It’s Friday! Nearly the end of May. In the U.S., we’re on the brink of Memorial Day weekend… which snuck up on me because time feels like a fog.

It’s been drizzly and cool this week. Most of my flowers are wildly blooming, and there have been lots of bees flitting from flower to flower. I just wish work wasn’t so freakishly busy that I could take a few more breaks during the day to enjoy it. On the other hand, I’m really glad I still have a job. So…

Meanwhile, 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 the pandemic, five stories about deplorable people, and five videos (plus notable obituaries and some things I wrote).

Stories of the Week:

Jane Roe Confesses Anti-Abortion Conversion ‘All an Act’ Paid for by the Christian Right.

Exclusive First Look at New Photograph of Blues Legend Robert Johnson.

This Alaskan man is making a 14-hour boat trip to Costco every week to supply his entire city with groceries amid the pandemic.

Scientists Might’ve Found the Most Dangerous Place in Earth’s History.

My faith instructs me to stand up for LGBTQ neighbors.

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

What happened to the gay sex scenes in ‘God’s Own Country’?!

SCOTUS, Incl. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, OK Trans Prisoner’s Surgery.

Johnson & Johnson pledges to pay repair costs for Pulse memorial defaced by white supremacists.

For gay triathlete, sport helped him get sober and saved his life.

The ‘gender critical’ feminist movement is a cult that grooms, controls and abuses, according to a lesbian who managed to escape. Uh, I thought we all already knew this?

This Week in the Pandemic:

‘Straight-Up Fire’ in His Veins: Teen Battles New Coronavirus Syndrome .

‘Clear, uniform, national’ coronavirus guidelines needed for U.S. air travel, Sen. Cantwell says .

The coronavirus is infecting and killing black Americans at an alarmingly high rate.

Unpacking The Mask Debate.

Catholic church in Houston closes again after 3 priests test positive for COVID-19.

This Week in Deplorables:

Inside Trump’s coronavirus meltdown – What went wrong in the president’s first real crisis — and what does it mean for the US?

US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests.

McConnell admits he was lying when he said Obama administration failed to leave a pandemic playbook .

Haters Petition PBS To Cancel LGBT Pride Series: It’s An “Attack On Christianity And God’s Design For Sexuality”.

Arizona attorney general “actively pursuing” right-wing troll Jacob Wohl.

In Memoriam:

Annie Glenn, speech disorder advocate and wife of John Glenn, dies of coronavirus complications at 100.

White House Butler For 11 Presidents Dies Of COVID At Age 91.

Fred Willard, ‘Best in Show’ and ‘A Mighty Wind’ Actor, Dead at 86 – Prolific comic actor and master of mockumentaries starred in Modern Family and Everybody Loves Raymond alongside Waiting for Guffman and This Is Spinal Tap.

Ken Osmond, Eddie Haskell on ‘Leave It to Beaver,’ dies at 76.

Lynn Shelton, the Brightest Talent in the Seattle Filmmaking Universe, Has Died at 54.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/16/2020: This is not about freedom.

Tuesday Tidbits 5/19/2020: That’s not faith, that’s stupidity.

Adventures in feeding the birds and squirrels… and some blogging weirdness.

Videos!

Pioneering Gay Newsman Randy Price Chokes Up As He Signs Off After 38 Years:

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Trump Says He’s Taking Hydroxychloroquine: A Closer Look:

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It’s Time to go BACK TO THE FUTURE! | Reunited Apart with Josh Gad:

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The Miracle Sudoku:

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Amazing – Space Rocket built with 1 Million Matches Really Flies – Match Chain Reaction:

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