Tag Archives: friday links

Friday Links (dystopian convention edition)

Ted Cruz as Penguin, Donald Trump as the Joker.
@samkalidi‬ posted these two pics with the comment, “It’s hard to tell the difference between this year’s Republican National Convention and Comic-Con.”
It’s the fourth Friday in July, and I’m glad that Friday is finally here. After a week of trying not to watch the white supremacist trainwreck that is this year’s Republican Convention, I’m really looking forward to going out with my husband to see Star Trek tonight and Absolutely Fabulous tomorrow night. I need to get away from the real world for a few hours!

And the news, not just out of the Republican Convention, was full of way more unpleasantness than I usually see. I decided not to include a bunch of links that I had bookmarked for this week’s posts because I felt that it was just getting too overwhelming. I also decided to re-arrange things a little bit, so that more of the good news is concentrated together. I’m not sure if it’s an improvement, but I hope it is.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

On My Dad Harold Ramis and Passing the ‘Ghostbusters’ Torch to a New Generation of Fans.

Trump Tracts: Subgenius-inflected mini-comics about Trump in the style of Jack Chick tracts.

Singapore’s celebrity urban otter family.

Fabulous, Darling!

Joanna  Lumley and Jennifer Saunders poses in the Winners Room at the British Fashion Awards 2015 at London Coliseum on November 23, 2015 in London, England.  (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders poses in the Winners Room at the British Fashion Awards 2015 at London Coliseum on November 23, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
This new AbFab Lego set looks like more fun than the Betty Ford Clinic.

‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’ not false advertising.

Happy News!

Crime Is Down and People Feel Safer.

News for queers and our allies:

James Franco On How A Prosthetic Penis Brought Him Closer to the LGBTQ Community.

Gay Men and Body Image.

It Gets Better, Unless You’re Fat.

Massachusetts transgender rights bill signed into law.

Science!

A broken telescope just discovered 104 new planets.

Scientists still don’t know what caused the ‘Eye of the Sahara’.

Explosive caterpillar infestation in New England is visible from space.

New venomous snake discovered in Costa Rica.

17 Maps That Will Change The Way You Look At The World Forever.

Scientists mapped the human brain like a city and revealed that we’ve been ignoring some of its most important parts.

A rock as long as New Jersey may have smashed up the moon’s ‘face’.

Scientists turn old plastic bottles into fuel.

Graphics reveal how different today’s climate is from the one many of us grew up with.

Edmonton professor discovers new ‘megaraptor’ in Argentina.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

More 2016 Comic-Con Photos Including Cosplay!

Comic-Con: Why so few movies in Hall H? Blame the pirates, matey.

At San Diego Comic-Con, Toy Collectors Aren’t Playing Around.

Over 200 Pictures of the Cool, Weird, and Crazy Things on Display at Comic-Con 2016.

Patt Morrison interviews: ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ author Ursula K. Le Guin.

Uncanny Magazine Kickstarter Raising Funds for Year Three.

“Muppets” Take Ankh-Morpork. The Jim Henson Company is going to make Wee Free Men!

This week in I can’t even…

Leslie Jones’ Tweets on Monday Night Were a Powerful Response to an Insane Torrent of Hate.

The Ghostbros Ruined My Childhood.

Truth, Consequences, Twitter, and Milo Yiannopoulos.

What my evening with Milo told me about Twitter’s biggest troll, the death of reason, and the crucible of A-list con-men that is the Republican National Convention.

A Note On a Jackass Getting Booted From Twitter. “So the math there at least appears pretty obvious from the outside. You can punch down on Twitter and get away with it, but don’t punch up, and punch up enough to make Twitter look bad, or you’ll get in trouble (after more than a day).”

This Week in Tech

Who is harmed by a “Real Names” policy?.

Stop the privatization of health data: Tech giants moving into health may widen inequalities and harm research, unless people can access and share their data.

We Shouldn’t Get Used To Online Abuse.

This Week in Diversity

​A tale of two selfies: This New Capitol Hill Interns Selfie Will Give You Hope.

This Week in Police Problems

Albany Cops Sound Like Abusive Spouses in Teen Workshop.

Video Shows Unarmed Black Man Pleading With Arms Raised Before Getting Shot by Police.

This week in awful news

It’s Time To Recognize What Many Mass Murderers Share In Common: Yet again, a deranged mass killer abused the women in his life before striking the public.

Sovereign Citizens Are America’s Top Cop-Killers.

What Is the Washitaw Nation, ‘Sovereign’ Group Baton Rouge Shooter Identified With?

Sovereign Citizens A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement.

Culture war news:

Here Are All the Disturbing Ways Evangelical Christianity Influenced the GOP’s 2016 Platform.

An Open Letter to the Log Cabin Republicans.

The Class Politics of Decluttering.

Texas’ Voter ID Law Struck Down By An Extraordinarily Conservative Appeals Court.

Lawsuit: Trans Students Made To Wear Green Bracelets To ID Themselves.

Rick Scott Discussed Orlando During His RNC Speech. He Didn’t Mention The LGBT Community Or Guns.

Iowa church sues to change LGBTQ civil rights brochure.

Ala. Judicial Ethics Commission to Chief Justice: Roy, Bye.

NBA pulls 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, focuses on New Orleans.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

GOP chair wrongly claims ‘facts’ show children do better with straight parents.

Violence, Blood and Betrayal inside the Trump Potemkin Village.

Lying Liars Who Lie: 2016 Edition. I’m not just linking to a Mormon Press story, I’m agreeing with it? Yes, yes I am!

“The Art of the Deal” made America see Trump as a charmer with an unfailing knack for business. Tony Schwartz helped create that myth—and regrets it.

Mike Pence’s top seven most homophobic moments (out of many).

"If your political party spends decades treating gay people as second-class citizens, guess what: You don't get to use Freddie Mercury's music at your convention."
“If your political party spends decades treating gay people as second-class citizens, guess what: You don’t get to use Freddie Mercury’s music at your convention.”
Trump Used ‘We Are the Champions’ at RNC Against Queen’s Wishes.

Kim Davis Loses Yet Again, Appeals Court Denies Her Request To Have Antigay Record Cleared.

This week in Politics:

Male escorts are making crazy money at the RNC.

Close Encounters of the Casual Kind: Dear God, Republicans are a horny gay bunch.

Dan Savage on Jill Stein: Just No. A vote for the Green Party candidate is exactly a vote for Trump, and so is a vote for the Libertarian. And if you don’t understand that, let me first explain to you that the Earth is not flat.

The Republicans waged a 3-decade war on government. They got Trump. I’m sorry, I can’t feel any sympathy to anyone who supported Romney, or McCain/Palin, or Bush/Cheney who only just now realized that the party has been running on hate and lies.

This Week in (other) Hate Crimes

Alleged Hate Group Member Charged in Shooting of Trans Woman in Indiana.

‘We just want to be accepted.’ At a vigil, transgender people mourn one of their own.

This Week in Misogyny

Roger Ailes Resigns as Fox News Chief After Sexual Harassment Accusations.

Violence Against Women and Online Harassment.

Farewells:

Garry Marshall, ‘Pretty Woman’ Director and Creator of ‘Happy Days,’ Dies at 81.

Dem Rep. Mark Takai Dies Of Cancer At Age 49.

Hawaii mourns passing of health care advocate U.S. Rep. Mark Takai.

Things I wrote:

Bustin’ ghosts and laughing it up.

I ain’t afraid of no dude-bros, or just call me a Ghost Girl, too!

Queer and self-loathing in the Grand Old Party.

Bullied Bullies: Orchestrating Harassment Isn’t Expressing an Idea.

Really arrested development. (I wrote one sentence, the rest of this post is C.S. Lewis, but…)

Videos!

First Lady Michelle Obama Carpool Karaoke:

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

Ghostbusters 2016 Red-Carpet Interviews w/ Cast, Crew & Lindalee Rose (make sure you stick around to see the little girl interview Kate McKinnon about Holtzman):

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

Mister Wallace ‘It Girl’:

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

Billy Cullum – Friends:

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

The Brocks – Going Nowhere (Official Video):

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

“Hands” – A Song for Orlando (Lyric Video):

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

Friday Links (fear, hope, and listening edition)

New York Daily New cover speculating as to which awful, misogynist, racist, homophobic politician will be chosen as the running mate for the tangerine-skinned neo-fascist con-man.
New York Daily New cover speculating as to which awful, misogynist, racist, homophobic politician will be chosen as the running mate for the tangerine-skinned neo-fascist con-man.
It’s the third Friday in July, and it hasn’t been a great week. Maybe not as awful as last week, but plenty of scary and unpleasant things happening. I’m doing my very best not to think about that stuff at least tonight, because my husband and I are going to go see Ghostbusters, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out.

WHY THE CLINTON AMERICA SEES ISN’T THE CLINTON COLLEAGUES KNOW.

There is Hope: Time to Follow an Indigenous Model for Peace in America.

And other news:

Amazon’s Chinese counterfeit problem is getting worse.

Heavily armed drug cops raid retiree’s garden, seize okra plants.

Surviving Suicide In Wyoming.

This week in evil people

Minuteman Militia Founder & Senate Candidate Chris Simcox Sentenced To 20 Years For Child Molestation.

Edmond man arrested at Black Lives Matter rally on terrorist hoax complaint.

This week in History

Congress Approves Arlington Cemetery Burials For Female WWII Pilots.

45 YEARS IN, THE FBI ANNOUNCED THEY’RE NO LONGER INVESTIGATING THE D.B. COOPER HIJACKING.

This Week in Tech

The Tragedy of Pokémon Go: What it takes for good ideas to attract money.

Google quietly brings its forget program to the U.S..

This Week in Diversity

One Photo Shows Why We Needed An All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot.

Don’t Praise the Designer Who Made Leslie Jones a Gorgeous Dress for the Ghostbusters Premiere.

An Open Letter on Identity Politics, to and from the Left.

This Week in Police Problems

Aren’t more white people than black people killed by police? Yes, but no. There are two different parts to the “no.” First, portionate to their part of the populate, black people are nearly three times more likely to be killed by cops than whites. But the big difference is this: of UNARMED suspects killed by cops? Far more black unarmed suspects than white unarmed suspects are killed by cops every year.

NYC Man Who Recorded Eric Garner’s Choke Hold Death Takes Plea Deal, Will Likely Serve 4 Years in Prison.

This White Woman’s Shocking Account of Police Brutality Has a Lesson About Race in America.

FBI Confirms 2015 Was One Of The Safest Years Ever For Cops.

Man who Posted Alton Sterling Shooting Video Arrested 24 Hours Later on Fabricated Charges.

Surprising New Evidence Shows Bias in Police Use of Force but Not in Shootings.

After Dallas Shootings, Police Arrest People for Criticizing Cops on Facebook and Twitter.

The Singular Trauma Of A Child Who Loses A Parent To A Police Shooting.

Sorry conservatives, new research from Harvard shows a profound amount of racism by police…not less of it.

Why it’s impossible to calculate the percentage of police shootings that are legitimate.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Bob Fletcher Dies at 101; Saved Farms of Interned Japanese-Americans.

Muslim Man Hugs ISIS Militant Armed Wearing Suicide Vest Before Explosion, Saves Hundreds Of Lives.

This week in awful news

80 Killed in Truck Attack on Bastille Day Crowd in Nice, France. This one does not seem to autoplay the horrible video.

Scores Killed in Terrorist Attack in Nice, France. Also no video.

Unsealed Court Documents: Sandusky Abuse Allegation Was Reported To Joe Paterno In 1976.

Queer leaders of Black Lives Matter condemn deadly Dallas ambush.

This Goddamn Week: Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, and the Real America.

NEWS‘I Hate Gay N****s’: Lunatic Posts Disturbing Video of Himself Pulling a Gun on Man He Thinks Is Gay.

This week in Topics Most People Can’t Be Rational About

The Case of Mark Hughes, Or Don’t Carry at a Protest.

Sen. Murphy leading effort to raise cash for pro-gun control candidates.

News for queers and our allies:

A country boy’s story about coming out: self-harm, suicide and Safe Schools.

Student scholarships grow out of move to ‘mourn’ same-sex marriage.

This teen’s family threw her an incredible surprise coming out party.

The Kindness of Strangers: An older woman comes out of a quarter century of stealth life to discover Trans Pride.

one man’s obsessive and historic collection of queer photography.

The Couch in Rainbow Colors: ‘L.G.B.T.-Affirming’ Therapy.

Science!

How one man repopulated a rare butterfly species in his backyard.

Looking Down on the International Space Station. Literally.

Science reveals 8 plants that will purify your home.

A ‘slow catastrophe’ unfolds as the golden age of antibiotics comes to an end.

The quantum origin of time.

Scientists who found gluten sensitivity evidence have now shown it doesn’t exist.

NASA’s Juno probe beams back its first images from Jupiter’s orbit.

Astronomers discover new planet on the edge of the solar system.

Study shows what happens when you swap fat for sugar.

Here’s What Really Happens When You Digitally Detox, According to Research.

Mantis Shrimp Roll Their Eyes, But For A Good Reason.

Super-massive and supersonic black hole studied with the Sardinia Radio Telescope.

Rate of species decline ‘no longer within safe limit’ for humans, experts warn.

Why the turtle got its shell.

50 million year old mushroom found trapped in amber.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Where has this Amazing Comic Book Art Been all My Life? This Belgian artist’s visions of a retro future are simply too beautiful for words.

I saw Tarzan and this is my review after some wines.

The world needs Star Trek’s progressive sexual future, and gay Sulu proves it.

Readercon 27: Confronting the fails.

George Takei Sets Record Straight on Gay Sulu Comments: Star Trek Actor ‘Delighted’ with ‘Daring Storytelling’.

George Romero Finally Getting Hollywood Walk of Fame Star!.

Ghostbusters Is the Movie We Need Right Now.

This week in Writing

Critics Suck. But Life Goes On: How to Deal With Negative Reviews of Your Work.

Author Blume doesn’t think of her legacy.

This is How You Find Your Readers.

Calling Emily Post: A Blogging Etiquette Roundup.

Review: Scrivener for iOS app is finally out next week, and it’s worth the wait.

Culture war news:

One of them is an animated corpse who scares people by reading from an old must book of gory made-up stories and wickedly relishing the ruin of others — and the other is the Crypt Keeper.
One of them is an animated corpse who scares people by reading from an old musty book of gory made-up stories and wickedly relishing the ruin of others — and the other is the Crypt Keeper.
Op-Ed: Christian Universities Can’t Have It Both Ways.

When Christian Schools Make Campuses Less Safe.

Here they are, the ‘enemies of equality’ for LGBT Americans.

Four Things You Need to Know About the So-Called First Amendment Defense Act.

GOP adopts “cure gays” platform plank.

Donald Trump Keeps Distance in G.O.P. Platform Fight on Gay Rights. “reviving a festering cultural dispute”

Contempt ruling upheld against Kentucky clerk against gay marriage.

In response to the Dallas police shooting, presidential flop and Donald Trump supporter Dr. Ben Carson thought it provided a unique time to do some good ol’ gay bashing.

MISSISSIPPI LEADERS DIVIDED ON RELIGIOUS-BELIEFS LAW APPEAL.

Emerging Republican Platform Goes Far to the Right.

Transgender bathroom issue headed to SCOTUS.

Opinion: Sorry Scott Morrison, but you’ll never be able to relate to a gay person’s experience.

This Week Regarding the Facist Clown:

For Whites Sensing Decline, Donald Trump Unleashes Words of Resistance.

GOP war on porn: The same party that nominated a libertine for president is now calling your porn a “public health crisis”.

This week in Politics:

Totally Not Gay Advisor To Dr. Stabby Sued For Alleged Sexual Harassment Of Male Former Staffer.

Revised GOP platform includes measure for Trump’s Mexican ‘border wall,’ endorsement of mogul’s plan to ban Muslims, but lacks gun control reform. “…a list of priorities straight out of the 1950s…”

In Win for Senate Dems, Bayh Will Run in Indiana.

Obama Renews Call For A ‘Public Option’ In Federal Health Law.

The Democratic Party has moved left after Bernie Sanders’s run. The platform is proof.

Barney Frank Came Back To Congress And Ran Circles Around Everyone.

Victory Fund Statement on Donald Trump’s Selection of Mike Pence.

Welcome to the New Democratic Party.

Why Hillary Clinton’s ‘Extreme Carelessness’ with Classified Emails Isn’t Criminal.

Cleveland Strip Clubs Pumped for Trump But Brace for Violent Protests.

This Week in Racism

Sarah Palin: Media Must ‘Quit Claiming’ Black Lives Matter Protesters ‘Are People’.

Sen. Tim Scott reveals incidents of being targeted by Capitol Police being target.

‘Classic intimidation’—Black Lives Matter activists targeted by FBI ahead of RNC.

This Week in Feminism

The Logic of Misogyny.

This Week in Misogyny

Stop Treating Emotions Like Character Flaws Of The Powerless.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 7/9/2016: anti-trans law not going to ballot, shooter stopped.

Sunday Funnies, part 19.

Sausage making: my history with presidential nominees.

Rough, manly sport, part 6.

It’s about time – why Star Trek’s Sulu reveal is overdue.

Videos!

Hear Every 2016 Song of the Summer in One Perfect Mash-Up:

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

Shim El Yasmine – Mashrou’ Leila (Beirut-Based Band That Challenges Homophobia) Live in San Francisco:

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

Friday Links (can the bad news let up? edition)

Which states have the highest rate of gun deaths? No, not NY, IL or CA. It's the ones with lax gun rules.
Which states have the highest rate of gun deaths? No, not NY, IL or CA. It’s the ones with lax gun rules. (click to embiggen)
Friday has finally arrived. It is the second Friday in July. I was actually surprised that this week’s collection of links is at least as big as last week’s, given that I’ve been busy with Camp NaNoWriMo and then came down sick.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

In Praise of Ambivalence — “Young” Feminism, Gender Identity and Free Speech.

Optical Illusion: Concentric circles, not a spiral.

And other news:

Minorities, punished most by war on drugs, underrepresented in legal pot.

Is nothing sacred? Mrs. White Will Be Gone From the Clue Board, Replaced With a ‘Dr. Orchid’.

This week in We won’t give up:

Gays Against Guns stood up by laying down.

This week in History

After 7 years, UK’s Iraq War inquiry releases 2.6M word report damning Tony Blair and the invasion.

From ‘Runt Of The Litter’ To ‘Liberal Icon,’ The Story Of Robert Kennedy.

To show that Gothic script could be fatiguing to read, medieval scribes invented this joke sentence.

This Week in Tech

Searching for a good reason to remove the headphone jack. “Is Apple removing the headphone jack from the iPhone? Nobody really knows… This is a tech unicorn, an unannounced feature on a nonexistent product, and it’s important to keep that in mind.”

This Week in Diversity

Fat People and Chairs – A Hate Story.

This Week in Police Problems

tumblr_o9pdu2qp2a1qc0oyno1_500Democrats: The White Working Class Isn’t Voting for You, So Stop Pandering to Them.

A POLICE KILLING IN BATON ROUGE.

How police work rooted in racial profiling maintains hostilities that inevitably lead to violence.

2015: in 97% of murders by police, NO officers charged. The system is working as intended.

Alton Sterling: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know.

Pinned Down, Gunned Down: Protests Erupt After Police Fatally Shoot Black Man in Baton Rouge.

Police killing of Philando Castile a reminder Second Amendment and NRA campaigns don’t apply to Black people.

I’m a black ex-cop, and this is the real truth about race and policing.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Washington transgender bathroom initiative fails to gather enough signatures.

This week in awful news

Bangladesh attack: Twenty hostages killed, army says .

Bangladesh attack: Dhaka’s Holey cafe attackers were known to police .

These are the victims of the Bangladesh attack .

More than 120 killed in Islamic State’s worst ever bomb attack in the Iraqi capital.

Medina explosion: Suicide bombing near Saudi holy site.

Iraq suicide bomb attack: Deaths in Baghdad rise to 165.

Why so-called Islamic State chooses to bomb during Ramadan.

Baghdad bombing death toll rises to 250.

Attack on holy city of Medina appalls Muslims amid Ramadan violence.

Dallas protest shooting: 11 police shot, four dead, as suspect in custody.

Update: another officer has died Dallas police shooting: Five officers killed, six hurt by snipers.

Dallas Police Department Was Posting Pictures of Peaceful Protesters Before Shooting Started.

Iraq violence: Dozens killed in Shia shrine suicide attack.

News for queers and our allies:

Judge: Indiana Must List Both Moms For Children Of Lesbians.

Artist Creates An Imaginary History Of Queerness From Found Photos.

‘My Pride includes Black Lives Matters,’ says an original organizer of the parade.

Science!

Butterflies in the Time of Dinosaurs, with Nary a Flower in Sight.

‘Welcome to Jupiter!’ NASA’s Juno space probe arrives at giant planet.

Science Says These Work Hours Are Terrible for Your Health.

Researchers develop genetic test that can predict your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

‘One-two punch’: Researchers’ latest insight on what killed the dinosaurs.

GHOSTLY FISH SEEN ALIVE IN DEEP OCEAN FOR FIRST TIME.

Massachusetts is being swallowed by millions of hungry caterpillars.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Top Ten Tuesday: underrated books.

How science fiction writers predicted virtual reality.

NEW ASH VS EVIL DEAD SEASON 2 TEASER BRINGS THE GUTS AND GORE.

Culture war news:

God vs. the Constitution.

Brazil Is Confronting an Epidemic of Anti-Gay Violence. This nugget is buried near the end of the article: “The anti-gay violence, [experts] contend, can be traced to Brazil’s culture of machismo and a brand of evangelical Christianity, exported from the United States, that is outspoken in its opposition to homosexuality. Evangelicals make up nearly a quarter of Brazil’s population, up from 5 percent in 1970, and religious leaders reach millions of people through the hundreds of television and radio stations they have purchased in recent years.”

Gee, where have we heard news like the Brazil story before: How Uganda was seduced by anti-gay conservative evangelicals.

WTF? Christians pose as gay pothead zombies to spread hate at Toronto Pride.

Trump Supporters Flooded Me With Anti-Semitic Taunts & Death Threats Yesterday.

THE LATEST: NO JUDGES SOUGHT RECUSAL FROM DOING GAY WEDDINGS.

The Mormon fallout of legalized same-sex marriage.

State’s Youth Suicide Rate Has Nearly Tripled Since 2007, But Health Officials Refuse to Acknowledge Impact of Anti-Gay Religious Teachings.

Gay Ex-Mormon Tyler Glenn Reports 5 More LGBT Youth Suicides; Church Responds.

The Benham Brothers can even make cooking homophobic.

Kim Davis Flouts The Law — Again — As Liberty Counsel Withholds Attorney-Client Records.

Millions of Americans Have Nothing to Celebrate on the Fourth of July.

The Cult Next Door: For decades, the people of Hinsdale gave little thought to the mysterious brick building in town. Then came a scandal. When I was a teen-ager, my church and others organized outings to this organizations week-long seminar/workshop things which filled a stadium.

Homophobia and mass shootings are afflictions that won’t be solved overnight — but the problematic and outdated restrictions against gay blood donors could be.

Pope Francis Can Begin By Apologizing For His Own Hateful Words Against Gays.

Same-sex couple denied a birthday cake by Ohio bakery.

Tory Candidate For Prime Minister Says Marriage Should Just Be For Christians.

This Week Regarding the Facist Clown:

Trump and Brexit are like lotto tickets: the more unrealistic, the better.

Donald Trump’s Star of David Hillary Clinton Meme Was Created by White Supremacists.

An Open Letter To Reince Preibus . I think it’s almost cute that the “GOP media guy” who wrote thinks that Trump’s voter base is in any significant way different that the voter base the Republican’s have been courting, encouraging, and creating for the last 36 years…

Leading white supremacist on Trump’s retweets: Trump is “giving us the old wink-wink.”

The Theology of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s Love Affair With White Supremacists.

A GOP Strategist Explains How Donald Trump Knows Anti-Semites And White Nationalists Are “The Center Of His Play”.

Trump Tells GOP Senator He’ll Lose Re-Election, Even Though He’s Not on Ballot.

Donald Trump Has No Clue How Many Articles Are in the Constitution: Pledges to Defend Nonexistent ‘Article 12’ in Meeting with House Republicans.

This week in Politics:

Jim Comey’s Statement on the Clinton Emails: A Quick and Dirty Analysis.

FBI Director Comey: Petraeus case worse than Clinton’s emails.

Cruz to speak at convention after Trump meeting. We knew the tapeworm would eventually cave…

House GOP indefinitely delays gun control votes.

GOP faces tough odds to revoke Clinton’s clearance.

This Week in Racism

“Racism Exists”: Minnesota Governor Says Philando Castile Would Be Alive If He Were White.

The disturbing data on Republicans and racism: Trump backers are the most bigoted within the GOP.

Am I Going to Write About Murdered Black People Forever?

Farewells:

Famed Holocaust Survivor and ‘Night’ Author Elie Wiesel Dies At Age of 87.

WATCH: Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

Noel Neill with George Reeves on the set of the Superman TV series. Years before playing Lois with Reeves, Neil played Lois Lane opposite Kirk Allyn in two movies, 1946's Superman, and 1948's Atom Man vs Superman.
Noel Neill with George Reeves on the set of the Superman TV series. Years before playing Lois with Reeves, Neil played Lois Lane opposite Kirk Allyn in two movies, 1946’s Superman, and 1948’s Atom Man vs Superman.
Noel Neill dies at 95; first actress to play Lois Lane.

‘Deer Hunter’ Director Michael Cimino Is Dead.

Legendary Women’s Basketball Coach Pat Summitt Has Died.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 7/2/2016 – Neither free nor religious.

Got a dream we’ve come to share.

It’s my country, too.

Advanced Civilizations and Clever Monkeys – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

The Beginning:

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

The Daily Show – The Fatal Shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile:

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

Clean Bandit – Tears ft. Louisa Johnson [Official Video]:

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

The Nightly Show – Alton Sterling’s Death & Black Lives Matter:

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

Adam Lambert – Welcome to the Show feat. Laleh [Official Music Video]:

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

Friday Links (more links than ever before edition)

"America and Britain are having a competition on who can f*ck themselves up the most. Britain is in the lead, but America has a Trump card."
“America and Britain are having a competition on who can f*ck themselves up the most. Britain is in the lead, but America has a Trump card.” (click to embiggen)
Friday has finally arrived. It is the first Friday in July, which means that I’ve started my Camp NaNoWriMo project and looking forward to a nice holiday weekend with my hubby. I was a little shocked when I assembled this week’s links, because the number was so much higher than usual. In fact, it might be the most links I’ve ever put together for a Friday Links post! Maybe I’m trying to get a jump on the rest o the month, since I’ll be spending all of my lunches writing rather than half reading the news and half writing. I’m not sure.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

Letter From the Editor: On Orlando and Its Aftermath. “You cannot decry the “lifestyle” of queer people and then wring your hands when someone takes you seriously and tries to end our lives.”

Who Blames the Victim?

Letter to the 10-year-old girl who applied to the Paris Summer Innovation Fellowship.

This week in privacy

How Facebook’s ‘People You May Know’ Section Just Got Creepier.

Microsoft’s pushy Windows 10 upgrade tactics have finally come back to haunt them. Travel agency owner Teri Goldstein swears that she didn’t want the upgrade and never asked for it, either….

Mister Rogers Said to Look for the Helpers

This heroic son of Muslim immigrants saved countless lives during Orlando shooting.

‘Microcosm of the city’: Garfield High principal navigates racial divide.

The heroes of Istanbul: Stories of incredible bravery from the Turkey airport terror attack.

These Orlando shooting heroes prove people are fundamentally good.

This week in We won’t give up:

Orlando tragedy spurs huge turnout at Seattle’s Gay Pride Parade.

#RestInPRIDE memorializes Orlando shooting victims with heartbreaking music video.

This Week in Community Radio

Community Group Inks Deal With Pacific Lutheran University To Buy KPLU.

This Week in Diversity

Why queer hockey webcomic Check, Please! is stealing the internet’s heart. I’ve recommended this comic, myself.

Midnighter & Apollo, Gay Superheroes of Comics, to Reunite This Fall.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

LONDON COMMUTERS STAND UP TO HOMOPHOBIA IN PUBLIC – WATCH.

This week in awful news

The Catholic Church is lobbying to prevent changes to statutes of limitations.

C.I.A. Arms for Syrian Rebels Supplied Black Market, Officials Say.

Car set on fire outside Perth mosque as hundreds pray inside.

41 killed in Instanbul attack blamed on ISIS.

Istanbul airport attack: Who were the victims?

Michael Katze, famous for his studies of Ebola and the flu, ran a lab at the University of Washington where intoxication and sexual harassment went unchecked, and where he misused public resources for personal gain, according to two investigations.

This week in Topics Most People Can’t Be Rational About

Supreme Court Just Ruled that Domestic Abusers Can’t Have Guns.

News for queers and our allies:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this category. As I mentioned to a friend, if a person is reading my blog, they either are a member of the queer community, or they are an ally, or they are an enemy who is following me to see what we’re up to. I thought about changing the headline for this section to someting like “News for people who aren’t haters” or something even snarkier. Does anyone have any ideas? Let me know.

Adam Silver Made History And Marched In The NYC Pride Parade And Kevin Durant Approve.

He Escaped ISIS to Lead NYC Pride: Subhi Nahas’s Fight for LGBT Refugees.

40 Powerful, Joyous Photos of People Celebrating at NYC Pride.

The simple reason so many US businesses openly support LGBT rights.

The Fetish Pups, Rainbow Babies, and Sequinned Drag Queens of London Pride.

Op-Ed: Why I’m Marching for the First Time.

¡Viva Orgullo! See how Mexico City celebrated Pride.

Seattle Police report a drop in Pride Weekend attacks.

Pentagon ends ban on transgender troops in military.

Estimate of U.S. Transgender Population Doubles to 1.4 Million Adults.

Angels in America: The Complete Oral History.

A Father Refused to Claim Body of Pulse Victim.

Science!

Mad Scientist Builds a 200-Watt Laser Bazooka That Can Shoot Through a Computer Case: VIDEO.

Scientists Unleash Full Einstein Equations To Model The Universe.

New evidence that sperm whales form clans with diverse cultures, languages.

Mouse study helps explain why running improves memory.

Augmented eternity: scientists aim to let us speak from beyond the grave.

Juno probe closes in on Jupiter after five-year journey from Earth.

Ken Ham’s Version of Noah’s Ark Is Horribly Designed.

Dwarf planet Makemake has a moon, astronomers find.

We have the wrong idea about males, females and sex.

Has Physics Gotten Something Really Important Really Wrong?

New model predicts once-mysterious chemical reactions.

The Latest Science Says Coffee Is Good for You.

Humans are driving the evolution of new species — and that could be just as bad as causing extinctions.

Scientists discovered a new shade of blue and it’s totally gorgeous.

WAITING FOR GÖDEL.

Unprecedented Recovery Documented in 10 Early-stage Alzheimer’s Patients.

7 science-backed reasons you should make art, even if you’re bad at it.

No, We’re Not Headed for a Mini–Ice Age.

The 1 Type of Complaining That Will Make You Feel Better, According to Science.

Marijuana compound removes toxic Alzheimer’s protein from the brain.

Giant spacecraft arrives at Jupiter on July 4.

Little Worlds Have Bigger Features: Why Everest And The Grand Canyon Are So Small.

World’s First Robot Lawyer Helps 160,000 People Void Their Parking Tickets.

It’s not easy being green – What colors tell us about galaxy evolution.

City Lights Trick Trees into an Earlier Spring.

31 scientific societies just told Congress to take their climate denial and shove it.

Scientists Find ‘Life-Saving’ Stash Of Precious Helium Gas.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Star Trek: A Case Study In How to Dismantle a Fandom.

Neil Gaiman Delves Deep Into Norse Myths for New Book.

This week in Writing

How To Turn Your Rules for Failure Into Success.

A Year in the Publishing Game . . ..

Culture war news:

Judge Strikes Down Mississippi’s Anti-LGBT HB1523 Minutes Before It Was to Take Effect.

A Year After Marriage Equality, It’s Time For Media To Stop Giving Anti-LGBT Liars A Pass.

Tony Perkins believes that he has a First Amendment right to be on TEEvee.

Watch Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg shame homophobic protesters: ‘You’re so f**ked’.

Love beats ISIS.

Cops: Trans Activist Beaten After Orlando Benefit.

New York Case Could Provide Key Test For Establishing Legal Protections For Gay People.

Here’s Why the Lavender Scare Still Matters.

NOM’s March for Marriage Is the Dying Gasp of Opposition.

Socialism or barbarism: Only the left can defeat the rise of the radical right.

NBA and Charlotte Hornets: ‘We Do Not Endorse’ the Amended Version of HB 2.

Bryan Fischer: The Obergefell Ruling Was When “Moral Jihadists” Committed 9/11 Against Christians.

White Americans Are Biggest Terror Threat in U.S.: Study.

‘I Do Not Construe Homosexual Rights As Human Rights’ Says GOP Human Rights Subcommittee Head.

Americans are split on “reverse racism.” That still doesn’t mean it exists.

Two More Supreme Court Decisions Support Abortion Access.

Trumpism is here to stay: America’s neo-fascist fever dream has only just begun.

Texas AG Doesn’t Understand It’s Illegal to Out Trans Students.

At Evangelical Schools, Why Are Atheists Typically Favored Over LGBT Students?

This week in Politics:

Mike Huckabee Owes Band $25,000 After Playing “Eye of the Tiger” at Kim Davis Rally.

Republicans Rocked By Report Detailing GOP Lies And Abuses During Benghazi Investigation.

Why the Sanders “Revolution” Must Take on the Permanent War State.

House Benghazi report faults military response, not Clinton, for deaths.

With Clinton exonerated, conspiracy theorists turn on Trey Gowdy.

Trump Institute Offered Get-Rich Schemes With Plagiarized Lessons.

People Are Figuring Out Ways to Blame Obama for Brexit, Because of Course They Are.

What a real ‘Brexit Britain’ would look like.

Bernie Sanders’ Take on Globalization Is Simple, Ideologically Comforting, and Factually Wrong.

The Laziest Lie Of Donald Trump’s Entire Campaign (So Far).

Fact checkers confirm Hillary Clinton is more honest than any of her 2016 opponents.

How Bernie Sanders Overplayed His Hand and Lost His Leverage Over Hillary and the Party.

Conservatives Have Groomed the Perfect Suckers for Trump’s Epic Scam.

The Supreme Court Just Affirmed That Domestic Violence Vacates Gun Rights — Here’s Why That’s So Important.

New Electoral College Projection Has Hillary Clinton Demolishing Donald Trump.

‘I’m Still Alive,’ Queen Elizabeth Quips During First Public Appearance Since Brexit Vote.

Emmy-winning journalist resigns to work against Trump: ‘I couldn’t bear to be a bystander anymore’.

This Week in Racism

Why the “Make America White Again” Candidate Makes No Sense: Liberal Redneck Edition.

Things I wrote:

Why the haters won’t win.

Someone who loves the same books as me….

Finding ways to make their hating of the sinner sound compassionate.

Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s off to Camp I go….

Antique Books and Incongruous Pages, more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

100 Years of Fashion: Men’s Underwear ★ Mode.com:

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

WONDERKID Trailer: Film following the inner turmoil of a gay footballer:

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

Full Frontal tries to make sense of Brexit with some help from a Time Lord:

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

Years & Years – Worship:

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Friday Links (Pride Weekend 2016!) – Updated

books_gay_2016-Jun-01Friday has finally arrived. It is the final Friday in June, which means that here in Seattle this is Queer Pride Weekend! My husband and I have a full schedule, as we are attending events related to the Locus Awards (a sci fi fandom thing) and the Pride events, both this weekend. Se I have a lot of things to get to!

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

The Internet Is Not Your Global Village.

First step to reducing hate crimes? Enshrine equality in law.

My Encounters with ’80s Porn Star Al Parker: What I Learned About Him—and Myself—After Painting His Portrait.

This week in Restoring Your Faith in Humanity

“Angels” Block Westboro Baptist Church From Protesting Orlando Victim’s Funeral.

Son Collapses in Tears at Funeral of Mother Who Protected Him From Bullets in Orlando.

Helpers: What You Can Do in a Time of Crisis.

ETA: Who ordered an apocalypse?

The votes in the EU referendum in the UK were still being counted when I queued up and posted the Friday links last night. So I didn’t include any news on it, but now as stock markets around the world are plummeting on the news, I figure it’s worth adding some info now:

“Tomorrow belongs to me” – Charles Stross on the Brexit vote/

Cameron’s Legacy – Lee Harris on Brexit.

YOU WANT TRUMP? THIS IS HOW YOU GET TRUMP – Chuck Wendig on parallels between the angry part of the UK electorate and the angry parts of the US electorate.

Calls For Texas Independence Surge In Wake Of Brexit Vote

World Markets Roiled by Brexit as Stocks, Pound Drop; Gold Soars

And other news:

It’s Time to Grant Good Fathers Some Respect.

The underground race to spread medical knowledge as the Syrian regime erases it.

This week in I can’t even…

Gun violence is many things—but inevitable isn’t one of them.

http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/06/22/24246432/nytimes-prints-clueless-op-ed-by-stupid-lgbt-gun-fondler.

10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down: Fact-checking some of the gun lobby’s favorite arguments shows they’re full of holes.

FBI investigators say they have found no evidence that Orlando shooter had gay lovers

This week in History

A year later, Charleston families still reeling from church shooting.

This Week in Diversity

“He struggled and kept his guard up”: Hamilton in the Big House.

All 158 Dead Lesbian and Bisexual Characters On TV, And How They Died.

All 29 Lesbian and Bisexual TV Characters Who Got Happy Endings.

Gender neutral school uniforms could revolutionise society.

Being a black, British, queer, non-binary Muslim isn’t a contradiction.

Questions from Christians #3: “Why do you have gay pride parades? We don’t have straight pride parades. (And isn’t pride a sin)”.

The Queer + The Divine: ‘WicDiv’ Gets LGBTQ Diversity Right

After Orlando shooting, LA LGBT Latinos seek safe spaces to mourn.

bMob Shaming: The Pillory at the Center of the Global Village.

Meet the Black Lesbian Rabbinical Student Who’s Changing the Face of Judaism.

News for queers and our allies:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this category. As I mentioned to a friend, if a person is reading my blog, they either are a member of the queer community, or they are an ally, or they are an enemy who is following me to see what we’re up to. I thought about changing the headline for this section to someting like “News for people who aren’t haters” or something even snarkier. Does anyone have any ideas? Let me know.

Orlando Massacre Inspires Some to Come Out as Gay.

L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group.

THE LATEST: THOUSANDS TURN OUT FOR WEEKEND GAY PRIDE EVENTS.

The Jewish Ex-architect Who Makes Custom Suits for Transgender Bodies.

An Open Letter to My LGBTQ Friends.

Why it’s more important than ever to attend Pride this year.

A ‘radical act’: Edmonton police’s experiment showed recruits how it felt to be LGBTQ in the city.

My Girlfriend and I Just Visited North Carolina, and We Did Not Get Beat Up.

I went shooting with queer gun activists, but it didn’t make me feel any safer.

Science!

Two Baby Alien Worlds Show Us How to Cook a Planet.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Where Is The SUPERMAN We Once Knew And Loved? I agree with some of this… but he’s wrong that it has anything to do with whether it is for children or not.

Typeset in the Future: Blade Runner.

Reimagining Robin Hood as a Badass Gay Outlaw.

Culture war news:

‘Sanctuary’ After Pulse: We Cannot Let the Orlando Shooter Win.

In 1973, thirty people died in an attack on a US gay bar… and everyone laughed about it.

After False Show of Solidarity, House GOPs Block LGBT Protections Bill. Listen: I’m tired of pretending that the leadership of the Republican party isn’t evil. They are evil. Let’s stop trying to be noble and pretend that we’re just talking about differences of opinion. Their policies, literally kill people. Why can’t we admit that?

The Next Dylann Roof Can Still Buy a Gun.

HOMESCHOOL LEADER RICK BOYER, SR. ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, GROOMING.

3 N.Y.P.D. Commanders Are Arrested on Corruption Charges. Elf hats are part of this fed corruption case…

Judge refuses to block Mississippi anti-LGBT law.

Gay Congress member blasts GOP colleagues for continuing to block pro-LGBT measure after Orlando.

Save Your Sympathy. You Are The Problem..

Worry about bad marijuana—not Big Marijuana.

Utah militia leader planned to bomb federal cabin, FBI says.

Death-To-Gays Hate Pastor Flips Out Because Activists Have Shut Down His PayPal Account [VIDEO].

The Campaign:

The Republicans’ Big Hot Mess.

Trump team disappointed that mass murder didn’t produce a bump in the polls.

Today in ‘Donald Trump’s Campaign Is a Garbage Fire’.

The Real News Is Trump is Broke.

Donald Trump Taps Michele Bachmann, James Dobson & Other Far-Right Leaders For Advisory Board. It’s a who’s who of anti-gay people!

The press has not done its job: 3 ways the media has failed our democracy in covering the election.

Jerry Falwell Jr Tweets Photo with Donald Trump and Playboy Cover in Background .

This week in Politics:

Seattle’s Transgender Activists Want to Transform the Democratic National Committee.

I reported Omar Mateen to the FBI. Trump is wrong that Muslims don’t do our part.

Gay Congress member blasts GOP colleagues for continuing to block pro-LGBT measure after Orlando.

Demanding Votes on Gun Control Bills, John Lewis Leads a Sit-in of the House.

The Democrats Are Boldly Fighting For a Bad, Stupid Bill. I don’t completely agree with the headline. This is a far more complicated issue than it appears, and passing the bill would open up a new avenue for people to appeal their listing on the no-fly list. Arguments about the list seem to be stuck in a spot where no one can actually allow us to try to improve the situation.

This Week in Misogyny

Girl who won Ohio masonry competition bumped from national contest.

Farewells:

Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin Dies in Freak Car Accident.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 6/18/2016: Compassion, mourning, and an epic vogue battle.

Sunday Funnies, part 18.

Why do you think god hates anyone?

Why thoughts and prayers are worse than inadequate.

Why we need Pride.

Why queer clubs and gay bars are more than just places to dance and drink.

Videos!

Why Is BuzzFeed News Banned From Trump’s Campaign?:

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

Son of a Preacher Man – Tom Goss:

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Rufus Wainwright – Somewhere Over The Rainbow:

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John Grant – Glacier (yes, least week I posted a video of a live performance of John and Kylie Minogue performing this song and dedicating it to the survivors of the Orlando shooting; this official music video of the song released two years ago is worth the watch):

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

Eli Lieb & Brandon Skeie – Pulse (last Sunday, after seeing the news out of Orlando, Eli and Brandon wrote this song, and then went out in West Hollywood for film people for the video):

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

Golden – A short film by Kai Stänicke:

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

Friday Links (just came to dance edition)

Ck0UFiFWkAAZQVHFriday has finally arrived. I have been wrestling with this post for a bit. Since I’ve already written a few times about the big story of the week—and everyone else has been blogging, re-blogging, tweeting and otherwise talking about the big story—I started to break this into two posts. One would have had all the shooting related posts, the other none. But that was weird and there are a few links that are kind of a tough call on that. And, I’ve always had a lot of links related to queer rights issues and such, anyway. So I opted to just put all the links I’ve gathered in here, and let you decide whether to scroll past.

Anyway, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

This week in History

Women guitar makers scratched from Gibson history.

This week in Restoring Your Faith in Humanity

ORLANDO: Hundreds Form Human Chain Links To Block Westboro Baptist From Funerals For Pulse Victims.

Jetblue passengers write letters to Orlando victim’s grandmother.

On rap, Hollywood, and sport—and black male affection, friendship, and love.

And other news:

Why I Quit Twitter — and Left Behind 35,000 Followers.

This week in I can’t even…

Orlando Nightclub Shooting: ‘Absolute Devastation’ Among LGBTQ Community.

Florida Catholic bishop: ‘It is religion, including our own,’ that targets LGBT people.

Easy weapon access, LGBT hate made Orlando massacre possible. “The Legislature has repeatedly failed to extend the protection of the state’s civil rights law to LGBT Michiganders. And now, as the state board of education is working to develop a set of voluntary guidelines for schools to provide a safe environment for LGBT kids, some state lawmakers are working diligently to demonize LGBT Michiganders. Make no mistake: The violent acts in Orlando are rooted in this rhetoric.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper Fights Back Tears Reading Orlando Victim Names.

After Orlando, some grieve, others buy guns. “…it’s not until I’m holding a heavy-duty firearm that the disconnect between the power of this tool and the ease of its purchase hits home. Transferring the title of a car, filing taxes — these are much more challenging than getting this gun. Why, I wonder, would I need this in ten to fifteen minutes? I have made many bad decisions in the course of ten or fifteen minutes”

When I Told My Gay Son 49 People Died For Being Just Like Him.

RECIPE FOR A SHOOTING.

It’s not enough to #PrayForOrlando. People of faith must fight homophobia.

Here’s How Long It Will Take America To Forget About The Orlando Massacre.

This week in We won’t give up:

PRIDE AND TRAGEDY.

Gay Space Cannot Be Straight Women’s Safe Space Until It’s Safe For Those Who Are Gay.

The road to murder is paved with microaggressions.

At Los Angeles Pride, Music Trumped Fear.

Please Don’t Stop the Music: The Orlando shooter violated a sanctuary, but his desecration will not defeat us.

Some Thoughts and Facts, in No Particular Order.

UNFORGETTABLE: WE CAN’T LOSE SIGHT OF THE QUEER LATINX VICTIMS IN ORLANDO.

This Week in Diversity

The “Me Before You” Backlash Was Bigger Than Anyone Expected.

#SayNoToHYDRACap: What You Can Do.

IN YOUR FACE JAM: Marvel, DC and the Current State of LGBT Superheroes.

24 THINGS WOMEN OVER 30 SHOULD WEAR. This is not what you think – go read it!

This week in awful news

Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack.

This week in war crimes

Detainees Describe C.I.A. Torture in Declassified Transcripts.

News for queers and our allies:

Straight guy worries he’s being homophobic to gay roommate, realizes he’s fallen in love with him.

Love in the time of terrorism: A new TV documentary looks at the flight of two young lovers from fearsome persecution in Iraq to Seattle.

I am Muslim, I am queer, and I exist.

Twitter Users Celebrate LGBTQIA Identities With #QueerSelfLove.

‘Nonbinary’ is now a legal gender, Oregon court rules.

Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub Was Founded by a Woman Whose Brother Died from AIDS: The name refers to his heartbeat.

What We Find in Gay Bars and Queer Clubs.

Scottish Episcopal Church votes for marriage equality.

Science!

Astronomers find building blocks of life near newborn star.

The most under-loved planet in our solar system.

Surprise! Newfound Asteroid Is ‘Quasi-Moon’ of Earth.

Pre and post testing show reversal of memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease in 10 patients.

Science Finally Figured Out How to Make Coffee Even Better.

Mineral from wet, hot volcano lava found on Mars, baffling scientists.

Gluttonous Star May Hold Clues to Planet Formation.

BIRD BRAINS ARE RICHER IN NEURONS THAN MAMMAL BRAINS.

Mystery object breaks Saturn’s weirdest ring.

Ancient Swedish space rock may be a whole new kind of meteorite.

To stop Earth’s sixth extinction, a biologist says we must give up half the planet.

This Scary Animation Shows How Glacier National Park Is Losing Its Glaciers.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Dialogue You’d Sell Your Firstborn For: Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies.

Mentoring in the Afterlife.

Culture war news:

The dramatic rise in state efforts to limit LGBT rights. There have been 254 anti-LGBT bills introduced across the nation since the ACLU began tracking legislation in 2013…

Reflecting on the Complicated and Painful History of Anti-LGBTQ Violence in the US. “On June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the stairway leading to the popular men’s club that burned down under mysterious circumstances. The tragedy claimed the lives of 32 men, and until this week it was the largest mass murder of LGBTQ people in the United States…”

The Second Amendment Hoax: How the NRA and conservatives have perverted the meaning of the right to bear arms.

Anti-LGBT Lawmakers Race To Condemn Islam While Ignoring Their Own Roles In Anti-LGBT Violence.

4 Pro-Gun Arguments We’re Sick of Hearing.

Oh no – NOM: “The March For Marriage is On”.

THE HATRED OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME.

The Campaign:

Donald Trump tells people to ‘ask the gays’ about how great he is. ‘The gays’ respond—and it is EPIC.

David Cay Johnston: New Evidence Donald Trump Didn’t Pay Taxes (With Update).

This week in Politics:

What Gun Control Advocates Can Learn From the Marriage Equality Movement.

Republican Senator Inadvertently Calls for President Obama’s Death in Speech to Christian Audience. I don’t think it was that inadvertent…

This Week in (other) Hate Crimes

LA Pride Suspect’s Ex-Boyfriend Says He Once Threatened To Shoot Up Workplace.

Stop Exploiting LGBT Issues to Demonize Islam and Justify Anti-Muslim Policies.

Farewells:

The Stories of the Victims of the Pulse Gay Nightclub Massacre in Orlando – The mother of 12 who beat cancer twice. The brother whose sister drove 12 hours to say goodbye. The couples who died together….

Margaret Heldt, creator of beehive hairdo, dies at age 98.

Jo Cox: The Labour MP who campaigned tirelessly for refugees.

Author Lois Duncan Has Passed Away.

This Couple Killed in the Orlando Shooting Hoped to Get Married. Now They Will Have a Joint Funeral.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 6/11/2016: His idea of ethics is disobeying the law.

They used to insist that drunk driving couldn’t be reduced, either.

There is so much to be pedantic about amidst this horrible news.

#TwoMenKissing and why Orlando was a punch in my gut.

Dancing with my pride.

Videos!

Shura – What’s It Gonna Be?:

I Have A Tribe – Buddy Holly:

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

Hozier – Better Love (From The Legend of Tarzan – Film Version):

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

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie | Official HD Trailer #1 | 2016:

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

John Grant & Kylie Minogue at Royal Albert Hall 15/06/2016 singing Glacier:

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

Friday Links (abused privilege edition)

(Click to embiggen)
(Click to embiggen)

It’s Friday! The second Friday in June already. Happy Queer Pride Month!

I haven’t quite gotten my 2016 Pride playlist where I want it yet. One problem has been that I’ve worked a lot of long days this week, having been pulled into a project barely days before the deadline. Don’t you just love planning? I’ve also had my usual pair of headphones having sudden battery problems, seriously cutting into some of my prime listening time. But I’ll get it sorted!

Meanwhile, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

The Brown, Queer, And Poor Are Not The Ones Holding The Left Back. “Yes, we worked together for women’s suffrage—only to find that the white women at the front of the movement would use the fear of the black vote to get it. Yes, we marched on Washington together—but when the marching was over, it became clear that many white liberals would turn on us the moment we asked for changes in their actions and in their communities.”

John Oliver buys up $15 million in medical debt, then pays off the debt for 9,000 people in hardship.

This week in tech

Your Shitty Password Hygiene Is Spreading Hacks Like a Contagion.

Stop the Bots From Killing Broadway.

This week in History

6 Ways You Didn’t Realize Ronald Reagan Ruined The Country.

This Week in Diversity

No, That Wasn’t A Lesbian Couple In The ‘Finding Dory’ Trailer.

A blog post I never thought I’d be writing on book release day….

This week in Difficult to Classify

ON #TRONC, JOURNALISM, AND ITS VALUE.

News for queers and our allies:

Air Force Cadets Describe Life After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’.

Dear Media: Ronan Farrow Models How to Cover Trans People.

Lea DeLaria: Get rid of ‘LGBTQ’ in favor of ‘queer’. Gee, didn’t I just write something about a few days ago?

Fourth Circuit Court Lifts Stay On Order Granting Transgender Student Restroom Rights.

Gay Democrat Bob Poe Seeks To Become First Openly HIV+ Member Of Congress.

White House Issues Track Record On LGBT Rights: DOMA, DADT, Hate Crimes Law, HIV/AIDS, And More. “The “fact sheet” – which I’ve posted in its entirety below – serves both as a very well-earned bragging point and as a stark reminder of how tenuous many of these advances remain with the specter of a Republican administration looming before us.”

Science!

Say Hello To Your Four Newly Named Elements Of The Periodic Table.

The deepest image of a galaxy from Earth.

Tiny hobbit-like humans were victims of island dwarfing.

The Very Long War Between Snakes and Newts.

Why don’t birds get lost? They may have mastered quantum mechanics.

The Earth’s magnetic field is weakening ten times faster than expected.

Ice age bison fossils shed light on early human migrations in North America.

Everything We Know About Drug Addiction Is Wrong.

This serpent’s venom could one day save your life: Snake toxin, not snake oil, might be next miracle drug.

‘Compelling’ science reveals Indigenous people the first Australians.

Simple blood test could stop doctors using ‘trial and error’ to prescribe antidepressants, scientists claim.

Stephen Hawking’s finally published a solution to the black hole information paradox.

Five Awesome Science Courses You Can Take Online Completely Free.

Science Says Stop Doing This to Eliminate Self-Doubt.

Stroke survivors walk again after Stanford injects stem cells into brain.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Defending fandom is exhausting. Let’s start celebrating it instead.

Announcement: The Lemonade Award.

2016 Mythopoeic Award Finalists.

Strange Opinion: Bob Gale Of ‘Back To The Future’ Is Not Happy About ‘Doctor Strange’. Not only did he write Back to the Future, but he’s been trying to get a Dr. Strange film made for years, and may be the characters’ biggest fan…

This week in Writing

Irish Bards Could Kill Rats With Their Magical Poetry Powers.

COMMA QUEEN: WHICHCRAFT—THAT VS. WHICH.

De-Gendering Stories: A Challenge. It’s a contest, by the way!

Culture war news:

“Supergirl” star fights to save his cousin from “pray away the gay” therapy that harms kids.

Jeremy Jordan’s Cousin Sarah Released From ‘Ex-Gay’ Boarding School.

Small bomb damages Target bathroom as company faces criticism for transgender policy.

Transgender activists don’t share Pentagon ‘pride’.

Why Equality Is Toxic to the Transgender Movement.

Co-founder of border-watch group Minuteman found guilty of molesting 5-year-old girl .

A Reminder: People Are Going to Have Different Worldviews. That Doesn’t Make Them Assholes. I would retitle it, “That ALONE Doesn’t Make Them Assholes.”

Mormon Church Finds a New Target for Its Homophobia.

This week in rape culture

NEARLY 3.4 MILLION VIOLENT CRIMES PER YEAR WENT UNREPORTED TO POLICE FROM 2006 TO 2010.

This Judge Sentenced Brock Turner To 6 Months In Jail. Now 200,000 People Want Him Recalled.

When Peak White Privilege And Peak Rape Culture Create The Perfect Fuckshit Soufflé.

The Stanford Rapist’s Father Offers An Impossibly Offensive Defense Of His Son.

Here Is The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read Aloud To Her Attacker.

This week in Politics:

Here Is Every Bogus Claim in Donald Trump’s Defense of Trump University.

Trump’s fundraisers see no chance of hitting $1 billion.

USA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills. “The liens range from a $75,000 claim by a Plainview, N.Y., air conditioning and heating company to a $1 million claim from the president of a New York City real estate banking firm. On just one project, Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, records released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990 show that at least 253 subcontractors weren’t paid in full or on time, including workers who installed walls, chandeliers and plumbing.”

Donald Trump Doesn’t Employ Many Women on His Campaign Staff, and He Pays Them Less.

The Puzzling Vilification of Hillary, A Psychoanalyst’s Perspective.

Clinton and Sanders and the End of the Road.

“It’s the REAL HILLARY coming out”. Many cheers for Hillary taking on Trump head on.

The Sanders Campaign Is Dead, Long Live the Sanders Revolution.

Hillary’s amazing achievement: Understanding the magnitude of Clinton’s historic win.

Obama Has Waited Longer For Cabinet Confirmations Than Any Other Recent President.

Behind the Gold Curtain of Donald Trump’s Résumé. “Based on his read of Trump’s election filings, which showed only $165 million in liquid assets, Cuban harbors doubts about whether Trump is even a billionaire as he claims.”

Farewells:

Amadeus writer Sir Peter Shaffer dies aged 90.

Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest,’ dies at 74.

Muhammad Ali Dies at 74: Titan of Boxing and the 20th Century.

‘I Just Wanted to Be Free’: The Radical Reverberations of Muhammad Ali.

Father of Slain Journalist Daniel Pearl Recalls Muhammad Ali’s Kind Gesture.

Muhammad Ali’s bouts outside the ring: Embrace of Islam and refusal to fight in Vietnam.

The Best Stories Ever Written About Muhammad Ali.

When Muhammad Ali met Prince.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 6/4/2016: “My conscience won’t let me…”.

Who’s offended? Why?

You need to pick your dragons….

Nostalgia for a Time that Never Was – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Shura – What’s It Gonna Be?:

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

STAR TREK : AWESOME KIRK MOMENTS ”I DONT LIKE TO LOSE!’:

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

Britney and the Beast by Todrick Hall:

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

Friday Links (mantis shrimp update)

“This creature may not look the part, but the mantis shrimp is a clever predator—and a formidable foe. It can strike at prey with lightning speed, and deliver a punch strong enough to break glass.”
“This creature may not look the part, but the mantis shrimp is a clever predator—and a formidable foe. It can strike at prey with lightning speed, and deliver a punch strong enough to break glass.” (Click to embiggen)
It’s Friday! June is finally here. Happy Pride Month! Yes, it’s Queer Pride Month. You don’t have to be lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, aromantic, genderfluid, polyamorous, intersex, transsexual, questioning, two-spirit, genderqueer, same-gender-loving, or flexual to celebrate and join in on the fun.

I’m still not happy with my Pride Playlist for this year, but it’s getting closer!

Meanwhile, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

How did public bathrooms get to be separated by sex in the first place?

Transgender kids can’t wait for adults who need to take their time to accept them.

HOLDING MANY TRUTHS: THE LOSS OF NUANCE TO VICIOUS POLARITY.

Happy News!

The Pirate’s Graveyard.

This week in tech

Supermarket sues banks over chip card shift, says it lost $10K in 4.5 months .

This week in History

The Barely Remembered Gay Victims of the Nazi Concentration Camps.

This week in Health

Unpaid, stressed, and confused: patients are the health care system’s free labor.

This Week in Diversity

Hollywood Can’t Seem To Find Hot Asian Actors, Allow Us To Help.

There’s nothing wrong with being politically correct.

Welcome to America — where even our math tests are racist.

News for queers and our allies:

Americans Are Having More Gay Sex: Study. “And it looks like the “B” in LGBTQ has played a major role in the change…”

This gay high school athlete wasn’t a distraction to his team that just won a state title.

Presidential Proclamation — LGBT Pride Month, 2016.

LGBT veterans and band march in Chicago’s Memorial Day observance.

‘I never wanted to be gay’: Christian musician comes out, in moving letter to fans.

Science!

Storm Chasers, Stay Home: Rural roads are getting crowded during tornado season, and the dangerous conditions are all your fault..

Scientists crack mystery of shrimp packing such a punch it can split your thumb.

Scientists Just Updated Their Warnings About Zika and Sex.

Predator or prey? Why pupils are shaped and oriented the way they are.

Alzheimer’s could be caused by past infections, researchers say.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

The Ghostbusters Are Girls Now — But No One Told the Toys.

Geek culture isn’t ‘broken,’ but it does have a harassment problem.

The ‘Sense8’ cast is in Brazil for Gay Pride and everyone is wondering what it means.

The Power of Cautionary Questions: Neil Gaiman on Ray Bradbury’s ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ Why We Read, and How Speculative Storytelling Enlarges Our Humanity.

This week in Writing

Notes to My 12-Year-Old Self: Don’t Wait Till You’re Older.

Culture war news:

Giving our transgender children a voice.

Why Utah’s LGBT Youth Need Our Help.

Probing the Straight Fear of Gay Gaze in Locker Rooms.

Man Booker Prize Winner Marlon James Was Tortured By ‘Ex-Gay’ Exorcism.

Author, ex-prosecutor slams critics of Child Victims Act, urges New York to stop protecting abusers. Note: the Catholic Church is leading the charge to keep the law child molester statute of limitations in place.

Trolls threaten to ‘gas’ PinkNews CEO for reading pro-gay children’s book to nieces.

How trans people could help free the nipple.

Massachusetts Gov. Baker Says He Would Sign House Version Of Transgender Bill.

Massachusetts House passes transgender bill after heated debate.

Mississippi governor: ‘Secular’ world angry over LGBT law.

Federal Court Upholds Ruling Affirming Trans Student’s Equal Access.

Ken Starr, After Demotion for Failure to Investigate Rape Allegations Against Football Players, Abandons Reins at Baylor U. in the Wake of Campus Rape Scandal.

Catholic Church spent $2M on major N.Y. lobbying firms to block child-sex law reform.

Awful News

Friends remember UCLA shooting victim as ‘gentle soul’.

UCLA shooting: Gunman’s wife found dead in Minnesota.

Pilot killed in Navy Blue Angels jet crash.

This week in Politics:

SC Gov. Nikki Haley Warns Divisive Rhetoric Like Donald Trump’s Led to Charleston Church Massacre.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: Trump University Was A Fraud From Beginning To End.

Trump Didn’t Give Money to Vets Until the Press Reported that Funds Hadn’t Been Distributed.

A Message to the #BernieorBust Movement.

Libertarian candidate strips naked on live TV.

Trump’s Attack on a Federal Judge Is an Open Appeal to Racism.

Hillary Clinton Delivers Major Foreign Policy Speech, Slams Donald Trump Throughout.

Rachel Maddow Laments Trump’s Open Racism.

This Week in Misogyny

Teenage Girls Are Playing Video Games. You Just Might Not Hear Them.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/28/2016: Haters show true colors.

A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup… boy!

Memorials, reposting.

Evil Captain America and other bad writing hacks.

I feel a Tingle, tingle, tingle….

Very Big Questions and Very Small Epiphanies – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Incredible trailer brings gay superheroes to life:

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Man Sets Swimming Pool on Fire, Extinguishes It With Liquid Nitrogen:

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Lovestarrs – Get Your Sexy On:

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Friday Links (diabetic mice edition)

Fatmouse-640x435It’s Friday! The final Friday in May already. Yeesh! I’m not quite ready for the year to be half over. It’s also nearly June, and my annual project of creating the perfect Pride Playlist for my iPhone is not going quite as well as it ought, in part because of a weird issue that has popped up with a small number of tracks in my library which has resulted in me filing very complicated trouble tickets with Apple. But the real problem is that I can’t quite figure out what mood to go for this year. This might be one of the years where I make two lists with very different, uh, textures.

Meanwhile, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Links of the Week

The Wonderful and Terrible Habit of Buying Too Many Books.

WINNING, LOSING, AND PARTICIPATING: SHUT UP ABOUT THE TROPHY.

And other news:

The Bible is #2 on This List of the Best Books Ever. Guess What’s #1?

Peter Thiel, Gawker, and Freedom of Speech. “I, for one, don’t dispute Peter Thiel’s right to back Hogan’s case. I simply think he’s an asshole for doing it, and a coward for having attempted to do it in secret.”

On Peter Thiel and Gawker. “The notion that Thiel or any one percenter could wage a war of attrition against a media outlet with the intent of destroying it for slights real or perceived should be horrifying to anyone who believes that freedom of the press is a necessary condition for an open society…”

No Road is Big Enough for a Beyoncé Concert.

Five Years Later, Harold Camping’s Followers Are Still Predicting the End of the World.

This Week in Tech

One Week without iTunes: the Results.

This week in Health

What You Need to Know About ‘Smiling Depression’.

Gluten-free ≠ healthier.

This Week in Diversity

ON STEVE ROGERS #1, ANTISEMITISM, AND PUBLICITY STUNTS. “I am not angry because omg how dare you ruin Steve Rogers forever. I am angry because how dare you use eleven million deaths as clickbait.”

Good People Often Stay Closeted. Good People Sometimes Stay Silent.

‘Normal America’ Is Not A Small Town Of White People. Demographics and other fun facts.

NSFW: Sexing the wheelchair (Part 2) – Disabled clients and the saviour complex.

This Week in Inappropriate Machismo

This Black Mom Perfectly Nails What’s Wrong With Dads Posing in Prom Pictures With Guns.

This week in awful news

Man in Mississippi jail 11 years without trial.

News for queers and our allies:

LGBTI kids are now protected from conversion therapy in Vermont.

Give Captain America a Boyfriend: The Campaigns to Make Disney’s Big Franchises More Gay-Friendly.

Picking Clothes Is Never Easy, Especially for Gender-Nonconformers.

Science!

Thousands of bees chased this car for 2 days looking for their queen.

Scientist who wants to ‘regenerate’ 20 brain-dead patients deluged with warnings of a zombie apocalpyse.

The Long History Behind the Reburial of ‘Kennewick Man’.

What will happen when Mount Rainier erupts?.

Scientists find cure for type 2 diabetes in rodents, don’t know how it works.

A survey of more than 216,000 adolescents from all 50 states indicates the number of teens with marijuana-related problems is declining. Similarly, the rates of marijuana use by young people are falling despite the fact more US states are legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana use and the number of adults using the drug has increased.

This bizarre sea monster shows how strange life gets after an apocalypse.

A controversial theory may explain the real reason humans have allergies.

Raccoon hands are nature’s most wonderful and terrifying appendages.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Sad Puppies Review Books: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.

Satirical erotica author Chuck Tingle’s massive troll of conservative sci-fi fans, explained. Right-wing sci-fi writers tried to delegitimize the Hugo Awards by nominating a writer no one took seriously. Here’s how he took them all by surprise.

How a Game of Thrones hashtag sparked a debate over ownership, linguistics, and cultural appropriation.

This week in Writing

AUTHOR ROSANNE PARRY ON THE BENEFITS OF READING LEVELS.

What’s Wrong With Inkitt’s “Publishing Contest” – A Partial List.

Ask the Agent: what are your thoughts on a white girl (for example) writing a “diverse” story from the POV of a character of color?

This Week in History

Ronald Reagan’s legacy of poverty and death.

This Week in Fighting Back in the Culture War:

How Do You Solve the Problem of Gendered Bathrooms? This Capitol Hill Brewery May Have an Answer.

Screaming Christian in Target Store is Confronted by Customer, Then Escorted Out By Security.

Culture war news:

Honest Error or Homophobic Humiliation? What Really Happened to the Gay Men’s Chorus at Petco Park?

Archdale (NC) Officials End Jersey Sponsorship Program After Businesses Put Bible Verses on Shirts.

The bathroom issue has turned 2016 into a very important election for LGBTQ rights.

LGBT divide grows as 11 states sue feds over transgender bathroom rule.

I’m trans and I want to stop talking about toilets.

Tennessee Activist’s Documentary Will Draw a Line Directly from Church Sermons to Anti-LGBT Laws.

Church Funding Anti-Trans Attack Tells Evangelicals “It Ain’t Over”.

Too gay for TV? Get used to it, honey.

2 Church Pastors Among 32 Arrested in Sting Operation Offering Sex With Teens.

This week in Politics:

I’m Voting For The Democrat In November Because I’m Not A Human Tire Fire.

EXPOSED: Trump Fans Divide Democrats By Posing As Sanders And Hillary Supporters Online.

One Of The Most Aggressive Gerrymanders In The Country Just Lost In The Supreme Court.

If You’re A Woman Or A Minority, America Was Never Great.

Calm Down: House Republicans Didn’t Just Challenge President Obama on Federal LGBT Discrimination.

Farewells:

Alan Young dies at 96; star of TV’s ‘Mister Ed’.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/21/2016: Ringtone Rhapsody and Beyond.

Farewell to Camden County.

A cup, a cup, and a cup….

Out of Body Vacations – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Frankmusik – Turnin’:

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Justs – Heartbeat (Latvia) 2016 Eurovision Song Contest:

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

Friday Links (harvest mouse edition)

tumblr_inline_o4s7497kFQ1td6wq0_540It’s Friday! And despite being a shorter week than usual because I was on vacation Monday, I am really worn out and glad the weekend is almost here!

Meanwhile, here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week, sorted into various topic areas.

Link of the Week

This SuperHero Movie By A Nigerian Teen Was Shot Using A Blackberry Bold 5. And it’s awesome! Go look at his YouTube Channel!

This week in privacy

How many times have I said with enough metadata you can rule the world? Scientists show telephone metadata can reveal surprisingly sensitive personal information.

And other news:

Why Are Strippers More Heavily Vetted Than Uber Drivers

Meet the meticulously hand-crafted replica of Boston’s streetcar system—and the man who made it.

CAPITAL CRIMES, PART 1 : SHOUT, SHOUT, LET IT ALL OUT: GLENN FLEISHMAN ON THE TYPOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF USING ALL-CAPS TO DENOTE SHOUTING.

Transgender Mafia Don Murdered in Naples. But it’s not what you think!

The war on cops is a myth: FBI Confirms 2015 Was One Of The Safest Years Ever For Cops.

This Week in Diversity

Protect And Serve: The Detectives Of Blaxploitation.

“But They’re Ours”— John Jennings Talks about Black Superheroes.

Racism is the bogeyman.

This week in Evil People

This one worried me when it first came up. Now the idiot has admitted he was lying. On top of that, though he claims to be a pastor of a gay-friendly church, he doesn’t seem to actually be associated with any church at all: Gay Pastor Who Sued Whole Foods for Writing Slur on His Cake Finally Admits He Made It All Up.

News for queers and our allies:

Coming Out on Instagram.

I Went to a Eurovision Sex Party.

Jesus, Friend of Sinners…Except Not You.

A Remarkable Life: One 95-Year-Old Shares Her Hope For Fellow Trans People.

Mariah Carey Remixes LGBTQ Acronym To Accept GLAAD Award.

A Major Branch Of The U.S. Military Will Now Be Led By An Openly Gay Man.

Majority of Older Americans Now Support Gay Marriage, Poll Finds.

The Plot Thickens In The Gay Pride Dispute Between Alaska & Delta.

Science!

Rare harvest mice return to Hampshire village where they were first discovered.

Journey of shuttle fuel tank to California saves four people in Pacific.

Scientists may have figured out how the world’s tallest animal got its long neck.

Why psychedelics could be a new class of antidepressant.

Evidence of gargantuan asteroid strike unearthed in Australia.

SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED AN ALGORITHM THAT CAN DETECT SEIZURES UP TO 20 MINUTES IN ADVANCE.

Dog sex cancer’s global march mapped in DNA.

There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written.

Giant tsunamis washed over ancient Mars.

Killer Nile crocodiles in Florida? Experts say it’s possible.

Do women really go for ‘bad boys’? Here’s the science that settles the question.

What Science Says About the Bathroom Debate.

Hubble just captured one of the coolest photos of Mars ever taken.

Geology Is Breaking Apart Over When the Americas Came Together.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Podcast: How to Win Games and Beat People

The 2015 Nebula Awards, the Bram Stoker Awards, the Eurovision Song Contest… and a bit about football.

The Many Faces Of “Rocky Horror’s” Dr. Frank-N-Furter, From Tim Curry To Laverne Cox.

Author Spotlight: Alyssa Wong.

Reviewer compares the DC movie with the gay porn parody, and you will probably not be surprised at the outcome: Batman v Superman vs Batman v Superman: A Gay Porn Parody.

This week in Writing

Keep your story promise: Establish theme early and stick with it..

PHOTOS: Lost Original “Rocky Horror” Polaroids Were Discovered In NYC Subway.

This Week in History

34 Vintage Ads That Prove The Good Old Days Weren’t So Good.

Culture war news:

A Conservative Christian Politician Left the Porn Tabs Open on Screenshots He Posted to Facebook.

WHAT IS THE “VITO RUSSO TEST” AND WHY DOES IT MATTER TO LGBT FILM?

PORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BIBLICAL LITERALIST LAUNCHES A SEX SITE?

Atoning For Daughter’s Satanic T-Shirt, Arizona Dad Sacrifices the Family Dog To God.

After Azealia Banks’ antigay rant and Twitter ban, Bette Midler acts important question.

Christian High School Says It Has the Right to Expel You if You Have a Gay Sibling at Home.

House Passes Defense Bill Allowing Discrimination Against LGBT Workers.

Gay Mormons, reparative therapy, and the safe spaces of conservative religion.

This week in Other Politics:

Donald Trump Is Not Expanding the GOP.

Donald Trump Refuses to Reveal His Tax Rate: ‘It’s None of Your Business’.

How Donald Trump Is Already Surrounding Himself With Fervent Homophobes.

House Dems Outraged After GOPers Switch Votes To Defeat LGBT Measure.

Sanders Camp Flirts with Going Full “Burn It Down”.

Transgender Candidate Danni Askini Drops Out of State House Race. I was very sad last week to get the email from Danni saying she was dropping out of the race. But since she’s doing so to work on the fight against the anti-trans initiative headed for our ballot, I can’t fault her.

This Week in Misogyny

Until I was a man, I had no idea how good men had it at work.

Men Are Sabotaging The Online Reviews Of TV Shows Aimed At Women.

Farewells:

Comic book artist Darwyn Cooke dies at 53.

Morley Safer dies at 84: A reluctant voice on camera, he changed television news.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/14/2016: Molester going to prison.

Anti-trans bigot demonstrates that bullies are cowards… (duh!).

Who is excluding who, now?

Robots Aren’t People, Are They? – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

San Cisco – Fred Astaire:

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This insane and hilarious flashback to the 80s popped up on more than one spot this week and I couldn’t resist posting: BOY TOWN GANG – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You:

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We The Brave – Kiss:

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