So what were you thinking?

In most cases, available thoughts overflow the available space on a single page, so clicking anywhere on the text box loads the next segment of the transcript, and eventually cycles back to page one. If you're not sure about the length of an entry, placing your mouse over the text box will reveal the number of pages required to fully capture each subject's contemplations.

None are longer than four short pages, but since some of the Thought Project's entries may start to remind the viewer of Grandpa Simpson's narrative skills, it might be helpful to know just how much of each person's thinking you'll be expected to digest.

And while there are frequently clues -or even outright declarations- in the transcripts, the site itself reveals no specific information about the subjects (no names, no ages, no occupations, no locales). Still, it's clear from the content that Hoegsberg was either concentrating his survey in artistic districts of the two cities, or preferred the responses that he received from professional and aspiring creatives. (To be fair, you probably wouldn't get a response like, "I'm walking to think and I'm only thinking when I'm walking, or what's the saying? I think best when I'm walking. So I know what I was thinking..." from a Fortune 500 CEO.)

Stereotypes is just as straightforward in its user experience, and just as focused in its subject matter, but while The Thought Project might have you wondering what's going on behind other peoples' faces next time you're in a crowd, Stereotypes could have you observing your own reactions to those same faces.

Online for a few years now, our second example of recreational self-promotion is the creation of California-based photographer, Eric Myer. Adapting a common children's book device of horizontally splitting pages in half in order to create cartoon hybrids of various animals, Stereotypes presents visitors with 20 (split) head-and-shoulders thumbnails of men, women and one child of various races, lifestyles, and, shall we say, 'fashion senses' - all of which can generate a full-sized image on the same page.

To the right of the thumbnails is a 'starting image' (a randomly chosen, full-sized version of one of the thumbnails), and from this point the visitor simply clicks the top or bottom half of the various thumbnails to start mixing and matching pieces in the full sized portrait - creating some amusing, surprising, and even mildly disturbing, combinations. As well as manually manipulating the pairings, visitors can also click on a random generation button, or play a continuing stream of combinations in a slide show.

Apart from the amusement and potential enlightenment that might be derived from this site, Stereotypes also represents some impressive photographic manipulation. While not all the top/bottom matches are absolutely seamless, most are, and such a good fit across so many different facial shapes and textures is impressive - as is finding an appropriate "middle tone" to represent all the subjects' skin color.

Both sites operate intuitively and functioned without a hiccup. Perhaps the only caveat that should be attached to these projects regards the risk of unconsciously staring at strangers the next time you're in a crowd.

The Thought Project can be found at http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/, with Stereotypes at http://www.ericmyer.com/red/stereotypes.htm.

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