Links
First of all, I have to plug Writing.com as the last bastion of sanity for thousands. Much of my spare time is spent on there, sadly not writing as much as I'd like to but definitely more than I would be without it. If you like writing and would like some feedback from other like-minded people, or you want to read and review unpublished work, then this is a good place to go. A free account allows you to have ten items in your portfolio at a time; upgrades can be purchased to provide more space.
A wonderful site I found through Writing.com was NaNoWriMo. This is a form of international madness where, every November, thousands of people from all over the world try to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch during the 30 days in the month. Thanks to the support, persuasion and inspiration I get from this mad idea, I've written the beginnings of four novels so far and hopefully one day I'll write one I'm actually happy with. Check it out if you enjoy a challenge, and need a push to sit down and write the book that's supposedly in all of us.
Then there's the Folkworks Summer Schools, which are playing an enormous part in crafting the future of folk music and teaching people that sleep isn't really necessary. You can go to the Junior summer school when you're ten, and the Youth one as soon as you're 14. There's also a course for adults. I can't overstate how brilliant Folkworks is. If you sing or play an instrument (and don't need much sleep!) then you should definitely look into going.
Back to the internet and over to Questionable Content, which is proving that comics don't have to be on paper to be enormously popular, and that is is possible to make a living by drawing cartoons. They also sell some pretty spiffy t-shirts and other useful items for surprisingly reasonable prices. Hardcore fans also join the forums and chat about everything under the sun. Check it out.
Running with the comic theme for a while, I also like Penny and Aggie, Toothpaste for Dinner and Multiplex. Actually there are thousands of online comics which are worth looking at if you're fond of pretty pictures and too poor to buy real comics.
I get my daily fix of world news from BBC News, and also from the BBC is BBC iPlayer, which lets people from the UK watch programmes from the last week.
The New York Magazine is always full of interesting articles and features. I like to read the back issues, finding articles about all kinds of things that I'd never even heard of before. Not much use for real, hard news but interesting nonetheless.
If you're an ethical shopper (and indeed if you're not), then Jiva Fair Trading has all your jewellery, bag, hat, scarf, shawl, singing bowl and other miscellaneous Fair Trade item needs! Every product is produced in a safe working environemnt by people from struggling communities, earning a fair wage for their work. Delivery is free to UK mainland and it's all good quality stuff. I have one of the bags and it's well loved; I call it Mathilda and she's faithfully carried my school books for two years without complaint.