes and written messages - anonymous and unintentional confessions if you will.

time to switch gears and introduce a bunch of sites that merge online with real-world experiences in what surely looks like some neat little projects. there's a site that tracks US bills and their circulation based on serial numbers (wheresgeorge.com); another one tracks the whereabouts of books left in public to be read by others and then put back into circulation (bookcrossing.com; thanks to ioana for this one); a third site features an even more appealing idea, by circulating disposable cameras, letting people take random pictures before putting said cameras back into circulation and then presenting resulting pictures on the web (phototag.org); finally, the last site in this lot (and what looks like the coolest) features a game that provides GPS coordinates of hidden random stuff, that GPS users can track down and exchange for something else (geocaching.com).

moving along, let's not forget the entertainment side of the web. first there's the invataturi dure cu Barosu website (romanian only), a side project of the already legendary grigore.org page that features wisdom from, well, barosu; in the author's own words: "Deci, eu sunt Barosu, asta-i felia mea la Grigore. Eu va zic cum supravietuiesc pa strada, cum imi bat faraoanca sportiv, cum dau an in cap pa strada, cum fac io bani, si cum am duso la parnae". (too bad there seem to be some problems in the update department). next, there's badass training (romanian only), in the author's own words: "asta e sansa ta sa devii un barbat adevarat" and "Badass este unul dintre cei care au reusit! Modul direct in care abordeaza femeile si le face sa fie atrase in cateva clipe i-a adus numai succes! Acum el este gata sa depaseasca alaturi de voi orice problema si sa va impartaseasca cunostintele si experientele sale!". low and behold, this shit is for real!

here at mintrubbing.org we have a somewhat puzzling interest with some of the more exotic sides of science. in this department check out the website of 4Frontiers Corporation. the corporation, "founded in 2005 and incorporated in the state of Florida, is an emerging space commerce company focused on the settlement of Mars. It recognizes the economic potential resulting from convergence of four frontiers – Earth orbit, Mars, the Moon, and Asteroids." well, don't hold your breath for dividends. also check out this article published on bbc and dealing with a theme that has always been a long-time favorite with the science department of this site.

finally, in the assorted and miscellaneous department there's the website of an independent romanian movie called USL (romanian only) - go take a look and lend these people some cash if you have any to spare or help them out in some other way. they seem pretty dedicated and they don't seem to need that much dough.

in an ending note there's a neat little realworld project that we discovered lately: omagiu, "contemporary inspiration" publication available in print at selected bookstores such as noi at sala dalles in bucharest (romanian only). we enjoyed it. there's a website too, but there's nothing on it.

and last but not least (man, this stuff, keeps piling up), there's a website called altervistas that takes care of "cataloguing the bizarre, weird and strange" and that has consequentially awarded mintrubbing.org the "AlterVistas Weird Web Award of Excellence" on october 14th. the thing is pretty sweet, check out the award here. thanks, guys:

The Weird Web Award.
Click here to verify.

ancient romanian wisdom

ah, yes. the joy, the wonder and, at times, the sheer stupidity of ancient romanian wisdom. first there's a very thoughtful piece on romanian optimism and confidence - click here. and second, with all this talk of bird flu going around, there's an excellent piece on appreciation of women - click here.