It’s Friday! It’s December. As the year draws to an end we enter Advent Season as everything leads up to the big day we’ve all been waiting for: when we sacrifice the Holly King so the Sun Child may be born and bring us the Festivus Pole!

(In case you don’t know: I’m a taoist who loves Christmas music, decorating trees, and making everything bright and sparkly; my husband is a pagan who puts up with my yuletide mania and helps amp up the silly on my decorating themes.)

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:

Is This The Best Trans Character In The History Of Video Games?.

What If We’re Wrong About Depression?.

Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop.

The Pain of the Watermelon Joke. Thanks to @geojlc for the link!

Race ya: White people, we have to do better.

In Mississippi Marriage Ruling, Judge Gives History Lesson on Anti-Gay Discrimination. It really is a must-read.

How to Make Your Last Name Plural This Christmas Season.

Teacher Schools Class On Privilege…With A Recycling Bin And Some Paper.

And someone decided that wasn’t a comprehensive lesson: How to really understand white privilege.

No longer true that divorce rate is rising, or that half of all marriages end in divorce–hasn’t been for two decades.

VISIBLE GIRLS: LONDON’S LOST FEMALE SUBCULTURES. In the early 1980s, photographer Anita Corbin documented the “informal uniforms” of young women’s subcultures across London.

‘In 1995 we announced the arrival of Elizabeth. He informs us we were mistaken. Oops!’: Parents’ heartwarming birth notice to acknowledge their daughter becoming a transgender son called Kai.

Speaking of stories that restore a bit of my faith in humanity: Andre Johnson Bought A Buttload Of Toys For Kids Again.

Turkeygate: In Defense of Sasha and Malia.

Stephen Colbert’s Defense Of The New Lightsaber Is Awesomely Nerdy. Thanks to @tdjohnsn for the link!

Arizona pastor predicts ‘AIDS-free Christmas’ if all gays are killed, as God commands. “Predicts” isn’t the right word. He advocates for killing us.

My Great-Great-Aunt Discovered Francium. And It Killed Her.

The typography (and iconography) of Ridley Scott’s Alien. This is awesome!

Cartoon by Steve Stack puts #BlackLivesMatter into clear perspective.

THE GLOWING MALE PHYSIQUES OF DUTCH ARTIST MAURICE HEERDINK. Click through all the pages, the art is worth it.

Has Comet Sliding Spring changed Mars’ atmosphere forever? ‘Meteoric smoke’ from flyby may have altered Martian chemistry.

Eric Radford: Olympic figure skater, medal-winning family man. And gay.

One last gasp: Eric Garner and the failure of racial justice.

Electric Eels Can Remotely Control Their Prey’s Muscles.

Where Are The “Comeback” Columns About Obama? They Were A D.C. Media Staple For Bush.

I wrote about: NaNoWriMo achievement unlocked again!.

And Drop-kick me, Odin, through the goal posts of life*. Catching up on my goals, with a tiny digression about a cheesy country song.

Plus my thoughts On apologizing.

Bing Crosby & David Bowie – The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth:

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American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered | Bowie and Bing | PBS – the story of how Bowie saying he hated the song, led to the creation of a new Christmas classic:

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Star Wars Prank (Rémi Gaillard):

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Kate Pierson – “Mister Sister” (Official Music Video):

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[Official Video] Little Drummer Boy – Pentatonix:

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Queen + Adam Lambert – Somebody To Love (Live on X-Factor 2014):

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Carol of the Bells – David Hicken:

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