This post is the first in a series of "Galileo's Unecessary Lists" posts, hopefully.
Before I broke down to peer pressure and started this thing, I've compiled a list of 10 (safe for work) sites that have preoccupied my time before this page, and now myspace has wasted more of my time in the last 2 weeks that I've had this thing that all 10 of these sites have combined!
Without further adieu:
1. Fark.com - This site is the mother of all timewaster sites! This is my one place for news of the day, for important to the stuff that doesn't (and should) get reported on CNN, to the downright weird stuff, all which have their own individual comments section! The news not enough? There are daily photoshop, audioedit, videoedit, and photography contests run by incredibly talented artists that have more time on their hands than I do that could keep you interested for weeks. There are also separate sections for links to sports, entertainment, politics, tech, and Videos (mostly Youtube). This site is the largest gathering of web nerds that I've seen so far, and the downright simplest links erupt into enormous flamewars.
This is the site that has generated many internet phenomenons in the past few years, including (but not limited to): the Big Balls Squirrel, Henry Earl, the Cameltoe Tron Costume Guy, the pic of the "Steering Wheel Computer," UFIA, the Abe Vigoda "Alive" firefox add, the word "Fark" itself, not to mention the pic you see to the left of you (or the KFC "Obey" Pic in case I've changed my display pic)
2. X-Entertainment - This site is one of my all-time favorites, full of (mostly) 80's nostalgia goodness! Can you believe that only one person, a guy named Matt, runs this whole thing? From articles ranging to reviews of crappy Atlantic City Game Rooms to a review of Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue, which helped me find the site in the first place ($5 to anyone besides me who's actually heard of this*), to photo-comic adventures starring random action figures, with a fan favorite of a story involving Skeletor visiting Pee-Wee's Playhouse. The site also runs various "Countdowns" to certain holidays, the 2 big ones being Halloween and Christmas, but we've seen our share of other holidays like Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, and Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19!) and are usually the biggest draws to the site.
Besides the articles themselves, there is a blog posted near-daily by Matt himself, but it's mostly really run by its dozens of regular geekish readers, such as myself (I'm a frequent poster there under the guise of Invader Norbert), and this aspect of the site is possible the most popular, probably because of the fan input & personal creativity than can be involved. There are some famous blog posts, such as a blog that was used only for the purpose of revealing spoilers of all sorts, a recent blog activity known as the August Megaparty, where Matt posted a new blog thread daily for the entire month of August '06 and the most famous blog of all involved the mystery behind a fan-created He-Man character named Photog, with speculation lasting over 1000 posts! You didn't have to be born in the 80s to enjoy this site, but it doesn't hurt!
3. Television Without Pity, or more specifically its forums - This is where the snarky TV Geeks hang out to talk about any & every show that's appeared, or will appear, on the silver screen. I myself hang out in the Cartoons section. (like that's a suprise) Wanna talk about the new fall season? There's a place for ya! Hate the idea of WB & UPN merging into the DumbestTVStationNameEver? It's there! Wanna agree what some stereotypical sorority girl swoons over Laguna Beach? It's...there, sadly. But if it wassn't there, it would be somewhere else, possible in a more public view that would piss me off, that's for sure!
4. Wikipedia - What Dave Attell describes as "The Encyclopedia for Potheads!" The biggest online resouce on the internet tubes, that anyone can edit! But, as Stephen Colbert and Wikiality states, if enough people believe it's true, it is true! Just tell it to the emotionless cyborgs over there that won't admit that the population of elephants tripled in the last 6 months...
5. TV Shows on DVD - One stop shopping of info on any TV shows that are (and will be) on DVD! It's here that I found out that some of the greatest cartoon shows ever not on dvd as of 2005 (The Tick, Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs, etc), were finally coming! And there's enormous campaigns for stuff that SHOULD be on DVD too! (WKRP, 60s Batman, Rocko, etc)
6. Delta Psi Omega's official site - Alert! Shameless Plug Alert! Ok, as a brother of DPO, it's my obligation to mention our site! Did I mention that I'm also the webmaster to it? I know that there needs to be some little updates here & there I still need to do, (events added and a new front page pic to name a few) but it looks much better than it did before!
7. YouTube - This site is pretty obvious. Where else on the web can you find videos of just about, oh, say, Anything?! And for Free? Oh baby, I'm there! You could find whole TV shows here, movie promos, old cartoons, and just about anything every jackass in the world with a video cam can upload (including my infamous DPO Pledge Act for the recent SJC Talent Show...I'm gonna kill Hitch for uploading it). Maybe, one day, with a .00023 hance, you might become famous! (or just end up on Web Junk 20). The only downsides? NBC & the WB takin' down all the cool stuff and that the video lenght can't be longer than 10 minutes (unless you're registered as a Director)
8. Weird Al's official site! - Also an obvious site. Weird Al's official site, for all things Weird and Al (and maybe some Yankovic). Like any official musician's sites, it lists all of his songs (to tell apart from the Limewire and Kazaa fakes), all of his TV appearances, all of his albums, not to mention news on upcomning ones (Straight Outta Lynwood drops the 26th!!) It's this site where you discover that he started a myspace and that he premired not one, but 2 songs on it too! (You're Pitiful and Don't Download This Song) Also, the best place to find official merchandise and cool web stuff pertaining to Al too!
9. Cartoon Brew - A blog run mostly by animation legend Jerry Beck is one of the best places to find stuff of all thing animation, to reviews about the good, the bad, and the really really crappy of animation, to his own personal musing of the animation industry today, to plugs to other animation projects out there in the world! And if you want more cartoon info, it links to dozens of other links and blogs of other animation & comic all-stars like John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald, Mark Mayerson, Leonard Maltin, Earl Kress & Mark Evanier (his blog alone could deserve a spot on here, but I'm only doing 10)
10. Last but not least we come to Kitten War! - As featured on the Colbert Report! Even though I was visiting this site long before Stephen mentioned that it was one of his Top 3 most visited sites (ColbertNation & Port Authority News being the other 2). This site is a real cheer-me-up and pits 2 kittens at a time im armed combat! But, in reality, you just click on the pic you think is cuter than the other one, and then you see how much f people agreed with you. I always seem to get the pics that have 48 upport, but group pics triumph over lone sleepy pics any day of the week.
And there you have it, 10 more reasons to put off doing whatever it is you were doing by reading this blog, and stop doing that in the Library, we can all see you!
*Offer now void