And here we are at the second Friday of July!

In the post I published on Wednesday I commented upon the fact that I have been doing virtually no blogging for months other than Friday Five. And I plan to continue to publish the weekly Friday Five. But I have to admit that we are all living in what more and more appears to be the absolute worst timeline, and looking back on what categories have been appearing again and again in the Friday Five these last several months makes me feel as if all I’m doing is contributing to everyone else’s Doom Scrolling.

I know I can’t prevent Doom Scrolling. And I’m not going to try to limit myself only to feel-good stories (for various reasons that I ought to write a real blog post about). What I’m going to do this week, at least, is limit further the numer of links posted.

Anyway, it’s time for the Friday Five in which I bring you: the top five stories of the week, a link to the other post I made this week, and two notable obituary.

Stories of the Week:

This couldn’t happen anywhere: How coverage of the shooting failed Highland Park – Mass shootings are seemingly disparate, but almost all mass shooters are motivated by bigoted extremism that festers online

Meet Meraxes Giga, a Ferocious Dinosaur With Teeny Arms Like T. Rex

The Myth of ‘I’m Bad at Math’

Wonder Woman stands up for trans people in wake of Bette Midler’s & Macy Gray’s attacks

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill ending “walking while trans” law

In Memoriam:

The Godfather star James Caan dies aged 82

Joe Turkel Dead: The Shining Bartender, Tyrell in Blade Runner Was 94

Things I Wrote:

Midweek Update: Gullibility at its worst?