© Zach Den Adel

• Stewie, the world’s longest cat, passed away at at the age eight. He was 48.5 inches from toe to tail, and his tail measured 16.34 inches. Wow.
• After seven days, the little boy held hostage in a bunker in Alabama has been freed and his kidnapper killed. The local children called Jimmy Lee Dykes — who believed the government and the mafia were controlling the dog races he bet on — “the scoop man.”
• Shooter Boys and At-Risk Girls, an essay by Molly Crabapple on the culture surrounding school shootings.
• Have you caught up on the Applebee’s scandal yet? Here’s a breakdown with photos.
• I’m still making my way through Moby Dick, and this annotated version has been especially useful.
• This handy list by Mary Robinette Kowal of every word used by Jane Austen, all 14,793 of them, is a great starting point for anyone writing historical fiction. Bonus Mary: How to make entrails!
• Looking for the motivation to write? Written? Kitten! to the rescue.
• Duotrope alternatives, in case you’re still looking: Dark Markets, Bloody Bookish, and Horror Tree for horror writers, and The Grinder for stats and tracking. Bloody Bookish in particular lets you easily add deadlines to your Google calendar.
• Chuck Wendig’s 25 thoughts on book piracy.
• More than $60,000 has been pledged to John Scalzi’s Counteract a Bigot drive. In return, Scalzi commissioned this brilliant piece of art. Shirts may be forthcoming.
• King Richard III’s body has been found beneath a parking lot in Leicester.
• The 256-year-old man, Li Ching-Yuen. He supposedly lived on rice, herbs, and wine and said the secret to longevity was to “keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon, and sleep like a dog.” His age is disputed; Ching-Yuen himself said he was 197. Do you believe it?
• Hey, Amazon? No.

Scary reading to cap off the night’s festivities? “Three Strikes” appears in the newest Shock Totem. Get your copy here. The final issue of Dark Recesses, featuring my story “Borderland Fancy,” is available as a free PDF through Cutting Block Press.

NaNoWriMo kicks off today, so I’ll just slink back into the shadows for a while. I’ll tweet my progress and share inspiration for my novel on Tumblr, if you’re interested in following along. And because I’m still in the holiday spirit, I leave you with this. Cheers.

Image courtesy the Associated Press

• Jaw-dropping art carved from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and medical journals.
• Fantastic shadow art of severed heads composed from, suitably, taxidermy and trash.
• The 100 best opening lines according to Stylist.co.uk. Looks like they forgot one –

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

• Little libraries! If only I were a carpenter (and lived somewhere else, where something like this would take off).
• Michael Chabon discusses the bias against science-fiction. Love him!
• If you’re of the geek or nerd persuasion and haven’t subscribed to the Nerdist channel on YouTube, you should. Is it weird that the show I’m most looking forward to is Rob Zombie’s?
• Wil Wheaton’s list of things every person should have.
• And I know you’ve seen it by now, but … an excerpt from Wesley Crusher, Teenage Fuck Machine.
• Francesca Lia Block is in a battle with Bank of America over her home. You can stay updated at Save Francesca’s Faerie Cottage. I really hope things work out; we’re facing the same situation and it’s enough to drive anyone mad.
• Steampunk Thing! How cool would it be to have one of these attached (and working, of course)?
• Here’s why Cinderella III: A Twist in Time is the best Disney sequel. I’m still cackling.
• Mark your calendars: The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King (4/24), another tale in the Dark Tower saga, and Railsea by China Miéville (5/15), a salvagepunk retelling of Moby Dick.

I now have two favorite commercials …

© Chango Blanco

• In honor of National Clown Week (and nobody told me?!), here’s a slideshow of historic clown photos courtesy of Slate.
• Check out the smashing new Dr. Sketchy’s site, complete with branch profiles and full search capability.
• Support budding young writers, support the Desert Island Supply Co. in Birmingham, Alabama.
• The Uniform Project is in its second year with a new “Pilots” series. Funds raised for this month’s project will benefit Blair Grocery, a school in New Orleans’s Lower 9th Ward.
• Jenny of Fashion for Writers rants about the blatant Orientalism in Dior’s new ad campaign, “Shanghai Dreamers.”
• Beth Hommel, personal assistant to Amanda Palmer and all around superstar, has written about her battle with depression. For anyone who’s been there or feels they’re on the brink, read the comments. They’re inspiring.
• The Cassini probe captures Alpha Centauri, the sun’s nearest star system, while photographing Saturn. From 80 million x 330,000 miles away!
• These tiny sculptures carved into pencil tips by Dalton Ghetti are astounding.
• Prop 8 overturned!
• Etsy recs: Ugly Art Dolls by Ugly Shyla, Rustic Goth, tracemyface design, and Midnight Zodiac Leather Works.

Gas masks; abandoned houses; cemeteries at night; cryptozoology; tiny sailboats against a stormy backdrop; foxfire; reconstructed dolls; snagging a rad black dress for $1; skulls; creative jack-o-lanterns; clunky doorknockers; cocoa butter; the sunset reflected in a window; pinstripes; the sound of coyotes howling in the field next door; Hunter S. Thompson’s photography; fairy tale retellings (“Snow, Glass, Apples” by Neil Gaiman is a favorite); black boots; hot chocolate; surprise food in the mail; laughing at the costume selection in Wal-Mart and wandering the aisles in what I think was an ogre mask; chipped nail polish; BLT sandwiches; sweet iced tea; new neighbors.

© Hunter S. Thompson

© Chris J*