Annie’s Fun, Crazy, and Useful Websites

I am the undisputed Queen of Random and this article will prove that. I honed my skills while at University, as I had a small problem with procrastination. Some may disagree and state that, in fact, it was a fairly time consuming problem. Being that we have amazing computers that are available to all of the students, at the University of Michigan, when I would sit down to write a paper, or study, or do some other mundane task, I would get distracted by all the wonderful things there are to be found on the web. I remember one night while writing a term paper for a Classical History course we were taking, Kristin (my snowboarding buddy) and I spent 6 hours looking up everything we could find on the "Fraggles." Needless to say, our papers were both excellent and turned in on time.

Anyway, this desire for finding the obscure means of procrastination on the web, has stayed with me post-graduation.

And now I am enlightening you...

(you can thank me later)

Just Plain Waste Of Time

DIALECTIZER ---- This worthwhile website lets you translate your documents into other languages, such as "Swedish Chef", "Redneck," and "Moron."

ORSINAL: MORNING SUNSHINE ---- This is a game website that has the most adorable graphics and icons. It also is extremely creative. I am blown away by this site. My favorite game is "The Bottom of The Sea."

ERIC CONVEYS AN EMOTION ---- A brilliant website by a guy named Eric. He takes requested emotions and "conveys" them, to the best of his ability. It is hilarious! Some of my favorites are "Unibrow Eric," "Domo arigato Mr. Roboto," and "The Real Eric."

GUESS THE DICTATOR OR SIT-COM CHARACTER ---- This program blows my mind. You answer a series of "Yes" or "No" questions, and this site is able to guess what character from American sit-coms (situation comedies) or Dictator you are thinking of! It even guessed I was thinking of Alf!

MISS MUFFY AND THE MUFF MOB ---- My favorite cartoon. To get to it, click on "Miss Muffy" at the top of the right-hand column. It is a brilliant spoof of "Strawberry Shortcake" that involves at oven that gets high on oven cleaner, rapping pastries, and music from one of my favorite groups, The Pharcyde. Watch all of the episodes! (SOUND NEEDED)

PETER PAN’S HOME PAGE! ---- I try not to judge other people’s lifestyle choices, but this is hilarious! A man from Florida believes that he embodies the spirit Peter Pan and dresses in impish costumes for enjoyment. "Yes, Peter Pan is a character known for vanity, but that is not my main intent! Rather, it [this site] is intended to Reach (sic) out to other like minded souls, potential new friends, and others who believe in diversity, while having some fun. I also started this site so that Tinkerbell would have an easier time finding me!" Make sure to check out his links, too. Quality.

MULLETS GALORE ---- A website devoted to the "business in the front, party in the back" haircut we all love to loathe. The sites creator has put all of the mullets featured into categories, complete with descriptions and violence ratings.

THE ASIAN PRINCE: "HELLO LADIES..." ---- Even though this site is old (the Asian Prince is no longer on the prowl, but has found his hottie princess) it is still worth the visit. You may no longer be able to win his heart, but you can pick up some flashy fashion tips and see what you missed out on.

ADCRITIC ---- This site compiles American commercials. I haven’t had much time to check it out, but "back in the day" it had wonderful ads about Snowboarding at Alta (epinions.com) and President Clinton’s Work Day. They were hilarious! And I bet there are still some jewels to be found. :)

ZOO ASS

THE SPARK ---- Two words: Senseless quizzes.

WEEBL AND BOB ---- An animation series about two little egg shaped beings. My sister loves it and sends it to me. I loved the episode I watched but unfortunately, I do not have sound, so we are going to have to trust my darling Yoda that it has not lost its spunk. (SOUND NEEDED)

THE BRUNCHING SHUTTLECOCKS ---- My favorite quiz is "Porn Star or My Little Pony". So many hours can be wasted on the articles and quizzes of this site.

Actually Useful Stuff, Which You Can Still Waste Hours Of Time With (and why I am the supreme ruler of Trivial Pursuit)

Travel

JOHNNY JET--- ANYTHING you could possibly need for travel can be found on this site. It is amazing! I really cannot relay how often I use this site!

Student Accommodation - The web’s most comprehensive directory of student accommodation sites and other related links.

Information, Research, and Organization

THE STRAIGHT DOPE ---- You can thank my friend, Gareth, for introducing me to this. Got a question? Get it ansered. "Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (It’s Taking Longer Than We Thought)." Tho’ not always the correct answer (but usually) it is damn funny to read (and hence, could be in the "waste of time" category too).

DOGPILE ---- I think this is the greatest search engine ever... basically because it searches 10+ engines in one go!

ONLINE CONVERSION ---- Want to convert international clothing sizes? Or how about rods to fathoms? Dollars to Euros? Joules to BTUs? Arabic numbers to Roman numerals? Or calculate how much money you will have when you retire? Or how to say "feed my guppy" in Haxor? And so much more! Oh, the options are endless!

PRINTABLE CALENDAR ---- Do you know how hard it is to find a calendar that you can download for free that doesn’t have fluffy kitties or unicorns on it? Pretty darn hard. Those sweet Canucks! Really looking out for us, eh?

HINTS AND THINGS ---- Oh, I love this site soooooo much! More than "I can’t believe its not butter" Spray. And that’s a whole lot. Click on the different rooms to find out really interesting hints on many different subjects.

INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE ---- Ok, ever have one of those late night conversations with your friends about "that guy, who was in that movie..." We all do that. Well know you can find out all about every actor and every movie on IMDB! It is amazing. Try entering Richard Grieco. You can find who he has acted with, where he is from, what TV shows he has done guest spots on... Useless party banter galore!

Employment

ANY WORK, ANYWHERE ---- One of the best sites I have found for the wandering worker. I got my job in Ireland on this site. It really is a great resource.

Help And Meet Others

EPINIONS ---- GET PAID FOR YOUR OPINIONS! I just got a check for $19.95. You sign up, write your opinions, and for every member that visits your opinion, you get paid. After you amass a bunch of money, you can get a check sent to you. And also, it gives you information and other people’s views on stuff from vacation cities to backpacks to mp3 players to beers so you can check out the product before you buy!

VOLUNTEER MATCH ---- Mainly for the US, unfortunately. A brilliant site! Enter your zip code, and it will tell you where you can volunteer in your community!

FRIENDSTER ---- Friendster is a way to meet people through friends via the six degrees of separation theory, but here you only get to meet people up to three degrees from you. Anyway, some folks have gone a little haywire with this and put on characters as their personae (such as Brak and Webster are some of my friends). But whether you want to help your friends find love, meet new people, or just get a laugh, sign up and try it. I spend bunches of time on there chatting with my friends and meeting new folks.

Newly Found Sites

Yes, in someway I do fancy myself an archeologists of strange and wonderful things on the web...

THE PAYPHONE PROJECT ---- Find numbers for random payphones all over the world! Brilliant waste of time: call them all. Better yet, go to your rich cousin’s house and call them all.

MASHIMARO ---- Hilarious animation and hampsters. Does life get better than this?

CHEMICOOL PERIODIC TABLE ---- Ok, I am a dork in many respects, but doesn’t an interactive periodic table sound cool to everyone? I predict the next big trend: Marvin Gaye, tweed, and Chemicool. I said it here...

EARTH AND MOON VIEWER --- Outstanding views of the Earth and our moon.

THE VISUAL THESAURUS ---- Visually stimulating, educational, and creative. Hey, even I don’t mind learning something while wasting time!

TERRAFLY ---- The most bad-ass mapping system I have seen. See your street from aerial pictures! ooooohhhhh!

UNIQUEPROJECTS ---- Free instuctions for arts and crafts! So, I need to learn how to use power tools now, but regardless of that fact, these are incredible pieces of art that UNIQUEPROJECTS shows you how to make. And no, they don’t involve paste, pipe cleaners, and glitter (I know that’s what you thought when you read "arts and crafts")!

ARCHIE MCPHEE ONLINE ---- The greatest assortment of sensless gifts I have seen on-line. Tiki and lounge galore!

CONTROVERSIAL GROUPS DATABASE ---- Do you have trouble keeping your cults straight? Well, you can thank Rick Ross for researching the "Controversial Groups" of the world.