10 Eastern

by Chad Van Wagner

Not really sure what 10 Eastern‘s reason to be is, but it’s rather adept at sucking up the time. There are a few sections of the site devoted to a Java application that allows you to draw anything you want, then submit it for analysis and/or criticism from passers by. One section is even specifically dedicated to illustrating an ongoing story. Huh.

The real draw, though, is the “Found Pictures” archive. It consists of just that, loads of pictures that were “discovered” while browsing in P2P land (file sharing, for the non-geeks out there). They range from odd, to somewhat arousing, to hilarious, to disgusting (unfortunately, surgical pictures appear to be fair game).

What’s remarkable to note, however, is how easily one can be pulled into the weird rhythm of the permanent non-sequitur of going from one random image to another. There really is a strange kind of coherence in going from goofy to nice to cute to completely screwed up in the space of ten seconds. Once you get into the flow of the pages, don’t be surprised to think “that’s my new favorite picture of all time” repeatedly. (I’m particularly fond of one shot of a young girl asleep in a car, hunched over next to a kickball that has a smiley face painted on it. Don’t ask me why. I only saw it once, and the archive is so vast I couldn’t find it again.)

There’s even a forum dedicated to commenting on the photos. Mostly it’s people asking “who is this girl?,” but occasionally, you’ll get some stories mixed in with the pleas for factual help. It’s almost like a mini-vacation, looking through someone else’s memories, thinking of just what in the Holy HELL could possibly have been going on when they took that snapshot. An unexpectedly fertile ground for imagination.
(www.10eastern.com, or try www.10eastern.com/images/FoundPhotos/archives)