World's Sexiest Grandpa

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/world/asia/china-wang-deshun-model-80.html?_r=0

Two Monks Illustrate

The Toast is a treasure.

Junot Diaz on Race and Masculinity

Interesting stuff. I really should read this guy's actual work. I've loved his interviews.

Romance Novels in the Realm of Boko Haram

An article on the booming underground Nigerian romance novel industry.

A Master List of Dead Fictional Lesbians

Well, from TV anyway. 

Want to include a lesbian in your work, but worried a happy ending for her might scare away your American morals readers from the Midwest with the idea that Sin can have Any Wages but Death? Consider an out of left field murder at the last minute! Reinforce the inherent tragedy of aberrant love. Let a lesbian out there know you believe in her right to exist beautifully and temporarily, like one of those insects that climb upward through the dirt for the better part of a decade to mate once under the silver pull of the moon and then litter the ground with their dead husks. I'm sure she'll totally appreciate it.

Pay for Coffee with a Poem for International Poetry Day

*offer may not be valid in your area, but worth checking.

Writing with Color

Found this while I was doing some research for a longer project: Writing with Color, a volunteer site where several people from various traditions answer questions you might have when trying to do representation in your projects.

The High Cost of Dying in New York

Al Jazeera piece on Muslim funerals in New York, including some interesting details about transatlantic shipping for funerals.

Victorian Drag Queens

Hooray for vintage pictures!

Sylvia Moreno Garcia on Authenticity

Small but fun essay. I enjoy what I've read of this author's work- there's a particularly fun Malinche-themed sci-fi story they ran from her over at Escape Pod- and I've never felt any of it was inauthentic, but I've also spent some time down in Mexico. I get really tired of seeing it depicted as a completely sepia-toned desert full of gangsters and witches (I love you, Breaking Bad, but really, man, really?)

Visual Displays of Punctuation

I enjoy when people take a look at the nuts and bolts of prose. I'm not sure this is hugely informative, but it is fun.

Bolivia's Indigenous Millionaires and Their New Houses

Not everyone loves them. I think they look neat.

Creepy Doll Factory Pictures

What it says on the tin.

"How I Wrote Neuromancer"

William Gibson lays it out.

"Without Cruelty, There is No Carnival"

Fair warning, this is China Mieville being red as all get out and very mad at capitalism. He is, as always, a fantastic writer.

Some Great Historical European Fencers

Who were black and from the Americas.

Plot without Conflict

You know, I think I may have posted this essay before, years ago, but what the hey. A comparison of three-act structure and conflict with a Japanese juxtaposition story structure called kishōtenketsu.

Suffragette Cartoons

Because why not?

Some essays on Deep Space Nine

Been watching Deep Space Nine, which I missed at the time. I have a great many thoughts on it, but as I'm not even halfway through yet, I'll probably hold off on them for now, because a lot of my opinions in the early season were "this is all the goofiest parts of Next Generation mixed with less successful versions of Babylon 5 plot points."

That said, though, a friend hooked me up with this collection of essays about it, which I thought I'd share.

Congratulations, Dan!

Found out today that Daniel Ausema is nominated for Rhysling! He's a stunning poet and a super sweet guy. Go check out his page and some of the stuff he's written.