THURSDAY THIRTEEN: SOME OF MY FAVORITE TIMESUCKING WEBSITES

Sometimes on this blog we do a post called Thursday 13. I like doing Thursday 13 because it's an opportunity to share fun, interesting, quirky stuff with my online pals and because it saves me having to think of something interesting to say.

So this Thursday, I'm presenting 13 websites that might easily suck you in and cause you to burn up time that would be best spent doing something else (like writing). If you are a procrastinator by nature, these sites could be very dangerous for you. Some are educational, one is profitable, some have no redeeming value whatsoever. If you live on the Internet as much as I do, you've probably run across most of these sites. But maybe I can introduce you to something new.

So here they are, in no particular order.

Mapping Stereotypes - Oh my God is this hilarious. The guy who draws these stereotype maps - Europe According to Americans, The World According to Switzerland, USA According to Common Sense -- is Russian. His celebrations of bigotry are now available as posters, maps, T-shirts, mugs, and more.

Snopes.com - Snopes is THE site for separating urban legend from fact. They've tracked and verified or debunked every meme, legend, and weird but true story out there. So the next time you read about something that sounds too gory or scary or stupid or crazy to believe, run it through Snopes.

Slate.com - Slate's one of the original online magazines, a survivor from the beginning of the World Wide Web. It's now owned by the Washington Post. Slate covers politics, culture, entertainment, finance, sports, you name it. Their TV columnist, Troy Patterson, is one of my favorite critics - hilarious, literate, possessed of good taste but able to enjoy trash for trash's sake. Dear Prudence is an advice column I can't miss. A couple of pieces that sucked me in this week: a story about the Mary Celeste; the top five truly bad Christmas movies; a warning about the new strain of super lice that, on second thought, you probably shouldn't read if you have young kids.

Dlisted.com - There are many Hollywood gossip sites out there. This one is my favorite. WARNING: the language is very, very naughty. Michael D, the author of Dlisted, is one of the funniest bloggers I've ever read. Unlike some gossip blogs, Michael is completely unimpressed with the Hollywood galaxy. There is no one he won't mock.

Ebates.com - I only just discovered this site this week - a friend turned me on to it. Every time you shop at an Ebates-affiliated online retail site - and there are a lot of them - you earn cash back. My friend's been a member for about four years and says she's made back about six hundred dollars. As long as I have an Internet-shopping addiction, I might as well get some money back.

Cracked.com - Cracked, a humor site, is a vast quicksand pit of time suck. Once you're there, you're there for hours. They do a lot of funny lists, like Five Insane Doctors from History Who Put House to Shame and cultural pieces like If Twilight 4 Was 1o Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest. They also do videos. A Trailer for Every Academy-Awarding Film Ever Made is brilliant. You need to watch. Right now.

Arts and Letters Daily - This wonderful site, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, aggregates the best of online articles covering "philosophy, aesthetics, literature, language, trends, ideas, criticism, culture, history, music, gossip." Here you'll find articles on Oprah, Camus, the 5,000 year old iceman discovered in the Swiss Alps, and why math geeks shouldn't procreate with each other.

Fail Blog - Admit it. Laughing at the spectacular screwups of people you'll never meet is fun.

Awkward ___ Photos - It started with Awkward Family Photos, and now they've added Awkward Family Pet Photos. The awkward pregnancy photos are among my favorites.

Oddee - "A blog with over 5 million visits a month, it features the odd, strange and bizarre things of our world. Be amazed!" Trust me - you will be.

Above the Law - This will only be of interest to people who work in the legal field but if you do, it's a great blog. Covers legal gossip, goings on at Big Law firms, and notable cases and scandals. It's snarky and highly informative.

Go Fug Yourself - The best of all the fashion police blogs. These women are smart and funny. They don't just snark about Hollywood fashion faux pas - they actually understand clothes, and they can explain why a dress looks so awful or what an actress should've gone with instead. I don't "get" clothes the same way some women do, and I find this site as educational as it is fun.

Television Without Pity - Television reviews and recaps. A blog, fan forums, and more. The recaps are my favorite part of the site. Very detailed - snarky, of course - if you've missed an episode of your favorite show this is the best site to help you get caught up. And if you follow a TV show that's particularly weird or complex - Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Dexter - the recaps can help you figure out the stuff you don't understand or pieces you haven't put together.


Ok, off you go. Start clicking. And don't blame me if you don't get anything done for the rest of the day.