TTT: Best Procrastination Sites

So for about five months I’ve been meme-ing along with The Broke and the Bookish on a weekly basis – and I had no idea there were so many book blogs out there.

This week, TBTB asks about the Top Ten Blogs or Sites we visit regularly that aren’t about books. I think I’m going to like this, because I will finally get to know a little more about the bloggers behind the TTTs.

Here are some of my favourites, in no particular order:

1. Terribly Cute – I am very broody. And since I am nowhere near ready for kids, I want puppies and kitties (or anything smaller than a fully grown human, actually). But living in student dorms means that’s not really a possibility either. This site is the next best thing – and it really is terribly cute! They update several times a day. One of my favourites:

2. Street Anatomy combines anatomy and pop culture, and it is simply amazing. Anatomy is so not my strong suit AT ALL, but I’ve become more and more intrigued with it after Forensic Pathology. Be warned that some of the artsy stuff can sometimes be a little graphic – it is anatomy, after all. The picture alongside is Parisian Pole Ka‘s work. Click the image for the original post.

3. Semester at Sea does not really need introduction, but if you’re new to this blog you can check out my post about it here. It’s awesome and I keep checking it out because I’m just fascinated I guess. Also, I was in their blog the other day!

4. The Underwear Drawer is a blog by Michelle Au, about whom I have written before too. She writes about medschool, becoming a doctor (she’s an anaesthesiologist now) and motherhood. Her medschool cartoons are absolutely wonderful. You should visit them here.

5. Youth Journalism International is an organisation really close to my heart. I still write for them occasionally, and I now also focus on an “ambassadorial” role. YJI is a non-profit journalism organisation. I joined them in 2008. They offer students all over the world the opportunity to write, and students have covered things like natural disasters and the revolutions in Egypt and Syria last year. If you want to know what the future of Journalism and our world’s leadership looks like, you should visit here.

6. The Oatmeal – I’m not even sure how to describe this site. Part cartoon, part sarcasm, part satire. It’s good and entertaining, but be warned that there is sometimes some use of crude language and allusions to violence. Some “safe” cartoons for sensitive viewers include 15 Things About Coffee, What Your Email Address Says About You and How to Pet a Kitty.  I must admit, finding non-PG stuff on there was a little difficult. But the three above should be enjoyable if you are an oatmeal-ish person.

7. Creating Motherhood – I definitely try to stay away from those mothering blogs… It’s not that I am judging, it’s just that it’s not really me at all. There are some exceptions, like Dresden here. She writes about her long struggle with IVF, looking after her gran who had Alzheimer’s disease and now recently has a guest-blogging theme called In Times Like These, about difficult financial times (I wrote a guest post too).

8. PostSecret should really not be new to readers of this blog. It’s full of secrets and creativity and it’s awesome. A new set of secrets is published every Sunday. Just visit it, you will love it. You should also check out this TEDtalk byFrank Warren, who started it all.

9. New England Journal of Medicine 200th Anniversary Site – Okay, I suck at the whole medical journal, critical appraisal thing. I really don’t get why people can’t just write in normal English, so I can understand all their wonderful studies. So I don’t exactly have a favourite journal or something like that. But NEJM has this amazing site for their 200 year celebrations, and part of it has a great medical timeline as well as a library of classic clinical images that every physician should know. Yes, I guess I’m a nerd at heart.

Guess what happened here?
Click the image to be taken to the article.

10. Calcutta Kids is a NPO community health program in Kolkata, India – where I hope to do my elective soon. They’ve just launched their new website. They have done some amazing things, especially when it comes to reducing low birth weight and treating/preventing diarrhoeal disease. They also have a blog. This post about helping a little boy who was malnourished should give you an idea of the work they do.