Links

This is an ever-growing list of sites I find interesting, entertaining or helpful to me and to you. If any links break, do not hesitate to contact me at thenotoriousszin@gmail.com or on Twitter @NotoriousSzin.

    Writing resources:

  • Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. The most obvious resources any writer should begin with.
  • Wiktionary. My preferred dictionary, if only for the translations of most words into a multitude of languages.
  • Keith Enevoldsen's Gibberish Generator. An all-time favourite tool of mine.
  • A wordcloud generator. Well, generate wordclouds I guess...
  • Random Name Generator. Again, exactly what it says on the tin. Toggle name style to "rare" for some good speculative fiction names.

  • Art and artists I like:

  • Ismail Gulgee. A Pakistani artist who specialised in action painting, calligraphy and mixed media.

    • Music (resources and artists you need to check out):

  • LMMS. My favourite music production freeware.
  • Guitar Tuner Online Tune your guitar (or bass or even ukelele!) online in a jiffy through the mic.
  • Guitar Chords with Chordbook Find that one chord you've been looking for.
  • We Are the Music Makers. A popular music making community on Reddit.
  • Distrokid. Get your music in web stores and on streaming services from only £19 a year.
  • Tonetta. Tonetta is the stage name of Canadian artist/musician/female impersonator Tony Jay. Be warned though, some of his songs are quite NSFW.
  • Sparks. Russell and Ron Mael (and whoever's backing them up this week) are my Beatles. Way, way more than "the creepy Hitler guy from Top of the Pops".
  • Everyhit. This site lists every single and album to chart in the UK Top 40 between 1952 and 2010. See what was number one on the day you were born!
  • Prince Vault. THE Prince resource. Prince fans are known for their devotion, and this site stands as testament to it.

    • Genealogy:

  • Family Search. The most extensive free genealogy resource out there. Signin required.
  • FreeCEN. Selected UK census records, completely free.
  • The Sheffield Indexers. A useful, free resource (including active forum with no signin requirement) for people researching ancestry in Sheffield or surrounding areas.
  • The Romani. An invaluable site for those researching Romanichal/Kale (English/Welsh gypsy) ancestry.
  • Avotaynu. This site prides itself on researching the origins and migrations of the Jewish people. Updated infrequently but a great starting point for those looking into their Jewish ancestry.
  • Jewish Data. Searching and browsing names is free, but more detailed records are paywalled.
  • Databases of Sephardic Jewry. As implied, this is aimed at Sephardic descendants, but one can find the odd Ashkenazi surname amongst the Mendozas and Pereiras.
  • ISOGG. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy provides advice on getting started in genetic genealogy and a comprehensive wiki.
  • Census of Ireland 1901/1911. The complete Irish censuses (northern and southern) from 1901 and 1911, when the island was still entirely under British rule.

    • Language and linguistics:

  • Angloromani. The most extensive dictionary of the Angloromani (Pogadi, Anglo-Gypsy) dialect online, from the ROMANI project at Manchester University.
  • ROMLEX. An enormous online dictionary of Romani languages, featuring translations into several European languages including English.
  • Jewish Languages. A library of Jewish languages from around the world, including samples, videos and dictionaries.
  • Endangered Languages. A site that collects information on endangered minority languages in the hope that they can be revived.
  • Native American Language Net. A site cataloguing over 500 languages indigenous to the Americas.
  • Omniglot. If you claim to like languages but do not have this website bookmarked, you don't really like languages at all.
  • Say it in Saami. A basic phrasebook of the three main Sami dialects with culture notes. The Sami are the indigenous peoples of Sapmi (Lapland), distantly related to Siberians and, by extension, American Indians.

    • Mental health resources:

  • No More Panic. A site for those struggling with panic, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders. Includes forum.
  • Mind. A UK-based charity helping to spread awareness of mental illness.

    Miscellaneous likes and resources:

  • Neocities. Go back to the future with this Geocities-style website builder.
  • Footballsite. Facts, tables and other interesting tidbits from the history of English football.
  • LFC History. Possibly the most comprehensive history site dedicated to one football club out there. I'll even ignore the fact that it's Liverpool. Hats very much off.
  • Logopedia. A whole lotta logos. WARNING: Contains terrible Wikia layout!
  • Melon Farmers Censorship Watch. Cataloguing and critiquing censorship at all levels. Highly NSFW!
  • UK A-Z Transfers. Although sadly not updated since 2015 due to the death of the maintainer, still a fantastic resource.
  • Historical Football Kits. If you follow an English or Scottish League club, your entire home kit history is here. Away kits are covered for some clubs, also there are sections devoted to the best and worst kits of all time. Guess where the 1992 Hull kit is?
  • 625: Andrew Wiseman's Television Room. A site packed with reconstructions of 60s, 70s and 80s idents and clocks from both the BBC and ITV franchises. Some TV history too, with a focus on the gradual defranchising of ITV.
  • Creative Spirits. A site dedicated to educating people on the culture of the Aboriginal Australians. Written by a white man who sometimes comes across as trying too hard to be sensitive, but still a good resource with diverse viewpoints on sociocultural issues.