We’re trying out a new weekly column – a collection of funny, inspirational, cute, interesting, or otherwise worthwhile internet time-wasters. Got feedback? Want to suggest something for next week? Comment below!
Disclaimer: these may not be the most timely findings , but they are things that have just been discovered this week.
Pure Awesome: Beatboxing is not just for teens, hip-hop/rap, and clubs anymore. TED (Technology, Education, Development) Talks, inspirational conferences that gather the best and brightest of today, are usually educational and interesting. This TED Melbourne performance by Tom Thum (really, that’s his name), is way cooler. Watch in awe.
Funny: I’m a huge fan of The Oatmeal, and my all-time favorite comic is The Bobcats. A five-part series that doesn’t take up too much of your time (30 minutes), it’s a sharp satire about office life, cats, and work in general. Read it at TheOatmeal. BONUS: if you like Bobcats, you’ll probably like at least two thirds of the rest of the content on The Oatmeal, so you have a time-waster for the next month or two.
Feminist: I’ve already shown I have a bit of a feminist agenda with last week’s Best of the Web. The topic of the week is abortion, and it’s been a fruitful week. Texas passed the abortion law impressively filibustered by Wendy Davis, writes Reuters, and North Carolina decided to ride the wave, says NYTimes . Never mind that these laws are far stricter than the Supreme Court mandate from decades ago. Never mind that they’re being passed by mostly white males who can’t possibly understand what they’re talking about. At least we’re doing better than Ireland, says the BBC. And we know not to run from the conservative agenda to Chile thanks to HuffingtonPost.
Fun: The name says it all: DailyBreak.com can be your 10 minute (or 10 hour) break from life. The site boasts “bite-sized” quizzes which you gain coins for taking. As coins add up, you can enter drawings for prizes, or bid on items in an auction, which include everything from a $500 Gift Card for Amazon.com to a terrarium kit. The quizzes themselves are fun to the point of being addictive, so you might not mind if you don’t win anything (I don’t).
Useful: This is for online shoppers who like to save money (really, who doesn’t like to save money?). Sign up for PoachIt.com, bookmark it, and click the bookmark anytime you find something you like for a price you don’t like. PoachIt will send you an email when it finds a better price on the item. It could take a while, so this won’t work for time-sensitive items.