Friday, January 29, 2016

Friday Links (Trump can't handle a mean girl edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. It's been a very crazy month. A burn-out crazy hours month. I'm so happy that it's finally Friday.

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

Link of the Week


Living with a Controversial Catholic Sect Helped Me Lose My Religion and Leave Masculinity Behind.

Fact Checking


Wall Street Turns Off the Spigot for Anti-Gay New Jersey Congressman.

Here Comes the Berniebro.

This Week in Food


On wine. A Tragedy. "This person who, when I’m not in the room, opens a wine and enjoys it for what it is panics the minute an expert enters, hoping to not be admonished for their choice. They have been taught that there is a correct answer to the question: is this wine good. The wine industry has taught a generation of wine drinkers that there is a right answer. That there is a possibility to get wine wrong. Shame on us."

Why bingeing on health foods won’t boost your immune system.

This Week in Diversity


Academy Unveils Dramatic Changes to Promote Diversity.

United States Senate run entirely by women after blizzard causes male senators to call in sick.

News for queers and our allies:


Why coming out as bisexual is perpetually exhausting. Actually, coming out as anything queer is perpetually exhausting

The LGBTQ Left Has an Anti-Semitism Problem.

The Prancing Elites: Reality TV Stars You Can Feel Good About Loving.

A gay-rights group, caving to anti-Israel extremists, decides to cancel an ‘intensely divisive’ Jewish event—and then, under opposite pressure, decides to include it. The flawed lesson? The victim who shouts the loudest gets what they want in today’s hyper-politicized cultural climate.

Nebraska's defunct same-sex marriage ban could once again go before voters under a measure that seeks to remove it from the state constitution.

Science!


The National Science Foundation (NSF) will not tolerate harassment at grantee institutions.

Monster Star Explosion Breaks All Records.

Human breast milk protein could wipe out superbugs.

Are beards good for your health?

Young gorillas seen dismantling poachers' traps for the first time.

Scientists Made a Huge Genetic Discovery About Schizophrenia This Week.

Mammoth Bones Found Under Oregon State University Football Stadium.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!


Meet The World's First Gay Mormon Superhero.

Where Are We Going? Some Reflections on British Horror, Present and Future.

BBC: 10 Women Who Changed Sci-Fi.

This week in Writing


The history and the future of software including the much awaited iOS Scrivener.

COVER DESIGN 101: A SENSE OF MYSTERY.

Traditional Publishing, Non-Compete Clauses & Rights Grabs.

he's got one trick to last a lifetime but that's all a pony needs.

Thoughts on Writing #49: Leave Reviewers Alone.

Culture war news:


Controversial church in Harlem is deep in debt and may go up for public auction.

Whiteness at work in Arizona: Viral photo of racist teens shows the casual arrogance behind “bad decisions”.

The Anglican Communion’s un-Christian stance on marriage.

GOP lawmakers want exemptions for gay marriage opponents.

Planned Parenthood cleared, but 2 indicted over videos.

This Week in the Clown Car


'You Have Truly Broken My Heart': Sarah Palin's Supporters Turn Against Her After Trump Endorsement.

Barbara Bush: I'm Reasonably Certain That Jeb Would Be The Best President. What a ringing endorsement... from his mother?

The Real Reason Trump Is Winning Evangelical Support: They’re Just Not That ‘Religious’.

Cruz Campaign’s Flint Water Giveaway Focuses On Anti-Abortion Centers.

Huckabee hits Cruz on tithing, trade and meetings with ‘gay activists’.

For Years, Trump's Charity Gave Veterans Little More Than Peanuts.

This week in Other Politics:


Our Insane Addiction to Polls.

‘They’ve all come to look for America.’ They just have to watch Clinton’s ad to find it.

How an Early Endorsement From Largest LGBT Group May Reveal Hillary Clinton's Worst Fears.

Rejecting Bourgeois Feminism. "Setting up the Berniebro straw-man has become their knee-jerk response to any critique, no matter how tempered and thorough..."

Were the Media Unfair to Hillary Clinton in 2008? Guess who’s making that claim now.

Amusing that Obama's approval rating has hit a 2-year high as America realizes it hates every other pol even more.

Disgraced former anti-gay Republican Congressman Aaron Schock owes more than $700,000 in legal debt.

This Week in Love Conquers...


On Kindness - My mother is sick. “Sometimes people are mean, and sometimes things will be hard. One of your jobs is to try and make sure that that never makes you mean and hard, too.”

This Week in Stupidity


Guns Keep Us Safe ...from Snow Plows ...from friends... ...from Good Samaritans....

A Lawyer Thinks This Tiger’s Friendship With A Goat Is “Gay Propaganda”.

Farewells:


Abe Vigoda, ‘Barney Miller’ and ‘The Godfather’ star who was often subject of death hoaxes, dies at 94 . Sady, not a hoax this time.

Marvin Minsky, Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88.

Things I wrote:


Weekend Update 1/22/2016 – He made sure that it wasn’t a mass shooting, all right.

Another commentary on ships.

Begin at the beginning, not before.

Confessions of an eye-rolling homo.

Videos!


We asked the men of West Hollywood to pass on their advice to younger gay men. To 'Gay It Forward' (and it's good advice for everyone!):



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DeRay Mckesson Helps Stephen Address His Privilege:



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Rostam - EOS (Official Video):



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Binder clips are useful:



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These interviews from 2000, with some of the last living queer concentration camp survivors, are pretty incredible:



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Friday, January 22, 2016

Friday Links (weird billboards edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. This was a crazy week at work for me, and I'm feeling more than a little bit burnt out.

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

Link of the Week


The trailblazer and his nephew: A mouthful of ashes and a Google search inspire a journalist’s quest for his great uncle.

The week in Consequences


People want to ban bishops from House of Lords over ‘evil’ gay marriage decision.

Peer urges government to ‘disestablish’ Church of England over anti-gay vote.

This week in History


The Spanish Inquisition vs. Mysticism.

My gay ancestor’s fate shows how dangerous political witch-hunts can be.

This week in Health


“Big Pharma” & Privilege: Or Why I Wish Allies Would Stop Using This Phrase.

This Week in Diversity


Gender Roles and Gender Role Reversal in Fiction and Television.

Smiling slaves at story time: These picture books show why we need more diversity in publishing, too: Upbeat kids' books that sanitize the horrors of slavery get published—and speak volumes about the industry.

The unbearable whiteness of Hollywood: The Academy should be ashamed—but the problem is bigger than the Oscars.

The Reductive Seduction of Other People’s Problems.

It’s not your fault. And other lessons I’ve learned from being sexually harassed at Google.

The Diversity Myth: Where Have All The Black Editors Gone?

IDRIS ELBA CALLS FOR MORE GAY VOICES ON TV IN BRILLIANT PARLIAMENTARY SPEECH.

How 26 Tweets Broke My Filter Bubble.

This week in that stupid militia


Ursula K. Le Guin vs. the Oregon militia .

Militants bulldoze through Native American archeological site, share video rifling through artifacts.

News for queers and our allies:


Dismissal of Planet Fitness Lawsuit a watershed for trans rights. "...a transgender person can not infringe on anyone’s rights simply by accessing public accommodations."

Russell T Davies: 'You never stop coming out of the closet'.

Garth Greenwell on writing sex in his novel 'What Belongs to You' and the queer literary tradition.

Alan Turing, James Bond and London Spy: how the security services became Britain’s most inclusive employer.

Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens.

Senator Mark Kirk Is First Senate Republican to Sponsor Equality Act.

The Reason This Mom Made a Newspaper Announcement When Her Son Came Out Will Make Your Day.

Ireland leads the way on transgender rights legislation.

Satisfaction With Acceptance of Gays in U.S. at New High.

Employer To Pay Transgender Woman $115,000 In Job Discrimination Settlement.

Science!


Microfluid experiment could bring tactile tablets for vision impaired.

Tiger Is Still Friends With Goat Who Was Given To Him As Live Food Months Ago.

NOAA, NASA: 2015 WAS EARTH'S HOTTEST BY A WIDE MARGIN.

Astronaut shows how coffee is made aboard the International Space Station.

Having A Best Friend Is Good For Your Health, According To Science.

The largest prime number to date has been discovered, and it's 22 million digits long.

Iceman has the world's oldest tattoos.

Tiny Quantum Dots May Spell Doom For Deadly Superbug Infections.

200 million-year-old Jurassic dinosaur uncovered in Wales.

Scientists find tree frog believed extinct for more than 100 years.

Living fossils discovered during deep sea expedition off Queensland coast.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!


BUT HE DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS HIJACKING YOUR SHIP: ON CONFERENCE CREEPS. This is from a few years ago, but it bears repeating.

Off the Clock: Space Opera Millennials and Their Grand Narratives.

Star Trek Enterprise Bridge Playset. Awesome dad builds his kid a starship enterprise playset from scrapwood (includes step-by-step photos and a downloadable PDF of the plans)

ASH VS EVIL DEAD Season 1 Retrospective and Season 2 Tease from Showrunner Craig DiGregorio.

How Do You Like Your Science Fiction? Ten Authors Weigh In On ‘Hard’ vs. ‘Soft’ SF.

This week in Writing


Losing My Voice.

I've been trying to write for a while, now....

You Don't NEED to Do Anything to Be a "Real Writer" Other Than Write.

Please shut up: Why self-promotion as an author doesn't work.

Wait, Keep Talking: Author Self-Promo That Actually Works.

DO WE COUNT AS REAL WRITERS, TOO? (AKA THAT THING ABOUT CLARION. THAT. THING.).

Culture war news:


The hypocrisy of Anglican Church's suspension of the Episcopal branch over same-sex marriage.

When Masculinity Fails Men. Originally published a few years ago, but still very true.

Nebraska Republican Introduces New Legislation To Attack LGBT Families.

Georgia bill seeks to codify discrimination, homophobia.

Franklin Graham: Letting Gay People Attend Church Aids the “Enemy” Who Wants to “Devour This Nation”.

Anti-Gay Christian Group Erects Billboard in San Diego’s Hillcrest Gayborhood.



This Week in the Clown Car


A Good Christian Could Never Vote for Donald Trump, Who Just Pronounced It 'Two Corinthians'.

For a Brief Moment, I Understood Donald Trump Last Night: And this one line pretty much summed up the entire campaign.

Portrait of a Party on the Verge of Coming Apart.

Vets: Don't Blame Obama for Track Palin's Behavior. Also, does the PTSD explain the violent brushes with the law he had before he served in the military?

Huckabee slams Cruz for campaigning at home of gay NYC businessmen.

Ted Cruz’s Career in Private Practice Complicates His Legal Record.

Marco Rubio is finally briefed on Flint water crisis.

Fiorina ‘ambushed’ field trip to use kids as anti-abortion props, parent says.

This week in Other Politics:


Wall Street Turns Off the Spigot for Anti-Gay New Jersey Congressman.

Here Comes the Berniebro.

This Week in Hate Crimes


Amazon Warehouse Employee Faces 10 Years In Prison For Assault On Gay Coworker.

This Week in Stupidity


Gov. Inslee astounded by Seattle tunnel contractor's decisions to stop quality control.

Farewells:


Glenn Frey, Eagles Guitarist, Dead at 67.

Til Death Did Us Part - Farewell David Hartwell.

Things I wrote:


Weekend Update 1/16/16: Wrong on so many levels.

Confessions of the son of a drunk.

Confessions of a recovering evangelical.

Confessions of an incorrigible shipper.

I is for Imagination – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!


Adam Driver parodies a Porn Doctor - Saturday Night Live:



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David Bowie Impersonates Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Neil Young, and More on Lost Recording:



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The Original Material Girl Is Back:



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Friday, January 15, 2016

Friday Links (good-bye David and Alan edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Already the thirdd Friday of the new year and I haven't made much progress on any of my tasks for the month. Let's not talk about stress, or car accidents, or illnesses, or famous people we have admired most of our lives dying way too soon, eh?

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

Link of the Week


The Man Who Buried Them Remembers. It's short, and a must-read.

This week in Words


2015 Word of the Year is singular “they.”

This week in Health


Why food allergy fakers need to stop: From gluten to garlic, diets and dislikes are being passed off as medical conditions. Chefs and real sufferers have had enough.

Flint Wants Safe Water, and Someone to Answer for Its Crisis.

Ten Things to Know About Vaccines: to raise awareness of another serious health issue: anti-vaxxers.

This week in People Doing Good Things


How to help with the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

This week in People Panicking Based on Rumors


Jack squat: What iPhone 7 headphone rumors are based on.

This week in Difficult to Classify


ProPublica Launches the Dark Web's First Major News Site.

News for queers and our allies:


‘Teen Wolf’ Actor Charlie Carver Comes Out as Gay. It's a well-written, straightforward, not apologetic nor any hemming of hawing coming out, too!

On the other hand, speaking of another actor once on same show: When stars respond to questions about their sexuality with statements like, 'It shouldn’t matter,' they are doing more harm than good.

I Might Be Gay, But Please Don’t Call Me Your ‘Gay Best Friend’.

Nearly half of homeless youth are LGBTQ, first-ever city census finds.

Science!


How Much Light Is in the Universe?

Traces of the First Stars in the Universe Possibly Found.

The Entire Universe As We Know It In One Spectacular Photograph. So cool!

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!


Carrie Fisher Interviews Daisy Ridley - and it's a hoot!

A 51-Year-Old Gay Man's Response to The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: Men's rights activists claim boycott cost The Force Awakens $4.2m. Even if true (and the article pokes holes in the math of the bogus claim), that meant it took Disney a half hour longer to break the all-time highest grossing movie record than it would have.

This week in Writing


A Typical Traditional Book Publication in 20 (ish) Steps.

How Could The Winds of Winter Be Published In Only Three Months? Covers similar ground as the previous link and is much longer, but very informative.

Culture war news:


Perverting teen sexting laws: Laws that punish minors as sex offenders for perfectly normal behaviors harm teenagers.

Gay marriage order puts spotlight again on the 'Ayatollah of Alabama'.

GOP Dead-Enders Fight to Stay Anti-Gay: While most people listening to Nikki Haley’s rebuttal to the SOTU heard nothing but a rejection of Trump, gay-marriage advocates heard something very different: progress.

Archbishops 'treated like children' in church sexuality crisis talks. Well, they're acting children...

Kansas holds children of Colorado veteran who uses medical marijuana.

This Week in the Clown Car


Ted Cruz is not eligible to be president.

Gay Jeopardy! Star Louis Virtel Was Not Snapping for Republicans.

Ted Cruz Didn’t Report Goldman Sachs Loan in a Senate Race.

This week in Other Politics:


We’re onto the phony education reformers: Charter school charlatans and faux reformers take it on the chin.

Obama Was Optimist-in-Chief at State of the Union.

This Week in Racism


An antidote to Islamophobia.

This Week in Stupidity


Stolen, the problematic app that lets you buy and sell people on Twitter. Because of the uproar (it was a wonderful tool for harassing people, besides the creepiness of the basic idea) the app has been withdrawn.

This Week in Police Problems


WHAT DO I DO WITH MY FAVORITE TV COPS?

This Week in Misogyny


These Ridiculous Propaganda Postcards Warn Men About The Dangers Of Women’s Rights From The Early 20th Century.

Thank You Twitter - By Unverifying Milo Yiannopoulos, You Are Standing Up for Women Online.

Farewells:


David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale.

Neil Gaiman Gives David Bowie a Proper Origin Story in “The Return of the Thin White Duke.”

David Bowie and My Queer Awakening.

Was He Gay, Bisexual or Bowie? Yes.

Brian Bedford dead: Voice of Robin Hood dies aged 80 after two-year cancer battle.

Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren and Tim Allen Among Stars Paying Tribute to Alan Rickman.

Remembering Alan Rickman’s Seminal Sci-Fi and Fantasy Roles.

Dick's Drive-In Founder Dies. (noooooooo! If you’re not from Seattle, you won’t understand. For nearly 62 years he's run a group of fast food restaurants that pay a living wage, provide full health coverage, and offers each employee up to $20,000 in tuition reimbursement. And their burgers and milk shakes are to die for!)

Things I wrote:


Confessions of a part-time jerk.

Confessions of the badly, madly distracted.

The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Videos!


Alan Rickman Answers Questions from Fans:

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Alan Rickman is scary as Snape is (but actually a sweetheart):



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David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust:



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David Bowie - Starman (Top Of The Pops, 1972):



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David Bowie - Putting Out Fire (Cat People) Music Video :



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David Bowie - Lazarus (released shortly before his death on his 69th birthday):



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Friday, January 8, 2016

Friday Links (powerful jedi edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Already the second Friday of the new year and I still haven't finished my year-in-review post or got up on my goals check-ins. I'm such a slacker. Or maybe just trying to keep up with things at work. At least my husband's doctor says his broken bone has healed nicely; he won't need surgery or physical therapy and he's graduated to a cane. Yay!

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

Link of the Week


50 Wonderful Things From 2015. Several people shared this this week, all saying they don't normally like end-of-year lists, but this was better than most. And it is. For one thing, it isn't a slide show that you have to click, and click, and click. Just an article to scroll through.

Failing to learn from history


A ground zero forgotten: The Marshall Islands, once a U.S. nuclear test site, face oblivion again.

This week in All Generalizations Are Bad


Shhh! Keeping Quiet May Help You Achieve Your Goals.

GOALS: TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE?

This week in Geek


Twitter Isn’t Raising the Character Limit. It’s Becoming a Walled Garden.

George III’s huge map collection digitized.

This week in Health


Dogs thwart effort to eradicate Guinea worm: Epidemic in dogs complicates push to wipe out parasite.

This Week in Diversity


The Marriages of Power Couples Reinforce Income Inequality.

Hoist Your Nerd Colors, Ladies: How I Learned to Take Pride in My Nerdiness.

Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN ORIGIN STORY: LOOKING FOR MY MULTIRACIAL FAMILY.

Missouri Bill To Ban Racial Profiling Draws Attention For Including Gays: Legislation Inspired By Michael Brown's Murder Covers Race, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity.

A gay “Star Wars” hero could save lives in this galaxy: Why the lip bite that launched a thousand ‘ships matters.

This week in Evil People


Gay cult? ISIS leader who raped boy is excused while raped 15-yr-old is executed.

News for queers and our allies:


How Starbucks Helped Me Be OK With Being Gay.

Transgender people in Washington state to use restrooms based on identity, not anatomy.

A Christian Father’s Plea to Dads of LGBTQ Kids.

Many truths about bisexuality in adorable graphs!

Science!


Picking Your Narrative Matters: Kids Were Terrified of Getting MRIs. Then One Man Figured Out a Better Way.

How Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s words were freed from old floppy disks.

New research suggests sun's magnetic field may soon change. The headline ought to be "...sooner than the billions of years previously thought..."

NuSTAR Bringing the High Energy Universe into Focus.

Energy Drinks Are Basically Poison Says Science, Common Sense. There was any doubt?

6 Absurd Ways Modern Medicine Fails Because Of Sexism.

Turtle Fossils Shed Light On Rise Of Andes Mountains.

Huge Jurassic cliff landslide exposes hundreds of prehistoric fossils from 65 million years ago.

Marks of the Anthropocene: 7 signs we have made our own epoch.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!


In defense of 'Star Wars' and other childish things.

...you want to see in the world.

Why does the misogynist & homophobic man behind 'Doctor Who' and 'Sherlock' still have a job?

Mary Robinette Kowal quotes from the requests sent by 83 of the 100 people she and other donors gave supporting memberships in the 2015 Worldcon. It's really amazing to read these!

Star Wars hero Poe Dameron: is Disney brave enough to make him gay?

No, Rey From 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Is Not A Mary Sue.

5 MARVEL HEROES FROM THE GUTTER OF OBSCURITY THAT MADE IT.

This Week in Hateful Fans


What We Talk About When We Talk About Lying Crazypants Liars Who Lie.

Sad Puppies: since gaming the hugo awards failed, let’s try goodreads.

This week in Writing


The Ugly Truth of Publishing & How BEST to Support Writers.

It Was Twenty-Two Years Ago Today.

This Week in History


Even in 1907, Seattle Couldn't Handle the Snow.

Culture war news:


So Now Muslims Can Be Fired for Praying?

State Senator Proposes Law That Would Criminalize Transgender Bathroom Usage.

2015: Year of the Arsonist.

Muslims, Homosexuals, Christians and Terrorists.

Dear Mormonism: Your LGBTQ Members Are Still Hurting, So What Happens Next?

Armed takeover of building in Oregon puts feds in tough spot.

Stolen Valor: Militiaman Working As Cliven And Ammon Bundy’s Bodyguard Was Never A Marine.

Georgia Republicans Want To Gay-Bang The Gays With Exciting New Religious Freedom Laws.

Florida Professor Who Cast Doubt on Mass Shootings Is Fired.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Says He is “Proud” to Discriminate Against Transgender People.

Georgia Republicans Don’t Want Anything to Do With Their State’s “Religious Liberty” Bill.

Godless New York Punishes Chick-fil-A With Health Code Violations.

FedEx Takes Needlessly Cruel Swipe At A Grieving Lesbian Widow.

Ten Women Sue Duggar Family Homeschooling Guru Bill Gothard For Rape And Sexual Abuse.

Alabama probate judges should obey US Supreme Court on gay marriage, federal prosecutors say.

Anti-Gay Marriage Dude Tries to Mansplain the Supreme Court to Megyn Kelly.

This Week in the Clown Car


Cruz & Trump could crater the GOP: A history lesson for a party on the brink of disaster.

Ben Carson's new campaign chairman speaks out against women, LGBT troops.

The Feud Between Donald Trump and Samuel L. Jackson Is Even Weirder Than You Can Imagine.

Huckabee: Hate Groups Won’t Endorse Me Because They Know I’ll Put Them Out Of Business by Giving Them Everything They Want.

Rubio Tries To Out-Jesus Everybody In New Ad.

This week in Other Politics:


Hillary Clinton says therapy to turn gay kids straight must be banned.

This Week in Racism


America’s real racial double standard: How the law — and white people — turn “race-neutral” into “pro-white”.

As a gay black ex-detective, this is what I think when I'm asked if black people should join the police.

‘Where White People Meet’ dating site billboard turning heads in Utah.

This Week in Hate Crimes


US Marine convicted of killing transgender Filipino appeals.

This Week in Misogyny


‘he had a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women’ – the Sherlock Christmas special.

Silence, exile and coming second: women writers get same raw deal as in theatre.

Farewells:


Natalie Cole, Singer of ‘Unforgettable’ and ‘This Will Be,’ Dies at 65.

Wayne Rogers, Trapper John on 'M.A.S.H.,' dies at 82.

Jason Wingreen, The Original Voice Of Boba Fett In ‘Star Wars’, Has Passed Away At Age 95.

Things I wrote:


Scarves, socks, and “man” colors.

“Finn heroically saving him…”.

Bikini armor madness.

Videos!


Much Ado Nothing About Something:



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India’s First Transgender Band Just Released Their First Song And It Will Leave You Speechless - Hum Hain Happy - 6 Pack Band:



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Craig David 'Love Yourself' Justin Bieber cover Live Lounge:



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HIGH-RISE - Official Trailer #2 (2016) Tom Hiddleston Movie HD (semi NSFW for obscured naked Tom Hiddleston; it's an adaptation of one of J.G. Ballard's more surreal sci fi stories):



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Marvel's Daredevil - Coming Soon, Season 2 - Only On Netflix [HD]:



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Friday, January 1, 2016

Friday Links (fire, floods, and giant squids)

Thank goodness it's Friday. It's the first Friday of a new year. Oy! Wait! I didn't finish everything I meant to do in 2015! Eek!

We had a pretty good Christmas. Okay, I think my husband called it "great" when we were driving back home late the night of the 26th after going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens with some friends up north.

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

Link of the Week


9 times Mister Rogers said exactly the right thing.

It's the end of the year as we know it...


Fuck Your “Life Hacks” - If you want to change, then change.

After a historic year for LGBT rights in US, 2016 may see backlash and complacency.

This week in Health


How I overcame my fears and saved my life from cancer.

Why Preventing Cancer Is Not the Priority in Drug Development.

How researchers dupe the public with a sneaky practice called "outcome switching".

This Week in Diversity


What to do when you're not the hero any more: From Star Wars to Mad Max, a new, more diverse kind of storytelling went mainstream this year - and the backlash shows how much it matters.

A more inclusive military won't matter if young people won't include themselves.

How I Unlearned the Bigotry My Father Taught Me.

What the Mainstream Can Learn From 2015’s Queer Indie Cinema.

2015 YEAR IN BLACKNESS REVIEW ACCORDING TO NARUTO.

Diversity report card: The film industry took 1 step forward, 2 steps back.

This week in Difficult to Classify


Dubai: Fire Engulfs 68-story Luxury Hotel Skyscraper.

Midwest flooding kills at least 20, shuts major interstate.

Texas Christian claims she diverted tornado to another neighborhood: ‘God had given us authority over the winds.’ So, god will kill your neighbors if you ask him to? What?

The Radical History of 1960s Adult Coloring Books.

News for queers and our allies:


Marriage Equality Almost Didn’t Happen: The Strange Tale Of How It All Started. "Here is the story of a camel hair coat, a horse meat bait-and-switch, two just-out-of-college conservative activists from liberal Brandeis University, a millionaire anti-gay publisher, a longtime lesbian activist who did not believe in playing by the rules, and a state senator who bluffed about her vote count and stood terrified on the state house floor waiting to see whether her colleagues would render her own family unequal."

Listen: 90 year old gay man talks of his long struggle with his sexuality.

Why This Gay Man With Cerebral Palsy Is Taking Off His Clothes.

Catholic Newspaper Names Same-Sex Marriage Plaintiffs 'Persons Of The Year'.

Kelly Clarkson didn’t know a gay couple would get engaged in her video.

THE TEN BEST QUEER FILMS OF 2015.

Science!


Could fast radio bursts be produced by collisions between neutron stars and asteroids?

Weird New Shark Glows in the Dark.

It looks like a worldwide coffee shortage is inevitable.

The Endangered Animal Comeback Stories of 2015.

Tales of the bedbug, one of the world’s most reviled insects.

What's So Special About the Human Brain?

The Siege of Miami: As temperatures climb, so, too, will sea levels.

Science has answered the question: Why do dogs love to sing?

Year in review: Fluke extinction surprises lab.

Why Some of the Worst Attacks on Social Science Have Come From Liberals.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!


William Gibson: how I wrote Neuromancer.

Dune at 50: Good Night, Don’t Let the Sandworms Bite.

The Call of the Sad Whelkfins: The Continued Relevance of How To Suppress Women’s Writing.

10 Rey Star Wars toys and shirts you need in your life.

Did Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduce a gay romance without us realising? If my tumblr or twitter feeds are any indication, millions of us noticed...

WHY IS REY SUCH A GREAT HERO?

BLACK SPECULATIVE FICTION: THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Scalzi: I Ruin Everything But Mostly Science Fiction.

Culture war news:


Here Are 15 Of The Dumbest Things Said About The Queer Community In 2015. I had forgot a bunch of these...

Yearly reminder Salvation Army turns away the LGBT, some of the most at-risk homeless. Jennifer Gale froze to death on sidewalk outside Salvation Army shelter, turned away because she was trans.

Sweet Cakes Bakers Still Actively Fundraising, Cash Pouring In: A same-sex couple, not the Kleins, were the victims in the Sweet Cakes By Melissa case. The couple has not received a penny, the Kleins are still raking in the dough.

Although the next day: Homophobic Bakery Finally Repays Lesbian Couple.

Federer’s Absurd Attempt to Use Science to Prove Christianity.

Creationism Whistleblower: ‘Academic Freedom’ Is Sneak Attack on Evolution.

This Week in the Clown Car


Ben Carson's Campaign Is Crumbling, and Completely Victorious. "Ben Carson loses two top aides as his campaign flounders," reports the LA Times, still operating under the assumption that Ben's running a campaign for president rather than a get-richer-quick scheme.

This week in Other Politics:


The warning bell tolls for thee DNC.

In the end, 2015 saw no ‘war on cops’ and no ‘national crime wave’.

Meanwhile, The Number of Civilians Killed by Police on the Rise.

Special Report: Pentagon thwarts Obama's effort to close Guantanamo.

This Week in Racism


Cleveland Officer Will Not Face Charges in Tamir Rice Shooting Death.

White police are killing black kids: The cops get off, because the system protects the lives it values.

This Week in Hate Crimes


Since September, There Have Been 14 Assaults in Dallas' Gay Neighborhood.

This Week in Stupidity


Here Are 15 Of The Dumbest Things Said About The Queer Community In 2015. I had forgotten a bunch of these...

Farewells:


Robert Spitzer dies at 83; psychiatrist had homosexuality delisted as a disorder.

Things I wrote:


Weekend Update 12/26/2015: Boxing Day links.

Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!



Panic! At The Disco: Death Of A Bachelor [OFFICIAL VIDEO]:



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A New Year's Wish:



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Giant squid guided back to sea by diver after swimming into Japanese harbour:



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