Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Home base for Canada's public radio, TV, and internet broadcasting station. I usually check this site every day for the news and maybe to see what's on Radio One. I love Radio One. I tape the programmes to use in class activities, I listen to it when I'm washing dishes or making dinner or driving in the car. I buy the audiotapes of the Mystery Project shows. I buy Stuart Maclean's Vinyl Cafe books. Hell, I should just work for the damn place. (Actually, I would love that.)

The Internet Movie Database: This is THE site for anyone who loves movies and is obsessive about knowing movie-related details. Also good for settling bets about actors and finding out who that really familiar-looking guy was in that movie you just saw. True story: When I was in Australia, I saw a trailer for a really cool-looking Danish movie about a spooky, Twin Peaks-ish hospital. When I got back from Australia, I wanted to see if it was available on video, but it was hopeless, since I couldn't remember a) the name of the movie b) the name of anyone in it or c) the director. Not a lot of information! However, when I discovered the IMDB, I just looked up all the Danish movies that had been made from 1993-1995, and voila! There it was: Lars von Trier's The Kingdom. Eventually, Lars von Trier became famous outside of Denmark, and eventually, it came out on video, so I was able to rent it and be scared silly.

Fametracker: A website devoted to fame, as its title implies. Usually features snarky articles about Hollywood celebrities. The forums are excellent; they're well-moderated and filled with intelligent (and funny) discussion. You can talk about celebrities, TV shows, movies, books, music, and fame in general. Its sister site, Television Without Pity, is devoted entirely to television. It's a good site, but since I don't have cable, I don't check it out as often as I do Fametracker.

Tomato Nation: The author of this website, Sarah Bunting, is an excellent essayist. Check out the archives. Also, I need my daily fix of The Vine advice column. Warning: it's addictive.

Bust: "For Women With Something To Get Off Their Chests." The on-line counterpart to the print magazine. I like the feminist articles, the "Girl-Wide Web" links, and the forums. The design is pretty, too.

Ze Frank: The guy who runs this website is named Ze (pronounced Zay, short for Hosea) and he's got some really cool stuff on here: interactive toys like a DIY kaleidoscope, some funny film footage of his cat Annie, and some hilarious "how-to" films ("How to Dance" is my favourite. The first time I saw it I laughed until I cried).

Apple Movie Trailers: OK, this isn't some plug for Apple, God knows Steve Jobs probably doesn't need my help, but this page is a great collection of current movie trailers that play in Quicktime. If the trailers are showing up really small and you have a high connection speed, click on the little options button for your Quicktime player and click on connection speed to make sure it's on an appropriate setting. G-man and I had been watching these squintifyingly small trailers in frustration until the lightbulb came on one day. Upcoming Movies is another good website for trailers and information on, well, upcoming movies.

ChickLit: I love this site! It's about the written word--books, magazines, websites, etc. The articles are really well-written, and the forums are a great place to discuss literature and get good author and book recommendations. It's pretty woman-oriented, but guys are welcome too.

Tolerance.org: This website is part of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, and it has great resources for anyone who is interested in anti-racism/anti-discrimination stuff. I found it especially useful in my previous incarnation as a youth anti-racism coordinator. I used to do classroom presentations on racism and bullying for high school and elementary school classes. When I had that job, this page was my homepage on my work computer. I found it useful for doing research on racism and discrimination, and it's just got such great lesson plans and classroom ideas for teachers. I still use it to add to my lesson plans sometimes.

sillyricepaper My friend Miss L has her own website now! Check it out and see what she's writing/thinking about. Gratuitous cute cat pictures as well.

Metafilter Although I am not a member of this community (new memberships are closed to take the stress off their servers), it has come to be a daily visit (at least). Metafilter is dedicated to posting and discussing the best of the web. I enjoy the discussions at least as much as I do the links, which are by turns fun, thought-provoking, poignant, beautiful, or maddening.

Not Martha This weblog is full of great links to crafty sites. Megan also has a pretty impressive collection of craft recipes and instructions herself. This is where I got the marble magnet instructions from, which led to me making about two hundred of the damned things. They're addictive.

Long Live Canadian Culture This weblog belongs to my friend Ro. Check it out to take the pulse of Canada's art and culture scene, and find out what Ro is doing in her busy life.

Shan's Smiles and Winks This weblog belongs to my friend Shannon. I met her when we were both in grad school, and I really miss her now that she has moved away. But who wouldn't want to live in beautiful Victoria? Anyway, check out her blog to read her witty descriptions of her stylishly quirky life on the island.

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