What're Your Favorite Internet Hangouts?

By Nina Pierce Baker '77

Myrna suggested this subject a while back and I thought it would be a fun way to get a little audience participation along with giving you all a way to waste time at work checking out new sites on the web. Hey, that's why they give us computers, isn't it? There are soooo many great sites on the net, especially with everyday folks putting up their own blogs, that you could spend 24/7 looking at the stuff. So in the interest of saving your employer's time, since I'm so thoughtful that way, I thought it would be fun for everyone to list their five or so favorite sites for all to enjoy. Just remember, you wiesenheimers out there - and you know who you are, that this is a PG-13 forum, so no risqué stuff!

I'll start out with some of my "go-to's" -

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman - This was a featured site on Typepad (which we use to host this site) and once the word got out, hits on her blog went thru the roof. Why? Because Ree writes about her daily life as a former city girl living on a ranch in the midwest with self deprecating humor and wit. And she includes lots of great pictures of horses, cowboys in chaps, cattle, cowboys in chaps, children, dogs, articles on photography, food, home and renovation, and, did I mention, pictures of cowboys in chaps! Writing about life with Marlboro Man, her hubby, she entertains with an infectious joy for life. Check it out and you'll see why so many enjoy her zany humor!

Since I'm a photography and travel buff, I love checking out the National Geographic site.

Sheila O'Malley expounds on books and movies and life in general in The Sheila Variations. Insightful and intelligent. Check out the sidebar for past reviews.

Lately I've been visiting a site called Fat Cyclist. I'm not into cycling and the subject matter has gotten intense. Fatty, as he calls himself, a husband and father of four, has a wife in the final stages of breast cancer. He talks about living every day with this terrible disease and his writing is filled with humor, insight, pathos, and touches my heart. For those of you that have friends that are into cycling, or know someone who's been touched by this disease, check out the cool cycling jerseys he's selling to raise money for his wife's treatment.

For a little fun, check out Graphjam - here are a couple of examples of the twisted humor found there

I find this one a lot of help when dealing with a few people at work.....

And what would life be like if we couldn't make fun of all the political BS that's going on today? Check out Pundit Kitchen to get a laugh and throw in your two cents!

And, of course, what day would be complete without a stop by YouTube? Check out this insightful clip by Dove on the perception of beauty in our society....

I've given you a peek into my twisted mind, now it's time to tell me some of your favorite places to visit on the web....

Comments

[Nina Pierce]

So Ed, how'd you explain your jury duty to your boss? What a hoot - I truly can't believe that your tax dollars are being used for stupid stuff like that.

[Gabe Montes]

This is, by far, my favorite website. Well, aside from WHOA.org, Yahoo News, Yahoo Games, Google Earth, Manuia Polynesian Revue, YouTube, and TahitiFete.com.

[Jason Roosma '76]

Beer and surfing.com

[Myrna Nickelsen]

Because of work, most of the sites I visit are news sites. The closest thing to "hanging out" online is with a by-invitation-only google group site that I formed with other political junkies I "met" on the Washington Post.com. (We formed our own private group because we got sick of the venom and stupid comments being posted at the WaPo by Dems, GOPs, and others. We wanted intelligent discussion even when our points of view differ -- and they do!)Anyway, I spend a lot of time discussing current events vis a vis politics with these 15 other political junkies (a few lawyers, writers, an accountant, professors, etc.).

I also read every comment & every article that appears on this website.

I'm also online all day long because I use a subscription-only database of media personnel in the U.S. & Canada.

Otherwise, I go to Internet sites for specific reasons -- to learn of the days' events, conduct research (the more common), or to buy something specific. In addition to the Washington Post, NY Times, SFGate, and wherever else Google News takes me, I also visit this site daily:
realclearpolitics.com

Other websites I regularly visit to look stuff up:
answers.com mostly as a dictionary
bartleby.com - this is the best source for quotations online - bar none. It's also my source for looking up the titles of various books, even locating hard-to-find books.
imdb - If you like movies & can't think of the title or the actor's name, there's no better site online. This site is how I know that Nicole Kidman really is as tall as she looks (5'10 1/2"), and that Tom Cruise really is short (5'7")I just love this site, but beware - you can easily lose time here.
And finally, one of my favorite bookstores: powells.com This is where I like to browse for "sales." I go to Amazon only when I know what I'm looking for.

[Dana Williams]

Ed,

Hope you didn't have to watch the video of "the deed"!

[Ed Welch]

Dana,

Since you like the smoking gun.com, you may have seen this one. I was the jury foreperson @ this trial… No b.s., it was quite the one day spectacle!
Going Blind Justice - July 25, 2007

[Dana Williams]

No highbrow or intellectual
sites for me either.

For those who love puzzles: www.freegames.ws/games/boardgames/mahjong/mahjong.htm
www.jigzone.com
freejigsawpuzzles.com
www.websudoku.com

For the truly twisted and bizarre:
www.thesmokinggun.com (who got arrested for what - once saw that a sheriff from one of the small local towns here was arrested for being "too friendly" with a neighbor's sheep)
www.reuters.com/news/oddlyEnough (really off-the-wall news stories from around the world)
www.awfulplasticsurgery.com (pictures of who has done what - I just shake my head and ask why did they do that?)

For the foodies:
www.101cookbooks.com
www.epicurious.com

And for news in general:
www.portfolio.com

And of course my all time favorite is this one!

[Steve Hester]

I hang out on a private message board we started a couple of years ago that has artist from all over the world. We are all meeting in N.Y. on the 18th for a week long party.

I check on a few site I have my art for sale on. I figured out how to put my art in PNG to be transferred to t-shirts, coffee cups etc.

http://www.zazzle.com/stevehester

http://www.redbubble.com/people/steve0

I also have fun on MySpace but most of it is behind the sceens.

http://www.myspace.com/stevesurrealism

Here's a cool online scrabble game. You can't play against anyone but it's still fun.

http://www.themaninblue.com/experiment/SSCrabble/

[Sharon Hetzel]

All the pilots need to check out
www.aerospoiler.com. I have slept with the inventor, so I can highly recommend the product!

[Stephen Bowers]

Nina,

My favorite search engine is www.dogpile.com

I read the local news at www.eltiempo.com

I am still rather traditional. I usually have one or two books going on my bedside stand or near the lazy boy.

[Ed Welch]

Sorry I don’t have any highbrow or intellectual sites I regularly visit. Here in no particular order are my most frequented:
•www.funnyordie.com (funny and quick videos)
•espn.go.com (sports news)
•tvclubhouse.com (reality TV news)
•howardstern.com (Basic entertainment)
•google.com (catch all for everything)

I would be negligent in not mentioning WHSreunion2006 as a highly visited site as well!