Things On The Web That You Will Like But Aren't Porn

Everyday the internet is impregnated with the loony rantings of 192 billion new blogs. Literally. Every day. That's more blogs than there are people, I know, but the numbers I make up don't lie.

Anyway, I've discovered a few sites that don't make every orafice on my body bleed and I would like to share them with you in the hope that they also don't make you bleed.

1. www.Feakanomics.com

I know those Freakanomics guys can be a bit "Ooooh, look at me, I use numbers to reinforce common knowledge," but their blog is a fairly insightful survey of new ideas and stories in economics.

2. www.AbsentCongress.org

Go to this site to track your favorite presidential hopefuls or just to see who will win the prize every junior high school student knows is a lifetime wedgy guarantee: perfect attendance.

3. www.techpresident.com

I like this site a lot because it's very straightforward and doesn't waste your time a potpourri of inanities. In short, this site covers politics on the web, everything from candidates' refurbished websites to which bloggers are on campaign payrolls to what pols say on blogger conference calls. I learn a lot at this site. For example, today I learned that John McCain had unleashed his new website. Can someone please tell me why on God's green earth McCain and his blotchy, malformed head chose black and white for the website despite his being branded as the Old Dude in the race?

4. www.thepolitico.com

At Bush's news conference last week a writer for Politico was called on by the President and when asked to explain the organization he worked for and thus boost its national profile by a factor of 10, this writer/pants pisser froze and moved on to his question. This exchange might make one assume that the Politico is a waste of server space, but it's actually a great online magazine, far superior to Time and Newsweek but without the drowsy Anna Quinlan column.

5. www.goodmagazine.com

My roommate, Suzy, just turned me on to Good Magazine; it was a huge disappointment-- I couldn't believe that someone had created the publication I dreamed about starting after graduation. (My magazine was going to be called Phil and have a dense front-of-book graphic page offering a pictorial exposition on the over use of the pie chart in "serious" journalism.)

The magazine is dedicated to "people who give a damn." It's an ambitious project but certainly worthwhile. Unfortunately, I think they spend a little too much time and money on quirky graphics that convey a sense of loftiness (meaning you have to own a loft in Tribeca/DUMBO to care). You can read the entire thing online, so give it a try.