Okay… we realise that the year 2010 is SOOOOO last week.

But just to make sure you finally kick 2010 out of your system, we recommend you check out what this guy has done:

A page that “aggregates all of the lists related to 2010.”

And aggregate it does!

On the page, list after list is categorized. And there is a category for EVERYTHING:
From the obvious art, music, photos, movies and television categories to the less common categories in advertising, architecture, art, dance, ideas, paranormal, and even a category for miscellaneous (”Ten Things That Cheered Me Up,” “Top 10 Yarn Tastings,” “Worst Trends,” etc.)

Check it out here

Oh, and another thing, this guy has apparently been making this page since 2001, so you can look back at lists from then until now. (2002 is conspicuously absent, although in hindsight, 2002 was a pretty bad year.)

Thanks to Wikicommons.

We at US Democrazy spend so much time analyzing the world that we thought it would be fun to analyze ourself.  To aid in this we found some  fun sites that were interesting if not helpful.

First off we took a look at where we stood politically.  The intriguing Political Compass is a quiz which plots your stance along economic and social issues.  Whether or not it’s fully accurate it is fun to compare your results with famous politicians.

Secondly, being writers who seek to be unbiased we decided to see if we were slanted about issues ranging from race to body weight.  Luckily the whiz kids at Harvard created Project Implicit.  This test uses response time to judge biasness; believe us it is unlike any other quiz you’ll take.

Thirdly, we wondered if our high stress blogging life style may have been hurting our lifespan.  To check it out we gave Northwestern Mutual’s Longevity Game a try.  What do you know, junk food and no exercise is bad for you.

The fourth and final question we wanted to know is how we affected the planet (see we’re not purely self interested).  We used the Center for Sustainable Economy’s questionnaire to calculate our carbon footprint and learn how to reduce it.

We hope you learned something from these quizzes other than don’t listen to our suggestions.

Wait!!! This paper is due in ONE HOUR!!!

It’s that time of year.  School’s end is approaching and you know what that means…papers are due for the end of semester.

Like most of you, we plan on putting them off until the last minute.  However, if you were to start now (do as we say, not as we do) you may hit that ever dangerous WRITER’S BLOCK.

Well have no fear, we at US Democrazy have got some great sites to spark your creative mind.

Where is a good place to find written inspiration?  A library, of course. None is better than our nations own Library of Congress.  Now, if you aren’t in Washington DC, don’t worry, we have two sites for you.

The  first is the ever growing Google Books.  Here you can find an incredible selection of books and magazines (many of them free).

If you are asking “is there anywhere I can get more free books online?”, our second site is the place for you.   Project Gutenberg has made it their goal to get as many books whose copyright has expired online.  Currently they have over 30,000 classic works ready for your computer or eReader.

Books too long for you? Has the internet made you love short passages?  Why not try reading Letters of Note, a blog who throughout the week presents interesting and entertaining letters by famous people.

How about Your writing? Are your words too dry?  Looking to expand your vocabulary?  The Visual Thesaurus has your back.  This site creates a web of words expanding your written weapons.

Now let’s assume you’ve got great ideas and great words but you still need to get them typed up.

Try giving Power Typing a spin.  It’s games and lessons will give you the extra words per minute you need to finish that term paper on time. This would free up time for you to post comments on our wonderful site (hint, hint).

That’s all the good ideas we have for your paper, other than start on it last week.  So good luck (we’ve got to get back to our papers).

Thanks to Wikicommons!

With all that’s happening due to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven’s retirement we at US Democrazy thought we’d give you some suggested sites about the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States).

First off, what is the history of the court and its cases?  Well, our friends at PBS has got you covered there. They have a wonderful website on the subject (including videos, games, and an AWESOME timeline).

Once you’ve got the Supreme Facts down, give this game a try…  you match the current Justices (including Justice Steven’s) names and faces.

Feeling pretty good about your court knowledge?  Well put your skills to work by playing Supreme Fantasy Court.  Build points by predicting how the court splits!

To help you understand how the Justices decide to how rule you really need to see what it’s like as a Constitutional lawyer.  Luckily this game here gives you the chance to argue FIVE big cases.

IF that is not enough for you I have two suggestions.  One is to find cool sites on your own and post them up (I’m sure we’ve missed some).  The second is for you to go to law school; you’re a lawyer in the making!

Thanks to Wikicommons.

Despite what we at US Democrazy like to think, our brain is fallible… and so is yours.

In fact, Our brains are quite easily fooled.  For example, in the adjacent picture… are the red lines really curved?

These types of brain tricks are a source of great curiosity. The most common of these sensory illusions are the optical illusions.  Check out these cool optical tricks.

You can even generate your own visual illusion with this site that features a Magic Eye 3D illusion.  These 3D illusions work in a similar manner as stereographic images.

It’s not just your eyes that can be tricked.  Your ears are just as susceptible to illusion.

An incredible example of this is the Virtual Barber Shop (you’ll need headphones to make this illusion work).  This illusion uses binaural recording (recording sound in the same manner as you would hear it) to generate an accurate audio picture.

For more cool audio tricks check out the sound section of GetHighNow.com (which we promise uses only illusions to generate highness).

If any of you know of any other great illusions (other than politics) please post them as a comment for us to read.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

We at US Democrazy love to travel (even if it is just to get away from our editor).

One of the big challenges for aspiring globetrotters face is… where to go?

Well, luckily our friends at the Central Intelligence Agency have their wonderful World Factbook telling you everything one could ever want to know about countries around the globe.

If you are not “game” for CIA travel, how about an online game that tests your travel chops!  TravelPod.com has an entertaining (and yes, educational)vgame testing worldly know-how.

Now getting anywhere can be expensive.  To help you find the best prices on airfare try kayak.com.  This site compares the prices of a number of travel sites to find you the best price.

There’s more to traveling than just deciding what country you’re heading to.  You need to decide what you’re going to do there (of course you could always just sit in your hotel room and watch the Simpsons in a foreign language).

Lucky for the global (or local) traveler the internet is full of sources.  Lonely Planet, the makers of some excellent guide books on budget travel, have a website that is chock full of information.  If Web 2.0 is more your style give Wikitravel a shot.

What’s the hardest part about traveling?  Jet lag?  Home sickness?  No, it’s packing.  Try as you might a traveler always seems to forget something.  The Universal Packing List is a great place to start on deciding what to bring as it changes to meet your traveling plans.

What’s the last thing you should do if you want to travel?  Get our address so you can send us a post card from your wonderful trip.

Math can be a challenge (just watch the chaos of math in the Bunker’s home above). Luckily everyone loves math, right? Now, before you throw your computer out the window to avoid reading anymore about math, check out these cool (and helpful) web sites.

• Paul’s Online Math Notes is by far the best source of information on topics from algebra to differential equations. His detailed notes can refresh rusty memories or teach new skills.
• This 3D graphing program can help one understand the complex nature of an equation. It can also draw awesome images (such as a delicious mouth watering doughnut).
• Tired of doing derivatives by hand (for all of you out there who have to do derivatives)?   Well give this program a whirl and fear messy equations no more.
• Integration got you down? Well our friends at Wolfram (creators of Mathematica) have given us this delightfully powerful integrator.
• Flat planes? Where we’re going we don’t need flat planes (to do geometry). The New York Times has this great article (with videos) discussing the shortest route on curved surfaces (such as the earth).

I hope you had fun (or at least didn’t feel sick to your stomach) with these awesomely mathematical sites. Even if you didn’t find the sites as cool as we did down the road, who knows, you may find one handy.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

US Democrazy gave you some cool websites about the national debt last week.  Well to follow that up we’re giving you information about student debt (from both college and fun).

As you can see in this awesome info-graphic by Good Magazine, student debt has been ballooning.

For a more in depth look at student debt state by state The Project on Student debt has a very snazzy map.

Student debt can be caused by college tuition.  However, the new experiences of being financially separated from parents, the excitement of getting a credit card, and the ease of internet shopping (somehow we ordered twenty Snuggies to the office) can further cause debt problems.

In order to combat debt and improve financial literacy we are proud to present these informative (and fun) resources.

To learn about saving up for a car,the challenges of running a small business, or the risks of credit cards check out these great games on What’s up in Finance.

To test your knowledge of financial topics against your friends play them in a game of financial football on the very informative website Practical Money Skills for Life.

We don’t know how educational a piggy bank on a jet ski is but the website in general has some great resources to make yourself financial literate.

Remember, it is important to manage your money.  Otherwise you will be stuck as blogger, with an ogre as an editor (just kidding please don’t grind my bones to make your corporate bread).

Thanks to Wikicommons.

At USDemocrazy we are always trying to keep an eye on our debt. (You’ll be amazed how expensive solid gold laptops are.)

With the Obama Administration’s 2011 Federal Budget Proposal being released earlier this year, it seems that it was time to have fun with our national debt.

First we have found  this cool debt clock. Beyond just telling the amount of debt it also lets you know TONS of other handy facts.

Now when one sees these big numbers it can cause quite a shock.  You may be thinking to yourself how could we end up owing so much dough.  Well if you’re such a budget hero, give this budget balancing game a try. (It’s harder than you think.)

With all of this debt, is there anything we can do??  Well one easy thing to do would be to get elected to an office and see if you can help out.  If that is to much work you can always just donate money to the US government.

We wouldn’t want to leave you feeling down about the US debt, so here is one more cool site.  This one lets you see how our debt stacks up against that of other nations.  At least we’re not the only ones who owe cash…

Thanks, Wikicommons!

We here at USDemocrazy love discourse, particularly when it involves us telling our editors what we think of their pathetic ideas. Thus, we have been very excited to follow the special election in Massachusetts.

Paul Kirk, the interim replacement for the late Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, will not be seeking to serve out the remainder of Senator Kennedy’s term.

This has led to much interest in political circles. Kirk, a Democrat was one of the sixty votes in the Senate that helped health care reform squeak in.

For awesome sites this week, therefore, we want to share some interesting info on that important Massachusetts race. Most notably… the candidates and Health Care.

Let’s start with Democratic nominee and Bay State Attorney-General Martha Coakley. Her website boasts her “progressive health care leadership” , and received an award affirming such. A concise press release on iterates  support for the current U.S. Senate reform plan.

Next there’s  the Republican candidate Scott Brown. He is a state senator who takes a different view on reform. His website says that he supports the state health reform adopted several years ago in Massachusetts, but opposes the current national Health care bill as passed bt the US Senate.

There is a third independent candidate in the race, and this is what makes the upcoming election really special.

He is Joe Kennedy, unrelated to Ted Kennedy or any of the well-known Massachusetts Kennedy’s.

His website bosts that he is the “Tea Party candidate”, presumably relating to the anti-Obama protesters from last year who claim they are inspired by the Boston Tea Party from the 1770’s. His stated position on health care is the the most extreme.

His view is that free market principles should guide reform efforts.

To follow this race, set for January 19th, in greater detail, check out boston.com, the website of the Boston Globe.