Absum.

So for various reasons, I've been slacking in my posting -- one of the reasons being that, instead of writing on a website of my own, I've been writing on thisisby.us, a nifty little website that allows writers to post their work (fiction, poetry, random thoughts on what you had for breakfast that morning) and get paid for it. Of course, you only get paid about two cents for every twenty votes or whatever, and you can only earn money for the first two days that your work is posted; but hey, it was something new and interesting and different that caught my attention and sucked me in for a week or so. My name on there is ally_is_short on there; vote for me, "like" me, do whatever the site allows you to do to me. (If you want to join, go through this link; I'll earn an extra two and a half cents for it! Help me pay for one bite of my dinner, or something.)

Another reason is that I've joined a group blog, What I've Been Looking For. Inspired by the blog of Mindy Kaling from The Office (which I now read obsessively, thus cutting into my own blog-posting time even more), it's a forum for posting things that we want, things that we find, or things that we buy that are good. And then we share them with the world. Fun, right?

Yet another reason is that instead of writing on a website of my own, I've been viewing websites of other people. So, I'm posting a list of some of those sites for your surfing pleasure. Most of these sites are referred to me by my sister, or random email listserves I somehow got signed up for, or by reading a NY Times article and searching things like 'Librarian Avengers' from there. Check these out:

Toothpaste for Dinner. A very simplistic webcomic that's sometimes cute, sometimes political, and quite silly. My favorites include Turtle Time and Any Animal.

XKCD. Another webcomic by a super smart guy who used to work for NASA. It sometimes has mathematical and sciencey references that go over my head (especially some of the older ones) but for the most part, it's cute, romantic, and nice. The art is what stands out most, I believe; it's both really simple and really amazing at the same time. I sent this one to my boyfriend, and although I wasn't there when he read it, I like to assume that he went, "Aww."

Quiltsryche. Evil rock quilts. Oh my god. They're expensive, but they're also fucking EVIL ROCK QUILTS!!

Restaurant.com. This site sounds too good to be true; apparently, they sell gift certificates to restaurants for cheaper than they're worth. As in, get a $10 gift certificate for 3 bucks. Or a $25 gift certificate for $10. See? It's ridiculous. Who knew the world actually cared about poor college students and their never-ending quest to save money yet still pig out?

Bunny & Hedgehog. A random image, probably Photoshopped. Still, you can't deny the funny.

The Pirate Desk Manager. What I'd do if I quit my desk job, too. A webcomic.

Holly Eats.com. A website by a guy named Holly (I know, I don't know what his parents were thinking, either) who drives around the country in search of places with cheap, good food. Greasy spoons, diners, roadside rest stops, and the like. He's covered a few places in New Jersey, including the Circus Drive-In, which is right down the road from me in Belmar. Plus, the rating system he uses to rank the places he visits is in grease stains. Wow. You feel your arteries clogging already, now, don't you.

The Perry Bible Fellowship. More silly webcomics. Incredibly random. My favorites are about kitties, puppies, and pigs.

Movie Scripts and Screenplays. I'm currently in the midst of attempting to write a screenplay. In my Google searching for the correct format of a screenplay, I stumbled upon this site, and found it to be an awesome way to pass the time. It's amazing all the little details a screenwriter adds to a script that the audience might never even pick up on. I was most captivated by the script for The Royal Tenenbaums.

And finally, this:

Indeed.