Glaringly obvious

Here are some sites that I often use, but I’ve never linked to because I assume people know them. I must have forgotten the “ass out of U and me” ur-Prince adage.
Snopes should be in everybody’s bookmarks. A one-stop-shop for Urban Legends, Snopes is up to date on the latest hoaxes. When I get a forwarded email from a friend of a friend of a friend saying “George Bush called fetuses ‘feces’ in a speech” or “Tom DeLay eats children,” I go to Snopes, no matter how much I’d like to believe it. (The latter is absolutely true, however). Snopes also tells you if something is true, with references. I then copy and paste and email the forwarder back. The madness must end!
I just started using Phil Gyford‘s revamped Internet watcher called Byliner. A simple and effective free service, it allows you to track your favorite writers across the web. Find a writer through Byliner’s search engine, subscribe, and then receive emails when that writer has posted a new piece. Obviously this works (as it was designed to) best with newspaper columnists. You can have up to 30 writers on that list.
(Update: As of 2008 Phil Gyford discontinued Byliner.)
I’m also surprised at the people who don’t know about the Internet Movie Database, even people who are obsessed with films. This has been around since the beginning of the Net (I think). Time ya got with the program.
Oh, and brand new is my friend Rachel Howard’s web page and blog. She’s come a long way since our days at the Independent, and now has a book coming out next year, as well as a steady gig as a dance reviewer. I write on dance too, but she knows far more than me. She use big words too. Ugh.