It is the second Friday of September. Which is significant because Septemer is the month when superior babies are born.

I thought that the significant change in the weather last weekend had kicked up a new round of hay fever—plants throwing out more pollen cause they’re soaking up all the water, and so forth. So when I felt more tired and braindead at the end of my workday Monday, I just attributed it to that. Tuesday it was clear that my sinuses had something else going wrong. Wednesday morning I had a soe throat and my voice kept giving out. More symptoms piled on over the course of the day, including a cough that became the Cough of Doom™ during the night. Which meant I didn’t sleep well. And when I did drag myself out of bed my congestion was much worse and my whole body ached. So I took a partial sick day and worked from home again.

Anyway, welcome to the Friday Five. This week I bring you: the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about deplorable people, and five videos (plus things I wrote and notable obituaries).

Stories of the Week:

How Bullwinkle Taught Kids Sophisticated Political Satire.

Seattle man reunited with beloved bulldog that was stolen from him.

‘We’re told to be grateful we even have readers’: pirated ebooks threaten the future of book series.

Gender and the Hugo Awards, by the Numbers.

Tina Turner Is Having the Time of Her Life .

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

Homophobic hate crime charges fall despite soaring reports.

Elizabeth Warren Vows To Fight For LGBTQ Equality In Surprise DragCon Video – The 2020 presidential candidate’s virtual “appearance” also drew attention to violence against transgender people.

Edmund White to receive honorary National Book Award – White, 79, is among the most influential gay writers of his time, known for works such as “A Boy’s Own Story” and “The Beautiful Room is Empty” and for helping to create the market for openly gay literature.

Gay Maryland Couple Sues State Department for Denying Citizenship to ‘Out-of-Wedlock’ Daughter.

The sensational Candlestick Murder trial of 1958 struck fear in Charleston’s gay community .

This Week in Science:

1.7-Million-Year-Old Rhino Tooth Provides Oldest DNA Data Ever Studied.

Astronomers just found an interstellar comet, the second visitor of its kind ever detected.

Moon rocks could help reveal how life evolved on Earth – and may enable us to resurrect extinct species.

Lovers of Modena skeletons holding hands were both men.

The day the dinosaurs’ world fell apart.

This Week in Homophobes and Other Deplorables:

Mike Pence To Meet With Anti-LGBT Group Days After White House Claimed He Can’t Possibly Be Anti-LGBT.

Teachers, Students Leave High School After Official Email Requires Them to Disavow Same-Sex Relationships.

On Tuesday, Jerry Falwell, Jr. learned the definition of the word ‘receipts’ . . . the hard way.

In Defending Falwell, Liberty U Approvingly Tweets Link to Column Calling Him ‘A Greedy Hypocrite’ .

Broke Homocon Milo “Can’t Put Food On The Table”.

In Memoriam:

Meredythe Glass, Mercer Island resident who was in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ dies at 98.

Things I wrote:

Here comes the rain again… and I couldn’t be happier!

The Dark Domain, or a queer ex-evangelical looks at an agent of intolerance and his scandalous heirs.

Serious topic: and one I still can’t write about.

Videos!

Dion Diamond remembers the risks he took as a young civil rights activist:

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Trump Faces Scrutiny Over Personal Properties, Hurricane Lies:

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“Jerry Falwell’s God” by Roy Zimmerman:

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Ben Platt – RAIN [Official Video]:

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Pet Shop Boys (feat. Years & Years) – Dreamland (Official lyric video):

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