Friday Links (leopard and cub edition)

It's already the fourth Friday October!? It's the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes! It is also Gay History Month

And tomorrow night is HALLOWEEN!!!

Once again, I'm really, really, really glad that the weekend is upon us! Between throwing my back out last weekend and crazy deadlines converging at work, I'm wrung out!

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

Elusive Himalayan snow leopard and cub inspect camera.

This Week in Shaken, Not Stirred

The Economist quantifies the 24 James Bond movies: everything from box office results to martinis consumed.

This Week in Diversity

“Where are you really from?”.

A is for (A)sexual - What my identity means to me, and the 6 questions about asexuality I get asked the most often.

What the row over banning Germaine Greer is really about.

GLAAD Report: LGBT Representation on TV Is Up, But Still Very White.

Funny Is Funny: Homophobia, Misogyny and the Lack of Diversity in Comedy.

This week in People Doing Good Things

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SERVE AS PALLBEARERS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITHOUT LOVED ONES. (Thanks to Foxraven for the link)

Dateless, Singled Out, And Not Taking It Anymore.

A D.C. cop tried to break up a group of teens. It ended in this impressive dance-off.

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

The Concealed-Carry Fantasy.

This week in Difficult to Classify

A true 12’s response to a fair-weather Seattle Seahawks fan – ‘We don’t need you’.

4 Things They Didn't Teach You in Sex Ed.

Library Board Votes Against New Logo and Name Change. Here's What Happened at the Board Meeting.

This week in Evil Greedy People

How an industry of ‘Amazon entrepreneurs’ pulled off the Internet’s craftiest catfishing scheme.

Cracked! American Egg Board CEO Resigns Over Eggless Mayo Scandal.

Happy News!

In October at least, America runs on pumpkin.

Science!

Watch this video: On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in the universe.

Snow leopards rebounding in Afghanistan amid concerns the species are verge of extinction.

Drug engineered from bananas shows promise in fighting deadly viruses.

The Science of Denial.

Agriculture was independently invented at least 11 times on four continents – not just in the Middle East. It's time to rethink how modern civilisation took root.

And now the Pluto family portrait is complete.

Puget Sound orcas welcome sixth baby born to endangered pods this year.

Six-inch long teeth of ancient Megalodon shark found on North Carolina beach.

Dinosaurs are extinct, but the business of smuggling them is thriving.

Ancient Pterosaur Used Four Huge Fangs To Snack On Ancient Crocodiles.

September blew away the margin for Earth's warmest month on record.

Ancient super-predators could take down a mammoth.

First humans in Northern North America: 11,500-year-old baby fossils show humans 'paused' as they spread across the globe.

Did ancient animals REGROW their limbs? Fossils suggest the ability to regenerate was widespread 300 million years ago.

Suspended USDA researcher alleges agency tried to block his research into harmful effects of pesticides on bees, butterflies.

Hungry Baby Otter Found on California Beach Is Recovering.

Einstein Is Right About General Relativity — Again.

A Lack of Animal Poop Is Causing a New Environmental Problem.

Astronomers make a remarkable discovery in the center of the Milky Way.

Before-and-after pictures show how climate change is destroying the Earth.

Clouded Leopards Threatened by Sudden Increase in Poaching and Live Trade.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Ash vs. Evil Dead Prep: Your Guide to the Evil Dead Franchise.

Starz Renews 'Ash vs. Evil Dead' Ahead of Premiere.

The Case For Queer Superhero Films.

LE GUIN’S ANARCHIST AESTHETICS.

25 Years Later, ‘Darkman’ Remains the First Horror Genre-Driven Superhero Film.

Why ‘The Flash’ And ‘Arrow’ Are What Young Science Nerds Have Been Looking For.

This week in Writing

Some Writing Advice That’s Mostly Useless (And Why).

Find the Conflict: Unblocking (or Actually Planning!) your NaNoWriMo Novel.

Post on tools useful in planning the first draft of a novel.

Zadie Smith’s 10 Rules of Writing.

Never quote a rock lyric in a book unless you’re rich.

3 Steps to Rev Up Your Writing Momentum.

Culture war news:

Remember the Guy Who Gave His Employees a $70,000 Minimum Wage? Here’s What Happened Next.

Florida’s New Anti-Gay, Anti-Woman Bill May Be the Most Malicious Yet.

All Republicans agree: America is a hellhole.

This Hacker is Destroying Racist and Homophobic Websites One by One.

When Bigots Freaked Out About Campbell's Ad With Gay Dads, This Man Had A Brilliant Response.

How Utah’s Anti-Gay Birth-Certificate Law Got Crushed in Court.

As the World Congress of Families, an international extremist group, meets in Salt Lake City, The Daily Beast goes undercover to peel back the curtain.

This Week in the Clown Car

Cruz, Huckabee And Jindal Will Join Pastor Who Wants Gays Put To Death.

Jeb Bush’s campaign continues to freefall.

Ben Carson says as ‘volatile’ teen he ‘went after people with hammers’ and tried to stab someone. Keep in mind: he brought this up as an attempt to prove that he's got the passion and energy to run a full presidential campaign. What?

These GOP Candidates Were Born Into Privilege But Want You To Think Otherwise.

Trump to Iowa Voters: 'Get Your - in Gear!'.

Ted Cruz's damaging shutdown delusion.

No, there is no constitutional problem with an all-Florida presidential ticket. The headline isn't exactly accurate. There will be issues, but the article is correct that it isn't technically unconstitutional. Given how bitchy Rubio and Bush got with each other at the debate, I suspect it isn't going to be an issue.

'Captain Underpants' banned from school book fair over gay character.

New Bill Would Allow Doctors to Refuse to Treat Women and Gay People.

Enjoy your honeymoon while it lasts, Marco Rubio: Why the GOP’s star debater still isn’t ready for primetime.

Huckabee Seems to Think We Can cure Cancer, Diabetes, Alzheimers, and Heart Disease with Executive Order.

At debate, Ben Carson says he has no connection to Mannatech.

This week in Other Politics:

The next president should break up some big companies.

Sorry Joe Biden, But the Republicans ARE Our Enemies. "...Republicans are our enemies simply because they'd decided we are their enemies, targeting our rights, our livelihoods and our families"

Former Republican House Speaker Hastert Sentences to Six Years After Pleading Guilty to Lying to FBI About Paying Hush Money to Student He Sexually Molested as a High School Wrestling Coach.

How Dennis Hastert’s sex abuse scandal led to him pleading guilty to a banking crime.

Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Limiting Political Corruption Inquiries.

What in the world is a ‘Freedom Foyer’?

Ryan Makes Immigration Reform Deal With Freedom Caucus Member.

The One Guy Who Can Fix Politics Is the One Guy Democrats Won't Let You Hear About.

In first, Democratic hopefuls fight to be most pro-LGBT.

Charles Koch’s Frankenstein problem: He created the Tea Party monster — and now he’s horrified with the results.

This Week in Racism

Anonymous Vows To Unhood 1,000 Ku Klux Klan Members.

Death threats and civil complaints after People of Color Yoga controversy.

The Unbearable Whiteness of Pro-Lifers and Pundits.

This Week in Police Brutality

White America will ignore this video: The hideous & predictable violence of our schools, our legal system, our society. For the record: the actual video was shared with me on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook at least four dozen times before this particular article went by, and it was white people who were sharing it, so, um... what?

South Carolina Deputy Ben Fields Fired After Body Slamming Student [VIDEO].

Video Shows NYPD Officer Tackling, Choking, and Pepper-spraying a Skateboarde.

This Week in Misogyny

This Is Not a Game: How SXSW Turned GamerGate Abuse Into a Spectator Sport.

How SXSW really, really blew it.

SXSW canceled two panels after threats — but did nothing when female panelists asked about harassment.

I Was on One of Those Canceled SXSW Panels - Here is what went down.

News for queers and our allies:

Pop Matters does a retrospective on the album that, 25 years ago, contains the most poignant, heart-wrenching song about the AIDS epidemic: All The People I Was Kissing, Some Are Here And Some Are Missing.

I am outside, and I am wearing a dress. This is a new experience, wearing a dress in public.

How The Words "I Dare You" Changed My Life Forever.

Nasty Baby Is the Gay Film We’ve Been Waiting a Decade For.

Finding Gay Baby Jail.

Celebrating Gay Manhood.

'We still love each other': meet the man who came out after 20 years of marriage.

The Trope of the Evil Television Bisexual.

Gus Kenworthy Responded To This Idiotic Gay Relationship Question Perfectly.

Sylvia Rivera becomes first trans American to have portrait in the Smithsonian.

Dallas Police Respond To String Of Violent Attacks Targeting Gay Community – VIDEO.

Gay North Carolina high school football player was depressed despite 'having it all'.

Rainbow Smoke and Glittering Mirrors: How not to tackle homophobia.

‘50s Hollywood Sex Symbol Tab Hunter is still a Young Love at 84.

Farewells:

Maureen O'Hara, spirited movie star, dies at 95.

Things I wrote:

Just call me Mr. Chicken.

If you never get started….

What you like, what other people like….

Storms, Brains, and Reanimated Flesh – more of why I love sf/f.

Weekend Update 10/24/2015: Bigot Backpedals, Others Sued.

Videos!

Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland (thanks to Deeptriviality for the link):



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Of Monsters And Men - Thousand Eyes (Official Lyric Video):



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Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring 1990 HD ( 25 years ago this week... ):



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NERVO feat. Kylie Minogue, Jake Shears & Nile Rodgers - The Other Boys (Official Video):



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I Put A Spell On You - Bette Midler - Hocus Pocus 1993 - HD edited:



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The Best Gay (ish) Halloween Flicks:



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Anything Can Happen On Halloween:



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Friday Links (pig-nosed turtle edition)

It's already the fourth Friday October!? It's the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes! It is also Gay History Month

Once again, I'm really, really, really glad that the weekend is upon us! Between throwing my back out last weekend and crazy deadlines converging at work, I'm wrung out!

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

Let's listen to each other on the topic of guns. We have to stop being irrational at each other and actually work on the parts of the situation that are indisputably a problem, and also happen not to be impossible to solve.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Could a simple mistake be how the NSA was able to crack so much encryption?

This week in Heart-wrenching

Teen testifies about getting whipped in church, brother's death. THE LATEST: LAWYER SAYS CHURCH BEATING SUSPECT A 'SWEET' MOM

5th north St. Louis church burns in 9 days.

7 Fires Set At Mostly Black Churches In St. Louis Area Ruled Arson.

‘It is arson:’ 6 churches set on fire near Ferguson in 10 days.

This week in Evil Greedy People

Price-Gouging Pharma CEO Fuming As Rival Creates $1 Alternative AIDS Drug.

Science!

Different Brain Regions are Infected with Fungi in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Hints of Life on What Was Thought to Be Desolate Early Earth.

New Species of Ancient Shorebird Identified from New Zealand Fossils.

A Genetic Study Writes a New Origin Story for Dogs.

Thomas Jefferson’s hidden chemistry lab was just discovered.

Pluto Is Sublime. It’s Also the Pits.

The 2 Types of Knowledge You Should Know About.

Hubble's sharpest photos of Jupiter ever taken reveal a rare feature that hasn't been seen for over 36 years.

Arvinachelys goldeni: Fossil Shows Pig-Snouted Turtles Lived among Dinosaurs.

Oldest known jawbone from human genus found in Ethiopia.

Scuba divers in Bahamas find trove of extinct animal fossils and clues to a scientific mystery.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Ursula K. Le Guin on Where Ideas Come From, the “Secret” of Great Writing, and the Trap of Marketing Your Work.

Fantasy Book Critic Welcomes Howard Andrew Jones - Wishing That Leigh Brackett had Written More.

Hollywood Gives Its Black Geek a Promotion.

This Week in History

Germany tells Netanyahu: “No, we are actually responsible for the Holocaust”.

The Deadly Legacy of HIV Truthers.

Culture war news:

Conservative radio host freaks out: ‘Transgender crowd’ will use magnets to suck God from your brain.

DEBUNKING THE MEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

11 Outrageous Lies by the Fox News 'Terror Analyst' Who Was Actually a Con Man.

Georgia Confederate Flag Supporters Charged With Terrorism.

What should we make of a billionaire homophobe donating money in furtherance of the denigration of an entire class of American citizens?

A perverted campaign against LGBT rights in Houston.

The Unsuitables.

2 Lesbian Students Have Been Told They Can’t Wear This Shirt To School. School Official Said A Shirt Was ‘An Open Invitation To Sex’

Planned Parenthood Clinics are Burning, and No One Seems to Care.

Please feed the Star Wars trolls: White supremacists need to be noticed to keep their ideas on the fringe.

Venice lawmaker files controversial "religious freedom" bill opposed by gay rights groups.

This Week in the Clown Car

A black perspective on Ben Carson, the Teapublican's 'anti-Obama'.

Is Trump right about 9/11?

Jeb Bush didn’t want to be defined by his brother. Now he wants to get him back in the race.

Rubio's Immigration Magic Trick: For Immigration Reform and Also Against It.

Trump: Iowa Voters Have Chemical-Addled Brains.

This week in Other Politics:

Canada’s Justin Trudeau leads a Liberal landslide in stunning election victory.

The False Rise and Fall of Rand Paul.

Biden’s True Legacy: He Was Obama’s Conscience on LGBTQ Rights.

Sad, sexless, lonely: This is the real Paul Ryan/Ayn Rand vision for your life.

Hillary Laughs In The Face Of Teabagger Rep.

After marathon day of Clinton testimony, Benghazi committee continues streak of partisan failure.

This Week in Sexism

She's the heroine of the Star Wars universe, so why was she erased from this children's shirt?

This mathematical formula shows that all-male panels are sexist.

News for queers and our allies:

My Transgender Daughter: A Father's Emotional Journey from Shame to Acceptance.

MOVIES Talking with 'Big Eden' director Thomas Bezucha.

‘I am gay’: World-champion skier and Olympic medalist Gus Kenworthy comes out.

6 Transgender Women’s Memoirs You Need To Read Now.

A Big Step Toward Ending "Cure Gay People" Therapy.

Matt Zarley Romances Film Festivals with Acclaimed Musical Short Film & Recording Project – “hopefulROMANTIC”.

How a Facebook Post Became the Best Mistake I Ever Made.

Farewells:

Bruce Hyde (1941-2015). Hyde was absolutely sensational during the first season of Star Trek, in two major guest starring turns as Lieutenant Kevin Riley in “The Naked Time” and “The Conscience of the King.”

Things I wrote:

Applause from the wrong side.

You don’t have to add diversity—just stop erasing it!

Learning how to write what you want to write.

Monsters Are People, Too – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Reunion (Today Show) [Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandan, Tim Curry, Meatloaf and Patricia Quinn were interviewed earlier this month]:



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Troye Sivan - TALK ME DOWN (Blue Neighbourhood Part 3/3):



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In case you missed it: The Future Is Now! - 10/21/15 - A Special Message From Doc Brown:



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Friday Links (robotic telescope edition)

It's already the third Friday October!? It's the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes! It is also Gay History Month

Once again, I'm really, really, really glad that the weekend is upon us!

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

Why Twitter’s Dying (And What You Can Learn From It). When a technology is used to shrink people’s possibilities, more than to expand them, it cannot create value for them.

This Week in Diversity

The Only Request Any Voiceover Actor or American-Latino Need Follow.

Beauties and Beasts by Amelia Vaughn. "Because he should know that true love is still for him, even though he’s not interested in pretty girls. He deserves that. All kids do. Because true love is for everyone."

Just Because You Do These 3 Things Doesn’t Make You A Feminist.

To the LGBT community, the niqab debate sounds mighty familiar.

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

SHOCKER: The Northern Arizona University Shooter Is a Patriot and a Gun Nut.

This week in Difficult to Classify

One of the news sites that linked to this introduced it with "I want to be in Obama's book club!" It's a conversation about literature: President Obama & Marilynne Robinson: A Conversation in Iowa.

This week in Heart-wrenching

Slain Transgender Woman Was Target of 'Neighborhood' Robbers: Police.

Happy News!

Paramount opens their vaults, puts huge movie collection on YouTube channel.

Science!

Pluto’s Sky Is Blue! Well, Kinda.

China Put a Robotic Telescope on the Moon 2 Years Ago—and It's Working Great.

Filmmaker Combines Every Photo From the NASA Apollo Mission Archive Into a Stop-Motion-Style Video.

Is Our Universe a Fake?

Can you hear me now? Early humans’ hearing abilities actually mirrored a certain animal’s.

Hairy animals have been around longer than thought: 125-million-year-old 'Cretaceous furball' fossil pushes back origins by 60 million years.

The Wet and Slightly Less Wet Microclimates of Seattle.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Turn off the Brain, and Enjoy the Ride.

16 films adapted from horror giant H.P. Lovecraft.

This week in Geek

How is NSA breaking so much crypto?

On Apple’s Insurmountable Platform Advantage. "The truth is the best people in chip design no longer want to work at Intel or Qualcomm. They want to work at Apple."

The Inside Story of Apple’s New iMacs. To me the heart is the effort they went to in order to make the sound the new mouse makes as if moves "right." It is all about the details!

Culture war news:

What You’re Saying When You Use the Phrase “Politically Correct”.

We Were Sued by a Billionaire Political Donor. We Won. Here's What Happened.

Republicans Admit Planned Parenthood Did Nothing Wrong.

School district fights feds on transgender student’s locker room access.

10 Ways Right-Wing Christians Are Destroying Christianity.

N.J. archbishop: No communion for Catholics who support gay marriage.

Libertarian superstar Ayn Rand defended Native American genocide: “Racism didn’t exist in this country until the liberals brought it up”.

Paul Krugman bursts David Brooks’ fantasyland version of conservatism: “Actually existing conservatism is a radical doctrine”.

Death of the Reagan revolution: Why the Southern Strategy is beginning to come undone.

Feds Arrest Fox News Commentator, Allege He Lied About CIA Past.

This Week in the Clown Car

Uh Oh, Lying Liar Carly Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood Lie Just Turned Into A Bigger Lie.

A Gay Dad Sounds Off On Why Mike Huckabee Is Choking On Those Rainbow Doritos.

The Psychology of the Impossible Campaign: An Investigation Featuring George Pataki.

How Steve Jobs Fleeced Carly Fiorina.

Ben Carson’s Broken Brain Has New ‘Thoughts’ On Gay Marriage.

Rand Paul’s Solution to LGBT Discrimination: Go Back in the Closet.

Louisiana’s nasty Bobby Jindal hangover: GOP failure is giving new life to Democrats in the unlikeliest of places.

This week in Other Politics:

Independent review board says NSA phone data program is illegal and should end. Bad headline, because the real story is: “We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. “Moreover, we are aware of no instance in which the program directly contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the disruption of a terrorist attack.”

Congressional Dems Urge TSA To Change Screening Procedures For Transgender Passengers.

Here Are The Two Best Things About The First Democratic Debate.

Amazing: Hillary goes for human!

DC insiders think Bernie Sanders lost the debate. Here's why they might be wrong.

I've been trying to figure out how to say this to some of my friends: Bernie Sanders truthers, step down: There’s no conspiracy to hide that he “won” the debate.

Obama again delays Afghanistan troop drawdown.

This Week in Racism

County Official Who Made A Bunch Of Racist And Sexist Facebook Comments Resigns.

The real reason the Republican Party is imploding: It’s still all about race.

This Week in Sexism

Cartoon: FAMOUS SCIENTIST DOES SOMETHING BAD.

Why are homophobic atheists rare, but sexist atheists are common?

Chivalry Isn’t Dead, You Just Don’t Know What the Fuck it is.

REMEMBER WHEN FROLICKING ON THE BEACH WITH YA HOMIE WAS OKAY?

News for queers and our allies:

San Francisco Is Changing Face of AIDS Treatment.

The “All In The Family” Episode That Changed Gay Rights In America.

Gay libbers as moral heroes.

My Transgender Son Never Listens to Me - He's trans, but my son is still your typical rambunctious little boy.

Managing The “Mom Factor” As Same-Sex Parents.

How WWII Started The Modern Gay Rights Movement [Video auto-plays].

Mormon Church Bleeding Members Over Gay Marriage.

How Identical Twin Boys Became Brother and Sister: One Family’s Courageous Transgender Story.

PHILADELPHIA: No Jail Time For Two Alleged Gay Bashers, Third Rejects Plea Deal And Will Face Trial.

'Conversion therapy' endangers LGBT youth and must stop: U.S. report.

Farewells:

Sad Stuff: Underground Comics Giant Dennis Eichhorn is Dead.

Things I wrote:

Come out, darlings, the world is fine!

Indigenous Peoples Day.

Overthinking is the enemy of creativity!.

Every child deserves to live free of harassment.

Nuclear Dinosaurs and Tragic Heroes – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Time - [Official Music Video] - Steve Grand:



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Eli Lieb - Zeppelin (Official Video):



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Matt Fishel - "Finally" (Official Music Video):



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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - New Campbell's Ad Angers A "Million" Moms:



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Umbrella - Vintage "Singin' in the Rain" Style Rihanna Cover ft. Casey Abrams & The Sole Sisters:



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AJ McLean - Live Together ft. Jordan James:



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Friday Links (bizarre old maps edition)

It's already the second Friday of October, the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes! It is also Gay History Month

Once again, I'm really, really, really glad that the weekend is upon us!

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

“The Man of Commerce” is a detailed map that conflates human anatomy with the American transportation system. Published in 1889 by the Land & River Improvement Company of Superior, Wisconsin, the map promotes Superior as a transportation hub and shows the routes of 29 railroads across the United States. American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection.

This Week in Diversity

Sunday is National Coming Out Day: What You Need to Know: National Coming Out Day 2015.

When You’re Not Caitlyn Jenner, Here’s Why It’s Difficult To Get A Name Change.

Photos that Challenge Conventions of Beauty, Race, and Gender.

Masculinity Is an Anxiety Disorder: Breaking Down the Nerd Box.

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

4 Pro-Gun Arguments We're Sick of Hearing.

The five extra words that can fix the Second Amendment. Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens explains what that phrase, "well-regulated militia" has meant and where the interpretation has changed.

Mental Illness is the wrong scapegoat after mass shootings.

The Second Amendment Is a Gun-Control Amendment.

The Cult Of The Second Amendment.

This week in Difficult to Classify

How to Cut a Handgun in Half with a Chop Saw.

Science!

FOUND: AN EXTREMELY RARE ANDEAN CAT.

Epigenetic algorithm accurately predicts male sexual orientation.

Fossils Shed New Light on Evolution of Elongated Giraffe Neck.

New Genus, Species of Extinct Hippo-Like Mammal Identified from Unalaska Fossils.

SMALL, BEAVER-LIKE MAMMAL SURVIVED THE DINOSAUR APOCALYPSE.

Scientists have figured out how to store memory with light.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

31 Days of Halloween: Universal vs. Hammer -- which classic horror studio reigns supreme?

The Great Leonard Nimoy Reads H.G. Wells’ Seminal Sci-Fi Novel The War of the Worlds.

MIND MELD: The Books That Made Us Love Science Fiction and Fantasy.

You Can’t Write About THAT: Staying True to Your Writing Passion in the Age of the McBook.

Culture war news:

Look, Mom, I Shouted My Abortion - But My Story Is Just One of Millions.

The Downfall of the Ex-Gay Movement. Not to make fun of the very article I'm linking to, but the downfall was simple: lying liars peddling lies.

Those who decry both abortion and gun control are anti-woman, not pro-life.

How a Blonde Tattooed Texas Girl Became an ISIS Twitter Star.

Slut-Shaming Through the Disclosure of HIV Positive Status: Danny Pintauro's Recent HIV Positive Announcement.

Tennessee County Commission To Ask God Not To Murder Them Over Same-Sex Marriage. "WE adopt this Resolution before God that He pass us by in His Coming Wrath and not destroy our County as He did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities"

The Internet fought the Pope—and the Internet won.

The Shady Group That Played Pope Francis.

Alabama Supreme Court Justice wants the state to “stand up to SCOTUS” on same-sex marriage.

This Week in the Clown Car

Why Mike Huckabee Picked a Fight With Frito-Lay Over Gay Doritos.

Carson slams Obama for Oregon visit with shooting victims' families.

Bobby Jindal Proudly Announces Meteoric Rise to Tie for Fifth Place in Iowa Poll.

Huckabee contradicts himself in calling for Frito-Lay boycott.

This week in Other Politics:

Trevor Noah destroys GOP pro-life, pro-NRA hypocrisy: “They’re more like comic book collectors. Human life only holds value until you take it out of the package”.

Politico Finds a New Way to Call President Obama Uppity.

Bernie Sanders Claims He’s a Longtime Champion of Marriage Equality. It’s Just Not True. I love Bernie, but he would be better served to tell the truth about his years of opposition to marriage in favor of civil unions.

News for queers and our allies:

Pledge to go purple for #SpiritDay 2015.

This Mom's Inspiring Message to Her Transgender Daughter Will Move You to Tears.

Bryant assistant coach Chris Burns comes out.

Trans guy captures his transition by snapping a selfie every day for 3 years.

U.S. senator urges probe into Cold War-era antigay blackmail plot.

On Savage Lovecast, Equality Matters' Rachel Percelay Describes How Fox News Turns Transgender People Into Villains.

Farewells:

The Card Catalog Is Officially Dead.

Things I wrote:

Groovie g/h/o/u/l/s/ goals.

Jack-o-lanterns for everyone!

Infinity In Your Mailbox – more of why I love sf/f.

Weekend Update 10/03/2015: More varmints among the sheep.

Videos!

Coming Out Advice With The Rhodes Bros! | National Coming Out Day:



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WELL-STRUNG: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (feat. J.S. Bach):



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Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall (from Spectre):



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Years & Years - Eyes Shut:



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Gladys Knight - Just a Little:



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Friday Links (straight boys in dresses edition)

We have exited September, that most blessèd month and now we've begun October, the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes!

It is Friday, and normally I would write something silly about the end of the week and the joy of the weekend. But there was some horrible news yesterday (which I'm sure you've heard about, and if not, there are links below) that happened in a small community that is in my region, and through which I've driven a few times, and many decades ago occasionally competed against students from the school in question. So I'm having trouble coming up with anything terribly fun to say.

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

AUDIENCES HAVEN'T BECOME TOO SENSITIVE, BUT COMEDIANS HAVE.

This week in Stupid People

Lucky non-virgin gals spared marrying whiny man-children after MRA launches #NoHymenNoDiamond drive.

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

Oregon shooting on college campus leaves at least 10 dead.

Another: The 45th Mass Shooting in America in 2015.

President Obama is right that guns kill more Americans than terrorism. So do lots of other things.

Deaths from gun violence vs. deaths from terrorism, in one chart.

President Obama Laments Mass Shootings Becoming 'Routine' After Oregon School Massacre.

This week in Difficult to Classify

What it means to be a great product.

This week in Heart-wrenching

Lance Sanderson Suspended From School Following Attempt To Bring Same-Sex Date To Homecoming.

Science!

GIANT KILLER LIZARD LIVED WITH AUSTRALIANS IN ICE AGE.

Human Ancestors Could Hear Frequencies Used in Speech.

Earth - Why are we the only human species still alive?

Scientists Discover First Ever Glowing Sea Turtle.

ARE VIRUSES ALIVE? NEW EVIDENCE SAYS YES.

Save the Parasites (Seriously).

No boys allowed: Snake mom has 'virgin birth'.

NEWLY DISCOVERED SNAILS ARE SO SMALL THEY FIT IN THE EYE OF A NEEDLE.

It's Time to Free Lolita, a Puget Sound Killer Whale That's Been Held Captive in Florida for 45 Years.

Mars: New hypothesis on the origin of the megafloods.

Could these dull-looking fossils shake our understanding of evolution to the core? Siberian find pushes back emergence of first vertebrates by 20 MILLION years.

Researchers Devise Way to Determine Color from Fossils.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Gender Discrimination in SFF Awards. Lots of cool charts looking at the situation over many years and in may different ways!

Urban fantasy fiction: there's more to it than sex with were-leopards.

Guest Post: A Salesman Is You!.

Writing Better Trans Characters. "I reject the idea that trans characters should only be written by trans people because cis folk are bound to get it wrong. While there are some really fine trans writers, there simply aren’t enough of us in the world to do what is needed."

Zadie Smith’s 10 Rules of Writing.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant: Early Thoughts.

8 Ways to Write and Finish a Work of Fiction.

Hear Ray Bradbury’s Beloved Sci-Fi Stories as Classic Radio Dramas.

Culture war news:

Missouri Finds Planned Parenthood Didn’t Mishandle Fetal Tissue.

What Pope Francis Really Said About (Gay) Marriage -- and What He Did Not. "lso sitting right before Francis during his address to Congress were three of the five Supreme Court justices – a majority of the majority – who ruled for marriage equality in June: Justices Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Kennedy. The pope had his big chance to be clear and emphatic about the terrible thing they’d supposedly done and he blew it? Maybe he just didn’t care all that much."

Rebutting "Every civilization that accepted homosexuality failed."

Mark Levin: The Supreme Court Is Imposing Secular Sharia.

Anti-Gay Evangelist Gets Smacked Down on National TV — and It’s Beautiful.

Pope Sides With Marriage License-Denying Clerk.

Why Pope Francis's meeting with Kim Davis isn't surprising.

How Pope Francis Undermined the Goodwill of His Trip and Proved to Be a Coward.

Alabama Strips Lesbian Mother of Parental Rights.

Ore. bakers refuse to pay damages in gay wedding cake case.

Alabama, Where ID Is Required to Vote, Closes DMVs in Most “Black Belt” Counties.

Boy takes stance on gender identity by wearing dress to picture day.

Reminder: The GOP crusade against Planned Parenthood is built on outright lies.

This Week in the Clown Car

The right-wing’s religious delusions are killing us — and them.

Carly Fiorina Makes a Lot of Stuff Up About Everything.

Rubio sides with BILL CLINTON on family and medical leave as he proposes business tax credits to pay for voluntary expansion.

Ben Carson’s Religious Beliefs Come Under Scrutiny.

Mike Huckabee Takes on Rainbow-Colored Doritos.

Trump Embraces “Operation Wetback” As Model For Mass Deportation.

Ted Cruz is toast: It’s not just that he won’t be president — his days in the Senate are numbered, too.

Ben Carson is plain nuts: The 7 most stupefying statements by the GOP’s favorite neurosurgeon. (This article only looks at the last year or so... he's saying stuff this crazy or worse in political speeches since 2011.)

This week in Other Politics:

Bernie Sanders writes for the Observer: Time to expand Social Security: It has paid every nickel owed, through good times and bad.

I exposed Steve Scalise’s white nationalist past — and yet he may soon become even more powerful.

Ben Carson pulls into statistical TIE with Donald Trump as Hillary Clinton 'feels the Bern' and sees her lead over Sanders dwindle to 7 points.

Obama defends LGBT rights, rebutting religious freedom claims.

Gay Conservative Jimmy LaSalvia on Leaving the GOP (And Why You Should, Too!) (I guess we should be glad for his escape from an abusive relationship with the political party that hates gays... If only he would also come to his senses...)

Top Indiana GOPer Resigns (And Blames Canada) After Sex Video Emerges.

It's even worse: Republican Who Blocked Revenge-Porn Protections Is Victim of Revenge Porn.

House Republicans repudiate McCarthy comments on Benghazi probe. Video seems to play automatically.

This Week in Diversity

Open Letter to Terry Gross about Dialect, Vocal Fry, and Discrimination.

How I Found Out My Husband Is Gay.

Geena Davis: ‘After Thelma & Louise, people said things would improve for women in film. They didn’t’.

EVERYBODY’S INVITED TO MY ALL-MALE, ALL-WHITE LITERARY PANEL!

News for queers and our allies:

I was at the Stonewall riots. The movie ‘Stonewall’ gets everything wrong.

The Rise of the Two-Spirits.

Advocating for the Bisexual Community: A Reading List.

Smithers Will Get His Long-Awaited Coming Out Moment On This Season Of The Simpsons.

Transgender Inmate Wins Historic Case Against Prison Guards Who Assaulted Her.

Discharge Change Lifts Burdens for Gay Veteran.

Respecting gay rights is good for business, global companies say.

Tom Boy?

This Transgender Man's ER Story Will Horrify You.

Ellen Page Made a Bold Statement About Religious Liberty Laws on The "Late Show".

The obligatory Hugos post-mortems:

I wasn't going to do any more of these, but then a friend (@jayblanc) posted this on twitter: "We made all the sad puppies cry, and then we discover salt water on Mars? This can't be coincidence!"

Farewells:

The Rev. John J. McNeill, Jesuit priest who became famed LGBT activist, dies at 90.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 9/26/2015: in the land of crazy.

Sunday Funnies, part 15.

Birthday not very quizzacious.

The worst part of censorship….

Varmints in sheep’s clothing.

Changelings on Distant Worlds – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Troye Sivan - FOOLS (Blue Neighbourhood Part 2/3):



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Erik Hassle - Natural Born Lovers:



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I Am Karate - Elevate:



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