I’ll admit that I’m addicted to random bits of information…Harper’s Index is like coming home. If you’re equally interested in seemingly useless bits of knowledge that aggregate into semi-useful clusters of facts, there are some sites well worth your clicks.
For general trends and opinions, wander by Harris Interactive where you can learn things like the current job satisfaction of public school teachers (which is the highest it’s been in years), the current confidence level of Americans in their major institutions (White House and Supreme Court are down, higher education and organized religion are up); and who’s up and coming as America’s favorite sports star (Michael Jordan still hangs on).
If you must focus your factoid-finding on arts and culture, then the CPANDA site (Cultural Policy and the Arts National Data Archive, if you must know) is definitely for you. There are enough ‘quick facts’ to keep you entertaining at parties for weeks (how many artists are there in the work force? I hear you ask…here’s how many).
And for pure bubble-gum fun, you can never beat the Google search engine’s zeitgeist listings, which show what search phrases gained in popularity (‘madonna’ and ‘dawn of the dead’ were hot last week) and which phrases lost some ground (for some reason, ‘robert pastorelli’ and ‘tyra banks’ led the losers).
‘Arts’ and ‘culture’ are obscenely complex things to manage and understand. There’s something about disconnected facts that, when taken in extreme doses, can help you feel more connected (even if you’re not sure to what).
