Check out these Web sites!
Alice & Friends Vegetarian Cafe now Loving Hut (I love this restaurant more than any restaurant I've ever been in for vegetarian food. The Runaway Potato dish and the California spring rolls are the best. Thinking of this restaurant makes me hungry. Read my AC article on the original restaurant and my update when it change its name to Loving Hut here.)
All Things Photography (I like this site because it's a useful reference tool for Photoshop and other computer programs, such as how to put copyright watermarks on photos.)
Amy's Kitchen® (I could eat their veggie loaf with mashed potatoes and corn or the veggie chili and cornbread all day long. Whenever I don't feel like cooking, I go straight to the grocery store [usually Dominick's] to buy one of these meals.)
Amazon.com (I write reviews for products regularly and love to read others' comments.)
AOL (This is the second best email for dodging junk mail and my longest account ever.)
AssociatedContent.com (AC is one of those sites that specializes in everything: editorial writing, tech writing, politics, fashion, etc. You can get paid a base price plus per 1,000 visits or just get paid from visits. It's difficult to guess what articles will be a hit or not, but the great part is that you can make some nice side money from the visits alone once you've established your name.)
BlackNews.com (I like this site because it gives me access to a plethora of other media that is interested in the African American community, such as magazines, authors, doctors, colleges, haircare products, newspapers, scholarships, history, lawyers, etc. Look in the Directory section on the bottom, right-hand side of the page.)
BlogTalkRadio R2C2H2 Tha Artivist (R2C2H2 is an excellent online radio personality for news in the African American community. If not for Tha Artivist, I wouldn't have found out about the Jena 6 case, the Schlumberger case, and other imperative issues happening in the African American community. I look to his show more than I do the news. My favorite session so far is "Why I Defaced the Tupac Shakur Statue: The Deconstruction of the Hip Hop Generation.")
Cassandra Daniels (Cassandra is one of the most hard-working and pleasant self-published authors I’ve ever come in contact with. I really have to admire her dedication in writing, be it through blogging, her books, or her creative flair in design.)
Celebrating Black History 365 (This site is pretty cool for reference material when reading about Black History. There are some beautiful shots of Barack Obama and family, and plenty of shots of folks you may know and may not know. Check it out.)
Chicago Public Library (I was so relieved when this library database was set up. I can search for reference books or books I don't necessarily want to buy but want to read from home. If I don't want to buy them at bookstores or online at Half.com or Amazon.com, the online library site is easy to use to find out what's in my area and gives the reference phone employees much less stress trying to find my books.)
Chi Tung (I have never been to this restaurant when it hasn't been packed. I love Asian food more than any other type of food, and Chi Tung has Chinese, Thai, and Japanese dishes. The menu is endless, and I could go there for the next month and never want to eat the same thing. Best of all, their tofu is off the hook!)
Do Not Call List (My answering machine message says that I'll call anyone who calls me back as soon as I get the chance "...unless you are a telemarketer, wrong number, or hang up. I am dead tired of telemarketers and fax numbers calling my spot. When you register on the government's Do Not Call List, all of that stops. Feel free to do so today!)
Ehow.com (This site is a How-To site for freelance writers who specialize in certain categories. The downside is that you get paid by visits, but the upside is if you promote your Ehow page intelligently, you can make some nice side funds. If you're a tech writer, this is the ideal site for you.)
GenXTalksUrNews (This Blog Talk Radio Internet radio show discusses various issues affecting the African-American community from racism to sexism to history to childbirth deaths. You just never know what Justice is going to talk about.)
Grossinger Autoplex (I bought my Suzuki Forenza from here, and man, do I love that car! Men are always stereotyped as car lovers, but you better believe there are women who treat their cars like jewels too. I'd definitely recommend buying your car from this location if you are near the Lincolnwood, IL area (6900 North McCormick Blvd). The service is always friendly. The guys don't treat women condescendingly when discussing car repairs. Ron Fronduto, my car salesman, was a funny and friendly guy, and you get free car washes for the life of the car. I have paid for one car wash the entire time I have had the car since March of 2007, and that was because they were moving from one location to another.
Half (Most folks go to Amazon.com, but compare their prices to Half.com. Sometimes they beat their competition, including Ebay.com.)
Hallmark (I have had a Gold Crown card for years, and whenever I want to send out a free e-card [although they're starting to charge for some, which I think is ridiculous], this is where I go. Even if I can't find one I like online, it's very cheap to find a card online and pay for the real card to be shipped to an alternate address. I also enjoy the stores Maya Angelou collection.)
Heritage Books & Music (There aren't too many African American bookstores left, and this one is no exception. I just found out on the second week of March, and I'm disappointed. This was the first bookstore that gave me an opportunity to sell my work in his store and put it in the front window. The owner always has buried books that are so beneficial to those interested in African American history and literature. However, the online site is still up and running. Peek in there and tell the owner I sent you!)
Illinois Division of Professional Regulation (It's a helpful directory to find out whether Illinois professionals are legitimate and hold current licenses. It also tells who's disciplined and who's not.)
Imeem (Are you concerned about buying a CD only to have a bunch of songs that suck? Listen to the songs free on this site.)
Local Call Finder (Do local toll charges irritate you? Want to know if a number is local or local toll? Just type in the prefix here.)
Mapquest (I've been using this site for years when I need directions, and they've only steered me wrong twice in over a decade. To me, that's magnificent. In addition to directions, most people don't know that Mapquest has an option to find out where the cheapest gas is, and with the War on Gas happening right now, I'd definitely suggest all drivers take advantage of this. The maps show all locations near you, the prices, and the route to get to that gas station. I use this option all the time.)
Merriam-Webster Online (This is a useful dictionary for those too lazy to get up and go to their paper dictionary.)
Morning Magician's Photography (When searching for a new cover for Round Trip, I was introduced to Luke Schierholz's artwork and loved it. He takes very simple images and makes them somehow poetic and interesting to look at. Pieces like "The Tip," "Waiting to Leave the One You Loved," "The Empty Gym," and even "Afternoon Lull" (even though I'm a vegetarian and cringe at people fishing) are my favorite shots. He's very professional, and if you are looking for artwork, I suggest giving him a try.
Morningstar Farms® (I don't believe I'd have ever been able to be a vegetarian if not for these products. They have everything from veggie chicken strips, veggie steak, veggie ground beef, veggie burgers, and a bunch of other stuff. I'd definitely recommend checking out their products. They're sold in all frozen food sections in your local grocery store.)
Moviefone (I use this site to find out what movies are out, read reviews, and see what theaters around me are showing the films I want to see.)
New York & Company (There will never be a day when I enter a mall and don't hit up this store. Minus hip hop lady gear, NY & CO is my favorite style of clothing.)
Nubian Graphics (This site is great for those looking for African American images for MySpace comments and images to put on your Myspace page or personal website.)
Parfums de Coeur (If you like perfume or cologne but aren't interested in spending a wad of money on it and have no shame in the knock-off game, this is the site for you. I wore Fly With Me for years until I smelled Heavenly. However, I still like this site and one of the representatives can even pronounce my name right because I ordered from them so much.)
Pdf-Converter (If you don't have the office version of Microsoft Word and/or you don't have a program that converts Word documents to PDF documents for free without a huge stamp across the pages, this is a useful site.)
Photobucket (This image site is great for holding photos to use for albums or refer to for HTML images. It also creates great slideshows.)
Project Playlist (This is another website I use to listen to music that I cannot find without buying it. I use the music box on my HTML pages and visit this site when I want to listen to my favorite songs without hearing all the talking on the radio or advertisements on online radio stations. You can simply add them after you've done a search on an artist or song title.)
Quench! (The idea of a fast food restaurant with healthy vegetarian food excites me. Even better, I won't run my family and friends away if I want to visit this restaurant because it has meat items too. Their food and service is excellent. Read my restaurant review.)
Redkid (Are you a Peanuts fan? Ever wanted to make up a line for one of the Peanuts characters to say? Here's your chance!)
RTA Chicago (Are you trying to get to a designation in Chicago and avoid driving? This site gives directions using Metra trains, el (subway) trains, buses, and walking distance and time.)
Soul City Graphics (This site is great for those looking for African American images for HTML pages [like MySpace]).
Timbooktu.com (This networking site showcases new, up-and-coming, and established authors nonfiction, fiction, short stories, poetry, and discussions about various topics that effect the Black community. Memphis Vaughan, the creator of this site, has published work in various publications, and Timbooktu has been recognized by Black Issues Book Review, Black Reign newspaper, Black Writers Alliance, BET, etc.)
Vegetarian Life (Soul food was my biggest obstacle when I decided to become a vegetarian, but restaurants like Vegetarian Life and Quench! help to keep that transition steady. You couldn't pay me to eat a piece of meat now, especially when restaurants like these prove that meat is overrated. Read my restaurant review.)
Victoria's Secret (I absolutely do not believe in buying cheap undergarments. I'm all about comfort, and Victoria's Secret undergarments fit exactly how I want them to. I never let my Heavenly glitter lotion and perfume run out either.)
VistaPrint (I've used this site for years because they have excellent designs for business cards, postcards, and stamps that I use regularly for marketing. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you'll find great deals on these items, and so many times, you can get supplies for free and just pay for shipping.)
Walmart Photo Center (If you don't feel like making that trip to Walmart to put photos in and don't want to wait an hour, why not submit them online and pick them up in an hour or a couple days? Beware of dark photos though. Make sure you edit them. Aladdin machines in Walmart stores automatically do a color adjustment, but this site does not.)
©2008 Shamontiel L. Vaughn| All rights reserved
