ranuel | What I Follow Online (Reply)

Fano asked what other places I like to go to and so here I am pimping my favorites. This is a list of where I go to regularly enough that I have them in special favorites folders on Firefox so I can open them all at once. Okay, there were too many for that so I open them in groups depending on how much time I have.

Forums:

My first addiction was the Urban Legends and Folklore forum at About. ULF has been around for over a decade and spun off several other forums that are more social. I don't go to all of them but several are must reads every day.

ULF covers a wider range of topics than you'd expect. It isn't just spiders in the beehive hairdo. The regulars do not suffer fools and require that those making claims back them up with documentation. If you can show that you can keep up with them and aren't FOS then it can be a very fun place. There are people there from all over the world.

FOAF was the first spin off. It stands for Friend Of A Friend, that source of so many urban legends tales. It's a social forum and although there is some carry over from ULF as to expectations of being able to back things up in a debate it's much more relaxed. We talk about books, movies, TV, current events, and our lives. You might like the book review thread. Silliness and topic drift are the order of the day.

AS IF is a grandchild of ULF. The Association Specifically for Imaginary Friends started when one of the older spin off forums had a melt down. I was one of the first posters there so it feels very much like my internet home. It's very laid back compared to the first two. Imagine going to a large all night party at a big old house with lots of rooms. You can wander from room to room (thread to thread) listening in on or taking part in conversations about anything or go over to a corner with some old friends and catch up on life. BYOB.

Writing AS IF We Are Good at It started when several of us got to talking over at AS IF about our love of writing and how we wished there was a place where we could get honest feedback and support. Mandy and I started WASIF as an online writer's workshop for that purpose. Spelunker joined the team later and I think the three of us together can give good feedback on just about anything. If you just want to talk about writing that's fine too.

Zidane's Quad 9 Dyne Forums - Run by Ear Tweak's Kuro this forum covers anime, manga, games, and current events. The Inuyasha sub-area features Kuro's weekly translation of the current IY manga in a sillier form than that posted to Ear Tweak.

Inuyasha Fanguild - This group gives quarterly awards for excellent Inuyasha fanfic. You have to join to read the posts. One of the benefits of membership is access to a list of all nominated stories since the founding of the guild. Lots of good reading there.

Hero 21 - The mailing list started for discussion of Bachan's Hero21 comic as well as all things Inuyasha. Another member's only site but joining isn't hard. Traffic has been slow since Bachan's death but we're still going.

Websites:
Inu Goya - Patches provides a weekly translation of the current Inuyasha manga as well as news and the popular Dear Papa column. Dear Papa is on hiatus but the archive is worth reading.

Inuyasha Information From Japan - Weekly summaries of the current manga (in Engrish) before just about anybody else has them.

Elfquest.Com - Wendy and Richard Pini post an occasional column here. Mostly about Elfquest but it can be about anything. I've signed up for an email notice for an update so I don't have to check every day.

The London Telegraph Obituaries - With only a few entries per day it's not hard to keep up with this and it's well worth checking out. I originally found this via a recommendation on Neil Gaiman's blog. The obits focus so much on the fascinating life of the deceased that they often fail to include the cause of death. Read about WWII heroes, movie stars, politicians, and obscure eccentrics. The man who was the worlds foremost expert on Guinea Pigs was the entry that really got me addicted.

Gods of Japan - A heaviliy illustrated alphabetical listing of all things related to Japanese religions. It has so much content that I want to savor that I read one entry each Saturday and Sunday only. I'm up to “Celestrial Maidens”.

Comics.Com - On line home of most of the comics I follow. I have each strip I read individually bookmarked and visit them once a week to keep current. I look at 5 or 6 per day in rotation.

Blogs of General Interest:

Elaynocentricity - Elayne can make just about anything funny.

Twilight Zone - Nightfall AKA Jeneva only posts occasionally. She posts about her life as well as deep thoughts for consideration.

Saying Nothing Charmingly - Cristina is a fiery feminist and a married mother of 2 trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she wears all hats at once as in her recent post about the stereotyping of women with children by “hip” singles.

Salt in the Air - Trin is an Aboriginal woman living in rural Australia dealing with a house full of kids, a husband, and assorted critters. Posts can be personal or political as the fancy takes her.

Not at ALL What You Thought - Gine is a professor of English and a divorced mother of 2. The woman can WRITE. Even if you don't know her and she is only posting about her kids she writes stuff that will pull you in and would be at home in any magazine. You need to be submitting some of this Gine.

Whispers in the Loggia - Rocco Palmo gives us all the news about the Catholic Church. I skim a lot on his longer posts but there is generally something that holds my interest at least once a week. He posts lots of pictures and many of them are worth seeing for their own sake. The recent shots of two newly built cathedrals were often stunning.

Neil Gaiman - Home of all things Neil Gaiman, most especially his blog. I'm working my way through the archives right now. I'm still back in 2002 and unearthing lots of treasure.

Pepy's Diary - The famous diary of the Restoration era civil servant posted to the 'net as if it were a blog with one entry per day. I just found this a few months ago so I'm still midway through 1660. The link takes you to the first entry so you can go in order if you chose. I read one or two entries per day usually. The comments are better than the actual entries most days with lots of discussion and links about daily life in the 1600s.

Arin I Asolde -

limyaael's Live Journal. I started out looking for Game of the Gods, got hooked on her Mary Sue classifications, and ended up just going to the very first post and working my way through her archives. I'm up to 11/23/03. Lots of good stuff about writing.

POV Online - Mark Evanier writes a weekly column at Comics Buyer's Guide and posts it here along with other cool stuff. Evanier has worked in television and comics for a long time and he's got bunch of stories to tell. Usually at least one cool photo per entry too. Another site that I discovered this year and I'm still reading though the archives. I'm up to 10/12/01 on this one.

The Frog Queen's Other Portable Throne - Mandy AKA

iniondia keeps us updated on her life, with occasional posts on writing, creativity, and frogs.

gishkishenhAKA Tarheki AKA Tark posts about her life, anime, manga, and being an artist.

a nameless country populated by transparent badgers.. -

xterminalreviews books, skewers idiots, and engages in the odd political rant. Something to offend and interest just about anybody if you read long enough. I skip the stuff on poker and horse racing mostly.

Pop Corn and Chainmail AKA

history_sporkonly posts every few months but they are worth the wait. The hosts watch historical movies and rip them to shreds. MST3K wished it was this good all the time.

Fano's Fantasies -

alterfanoAKA Fano posts her fanfic as well as stuff about her life, anime, and manga.

Blogs of a More Personal Nature:
These two blogs are people I know who post personal things updating their friends about what is going on in their lives.

Bethany's Life

A Journey into Wonderland - ms_wonderland