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Web Watch by Courtney Thompson Not having cable can be a beautiful thing. I rejoice in the fact that I’ve remained shielded from the Survivor phenomenon. However, I miss A&E, Showcase and the Comedy Network, and must admit that the worst drawback is not seeing the commercials. I missed the "Wassup!" references, the "I AM CANADIAN" speech and countless other mindless media-shaped cultural references shared around the water cooler. I became an outsider. I was no longer part of the in-crowd. I had to get back to my roots! That’s when I found AdCritic.com. A virtual haven of commercials, their motto is "All ads, All the time." Now you don’t have to wait for those silly shows to break – you can pick your favourite ad and watch it when you want. They have a Top Ten list to pick from as well as a large database so you can search by brand (what are those Eggo people up to now?) or by your obsession, whether it’s cars, celebrities or sock monkeys. Another great site to check out, if you’re perpetually late for the movie previews because you were stuck in line jonesin’ for Junior Mints, is Apple’s Quicktime movie trailers (apple.com/trailers). Quicktime is a superior streaming Web technology, so all you need is a high-speed connection to reap the benefits. The site is updated regularly so you can check out what’s new (Charlie’s Angels) or look up an older movie you forgot in the theatre but are considering on video. They also offer computer video game trailers from time to time, so you can fully geek out if you need to. So cancel that cable, stop wasting time watching those episodes of Friends and get down to some real thought provoking advertising brought to you by the Web.

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