The Internet’s ability to deliver information and media to you in quick, bite-sized portions that you neither neither asked for nor wanted is… a mixed blessing. Just today I signed into my email and was forced to look at an unwanted announcement that Google has released something called Buzz. I ignored it, but very quickly it has become apparent that it will prove possible to ignore. I compulsively check it every time a number pops up, only to be disappointed that my friends are mostly using it so far to talk about how annoying it is/how awesome it is. Maybe in a week when the excitement has died down it will prove more interesting, but so far it is like a more invasive Google Reader. Or like what I imagine Twitter must be like for people who have phones capable of handling such sophisticated technology (the most advanced feature on my cell phone is, thankfully, a flashlight).

Something that is equally a crapshoot in terms of quality, but at least always much more entertaining, is Chat Roulette. I can’t imagine a more brilliant conceit for a website. You go to the site and it randomly connects you to someone else on the site’s webcam. You can watch each other, and chat. You can choose to move on to someone else, or stay. My webcam has been busted for like a year but apparently the website can’t tell, because technically you need to have a cam to use the site, so I’ve been able to just peruse people’s cams with impunity. Of course there were several close ups of erections being jerked off, but there were also tween-girl pizza parties being recorded on cam, a bunch of dudes just hanging out drinking beer, and probably my favorite so far was when I was connected to a guy who was lying down on the floor wearing a babushka and a stuffed bra, the latter of which he was fondling. I’m hooked.