Phone Phun

Are you a connoisseur of the ripped-bodice romance novel? How about just looking for a good giggle? Either way, we've got just the thing for you.

Point your web browser to fabiofone.com, answer a few simple questions—name, occupation, hobbies, and of course your phone number—and the Great Mane will give you a call back.

Sure, he's trying to sell you his favorite non-dairy spread, but hey, how often do concerned celebrities care about what you put on your toast?

A tip of the Phone Phun Phedora goes to Izzy for turning us on to this service. We hope we're not just being "buttered-up" here.

Need to get back at someone who has rickrolled you one too many times? No problem. Just have them call 248-434-5508, and good ol' Rick Astley will serenade your friend with his #1 hit tune.

Jott (1-866-JOTT-123) has added a silly new feature: when it asks "who do you want to send a Jott to?" say "8-ball" and the thing will answer your question like a Magic 8-Ball.

Used it's "real" way, I've found Jott to be an incredibly useful tool for sending myself reminders: send a Jott to "myself" then speak a short message — they turn it into text and e-mail it to you. You can also post to your blog using the service, but I don't think I'll be trying that until they can guarantee perfect transcriptions.

Another cool new feature: you can create a Google Calendar event in a single step using Jott. Just call Jott, say “Google Calendar”, and then the time of the event and what it’s about. They'll take your voice, convert it to text, and insert it into your calendar for you.

Vonage users can dial 1-700-CALL-SANTA to hear a recorded message from Santa Claus (and leave him a message). It's mostly appropriate for kids, who probably won't even notice the carolers singing "Use a Vonage Phone!"

A nice surprise: After your kid leaves a message, the recording is e-mailed to you. A sneaky way to find out what someone wants for Christmas, or eavesdrop on the nasty things they said to Santa.

(This number doesn't work from non-Vonage phones.)

I've been posting the numbers for libraries' dial-a-story lines for months, but just discovered dialastory.highachievement.org, which lists hundreds of books that are available on dial-a-story lines across the country. It appears to show which stories are currently available at each number, along with a picture of each book (and a link to amazon to buy it.) I don't know how up-to-date the list is, though.

The phone number of the wood delivery company in the movie Evan Almighty works — it's a promotional recording for the movie. (800)-GO-4-WOOD

Another dial-a-story number to add to your mobile phone's speed dial for emergency kidlet-entertainment purposes: the Goshen County (Wyoming) Library offers a free 24/7 dial-a-story line at (307) 532-2626. When I called the story was Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes."

And yet another: the Winston County, Mississippi library has a free story line at (662)773-3566. These stories are read by children, which adds a while extra-thick layer of cuteness.

Here's a fun one: Dial-An-Old-Time-Radio-Show. Based in Texas, you can listen in on old-timey radio. 1-972-889-2OTR (that's 1-972-889-2687).

(Thanks to Bill for the tip!)

Even if you don't care one bit about the R. Kelley audio clips phone number, you might be interested in the service that makes it happen. That number, and many others, is provided by a company called SayNow. The SayNow web site reveals a list of popular musicians that each have their own phone numbers, including Ashley Tisdale (818-836-8040), Lil Fizz (415-944-8370), and Tyrese Gibson (818-206-9337). You can hear messages from, and leave messages for, each artist.

Perhaps best of all, the SayNow web site lets you listen to the messages that fans leave for those artists. It's funny-but-sad to listen in on messages from rabid tween fans.

You don't have to be a musician to get a number at SayNow: the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, and the popular shopaholic web site Woot have dial-in numbers, too. Unless SayNow hides its clients really well, it looks like only 16 or so bands/companies are using it so far. Any publisher or community leader can sign up for their own number. This could be a great way for music groups/religious cults/whatever to gain a viral following.

Recording artist R. Kelly has set up a hotline where fans can hear snippets from his next album. Call (312) 278-3965 to hear a 6-minute message previewing songs from his upcoming CD "Double Up". That number is featured in his latest video.

The number doesn't work from phones with caller ID blocking. Remember kids, dial *82 first to unblock your number.

Kelly is awaiting trial in Chicago on child pornography charges. A'ight.