Welcome to the fifth Friday of October! Halloween is only a few days away!

It’s been rainy and cool all week. We had a windstorm in the wee small hours of Thursday and the power went out just a few minutes before the time my alarm usually goes off. I guess autumn finally is here!

I’ve spent a log of time this week watching videos of various people interviewing Leslie Jordan. I’ve started a blog post a couple of times about my feelings over his death. I mean, I was also a sissy boy growing up in Southern Baptist churches, so we had a lot common. I need to finish and post that.

Let’s move on to this week’s Friday Five, okay? This week I bring you: a story that needs it’s own category about being comfortable in your own skin, the top five stories of the week you may not have seen because of everything else, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, and five stories about deplorable people (plus some notable obituaries).

This Week in a Light in the Darkness:

Leslie Jordan’s Powerful Contentment and Happiness

Stories of the Week:

As Ukraine war drags into ninth month, Russia’s woes worsen – In week 35 of the war, Russia was on the defensive as Ukrainian morale remained high

U.S. GDP accelerated at 2.6% pace in Q3, better than expected as economic growth turns positive

Pool boy reveals how Trump fixer secured endorsement by getting Falwell Jr out of blackmail jam

SFF’s Big Fat Problem

Exclusive: Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show

Stories of Interest to Queers and Our Allies:

GOP national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is a brazen attack on LGBTQ existence

Can we please invite Val Demings to every Pride celebration from here on out?

Marriage Equality Now Legal Across All of Mexico

All 50 States Have Seen LGBTQ+ Candidates in 2022, Says Advocacy Group

Local School Board OKs Pride Flag in Classroom

This Week in the Liars, Grifters, Killers, and Other Deplorables:

Darrell Brooks found guilty on all 76 counts in Waukesha Christmas Parade murders, ending weekslong trial

Three men are convicted of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Epoch Times Loses Defamation Lawsuit About ‘Substantially True’ Reporting on Co-Founder’s Jan. 6th Conspiracy Theories

Fox Corp. Chief Legal Counsel Viet Dinh Failed to Properly Register with California Bar

Here’s what changed in Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘2,000 Mules’ book after it was recalled

In Memoriam:

Jules Bass, known for work on ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and other holiday specials, dies

Leslie Jordan Dead: Will & Grace, American Horror Story Star Was 67

Leslie Jordan, Iconic Gay Comedian, Dead at 67 – The beloved actor known for his roles on Will & Grace and American Horror Story died after a car accident

I’ll always remember Leslie Jordan as Brother Boy, a Tammy Wynette-loving drag queen – Jordan’s role as Brother Boy, a drag queen who talks to the ghost Tammy Wynette encapsulates everything that is beautiful and brilliant about his talent as an actor. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking