• The ever-brilliant Pinky imagines what would happen if Pynchon’s Against the Day was considered by a typical MFA workshop. Hilarity ensues.
• As you’ve probably seen all over the place, the Cybils nominations are out (children and YA bloggers’ choice awards), and this seems remarkably organized for the first year of such a massive effort. There’s even a podcast at Just One More Book about the process and the nods. (Via Fusenumber8.)
• Theresa Duncan welcomes the new year with one of my favorite Octavio Paz poems.
• Those without HBO can watch The Wire on BET starting next week.
• Darby’s unread books list.
• Terri Windling profiles a gorgeous-looking retelling of Beauty and the Beast written by Max Eilenberg with illustrations by Angela Barrett.
• Man dies while giving a radio broadcast. (Via Andy Duncan.)
• Scott profiles Mike Davis’s new book Planet of Slums over at Beatrice.
• I only promised C I wouldn’t steal the discarded Tevis tombstone photo before he posted it, so in case you missed it:

  
  And I’m curious enough to call the tombstone company it’s sitting behind at some point and ask if the birth date was off by a year. Wikipedia lists it as 1928 rather than the 1927 shown here.

• And, an aside, my Lush package arrived a couple of days ago: I may never go back to regular shampoo, because solid shampoo kicks a-s-s.

• Laurell K. Hamilton to (negative) fan(s): "Shut up!" Fans: "No, you crazy person!"
• Go read "Locked Doors" by Steph Burgis over at Strange Horizons.
• Justine kicks off a thread about the differences between YA and A.
• Colleen on the depressing theme in this year’s Best American Essays.
• Holly Black has posted the entries in her flash fiction contest to win ARCs of Ironside for your voting pleasure (if you have an LJ account).
• I heart the Venture Brothers. (Thanks to Ted for that.)
• Maud’s favorite books of the year in Newsday.
• DeNiro and Barzak will be in the house at Mac’s Backs in Cleveland Heights on Jan. 4. Be there if you’re in the neighborhood.
• John Green’s top secret webby project with his brother kicks off today. Yay!

• We just bid Ms. and Mr. Tingle Alley bon voyage on a journey to the frozen north; being in a centrally located city on a major interstate route has its advantages. Then I went to the post office to find an ARC of Cecil‘s Beige and jumped up and down with glee. Now I just have to convince myself to save it as a reward for the plane next weekend, and not immediately gobble it up. I have the day off. A nap is imminent. Sometimes life is very, very good.
• These photos of African kings are amazing. (Via Mr. McLaren.)
• Yet another Courtney Love piece, though this one’s better than most. I can’t tell if she’s started playing cutesy dumb or the drugs have finally eaten her brain.
• If this pans out, it’d be a major understatement to say it’s good news.
• The text of a PKD speech, "How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later." (Via Ed.)
• A most entertaining and excellent interview with Carrie Jones about her forthcoming Tips on Having a Gay (ex)Boyfriend.
• M. John Harrison on writing. (Via Mr. McLaren again.)
• A tourist map of Gotham.