It’s Friday! The first Friday in March. Already! I should be more excited, but I’ve been sick all week and while I’m hopeful that the antibiotics will get rid of this cough sometime soon, I’m just too tired to be enthusiastic about anything.

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Congressman Aaron Schock Spending Tax Moneys On Hot Male Personal Photographer. Totally Normal. Sexy, young personal photographer paid fulltime on taxpayer dime, travels with congressman everywhere, gets photographed standing beside him just the way a spouse would everywhere (wait! the photographer is IN the pictures?)… right. Totally normal!

A letter to my son Jacob on his 5th birthday.

The first ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave.

California High School Elects Trans Homecoming Princess, Gay King.

The Architect Who Wants to Redesign Being Dead: What if We Composted Our Bodies Instead of Burying or Cremating Them? The Revolutionary Idea Behind the Urban Death Project.

A Few Words on Russell Tovey and Why If It Weren’t for My Father, I Wouldn’t Be a Faggot. “…pity can be progress’ worst enemy and excusing thinking like his — or accepting the idea that it’s just his “truth” — leaves us exactly where we started: in a world where being a faggot is akin to a death sentence.”

Otter Pup Separated from His Family Finds a New Home. So many cute pictures!

Texas high school basketball team displays incredible sportsmanship. You’ll need a Kleenex.

How Lab Rats Are Changing Our View of Obesity.

Grand tree of life study shows a clock-like trend in new species emergence and diversity.

Christian Lawyer Proposes Bill in California to Execute Gay People With Bullets to the Head. Initiative specifies that “if the law is not enforced (once the bill is passed), citizens should be able to assassinate gay people outside of the law and not have to face charges from the state.”

Arkansas horror story: Republican lawmaker gave up adopted 6-year-old to man who then raped her.

Let’s Meet Justin Harris, The Arkansas House’s Godly Child-Abandoner.

You Don’t Own Me – The First Wives Club:

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Broken Social Scene – I’m Still Your Fag:

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Hercules & Love Affair ft. John Grant — I Try To Talk To You (Official Video):

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TED Talk – If the monster wants you, it’s going to get you – How I’m preparing to get Alzheimer’s:

https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/alanna_shaikh_how_i_m_preparing_to_get_alzheimer_s.html

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Blade Runner Meets Metal:

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History of Duets with Kelly Clarkson:

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Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron – Trailer 3:

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Guy Sebastian – Like a Drum:

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It’s the final Friday in February, can you believe it?

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

I Didn’t Kill Benjamin Ng, But Maybe I Should Have. One ex-undercover copy tells about his brush with Seattle’s notorious Wah Me Massacre.

August Washington Post Columnist Would Like A Little F*cking Decorum Please.

The War for the Soul of Geek Culture.

“Get Over It!” How not to respond to critics of 50 Shades of Grey. “It doesn’t matter that it’s “just fiction.” Before Jaws hit theaters in 1975, great white sharks weren’t the villains we now believe them to be. But when the movie–which was purely fiction–became a blockbuster, it directly caused humans to seek out and kill sharks, causing widespread population drops in shark species across the board. The influence of that piece of fiction (coincidentally also based on a novel) even coined its own name: The Jaws Effect.”

Saying Goodbye to the Baby Years.

How to Write About Characters Who Are Smarter Than You.

The Real Problem With Bread (It’s Probably Not Gluten) One wheat scientist has a compelling theory.

ALis Franklin: Fat Chicks in SFF. “I knew, at the tender age of thirteen, that I would never be a hero because I was a girl, and I was fat.”

The Epidemic of Facelessness. I have a fundamental disagreement with the article: I don’t believe most of those who threaten (as opposed to just say insulting things when they disagree) are genuinely surprised that anyone took them seriously. They are genuinely surprised that it had real world consequences. Two distinctly different situations,

The Last of the Typewriter Men: A dynasty of repairmen is keeping the world’s typewriters from going obsolete.

“Close Encounter!” –The Rogue Star That Passed Through Our Solar System.

Ancient Mural Portrays Ordinary Mayans.

Critically Endangered Plant with Brilliant Purple Flowers Discovered in Hawaii.

The Strange Magnetic Bubbles At The Edge Of The Solar System.

John Legend: more black men are in correctional control now than were enslaved in 1850.

Gay unions getting nod in voting by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Scott Lively Warns That SCOTUS Could Unleash The Antichrist By September 2015.

The Press Is Reporting Embarrassing News About Republicans And It’s So Not Fair!

The Rhodes scholarship wasn’t designed for my people — that’s why I had to win.

We must offend religion more: Islam, Christianity and our tolerance for ancient myths, harmful ideas.

I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year.

The Walking Dead’s Gay Kiss Ignites Controversy Online.

“Giuliani is a Kardashian now”: Martin Short’s blistering “Nightly Show” takedown.

The Murky Gay Politics Surrounding the ‘Stay Weird’ Oscars Speech.

Just let them kiss already: Why are TV shows so weird about male relationships?

Why Arkansas Needs To Take Graham Moore’s Advice and Stay Weird.

Old foe of gay rights rises against ‘religious liberty’ ploy to legalize gay discrimination.

Twink: The Other T-Slur.

How To Talk To Girls On Twitter Without Coming Off Like A Creepy Rando.

Benjamin Netanyahu Has Been Lying to Americans For 20 Years.

Marco Rubio’s Obamacare Alternative Signs Up 42 Whole People.

Kansas GOP Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook Wants To Criminalize “Harmful” Books.

NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RESPONSE TO GAY MARRIAGE RULINGS IS APPROVED.

There is only one day left to nominate works for the Ursa Major Awards. It just so happens a story of mine published last year qualifies, The Luminous Pearl. You can read it at the link. If you like it, please consider enrolling at the Ursa Major site and nominating it in the short fiction category.

Much more recently I wrote about Literary digressions and how I accidentally wrote a book one night.

I also wrote about Pulling the trigger (warning), things that come

From the roots, and worried about how whether I had Outgrown a favorite author from my childhood.

Could There Be Another Planet Behind the Sun?:

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A homeless dog living in a trash pile gets rescued, and then does something amazing! Please share. (I’m still crying):

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Who Is Fancy: Goodbye:

http://cache.vevo.com/assets/html/embed.html?video=USUV71500243&autoplay=0

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Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

A Transgender 9-Year-Old’s Mom Made A Touching Video To Explain His Transition.

A gay dad’s letter to Austin Wallis, and the high school that rejected him.

Sculpting Human Evolution – Elisabeth Daynès.

What ISIS Really Wants: The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it.

Fox News Compares ISIS Extremism To The Confederacy.

When space expanded faster-than-light.

Why Rand Paul’s Biology Degree Claim Matters.

You Can’t Take Back What You Already Have.

Why Does Everything In The Universe Spin?.

Human Neural Stem Cells Restore Cognitive Functions Impaired by Chemotherapy.

New Horizons Now Close Enough to See Pluto’s Smaller Moons.

‘Glee’ Features 200-Person Transgender Choir (VIDEO).

How I Found Myself on Friday Night’s Episode of Glee – the Experience.

Aaron Schock’s ‘Flamboyant,’ ‘Racy,’ ‘Ripped Ab Muscles’ ‘Lifestyle’.

How My Dad Became a Queer Black Feminist.

GOP prez contender see no marriage, hear no marriage.

Lenovo caught installing adware on new computers. It’s actually much worse than just adware…

Breaking: Massive Backlash from Parents and Students in Oklahoma After State’s Attempt to Ban AP History.

Seattle Police Union President to Cops: Get With the Times or Get Out of This City.

A More Realistic Version of the Law & Order: SVU Episode “Intimidation Game”.

COPS: MOM PUNCHED SON IN FACE FOR BEING GAY, ‘TOO FEMININE’.

One name, two name, real name, true name.

Storytelling should not be preaching.

Heron Surfing Kruger Style – on the back of a Hippo!:

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Solomon Georgio Stand-Up 02/10/15 – CONAN on TBS:

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Unlock Your Heart – Kenyth Mogan (Official Music Video):

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Nala the 5-year-old Norwegian Forest/Maine Coon cat from Norway loves going outside and playing in snow. She especially loves playing catch with it. Her humans put together this compilation of her snow obsession and included a few clips of her other adorable antics.:

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Rachel Maddow: ELVIS ‘Leaves the GOP’ in Mississippi! WHY?:

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Misconceptions from Television – mental_floss on YouTube (Ep. 14):

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Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Recovering The Doves Type: In 1916, the Doves Type was seemingly lost forever after it was thrown into the River Thames.

Some more details here: STOP PRESS! ORIGINAL METAL DOVES TYPE SALVAGED FROM THE THAMES, NOVEMBER 2014. READ MORE HERE.

Sea Slug Uses Gene from Algae to Live Like a Plant.

For gifted children, being intelligent can have dark implications.

Samsung Is Doing a Great Job Showing Us How Terrible Smart TVs Can Be.

Study: ‘SO THE OPPOSITE OF ADDICTION IS NOT SOBRIETY. IT IS HUMAN CONNECTION.’

THE RISE—YES, RISE—OF RADIOSHACK.

Typeface Mechanics: 001.

No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning.

Just What Are Those White Spots On Ceres?

Forgotten Moon Camera Found Tucked Away in Neil Armstrong’s Closet.

Holy Shit, I Interviewed the President: Bethany Mota, Glozell Green, and I got an opportunity that a lot of people don’t think we deserved. “There is nothing actually legitimate about Fox News (or MSNBC for that matter) and young people know this.”

#QuestionsForMen shows guys what sexism is.

Police: Family plots to teach child a lesson with fake kidnapping.

MLK’s Mother Was Assassinated, Too: The Forgotten Women Of Black History Month.

Utah Puts Science Standards On Hold, Demands More Local Control Of Reality.

It’s Time To Face The Truth That Republicans Are Traitors.

When America behaved like ISIS: Jesse Washington and the Bible Belt’s dark history of public lynchings.

Same-Sex Marriages Proceed in Parts of Alabama, Amid Judicial Chaos.

ALABAMA MAN EMBROILED IN LAWSUIT AGAINST MOTHER-IN-LAW NOW LISTED AS SPOUSE ON DECEASED HUSBAND’S DEATH CERTIFICATE.

ANTI-GAY BIGOTS SAY FIGHT TO REPEAL LGBT PROTECTIONS IN HOUSTON IS ‘DAVID VS. GOLIATH’ BATTLE.

A Culture of Violent Entitlement, and the Culture of Silence Surrounding It.

No, Ken Ham, Atheists Are Not Spreading Misinformation About Your Noah’s Ark Theme Park.

“I Don’t Know What You Mean by ‘Healing’ ” A new documentary shows that the loss of Matthew Shepard will be with his family and friends forever.

Alabama Loses Yet Another Fight to Remain in Eighteenth Century.

Why Race Is Dominating Discussion Among LGBT Activists.

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Homophobic slurs written on woman’s body in Tacoma hate crime attack.

Montana GOP Legislator Wants to Ban Yoga Pants.

The gay version of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue.

Christian schools scapegoat LGBT youth and it’s time it stops.

Significant Ruling Against Conversion Therapy. ‘it “is a misrepresentation in violation of [New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act], in advertising or selling conversion therapy services, to describe homosexuality, not as being a normal variation of human sexuality, but as being a mental illness, disease, disorder, or equivalent…”‘

Jeffress: Gay Marriage Sign of the Last Days.

Mississippi KKK ‘salutes’ Alabama chief justice Roy Moore for gay marriage stance.

Federal Judge Orders Mobile County Official To Stop Denying Same-Sex Marriage Licenses.

I wrote about my Four Childhood Crushes.

And I remember… lots of things about my wonderful husband.

Rabbi Responds To Huckabee’s Ridiculous ‘Bacon Wrapped Shrimp’ Comments .

The Daily Show Tackles Gay Rights in Kansas and Alabama: ‘There’s No Place Like Homophobia’.

Sergei Polunin’s (“ballet’s bad boy”) improvised dance to “Take Me To Church” by Hozier:

Sergei Polunin, "Take Me to Church" by Hozier, Directed by David LaChapelle from David LaChapelle Studio on Vimeo.

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Hot Chip – Huarache Lights (Official Video):

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Chris Cuomo Battles Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in Epic 25 Minute Interview on Gay Marriage:

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Madonna – LFL:

Madonna – LFL from Benjamina Falcon on Vimeo.

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Kiesza – Take Me To Church (Hozier Cover):

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January has come and gone. Here we are, at the first Friday in the marvelous month of February. It was a heartbreaking Superbowl, but the possibility of loss is what makes the game exciting. Looking forward to next season!

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Bishop Gene Robinson: Dear Mormons: Thanks But No Thanks.

How the Mormon Church Leaders Punked the Press.

“If you were a kid in 1964 and you had a TV, chances are, you wanted to be Jonny Quest.” Over two hours long, but a very well made documentary about how the Jonny Quest series came to be (along the way, explaining how animation, which had been thought to be too expensive for television, was used to make prime time hits). This link is for part 1 of 3.

Jonny Quest Documentary part 2 of 3.

Jonny Quest Documentary part 3 of 3.

How an Internet trolling victim bonded with her worst troll. I love Lindy West…

Mike Huckabee Is Literally a Con Artist.

Have You Ever Tried a $58 Bottle of Beer? We Went to Stout and Did It For You (with Photos).

Harper Lee Promises A New Novel—Or Does She?

Missing transgender teen found; runaway knew about search.

Creationist Ark Museum Suing To Practice Religious Discrimination At Taxpayer Expense.

Civilities: If my husband is pro-LGBT but indulges his Chick-fil-A cravings, is he waffling?

Survivors of 1980s AIDS crisis reveal what happened to them.

The story of the bronze riders that might have been made by Michelangelo.

The Gay Gene Won’t Save Us.

Montana pastor to lawmakers: We discriminate against incest, why not gay people?

Holocaust Memorial Day: The Nazi Bid to Exterminate Gay People.

Nancy Reagan Turned Down Rock Hudson’s Plea For Help Nine Weeks Before He Died.

Bully My Son at Your Own Risk.

Beware Of Mormons Bearing Gifts: Why The LDS Gay Rights `Compromise’ Isn’t Useful.

Mike Huckabee’s Alleged Gay Friend Surfaces On Twitter, Is Hilarious.

HTGAWM star Jack Falahee is over sex and gender binaries thank you very much.

First Stars Younger Than Thought –“May Impact Understanding Dark Components of the Universe”.

Rarely Seen Moonfish, Size of Manhole Cover, Caught on Camera.

Conservatives are such crybabies: Whether Fox News or angry police, exaggerated whining is always the first move.

Atheist Nonconformity: Against the Grain.

Twitter CEO: ‘We Suck at Dealing With Abuse And It’s All My Fault’.

Can a Novel’s Plot be Reduced to Data Points?

California moves to end personal belief exemptions for vaccination–at last.

Runaway hits.

What do you mean, “real” father?

Jonny Quest Opening Titles in Stop Motion:

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Sam Smith – Lay Me Down:

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6 Sick Myths You Thought Were True – Debunked:

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Ian McKellan as Mr. Holmes | In Theaters Summer 2015 | Clip:

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Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song:

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Stephen Fry on God | The Meaning Of Life:

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We’ve reached the final Friday in January. In just two days the Seattle Seahawks are going to play in the Superbowl again, and while I do not expect them to obliterate their opponents as they did last year (we didn’t just mop the floor with the Broncos, we stomped the Broncos until they were the floor, and then we mopped them), but I do believe we’re going to beat the Patriots. Go Hawks!

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch: “I’m here preparing for a game”.

The obscenity of calling Saudi King Abdullah a “reformer”.

7 heinous lies “American Sniper” is telling America.

Simon says the Republican Party’s clown car has become a clown van..

America’s best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise.

What ‘Explicit’ Gay Sex Scenes Is Billy Crystal Talking About, Exactly?

The Cop Who Choked Eric Garner to Death Won’t Have to Pay a Dime in Damages.

Oklahoma’s Refreshingly Honest Plan To Discriminate Against Gay People.

Astronomers Catch A Quasar Shutting Off.

Unseen Galaxies of the Universe Detected.

LOOK! The Asteroid That Flew Past Earth Tuesday Has Its Own Moon.

Fox News, American Sniper, Jesus, and…well…I can’t even.

Bobby Jindal’s Prayer Rally Explicitly Advocated a Christian Theocracy in America.

Bones From Era of Alexander the Great Raise More Questions Than Answers.

Mary Jane Watson was not the sort of girl you brought home to meet your mother.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Reveals Tantalizing Details in Best Photos Yet.

The Absurdity of Infinity: Astrophysicist Janna Levin Explains Whether the Universe Is Infinite or Finite in Letters to Her Mother.

The Secret Douglas Adams RPG People Have Been Playing for 15 Years.

Some Thoughts on White Anti-Racists and Angry Black People.

Study: Men more open to feminism when it’s paired with a photo of Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.

More of Seahawks Tight End Cooper Helfet’s Modeling Career.

The Real Learning Channel: A Straight Spouse Of A Gay Husband Speaks Out.

OP-ED: MALE GAYS AND THE MALE GAZE.

Newfound Mormon LGBT Tolerance Is The Same Old Discrimination.

Why Apple Selling Fewer iPads Is Actually A Huge Achievement.

For Lawyers, a Rocky Walk Down the Gay Marriage Aisle.

My boyfriend in Dragon Age: Inquisition broke my heart when he told me he was gay.

TED Talk: the Myth of the Gay Agenda. “This is the gay agenda: equality. Not special rights, but the rights that were already written.”

Three policies Obama can adopt to support LGBTQ criminal justice reform.

Okay, New Starbucks Palace on Pike Street, What the Hell Are You?.

The Cops Don’t Care About Violent Online Threats. What Do We Do Now?

The AFA Cannot Wash Its Hands Of Bryan Fischer’s Bigotry That Easily.

Bryan Fischer Was Not Fired From Wingnut Central For Saying Any Of The Following.

The serialist’s dilemma.

In case you haven’t already seen it: Lars Andersen: a new level of archery:

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George Takei presents, My Husband’s Not Straight:

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You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Ruby Friedman Orchestra:

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The Dancing Traffic Light:

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What happens when men find out the women they’re catcalling are actually their mothers in disguise:

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2CELLOS & LANG LANG – Live And Let Die [OFFICIAL VIDEO]:

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It’s already the fourth Friday of 2015! But it’s still January, so it’s too early for “the year’s just flying by” jokes, right? I either had a major relapse or came down with a new bug on Sunday, so I’ve been out of it a lot again, this week.

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

My Seahawks are going back to the Superbowl!!!

The Purple Passions of Carl Corley. I love all the old paperback cover art!

The pope stumbles over Charlie Hebdo.

Deflated footballs just latest corner Belichick’s Pats accused of cutting. (Warning: there’s an autoplaying video.)

Father rips into Steve Deace on gay rights.

Galapagos Tortoises Make a Comeback, Thanks to Rat Eradication.

The boy who didn’t come back from heaven: inside a bestseller’s ‘deception.’

What the Reaction To Billy Crystal Tells Us About Gay Tolerance.

The Real ‘Deflategate’ Scandal Is That Anyone Cares.

Shouts Of Protest At Supreme Court On ‘Citizens United’ Anniversary.

Nullification, Now Coming to the Supreme Court? – Mike Huckabee suggests that if the justices rule that gay-marriage bans are unconstitutional, states don’t need to listen.

Mike Huckabee’s PAC Paid His Family Almost $400,000.

Dumb arguments against legal protections for transgender people, part 4.

This goes way beyond double-standards!

Maybe it wasn’t as funny as I thought.

Jeremy Jordan – “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” (Broadway Loves Celine Dion):

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Jessie Ware covers Labrinth’s Jealous in the Live Lounge:

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Simon Amstell Stand-Up 01/14/15 – CONAN on TBS (Not exactly safe for work, but hilarious-stand-up comedy about his regrets of not being more sexually adventurous before settling down with his boyfriend):

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Just A Gay (Blank Space MashUp) — Morgan Reynolds:

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