January 2, 2009 Links and Plugs

It's a slow news day today...

• The Manga Village crew (which includes me) gives an overview of 2008 and we prattle on some predictions (more of like demands) for 2009.
  
• Oh and here's a reaction (review?) to the Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler.
• Marshall Payne of The Fix interviews Patrick Swenson.
• In terms of writing and note-taking applications (whether for writing or gaming or what have you), you might want to take a look at Celtx (for media pre-production) and OneNote (who would have thought Microsoft?).
• And for Mary Robinette Kowal, The Stories Behind 20 Muppet Favorites.

Here's something to take a look (and remember you can snag it for free if you join this contest):

The Vacant Throne by Joshua Palmatier