5 interesting web pages that aren't the usual social networking fare? I'll try not to be unfair and use slashdot or bash.org, since I've already used both in this class as examples.

1. xkcd This is by far the best webcomic online. I'm not even going to justify it. Read it, fear the velociraptors, and pay attention to the xkcd warning.
"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."

2. STEAL THIS FILM I just think the site design is cool. Enough said, next.

3. Pandora: the Music Genome Project Pandora is internet radio, but better. Their experts judge music by thousands of criteria. All you do is tell them what music you like. They provide similar music, which you've probably never heard of. It is good. Enjoy.

4 Google Ok. I didn't want to do this. But I'm afraid I have to. I'm including Google because I feel it's been left out of our discussion. Everyone's favorite search engine is the most powerful force in "Web 2.0." By the way, Web 2.0 doesn't exist. It's just AJAX, or, more specifically, one line of code that allows the user to change content on the page they're loading without refreshing the page. It isn't a big deal. But Google IS a big deal. While my high school economics teacher and Steve Ballmer(watch for flying chairs!) may claim that Google is just a bunch of fluff, that's bull and we all know it. Google really is defining the way we think about the internet. They have the best search engine ever. Their corporate philosophy is "Do no evil." They provided us with goodies like Google Earth. They bought YouTube. Their corporate headquarters offer free gourmet meals, along with 10% of your time being devoted to your own projects. Google is by far the coolest company on earth, and they're doing what it takes to stay on top. I mean, look at Google Labs sometime. It's pretty incredible, no?

Some may accuse them of being evil, or of knowing more about the average Joe than the CIA, FBI, and Joe's wife combined, but Google hasn't brainwashed us all yet. Or have they?

5. StumbleUpon A word to the wise: if you start Stumbling, you will never do homework or go to class again. What is StumbleUpon? I'm cheating, as it's not really a webpage. StumbleUpon is a toolbar that you can install into your Firefox or, god forbid, Internet Explorer browser. You click the Stumble icon, and StumbleUpon takes you to a random page. Except it isn't really random, it's based on your interests and previous ratings of sites. Bored with facebook, myspace, and all that? Just Stumble, and you could be reading a life-changing article, or maybe witnessing an amazing flash animation. I found the end of the internet while stumbling, along with instructions on writing, and an explanation on imagining the tenth dimension. But I'm also posting this about 37 hours late. I blame StumbleUpon.