When you spend as much time working in front of the computer as I do, it’s important to take breaks. Of course, ironically, sometimes those breaks happen to be on the computer! Pascal enjoys a quick game of pinball or solitaire, but I prefer sites where I can express my creativity or enjoy the creativity of others. Here are two of my recent discoveries and new favorites:

Speechable.com is a free site where you can add speech balloons to your photos. The concept is simple: upload a photo, select a balloon and then add text. Speech balloon buttons below the photo allow you to resize your font and add and delete balloons. You can reposition a balloon by clicking and dragging it. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it, and the program seems to have a few kinks, but it’s still tons of fun! Here is my first Speechable.com masterpiece:

Another entertaining and completely irreverent website is www.rattlebox.com. It offers edgy, hip (and yes, free!) email cards for the contemporary adult. Bored by the corny, generic e-cards on other sites, the founders decided to create their own cards that fit their personal style. Card categories include standards like: Birthday, Anniversary, Congratulations, and Sorry plus many more original categories:  Provocative, Vintage, Insults, Random. If you’re willing to watch the short commercials that precede each card preview and if you don’t mind a few "potentially offensive" cards indicated by caution messages, you’re sure to find some fresh and amusing material on rattlebox.com!