Category Archives: blogging

Friday Links (holiday weekend edition)!

blogging,

asipf1It’s Friday! The final Friday in November! Where did the year go? Seriously, where did it go!?

Because we’re traveling this week, and my schedule has been disrupted in ways in addition to the traveling, et cetera, this week’s links are a little shorter than usual.

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:

That Girl Who Dies: Fridging, Feminism, Writerly and Readerly Doublethink, and Spoilers for Unmade (and oddly.. Little Women and Narnia…). And it’t not what you think… well, it’s partly what you think but… oh, it’s so complicated!

First published a couple years ago, but worth a read: No, you’re not entitled to your opinion.

The Secret Life of Passwords: We despise them – yet we imbue them with our hopes and dreams, our dearest memories, our deepest meanings. It is a beautiful article, illustrated with beautiful animated graphics, and definitely worth your time.

Retina OSX on the Original Macintosh. Very cute!

Compassion is painful. That’s how you know it’s working.

Bob McCulloch Is A Lying, Slimy, Arrogant Tool Who Gave A Masterful PR Performance.

2,000-Year-Old Mosaics Uncovered In Turkey Before Being Lost To Flooding.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Loses, Again, In Appeal Trying To Intervene In Oregon’s Marriage Case (where marriage equality has existed for six months).

Philae: The bouncing baby space probe that gave itself another chance.

Good Police vs Bad Police. A friend said this much better than I could.

Why I Want Pope Francis to Write the Requiem for Gabriel Fernandez, the Boy Slaughtered by His Parents for Appearing Gay.

B3eJR2RIgAAsSrCReaders Push Lucie’s Place Fundraiser Past Its Goal. So, because the Duggars donated $10,000 to the campaign to stop a gay rights bill in Arkansas, recorded a nasty robo-call about it, and have been drumming up hysteria at anti-gay rallies, one blogger begged his readers to make a small donation to a homeless youth center that tries to make a safe place for LGBT kids, and other bloggers amplified the signal. In less than 24 hours more than $20,000 was donated to Lucie’s Place. So let me take this moment to urge you, whereever you are, to donate some money to a local youth homeless shelter, such as Lucie’s Place (luciesplace.org), the Ali Forney Center (aliforneycenter.org) or YouthCare (youthcare.org).

How could they? How could we?.

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!

Just Dance 2015 – Xmas Tree – Bollywood Santa – 5 Stars (Thanks{?} to Shockwave for the link):

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Pastor Manning Discusses Semen (parody… sort of):

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How to Talk To Your Kids About Gay Country Musicians:

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Frente! – Bizarre Love Triangle:

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Best Snow News Bloopers EVER:

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PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING – GAGARIN (the grooviest music video of the year):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Friday Links (Velvet Morning Edition)!

blogging, ,

BettyBowers.Com (click to embiggen)
BettyBowers.Com (click to embiggen)
It’s Friday! The third Friday in November! The year is running out fast.

This week… I don’t want to talk about this week. You don’t want to read my whining or griping about 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:

No Offense to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A Dad Received Messages Of Support From Strangers After Accidentally Discovering His Son Was Gay. And then he explains how things went after…

Does Religion Cause More Harm than Good? Brits Say Yes. Here’s Why They May be Right. You can strike the word “may” from the headline…

Former “reparative therapy” leader John Smid marries same-sex partner.

Amazingly Detailed New Maps of Asteroid Vesta.

NOM CRATERS: Funding for Anti-LGBT National Organization For Marriage Drops by Over 50%. (And this is a big drop from last year’s big drop which was a dig drop from the year before…)

New subatomic particles predicted by Canadians found at CERN.

Photos: Incredible Near-Complete Stegosaurus Skeleton.

Mongoose Lookouts Carefully Weigh Risks (and Sing While They Do It).

Totally Insane! Buffalo Suburbs May Have Set a Record for 24-Hour Snowfall in a Populated Area.

Woman opens professional cuddling shop – gets 10,000 customers in first week.

STUDY FINDS STRAIGHT PEOPLE – AND EVEN MANY GAYS – ARE STILL ALARMINGLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SAME-SEX PDA.

This is why the iPhone 6 didn’t get a sapphire screen.

US Supreme Court refuses to block SC gay marriages.

Wingers Go Gandhi. Sort of.

WATCH URSULA K. LE GUIN’S AMAZING NBA ACCEPTANCE SPEECH.

Alas, it wasn’t all good news: Lemony Snicket Makes Series of Racist Jokes at National Book Awards.

13-Year-Old Comes Out To Best “Bro” On Instant Messenger, Melts The Internet’s Heart.

‘Darwin’s Dilemma’ May Finally Have Been Resolved.

For the Public Good: The Shameful History of Forced Sterilization in the U.S.

Why ‘Kidnapped For Christ’ Is The Most Faithful Film Of The Year.

Transgender Women In Ohio Are At The Heart Of A National Crisis.

A Texas Dad Remembers His Daughter on the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

This bizarre drone decomposes upon impact.

New Kirk Cameron Movie, ‘Saving Christmas,’ Finishes In 15th Place During First Weekend Of Release. So don’t believe those headlines at Breitbart or on Fox…

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!

Playtime with Pup 681:

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Doctor Who Christmas Special Preview – BBC Children in Need 2014:

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[HOONIGAN] KEN BLOCK’S GYMKHANA SEVEN: WILD IN THE STREETS OF LOS ANGELES (the fact that I enjoyed watching is so much is probably a symptom of testosterone poisoning… just sayin’):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here. And thanks to Cornwuff for the link!)

WATCH: University of Nottingham hockey team strip off against homophobia:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Motown legend Jimmy Ruffin, whose 1980 smash Hold On To My Love helped usher out an era of gay nightlife, has died at the age of 78: Jimmy Ruffin – Hold On To My Love (Studio, Top Of The Pops):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here. Of course, you need to hear the Robbie Leslie Disconet remix at least once)

Alison Goldfrapp & John Grant ARE the new Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood! “Some Velvet Morning” 18/11/14:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here. If you aren’t aware of the bizarre single from 1967, this will make no sense to you.)

Friday Links (comet landing edition)!

blogging, ,

xkcd's cartoon livestream of the comet landing as an animation.
xkcd’s cartoon livestream of the comet landing as an animation.
It’s Friday! The second Friday in November (even though tomorrow is the third Saturday, ooooooooooo)! The year is running out fast.

Last week I was worried about rain and flooding. This week, late-December/January type temperatures arrived a little early. One day my Seahawks stocking cap was too warm to keep on during the bus, the next day I was very, very glad that I’d put in the winter lining in the coat that morning, and wishing I had dug the scarf and gloves out of the bottom of the backpack before leaving the house. Weird!

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:

The Sixth Stage of Grief Is Retro-computing: Networks Without Networks. This is a really beautiful piece that appears, at first glance, to be about computer nostalgia, and at second, to be about a relationship with an old friend who has passed, but while it covers both of those things, they aren’t want it’s about. It’s definitely worth reading the whole thing.

Intersexuality and God Through the Ages: The idea that intersexed bodies are “birth defects” is perpetuated by a lack of familiarity with intersexuality. But it wasn’t always this way. Name checks for both the greek god Hermophroditus and Hedwig and the Angry Inch…

10 Misconceptions Every Trans Ally Needs to Understand.

Breitbart Issues Best Correction Since Forever.

“It’s symbolic annihilation of history, and it’s done for a purpose. It really enforces white supremacy”: Edward Baptist on the lies we tell about slavery.

Comedy doesn’t belong to the a**holes anymore.

My Lesbian Mom Died Terrified of Going to Hell.

Mind-Blowing Fossil Preserves Tiny Horse Carrying Unborn Foal.

View of Comet from Lander During Descent. In case you haven’t already seen…

Mars and the Mind of Man: Carl Sagan, Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke in Cosmic Conversation, 1971.

Pregnant Snake Prepares For Motherhood By Eating Toxic Toads.

How Animals Hacked The Rainbow And Got Stumped On Blue.

Imported Glass in Japanese Tomb Identified.

He’s Smart Enough to Land a Drone on a Comet, But the Naked-Lady Shirt?

Fascinating comparison of the top 10 causes of death in 1900 and 2010.

The truth about the dungeon master who disappeared in the steam tunnels.

Leonard Matlovich: The Gay Military Hero You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.

Rachel Maddow trolls anti-science Tea Party school board members in the best way possible.

Gay vets reach milestone in Boston, still struggle nationally.

My Last Words to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Tomas Young, an Iraq war vet turned anti-war activist, passed away this week in Seattle at the age of 34. Tomas enlisted in the Army just two days after the 9/11 attacks. Following his training at Ft. Hood, Texas he was deployed to Iraq and paralyzed after being shot through his spinal cord just five days into his first tour.

Controversial Texas Restaurant Becoming A ‘Highly Rated’ Gay Bar. This is a story from earlier in the year, but a friend sent me the link, this snippet: “She say she would never broadcast her personal life in public. ‘As one who has been married for 45 years to my husband, I don’t think that it’s my role to stand in the street corner and start talking about the style of private life my husband and I have.'”, and then this translation: “I would never broadcast my heterosexual personal life in public. I would never tell everyone how I have been heterosexually married for 45 heterosexual years to my heterosexual husband heterosexually.” And I had to share.

Carol Ann Susi, ‘Big Bang Theory’s Mrs. Wolowitz, Dead. (I’m old enough to remember her as Miss Marmelstein on the old Kolchak: the Nightstalker series…)

10 Times Mrs. Wolowitz Was The Best Part Of ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

Queer Geeks Unite At Bent-Con 2014: COSPLAY PHOTOS.

Writing, writing, don’t stop!.

Not forgotten.

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!

I Am Not – Brett Gleason (Official Video):

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Chicago zoo welcomes adorable rescued otter pup:

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[MUSIC VIDEO] “Darkest Magic” (Lo Pan feat. Jack Burton) by SuperVillains:

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xkdc live streamed the landing in cartoon, then animated it:

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Friday Links!

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quickmemes.com
…and no talking!
It’s Friday! The first Friday in November! The year is running out fast.

November is usually the wettest month of the year in Seattle. Last month was one of the wettest Octobers on record, and we’ve had a lot of rain this week, so I’m starting to worry this is going to be a year we got a lot of urban flooding, again. At least my current car is much higher off the ground than the old Ford Escort hatchback I was in the year I got caught in a flash flood near downtown…

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 Uncle Was Gay, and I Want to Tell the World. A very sweet post that made me tear up more than a little.

Why I Love Halloween — Now More Than Ever. I bawled my eyes out…

The Day Jesus Redefined Marriage.

What is love?

Why “ethical journalism” is still actually about sexism.

THREE LESSONS FROM THE MIDTERM ELECTION RESULTS FOR LGBT EQUALITY?.

SIXTH CIRCUIT LETS GAY MARRIAGE BANS STAND IN OH, MI, TN, AND KY: LEGAL ANALYSIS, PART 1. Eventually a circuit court was going to back this ruling, forcing the Supremes to be less passive-aggressive about this issue.

JUDGE MARTHA DAUGHTREY RIPS COLLEAGUES IN STINGING DISSENT OF 6TH CIRCUIT MARRIAGE RULING.

NY Pastor Thinks Starbucks’ Secret Ingredient Is The ‘Semen of Sodomites’. Pastor Manning from Atlah Church is at it again… once more obsessing over sexual topics involving gay men. I wonder why?

Marriage is about love.

Pro Strongman Rob Kearney Comes Out as Gay.

Hollaback and Why Everyone Needs Better Research Methods-And Why All Data Needs Theory.

‘Car Talk’ Co-Host Tom Magliozzi Dies At 77.

Sherlock Holmes belongs to us all: Supreme Court declines to hear case.

New Clock May End Time As We Know It. When you build a clock so precise, that it can detect the time dilate from moving it up or down a few feet in the Earth’s gravitational field…

Students disqualified for helping girl finish race.

Why conservative Christians would have hated Jesus.

He’s Glad You Asked.

The world’s largest butterfly is now also one of the most endangered.

Antigay Haters Reserve the Right to Discriminate Against Homosexuals on the Down Low.

#DudesGreetingDudes Hilariously Proves Catcalling Isn’t ‘Just A Compliment’.

Language Nerd.

Dan Savage on those reality-show starring, anti-gay law supporting super fundies and why it’s okay for us to talk about their messed up sexual decisions. (You won’t guess that from the NSFW title of the article)

Colorado elects Obama exorcist who wants to spank transgender children.

Random Observations on a Reaming: That’ll Teach That Negro to Be President.

Dallas adds LGBT protections to city constitution in landslide vote.

Why is Firefox tweeting Gamergate nonsense?

The Absurdity of the 2014 Midterm Elections, in One Perfect Tweet.

Starstruck: half of universe’s stars are orphans with no galaxy.

SO THEY BURNED ALEX SALMOND IN MY HOMETOWN TONIGHT.

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!

The Necronomicon:

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Benny – Little Game (Official Video):

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Friday Links! (Spoooooooooky Spooks Edition)

blogging, , , ,

Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
It’s Friday! But even more importantly, it’s Halloween!!!!!!!!!!

Ghouls and goblins and mummies and werewolves on the prowl! We have a pile of candy to hand out, the house has some spooky decorations, and I have picked out some scary movies. We’re going to have a great night.

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:

Happy Heteroween: In Defense of Sexy Pirates, Sexy Nuns, and Sexy Cadavers.

5 Years After Passage Of Hate Crimes Law, Religious Right’s Dire Predictions Still Haven’t Come True.

Dear Author breaks down the actions of the Author who stalked a Good Reads reviewer. (Thanks to shipperx for the link!)

The Choices of Kathleen Hale.

There Really Is an Evangelical Christian War on Halloween.

Is it just me, or does talking about religious violence feel an awful lot like talking about gun violence?

Tim Cook Speaks Up …and comes out.

Why it matters where — and when — Tim Cook spoke up about being gay.

On crying in public.

xkcd: Zombie Marie Curie.

Totally True Horror Story: A Shocking Tale from the ’80s—Illustrated.

Once you see this small typography tweak Apple made in OS X Yosemite, you can’t unsee it.

Last of the Crow war chiefs turns 101 in Montana.

Lonesome George, the Last of His Kind, Strikes His Final Pose.

Woman sues to use wife’s name on South Carolina driver’s license.

Godless millennials could end the political power of the religious right. We can only hope!

Top Ten Most Famous Swords of the Middle Ages. Note: it’s not a slide show, so you don’t have to click-click-click to see them!

Chemists Find A New Chemical Bond—Forming it requires replacing atoms’ electrons with more exotic sub-atomic particles.

#GamerGate Supporters Demonstrate They Don’t Know What Ethics in Journalism Means.

Every Other Planet in the Solar System Would Fit Between the Earth and Moon. Factoid I knew long ago, but the image is nice.

Cassini Spies Methane Ice Crystals in Titan’s Atmosphere.

WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE GAY IN COMMUNIST ROMANIA.

Brownback Covered Budget Deficit By Tossing Disabled People Off Medicaid.

Ken Ham’s tax-payer subsidized creationist theme park is already in trouble for religious discrimination.

Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian! (bettybowers.com)
Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian! (bettybowers.com)
The Evangelical War on Halloween.

And Halloween, Jack Chick, and Anti-Catholicism.

And Colbert is on it: War on Halloween – Costume Swapping & Jesus Ween. (Video plays automatically)

Pope Francis admits he believes in evolution and the Big Bang, says science and religion can peacefully coexist.

On the other hand, Stop Celebrating the Pope’s Views on Evolution and the Big Bang. They Make No Sense.

Time magazine is just an embarrassing Internet troll now.

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TELL PASTORS: HOLD LINE ON GAYS.

Couple plead guilty to torture death of 8-year-old they believed was gay.

The Universe Might Be A Billion Years Older Than We Thought.

Five science ‘facts’ we learnt at school that are plain wrong.

Digging through 316,669 tweets from three days of Twitter’s two-month-old #GamerGate trainwreck. He really digs into the metadata. It’s fascinating!

Viewpoint: Arrow of Time Emerges in a Gravitational System.

They don’t all have to be heroes, but….

Fairy rings and h/a/y/ fungal fever.

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!

HALLOWEEN PARTY MIX:

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Jessica Lange – Gods and Monsters (Lana Del Rey Cover):

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GROOVIE GOOLIES MUSIC VIDEO – MONSTERS ON PARADE – GHOST BAND:

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Monster Mash:

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Beetlejuice – Day-o (Banana Boat Song):

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Melanie Martinez – Carousel (American Horror Story: Freak Show Theme) (Official Video):

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LOL! “Don’t TOUCH My Girlfriend” Pres.Obama! Couple Interviewed – Chris Hayes:

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The Endless Night: A Valentine to Film Noir:

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Avengers: My Ultron Will Go On (setting the visual of the Avenger’s trailer to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” is surprisingly awesome):

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Friday Links (difficult people edition)!

blogging,

(Click to embiggen)
Thanks to the Sky-Man for linking to the infographic! (Click to embiggen)
It’s Friday! The fourth Friday in October, and Halloween is still a week away!!

Who knew that October ’14 would be the month when more than a dozen states would get marriage equality? We knew the good news about equality couldn’t last, but why did this week have to be all about douche-y people?

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:

Morning Maddow: Rachel’s Pantheon Of Heroes (Video). In case you’re losing your faith in humanity.

GOP using increasingly racist arguments against gay marriage.

How Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll Wooed Unchurched Seattle.

Alvin McEwan explains why “The Erasure of ‘Gay’ From Black History & the Black Community Must Stop.”

The Gamergater’s Glossary.

Isaac Asimov Mulls “How Do People Get New Ideas?” An previously unpublished essay on the origins of creativity.

The entire Idaho wedding chapel story is a lie. And it get’s better: Caught ya: Far-right’s latest marriage ‘victim’ edited website to make more solid legal case.

What your 1st-grade life says about the rest of it. (Thanks to @tdjohnsn for the link!)

Phyllis Schlafly: End Early Voting Because It Helps Democrats.

>Conservatives Converge Around Fox News as Main Source; No Single Source Dominates on the Left

6,000-Year-Old Temple with Possible Sacrificial Altars Discovered.

Queen of the Underworld Sheds New Light on Greek Tomb – Newly revealed mosaic may hold key to unlocking mystery: Who was buried in the massive mound?

In every heated conversation about faith and violence, there’s one thing that everybody gets wrong.

Never say never: why TV networks are suddenly ready to unbundle.

Get Down Tonight: Seattle’s first disco nudged the city toward its left-leaning future.

ADHD Is Different for Women.

The Bad Apples Of #GamerGate.

The worst known case of workplace lead exposure at a U.S. range happened during renovations at Wade’s Eastside Guns in 2012. But documented hazards there go back to 2008.

The real lesson of Ebola in Dallas: this virus is very difficult to spread.

Anti-Gay Group Vows War Against Rob Portman, GOP Over Marriage Equality.

Here’s a Better Idea for the Gay Man Who Wants to Raise $150,000 for Anti-Gay Bakers. The self-proclaimed “gay activist” referenced in the story is not; he’s gay, yes, but the only things he’s ever done is scold other gays for not being tolerant of Christian bigotry.

Vultures circle GamerGate: the narcissists, grifters and creeps arriving in its wake.

Unfortunately for a rare few of you, this is a necessary infographic.

Canada’s parliament attacked, soldier fatally shot nearby.

CNN disappointed with Canadians’ lack of panic.

Maybe Guys Are the More Emotional Sex. (thanks to @Sharpclaw for the link!)

Sweden May Have Mystery Sub Cornered, Ready To Use Force To Surface It.

We are citizen radio: Rainn Wilson to produce TV series with accused rapist, White people live life like it’s one long frat party.

13 Lies We Have to Stop Telling About Bisexuals. Listicles are always problematic, but this one suffers more than the usual amount of redundancy. #1 and #2 are the same myth, rephrased, for instance.

Stunning View of Solar System’s Largest Volcano and Valles Marineris Revealed by India’s Mars Orbiter Mission.

Things Are Improving For LGBT Students, But They’re Still Really Bad.

White menaces to society: Keene State and the danger of young drunk white men.

Kooky Straight Couple Claims Same-Sex Couples Want to Steal Their Marriage. They filed a typo-ridden epic privilege tantrum as a motion to a federal appeals court.

Churning galaxy boasts a fiery halo of baby stars.

Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” – Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

A working hoverboard, it’s finally here:

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Star Wars (Guardians of the Galaxy Style!):

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The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson – Weird Al Performs:

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Pumpkins Spice:

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Stephen Colbert Sings Friday with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here. Also, also, also! I think I should post this video every Friday!)

$5.7 BILLION Drop in Hospital Uncompensated Care Costs Due to Obamacare:

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Bright Light Bright Light – An Open Heart:

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HALLOWEEN PARTY MIX:

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Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne – Real Love [Official Video]:

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Ricky Martin – Adiós (English Version) (Official Video):

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Friday Links (with prehistoric giant kangaroos)!

blogging, ,

memecenter.com
memecenter.com
It’s Friday! The third Friday in October—only two weeks before Halloween!

Last week was so crazy amazing: ten states got marriage equality over the course of five days. How could anything top that? Well, the dominoes keep falling!

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.

So, here are my links for the week:

20 HILARIOUS RESPONSES TO NOM’S WARNING THAT GAY MARRIAGE WILL LEAD TO PEOPLE MARRYING THEMSELVES.

Largest, oldest creature on Earth?.

Why I Deleted IHeart Radio From My Devices And You Should Too.

Texas Just Crowned Their First Transgender Homecoming King.

Uprooted, Again. An interesting ending to a story about one woman who used DNA testing to fill in her family tree…

The strange world of the bright blue Velella.

New Particle Is Both Matter and Antimatter: The Majorana fermion.

Second draft of document on accepting gays bows to pressure from bishops.

Everyone Keeps Falling for the Catholic Church’s Good Cop/Bad Cop Routine.

Adorable photos of flying lemurs! And other interesting pictures, but the flying lemurs are incredibly cute! (They aren’t true lemurs, they’re a species that split off from the primates 79 million years ago, but they’re basically a cross between a lemur and a flying squirrel!)

A wonderfully accurate comic about Gamer Gate.

Presbyterian workers wore no hazmat suits for two days while treating Ebola patient.

Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ Moon May Hide Subsurface Ocean.

Frigid Polar Vortex Unlikely to Repeat This Winter.

Locomotion in Extinct Giant Kangaroos: Were Sthenurines Hop-Less Monsters?

The media is doing an awful job explaining Ebola, and #ClipboardMan is proof.

CASSINI CAUGHT IN HYPERION’S ELECTRON BEAM.

Condition Called Tetrachromacy Allows This Artist To See 100 Million Colors.

Hubble Finds Extremely Distant Galaxy through Cosmic Magnifying Glass.

Man with possible explosive device lodged inside his leg brought to UAB Hospital.

Paramedic refused to leave man with grenade lodged in his leg: nerves, humor and body armor all part of 8-hour ordeal.

Nijicon: Philly’s First-Ever LGBT Comic Convention Is This Weekend.

Leaving the GOP Gov. Huckabee? Great, Take the Other Anti-gay Republicans With You.

In North Carolina, Thom Tillis is the Last Holdout Against Gay Marriage.

And by the way, those people claiming these marriage equality rulers are anti-Christian? Remember that in North Carolina, it was United Church of Christ ministers (among others) who sued to get the ban overturned: United Church of Christ wins for marriage in NC.

Christian right’s vile PR sham: Why their bizarre films are backfiring on them.

A conservative judge’s devastating take on why voter ID laws are evil.

Anti-Gay Marriage Group Alleges Bias on Federal Appeals Court. They don’t understand probability…

Matt Zarley – I Just Knew:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Nick Deutsch – Run:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Columbus Day – How Is That Still A Thing (HBO):

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David Guetta – Dangerous (Lyric Video) ft Sam Martin:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Sunday Funnies, part 8

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Another in my series of posts recommending web comics that I think more people should read:

xkcd.com: Marriage

xkcd.com by Randall Munroe is one of those comics that I don’t ever have to refer to my bookmark, because at least once a week someone I know shares a recent comic on Twitter, or Facebook, or their blog, which leads me to click on the link, then use the Previous button to catch up on the two or three strips that have been posted since the last time someone linked to it. The comic’s warning statement is a better summary than a one-sentence review from me would be: “Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).” The above linked info graphic was one of this week’s comics, which is both interesting and a comment on current events. I think his infographics are some of the best comics, period.

If you enjoy xkcd, you can purchase the new book, or find a variety of other cool things at his store.

3Tripping Over You by Suzana Harcum and Owen White is a strip about a pair of friends in school who just happen to fall in love… which eventually necessitates one of them coming out of the closet. This particular comic is one that I first discovered more than a year ago, and was following it for a while, and then, because of some craziness in real life, I missed it for a while, couldn’t remember the title, couldn’t find a bookmark for it, and just lost it for a while. A couple of weeks ago my friend, Sheryl, posted a comment to the previous Sunday Funnies post with a link to this comic and it was like meeting a long lost friend! It was more than a bit nice to be able to read a whole bunch of missed strips and catch up on the story of Milo and Liam… until I was caught up, and now I have to wait for the next strip!!

Tripping Over You has several books, comics, and prints available for purchase.

dm100x80I’m a big fan of “Deer Me,” by Sheryl Schopfer. This artist is also a friend. I have previously described this strip as: “Three roommates who couldn’t be more dissimilar while being surprisingly compatible.” Except in a recent story line Thomas has moved out! Eeek! Currently, the strip has traveled back in time to the high school days of one of the aforementioned roommates.

In any case, if you enjoy Deer Me, you can support the artist by going to her Patreon Page!

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I’ve long been a fan of: “Mr. Cow,” by Chuck Melville… and not just because the artist is a friend! A clueless cow with Walter Cronkite dreams presides over a barnyard of a newsroom. Or just showing him reading reacting to news or hatching plans to achieve fame, or just reading ridiculous news is funny because the real news isn’t any more logical.

And if you like Mr. Cow, you can support the artist by going to his Patreon Page. Also, can I interest you in a Mr. Cow Mug?

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And I love this impish girl thief with a tail and her reluctant undead sorcerer/bodyguard: “Unsounded,” by Ashley Cope.

The_Young_Protectors_HALF_BANNER_OUTSIDE_234x601The Young Protectors by Alex Wolfson begins when a young, closeted teen-age superhero who has just snuck into a gay bar for the first time is seen exiting said bar by a not-so-young, very experienced, very powerful, super-villain. Trouble, of course, ensues.

12191040If you want to read a nice, long graphic-novel style story which recently published its conclusion, check-out the not quite accurately named, The Less Than Epic Adventures of T.J. and Amal by E.K. Weaver. I say inaccurate because I found their story quite epic (not to mention engaging, moving, surprising, fulfilling… I could go on). Some sections of the tale are Not Safe For Work, as they say, though she marks them clearly. The complete graphic novels are available for sale in both ebook and paper versions, by the way.

Friday Links (‘I do’ edition)!

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Snapshot of Wikipedia's Marriage Equality map as of Thursday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States)
Snapshot of Wikipedia’s Marriage Equality map as of Thursday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States)
It’s Friday! The second Friday in October, a week with birthdays of at least two people I know, and only three weeks before Halloween!

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’m grouping them by topic, today. I know there’s even more links related to gay rights than usual, but think about this week in perspective. Wikipedia had to update the map showing which states allow same sex couples to marry, which ban them from it, and which have some form of domestic partnerships instead eight times over the course of the first four days of the week.

That’s just amazing!

So, here are my links for the week:

Creationism Is About Gay Marriage, Not Science. Interviews with the financial backer and the primary “scientific consultant” at the Creation Museum reveal all.

I Demand Pocket Equality.

“So yes, there is a blog out there that is praising Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Notorious R.B.G., but if you don’t know the difference between a blog and a tumblr, that’s because you are not as hip and with it as 81-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

All Your Life, Charlie Brown. All Your Life: The complete history of Lucy’s pulling the football away..

A SWEET TRIUMPH: SAME-SEX COUPLES CAN FINALLY WED ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP.

Why the GOP hates U.S. history: Inconvenient truths that freak out American conservatives.

Voter ID Explained In One Photo.

This is what same-sex marriage looks like now: as gay as the Mormon missionary position.

When ‘Redefining Marriage’ Meant That Women Had To Be Treated Like Human Beings.

Huckabee Urges States To Ignore Rulings On Marriage Equality, Abortion Rights & Church-State Separation. Related: Why the wingnut base won’t let Republicans move on.

WWE “Going Purple” and Partnering with GLAAD for Spirit Day.

How Straight Spouses Cope When Their Partners Come Out.

Best of the worst: The 10 most unhinged conservative reactions to expanding marriage equality.

Transgender Actress Erika Ervin On Her ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ Role. A trans actress playing a trans character! Whoa!

Traditional marriage?

Romanian ‘Orthodox Priests’ Calendar 2015 Pays Tribute To Social Tolerance. “the 2015 Orthodox Calendar features 12 months of hunky models striking homoerotic poses alongside religious iconography.”

Reading Stuff Will Eliminate 90 Percent of Your Stupid Questions.

What If You’re Against Football, But for the Seahawks?

OPEN CARRY ENTHUSIAST’S GUN STOLEN AT GUNPOINT.

Everyday People: 12-year-old boy gains confidence through My Little Pony.

Scientists say DNA determines coffee consumption.

Forget Ebola. Worry about the unvaccinated kid down the street.

New global Mars image from Mars Orbiter Mission features Gale crater.

Strange Red Supergiant-Neutron Star Object Discovered.

An iPad filled with apps weighs more than one with nothing installed.

Why I’ve stopped using Google apps on my iPhone 6 Plus.

New Dark Matter Theory Solves Milky Way’s “Missing Satellite-Galaxies” Puzzle.

Foom! ‘Superflares’ Erupt From Tiny Red Dwarf Star, Surprising Scientists.

THE POETRY OF THE ICE AGE.

How bad user interface design killed a child cancer patient.

5 Fonts that will kill your design (and 5 great alternatives).

Tap, tap, tappity-tap-tap-tappity-tap!.

If Buying Condoms Was Like Buying Birth Control:

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THE LIQUIDATOR ‘Main Title’ – Shirley Bassey:

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Levi Kreis, Handcuff My Soul:

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George Ezra – Blame It on Me:

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Mary J. Blige – Right Now (From The London Sessions):

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[Official Video] Rather Be – Pentatonix (Clean Bandit Cover):

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Say what?

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resized_philosoraptor-meme-generator-if-you-can-t-read-how-can-you-tell-us-about-it-on-a-message-board-701659I have written before about odd encounters with people through social media. One problem is that since some of the places I hang out online are forums and services that cater to specifically gay people, I wind up running into folks who are looking to hook up, but more vexingly, assume everyone else is also looking to hook up.

Consequently, my profile on all of those sites mention, as prominently as I can, that I am married to a wonderful man. My profile also always mentions my interest in science fiction/fantasy, that I write, and that I live in Seattle.

I’ve noticed a very specific phenomenon the last few years: guys who will initiate a conversation, making a comment about either the fact that I’m a writer or that I’m a sci fi fan, but who manage to completely miss the parts about my being married or living in Seattle. Seriously, at least once a week someone will chat amiably for a few moments, then start asking questions about what I am looking for in a boyfriend/long term relationship. When I point out that I already have a husband, they either get confused or flustered.

If they continue the conversation, they usually switch gears to explaining that they don’t have many gay friends, and ask if maybe I and my husband would like to hang out some time. At which point I usually ask, “Your profile says you live in Los Angeles/Jersey City/Houston/fill-in-the-blank; that might be a bit difficult.” Which leads into the part of the conversation where they didn’t realize that I wasn’t local to them.

I try not to be too snarky when I suggest that they might want to look more closely at someone’s profile before chatting them up. But I also try to cut things off, because by this point it’s clear that they either have extremely poor reading comprehension or some sort of memory/attention deficit issue.

Or maybe they’re just really, really dim.