Links du solo1And so we reach the links page. This is by no means a themed list or anything, but just some stuff I liked the look of, and some stuff to which I contribute regularly:
I keep hearing stupid stories and getting dumbass emails about how if I forward the message to twelve people, Bill Gates will personally send me five dollars. Grr. However, sometimes you hear something or get something in your email which just sounds like it might be true. Luckily, there are two people who regard it as their life's mission to work out the difference for you. They are on the Urban Legends Reference Pages, otherwise known as "snopes.com". Hours of fun for all the family.
If you like peering into the private lives of troubled souls, then postsecret is for you. Homemade postcards are sent in anonymously and put online every Sunday. Apart from some reservations about how genuine it is, it's great! I liked it so much I did my own.
Continuing on the great theme of onions, check out The Onion, a net newsletter which satirises news stories. It's funny because it's true. If you want to see something funny because it's not true, then Comedy Central's web site is for you.
I don't like bullshit. If you feel that your bullshit detector is going off because of someone is claiming to have some weird healing power, or that he can talk to dead people (who often seem to know only the first letter of their names), check out James Randi. That's not his real name, but his site kicks ass.
If you feel that the bullshit is more political in nature, I suggest you try the CounterPunch site. Regular contributers include such amateur hacks as Robert Fisk and Noam Chomsky. Heh heh. "Cockburn". Heh.
Oh dear. This site is a vicious and evil dissection of all that is rotten in the state of Internetland. It chronicles and mocks the many dramas spinning out of Livejournal and 4chan in particular. If you have no idea what either of those are, then you are both very lucky, and ill-advised to check out Encyclopedia Dramatica. In case you are feeling poorly, I feel honour-bound to warn you that, in accordance with Rule 34, you will see terrible language and graphic sexual images. Those of you with a Facebook account will be wary of the evils of adding your friends and your family at the same time. One of your friends makes some harmless reference to the previous Saturday when someone had to hold your hair back because you're throwing up from drinking too much. Then your super-Christian aunt sees it and freaks out. Life ruined. Laughs aplenty. You'll find me in the comments section (along with a bunch of groupies who use my name) posting as Boz. I liked it so much I did my own!
This webcomic never fails to amuse. Some of the episodes are rather touching too. XKCD speaks to the geek in all of us, but mainly the one within me. I don't get half of the programming or math jokes, but if they're as funny as the jokes I do get, he's cool. Even more amusing is xkcd sucks, which takes apart every single comic XKCD does and rips it apart.
It's nice to know that I'm not alone. The American Atheists are here to remind me that someone, somewhere is interested in defending the rights of atheists like me. This site is updated every week and there's always something interesting. Watch the US Constitution fall apart, one amendment at a time. There's usually a little movie on the home site trying to explain that we're not heartless monsters determined to tear your morals apart, so if you're interested, and you have the time, take a look.
Wherever badness happens throughout the world - where military coups destabilise democractiacally-elected governments - wherever freedom is threatened or human rights attacked - there also shall be Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Always worth a look.
We all hear stories about celebrities getting into difficulties with the law. Well, despite having the worst colour scheme known to mankind since the history of the internet, The Smoking Gun has gone to the bother of compiling a database so you don't have to remember anything. |
