Yes, I did. I came back, however, to share the gospels of the Internet majora with the huddled masses of deviantART.

FictionPress: the better place to post all of your poetry and prose. Here's my account.

LiveJournal: seriously, I'm not a huge fan of the whole LJ thing, but I'm less of a fan of MySpace and even less of a fan of deviantART. Seriously, people, catch the train up outta this place. Barrierlife is my personal account, and JC-Kerr is my writing blog.

Rondak's Portal: a play-by-post site and the best place to roleplay on the internet, you can play classic tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons and World of Darkness, or hook it up with the freeform I know everyone loves. Navigation takes getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you realise it meshes really well.

Neopets: I can assure you, even a lesbian will think "that's so gay" when she hears the name Neopets, but the great thing about the site is you can ignore the pet and just chill and play addictive games like Mahjong and Evil Fuzzles From Beyond the Stars (a game which becomes exponentially more fun when you have Josie and the Pussycats music running in the background, I assure you).

Yahoo!: Fuck GMail, Yahoo has the best webmail I've seen, ever. Along with live sports coverage (by the way, the Red Sox lost last night, I'm depressed). And Y! Messenger comes with LAUNCHcast (I guaruntee, if you don't get addicted to it, you'll get a full refund).

Bolt (2): A great place to hang out, if you know who to avoid. The Wicca, Magick, and Vampire boards are chock-full of great people who are fun to talk to. Yes, this is the source of the quote "Lions are cool, except when they're Jesus." We all have natsy to thank. The site also totes half decent horoscopes that, at least in my case, are accurate more often than not.

Literoica.com: Most of this is smut, I'll be the first to admit, but there are a handful of really good authors on the site who just happen to write stories that are...less-than-appropriate for children. Dixon Carter Lee's Jazzy Girl is a sexy, funny story littered with awkward sexual encounters (seven chapters are posted on the site. Excerpts have been published in print anthologies, a testimony to its quality).

All Poetry: Admittedly, I really don't like how the site navigates (I'm an image whore when it comes to webpages, and it just doesn't look or feel attractive), but there are some cool poets on the site, and some fairly decent poetry. Worth a look, but be sure to wear your sunglasses so that your eyes don't burn out of their sockets.


And...I believe that's it. I'm sorry for most of my links being to writing places, but...actually, no, I won't apologize. I'm a writer, I know writing. And apparently, unpaid publishing (which is usually considered theft, but hey, you signed the contract) is good marketing for visual artists. I won't argue, I wouldn't know. But self-respecting authors and poets, at the very least, should hurry and get the fuck up out of this place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go help a friend move. Remember these words, and laugh at their acronym: Peace Heralds Ordinary But Interesting Actions.