Meanwhile, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.
Links of the Week
THE LARGEST EVER ANALYSIS OF FILM DIALOG BY GENDER: 2,000 SCRIPTS, 25,000 ACTORS, 4 MILLION LINES. It’s not just data, it has amazing interactive graphs.
I’m on the Kill List. This is what it feels like to be hunted by drones.
And other news:
Gay Air France cabin crew object to Iran flights over death penalty fears.
This week in History
The ugly truth about Confederate memorials.
Make the Confederacy’s Defeat a National Holiday.
This Week in Tech
A farm in Kansas receives non-stop threats and harassment because of mapping glitch.
THE SECRET RULES OF THE INTERNET – The murky history of moderation.
The dark side of Guardian comments.
This Week in Diversity
Writing Women Characters Into Epic Fantasy Without Quotas.
The Triumphant Return of Archie Comics’ Gay Character.
Adam Lambert: Music execs are still ‘scared’ of gay men singing about male lovers.
Why I Came Out As A Gay Children’s Book Author.
‘Anyone Can Die?’ TV’s Recent Death Toll Says Otherwise.
How African writers are taking LGBT issues mainstream.
Superheroes Get Progressive With LGBTQ Superteam THE PRIDE.
This Week in Not Understanding Diversity
Bridal Party Problems: How Bachelorettes Are Ruining Gay Nightlife.
This week in Difficult to Classify
I’m an American living in Sweden. Here’s why I came to embrace the higher taxes.
The dark side of Guardian comments.
News for queers and our allies:
MSNBC Posts Report On Harlem Hate Church’s Coming Bankruptcy Hearing & Ali Forney Center.
LGBTQ advocates need to get over their championship hangover.
Reimagining an Uncle’s Secret Transgender Life in the 1950s .
Transgender teenage ballplayer at Santa Monica prep school spreads message of hope and acceptance.
Trans Kids Can Be Happy Kids, With Support.
Appreciating and lamenting the influence of a porn king – How Chuck Holmes Engineered Gay Beauty.
How to debunk the religious right’s transgender scare tactics.
Reclaiming The Queer Dance Floor.
I Didn’t Know I Was Transgender.
Science!
US Homeland Security Returns Rare Dinosaur Fossils To Mongolia.
The Science of Why You Do Your Best Thinking While Walking.
Birds on Islands Are Losing the Ability to Fly.
Billionaire Yuri Milner And Stephen Hawking Team Up To Send Nanospaceships To Alpha Centauri.
Scientists Have Published a New Tree of Life.
This Optical Illusion Will Break Your Brain.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL STOP SCREAMING IN ALL CAPS.
New Hypervelocity Binary Star Challenges Dark Matter, Stellar Acceleration Models.
The Brazil Nut Effect Is More Complicated Than You Think.
Oil Industry’s Suppression of Climate Science Began in 1940s, Documents Reveal.
For the first time ever, a human with paralysis can move his hand again.
How a Sense of Purpose Adds Years to Your Life, According to Scientists.
The Surprising Science Behind Blue Balls (And Blue Vulvas).
A swarm of thousands of crabs headed in the same direction in the Pacific is baffling scientists.
Humans Can Still Do One Thing Better Than AI.
Robots, apps and chickens: The 2016 White House science fair.
What a young scientist found when he started researching a famous ‘boiling river’ in Peru.
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!
Stephanie Burgis on Finding the Fantasy in History.
Women in SF&F Month: Elizabeth Bonesteel.
Five SF/F Books With Asexual Protagonists.
Culture war news:
Federal Appeals Court Confirms Gay Marriage Is Legal in Puerto Rico Despite Judge’s Ruling.
Tennessee Legislature Resurrects Discriminatory Transgender Bathroom Bill.
A Bunch Of People Dressed As Angels To Protect Teens At An LGBT Dance.
Pope Francis Quashes “Who am I to judge?” Speculation in Amoris Laetitia.
Lesbian teen asked to prove gender, ejected from McDonald’s for using women’s toilet.
Pope Francis: It’s aggressive narcissism to teach kids about safe sex and protection.
Can LGBTQ people ever forgive Christian evangelicals for their sins?
Porn Site Bans North Carolina Users Due To State’s Anti-LGBT Laws.
Planned Parenthood shooter admired abortion foe who killed Fla. doctor.
Tenn. AG: Anti-Trans Bill Will ‘Almost Certainly’ Cost State Millions.
Cosponsor of Tenn. Transphobic Bill Accused of Sexual Harassment.
NC Guv Issues Executive Order That Doesn’t Change Anti-gay Law One Bit.
A Trojan horse of hate: North Carolina’s new bill is a “hostile takeover of human rights”.
Corporations Criticize N.C. LGBT Law — But Aren’t Dropping Donations To GOP Governors Group.
A researcher explains how racial resentment drives opposition to gun control.
Boycotts and responses to one particular front in the Culture War:
Cyndi Lauper To Donate All Profits From Raleigh Concert To Equality North Carolina.
Bipartisan group of U.S. Senators urge NBA to move ’17 All-Star Game.
Why Should My Store Be Boycotted Over a Law I Despise?
Forget the boycott: This is how we teach North Carolina and Mississippi a lesson.
I sympathise, but I think this is spot on: Boycotts Are Supposed to Hurt.
This Week in the Clown Car
Ted Cruz’s 3 Biggest Donors Reveal Just How Creepy He Really Is.
The Time Ted Cruz Defended a Ban on Dildos.
Zombie nominee: These new Trump poll numbers are hideously, unbelievably awful.
John Kasich Supports ‘Moving On’ From Gay Marriage Debate.
Ted Cruz: Immigrant-Loving Socialist NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Will Be Finished Once I’m President.
This week in Other Politics:
Hillary Clinton rakes in Verizon cash while Bernie Sanders supports company’s striking workers.
Farewells:
The readings that helped make Open Books.
Things I wrote:
Another anti-gay politician caught molesting children.
Confessions of a technology addict.
A Day of Pink and the Stupidity of the Transgender Bathroom Argument.
Videos!
Bob Mould – Hold On (Official Music Video):
(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)
Marvel’s Doctor Strange Teaser Trailer:
(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)
Font Folly 