Flowers

Yeah, its spring in time in the northern hemisphere, and although I'm shivering south of the equator, I can always look at pictures and pretend. There are over 700 images of flowers - a true feast of colors - in the gallery. You will also find plenty of links to other flower-related resources on the internet.

What's great about this group: celebrate the budding of new life.

Update (28 October 2023)

There is a Facebook group called Flowers, which can be found here. I'm not sure if it's the same one. 

Food Fusion

This group - another small one as far as membership goes - will provide inspiration to anyone who wants to get away from the idea that food preparation is boring. The idea is to get creative and mix up cuisine styles from different ethnic origins. Threads on the discussion board include 'Two ways to Make Pork Milanese: Asian meets European', 'Recipes from the Yahoo! Fusion Cooking Club', 'Middle East meets West', 'Quick 10 minute Seafood Stir Fry', 'Easy Vegetarian Dish' and 'Hawaiian Asian Grill Feast', to name but a few. Also check out the gallery for all the yummy pictures.

What's great about this group: it's enough to whet anyone's appetite.

Update (28 October 2023)

There is still a Facebook group called Food Fusion, but since it was only created in 2017, it is unlikely to be the Facebook group featured here. 

Abnormal Cars

This group has more photographs than members. It speaks virtually no English and there are no discussions, but if unusual muscle cars are your thing, you'll get a rush looking at all the unusual specimens in the gallery. Enjoy.

What's great about this group: enjoy the pictures.

Update (28 October 2023)

This group does not seem to exist anymore.

Singularity

Will the self-sufficiency of artificial intelligences spell the salvation or damnation of mankind? Members of this group - and it is a fairly small group - discuss the possibilities raised by Ray Kurzweil's book 'The Singularity is Near. Threads on the discussion board include 'Foundations of the Singularity', 'Corporations chasing profits could slow the singularity.', 'Scanning/storing brains', 'Free = Singularity?' and '3D Internet a reflection of real Universe'. Check it out, if you can't resist thought experiments.

What's great about this group: share theories about the future dominance of machines.

Update (29 October 2023)

There is a private Facebook group, Singularity Network, which has 26,300 members. It was founded in October 2010, which means it's not the group profiled in this post. You can request access here. 

Garden Gnome Liberation Front

Have you heard about the case of the disappearing garden gnome? The activities of the Garden Gnome Liberation Front is yet another phenomenon birth by the cyber-era. Through a website and the Facebook group, those who sympathize with the plight of garden gnomes mobilize to liberate their friends. Threads on the discussion board include 'Gnome Sanctuary', 'What can I do to help?', 'does anyone know the total world population of garden gnomes is?' and 'Where will freed gnomes be safe?' In the gallery you can spot some liberated gnomes living it up in all sorts of exotic locations.

What's great about this group: It introduces the practice of 'gnoming'.

Update (24 October 2023)

There is still a Facebook Group for the Garden Gnome Liberation Front and it has 3,000 members. Additionally, I also discovered a Facebook Page for the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, with  1,300 followers. Neither community is particularly active, but it's good to know they are still around. Go here to visit or join the Facebook Group and here to like the page. 

Birds!

If you love watching things with wings, then check this out. Threads on the discussion board include 'Favorite Birds!', 'BIRD ID', 'What type of bird is this?', 'Feeding Birds - Advice please!!!', 'weird things birds do' and 'A great website for all things bird!' There are almost 3000 images of birds in the gallery, including such rarities as an albino peacock and red flamingos. There are also links to bird related videos.

What's great about this group: it allows you to indulge in plenty of indoor bird-watching.

Update (16 April 2024)

There are plenty of groups dedicated to birds or bird watching. Many are regional. Several are called Birds. 

Support Julian Beever.3D sidewalk drawing. Just awesome!

Meet Julian Beever, a gifted artist who can turn drab sidewalks into feasts of fantasy that twist and warp your perceptions in directions you never thought they'd go. In many of the photographs featured in the gallery it is difficult to tell what is real and what is not - and therein lies the challenge.

What's great about this group: enjoy the pictures

This Group does not seem to exist anymore. There are a few old video clips on Facebook of Julian Beever's street art.

Dungeons and Dragons

It would be easy to assume that online virtual games killed off older versions of role-playing games, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are still people out there who play Dungeons and Dragons the old-fashioned way with dice and figures, although they do download their gaming manuals off the internet and share strategy tips and experiences in forums such as this group. Threads on the discussion board include 'What's your favorite player mistake?', 'Best Ranged Weapon', 'What's your most powerful D&D character?', 'Current or Memorable characters.', 'What edition do you play?', 'in creating a campaign setting..', and 'The Best enemy'. There are also plenty of posts from members looking to join up with players in their area.

What's great about this group: It's a place for D&D enthusiasts to share their thoughts.

Update (16 April 2024)

There are many groups dedicated to Dungeons and Dragons, some regional, some international and it would be impossible to work out if this one is still active.