Friday Links (Ho! Ho! Ho! edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. And Christmas! Let this queer taoist wish you and yours a very, merry Christmas! And Happy Solstice! Joyful Kwanza! Happy Holidays!

I got all the presents wrapped last Friday before our big party. I finished my Christmas Ghost Story in the wee hours of the morning Saturday, and that night read the story while dressed as Grandfather Frost. My husband and I and a couple friends saw Star Wars: the Force Awakens on Sunday, and I've have a fun week of vacation, including a run down to see a bunch of the family. Given how grueling the previous two weeks at work had been, I'm really glad to have this time off this year!

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Link of the Week

I shared this web site earlier, but it deserves a repeat: Your Holiday Mom: OFFERING OUR LGBTQ YOUTH A VIRTUAL HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

This week in Geek

Winnipeg Free Press: Don't Ready the Comments?

'Tis the Season

Speaking to the Soul: Finding Stillness.

Where America's Christmas trees come from, in one map.

Lunch lady who was fired for giving a poor child a free meal offered job back.

The Real Reason for the Coffee Season.

The Only Holiday Decoration in the Florida Capitol Is a Rainbow Gay Pride Festivus Pole.

This week in Heart-wrenching

Why I Am Probably Going to Send the Drunk Driver Who Killed My Parents a Christmas Card: The 10th anniversary of my parents' death brings up many emotions. Hate isn't one of them.

A Christmas Themed Story. "No reindeer. No elves. I think you'll remember it though. You'll say "Safe Travels" and you'll mean it."

This Week in Diversity

Words that Need to Die in 2016.

6 Reasons Your Discomfort with They/Them Pronouns Reveals Unchecked Cis Privilege.

5 Ways Christian Privilege Shows Up During the Winter Holiday Season.

This week in Evil, Greedy People

Listen: whistleblower story that Marineland threatens to sue journalists for disclosing.

News for queers and our allies:

Scholarship Could Be Ray Of Hope For Rural LGBT Students.

My Day in Court.

Free Gay-Themed Holiday Indie Film: 'Red Lodge'.

US drops lifetime ban on gay men donating blood.

Obama Commemorates Fifth Anniversary Of 'Dont Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal.

Anti-Transgender Ballot Initiative Fails in California.

Science!

Astronomers Find New Object, Possible Super-Earth In Our Solar System.

Record heat hit East Coast on Christmas Eve.

HIV antibody curbs virus in trial: Dramatic reduction in circulating HIV produced in those not receiving antiviral drugs.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

How Bad Is the 1978 ‘Star Wars’ Holiday Special? (Even though I was around and a big fan when this aired, I refused to watch it, suspecting rightly that it would be awful)

George Lucas nearly wrote a perfect prequel trilogy. He just didn't notice.

Tales From The Four Color Closet: By The Force, Let Poe Dameron Be Gay.

TOLKIEN, THE FORCE AWAKENS, AND THE SADNESS OF EXPANDED UNIVERSES.

Culture war news:

Waivers Allowing Christian Schools To Ban LGBT Students Spike In 2015. Only two schools applied during the entire Bush administration, but 60 have applied in the last two years!

The Winner of The Stranger's Design a Christian Starbucks Cup Contest!

Most U.S. Christian groups grow more accepting of homosexuality. 54% of all U.S. Christians (including a majority of Evangelicals under the age of 35!)!

Atheist Display Will Force Removal of Nativity Scene. The headline is very misleading: the state allowed all groups to sign up for time periods when their holiday display will be up on public ground. This is the time period the Christian group signed up for, and their turn is now over, so the next group goes up.

Mennonite minister loses U.S. appeal of kidnapping case conviction. "...upheld the conviction of a Mennonite minister accused of helping a woman flee to Nicaragua with her daughter to evade court orders giving her former lesbian partner visitation rights."

Texas Gov. censors Bill of Rights; uses fake quotes and fraudulent history to claim atheists ‘promote ignorance and falsehood’.

Liberty Counsel: We Lost Every Legal Battle to Try to Stop Gay Rights, But Send More Money.

Home Arrests Texas Football Player Gets 20-Years In Prison For Killing Transgender…Girlfriend? [Video].

This Week in the Clown Car

Ted Cruz Vows To Break Up Historic Climate Change Agreement If Elected President.

Blood, Sweat and Trump.

Ted Cruz Can't Decide: Is Gay Marriage a Threat to Democracy, or Not a Priority?

Carson suggests campaign shake-up is coming.

Jeb Abandons Jeb! Trademark.

Donald Trump Signals Support for Vilest Anti-Gay ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill of Our Time: WATCH.

If Trump wins the nomination, prepare for the end of the conservative party. For the first time in a long time George Will has a couple of correct points. But his primary conclusion has a major flaw: the Democrats are the Conservative Party in the U.S., the Republicans are Radical Authoritarians, not Conservatives.

Back to Carson and Trump… and other ideal men!

Ronald Reagan’s Daughter Goes On Tirade Against GOP.

Marco Rubio Doesn't Like Being Called A Bigot For Acting Like A Bigot.

This week in Other Politics:

The Tunnel-drilling Machine Stuck Beneath Seattle for Two Years has Finally Moved--A Teeny Tiny Bit. The Real Test Will Be When the Machine Breaks Out of Its Access Pit and Into Seattle Soil Next Year..

The Justice Department just shut down a huge asset forfeiture program.

Many U.S. Citizens Will Have to Get a Passport to Fly Domestically. Only 22 states have complied with the post-9/11 Real ID act, and Homeland Security is starting to crack down.

The Thing The Atlantic Didn't Mention In Its Profile of Nick Hanauer.

Hillary Clinton Seizes on Donald Trump’s Remarks to Galvanize Women.

Farewells:

George Clayton Johnson, co-writer of Logan's Run and many science fiction TV scripts, has died.

Things I wrote:

Hang your stockings and say your prayers….

Past Christmas or Christmas Past?

Christmas Presence.

Not Yet Christmas.

Videos!

"All I Want For Christmas Is You" MUSIC VIDEO - Steve Grand:



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I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White:



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Bernie Sanders explains Trump's irrational reaction to learning that women go to the bathroom:



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Sean Hayes Gets a Sugar High and Lip Syncs Barbra Streisand’s ‘Jingle Bells’:

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Whitney Houston (and Bobbi Kristina) - Little Drummer Boy (HD):



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Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Collection:



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Billy Idol - 2007 - Winter Wonderland:



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The Christmas Can Can:



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Snoopy's Christmas:



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Friday Links (holiday frenzy edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Especially this Friday, because I'm on vacation now, and after the last few weeks I really, really need some time off! Christmas is only a week away, and even though I'm a gay taoist married to a bi wiccan, our house has a big tree covered with ornaments (this year lots of otters, seals, penguins, polar bears, mermen, and starfish) and lights. We're cooking today for a big holiday party we're hosting this weekend. And I'm still trying to finish my Christmas Ghost Story in time to read it at the party! Eek! And I have a gazillion presents yet to wrap. Where has the month gone?

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Link of the Week

The “War on Christmas” Cries Overshadow The Daily War On Christ—By Christians. 'Frankly, I’m tired of annual demands to “keep Christ in Christmas” by Christians who don’t seem particularly interested in keeping Christ in their Christianity the rest of the year (you know: caring for the poor, protecting the marginalized, alleviating suffering, shunning greed, championing equality). I think lots of people are.'

This week in Evil, Greedy People

The 4 worst patents of 2015.

Turing’s reviled Martin Shkreli arrested for alleged securities fraud. This is the jerk who bought a life-saving drug and raised the price 5000%...

How the Las Vegas Review-Journal broke news about its own sale.

This week in Topics Most People Can't Be Rational About

We Asked A Mass Shooter Why The Hell This Keeps Happening.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Atlantic Challenge: Four men, three legs and 3,000 miles.

The Elf on the Shelf is preparing your child to live in a future police state, professor warns. The article is from last year, and it isn't a crazy conspiracy, the academic paper referenced is talking about the very real psychological effects the Elf on the Shelf concept has on children. I thought they were creepy before...

Seattle's 4.5-Foot-Wide 'Spite House' Up For Sale.

News for queers and our allies:

Calgary parents update mom's tattoo to support their transgender son.

This is the story behind that weird gay Robert Dyas Christmas ad.

30 Moments That Made Us Proud In 2015.

LGBTQ: ‘There’s a Real Shift Happening’ in Christianity.

10 Superheroes Who Need to Come Out Right Now.

Happy News!

We Are Gay Atheists, and We Love Christmas.

Science!

Town rejects solar farm for many dumb reasons, including fear the solar panels are stealing energy from nearby trees and gardens.

DEBUNKING THE “CRIMINALS DON’T FOLLOW LAWS” MYTH 2.0: WHY GUN CONTROL WORKS. The problem, these studies show, isn’t that criminals don’t follow laws, but rather that criminals aren’t dissuaded by weak laws.

18 Hybrid Animals That Are Hard To Believe Actually Exist.

The ancestry of a 21st century multi-racial American family.

Butterflies remember a mountain that hasn't existed for millennia.

Debunking the myth that evolution can’t explain eyeballs.

Smithsonian Scientists Name New Species of Sperm Whale.

Could a Human Not in Our Species Still Exist?

Sail-Backed Dinosaur Fossil Found In Spain.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Can we talk about Susan Pevensie for a moment?

And another take on the same thing (using the same quote for the title on the web page, but it is a different article) There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick..

The Quiet Gender Glass Ceiling in Fantasy.

C.S. Lewis Was a Secret Government Agent.

5 Things 'Star Wars' Fans Don't Understand About 'Star Wars'. A better title might have been: "You can love something while still understanding it's a product."

This week in Writing

Sad Puppies and The Goosebumps Rap: The Best and Worst Things to Happen to Literature in 2015.

ScrivenerVirgin Blog: Keeping track?

Red Pen is the home of writers who wish to polish their words ready for exposure to the world.

Writers--Give Yourselves a Break.

Culture war news:

Outrageous story about adopted baby taken from a lesbian couple and given to alleged child abusers.

Parishioners Terrified as Men Interrupt Catholic Masses by Shouting Religious Messages — and It’s All on Video. Note: these are Christians invading another Christian denomination's service and shouting this slogans.

Austinites turn out in droves for anti-gun 'mass farting' protest.

WTF????? Homeless Women and Children Booted by 'Christian' from Shelter to Keep Them From 'Tempting' Men.

Border Agents Detain U.S. Citizen For 3 Hours For Sketching In Her Notebook.

Unbelief As A Belief System: Core Tenet For Christians' Fight For Religious Rights.

This Week in the Clown Car

Trump's brazen rhetoric and willingness to run as an independent may be proof that he was bullshitting us all along.

Finished: Fiorina Iowa Town Hall Event Draws Only 14 People.

Trump Audience Member Yells Nazi Salute as Protester Removed From Las Vegas Rally.

Donald Trump supporter wants to burn a black man alive: “Light the motherf**ker on fire”. And Trump was egging the crowd on...

FACT CHECK: Do Tax Cuts Grow The Economy?

This week in Other Politics:

Deconstructing Israel's "Self-Defense" Claim and Its Campaign Against the ICC.

You’re more likely to be fatally crushed by furniture than killed by a terrorist.

This Week in Racism

White America’s toxic ignorance: Abigail Fisher, Antonin Scalia and the real privilege that goes unspoken.

Things I wrote:

Weekend update 12/12/2015: Man(un-)splainin’.

Getting nerdy as f— about things we love.

Of course Han shot first!

Videos!

Alton Brown reviews Amazon's dumbest kitchen gadgets (a lot of people have been sharing this, many arguing with it; I figure I have no room to criticize other people because I have owned numerous unitaskers: coffee maker, coffee grinder, krumkake iron, waffle iron, and so to a lot of people...):



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BEST NEWS BLOOPERS 2015 (I won't point out that we still have a few weeks of the year to go...):



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The Christmas Song with BLAKE and Dame Shirley Bassey:



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Santa Baby - Christmas Charity Single - Out of the Blue:



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Friday Links (epic trolling edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Even if I'm not really ready for the year to nearly be over! I'm certainly ready for this week to be over. Or at least for the last remnants of this cold to go away...

Anyway, Decorating Season is in full swing, and we're counting down days until Christmas. We're still behind, but making progress. I'm trying not to panic about my Christmas Ghost Story. But, meanwhile here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Link of the Week

The absolutely epic trolling letter Jeb Bush’s leadership PAC sent to Donald Trump’s lawyer. Seriously, this thing is hilarious!

This week in Geek

Dictionary.com chooses word of the year.

This Week in Diversity

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT BIRACIAL BLACKNESS.

15 things I learnt about Islam and British values being a gay boy living opposite a mosque.

News for queers and our allies:

I Can't Keep My Gay Kid Safe.

RainbowMan: Of Blackmail, Section 377 and Being Sexual Beings.

Carol and What It Was Really Like to Be a Lesbian in the 1950s.

Gay Superhero Joey Joins The Team On “Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

No Reason to Exclude Transgender Medical Care.

Family of former Victoria Police officer says homophobia contributed to suicide.

'No, seeing a transgender person is not a reason to call the police,' writes the American Civil Liberties Union.

Happy News!

There are more museums in the U.S. than there are Starbucks and McDonalds – combined.

Science!

Why Are There Gay Men?

Study: Homophobes May Be Hidden Homosexuals. I know this is nothing new, but it's yet another study confirming previous results.

The Bugs in Our Mindware - Many obstacles lie on the path to rational thought.

Fly Over Pluto’s Craters, Mountains, and Plains … at 80 Meters Resolution!

Concussion expert says children shouldn't play football until they turn 18.

Am I Just Not Attractive Enough To Date?

Science Says It’s More Than How You Look that Makes You Attractive.

‘tis the Seasoning: Bright Spots on Ceres Are Very Probably Salt.

“Resurrection plants” could offer hope as climate change decimates crops.

Fit to burst: Black holes can’t gobble up more than 50bn suns, scientist says.

Magician to Scientists: Don't Assume Infallibility.

Novel Chemical 'Washes Away' Alzheimer's Plaque in Mice.

Surprise: School That Is Tolerant of Anti-Vaxxers Suffers Massive Chickenpox Outbreak.

Shocking Maps Show How Bad U.S. Sex Ed Is.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

The case for Hayley Atwell to star in 'Doctor Who'.

Best science fiction and fantasy books of 2015.

How Isaac Asimov Went from Star Trek Critic to Star Trek Fan & Advisor.

Newly discovered WEB Du Bois science fiction story reveals more Afrofuturist history.

'X-Men' Star Shawn Ashmore Wants To Play Iceman As Gay. The character finally came out in the comics...

This week in Writing

FOREIGNERS, ACCENTS AND BROKEN ENGLISH.

Culture war news:

What Happened to Bullying?

These Pranksters Read Bible Passages to People, Telling Them It Was the Qur’an; They Were Shocked.

Human rights victory bittersweet, say parents of Toronto transgender boy.

Charlotte attorneys challenge law that allows magistrates to avoid performing same-sex marriages.

District 211 keeps deal on transgender student after heated debate.

Dear Media: Stop Using the Term 'Radicalized' Unless You Apply It to White Christian Extremists, Too.

Colorado Clerk’s Anti-Gay Marriage Sign Condemns Those Who “Choose to Violate God’s Written Word.”

Australia: God's warriors are locked in a barbaric, futile battle against marriage equality.

This Week in the Clown Car

Rubio: No-Fly List 'Shouldn't Be Used As Tool To Impede 700K' From Getting Guns. He's right, but for the wrong reasons.

After Making Enemies, Ted Cruz Tries to Make Friends.

Trump calls for ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’.

The Latest Embarrassing GOP Attacks on Climate Change Science.

Trump Supporter Busted For Lying On CNN About Her Own (R) Political Career.

GOP preparing for contested convention.

White supremacist groups see Trump bump: 'He has sparked an insurgency,' Stormfront founder says.

Members Of Donald Trump’s Christian Denomination Are Trying To See If They Can Kick Him Out.

This week in Other Politics:

Obama Offers Honest Words About Hard Truths: The president doesn’t have any magic solutions for defeating ISIS. And neither does anyone else.

This Week in Racism

Trump's Anti-Muslim Rants Undermine the Foundational Principles of American Democracy, And I'm Taking it Personally.

When a Mass Killer Is a White Christian, He's a Lone Lunatic, but When He's Muslim, He Represents All Muslims: The Logic of Prejudice and How It Works.

Scalia: Affirmative Action Sends Blacks To Schools Too Advanced For Them.

Farewells:

Transgender Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn Dies at 69.

Holly Woodlawn was a transgender inspiration. We mustn’t forget her achievements.

Are You Being Served? actor Nicholas Smith dies aged 81.

Things I wrote:

Making a list and checking it….

On our third anniversary….

Presents under the tree.

Videos!

Undies & Onesies: Holiday Spectacular (w/ CoCo Peru):



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Stephen Reveals How To Defeat ISIS:



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Macy Gray - All I Want For Christmas (Lyric Video):



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Phoenix - Alone on Christmas Day:



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Long Lost track: The Beach Boys - Alone On Christmas Day / 1977 Outtake (Correct Speed) Mike Love:



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Friday Links (British dessert edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Wait... is it really the first Friday in December? The year is nearly over? Oh, wow!

Anyway, Decorating Season is in full swing, and we're counting down days until Christmas and I spent a gazillion hours working on two novels last month, and no time working on my annual Christmas Ghost Story, so I'm just in another world of panic, here. But, meanwhile here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Link of the Week

C.S. LEWIS’ GREATEST FICTION: CONVINCING AMERICAN KIDS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TURKISH DELIGHT.

This Week in Food

British desserts, explained for Americans confused by the Great British Baking Show.

This Week in Diversity

The False Promise of Meritocracy.

Clementine Ford: Why I reported hotel supervisor Michael Nolan's abusive comment to his employer.

This week in Topics Most People Can't Be Rational About

Most Americans want gun owners, but not Muslims, to submit to a government registry.

KING: How would the U.S. react if the Planned Parenthood shooter was not a white male?

Sorry, Fox News, Pretty Sure Domestic Terrorism Was Already Political.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Indianapolis woman's car exploded twice in three months in suspected bombing attacks .

Retailers That Forced Employees To Work Thanksgiving Experienced Disappointing Sales.

Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials.

This week in Heart-wrenching

Japan to kill 333 whales “for science” despite UN court ruling.

News for queers and our allies:

U.S. Marine found guilty of killing transgender woman in Philippines.

Mom of Transgender Child Says She Was 'Obsessed with Death' Before Her Transition.

What It's Like To Be a Gay Little Person.

These two gay divers have dated and supported each other since the U.S. Championships.

The Dishonest Dodge From Dominionists.

Imperial Court marks 50 years of outreach, activism.

These Federally Funded Religious Schools Received Title IX Waivers to Discriminate Against LGBT Students.

Science!

Cosmic Cryptology.

60 Years Ago Today: The Day a Meteorite Hit Ann Hodges.

Science Guy Bill Nye’s radically simple blueprint for ending climate change.

The last stand of the climate change deniers.

Two-Thirds Of Americans Want Binding Deal At Climate Change Conference In Paris.

Scientist have discovered new clues about the earliest known Americans.

MARS TO TRADE ITS MOON PHOBOS FOR A RING.

Apollo 16 Booster Crash Site Reportedly Located on Moon.

The little-known world of endangered plant poaching.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

AN OPEN LETTER TO J.J. ABRAMS.

characters for an epic tale UPDATED now with bunnies!.

No, J J Abrams – Star Wars was never “a boy’s thing.”

Marvel’s First Lesbian Tells All: Carrie-Anne Moss on Leaving ‘The Matrix’ with ‘Jessica Jones’.

Some Thoughts on Jessica Jones.

Gollancz Signs Stephen Baxter to Write Sequel to H.G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. As one person commented: when you're a straight white man of a particular class and you write fanfic, it's called "art."

Another Word: On Reading, Writing, and the Classics.

Peter Jackson to Turkish court: Smeagol and Gollum are not the same.

This week in Geek

Here's How Much Data The Internet Generates In Just One Minute.

This week in Writing

Say what you mean….

Five Ray Bradbury Stories That Tell Us Everything We Need to Know About Writing.

The Real Reason We Need to Stop Trying to Protect Everyone’s Feelings.

Culture war news:

Antigay Activists Are Running Out Of Homophobic Places To Holiday Shop.

The right’s destructive anti-choice propaganda war: Why it’s time to fight back & how we can do it.

New York Times Decides Not To Use the Word 'Gentle' To Describe the Planned Parenthood Shooter, After All.

"Gentle loner" or "rabble-rouser"? Just don't call them terrorists.

The Terrorists Among Us: Forget Syria. The most dangerous religious extremists are migrants from North and South Carolina.

Rachel Maddow delivers a somber history of abortion clinic terror attacks in the U.S..

Why providing health care to women is dangerous.

Wisconsin School Cancels Book Reading About Transgender Teen After Lawsuit Threat.

Man arrested near hospital after he threatened to shoot surviving Planned Parenthood attack victim.

The other mass shooting that happened Wednesday in the United States.

This Week in the Clown Car

Senator Reid Blasts Trumpification Of GOP: Republicans Have Turned To The Politics Of Hatred.

Jeb’s new Iraq war: Continuing the family tradition of bloody Middle East quagmires.

Donald Trump May Not Be a Fascist, But He is Leading Us Merrily Down That Path.

New Indictment Renews Charges Against Ex-Ron Paul Aides.

Trump boasted about endorsement from 100 Black pastors for days. In the end, he got only one.

Republican Candidates, Emboldened by Trump, Are Telling Bigger Fibs than Ever.

Rubio’s slippery obfuscation: It’s becoming impossible to know what he really believes: On several different issues, Marco Rubio believes all things, and nothing, at the same time.

This week in Other Politics:

The Republican Donor Class Is Abandoning Its Opposition to Gay Rights. Will the Base?

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 11/29/2015: You’re kidding me, right?

To absent friends….

Editing is not about understanding the semi-colon and similar arcana.

Grandma’s houses… and other things.

Videos!

[Official Video] That’s Christmas To Me - Pentatonix:



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Joy to the World Motown Christmas Cover ft Von Smith & Tambourine Guy:



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!!! - And Anyway It's Christmas:



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Friday Links (post-food coma edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. It is the final Friday in November. That means, at least here in the states, that yesterday was Thanksgiving. Which means that here at our house, we are finally officially into Christmas season. I can list to Christmas music! I can start decorating! Yay!

The last few weeks the links list has been a bit shorter than usual because of how much time I'm spending on NaNoWriMo. Then this week with the holiday, traveling, and family time, my news reading time was even more restricted. Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Your Holiday Mom: OFFERING OUR LGBTQ YOUTH A VIRTUAL HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. This is so wonderful.

This Week in Diversity

Muslim student nearly run over by man who called her a terrorist: ‘I’m terrified to cross the street now.’

CDC: Marriage Rates Up in 2014, Divorce Rates Down. "Remember how religious conservatives insisted that allowing same-sex couples to marry would destroy the institution of marriage? Yeah, no: The CDC says more Americans married in last year and fewer married couples divorced. The numbers are small—tiny uptick in the marriage rate (reversing a 15 year trend), tiny downtick in the divorce rate—and this CDC report covers 2014, the year before the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. But same-sex couples were already marrying in a majority of states in 2014."

Cinema company that banned Lord's Prayer advert lashed by many tongues.

The Kaleidoscope Society: America’s hurtling change is inverting our oldest national motto.

This week in People Doing Good Things

Speaking to the Soul: the world is big enough.

News for queers and our allies:

National Organization for Marriage Violates Federal Law, Refuses to Release Tax Forms.

All Out Launches Crowdfunded “Gay Cure Watch” Site. A new online tool to fight gay “cures”

Arkansas Judge Rules Against Ban on Gay Parents Being Named on Birth Certificates.

The Upcoming Film About Black Trans Activist Marsha P. Johnson Looks Absolutely Legendary.

Queen tells CoE to learn art of peacemaking amid splits over sexuality.

Trans* Women Are Not Freakshows and Drag Queens: The Problem With the Transgender Umbrella.

Marriage Equality Must Be Truly Equal.

Vietnam law change introduces transgender rights.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Sleeps With Monsters: Some Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

This week in Geek

Write your passwords down to improve safety. A counter-intuitive notion leaves you less vulnerable to remote attack, not more.

This week in Writing

The Running Novelist: Learning how to go the distance.

Culture war news:

Hate crimes against transgender people in America tripled last year.

If our free speech isn’t in jeopardy, then why won’t my TA let me spend all of class yelling “FUCK BRIAN” at Brian?

Expert Says Ohio's Vote Against Pot Legalization Was 'Statistically Impossible'.

Pew: White Christians no longer a majority.

How America’s Demographic Revolution Reached The Church.

Texas GOP Governor Abbott Hypocritically Tramples On Religious Freedom.

Meet the little-known religious group that turned Kim Davis into a right-wing superstar. And that is just a teeny part of the anti-gay hateful activity.

PHILADELPHIA: Judge Rules Alleged Basher Kathryn Knott’s Anti-Gay Tweets Can Be Used Against Her.

North Carolina school suspends all clubs after parents complain about LGBT club.

Salt Lake City Elects Gay Mayor, While Utah Exports Anti-Gay Hate.

Here's How Authorities In The Mid-20th Century Tried To Ruin Queer Lives.

This Week in the Clown Car

Mike Huckabee: 'There Will Be No Abortion' When I'm President. Impossible to make happen and a Constitutional Crisis all in one!

Ted Cruz Touts Endorsement Of Extreme Anti-Gay, Anti-Choice Activist Flip Benham.

Twitter Erupts Into Hysterics When Carson Says 9/11 Video He Remembers Was Of 'Middle East, Not NJ'.

You’re more likely to be fatally crushed by furniture than killed by a terrorist.

Donald Trump tells Fox News he merely retweeted a tweet from an "expert." Let's meet this "expert".

Kasich ambushes Trump in Ohio.

Rubio says same-sex marriage ‘not settled law’.

Donald Trump mocked a reporter with a disability at a South Carolina rally.

This week in Other Politics:

George R.R. Martin: My Position On the Syrian Refugees.

Watch: Sarah Palin Had No Idea There's A Refugee Screening Process, So Seth Meyers Had To Explain It.

This Week in Racism

Prosecutors: Cop Who Killed Laquan McDonald Fired 16 Shots And Was Reloading, But Told To Stop.

Five people were shot near Black Lives Matter protest site.

Jersey City Mayor Slams Trump’s “Hate Campaign.”

Emails reveal racists plotted confrontation with Black Lives Matters activists days before shooting. Interesting to note that their on-line discussions include several slang terms originated by so-called Men's Rights Advocates...

Five people shot at Black Lives Matter protest in Minneapolis: Police.

This Week in Misogyny

Why Do Gay Men Perpetuate Sexism?

Dismissing popular things that women like doesn’t require some special kind of bravery. It happens all day, every day – especially in literary criticism.

Things I wrote:

Quality vs quantity is a false dichotomy.

Oppressed Oppressors, part 4.

It’s an old family recipe….

It is about being thankful, after all.

Videos!

Sainsbury’s OFFICIAL Christmas Advert 2015 – Mog’s Christmas Calamity (this is really, really good!):



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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Pennies (HBO):



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The Civil War Begins – 1st Trailer for Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War”:



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A friend sent me a link to this video, which is a response to the recent decision by a UK cinema company to not allow religious groups to purchase advertising time in the theatres, Reimagining The Lord's Prayer:



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Adele - Hello (a different take):



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Tuesday, 3:00 am / Nita Whitaker:



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Friday Links (Remembrance edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. November is moving along! It's already the 20th, which means that today is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance

NaNoWriMo is taking up a lot of my time, so I'm not doing as much online news reading as usual. Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Former ISIS hostage, French reporter tortured for 10 months: They *want* us to retaliate.

This Week in Diversity

Russian Witch Baba Yaga's Guide To Feminism.

The history of the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

This week in People Doing Good Things

Paris attacks: Restaurant worker who saved two women.

Can Cities End the School-to-Prison Pipeline? Relentless Organizers Are Tallying Wins.

This week in Evil, Greedy People

The company that raised the price of a drug by 5,000% posted a $14.6 million net loss in the third quarter.

News for queers and our allies:

3 Powerful Ways to Observe Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Moschino Barbie Boys. “It's wonderful that we live in a world where conventionally masculine pro basketball players and soccer players can be out, as well as Olympic skiers and ass-kicking/porn-making boxers. But little boys who play with barbies—and grow up to be iconic fashion-house-reviving designers—aren't a "harmful stereotype." Those boys exist and there's nothing wrong with them. And those boys came out first (because they couldn't hide) and they came out swinging. It was little girly boys who made it safe for masculine gay dudes to come out and not the other way around.”

Starbucks Turns 97 Seattle Locations Into LGBT Safe Spaces.

GLAAD launches trans microaggressions photo project #transwk.

BUILDING RESILIENCE AND COMMUNITY DURING TRANSGENDER AWARENESS WEEK.

The Hidden History of Gay Purges at Colleges.

This Is What Happens At A Formal For LGBT Teens.

Science!

Article: Apollo 12: A Giant Leap for Trolldom.

Canada Opens the Door for Science Once Again.

Newly Discovered Bacteria Can Resist All Antibiotics. It's a slightly misleading headline. This bacteria can resist the so-called "last resort" antibiotic. It does NOT have the mutations necessary to resist other antibiotics. However, as the article points out, it is only a matter of time.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Being a Superhero Isn’t Helping Thor Fight Cancer.

Science-fiction, fantasy, and all the things in between.

Culture war news:

Dalai Lama: Stop Praying for Paris — Humans Created This Problem and Humans Must Solve It.

Reviving the ‘Liberal Media’ Myth.

Arrest Pastor Kevin Swanson?

At Least 100,000 Texas Women Have Performed Their Own Abortions.

“No evidence” to support “unfounded allegations” against Planned Parenthood: Attorney General Ferguson. That's my attorney general (we elect the state attorney general here in Washington)

This is America in the age of decay: How we became a civilization dominated by racism & rage. What America and the world now face isn't a clash of civilizations. It's a struggle against our darkest impulses

This Week in the Clown Car

This is why Ben Carson lies: The dark, disturbing reality of race, religion and today’s right-wing.

Donald Trump Won't Rule Out Special ID Cards For Muslim Americans.

“Syria-ously hot!” The right responds to Paris with Bible-thumping, scientific illiteracy, frat boy antics.

Stephen Colbert’s scathing Bobby Jindal farewell: GOP still party of stupid, Trump “offensive” and Carson “bizarre”.

Chris Christie can’t believe that the Paris attackers weren’t Syrian refugees.

Why Won’t People Just Call Ben Carson the Idiot He Clearly Is? Come on. The guy is as dumb as a bag of rocks. How does he get away with it? Because our society craves his narrative.

GOP Candidates Really Don't Want To Talk About 'Kill The Gays' Conference.

This week in Other Politics:

Ignore The Freakout: Here's What Obama Really Said About 'America Winning'.

Observers Push Back Against Anti-Refugee Ugliness: “No Exaggeration to Call This Un-American.”

The National Association of Evangelicals Calls for Continued Resettlement of Refugees.

Inslee says Washington state will continue to welcome refugees. That's my governor!

Now the Truth Emerges: How the US Fuelled the Rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Things I wrote:

When bad things happen look for the heroes.

The red cup is already silly old news, but it’s more than a joke.

Meta-labels and Sub-genres – loving sf/f in all its forms.

Videos!

Trans women tell GLAAD about their experiences in honor of Trans Day of Remembrance:



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Use the iPad Pro like a Wacom Cintiq:



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Elton John - Looking Up:



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Panic! At The Disco: Victorious [OFFICIAL VIDEO]:



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Friday Links (91-year-old badass edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. November is moving along!

NaNoWriMo is taking up a lot of my time, so I'm not doing as much online news reading as usual. Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Required Viewing: Maddow On "Kill the Gays" Pastor and the GOP Candidates Who Love Him.

This Week in Diversity

ICEMAN AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO STAND WITH OUR FICTIONAL FRIENDS.

Binders Full of Men.

Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood.

Black Kids Will Save America.

News for queers and our allies:

Gay East Carolina Univ. diver left Mormon faith and became Baptist after coming out.

Double the Sex or Double the Pitfalls? How Does a Bi Marriage Really Work?

The Devious New Conservative Plan To Turn LGBT People Against Each Other.

Kansas Teacher In Hot Water For Showing Bullying Video Has Been Reinstated.

Happy News!

VIDEO: President Jimmy Carter Says He Feels Fine, Keeps Busy Despite Cancer.

Science!

When the Sun Went Medieval on Our Planet.

VIDEO: BMW Drivers Really Are Jerks, Studies Find.

Jimmy Carter's Cancer Battle Spotlights 2 New Therapies.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

World Fantasy award drops HP Lovecraft as prize image.

Here's What "Uncanny X-Men's" Iceman Coming Out Scene Got Right.

Terminally ill fan who saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens early has died.

H.P. Lovecraft was always a terrible choice for the World Fantasy Awards. "Lovecraft wrote stories where books could usher in the end of the world. H.P. Lovecraft wrote stories where imagination would lead you to death and insanity. H.P. Lovecraft wrote stories where curiosity didn’t only kill the cat, but made the cat pray for death to a cold and uncaring universe. H.P. Lovecraft wrote stories where the only thing you’d find through the looking glass, at the back of the wardrobe, or out beyond the stars was madness, depravity, and despair."

This Week in History

How did the first world war actually end?

Culture war news:

Mormon Church Nostalgic for Days When Homophobia Just Hurt Homos. “I’ve seen lots of painful things, but nothing so widespread, in terms of the devastation and heartbreak. I personally talked to dozens of people who are walking away. And these aren’t people with LGBT ties. These are ardent, faithful, in-the-box believing Mormons who can’t abide this,”

The Most Effective Argument Against Gay Rights: The conservative backlash to marriage and transgender equality is officially under way.

Starbucks’s red cup controversy, explained.

Cartoon: The right to an unfair trial.

Utah governor says judge who ordered child removed from same-sex couple should ‘follow the law’.

On Campus Racism And The Fairy Tale Of The P.C. Police.

50 Cent, Vivica A. Fox And The Absurdity Of Hip-Hop Homophobia.

This Week in the Clown Car

The real reason Donald Trump appeals to working-class whites: Racial animus only tells part of the story. Red-state voters really believe Trump is so rich he can't be bought.

Ted Cruz will never “Let It Go”: The right-wing’s insane new fear of “Frozen”.

Poll: The more that GOP voters hear about Bush, the less they like him.

The Fox Business GOP Debate Was Boring — and Rigged.

Why Is the Media Ignoring Ted Cruz's Embrace of 'Kill the Gays' Pastor?

AP: Carson Profits From Ties With Felon Convicted Of Health Care Fraud.

This week in Other Politics:

Rachel Maddow Dazzles And Puts The Republican Debates To Shame At SC Democratic Forum.

The Most Basic Rule Of Journalism. "Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina and the rest will argue that Who/What/When/Where/Why/How are all "gotcha" questions, but holding them (or anyone) accountable for their assertions -- by demanding proof -- isn't a "gotcha" game."

How Paul Ryan is already changing Congress.

It’s time to withdraw from the Middle East: Military intervention is only making terrorism worse. It’s time for a radical pivot.

Obama Administration Announces Support For Amending Civil Rights Act To Protect LGBT People.

Jimmy Carter gets optimistic update on cancer treatment.

This Week in Police Problems

Pseudoscience in the Witness Box: The FBI faked an entire field of forensic science.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update – 11/7/2015: Children Being Failed.

Trying too hard to proclaim oppression….

Here comes the gloom again.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month….

Cosmic Cringing – lovable sf/f made by less-than-lovable people.

Videos!

Steve Grand - "We are the Night" ACOUSTIC - LIVE at YouTube Space LA:



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Starbucks Holiday Cup Controversy:



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Baby Hitler Is No Match For Jeb!:



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5 Seconds of Summer - Hey Everybody!:



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Panic! At The Disco: Emperor's New Clothes [OFFICIAL VIDEO]:



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Friday Links (holy horsepower, Batman edition)

I am a little shocked that it is already November! Which means we are deeper into decorating season, but also that the year is running out!

NaNoWriMo is taking up a lot of my time, so I'm not doing as much online news readying as usual. Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

LOL: James Bond Rents a Car from Stephen Colbert.

This Week in Shaken, Not Stirred

Roger Moore explains How to make the perfect martini.

This Week in Diversity

The Cool Girl Trap: Or, Why Sexism in Tech Isn’t Going Away.

After Voting Rights Lawsuit Changes the System: Historic election: Two Latinos elected to Yakima City Council.

This week in Stupid People

This Is the Laser That Someone Allegedly Pointed at the Captain and Chief Mate of a State Ferry Last Week.

Grown men freaked out by ‘gay’ Twitter hearts - A change from the star icon to a love-heart predictably opened the homophobic floodgates.

This week in Difficult to Classify

TSA screeners can't detect weapons and they never could.

An Open Letter to Those Who Give Kids Banned Books.

This week in Evil People

U.S. Senate panel probing Valeant, Turing over drug costs.

Notre Dame academic coach fired amid claims she coerced athletes into having sex with her daughter. And not just to have sex, she coerced them into describing the details of the sex to her… and there’s a racial component, and another university employee allegedly helped her drug the athletes...

News for queers and our allies:

The next time someone you know is claiming that trans people are confused or similar, show them this comic.

When My Childhood Bully Hit Me Up On A Gay Dating App. (This is a recurring nightmare... and it has nearly happened...)

Homosexuality in Mainstream Comedy and the Confused, Fascinating Sexual Politics of ‘Partners’.

Gay Men Should Be Ashamed of Slut-Shaming.

Two More Gay Men Attacked At Gunpoint In Dallas, Marking 11 Violent Assaults In Two Months.

Science!

The first giant raptor (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae) from the Hell Creek Formation. Large raptor fossil with robust, obvious, unmistakable quill knobs!

Salem Witch in Ray Bradbury’s Family Tree.

How a group of neighbors created their own Internet service: Powered by radios in trees, homegrown network serves 50 houses on Orcas Island.

In the 1970s, Scientists Discovered a 2 Billion-Year-Old Nuclear Reactor in West Africa. "...a naturally occurring deposit of uranium where the concentration of uranium-235 had been high enough to trigger a self-sustaining nuclear reaction."

Man died with 'tapeworm tumours'.

Britain's oldest tree appears to be undergoing a sex change after 3,000 years.

Edinburgh astronomers make sunless planet discoveries.

New photo shows the expansive dunes of Saturn's strange, hazy moon Titan.

The space artist who saw Pluto before Nasa.

Did Neanderthals and sabre-toothed wage battles? Fossil remains reveal the predators lived side-by-side with our ancestors.

Strong placebo response thwarts painkiller trials.

Scientists map source of Northwest’s next big quake.

Slimy mystery: Thousands of worms cover Auburn sidewalk after rainstorm.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Wired does an extended look at the Hugo issue. As everyone else that I've seen sharing this link says, Stay out of the comments! Sci-Fi’s Hugo Awards and the Battle for Pop Culture’s Soul.

Today’s passive aggressive fan mail: reader will not read more of my books because I don’t speak English English as my first language. The author speaks English as his native language, but... Oh! Just got read it, it's very short and funny!

No, the Kids Aren’t Reading the Classics and Why Would They.

Get Bent – Why Bother? (thanks to Foxraven for the link!)

Author re-reads all of Heinlein in a few months and comments on which things still hold up, which don't, and why.

The Feminist Horror Author You Need to Read Immediately.

Terry Gilliam Is Not, in Fact, Dead.

Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha.

This week in Geek

Slightly fewer Americans are reading print books, new survey finds.

Here’s a Global Heatmap of People with Your Last Name.

People were linking to some cool author maps this week. They're generated via crowdsource. You can improve the author maps and get some recommendations by going here: the global network of discovery.

The 25 Distinct Reasons People “Favorite” Things on Twitter. They can't count... and their definition of distinct leaves something to be desired...

Culture war news:

Voters Repeal Anti-Discrimination Law in Houston After Hate Campaign Targeting Trans Women Using Public Toilets. "So the haters in Houston argued—successfully—that straight men are terrible. Right? They argued that trans women are actually straight dudes who are attracted to women. So the haters won yesterday by convincing a majority of voters in Houston that straight people suck."

Another example of how Republicans and the Islamic State have much in common: Isis shuts down women's clinics in Raqqa to prevent male gynaecologists treating female patients.

Sentenced for drug treatment, young man gets "gay cure" instead, then driven to suicide; Family can't sue because of Religious Arbitration Clause.

“You girls can’t do that here”: Lesbian couple says cop arrested them for kissing in public.

Mississippi Flag Supporter Allegedly Bombs Wal-Mart After Chain Stops Selling Flag. And once again, because he's a white american, they aren't treating it as terrorism, even thought that is exactly what it is!

How should conservative Christians handle a rapidly changing culture?

School Threatens 7-Year-Old With Expulsion for Talking About Her Gay Dad.

Rich Still Handily Winning the Class War.

Why Is The LGBT Movement Struggling To Uphold A Simple Law In Houston?. This was posted just before election day, but Dominic does a great job of outlining why equality lost in Houston.

LDS church to exclude children of same-sex couples from membership.

This Week in the Clown Car

“Douchebag says what?”: Stephen Colbert unloads on CNBC, GOP crybabies.

Dear Ben Carson: Actually, You Are a 'Homophobe' If You're Opposed to Marriage Equality Now. "...if you're opposed to something that is now a right of every American and has been proven in court -- in the federal trial over California's Proposition 8 -- to harm no one, including children, then you do have an irrational fear of homosexuality. And certainly if you're a medical doctor yourself and you're opposed to something that the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association deem normal, natural and healthy and not harmful at all to anyone, then you have an irrational fear of homosexuality. And that is the essence of homophobia - a fear of homosexuality."

Mike Huckabee Goes "Hunting".

Ben Carson: Egyptian pyramids were grain stores, not pharaohs' tombs.

Fox Boots Huckebee & Christie From Next Main Debate, Graham & Pataki Don’t Even Make The Kids Table.

What repulsive swastika retweet tells us about Trump.

Youngest DREAMers Need Not Apply: The Other Troubling Part of Marco Rubio’s DACA Comments.

Rand Paul’s New Book Sells Fewer Than 500 Copies In Two Weeks.

Put gay people to death? Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee to speak at Iowa “religious liberty” conference led by noxious right-wing radio host.

This week in Other Politics:

The Sad Truth of Our Politics: It's Basically Turned into a Competition Among Oligarchs to Own Everything.

Larry Lessig’s Campaign Was in Better Shape Than the GOP Undercard Field.

How Democrats Suppress The Vote - Off-year elections have much lower turnout, and Democrats prefer it that way.

Voters Reject LGBT Rights, Health Care for the Poor, and Legalized Marijuana. Well, the Ohio voters rejected a convoluted legalized marijuana monopoly, not legalized marijuana...

Michigan Tea Partiers Fail To Win Back Seats After Fake Gay Sex Scandal.

Bernie Sanders Wants to Ban All New Fossil Fuel Development on Federal Lands.

Fircrest voters decide to lift 90-year-old ban on alcohol sales.

The Push for Legal Marijuana Spreads.

This Week in Police Problems

Hundreds of officers lose licenses over sex misconduct. "sexual misconduct is among the most prevalent type of complaint against law officers"

Massachusetts: Millis police officer Bryan Johnson charged with filing false shooting report that sparked manhunt.

Arkansas: England cop charged in false shooting report.

Illinois: MSNBC's Chris Hayes Highlights Conservative Media's Irresponsible Coverage Of Fox Lake Police Officer's Death.

Illinois Cop Who Killed Himself Tried to Hire Hit Man to Kill Village Administrator.

Farewells:

Melissa Mathison, ‘E.T.’ Screenwriter and Ex-Wife of Harrison Ford, Dies at 65.

Follow up on a past farewell: Robin Williams’s Wife, Susan, Says ‘It Was Not Depression That Killed Robin’ - autopsy revealed that Robin Williams was suffering from Diffuse Lewy Body Dementia, a neurodegenerative disease.

Star Trek visual effects pioneer Howard A. Anderson. Jr. passes away.

Batmobile Creator George Barris Dies at 89. Also the designer of the Munster Koach and a lot of TV an movie cars.

Things I wrote:

It’s that time of year again: NaNoWriMo starts tonight!.

You don’t have to add diversity—just stop erasing it! (part 2).

Ancient Tomes and Living Fossils – how I love sf/f isn’t the only way.

Videos!

Viva La Vida - Postmodern Jukebox Coldplay Cover ft. Puddles Pity Party:



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Weird Things Gay Couples Do:



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Men in Jetpacks Fly Beside Massive Airbus A380 in Spectacular Video:



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Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance: A Closer Look - Late Night with Seth Meyers:



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Nathan Sykes - Over And Over Again (you might want to grab a tissue):



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