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
This Week in Diversity
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
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!
Snow leopards rebounding in Afghanistan amid concerns the species are verge of extinction.
Drug engineered from bananas shows promise in fighting deadly viruses.
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.
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.
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.
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”
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.
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.
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.
‘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:
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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Font Folly 