Largely Literary Linkage: Blocks, art, games, monsters and sorrows

It’s snowing. A lot.

Last night my power went out for three hours, and I had to work in the dark, my only illumination candlelight and the fading glow of a dying laptop.

As a result, once again, my kitten’s eyebrows have gone all curly. She’s adorable, but more than a little stupid when it comes to open flames.

It’s still snowing.

Distracting linkage, carefully curated just for you:

• There’s no such thing as writer’s block.
• Stop attacking poetry, guys.
• Not even Spectric poetry.
• Our $20 bill is only patriotic if you’re Norwegian.
• Moderately priced art is disappearing.
• Want to know what it’s like to be an artist? Try this video game.
• Women game, they always have. Dudes, stop freaking out.
• It’s only taken 73 years for DC to hire a woman to draw Batman.
• Must read: Alix Ohlin’s skilful deconstruction of the women central to Ian McEwan’s Sweet Tooth, and Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot, and the narrow way men portray women, particularly as readers.
• More on awful profiles of women, with ideas on how to fix them.
• Roberto Bolano on writing short stories.
• Powell’s shares advice on how to take a great author photo.
• Impressive author sculptures.
• The reality behind funding a self-published book through Kickstarter.
• A profile on Lou Reed’s muse, Rachel.
• Contrary to what you may believe, in fact it is cyclists and pedestrians who are subsidizing drivers. Suck on that SUVs.
• Check out the Amelia Bloomer Project, recommending great feminist books for young people.
• Did Gollum live under the streets of Toronto in 1978?
• Calvin & Hobbes superimposed in real photographs. Magical.
• The Internet has a Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. That’s all you need to know.

If that’s not enough to distract you, try Procatinator, a blend of cat gifs and music. This is a real thing.