Friday Links (repurposed fence edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Both my husband and I are still on antibiotics. I'm starting to feel less miserable. I'm really hoping we both feel actually well, soon.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

You may remember a link from a couple of weeks ago where a writer lamented that a publication's call for submissions didn't want any stories from a native american or indigenous point of view. The editor responded, but not by being defensive:

Just Wait Until Twitter Comes For You: Addressing and Fixing Unintended Privilege and Bigotry.

“TL;DR: When a social justice criticism was brought to us, we acknowledged the mistake, engaged with those criticizing, and fixed the problem instead of doubling down or protesting that wasn't what we meant. It worked to resolve the problem and helped us clarify the message we meant to send.”

This week in Typography

More about the legendary Dove's type: How The World’s Most Beautiful Typeface Was Nearly Lost Forever.

This Week in Diversity

We need more queer characters outside of LGBTI-specific stories.

Why The 100's showrunner just lost 15k followers, and why it matters.

No, Vanity Fair’s photo of Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler is not the mainstream’s attempt to effeminize black men.

This week in Government Overreach

Surprise! NSA data will soon routinely be used for domestic policing that has nothing to do with terrorism.

News for queers and our allies:

Last Men Standing - They had the remarkable luck to survive AIDS, and the brutal misfortune to live on.. "In the darkest years of the epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s, AIDS was almost always fatal; the prognosis was a few years, maybe a few months. These men, then in their 20s and 30s, weren’t supposed to make it to 40. Now some are 60 years old, even 70, still alive but wounded physically, psychologically and economically."

What the EEOC's lawsuit against Scott Medical Center could mean for Pa. state law.

Lambda Legal Wins Lawsuit Against Feds For Social Security Benefits For Lesbian Widow.

200 years of LGBT rights in 1 map.

Lack of a singular vision for LGBT rights isn’t a cause for despair, especially when competing visions drive innovation.

Bisexuals, Passing, and Straight Privilege: A Deeper Look.

NYC Guarantees the Right to Enter a Bathroom Matching One’s Gender Identity.

Kenmore Jr High improves bathroom access for transgender students.

Irish TV show to feature first-ever same-sex marriage.

Federal Court Says That Title VII Does Not Prohibit Anti Gay Bias — Yet.

EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOS OF A GAY MOTORCYCLE CLUB IN THE 1960S.

Happy News!

President Jimmy Carter announces end of cancer treatments.

Science!

Huge Population of Rare Whales Found off Madagascar. Video of the rarely seen Omura's whales (sort of a dwarf fin whale)

With Seattle Aquarium’s help, stranded sea turtle makes dramatic comeback.

Factoring of numbers achieved through scalable quantum computer.

This Scientist Crunched The Numbers And Discovered The Monetary Cost Of Not Being A Straight Man.

Scientists Say Some Birds Are Just as Smart as Apes.

Chew On This: Slicing Meat Helped Shape Modern Humans.

99 million year old fossil found in amber in South East Asia.

New micro-CT scanner allows inside view of even the tiniest fossils.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Men of Their Times.

It’s HERE! Get over a million words of fiction from this year’s Campbell-eligible authors!

THE WRITER WHO MADE ME LOVE COMICS TAUGHT ME TO HATE THEM.

'The Expanse:' Best Science-Fiction Show In A Decade.

This week in Writing

“You can teach craft but you can’t teach talent.” The most useless creative writing cliché?

Idra Novey Recommends....

Fargo turns 20 today. Its fans are still arguing about this scene.

Culture war news:

Christian Activist Theodore Shoebat Supports Violent Vigilante Attacks Against Gay Rights Activists.

US Supreme Court overturns Alabama court ruling against same-sex adoption.

When Falling In Love Can Put Your Life In Danger.

Supreme Court to Shitty Hate States: Get Over It Already.

The War On Cars: Pedestrian Deaths Skyrocketing.

NFL still in closet about anti-gay culture.

Federal Judge Rules Marriage Ban Still Good Law In Puerto Rico, Governor Disagrees.

Missouri Religious Protection Bill Passes After 37 Hour Filibuster.

Rafael Cruz: ‘Gay marriage shall destroy society’.

Bisexual Man Convicted Of Hate Crime In Killing Of Gay Man. People don't understand hate crime laws. His sole defense was that since he's bisexual, it couldn't be hate...

This Week in the Clown Car

Debate Recap: Cruz, Trump and Kasich Double Down on Anti-LGBT Rhetoric.

Money Pours In as Move to Stop Donald Trump Expands.

Ted Cruz’s Michigan Campaign Co-Chair Wants to Criminalize Homosexuality.

A Final Attempt to Understand Ben Carson's Deeply Weird Presidential Campaign.

Donald Trump says everybody loves him. This chart proves him very wrong.

Defending Islam Isn't Political Correctness, Marco Rubio Tells Donald Trump.

Cruz balks at campaign-loan disclosure.

John Kasich’s (not so) secret extremism: How the “moderate” alternative to Trump led a Planned Parenthood witchhunt in Ohio.

This week in Other Politics:

In Response to Question about Republican Claims that Obama is to Blame for Trump and Extremeist, President says GOP leaders to blame for party 'crackup'. In other news, water is wet...

Inside the first-ever summit calling for an end to the “suicidal death pact between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia”.

The Obama Doctrine - The U.S. president talks through his hardest decisions about America’s role in the world..

Farewells:

Gary Hutzel, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica VFX artist, dies at 60.

Ray Tomlinson, email inventor who picked the @ sign for addresses, dies.

Rev. Robert Palladino, Scribe Who Shaped Apple’s Fonts, Dies at 83.

And Another Departure:

Nancy Reagan dies aged 94, LGBT community remembers her shitty history on AIDS crisis.

Nancy Reagan Turned Down Rock Hudson’s Plea For Help Nine Weeks Before He Died.

Cat’s Story: Straight, Inc. and Why I Despise Nancy Reagan.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 3/4/2016 – When a dog whistle becomes a bullhorn.

Trigger Warning: misogyny, racism, Frank Miller (but I repeat myself).

Is it worth the outrage? – part three.

Confessions of a cluttering packrat.

Uniques and Reborns, Computers and Telepaths – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Years & Years - Desire ft. Tove Lo:



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Menow - Baby You're Like A Drug:



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Ben Carson: GOP DROPOUT - Song Parody by Randy Rainbow:



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BAND-MAID / Don’t let me down:



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Orkestra Obselete Blue Monday 1933:



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‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Gives Us The Bi Anthem We’ve Been Waiting For:



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R.I.P. GOP (Part 1) | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | TBS:



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R.I.P. GOP (Part 2) | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | TBS:



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[Eng Sub] McCafé's Gay Ads in Taiwan:



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Marvel's Captain America: Civil War - Trailer 2:



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Friday Links (March Forth on March Fourth)

I've written before about an acquaintance in college who was shocked that I'd never heard the pun about this day: March Forth! It's a date and a command!

For the last few years I've been observing my own March Forth tradition. I urge you all on this March Forth, to go please donate to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

Meanwhile, thank goodness Friday. I'm seeing my doctor again today, because the last round of antibiotics didn't knock out the infection.

Here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Links of the Week

Bad Ass Miss America, Yolande Betbeze Fox, Dies at 87. She was a singer, refused to model bathing suits after winning the 1951 Miss America pagent, and campaigned for civil rights from the late 1950s on. Yeah, I think bad ass is right.

This Week in Diversity

MEET THE WOMAN WHO FOUNDED “BHARAT BABIES,” A CHILDREN’S BOOK COMPANY CENTERED ON INDIAN CULTURE.

TOP TEN RESPONSES TO THE DIVERSITY BASELINE SURVEY.

Decolonise, not Diversify.

Dear White Writers,.

What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood - What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood - If you’re not a straight white man.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Ottawa man wakes to find contents of someone's home on his driveway.

Kicked Out in America!

News for queers and our allies:

Sam Smith’s Oscar Gaffe Shows Why Teaching LGBTQ History Is So Important.

South Dakota Governor Vetoes Bad Transgender Bathroom Bill .

Gov. Nathan Deal makes a forceful, biblical case against Georgia’s ‘religious liberty’ bill.

Despite being inadvertently outed, one gay college athlete in Virginia is finding acceptance.

Science!

Fresh confusion over origins of enigmatic radio-wave blasts.

As of Tuesday, it's the wettest winter in Seattle history.

Anchorage is so warm this year it has to import snow for the Iditarod.

Drumming Can Largely Improve Your Mental Health, Science Says.

Neandertal Chemistry: Archaic humans used manganese dioxide to start fires, not—as thought—just for body paint.

How killing wolves to protect livestock may backfire.

This device turns plastic waste into safe, edible mushrooms.

T. rex Was Likely an Invasive Species.

Why the heck does it hurt so bad to step on a Lego? Science explains.

515-Million-Year-Old Fossils Contain Exquisitely Preserved Nervous System.

A blind woman has regained sight following a controversial stem cell treatment.

New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory function in mice.

Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity, Science Says.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

It’s a Steampunk Universe … Unless You’re an Indigenous American.

How Long ’til Black Future Month?

Gods of Egypt is a Racist, Whitewashed Failure of a Movie.

NORWESCON: 39 YEARS OF FANDOM AND COUNTING. After missing the convention for a few years, I'm really looking forward to going again. This year will be my 27th NorWesCon!

7 ways Deadpool did right in getting Negasonic Teenage Warhead wrong.

WHAT MOVIE STUDIOS WILL ULTIMATELY GET WRONG ABOUT DEADPOOL’S SUCCESS.

Theodore Beale is the Donald Trump of Science Fiction.

The Strange Saga of a Sci-Fi Author Who Became a Prolific Pornographer.

How 'The X-Files' Was Accidentally Reborn as Right Wing Propaganda.

J.J. Abrams says Star Wars without gay characters is 'insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive'.

Fandom issue of the week

Disney made furry fandom, in a very real and direct way.

This week in Writing

Cory Doctorow: In Praise of Fanfic. An oldie, but a goodie!

Finish your Sh*t: Secrets of an Evolving Writing Process.

These Journalists Dedicated Their Lives to Telling Other People’s Stories. What Happens When No One Wants to Print Their Words Anymore?

Culture war news:

Kiddle: Child-friendly, Google-powered search site bans words including 'bisexual' and 'transgender'.

80 Religious Leaders Stand Up To Say Anti-Choicers Don’t ‘Have A Monopoly On Faith’.

Booted Anti-Gay Michigan Teabagger Legislators To Face Felony Perjury Charges For Lying About Their Affair. It's not really for lying about the affair, it's for falsely reporting a blackmail, and then lying under oath about a bunch of things related to it.

Pat Robertson: Homosexuals Are Incapable Of Knowing Love, That Only Comes From White Jesus.

Author banned from discussing his book at speaking engagements after coming out as gay.

Who Still Opposes Gay Marriage, and Why.

Georgia “Religious Freedom” Bills and the Real Problem Nobody is Talking About.

Raising Awareness About the Dangers of “Conversion Therapy”.

Anti-Gay Georgia Senator Greg Kirk’s Elusive ‘Gay Friends’ Are Nowhere to be Found. Another anti-gay pol claims to have gay friends. Finally a reporter asks obvious followup Q: "Can I talk to them?"

This Week in the Clown Car

Why Republican criticism of Trump fails. "For half a century Republicans have been trying to recruit white nationalists without stating our intentions out loud. During election seasons we issue coded assurances to nervous racists that we support them. Concealed beneath rhetoric about constitutionalism, or religious freedom, “conservative values,” or government dependence is a promise to put the genie back in the bottle. Brown folk and women and foreigners will all be nudged back into their rightful place, properly subjugated and presumably happy. We will “take our country back.” We will “make America great again.” America will once again be a white Christian nation."

Ben Carson, Who Felt God’s Fingers Pushing Him to Run for President, Hints at Suspending Campaign.

Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster. Now he’s strong enough to destroy the party. The author of this piece is, by the way, a conservative republican. He's right about several things, but wrong about two important bits: 1) President Obama's foreign policy is actually a lot different than the liberals the author claims they are indistinguishable from--Obama's foreign policies are almost exactly the same as George W. Bush's were in his second term. 2) The majority of Republicans are bigots; most are the kind of bigot who say, "I'm not a bigot, but..." and then spout something racist, Islamophobic, homophobic, or misogynist.

Harry Reid Savages Republicans For Making Trump.

How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable: He's no ordinary con man. He's way above average — and the American political system is his easiest mark ever.

To survive, Marco Rubio descends into the gutter with Donald Trump.

Ted Cruz Blames Left-Wing Policy For Detroit's Destruction.

John Kasich Backtracks on LGBT Rights While Others Trade Insults.

This week in Other Politics:

Researchers have found strong evidence that racism helps the GOP win. "...79 percent of Republicans agree with negative statements about blacks..." A more accurate headline would be, "Study confirms majority of Republican part is racist."

Federal Law Criminalizes Protesting Trump Now That He’s Guarded by the Secret Service.

Scalia Communicates Through Clarence Thomas from the Grave.

Torpy at Large: Are senator’s gay friends like Jan Brady’s boyfriend?

1905 Precedent Lets Obama Appoint SCOTUS Judge without Consent.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 2/27/2016 – On a hero, and on silence.

We have always been here, part 2.

Confessions of a keyboard addict.

Videos!

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



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The Daily Show - Ben Carson and the Black Experience:



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Finding Dory Official US Trailer:



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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Donald Trump (HBO):



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Friday Links (it's not what you think edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. I've been on antibiotics for a week and feel much better, but most evenings this week I crashed as soon as I got home from work. Meanwhile at work, the merger/acquisition thing has finally closed and we're in the official transition which means work is more stressful than usual. Joy.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week. I did a lot more news reading this week even than usual, somehow.

Links of the Week

My Boyfriend Doesn't Know if He's Gay: He watches gay porn and told me about the type of guy he's attracted to, but he claims he doesn't want to go out and experiment.

Harlem Hate-Pastor Fails to Explain How Starbucks Gets Enough Semen to Put in All the Drinks.

This week in Geek

Twitter’s missing manual.

This week in I can't believe people are arguing about this

36 year-old DESTROYS 29-year-old millennial who “ripped” 25-year-old Yelp employee who got fired after complaining about her salary.

On San Francisco’s Quantified Self-Delusion.

This week in Privacy

I got hacked mid-air while writing an Apple-FBI story.

Solid support for Apple in iPhone encryption fight: poll.

Apple court papers: FBI is seeking 'dangerous power' that violates its constitutional rights.

While I shed no tears at Scalia's passing, it is okay to admit he wasn't always wrong: SCALIA IN 1987: ‘THE CONSTITUTION SOMETIMES INSULATES THE CRIMINALITY OF A FEW IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF US ALL’.

This week in History

That time the Paris Mosque helped Jews escape the Nazis by giving them Muslim IDs.

This Week in Diversity

Mashable issues a hell of a correction to the Streep “We’re all Africans” story. Meryl Streep’s “We’re all Africans, really” comment was a direct response to a question about Arab and African films, not a response to questions about the Berlinale Film Festival’s all white jury, as the article and headline originally suggested. A recording of the panel shows that Streep’s original comments were misrepresented in subsequent reports.

5 REASONS TO GET RID OF THE LGBTQ FICTION SECTION.

I disagree with the first sentence in this story, but... “Omar(s) comin’!”: 18 hyper-masculine gun-toting gay guys.

News for queers and our allies:

View from the left—the LGBT movement's energy deficit.

Debunking the "bathroom bill" myth: GLAAD releases new resource for journalists.

Violence in Capitol Hill: is this the end of the line for Seattle's gay neighborhood?

If You Thought the Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Was Over, Check Out These Awful New Bills.

A flamboyant discussion of cinema’s code words for homosexuality.

Transgender Oppression (Cissexism) and Conservative Religion.

As the Trouser Bar fiasco intensifies, you have to ask why people ashamed of Sir John Gielgud’s sexuality are in charge of his legacy?

Report: Criminal Justice System Failing LGBT People.

More Than Just Sex: A Conversation About an Alternative History of Gay Men in the '70s.

"You could hear the screams" - Government apologises for ill treatment of protesters at Sydney’s first Mardi Gras in 1978.

Dear Gay People: God Does Not Want to Swap You Out.

Science!

What Room Teaches Us About the Psychology of Fandom.

Astronomers Solve One Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts and Find Half the Missing Matter in the Universe.

"GENETIC SCISSORS" CAN COMPLETELY ELIMINATE HIV FROM CELLS.

Largest Fireball Since Chelyabinsk Falls Over the Atlantic.

A waterfall in Yosemite has turned into a glowing 'firefall'.

STUDY: What keeps passion alive in long-term relationships?

There’s a new approach to fighting cancer: keeping cancer cells alive.

Hidden viruses may threaten Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

When will the universe end? Not for at least 2.8 billion years.

Pulsar Web Could Detect Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves.

Fossils provide new evidence of oldest animal life.

A German city just became the first in the world to ban single-use coffee pods.

500 million-year-old fossils show how extinct organisms attacked their prey.

Baby Elephant Can’t Stop Following Her Rescuer After Being Saved From Death.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

All 176 issues of IF, classic 1952-1974 science fiction magazine, are now online for free.

How One Mashup Artist Got Legal Permission to Pair Calvin & Hobbes with Dune

Would a gay kiss in Star Wars: Episode VIII cause a disturbance in the Force?

Hey, Sci-Fi And Comics Fans: It's Time To Embrace The Dark Side.

Fandom issue of the week

The first Mark Oshiro post about problems at last year's ConQuesT.

Mark Oshiro speaks out….

Mark Oshiro posts an update.

In support of Mark Oshiro: my shit experience at CONQuesT 2013.

The Importance of Having and ENFORCING Harassment Policies at Cons.

Expect More From Your Regional ConCom.

Harassment: What do we do?

On Bad Cons & How You Kill An Event in Advance.

on privilege & responding to public harassment at cons.

This Week in Unenlightened Fans

Ladies, John C. Wright thinks you should not be allowed to vote. He also thinks it is very unfair for people to call him a sexist!

Geek Behaviors That Drive Women Away.

Dreaming About Other Worlds: Biased Opinion - Why Sad Puppy Complaints Aren't Taken Seriously.

Culture war news:

It's 2016 – yet we still don't trust gay men with children.

Anti-Gay Republican Creates 'Marriage Sovereignty' Out Of Thin Air To Try To Ban Gays From Adopting.

Relieved that Scalia can no longer judge us.

Indiana House committee won't give hearing to hate-crimes bill.

How a Leading Christian College Turned Against Its Gay Leader.

What the Story of Lot Tells Me About the Bible.

Ronda Rousey on Manny Pacquiao: There is no ‘thou shall not be gay’ in the Bible.

This Week in the Clown Car

As Ben Carson’s Campaign Tanked, Top Advisors Reaped Millions.

Jeb Bush drops out of 2016 presidential campaign.

The scariest thing about Trump’s primary dominance: The GOP still doesn’t understand the monster it created.

While Trump, Frontrunners Double Down on Religious-based Discrimination, Americans Don’t Agree.

Ted Cruz Campaign Finally Admits It Was a ‘Mistake’ To Attend ‘Kill the Gays’ Rally.

Donald Trump: 'I Love the Poorly Educated. We're the Smartest People'.

Rubio: 'You Don’t Win The Nomination By How Many States You Win'.

Ted Cruz Is Holding Up The Senate’s Bipartisan Bill To Address Flint’s Water Crisis.

This week in Other Politics:

Hillary Clinton’s Struggles on Gay Issues Are About Her Honesty, Not Her Transformation.

Translating 8 Most Common Code Words Reveal US Media's Imperial Mindset.

How Will Obama’s Plan to Close Guantánamo Work?

IN A TWIST, GOP-LED NEBRASKA MAY GIVE UP REDISTRICTING POWER.

A 90-Year-Old Iwo Jima Veteran Couldn't Vote in Scott Walker's Wisconsin.

Why we can now declare the end of ‘Christian America’.

This Week in Racism

Roosh V shocked to discover that white supremacist movement is full of white supremacists.

This Week in Police Problems

White men have killed 7 of 8 cops in U.S. this year.

This Week in Misogyny

The price of sympathy with the harasser.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 2/20/2016 – Beloved books.

Convention problems and problematic conventioners.

Problematic conventioners, take two.

Performative badass—fannish or otherwise.

Dumb arguments against legal protections for transgender people, part 5.

Videos!

Fan made trailer for a prequel to Back to the Future, Doc's quest for 1.21 Gigawatts:

Back to the Future Prequel Trailer: 1.21 Gigawatts from Tyler Hopkins on Vimeo.

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Troye Sivan - YOUTH:



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1988:



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Brandon Stansell: Dear John [Official Video]:



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Jeb Bush "GOP DROPOUT" - Song Parody by Randy Rainbow:



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Friday Links (dolt .45 edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. I'm sick. Again. And really tired of it. I'm hoping when I see the doctor today to get some idea for why I keep coming back down with similar stuff again and again. I was sick enough that I just slept all day Wednesday, rather than attempt to get some work done from home.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week. When I was awake and feeling up to reading. Which wasn't as much as usual, so you'll understand why the list is a bit shorter than usual this week.

Link of the Week

The Latter Days of a Better Nation.

This week in Geek

Where the hell did anyone ever get the idea that all socially shunned geeks are male?

The Geek’s Guide to Disability.

And other news:

The horrific crime that shows just how broken our nation’s mental-health system is.

NO, IT’S NOT YOUR OPINION. YOU’RE JUST WRONG.

This week in Privacy

Apple's Tim Cook Forcefully Resists Federal Order to Hack Phone in Terror Case.

This week in History

The First Gay President: 18 Sexual Secrets Of U.S. Presidents. I'm always surprised when people don't know about Buchanan...

This Week in Diversity

The Guardian: I set up a spoof website to joke about the frustrating way we deal with diversity. The response – applicants seriously trying to hire a minority to keep up corporate appearances – proves that we need more than a punchline.

DEAR NON-ASIAN WRITER.

Rainbow Rowell: Some thoughts on bi Simon Snow.

This week in that stupid militia

Oregon Occupier Countersues For $666 Billion, Citing 'Works Of The Devil'.

This week in Evil People

Embattled copyright lawyer uses DMCA to remove article about himself.

News for queers and our allies:

Independent Investigation Debunks The Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Predator" Myth.

Time to fight back.

Father Accidentally Discovers Son Is Gay, Handles It Like A Real Man.

Antigay Group Blunders Protest, Raises Thousands For Queer Teen Gala Instead.

Science!

Astronaut 'Graffiti' Seen For The First Time In Decades.

Evidence mounts for interbreeding bonanza in ancient human species.

The NSA’s SKYNET program may be killing thousands of innocent people.

Elon Musk And Stephen Hawking Are Wrong About Artificial Intelligence.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Science Fiction smackdown: L. Ron Hubbard, the pith helmet-wearing ‘pipsqueak Prometheus’.

Iain Banks: A legacy to treasure.

Every Galaxy Needs More Than Three People of Color.

This week in Writing

Personal Essay: "You Don’t Have to Write Autobiography" by Ken Liu.

ROB HART: HOW TO PUT THE TOILET IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

Culture war news:

Christian Activists To Debate Executing Homosexuals.

SOUTH CAROLINA: 31% Of Trump Supporters Would Support Banning Homosexuals From Entering The USA. And 56% think Islam should be illegal, 32% think the internment of Japanese citizens during WWII was a great idea... et cetera

MANNY PACQUIAO FIRED BY NIKE 'Gay Comments Are Abhorrent'.

Manning: I’ll Barricade Myself in Church to Stop Gay Takeover.

Defaced LGBT Sign Prompts Rally For Acceptance.

This Week in the Clown Car

I studied nearly every word the Texas senator uttered during the immigration showdown. He may be the most spectacular liar ever to run for president.

Fox News Pokes Holes In Marco Rubio's Claim Obama Shouldn't Get To Replace Scalia.

A flailing Jeb Bush brought out the big gun Tuesday to fire up his sinking presidential campaign — and it wasn’t his brother.

John Kasich: Obergefell Is Settled Law And That’s That.

The rise of the Trump Party: Why the Donald’s shocking debate performance could signal the death of the old order.

This week in Other Politics:

How Scalia’s Death Will Change the Supreme Court, America, and the Planet.

Madeleine Albright: My Undiplomatic Moment.

Shed no tears for Antonin Scalia: Let us not praise the man who gave us Citizens United and Bush v Gore.

My Unicorn Problem.

Knockout: Why Obama Wants a Supreme Court Fight and How Republicans Blew It Before It Starts.

This Week in Police Problems

SPD Officer Unwittingly Leaves Dashcam on All Day. We Watched the Whole Thing.

Farewells:

On The Death Of A Brilliant Public Servant. “Most people are wonderfully kind to those they love personally and can see and hug, people who affect their day-to-day lives and self-interest. They care because these people are flesh and blood and real. And they have to deal with them regularly. It’s really in their best interest to be sweethearts. Show me a man who gives a flying heck about people he’ll never meet — the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the lonely — and I’ll feel bad he passed away in his sleep, peacefully, on some fancy hunting trip on a luxury resort.”

Antonin Scalia Was the Greatest Enemy to My Equal Rights.

In 1994 Hunter S. Thompson wrote this utterly brutal and true eulogy for Richard Nixon: He Was a Crook.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 2/12/2016 – Angry white men.

The day about hearts and stuff.

The official name of the holiday is Washington’s Birthday Observance.

Chariots of the Who? – part one.

Chariots of the Who? – part two.

Contagion from space – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

It's cool, it's refreshing, it's Absolutely Fabulous!:



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Marvel's Daredevil - Season 2 - Official Trailer - Part 1 - :



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Sandra Day O’Connor Says Obama Should Name SCOTUS Justice - ‘ Let’s Get On With It ’:



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Why I couldn’t let football keep me in the closet | Shane Wickes | TEDxUniversityofNevada:



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The Prettiots-Boys (I Dated In Highschool):



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Lenny Gerard "Feel Me Now":



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Cyndi Lauper - Heartaches By The Number (LIVE):



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D^YDRE^MERS - Uncool:



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Friday Links (when two black holes love each other very much...)

Thank goodness it's Friday. Real life is not terribly pleasant, right now, though work has been slightly less stressful this week. Maybe it only seemed that way since going to work was a distraction from thinking about the relatives who died last week.

There's a lot of interesting things that happened in the world: the idiot Oregon militia people are all finally in custody; the Ali Forney Center raised more the $200,000 toward their attempt to buy the hate church at the foreclosure auction; the New Hampshire primaries happened and a few more of the hateful idiots running for the Republican nomination have dropped out; and we've finally detected gravitational waves. That last bit is incredibly cool, which is why there are several stories and two videos about it included below. It is yet another thing that Einstein's General Relativity predicted that has turned out to be true (a lot of the headlines are written as if this is the first bit of evidence to prove it--no, it is simply another). It's especially fun that the signal could so easily be turned into a sound we could actually hear. It's kind of amazing to realize that we measure a vibration in the very fabric of the universe, it self, and at least some of the signal was in a frequency that, when transmitter as just air vibrations, was a sound in human audible range.

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

Links of the Week

Gravitational waves detected -- and that's creating waves in science.

And other news:

Introducing Operator: A monospace typeface, a monospace-inspired typeface, and a short film about type design.

Piers Morgan Lectures Me On British Comedy.

This Week in Love Conquers...

LGBT Activists Really Do Plan to Turn a Homophobic Church Gay.

This week in Bi-phobia

The One Thing That (Sadly) Most Women Agree Makes A Man Undateable.

This Week in Diversity

The Cult of Whiteness: On #OscarsSoWhite, Donald Trump, and The End of America.

Progressive. “We’re a progressive site,” the man across the table begins, “And our readership, as with most progressive sites, is mostly men. You’ve focused a lot on women’s issues. Would you be comfortable writing something that men would be able to read?”

ANCESTRY FOR NERDS: HOW I FOUND MY BLERD ROOTS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT.

If Male Characters Were Introduced in Scripts Like Women.

News for queers and our allies:

How the Fight Over Transgender Kids Got a Leading Sex Researcher Fired.

Lady Gaga’s Fabulous, Super Gay Super Bowl National Anthem.

Focus on the Family's LGBTQ Descendants: Executive's Gay Daughter Speaks Out.

In challenging homophobia, gay men have become our own oppressors.

Why do straight-acting men have a problem with femme gays?

Gay men deserve three-dimensional role models, not TV’s stereotypes.

The Original Zoolander Might Seem Homophobic—but It Was Sneakily Ahead of Its Time.

This is an example of a link I include because I think it is interesting, not because I agree with it: Not Queer, Just Gay. No, Thanks.

Let's Talk About People That Aren't Young Cis White Gay Men.

​femme shaming and fighting back against gay-on-gay prejudice.

Science!

Physicists Detect Gravitational Waves, Proving Einstein Right.

Everything you need to know about gravitational waves.

Gravitational Waves Detected 100 Years After Einstein's Prediction.

Science Says It's OK If Your Ten-Finger Touch Typing Is Total Garbage.

70 years ago, six Philly women became the world's first digital computer programmers.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

The Beyond anthology is an excellent showcase of queer sci-fi and fantasy.

Personal Essay: "We Were Always Here" by Mark Oshiro.

GIVE US QUEER HEROES ALREADY.

Deadpool: the pansexual superhero who has never had a non-heterosexual experience.

“Get your girly stuff out of my SF, for SF should be sciency, manly and hard”.

Climate change has transformed science fiction in one major way.

This week in Writing

WRITERS ON WRITING: JEANNE/FAN FICTION.

Pretend You’re Good At It.

Rape Disguised as Romance: A Romance Reader’s Opinion.

Only 40 Self-Published Authors are a Success, says Amazon.

Culture war news:

God is not a prude: This is why religion remains so sex-obsessed, why we pretend Jesus was born of a virgin. "Adulterous televangelists. Contraception-denying pro-lifers. Here's the science behind religion's fear of sex."

NFL BOMBSHELL: New Claims Of Racism, Homophobia, Cheating & Worse Exposed In Tell-All.

Why Didn’t They Talk To You Privately? On “Call Out Culture” and Power Differentials.

A National Attempt To Criminalize Transgender Lives.

Transgender student's use of locker room causes stir at San Diego high school.

The Definition of Insanity: Gay Republicans.

This Week in the Clown Car

Latino A-listers from Carlos Santana to Zoe Saldana slam GOP racism — and not just Trump.

Remember when folks said Ted Cruz's "NY values" wasn't really code for "Jews?" Well, Cruz confirmed that it actually is.

Marco Rubio: I Would Tell Rape Victim 'It's a Terrible Situation but Have the Rapist's Baby Anyway'.

Yet another chump for Trump: The “make rape legal” guy says Trump “comes the closest to what I think is true”.

Among the Jedi Knights of Assholery.

John Kasich's Spiritual Adviser Calls LGBT Activists 'Thought Nazis'.

Ted Cruz and His Shady Campaign Donors Want to Know Every Single Thing About You.

This week in Other Politics:

The Shocking Truth About America's Ethanol Law: It Doesn't Matter (For Now).

What New Hampshire Actually Tells Us.

Ex T-man Geithner cashing in on Wall Street.

Guest Editorial: Young Women Don't Owe Clinton. I'm a feminist of a certain age. I earned degrees in math and computer science before STEM was a term, and I have made my career in technology. During the years when feminism was a dirty word, I used it frequently…

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS 'VOTING WITH YOUR VAGINA'.

Here are 19 ways Bernie Sanders has stood up for civil and minority rights.

The Bernie super delegate panic is based on lazy reporting — here is what’s really going on in the DNC.

This Week in Police Problems

Arizona Police Kill 24-Year-Old Trans Man With Asperger's.

Texas prosecutor officially disbarred for sending innocent man to death row.

This Week in Misogyny

The guys who won’t hear “no”: Movies, masculinity and the toxic myth of the romantic stalker.

Why I Just Dropped The Harassment Charges The Man Who Started GamerGate.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 2/6/2016 – Can love conquer hate?

Powerless, again.

Clickbait, clickbait everywhere, and not a byte to think.

He wants to believe – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

In Memoriam: Campaign 2016 (a tribute to those who have fallen in their quest for the White House - suspended, but not forgotten):



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Icelandic Glacial is #HotAsIce (inspired by a Coca Cola commercial from the 70s, but better):



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Marlon Roudette - New Age (Official Music Video):



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LIGO: The First Observation of Gravitational Waves:



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How LIGO Detected Gravitational Waves:



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OK Go, Upside down & Inside Out (This music video was shot in zero-gee, no wires or green screen):



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Friday Links (dead clown walking edition)

Thank goodness it's Friday. This was yet another crazy week at work for me, and I'm feeling more than a little bit burnt out. On the other hand, we finally had the Iowa caucuses, and a bunch of so-called presidential candidates (many of them doing this just for the increase in book sales and a chance to became a paid commentator on faux news) have dropped out of the race. And the biggest clown took a little bit of a loss.

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

Links of the Week

I learned that my son is gay when I read his college essay.

Ali Forney Center Seeks to Buy “Harlem Hate Church”. Please donate!

This week in History

An Excerpt from Eli Sanders's New Book About the South Park Murder Case and Its Lessons.

This Week in Diversity

The Hollywood Diversity Problem Is Not Black and White, it's also Queer.

“THERE WERE ONLY FOUR WOMEN MAKING A LIVING AT IT”: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BRYNNE CHANDLER.

Shakesville: Cool Reminders & The Validity Prism.

Jim C. Hines on Representation and the Seeds of Possibility.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Winnipeg's Groundhog, Willow, Dies Just Days Before Groundhog Day. A friend who lives in Winnipeg said, "I think that means we live in Narnia, now."

How to Treat the Symptoms of a Rising Reputation: David Hume on the Only Adequate Response to Haters.

News for queers and our allies:

This Transgender Girl Scout Stood Up To A Bully By Selling Thousands Of Cookies.

Gay Veteran Gets Honorable Discharge Six Decades After Getting Kicked Out of Army.

Gus Kenworthy inspires Aspen columnist to come out as gay.

I went back to my old school to say: I’m gay. Tim Ramsey never dared come out at his all-boys grammar while a pupil. Now he’s looking for volunteers to reassure other LGBT teenagers they are not alone.

Mattel reveals Barbie doll of lesbian soccer star Abby Wambach.

Out Native American Denise Juneau Announces Bid For Montana’s Only US House Seat.

Money Pours In to Help LGBT Groups Buy Homophobic Church. Yes, I've posted multiple links to this story this week and today. Please donate!

Science!

China posts hundreds of never-before-seen HD color photos of the moon.
Here's what fruits and vegetables looked like before we domesticated them.

WTF Happened to Golden Rice?

Resting Bitch Face Is Real, Scientists Say (And Here's What It Means).

Scientists have extended the lifespan of mice by up to 35 percent - with no adverse effects.

iPod or LP? Surprising Ways Emerging Adults Think About Religion and Science.

US Experts Say Three-Parent Babies Are Okay—Just No Girls.

Hubble discovers origin of the mysterious Smith Cloud.

Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at The Explorers Club?

Mystery invaders conquered Europe at the end of last ice age.

Video shows only known U.S. jaguar roaming in Arizona.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Marines ask science fiction enthusiasts to describe future threats.

David Bowie's Sci Fi Explorations.

Harley Quinn Nominated for GLAAD Award.

The 17 Most Tear-Jerking Friendships from Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Why Finn is the Most Important Star Wars Character of All-time.

Personal Essay: "Assimilation: The Borg Must Like It When You Don’t Fight Back" by S.L. Huang.

Being nice to each other at conventions is good but doesn't replace need for harassment and accessibility policies.

David J. Peterson argues that Puppy drama is overshadowing a really important issue – the lack of a YA Hugo.

Receptionist Chris Hemsworth is Here for You.

This week in Writing

iPads for writing? The promise and the pain.

The Unopened Wardrobe: Brown Girl Beauty and the Written Word.

Culture war news:

Voter ID Laws Result in Fewer Non-White People Voting and Favor Republicans, Says Study.

Boys Wear Dresses After California High School Refuses to Change Dress Code.

Brian Brown: Ted Cruz’s Iowa Win Means Christians Are On Their Way To Repealing Same-Sex Marriage.

INDIANA: Fake LGB Rights Bill Dies In Senate. The bill leaves out trans people altogether, and is actual just a revamp of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that got the state into trouble last year.

Cowardly Georgia Lawmakers Stage Surprise Hearing To Limit Input On Horrific Anti-Gay Bill.

They’ll always lose the culture wars: The right loves fighting lost causes– but liberals keep winning.

The First Known Trans Woman to Be Murdered in 2016 Keeps Getting Called a Man in the News.

Nice Pastor Will Sell Church To Homos In Exchange For Butt Baby Love Offerings.

This Week in the Clown Car

New York homeless vets group asked Donald Trump for a donation — he sent them a bumper sticker.

Ted Cruz’s Iowa Mailers Are More Fraudulent Than Everyone Thinks. The last mailer listed real private citizens and shamed them for not voting. Except the campaign made the numbers up, because Iowa doesn't make participation records available to the public. More cringeworthy details inside...

Did Ted Cruz Steal From God And If So, Why Is He Blessed? Rafael Cruz Teaches on Tithing. Cruz's pastor father says not tithing is stealing from god. Cruz said the government stole from god when is seized a discriminating business' "tithing account." But Cruz's tax filings show that he donates to church AND other charities a grand total of about 1 percent of his income... not exactly a tithe.

Ted Cruz Apologizes For Lying About Dr. Stabby: It Was A “Mistake” To Tell Voters Carson Is Dropping Out. Warning: Video plays automatically

Chris Christie's new New Hampshire strategy: Gross misogyny and tough-guy posturing.

Ted Cruz, human dog whistle: Evangelicals — those “courageous conservatives” — know exactly what he is talking about.

Jeb Pleads With Supporters After Fiery NH Stump Speech: 'Please Clap' .

Donald Trump and the fantasies of angry, uneducated white men.

Despite Endorsement, Rick Santorum Completely Fails to Identify Even One Rubio Accomplishment.

So Long, Jerks! A Tribute to Huckabee, Santorum, and "Suspended" Campaigns.

Ben Carson slashes staff as funds dry up.

This week in Other Politics:

My party worships lame celebrities: Whether Donald Trump, Ted Nugent or Victoria Jackson, the GOP both denounces and demands famous people.

Bernie’s Army Is Running for Congress.

The Bernie Sanders era is upon us: Why Iowa was a watershed moment for American politics.

Caucus Diaries: A Clinton Volunteer Debriefs After Iowa: Whether you like it or not, Hillary won.

Give a little thought to what a GOP campaign against Bernie Sanders might look like.

What’s wrong with giving farm states the keys to our elections? Everything.

Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice Staffers Also Handled Emails Later Deemed Classified on Private Accounts, Officials Say.

This Week in Misogyny

He Called Her a Slut. He Got Fired.

When I Quit Cutting My Hair, I Learned How Men Treat Women On American Roads.

Farewells:

Maurice White, Earth, Wind & Fire Singer and Co-Founder, Dead at 74.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 1/30/2016 – Making things beautiful edition.

It’s Hugo time, again!

Confessions of a godless (-ish) homo devil.

“This nut thinks he’s a vampire!” – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Parlour Tricks – Broken Hearts / Bones [VIDEO]:



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Miike Snow - Genghis Khan (Official Video):



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Batman v Superman 1966 shot x shot remake #BvSspoof:



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Eleanor Friedberger - He Didn't Mention His Mother (Official Music Video):



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Antoine L Collins - Somewhere Along the Way:



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Antoine L Collins - Somewhere Along the Way:



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