out of the stone ages

i haven't had internet from home since my pre-kenya chicago days - crazy, no? so i've recently returned to the world of the technologically dependent and adjusted, and i just need to ask, at the risk of sounding like i've been living under a rock, when did the internet get to be so... neat?

in the past, i've generally used the internet for email and research and the occasional look around but i've never been someone who can get lost online for hours. and while i still panic and get restless after a few hours of trolling, i'm amazed by how much things have changed while i've been away. Living in a country where internet at home costs a small fortune and the work line goes in and out on a regular basis doesn't really lend itself to website consumption.

so here are a few things that i've discovered that i think are pretty cool when i'm not pouring through a stack of library books or sending out resumes to acquire meaningful employment:

this blog, strange maps, is pretty rockin'. it doesn't get updated regularly, being a niche blog with a limited amount of content, but browsing through the archives can keep you occupied for a couple of afternoons' worth of wasting time at work.

a clever installation, if a little too much at times...

here's a blog that chronicles the daily goings-on, newswise, newsgathering-wise and otherwise, in khartoum by a freelance journalist. for all you darfurophiles. he's got a really interesting post about blog censorship in sudan and ethiopia, where he was previously based before settling in khartoum.

***

i'm currently reading this quirky book, obit by jim sheeler, a general assignment reporter for the rocky mountain news with a past life as an obit writer for publications in and around denver. sheeler won a pulitzer in 2006 for feature writing about a year in the life of a marine corps casualty notification officer and, perhaps a bit lengthier than necessary, it's pretty damn great. check it out here and the cool audio slide show that accompanies it.

(it does tend to be a bit maudlin at times, and i would have really liked to have seen the 'what would i want someone to do?' section expanded, but overall, as i said, pretty damn great).

***

ah, internet. it can make you feel as dirty as television sometimes, but at least you've got to know how to read (and sometimes even spell) to find your way around, right?