For the holidays:

This 3 ½ minute video showcases the a capella group Straight No Chaser singing “The 12 Days of Christmas” and several other favorites.

Books and Writing:

Vonda McIntyre, who died earlier this year, has left her literary assets and a sizeable bequest to Clarion West.

SFWA named Lois McMaster Bujold as the latest Grandmaster.

Barnes and Noble went scything through their blogosphere, ending contracts with all of their freelance Fantasy and SF blog writers and Teen blog writers (and by “freelance” they mean “all of them.”) The move is purportedly to put the content of the B&N site “back” into the hands of booksellers. (Was it ever “in the hands” of booksellers?)

Oh, thank goodness! It’s a Best Of List! It’s been… minutes since I’ve seen one of those. This is from the UK Guardian.

If I already linked to this, I’m not sorry because it is still being updated. SWFA puts forth its Nebula Reading Suggestion list.

TV and Movies:

File 770 introduces the Wonder Woman sequel, Wonder Woman 1984. I notice the Amazon princess now rocks a red, white and blue costume.

Chris Chibnall tells us that the Doctor Who New Year’s Day episode will be a two-part thrill-fest, involving stunts, global locations and spies. Oooooh-kay. This could be really good or really, really bad. With the casting, I’m leaning toward good… but I’m worried.

Abigail Nussbaum dissects some of the shows offered by Apple TV+ and Disney+, the new kids on the streaming content block. (Thanks to File 770.)

And The Magicians, Season Five, has dropped its trailer. “Today we save the world, and this time it’s going to stick.” (2.05 minutes)

Internet:

From November, here are gift suggestions for the SF lover in your life. Expertly Chosen also has some suggestions.

Thanks to The Mary Sue for this article that includes a video of the Hamilton song “My Theodosia,” sung to Baby Yoda.

Science and Tech:

Apparently, Asteroid Bennu spits out rocks. That seems rude, but this article is interesting, and raises lots of questions about space rocks.

And now, for the holidays, an article on fire ants. No, seriously, the way fire ants work collectively to form ant-rafts and survive floods is awesome.

Earth:

Some people built bird houses. During the Ottoman Empire, people in Istanbul built bird palaces.

Author

  • Marion Deeds

    Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She’s retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town.

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