Tag Archives: apocalypse

Friday Five (the end is nigh edition)

The end is nigh…
It’s Friday! We have five Fridays in May, which is cool, I suppose. Tomorrow is the beginning of Pride month!

The weather all week has been cool, overcast mornings (sometimes with some light rain), yielding to sunny and clear each afternoon, and the sunsets have been brilliant (though apparently that’s because of wildfires in Canada sending smoke into the upper atmosphere).

Anyway, welcome to the Friday Five. This week I am breaking my rules. First, I bring you: the top two reviews of the week, then because it’s nearly Pride month the top five stories of interest to queer folks, and five generic stories of the week, five stories about deplorable people, five stories about the impeachable one, and five videos (plus some things I wrote).

Reviews of the Week:

Good Omens review: It’s what Sir Terry would have wanted – Good Omens is one of those classics that people who enjoy fantasy novels have to own. Written by Sir Terry Pratchett (The Discworld series) and Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Sandman), Good Omens is a witty, thought-provoking look at Armageddon.

5 reasons DOOM PATROL is the best superhero show of the decade. They are not wrong. And there are many more reasons!

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

Hulu’s ‘Bravest Knight’ Will Be Cartoon Fairy Tale Featuring Gay Dads – Based on Daniel Errico’s book, the animated children’s series will follow a mixed-race couple and their 10-year-old daughter, and is slated to premiere in June.

You Probably Have a Lot More LGBTQ Co-Workers Than You Know: New Study Reveals Many Still Afraid to Come Out.

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, pioneering transgender activists who were at the vanguard of the gay rights movement, will be immortalized in a monument that may be placed down the street from the Stonewall Inn.

Dad Teaches Transgender Son How To Shave In Emotional Gillette Ad. I cried. You may need a kleenex.

Bill signing makes Maine 17th state to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors. The new law will prohibit counselors, therapists and other licensed professionals in Maine from attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors.

Generic stories of the Week:

In Baltimore and Beyond, a Stolen N.S.A. Tool Wreaks Havoc.

Disney CEO Bob Iger Suggests Company Could Leave Georgia Over Anti-Abortion Law.

Naomi Wolf’s Book Corrected by Host in BBC Interview. And what she got wrong is pretty awful…

Can This Naked Guy Change State Law?

How Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20 years.

Awful, Deplorable People:

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un carrying out purge after Hanoi summit collapse. By ‘purge’ they mean he’s executing people… again.

Mike Pence Is a Terrifying Menace. Yes, he is. But we still need to impeach is m-f-ing boss.

Department Of Energy Press Release Rebrands Fossil Fuels As “Freedom Gas” And “Molecules Of Freedom”.

Texas Sec. of State David Whitley resigns after botched attempt to purge Hispanic voters.

Surgeon Who Stealth-Raped Fellow Doctor by Removing Condom Can Continue Practicing Medicine, Court Says.

This Week in Impeach the Mo-Fo Already:

Trump Deletes Tweet Admitting Russia Helped Him Get Elected.

‘Mindbogglingly stupid’: Conservative editor lists five reasons Trump’s new Mexico tariffs make no sense.

Mueller emphasizes that he didn’t clear Trump.

Let’s Not Upset the President: The White House Tells the Navy to Hide the U.S.S. McCain — Navy Destroyer John McCain Hidden During Trump’s Japan Visit.

Federal prosecutors demand Cindy Yang records from Mar-a-Lago, Trump campaign.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/25/2019: Is irony officially dead?

Traditionally once known as Decoration Day, or Memorial for Grandma.

Shiny old toy: today, my Mac Pro Tower turns 10 years old, still going strong!

Confessions of a Coffee Maniac.

Dark barons and ultra-competent (conniving) wizards, or, more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Swamp Thing | Full Trailer | DC Universe:

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

Todrick’s ‘Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels’ Has More Fierce Men Dancing in Stilettos Than You’ve Ever Seen:

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

Mathew V – Flashback (Official Music Video):

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

Nakhane – Clairvoyant (Official Video):

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

KAYTRANADA – YOU’RE THE ONE (feat. SYD):

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

What’s your favorite End-of-the-World movie?

REM disc art.
“It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine!
I finally watched Iron Sky, which is a very silly movie about a secret colony of Nazis hidden on the dark side of the moon, that has been plotting the “liberation” of earth for 70-some years. It’s got some nice, diesel-punk (that’s like steampunk, except moved forward about 40 years) sets and devices. It has some nice homages to a couple of movies (Dr. Strangelove, Downfall, just to name two) without beating you over the head with it. It was fun.

I especially liked the song that played over the end credits, “Under the Iron Sky”—not just because its chorus line, “We will meet again, under the Iron Sky,” was a nice nod to Kubrick’s choice to play “We’ll Meet Again,” over the end credits of Dr. Strangelove. While I was checking to see if the song was available to buy online (it is, along with an entire album of music inspired by the movie released by the Finnish band, Kaiti Kink Ensemble), I got thinking about other end-of-the-world movies and why I like them.

I wound up polling my twitter followers for more suggestions of end-of-the-world movies. That spawned a side conversation about the difference between a post-apocalyptic story versus a story about an apocalypse. For me, not all post-apocalyptic stories are end-of-the-world stories. And though I’ve been thinking about it for a whole week, I still haven’t been able to clearly articulate why I think of Mad Max as an end-of-the-world story, but Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome are post-apocalyptic but not end-of-the-world in my head.

However, since I polled my twitter followers, I’m going to poll you! Note that you can choose Other and type in the name of your favorite if it isn’t listed.

Also, please feel free to add a comment with your own thoughts on the subject. I want to post a follow-up on the subject. Maybe by then I’ll have a better idea of how to explain my definition of end-of-the-world movie!