• An attempt to define science fiction by "new guard" writers at SF Signal. What Dave says. (So far, anyway.)
• This Strange Horizons review makes The Red Men by Matthew de Abaitua sound worth adding to the neverending list. (Tangentially speaking, since SH also just did their Year in Review: Spook Country by William Gibson — so much buzz when it came out, but I saw it on practically nobody’s best of the year list…)
• Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, Will Shetterly, and Emma Bull are doing something really, really smart cool. Seriously, seriously interesting.
• Sara Ryan points to an excellent-sounding podcast featuring The Wire’s Wendell Pierce and Andre Royo. (I am trying to be strong and not resubscribe to HBO.)
• Colleen sticks up for fictional cheerleaders.
• Curtis Brown agent Nathan Bransford offers some query cliches. Hee.
• Stephany Aulenback on Where the Wild Things Are and the upcoming Dave Eggers/Spike Jonze movie adapation. Could be fabulous.

• Someday there will be content besides links in this space, but not today.
• Stewart and Colbert return to the airwaves*: reviews are mixed.
• SF thrives on cronyism?** . . . just like the rest of publishing and every other field of business. (Via io9.)
• Maud (and Lizzie) got to attend the premiere of The Wire’s last season. Now that’s an event worth being a little green about.
• Carolyn raises some excellent questions about that weird New Yorker piece on Raymond Carver last month.
• Maureen Johnson interviews Libba Bray about The Sweet Far Thing and the result is charming and hilarious.
• On the latest EW back page column, Mark Harris talks about the stale retreads that make up the vast majority of TV and film science fiction offerings (perhaps in this case, more deserving of the term "sci-fi"). He ultimately concludes that people not so nostalgic for the genre should be creating this stuff, but it seems to me the problem is more that broadcast SF often panders to the lowest common denominator, embracing the most simplistic of influences and ignoring richer history that could better inform it–even to react against that history–to great detriment. It often feels like the people making it don’t really like science fiction at all. But, yeah, I mostly agree that nostalgia bunnies should take a powder for a bit and see if that gets us some better movies/shows.
• Dave Elzey has a great post on boy logic and reading and the Koran.
• Tattooed piggies! (Via someone but I can’t remember who; sorry!) (Also, no way am I getting tattooed at Wiscon, Doselle. No. Freaking. Way.)
• Liz Hand brings the Buster Keaton. Guaranteed to improve your day.
• Open thread for Tiptree recs at Livejournal. Help us!

*And edrants becomes Filthy Habits: a welcome return to the tubewaves(?).
**I know the link says nepotism, but surely everyone in SF isn’t related.

• The Guardian ran a contest for kids to create their own creatures and Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi  judged; the gallery is amazing.
• Secrets of upcoming Battlestar Gallactica season revealed by EW photo? I hope the secret is that it’s better than last season.
• The Machine Animals of Nantes. (Via Maureen.)
• Susan Beth Pfeffer wants your ghost stories and offers one of her own in exchange.

• A new issue of Chizine is live.
• Dave Schwartz on the error of breaking up (and erasing) the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
• Why, yes, spybots are cool.
• Mr. McLaren has the skinny on works new to the public domain this year.
• Maureen McHugh meditates on her own "contract rooted in capitalist obsessions with property," aka marriage. (Anniversary congratulations!)
• Oh, and by the by, when you’re reading Justine’s latest writing posts, don’t forget to check her out on Scrivener. This is the best post I’ve seen thus far on its virtues. Love, love, love the Scriv.
• Meghan has posted some cute pictures of New Year’s, including doggy dog ones (I really love this one of Emma).
• Science books to look for in 2008. (Via Jenny.)

• Justine kicks off the new year with a thoroughly great post on rewriting. I love revision because the blind panic I feel most days while writing a first draft–is this even a book? is this the worst book ever? is this really the best I can do? is it possible I have no idea what happens next?–only rarely kicks in during it. (Although, yes, sometimes despair does show up.)
• The Cybils finalists are out. The SFF shortlists (one YA, one for middle grade and younger readers) look excellent, and I’m very excited to start reading my way through them and deliberating with the rest of the category’s jury.
• A new Jeff Ford novel, The Shadow Year, comes out in March. YAY!
• Chance discusses the book in question in this story, Marvelous Effect, which sounds, um, not so marvelicious.
• While we were traveling, I totally missed all the great posts related to how the writers in John Klima’s Logorrhea anthology chose their words.
• Philip Pullman in the Guardian on a topic near and dear: narrative voice.
• Chris McLaren has a whole bunch of good links about all sorts of stuff, including new tattoo ink, electromagnetic sense perception, disappearing doorknobs, and Joss Whedon.

• Scott and Justine are the "it" kids of YA, which is news to nobody. Also, Justine looks great in that hat.
• Hello Kitty for men. (Via.)
• Meghan McCarron’s favorite songs o’ the year.
• J.L. Bell on the similarities between Castle Waiting and the Oz books.