My husband and I have both come down with nasty colds, though we have very different symptoms. I haven’t gotten much writing done outside of work all week.

Welcome to my Friday Five: Only the top five (IMHO) stories of the week and five videos (plus notable obituaries and a recap of my blog posts).

Stories of the Week:

Found: A Giant Extinct Burrowing Bat.

Close encounters of the racist kind.

Alleged White Supremacist Is Charged With Terrorism After Stopping Amtrak Train.

The Bully’s Pulpit: On the elementary structure of domination. From a few years ago, but ever informative: “Psychologists had long assumed that mean kids were taking out their insecurities on others. No. It turns out that most bullies act like self-satisfied little pricks not because they are tortured by self-doubt, but because they actually are self-satisfied little pricks. Indeed, such is their self-assurance that they create a moral universe in which their swagger and violence becomes the standard by which all others are to be judged; weakness, clumsiness, absentmindedness, or self-righteous whining are not just sins, but provocations that would be wrong to leave unaddressed.”

Millions Are Hounded for Debt They Don’t Owe. One Victim Fought Back, With a Vengeance.

In Memoriam:

R.I.P. astronaut John Young, the first man to get yelled at for smuggling a sandwich into space.

John Young, ex-astronaut who walked on moon and commanded 1st shuttle flight, dies.

R.I.P. Jerry Van Dyke.

Remembering the one-of-a-kind Jerry Van Dyke.

Rest In Peace, Bard Richmond. Bard is the man who gave me my first job out of college…

Matt Palazzolo, Young Gay Rights Activist and Actor, Has Died on a Mountain Hike.

Things I wrote:

Magnanimous oppressors and two-way streets.

Confessions of the sometimes clueless.

Videos!

The Dick Van Dyke Show Full Episodes S01E26 I Am My Brother’s Keeper:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here. Also, it’s the first episode of a two-parter, and you should really watch the second one, too.)

Anderson Cooper Ridicules Trump’s Claim That News Anchors Sent Letters Praising Him for Running a Meeting Well:

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

Tapper to Trump: Look up, facts are in front of you:

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Calum Scott – You Are The Reason (Official):

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Jussie Smollett Freedom:

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The work week hasn’t been bad. It’s kind of nice that most of the office was shut down for most of the time I was out. There was a whole lot less email to dig through on my first day back, for instance. But, since I slept in just about every day of my 11-day vacation, my body has not been happy about getting up to go to work!

Welcome to my Friday Five: Only the top five (IMHO) stories of the week and videos (plus notable obituaries and a recap of my blog posts).

Stories of the Week:

In 2017, you were less likely to die in an airplane crash, but very likely to have a rough time as a passenger.

Fort Smith Mosque Forgives Its Vandal, Paying His Debts.

Where Do Ex-Evangelicals Come From?

Rich People Are the Worst at Relationships, Say Scientists.

It’s been one year since N.J. ditched cash bail. Here’s how it’s going.

Local Climate:

Seattle Sets New Rain Records.

In Memoriam:

Louis Collins, a titan of the antiquarian books scene, has passed away. “For a bookseller who made his name as a kind of human Google in an analog time, Collins adapted surprisingly well to the computerized age of bookselling.”

Washington Booksellers Remember Louis Collins, “One of the Best Bookmen in the Northwest”.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update: Is 2017 over yet?

Confessions of an equivocator with delusions of ruthlessness.

Videos!

Everything Ellen Knows About #DeepState and Eric Trump:

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LISTEN TO URSULA K. LE GUIN ON CELEBRITY CULTURE AND FICTION VS. FACT:

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Our President Never Planned On Being Our President:

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Winter Storm Grayson Brings Snow To Tallahassee, Florida For The First Time In Years:

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54 Years of Doctor Who in 2 Minutes:

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It is also the eighth day of my Christmas vacation. I thought this week would be easier to narrow the stories down to five, because we’re at the part of the year where all the news sites and publications are posted year in review pieces and listicles to fill the gap for all the contributors taking time for the holidays. But even with that, I still had a bunch to sort through.

Welcome to my Friday Five: Only the top five (IMHO) stories of the week and videos (plus notable obituaries and a recap of my posts).

Stories of the Week:

A New Species of Giant Octopus Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight.

From Minneapolis to New York City, nation faces frigid New Year’s Eve and start to 2018.

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Retain Most Admired Titles.

4 positive political moments for the LGBTQ community that somehow got past Trump.

Ten Federal Judges Have Now Rejected Trump’s Transgender Military Ban.

In Memoriam:

Rose Marie, ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ Star, Dies at 94. Rose Marie’s character on the Dick Van Dyke Show, Sally Rogers, was my favorite back in the day.

I missed this op-ed Rose Marie penned earlier this month, even though I’ve been following her on Twitter: ‘Dick Van Dyke’ Star Rose Marie: What Happened When I Publicly Shamed My Harasser (Guest Column).

Rose Marie and her 90 years in show biz are saluted in documentary ‘Wait for Your Laugh’. “Baby Rose Marie was a child star before Shirley Temple was born, sang for Al Capone, opened the first big casino in Las Vegas for Bugsy Siegel and changed the world by playing a female writer on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” when women didn’t work on TV. Spanning vaudeville, radio, Broadway, film, television and more, this new documentary tells the story of the longest active career in entertainment, but it also looks at what it was like to be a female performer in the 20th century, how to work through periods of extreme personal heartbreak, as well as, how Rose Marie and her fellow nonagenarians Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and Peter Marshall still have the drive to create today.”

Things I wrote:

What’s on your list?

We need a rainbow Christmas….

Words and Images: untreatable case of I don’t give a sh*t.

Videos!

Sam Smith – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in the Live Lounge:

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

December 2017! Best News Bloopers & Amazing Reporter Fails 2017 !! Funny video:

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Remembering Colo the first gorilla was born in a zoo, 1956–2017:

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THE CHRISTMAS OLYMPIC CHALLENGE | TWERK OFF ft. Matty Lee | Tom Daley:

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New Year’s Eve – Lea Michele “Auld Lang Syne”:

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It is also the first day of my Christmas vacation I don’t have to go back to the office or think about work until January, and that is a very good thing. I’m not quite as cheerful as I ought to be. First, a friend of many of my friends was one of the victims who died in the train derailment this week. Then, the man who gave me my first job in the telecommunications industry and was one of the best bosses ever lost his long battle with cancer this week.

Welcome to my Friday Five: Only the top five (IMHO) stories of the week and five videos (plus notable obituaries and a recap of my posts).

Stories of the Week:

‘Merry Christmas’ Is Bogus Issue, Voters Say 4-1, and other findings….

Kym Worthy: 817 serial rapists IDed in tests of Detroit rape kits.

Paleontologists Reconstructing Lost Worlds With Poop.

Sorry, NRA: The U.S. was actually founded on gun control – If you study your history, you’ll see it. Start with James Madison’s first draft of the Second Amendment.

The Curious Case Of THE LAST JEDI And Its Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score.

Unmourned Death:

Disgraced cardinal who oversaw Boston clergy sex abuse scandal dies.

In Memoriam:

Friends and Family Remember the Great Pacific Northwest Actor, G. Valmont Thomas.

Things I wrote:

Sunday Funnies, part 26.

A mobile slice of life.

May the calendar keeping bringing happy holidays to you!

Little packages of joy, love, and light.

Videos!

Gay Christmas – Tom Goss:

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OCEAN’S 8 – Official 1st Trailer:

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White Wine In The Sun by Tim Minchin:

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Foo Fighters: Christmas Medley (Live) – SNL:

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Carol of the Bells of Notre Dame:

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