It’s Friday! The second Friday in August. Tonight is the first pre-season game for my beloved Seahawks, playing against the team I grew up rooting for because of where I lived, the Denver Broncos. Which means that mostly it will be all the rookies on both sides, because neither coach wants to risk the star players getting injured in what is merely an exhibition game. But it’s the first time seeing them play, so I’ll be watching!

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

Adorable Orphaned Kangaroo Hugs Teddy Bear In Viral Photo. We Can’t Make This Stuff Up.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Cartoon: Why Facebook is a Doughnut Stealing Mobster That I Hate Hate Hate. Thanks to ChasPAMelville for sharing.

Columbia House, the Spotify of the ’80s, is dead.

The lawn’s gotta go: Nostalgia and drought just don’t mix.

Why I Am Backing Away from Creative Commons.

That’s Not How Dicks Work: On Not Gay and “Straight” Men Who Have Gay Sex.

This week in Heart-wrenching

The girls who weren’t saved: Haunted by the 40-year-old Lyon Sisters kidnapping, a writer wonders why the biggest clue went unexamined.

Science!

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Offers a New View of Killer Whales.

Largest Great White Shark Ever Filmed Puts ‘Jaws’ to Shame: VIDEO.

Venomous frogs discovered during painful scientific mishap: Frogs head-butt enemies with their spines to inject toxic venom.

First Galaxies Cleared Young Universe of Cosmic Fog.

Russian doll disease is a virus inside a parasite inside a fly.

Oldest Human DNA Reveals Mysterious Branch of Humanity.

“Protosuns Found Teeming with Prebiotic Molecules” –The Precursors to Life.

Pulsar Proves Gravitational Constant is ‘Rock-Solid.’

Medieval Sword Carries Mysterious Inscription.

Attack on the pentagon results in discovery of new mathematical tile.

The Physics of Butterfly Wings.

Watching the Numbers Flow on This Ferrofluid Clock Is Almost Therapeutic.

Los Angeles Just Found an Awesome Way to Fight the Drought. It Involves Balls. Here Is a Video.

15th-Century “Sea Monster” Lifted from Baltic Sea.

The End of the Universe: A (Slightly Premature) Lament. “A trillion years, tops”

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Seven Atheist Arguments For The Existence of God.

The Victorian Hugos: 1893 Was to Books What 1977 Was to Movies. I had no idea that Jess Nevins was doing a regular column at io9 awarding honorary Hugo awards to works of the Victorian Era.

Uncanny Magazine: Writing Queerly: Three Snapshots.

Culture war news:

The KKK issues plea for members to kill gay people.

This browser hack reveals the truth about “political correctness”.

BLM Activist Who Shut Down Sanders is Radical Christian, Sarah Palin Supporter.

The Reverend Dan Erickson explains why I shouldn’t be an atheist.

Austerity Kills: The Sad, Sick Truth About Right-Wing Economics’ Body Count.

Study Reveals The True Scope Of Voter Disenfranchisement In Texas.

Republicans Bleeding From Their Everywheres, And It Is Awesome.

Other Families’ Values.

Pat Robertson: Christians Can Ignore the Book of Leviticus (but the Anti-Gay Parts Still Apply).

This Week in the Clown Car

Donald Trump Is Winning The Polls — And Losing The Nomination.

Why Donald Trump Isn’t Going Away.

Fox Stacked The Deck For Walker In Debate, Walker Still Lost.

Ted Cruz Pledges Support For Constitutional Amendment Banning Birth Control.

The real lesson of Donald Trump’s support for Planned Parenthood: The GOP primary has stopped making sense entirely.

Inside the GOP Clown Car: On the campaign trail in Iowa, Donald Trump’s antics have forced the other candidates to get crazy or go home.

This week in Other Politics:

In U.S., 65% Favor Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants.

Thanks, Obamacare: America’s Uninsured Rate Is Below 10% For First Time Ever.

Poll: Bernie Sanders surges ahead of Hillary Clinton in N.H., 44-37.

Sanders Shamelessly Pandering to Voters Who Want to Hear Truth.

This Week in Racism

A year after Michael Brown’s fatal shooting, unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire.

Dear White America: I know it’s hard, but you have to acknowledge what’s happening in this country.

This Week in Sexism

Young Adult publishing and the John Green effect.

The Real Real Genius: Thirty years ago, I helped inspire the lead female character in the classic nerd movie. I finally understand why some critics disliked its portrayal of women.. I was just talking about Liralen Li with friends the other day!

CBC reporter Megan Batchelor ‘rattled’ by unwanted kiss from man on live TV.

News for queers and our allies:

Linda Harvey: LGBT Rights Will ‘Wipe Out Free Speech’ And ‘Obliterate’ Christianity.

Kentucky high school removes gay basketball player from yearbook page.

Eddie Redmayne: An Education.

It’s Okay to Be Gay, So Long As You’re White.

What Gay Men Should Do Next.

The obligatory Sad Puppies update:

and here we go a’SWATing.

David Gerrold on Lou Antonelli’s Apology.

A Statement about Lou Antonelli, Lakeside Circus, Harassment and Safety.

Dreaming About Other Worlds: Author – Antonelli, Lou.

Pattern Matching: Lou Antonelli and the Sad Puppies.

Things I wrote:

Getting to know y/o/u/ me.

Sunday Funnies, part 14.

Please don’t ask me to applaud mighty whitey.

Doesn’t my artistic license cover that?

Bigotry isn’t a bug or a put-on in the rightwing base.

Thinking Machines and Thoughtless People: more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

How To Fix Trolling:

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Eric Alán – My Favorite Sin (Official Video):

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Sex Education (HBO):

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Disclosure – Omen ft. Sam Smith:

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The Young Professionals – S.O.S (ABBA Cover):

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Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach (lyrics NSFW):

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