Hmm. Mind numbing isn’t it?

No matter. If you have a broadband connection and a serviceable computer Hafta Magazine is going to introduce you to a world of sometimes funny, sometimes intriguing but always entertaining cyber literature. These links are must-haves for the average ‘webiterati’ and be prepared for long nights at the office while you trawl your way through some of these popular and not-so-popular gems on the WWW.

Of course we understand they will only come a distant favourite after EVERYONE’s fave link. Haftamag!

Humour:

McSweeney’s: Timothy’s McSweeney’s Internet Tendency is the Moet Chandon of online humour writing. At this website humour, satire and sarcasm is raised to the level of fine art. So much so that some days McSweeney’s makes so little sense that it takes several readings to figure out WTF is going on. The webpage is occasionally functional and the modern era of website design have bypassed the Tendency entirely. Be prepared for dour screens and centre-aligned text galore. But the tickling is exquisite and surreal.

McSweeney’s is founded by Dave Eggers of ‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius’ fame.

The Morning News: TMN is a daily-published online magazine with a ‘New York flourish’. One of the inspirations for Hafta Magazine TMN is, in my mind, the ‘Frasier’ of online humor magazines. Smart, crisp and clean yet quirky. With something to read everyday, a plethora of phenomenally talented writers and a broad canvas of topics it is ridiculously easy to get hooked to the TMN.

TMN was recently selected as one of the coolest sites on the web by TIME magazine.

The Newsmax Jokes Link: This is the ‘one-liner’ equivalent of the swiss knife. Here you have a religiously updated collection of all the one-liners uttered by the late-night humor triumvirate of Leno, Letterman and Conan O’Brian. If you aren’t the late night type then this site will help you catch up with all the latest in American absurdities. Be warned though more than one hapless browser have collapsed in their cubicles doubled up in agony.

Editor’s Advice: Read them out loud during office parties. Watch your performance evals hit the roof.

General Interest:

Arts and Literature Daily: The grand-daddy of all link lists. With a page design that is busy and cluttered as hell ALDaily manages to give you a snapshot of all the good writing on the web that is stupendous in its depth and breadth. The links, in three eponymous columns, are updated daily and it is impossible not to find at least a week’s worth of reading every time you browse through. Each link is accompanied by a little blurb written in ALDaily’s unique style.

Keep a special eye out for the links on the left. And you will be forgiven if you make ALDaily your homepage within minutes of your first visit.

Flakmag: Flakmag is another one of those busy and cheerful newsmagazines that seems to thickly populate american cyberspace. A nice clean lay out that Hafta shamelessly stole and adapted combined with a self-professed commitment for good taste and responsible journalism makes Flakmag a nice refreshing read that will often surprise you.

Check out the Vision and Code of Ethics.

Seminar: The Indian magazine calls itself ‘The Monthly Symposium’. The magazine is rarely ‘unacademic’ and the website is primitive. But then Seminar is not meant to be flashy. The magazine says: "We see ourselves as part of a small, hopefully growing, family of journals/magazines – some single issue, some with a wider lens – that attempt to contribute to the process of informed debate and decision-making in the country." Each issue concentrates on a specific topic of national or international relevance.

Watch out for the frequent ‘VIP’ contributors.

History:

Common-place: This website is a veritable Playboy for history buffs. It is a pity the site concentrates on pre-1900 American History but the look, feel and general tone is terribly inviting. Immerse yourself in a world of facts, figures, trivia and collectible images.

Quizzing buffs approach with caution!

Degenerate: Pity that the site has been lying dormant since November 2004. But the little that is online makes fascinating reading. The subject matter (’degenerates, ancient and modern, full of spleen and booze and drunken on blood’) is fairly revolting but the profiles of Eastern European dictators of days gone by is still gripping. The team behind seem to be jinxed though. Another online venture of their’s recently shut shop too. Grab the content whilst still in stock.

Must read: Comrade Loulou and the Fun Factory. Enver Hoxha was one cool dude!

Mainstream Media Avatars:

Not all conventional magazines and newspapers have a noteworthy online presence. Here are a few that are every bit as good as the real thing. Can’t carry it to the loo though!

The New Yorker: The gold standard for eclectic writing, remember Chandler’s dream job in Friends? The New Yorker remains the ultimate in city-centric general interest journalism. From reviews to commentary to satire the magazine always seems to get ir right. The cartoons are a must read too!

There is a DVD set of the complete New Yorker up for sale. If you like the site the seventy dollar is but a small price to pay!

Granta: Started by students at Cambridge in 1889 Granta today publishes some of the best new writing from around the world four times a year. The print magazine is a pricey buy from Indian bookstores but there is some respite online: a few articles in some issues are often available online.

Check the archives for your free trip!

The New Statesman: The weekly magazine and accompanying website is ‘irreverent, beautifully written and witty’. With a definite socialist lean, the New Statesman is not for everyone. But there is always food for thought and the website is cheerful and clearly indicates the article free to read without subscriptions.

The ‘ideas’ section has some nifty reads.

Science / Environment:

Grist: What is Grist out to do? Let them tell you:

‘Let’s face it: reading environmental journalism too often feels like eating your vegetables. Boiled. With no butter. But at

Grist, we believe that news about green issues and sustainable living doesn’t have to be predictable, demoralizing, or dull. We butter the vegetables! And add salt! And strain metaphors!’

The ‘Muckraker’ section has the right down and dirty lowdown on environmental politics.

Make: Like Grist, Make was discovered during one of my periodic browsing runs of Webby Award nominees. DIY may not be for everyone but if tinkering with a solder iron is your cup of tea Make is THE bookmark you’ve been hunting for.

Freak out on the ‘projects’ page. Just make sure you have insurance.

Skeptical Inquirer: No list of Science links is complete without a ‘myth-debunker’. And SI is among the best of them. Published by the intriguingly named ‘Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal’ the magazine has a select collection of articles available for free viewing online.

While you are there do browse around through some CSICOP’s other eye-opening projects.

Miscellaneous:

Things that might fit under other headings. But most probably won’t.

spiked: An online revolution is what this magazine strives to be. The often sceptical articles are full of barbs and counterpoint. Some of their articles might seem downright bull-headed but who can say no to a teaser like this: ‘Gillette may still love him, but Becks is no longer ‘the best a man can get’ on the pitch.‘?

The ‘About Us’ is a must read!

Hindu Folio: When it first came out this supplement did nothing to temper The Hindu’s ‘intellectual’ reputation. But the artwork was breathtaking and the articles were very readable. I stumbled upon the archives a week ago and have been hooked since. Will warm the cockles of anyone who subscribed to the newspaper a few years ago…

Check out the pictures and covers. Mindblowing.

Aah. Stretch. Yawn. That was a pretty long trip wasn’t it?

That’s it for this issue of Cyber Gyaan. I have consciously left out blogs and newspaper columns by individual authors. There are hundreds of high quality ones out there and I don’t want to hurt any of my friends and ‘linkers’ in the blogosphere!

But this list should keep you happily scrolling away on your laptops for the weeks to come. And when you drift away into these literary treasures do remember where you heard about it. Right here on Hafta Mag!