Despite a reputation as tech-savvy and click-happy, many in our generation are far from being true cyber-connoisseurs. Often, we don’t even explore the Interwebs beyond e-mail, news, weather, sports and the omniscient Wikipedia. Sure, we can waste hours on Facebook, but we’re less likely to go venturing through the blogosphere without some kind of map.
This is completely understandable, unless you like stumbling upon indecipherable technobabble or the laments of 14-year-old girls. In a world where every village idiot gets a megaphone, it’s helpful to know what’s worth your time, even if it’s just your idle, surfing-the-Internet time.
Don’t know what an RSS feed is? Still think a blog is something you pull out of the sink drain? Have no fear. If you’re bored of staring at your news feed, hit “refresh” in a whole new way and check out these six sites. The bonus? They’re still excellent time-wasters. Now click away!
1. Go Fug Yourself (http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com): GFY is the pet project of “New York Magazine” fashion bloggers. Updated a few times a day, the Fug Girls poke fun at celebrity outfits they hate and (occasionally) praise the ones they love. But thankfully, this isn’t some lame “Us Weekly” What’s Hot/What’s Not page. The clever, incisive commentary is meant as sartorial counsel, but it’s also meant to make you laugh. You’ll learn that leggings aren’t as versatile as you might think, and experience schadenfreude regarding the rich and famous. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to turn a bad outfit into a good joke, which can come in handy at parties. Best feature: The girls pretend George Clooney is their intern and occasionally even let him “answer” their e-mails.
2. Indexed (http://www.thisisindexed.com): On this witty blog, Jessica Hagy turns pop culture, current events and the facts of life into diagrams and graphs. Sometimes profound, sometimes just silly, her handwritten index cards are uploaded to the site “weekday mornings as the coffee brews.” A sample card shows an inverse relationship between “inside voices” and “drinks.” Another displays a Venn diagram: “animal wearing clothes” and “Japan” overlap at “YouTube gold.” Who knew geometry could be this fun?
3. Things I Bought That I Love (http://thingsiboughtthatilove.com): Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor from “The Office”) dishes on, well, just what the title says. Kaling, also a writer for the show, brings her wit to describing even the most mundane of products, from mascara to dumplings. The site’s only drawback is her penchant for posting about things that the average person, who doesn’t work on an award-winning sitcom, can’t afford. Regardless, it’s a good site for vicarious indulgence and frivolity.
4. Ezra Pound Cake (http://www.ezrapoundcake.com): I’m not going to lie to you. At least 60 percent of my love for this blog comes from its name alone. Twenty-five percent is the belief that reading about food curbs your appetite, and 10 percent is an admiration for pretty pictures of delicious entrees, appetizers and desserts. The other 5 percent is just because the blogger shares my first name. If you find yourself drooling over Food Network often, then this is the blog for you. The most fun posts are themed entries — a “make a pie inspired by a movie” prompt resulted in a colorful tangerine with blue meringue creation called “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Pie.” Other recent recipes I wish would jump off the screen and onto my plate include pear crumb cake and caramel-peanut-topped brownie cake.
5. Captain Obvious (http://www.thankscaptainobvious.net): Captain Obvious is another “things we love” kind of blog that includes music, film and book reviews. Its best feature is a monthly mixtape, and not the weird, ‘80s-cliché profession-of-love kind. New singles, handily compiled for you by somebody else, are perfect for occasionally lazy music lovers like myself.
6. PostSecret (http://postsecret.blogspot.com): Unless you’re particularly late to the party, you’ve probably heard of PostSecret. It’s the TMZ of ordinary people — scandalous scoop with heart, soul and less nudity and catfights. An ongoing community art project, it encourages people to mail in their anonymous secrets on homemade postcards. The confessions, which can range from the hilariously absurd (“I think pets should be able to exact revenge on the freaks that dress them”) to the achingly painful (“I want to go home but I haven’t found it yet”), are hosted on the site every Sunday. Reading them is like stumbling upon someone’s diary — beautiful, funny, sad, terrifying and cathartic. My would-be secret of the week? When I’m feeling uninspired, I turn my column into a list of things I like.
Rebecca’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at r.marsh@cavalierdaily.com.
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