Wikipedia

Today I was going to be good. Today I was going to work on writing some pieces of my literature review even though it's not due until the end of this year. But something happened and I decided to look up something in wikipedia. After that, all bets were off.

I love wikipedia. That's not to say I treat it seriously as a resource that should be consulted when writing research essays, but if you're looking for something to give you the fleeting background information on say all the characters in Buffy, this will do it. I find that I can kill HOURS just trawling around wikipedia, typing in random things that flit through my head (of which there are many things, not heads) or clicking on the links. The fact that wikipedia is filled with numerous articles...its so easy to read something on genuine topics that might be in Britannica or like such as information on how the Big Four accounting firms developed, various people from classical mythology, or even a chapter by chapter blow-through of Milton's Paradise Lost without having to strain your back by carrying loads of volumes around! But it also contains so many articles on pop culture! You can look up who the voice of anime characters are or learn about the different jumps in cheerleading! Hell, the thing even has recipes (sometimes)!

I'm aware that this entry just made me sound like the biggest geek ever and completely validated the way Queenie introduces me to people (she likes to say I read the encyclopaedia), but I don't care. Wikipedia is a lot of fun for curious nerds like me. In fact, the only way they could make it more fun is to include something like the game on Encarta where you have to escape from a castle by successfully answering questions (from entries in the encyclopaedia). That would make it PERFECT.

Geek out!