Tag Archives: friday

Friday Links (12th century gay werewolf edition)

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One of Marie de France’s 12th century stories involves a king getting laid by a man-beast named Bisclavret. © Alexander Barattin/Daily Xtra
One of Marie de France’s 12th century stories involves a king getting laid by a man-beast named Bisclavret. © Alexander Barattin/Daily Xtra
It’s a Friday! And it’s the first Friday in October! That means it’s almost jack o’lantern season. Hurrah!

My hubby and I are going to GeekGirlCon tomorrow and I’m soooooo looking forward to it! I need a vacation. Let’s hope this one doesn’t get interrupted.

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

‘Superhero’ Dethrones ‘Princess’ As Favorite Kids’ Costume.

How Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey Lost Its Way: The near-extinction of America’s oldest brands and the death of a spirits category. This is actually a history of the American rye whiskey industry from the turn of the previous century to today, and is fascinating!

A gay werewolf tale from the 12th century.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Famed Target Cashier Gets A Big Reward For His Viral Act Of Kindness.

This week in mass hysteria

The Wave of Evil Clown Sightings Is Nothing to Worry About. It Happens Every Few Years!

Here Are The Best And Most Ridiculous Evil Clown Safety Alerts.

‘Killer Clowns’: Inside the Terrifying Hoax Sweeping America.

Clowns were creepy long before they were fun.

Professional clowns fighting back against ‘scary clown’ image.

Clown sightings: the day it all began..”Sociologist Robert Bartholomew at Botany College in New Zealand has studied mass hysteria for decades, and said the current clown scare is a result of two rising forces in the US: social media, and a fear of otherness”

This week in evil people

Creepy: This story about Ted Bundy before anyone knew he was killing women.

British book dealer slain for his first edition of ‘The Wind in the Willows,’ prosecutors say.

News for queers and our allies:

For many LGBTQ people, even a routine doctor visit can be a ‘degrading experience’.

How Exclusion From the Military Strengthened Gay Identity in America.

‘Follow your current and love yourself’: Meet the mermen swimming against stereotypes.

Kylie Minogue And Fiance Joshua Sasse Vow Not To Marry Until Same-Sex Marriage Is Legalized in Australia.

This week in weather

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-hurricane-matthew-florida-20161007-story.html.

Hurricane Matthew Makes Old Problems Worse for Haitians.

Why the ‘tough love’ on Hurricane Matthew evacuation?

Matt Drudge’s Hurricane Conspiracy Theory Comment Is Irresponsible In The Worst Way.

Conservative Hurricane Truthers Downplay Danger Of Hurricane Matthew.

Orlando’s first post-Pulse pride celebration was postponed this due to the change in course of Hurricane Matthew.

Science!

Implication of sabotage adds intrigue to SpaceX investigation.

The Human Remembering Machine.

What if PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological?

Scientists gave squirrels fitness trackers and found that males are lazy and females do all the work.

UW professor is co-winner of Nobel Prize in physics.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Stopping Harassment After the Fact Just Isn’t Good Enough.

Quick Thoughts – Some Opinions on the State of Short Fiction.

Real-Life Superhero Roxane Gay Is Writing Queer Black Women Into Comics.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show and four decades of queer sci fi punk.

Three Easy Steps to Fix the World Fantasy Convention.

A Gallery of George Salter F&SF Covers.

And other news:

45 YEARS AFTER ATTICA UPRISING, PRISONERS ARE REBELLING AGAIN.

Man Steals Barrel Full Of $1.5 Million Worth Of Gold Flakes.

This week in Writing

WHAT MAKES A CHILDREN’S BOOK GOOD?

The doxxing of Elena Ferrante: the uproar over the novelist’s secret identity, explained.

This Week in History

British Fascist leader fo short shrift from his Welsh audiences.

This Week in Tech

Security Design: Stop Trying to Fix the User.

Yahoo ‘secretly monitored emails on behalf of the US government’.

More details: Yahoo Adapted Email-Scanning Spam Filter to Satisfy ‘Secret Court Order’ Related to Terrorist Hunt.

Why an iPhone master key is better than a backdoor, but still too dangerous.

This Week in Police Problems

Why It’s So Hard to Stop Bad Cops From Getting New Police Jobs.

In the Chicago Police Department, If the Bosses Say It Didn’t Happen, It Didn’t Happen: story of a massive criminal gang operating within the police department.

Culture war news:

The states that siphon welfare money to stop abortion.

GOP Candidate: There’s A Secret Gay Plot To Sodomize Your Children.

Pope warns of ‘ideological colonization’ in transgender teachings.

Louisiana governor sues his attorney general for not following LGBTQ protections.

Leaked Videos Show Mormon Leaders Getting Possibly Classified Information from a U.S. Senator.

My Homeschooled Friend Killed Himself, And His Family Wouldn’t Talk About It.

Jack Falahee and Conrad Ricamora Speak Out After Philippine TV Censors Gay ‘HTGAWM’ Kiss.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Donald Trump: Terroristic Man-Toddler.

Don’t underestimate Cosmo. Women’s magazines are taking on Trump.

DONALD TRUMP’S TAX RECORDS: A TALE OF BUSINESS FAILURES.

Pence Spends Entire Vice Presidential Debate Pretending Trump Doesn’t Exist.

Here’s Why Mike Pence Advised Against Hiring Gay People: He also has opinions on “gaydom”.

6 things Donald Trump definitely said that Mike Pence claimed he didn’t.

Democratic Congressman: Trump Will “Gut You,” “Walk Over Your Cold Dead Body”.

Mike Pence’s Defining Moment As Governor? Enabling An HIV Outbreak.

POLITICS George Takei Just Destroyed Mike Pence In Epic Tweetstorm.

This week in Politics:

Stephen Colbert Rips Mike Pence’s Anti-Gay Record in VP Debate Wrap-Up: WATCH.

Texas Newspaper Destroys The Myth That Hillary Clinton Is The Lesser Of Two Evils.

Whitewater Prosecutor Backs Hillary.

Years before ‘Aleppo moment,’ Gary Johnson showed little interest in details of governing.

Judges Who Are Elected Like Politicians Tend to Act Like Them.

Don’t Hold Your Breath For Gender Parity In Congress — It Could Take Another 100 Years.

For the third time since The Atlantic’s founding 159 years ago, the editors endorse a candidate for president. The case for Hillary Clinton.

Hillary is running on the most progressive platform in the modern history of the Democratic party.

This Week in Racism

The U.S. Owes African-Americans Reparations, Says United Nations.

When We Turned #ThatMexicanThing Into Stories Of Our Patriotism and Resilience.

Fox News fit an impressive number of offensive Asian stereotypes into 5 minutes.

This Week in Sexism

Students see male professors as brilliant geniuses, female professors as bossy and annoying.

“But, what was she wearing?”

Sarah MacLean: Bashing Romance Novels Is Just Another Form Of Slut-Shaming.

Farewells:

Rest in Power: Gloria Naylor, Author of ‘The Women of Brewster Place,’ Has Died.

‘Thriller’ Writer Rod Temperton Dies at 66.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 10/1/2016: Six-year-old in critical condition.

Oppressed Oppressors: Not all Christians….

Videos!

Stephen Colbert: Don’t Paint All Clowns With The Same Giant Brush:

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

Parekh & Singh – I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll:

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

Katy Perry – Rise:

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

Friday Links (I can’t believe it’s almost October edition)

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summer-really-screwed-up-my-brain_o_2119169We have now reached the fifth and final Friday in September. The most blesséd month is drawing to a close.

This week was weird. I had such a good week at work last week. And then a lot of fun celebrating my birthday, until we got the next set of news about the selling of our building. So we spent a lot of this week doing a lot of cleaning and sorting and hauling. My feet are still sore.

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

My Son, the Prince of Fashion. This story isn’t about fashion. It’s about a boy, his father, family, and finding your people…

HERE’S WHY TEAL PUMPKINS ARE SO IMPORTANT FOR TRICK-OR-TREATERS THIS HALLOWEEN.

Happy News!

Jeffrey Tambor, Coming Out, and “The Most Important Time To Be An Artist”.

This week in Comments, Trolls, and Wankers

The One Psychological Characteristic That Online Trolls Tend to Share.

This week in awful news

2 kids, teacher shot at Townville Elementary School; Teen arrested.

Teen kills father, opens fire on South Carolina schoolyard.

1 Dead, More Than 100 Hurt in Hoboken Train Crash.

Remembering the victims of the Cascade Mall shooting.

This week in evil people

Stumpf Pay Surrender Buys Time But Lawmakers Say It’s Not Enough.

State Senate Candidate Calls Gay Teen Who Committed Suicide A Murderer, Internet Comes For Him.

News for queers and our allies:

Can Gay Parents Provide Everything Their Children Need? No, but Straight Parents Can’t Either: The Children of Gay Parents, Like All Kids, Need More Than Their Parents Can Provide.

‘Everybody Could Feel Safe’: Remembering LA’s Revolutionary Black Gay Nightclub.

Why the Queer Gaming Conventions GaymerX Puts Politics Second.

A Light During Darkest Days of AIDS: Hat Sister John Michael Gray Dies.

For LGBT Students, History Lessons Often Leave Out A Key Chapter.

With Insurers on Board, More Hospitals Offer Transgender Surgery.

The Closet Is Still Killing Us.

We Asked People Why They’re Proud To Be Bisexual And The Responses Are Perfect.

Norwegians now can change genders legally with a mouse click.

I‘m the gay son of a preacher man. When I came out to Dad, he was perfect.

First Pride Flag Launched Into Stratosphere.

Professional skateboarder Brian Anderson comes out: ‘I’m a skateboarder first, gay second’.

A Trans Life, Captured by Mark Seliger.

Has It Really ‘Gotten Better’ for Gay Kids?

Same-sex couple celebrate their modern-day fairytale by dressing up as Disney princesses.

Science!

Science Is What Made America Great.

Colossal wasps’ nest found in attic is the stuff of nightmares.

Mercury Is More Earth-Like Than We Thought.

World’s First Baby Born With DNA From Three Parents.

All of our astrological signs are wrong, according to NASA.

Self-powered fish tag tracks fish for as long as they swim.

Scientists Have Discovered A Way To Kill Superbugs Without Antibiotics.

‘This is one little pond and yet there’s thousands in there’: Okotoks mass poisons illegally dumped goldfish.

The UN plans to go to space in 2021.

Japanese inventor’s typhoon turbines harness storms’ energy.

Scientists find evidence for alternate theory of how life arose.

Happy Galactic Tick Day! You just moved around the Milky Way.

Bruce Campbell, Justin Willman and Nick Swardson deliver groundbreaking scientific discoveries about social media.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Mark Reads ‘Hogfather’: Part 17.

The Space Between Us trailer: Asa Butterfield leaves Mars for Earth in search of answers.

This week in Writing

11 Ways to Ask for Writing Advice (And 10 Major Mistakes to Avoid).

This Week in Tech

How not to get hacked by Mr. Robot.

the internet of crappy, crappy things.

This Week in Inclusion

Who Gets to Write What?

LGBTQ and Other “Diverse” Books Lead Banned Books List.

Why It Matters That Greg Rucka Finally Admitted Wonder Woman Is Queer.

This Week in Not Understanding Diversity

Let’s Discuss Cultural Appropriation with Owls.

New NBC Series Makes Light of Human Trafficking and Asian Stereotypes.

Culture war news:

NOM continues to called blog post by anti-gay reviewer a “study”.

Mother Sues Hospital for Discriminating Against Deceased Trans Son.

Is the NYT going to give every hate group in America a similar sympathetic article? Split Over Donald Trump and Cut Off by Culture Wars, Evangelicals Despair.

Many Evangelical Christians Feel Out of Place in Society (But You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About It).

Insightful Poll Reveals Who Opposes LGBT People on Two Big Issues.

Activists Say They Have Signatures Needed To Put Repeal Of Transgender Rights Law Before Voters.

Christian Activist: Sex Offenders Live Near Target Stores, So Trans People May Rape Our Daughters.

This Week in Hate Crimes

GAY MEN ATTACKED AT SAN FRANCISCO’S FOLSOM FESTIVAL.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Out of his depth, Donald Trump clings to deception.”Knowledge is not elitism.”

Donald Trump “Jokes” About Kicking Non-Christians Out of His Rally.

Dear liberals for #GaryJohnson: you’re just voting for a tea party Republican who likes weed and helping Trump win.

A historian on why so many people want Donald Trump to “make America great again”. “Hopes can be extinguished but nostalgia is irrefutable.”

This week in Politics:

Why do Republicans support a bigot for president?

At the First Debate, Clinton Faced Asymmetric Warfare—and Won.

VOTING THIRD PARTY IS THE ELECTORAL EQUIVALENT OF SENDING THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.

Here’s How We Need to Watch the Next 2 Debates.

Gary Johnson is not worth any liberal’s protest vote: He’s a free-market ideologue who would work to undermine large pieces of the left’s program.

Senate Votes to Override Obama Veto on 9/11 Victims Bill.

Political Provocateur Randy Rainbow Is the Best Thing About The Election.

Early votes: High interest buoys Clinton in key states.

Where Does Chris Christie Go from Here?

Taco Trucks Register New Voters.

This Week in Racism

“I Wanted to Dramatize the Racist Attitude of the Majority”.

This Week in Misogyny

The narrative of women in fear and pain.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 9/24/2016: Bring the SOB to justice.

Act my age?

I don’t need to watch the debate, I know which candidate thinks I have a right to exist, and which doesn’t.

…on my mind….

Videos!

***OMG!*** NEW “Will & Grace” scene about 2016 Election:

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

Supergirl 2×01 Sneak Peek “The Adventures of Supergirl” (HD) (OMG! Tyler is soooooo adorkable as Clark Kent!):

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

‘American Male’ Short Film:

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

EXCLUSIVE׃ Adam Lambert Nails ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Ballads Behind the Scenes:

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

Niall Horan – This Town (Live, 1 Mic 1 Take):

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

“Radio Gaga” Hong Kong Sep28.2016 Queen+Adam Lambert:

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

Friday Links (blind dog and his seeing-eye dog edition)

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Zen and Hoshi are both rescue dogs who become friends when they found a forever home together. When Hoshi lost his eyesight, Zen become his seeing-eye dog.
Zen and Hoshi are both rescue dogs who become friends when they found a forever home together. When Hoshi lost his eyesight, Zen become his seeing-eye dog.
It’s already the fourth Friday in September! You know what that means? Well, this year it means I’m on vacation. I’m taking a couple of vacation days because it’s my birthday this weekend. A company I used to work for gave each employee their birthday off as a paid holiday, and I liked it, so when I’ve got the vacation time to spare, I’ve kept doing it.

This week was extremely productive at my day job. Which meant my brain was pretty worn out at the end of each day. Add that I was still recovering from being sick the week before, and I think I managed to write two small scenes the entire week. *sigh* Oh, well, I’m hoping to get my mental batteries recharged here and maybe, now that another couple of impossible deadlines have been met, I can have a more reasonable workload in the day time.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

And remember, September babies are superior!

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

An Appreciation of Dolly Parton, America’s Greatest Living Artist.

Tiny Rescued Pomeranian Serves as Seeing Eye Dog for His Blind Best Friend.

This week in Comments, Trolls, and Wankers

Making Peace With an Internet Overrun With Trolls.

Online Comments Sections Are Terrible. Monetizing Them Would Make Them Worse.

Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed? Four editors weigh in…

It’s great news that NPR is killing off comment sections.

Rape Culture Strong in Online Comments, USC Study Finds.

Why We Turned Off Comments: It’s not permanent. But we think we can do better. We’ll see…

One year ago, one study gave hope: Can comment sections contain (gasp!) rational, coherent, civil debate? Maybe? Sometimes?

This week in stupid

Why one of N.J.’s most cherished landmarks is now off limits.

This week in evil people

Twitter Suspends Right Winger “Instapundit” After He Calls On Drivers To Run Over Charlotte Protesters.

News for queers and our allies:

Can straight people be queer?

We Asked People To Draw Where They Are On The Kinsey Scale And It Was Pure Art. Yes, page through them all, they’re great!

The ‘B’ in LGBT: Why Bisexual Awareness Week Matters.

BISEXUAL BROADWAY STAR ANDY MIENTUS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT BEING ‘LUMPED IN AS GAY’.

Eulogy for the Living: On Losing AfterEllen and Queer Women’s Spaces.

Canada: Diocese of Toronto elects first openly gay bishop.

Science!

Are fireflies flickering out?

Indigenous Australians most ancient civilisation on Earth, DNA study confirms.

Jessica Cantlon seeks the origins of numerical thinking.

One Snow Leopard Needs a Protected Range Bigger Than Aruba.

Breakthrough Study Explains Why We Arrest Moms for Putting Kids in Nearly Non-Existent ‘Danger’.

Bumble bee is proposed for U.S. endangered species status.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Love Is Love, The LGBTQ Comic Fundraiser For Orlando Shooting Victims.

This Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction will Change Your Reading Life!

You don’t have to take the reviewer’s word for it, here it is: A Crash Course in the History of Black Science Fiction.

Friday essay: science fiction’s women problem.

We should remember HG Wells for his social predictions, not just his scientific ones.

How Comic Books Helped Me Come Out As Bisexual.

The Question: Which Bisexual Comic Characters Deserve A Spotlight?.

This week in Writing

Writing Dreams and Harsh Realities.

This Week in Tech

Yahoo Says ‘State-Sponsored Actor’ Hacked 500M Accounts. 500 million? That’s sounds like every possible account. Oh, and thanks for telling us two years after…

This Week in Covering the News

Fighting Politicians’ War on Truth.

This week in Health

Breaking the Synagogue’s Silence on Mental Illness: What You Can Do.

This Week in Inclusion

‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ and other TV shows are smashing myths about bisexuality.

This Week in Police Problems

Police have shot and killed at least 2,195 people since Ferguson.

Why You Should Sign Initiative 873 to Change the State Law on Police Killings.

Marshawn Lynch speaks about Colin Kaepernick national anthem controversy.

Officials: Tulsa police officer “reacted unreasonably,” charges filed in Terence Crutcher shooting.

Colin Kaepernick Had No Choice but to Kneel.

Culture war news:

Donald Trump’s Hate-Fueled, Alt-Right Army Hates ‘Faggots’ Too.

Botswana deports U.S. pastor Steven Anderson over homophobic sermons and views.

Religious Residents Protest Gay Israeli Singer As “Avowed Pervert,” Demand He Be Disinvited From Festival.

Campus Preacher Who Said Women Deserve Rape Arrested for Kicking a Woman in the Chest.

North Carolina Pays a Price for Bigotry.

Kentucky Judge: ‘I Don’t Hug (Men) the Way I Used To’ Because of Gay Marriage. What a sad, sad deluded man…

Revisiting Focus on the Family’s Letter from a Christian in 2012.

North Carolina court rejects anti-gay magistrates case.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Toronto Star report, Daniel Dale, has been posting a daily list of the lies Donald Trump tells that day. Something U.S. journalists are somehow unable to do. (click to embiggen)
Toronto Star report, Daniel Dale, has been posting a daily list of the lies Donald Trump tells that day. Something U.S. journalists are somehow unable to do. (click to embiggen)
Why facts don’t matter to Trump’s supporters.

Trump’s Tax Cuts—and Child Care Plan—Would Be Utterly Worthless for the Middle Class.

Millennials, unlike some other demographics we won’t mention, are getting arrested to protest Donald Trump.

The Nazi Who Originated Donald Trump Jr.’s Skittles Analogy Was Hanged at Nuremberg.

Here’s the Proof of Donald Trump’s Racism, Sexism & Anti-Gay Rhetoric You’ve Been Asking for, Trolls.

This week in Politics:

The Origin Story Of The Big Lie That Hillary Clinton Started Birtherism.

Democrats, get your damned big-boy pants on.

Bernie Sanders: ‘This is not the time for a protest vote’.

Why You Really Must Get Behind Hillary, Now.

The Folly of the Protest Vote.

The RNC Autopsy, in the Shadow of Donald Trump .

This Week in Racism

THE CASE FOR WHITE CURIOSITY: INTERROGATING THE DEVASTATING LEGACY OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN AMERICA.

This Week in Sexism

An artist fixed that Jumanji set photo.

Farewells:

RIP Edward Albee, Iconic American Playwright and Proud Gay Man.

Things I wrote:

Normal is an illusion.

The heartland isn’t, and other myths of diversity.

Misleading definitions of middle-ground, or the return of the false equivalency.

Videos!

Pentatonix & Dolly Parton – Jolene:

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

Angela Lansbury, 90, Slays With Surprise Live Rendition Of “Beauty And The Beast”:

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

Lindsey Stirling & Lang Lang – Spider-Man Theme:

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

Friday Links (brave 12-year-old edition)

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This photo of a kid single-handedly trying to keep 11,000 antigay protesters from marching went viral this week.
This photo of a kid single-handedly trying to keep 11,000 antigay protesters from marching went viral this week.
It’s already the third Friday in September?! How did that happen? Oh, well! Don’t forget: September babies are superior!

This week has not been a productive week. We both came down sick. Each of us missed a day of work (but not the same day). And I’m not feeling rested and recovered yet. We also got news last week which almost certainly means that we’ll have to move next spring when our lease is up or shortly thereafter. I’ve been living here for 21 years, and I’m not looking forward to the hunting, the packing, or the moving.

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

9/11 Survivor Schandra Singh on Painting Everyone Who Died That Day.

My Lost Mother’s Last Receipt.

Ketchup sandwiches and other things stupid poor people eat. Or, what clueless people misunderstand about what many people have to do to survive.

Happy News!

Evolution of the 007 logo.

This week in stupid

The Oregon wildlife refuge takeover ended seven months ago. The trial is now getting underway.

This week in awful news

US teens often forced to trade sex work for food, study finds.

Suspected Rapist Told Authorities the Bible Gave Him the Right to Have Sex with Anyone.

‘It was a bloodbath’: Petting-zoo animals killed in overnight dog attack.

This week in the environment

Joint Statement from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior Regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

News for queers and our allies:

My Junior High Had a Burn Book, and I Was Outed in It.

Moonlight is a beautifully nuanced gay coming-of-age tale.

92-year-old mom has carried “Proud of my lesbian daughters” at NYC Pride Parade for 30 Years.

This is the moment a 12-year-old boy tried to stop 11,000 marching homophobe.

Science!

My favorite weather scientist has a podcast!

Behind the sugar industry’s 50-year mission to axe its link to heart disease.

NEW EVIDENCE SHOWS THE MOON FORMED FROM MELTED BITS OF EARTH.

A Timeline of the Earth’s Average Temperature Since the Last Ice Age Glaciation. One of the best graphics ever!

Royal Society Photo Contest Winners Capture Breathtaking Details of Our Rapidly Changing World.

X-Rays From Pluto, Charon’s Weird Red Spot Examined In New Studies.

Children are twice as likely to get their intelligence from mom.

George Price’s research into evolution cost him everything: He helped us understand how selflessness could evolve, but his work would have dire personal consequences.

Science Museum row: Ditching this sexist brain quiz ain’t rocket science.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

More 2016 Dragon Awards Reactions.

Biased Opinion – 2016 Hugo Awards Post Mortem.

Ursula K. LeGuin told her blog readers about a recent medical problem. Here’s wishing her a speedy recovery.

STAR WARS SUPER FANS RESTORE UNMOLESTED 1977 PRINT, DISTRIBUTE ILLEGALLY ONLINE.

The Three Fractions of Speculative Fiction.

And other news:

45,000 Pounds of Would-Be Pennies Coat Highway After Delaware Crash .

This week in Writing

STORYTELLERS ARE HACKERS. THE SYSTEM WE’RE BREAKING INTO IS HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS.

This week in Words

How ‘budgie smuggler’ finally found its way into the Oxford English dictionary.

The Complete List of Lewd-Sounding Town Names in America.

This Week in Tech

How a Twitter Troll Was Revealed to Be a 13-Year-Old Boy (Who’s Now Totally Grounded).

This Week in Police Problems

DOJ report spurs police LGBT Advisory Council.

13-year-old African American boy killed by police in Columbus, Ohio.

Culture war news:

This one quote shows what angry white guys mean when they talk about government overreach.

Fox News Commentator Tells Conservative Christians They Must Support Anti-Gay Hate Groups (Video).

Can Christians Learn from Colin Kaepernick?

After a Youth Pastor Raped a Girl, Their Church Asked the Victim to Apologize to the Pastor’s Wife.

Marine drill instructor accused of running a clothes dryer with a Muslim recruit inside.

NC feeling the heat of boycotts because of HB2.

NC Republican who voted for ‘bathroom bill’ panics as poll numbers plunge.

South Africa ​bans anti-gay Arizona pastor from entering the country.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Donald Trump Flat Out Lied About Use Of 9/11 Funds.

Donald Trump fans have been sending me racist, hateful messages for months. Here’s a sampling.

Trump Says Janet Yellen Is Keeping Interest Rates Low So President Obama Can Play Golf.

VIDEO: 176 Reasons Donald Trump Shouldn’t Be President. Wow. So concise!

The Time Donald Trump Dismissed Half of America as Losers.

This week in Politics:

This Is Critical: Hillary Can’t Back Down.

Who will Hillary Clinton’s ‘basket of deplorables’ comment actually alienate?

Hillary Clinton Says True Thing About Trump Supporters, Everybody Horrified Or Something.

Colin Powell Called Benghazi A “Stupid Witch Hunt” — And Condi Rice Agreed.

This Week in Racism

AND DO YOU BELONG? I DO.

Author Lionel Shriver dons a sombrero to lament the rise of identity politics in fiction. Racist author is racist…

Identity & Narrative: A Response to Lionel Shriver.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 9/10/2016: Paused pipeline, cease fire, and a tortured metaphor.

Sunday Funnies, part 20.

Three months later, Pulse shooting still a gut punch.

Wishing on 9/13….

The myth of live and let live.

Longing, Loathing, and Locution — how you love in sf/f isn’t the only way.

Videos!

The ‘Magic Mike Live’ Dancers Perform:

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

Dads for Transgender Equality: Joe:

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

Feast Your Eyes on The Full Trailer for Russell Tovey’s Gay Footballer Movie ‘The Pass:

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

Friday Links (pipeline protest edition)

blogging, ,

“What would happen if a for-profit construction company bulldozed a Christian cemetery?...” (Click to embiggen)
“What would happen if a for-profit construction company bulldozed a Christian cemetery?…” (Click to embiggen)
It’s already the second Friday in September?! How did that happen? Oh, well! Don’t forget: September babies are superior!

I’ve done very little writing and a lot of revising this week.

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 Peace Between Christians and GBLT People.

This week in Seahawks

Building a New Beast Mode: It Will Take a Small Army to Replace Marshawn Lynch.

This week in Food

How Americans pretend to love ‘ethnic food’.

So what exactly could be wrong with having taco trucks on every corner?

Don’t Fuck with Librarians

Stage Play Spotlights Alabama Librarian’s 1959 Defense of Children’s Book.

This week in awful news

Syrian government ‘drops chlorine gas’ on rebel-held part of Aleppo.

Wells Fargo Fined for Fraudulently Opening Accounts for Customers.

National Guard put on alert as protesters await decision on North Dakota pipeline.

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.

The Latest: Large Crowds in 3 States Protest Pipeline.

Aleppo: Key battleground in Syria’s civil war.

Camerawoman Who Kicked Refugees in Hungary Is Charged With ‘Breach of Peace’.

Rights Group: Refugee Children Still in Greek Police Cells.

This week in the environment

Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs and Pepper Spray.

News for queers and our allies:

‘LGBT’ is Not a Synonym for ‘Gay’.

Sleepless in Seattle: The Chef, the Quarterback and Transgender Rights.

The first openly lesbian contestant will take part in this year’s Miss America pageant.

19 LGBT Hindu Gods that Defied the Gender Binary.

Letter From a Greek Activist Fighting the Binary.

I WAS TAUGHT TO HATE MY LESBIAN NEIGHBORS. THEY TOOK ME IN ANYWAY.

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters. Alvin had been fighting the good fight!

Science!

Freddie Mercury has an asteroid named after him.

Bizarre ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker.

Philae lander found on comet 67P as Rosetta mission draws to a close.

Why Canadians drink more coffee than most people in the world.

The giant panda is no longer an endangered species.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

A Bleary-Eyed (And Slightly Furious) Post World Con Recap.

N.K. Jemisin and the Politics of Prose.

March of the living dead lit mag submissions.

A related post by the same author: A personal rejection letter, sent to the literary journal which took 6 years to reject my story.

Here’s what I saw from the front row of the “State of Short Fiction” panel.

The Hugos, the Sad Puppies and 1970s science fiction paperback covers, which were ridiculous.

The 2016 Dragon Awards or Participation Trophies for Puppies.

World Fantasy tries again with programming.

Even More Hugo and Clarke Awards Reactions.

And other news:

New York’s Attorney General Just Announced a Major Investigation into Makers of EpiPen.

Pacific Northwest College of Art Cancels an MA Program Days Before Classes.

This week in Writing

WRITE BETTER SCI-FI STORIES WITH THIS SIMPLE IDEA.

This Week in History

Naming Demons: The Aramaic Incantation Bowls and Gittin.

This Week in Tech

Warner Brothers reports own site as illegal.

This Week in Covering the News

You Failed, Chumps.

Hillary Clinton Gets Gored.

This Week in Inclusion

If We Don’t Exist We Don’t Exist.

This Week in Police Problems

When Police Unions Impede Justice.

Culture war news:

The Women Who Challenged Sweet Cakes on the Cost of Their Battle. “We’re not political people, never wanted this attention, and only filed a claim with Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries after six months of relentless media attention and harassment. Meanwhile, the Kleins quickly became media darlings of the right wing. Conservative groups flew them out to appear at events, Ted Cruz featured them in a campaign video, and their fundraising page raised over $600,000. In contrast, we became the target of hateful, violent threats and a daily onslaught of negative calls and emails from around the world. Over the past three years, we have received several thousand Facebook messages calling us fat, evil, and dumb — some with threats so violent that we have sincerely feared for our lives, moved houses, and lived in hiding in hopes of protecting our family.”

Mere Months After Orlando, Evangelicals Declare New Commitment To Rejecting LGBT People.

New Jersey GOPer Tells Female Reporter He Hopes She Gets ‘Raped’.

What Phyllis Schlafly Might Have Been, if It Weren’t for Women Like Phyllis Schlafly.

Donald Trump’s Extremist Allies: Who’s Who At The Values Voter Summit 2016.

Gays Who Lived Through Anne-Imelda Radice’s Tenure as NEA “Decency Czar” Aren’t Celebrating Her Gay Wedding.

This Week in Hate Crimes

Double Murder a Likely Anti-LGBT Hate Crime in Missouri.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Donald Trump still hasn’t paid most of his top staffers, and some of them aren’t happy about it.

Trump policy staffers quit after not being paid.

Donald Trump upstaged when Mexican taco truck arrives in protest and proves more popular than him.

At Least 110 Republican Leaders Won’t Vote for Donald Trump. Here’s When They Reached Their Breaking Point.

Trump Time Capsule #92: ‘How the Media Undermine American Democracy’.

Fox News Turns On Trump And Busts Him For Lying About Black Poverty Statistics.

Donald Trump Is Playing the Religious Right for Rubes.

Donald Trump Does Detroit: after weeks of preaching his sinister sermon of black pathology to mostly white audiences as part of his utterly fake “black outreach” — which is in fact the effort of a bigot to disguise his bigotry — Donald Trump finally brought his message before a few mostly black audiences.

Did Trump Happen Because Liberals Are Too Mean?

This week in Politics:

Hillary conversed with Colin Powell two days after becoming Secretary of State, not “a year later,” as Powell has claimed. Second, Powell essentially told her that he had just gone ahead and broken the law by “not using systems that captured the data.” Hillary, by contrast, chose instead to retain everything as the law required.

The 7 Biggest Deadbeat States Who Mooch Off Taxpayers All Vote Republican.

Gallup: Life got better for pretty much everyone under Obama.

Democrats Troll Donald Trump With a Taco Truck in Colorado.

The New York Times Screws Up Its Clinton Coverage, Part Infinity.

Why Hillary Clinton’s perceived corruption seems to echo louder than Donald Trump’s actual corruption.

Save the Republican Party: Vote for Clinton.

5 worst right-wing moments this week: Michele Bachmann’s apocalypse now.

Farewells:

Savannah drag legend Lady Chablis dies at 59.

Jon Polito Dies: Coen Brothers Actor & ‘Homicide’ Original Was 65.

Dabney Montgomery dies; Tuskegee Airman was 93.

In Unmourned Departures:

Anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly’s philosophy perfectly captured in 15 disturbing quotes.

Conservative Phyllis Schlafly, Foe Of Equal Rights Amendment And Founder Of Eagle Forum, Dies At 92.

Phyllis Schlafly, One of History’s Worst Homophobes, Dies at 92.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 9/2/2016: cute otters and delicious tacos.

The first draft is always… well, a draft.

Wrestling the bear: getting to the end of your novel.

No one likes change before and while it’s happening….

Videos!

An Emotional Surprise for an Orlando Survivor:

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

Australian | Aussie Shirtless Men Answer Boxers or Briefs in Los Angeles | 2016 Mens Fashion:

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

Saade – Wide Awake ft. Gustaf Norén (Official Music Video):

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

Sia – The Greatest:

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

Friday Links (rescued baby otter edition)

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Rescued otter pup, Rialto, had to be bottle fed when first brought to Seattle Aquarium (© Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)
Rescued otter pup, Rialto, had to be bottle fed when first brought to Seattle Aquarium (© Alan Berner/The Seattle Times)
It’s Friday! It’s the first Friday in September. September?! How did that happen? Oh, well! Don’t forget: September babies are superior!

I’ve done very little writing and a lot of revising this week.

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

HOW A SELF-PUBLISHED WRITER OF GAY EROTICA BEAT SCI-FI’S SAD PUPPIES AT THEIR OWN GAME AND WHAT IT TAUGHT ME ABOUT PUSHING THROUGH WRITER’S BLOCK. Seriously, if you read nothing else this YEAR, read this.

Happy News!

Hitting all the right notes. “I want to see children do better in school. I want to see children have better lives. But I don’t want to belittle that I’m also seeking the joy of music for everybody.”

Baby sea otter Rialto’s heart-melting story of survival.

This Week in Difficult to Classify

The University of Chicago, Trigger Warnings and Safe Spaces.

Alabama officials ordered Christian woman to remove headscarf for drivers’ license: ACLU lawsuit.

Marine Who Saved 70 Lives In Pulse Shooting To Be Honored By LGBT Military Group.

This week in awful news

People Are Being Warned About Scary Clowns Luring Kids Into The Woods. They insist this is true. I think the universe is trolling us.

News for queers and our allies:

Out Representative Brian Sims Is Our New Favorite Disney Princess.

‘Inside My Head I’m a Girl’: Three Ways of Growing Up Gay.

Stranger Things’ David Harbour on Seducing Jake Gyllenhaal, Fighting with Winona, and ‘Hopper Butt’.

Why Walmart Became LGBT-Friendly.

‘Best of the Best’ and ‘Absolute Worst’ Colleges for LGBTQ Students.

Welcome to the new America: Straight-ish, heteroflexible, and pansexual.

Trailer for the Upcoming Gay Rugby Documentary, Scrum.

On becoming a man: Transgender in the workplace.

Science!

The Multiverse Idea Is Rotting Culture.

Will This “Neural Lace” Brain Implant Help Us Compete with AI?

Microscopic Black Holes Might Be Shooting Through the Universe.

Why Do We Have Such a Hard Time Grasping Climate Change?

The Strange, Twisted Story Behind Seattle’s Blackberries.

Our new pterosaur fossil shows birds and small reptiles flew side by sid.

Miniature lion fossils lead to discovery of new species.

Fossils of oldest multicellular organisms found in South America.

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: IRON FOUND IN FOSSILS SUGGESTS SUPERNOVA ROLE IN MASS DYING.

Alzheimer’s: New drug that halts mental decline is ‘best news for dementia in 25 years’.

Five rare white killer whales spotted together in a sign of dangerous inbreeding.

The 3.7 billion-year-old fossils discovered in Greenland.

A group of citizen scientists have cracked a 300 year old mystery.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Ageism in SFF.

We Are All Allies.

Communities: Weight of History.

This week in Writing

Nora Jemisin: “I would love to just write and not have everything turned into a political battle”.

This Week in History

Miss Cora M. Strayer’s Private Detective Agency. It started out when someone posted a vintage newspaper ad, sending the writer on a search that unearthed a truly kickass woman who ran a successful detective agency from 1902-1938, taking a break to form the First Volunteer Women’s Calvary Regiment to take up arms and join the fight in the Border War with Mexico in 1814…

Convincing a Suicidal Teen He Can Wish the Gay Away.

This Week in Tech

I Got Scammed By A Silicon Valley Startup.

Google Just Agreed to Pay $5.5 Million to Settle Claims It Hacked Apple’s Browser.

Apple’s new rule will force Google, Amazon, and others to shorten their app names. The other changes, restricting the use of metadata in the app description and image tags, may go a long way toward fixing the horrible search results when trying to find an app…

This Week in Inclusion

Hello! You just used the “damned if you do/don’t” fallacy!

“An Ode To Being Blaxican” Shines A Light On An Erased Identity.

This Week in Police Problems

Dear Police: Once and For All, Saliva Does Not Transmit HIV.

This Week in Not Understanding Diversity

Matt Bomer’s Transface: Hollywood Business as Usual.

Culture war news:

‘Gay Zombies’ Face $104 Million Lawsuit for Crashing Pride Toronto.

MTV News’ Jamil Smith: Breitbart News Is Trying To “Mainstream” White Supremacy “Through Trump”.

Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery.

Denial Lit Gets a Little Wilder: Toles and Mann’s Madhouse Effect.

#VeteransForKaepernick Stand Up For His Right To Sit Down.

‘Woman using law Mike Pence pushed as a defense against child abuse charge’ & other Thur. midday news briefs.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s new ‘Hug a Homophobe’ stance is the least inspiring thing I’ve heard all week.

Human Rights Campaign Sets Sights on Johns Hopkins After Controversial Trans Report.

This Week in Hate Crimes

Explosions Rock LGBT Newspaper in Salem, Mass – Again.

Police: Man put hydrochloric acid in gay sex club’s lube dispenser.

Police probe gay bar threats from thug who wanted to go ‘bigger than Orlando’.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Donald Trump’s Tweet About The Murder Of Dwyane Wade’s Cousin Was Bad. The Associated Press’ Tweet Was Worse.

Pro-Trump Pastor Goes on Non-Apology Media Tour After Clinton Blackface Tweet.

Trump’s VP pick Mike Pence published articles urging people not to employ gays.

Several Hispanic Trump surrogates reconsider support.

And the award for most unbelievably savage Trump take goes to… Garrison Keillor?! When this is over, you will have nothing that you want.

This week in Politics:

The AP, And Why The Press Has Trouble Admitting Its Clinton Mistakes.

Anthony Weiner was the Ted Cruz of the left.

West Virginia attorney general spokeswoman booted after spotted repeating overtly racist phrases in ‘Stop White Genocide’ video.

The Drive to Become ‘Fox News Famous’ Hurts the Right. …there were actually two primaries: the race for the nomination and the auditions for FOX.

Remember That Time Dubya Lost 5 Million Emails And Nobody So Much As Flinched?

Maybe 2016 Will Be the Year Voters Elect an Openly Gay Republican to Congress. I know the author thinks this is good news, but racist self-loathing gays aren’t really an improvement over the run-of-the-mill anti-gay Republican. And being willing to vote for a token guy who shares all their other bigoted views doesn’t prove the Republican base is becoming more enlightened.

Boston Globe: Don’t close the Clinton Foundation.

This Week in Racism

How Nextdoor reduced racist posts by 75%.

Georgetown University Plans Steps to Atone for Slave Past. It’s better than nothing, I suppose…

How do you become “white” in America? “As the history of the Poles in America shows, whiteness has always been a malleable category, used for political exploitation.”

This Week in Misogyny

So, You Must Talk to the Woman Who Is Wearing Headphones.

This Vote Is Legally Binding: In response to all those articles about talking to women with headphones….

Farewells:

Gene Wilder, ‘Willy Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83.

Two of Gene Wilder’s most regarded films – “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Blazing Saddles” – are headed back to theaters this weekend following the actor’s death this week.

Gene Wilder’s Understated Nuttiness.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 8/27/2016: Homophobic pastor is a child molester… surprise?

Diamonds, houses, bars of soap and what I almost mansplained.

Thank you, Mr. Wilder.

Videos!

Ash vs. Evil Dead – Season 2 | official FIRST LOOK (2016) Bruce Campbell:

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

Lyon Hart – Falling for You:

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

Friday Links (astronaut with a tiara edition)

blogging, ,

Astronaut Stan Love accepted the John W. Campbell Award on behalf of Andy Weir last weekend. Love even wore the traditional Campbell Tiara while he read Andy's remarks.
Astronaut Stan Love accepted the John W. Campbell Award on behalf of Andy Weir last weekend. Love even wore the traditional Campbell Tiara while he read Andy’s remarks.
It’s Friday! The fifth Friday in August and things are… well, the weather is too hot for me. I’ve been sleeping at weird times and feeling as if I’m unstuck in time.

I’ve done very little writing and a lot of revising this week.

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

After 525 years, it’s time to actually listen to Native Americans.

This anti-racism group will build a memorial to lynching victims — and it’s about time.

What Is The “Alt-Right”? A Guide To The White Nationalist Movement Now Leading Conservative Media.

Happy News!

#SQUADGOALS: HOW TEAMWORK STARTS WITH SELECTING THE RIGHT UNDERWEAR.

Hero Cop Catches Kids Jumping From Burning Home’s Second-Story Window.

This Week in Difficult to Classify

A Feel Bad Story in Disguise: Two Florida Hospitals Won’t Bill Orlando Pulse Shooting Victims. “The news out of Orlando this morning shouldn’t make us feel good. It should make us feel bad. It is an indictment of our society, an indictment of our health care system, an indictment of each and every one of us. Because we don’t care enough about shooting victims to do something about guns and we don’t care enough about shooting victims — or people with cancer, or children with broken bones, or our fellow citizens at the end of their lives — to create an equitable health care system that doesn’t bankrupt and destroy families by design for the crime of getting sick or the crime of getting shot in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and by the wrong maniac.”

Caught in a Bad Bromance? We Should Be Encouraging Man Hugs, Not Mocking Them.

Drug Maker’s Application For Crucial HIV Pill Was “Homophobic, Illogical, And Greedy”.

This week in stupid

Get ’em off! Armed police order Muslim woman to remove her burkini on packed Nice beach – as mother, 34, wearing Islamic headscarf is threatened with pepper spray and fined in Cannes .

PSA: YOUR TRANSPHOBIA AND BODY SHAMING ISN’T RADICAL. I wasn’t very impressed with the Trump statues, either…

Russian Hackers Accidentally Post Different Versions of Stolen Docs. Post-Steal Editing?

This week in awful news

Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered. “Dee Dee Blancharde was a model parent: a tireless single mom taking care of her gravely ill child. But after Dee Dee was killed, it turned out things weren’t as they appeared — and her daughter Gypsy had never been sick at all.”

Italy earthquake: Death toll rises to at least 159.

Kabul siege: 12 killed in attack on American University.

Boys’ remains from troubled Dozier school to be buried in Tallahassee, memorial to be erected on school grounds.

“I Still See All The Red”: First Responser In Pulse Massacre May Lose His Job.

This week in evil people

Apple issues critical iOS update to thwart ‘Pegasus’ malware.

Trolls Hacked Leslie Jones’ Website And Put Her Naked Pics Out There.

Feds Are Investigating Hack Of Leslie Jones’ Site.

Where’s the money? Milo Yiannopoulos denies he spent cash for charity fund.

This week in the environment

Protesters anxiously await temporary injunction ruling to halt construction of Dakota Access Pipeline.

News for queers and our allies:

The Scariest Part About America’s LGBTQ Youth Suicide Epidemic Is What We Don’t Know About It.

MEET THE GAY LUCHADOR FIGHTING MACHISMO IN MEXICAN WRESTLING: Not so mucho macho in El Paso: Cassandro, lucha libre’s unlikely hero.

When My Son Met Another Out LGBTQ Kid On The First Day Of Middle School.

Having Sex With Poz Men Helped Kick My Fear of HIV.

The Most LGBT-Friendly Colleges Are Also the Most Financially Inaccessible.

Documentary: What You’ve Heard About Latino Dads of LGBT Kids Isn’t True.

Frank Ocean’s Poem About His Boyfriend.

Juneau Assembly Passes LGBTQ-Inclusive Non-Discrimination Ordinance.

New Study: Large Majority of Americans Support LGBT Nondiscrimination Laws, Oppose ‘Bathroom Bills’.

Science!

Prepare for This Study on the Misuse of Science on LGBT Issues to Be Misused.

The Science of Swearing: Your Filthy Mouth Helps You Make Friends.

Nasa to make all its research available free on the Internet.

Thousands of strange blue lakes are appearing in Antarctica, and it’s very bad news.

Twisted Light Could Dramatically Boost Data Rates.

16 fascinating science stories eclipsed by Donald Trump and the Olympics.

Column: Why it’s important to look at the stars – literally.

World’s biggest telescope meets world’s second fastest supercomputer.

This week in Cosplay

PHOTOS: The Sexiest Cosplay, Artists, And Geeks At FlameCon.

MERNICORN COSPLAY: SUPERB GENDER BENDING COSPLAYER & ROLEMODEL.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

My WisCon 40 Guest of Honour Speech. “You’d think the shared bond of loving books would diminish the hatred and suspicion of teenagers and the things they like. You’d be wrong.”

Analysis of Slate Voting for the 2016 Hugos.

My MidAmeriCon II badge was just suspended. That is awesome. This is why. It’s a pretty cool thing when someone admits they screwed up, however unintentionally, and doesn’t throw a fit that there were consequences.

Here are the winners of the 2016 Hugo Awards – Once again, slated works were largely outvoted.

Worldcon Expels Truesdale. And a follow-up: More Worldcon Thoughts.

An oldy, but a goodie: “Get your girly stuff out of my SF, for SF should be sciency, manly and hard”.

Another great one: WHEN AN OPINION IS NOT AN OPINION (OR AN OPINION ON OPINIONS).

Right-Wing Activists Fail to Ruin the Hugo Awards; Fiction Categories Swept by Women.

Must read post from Andy Duncan on how Dave Truesdale’s rant mischaracterized the meaning & legacy of David Hartwell.

Notes from Worldcon 74: Here are cool people saying cool things about spec fic.

2016 HUGO AWARDS: RESULTS AND (VERY) PERSONAL REFLECTIONS. What’s it like to, two years in a row, learn that you just missed being on the Hugo ballot because of the Puppies.

The past through tomorrow. ‘“You got the impression that for him, it was still 1937.” You could say much the same thing about the current crop of reactionaries, both in the positions that they take and the means that they use to express them.’

FROM A SNOWFLAKE OF SCIENCE FICTION.

Spinning Lovecraft Into a Feminist Dream Quest.

Michi Trota: 2016 Hugo Awards Acceptance Speech from MidAmeriCon II. “Nurturing a community isn’t just about throwing open the gates and expecting others to walk in merrily, especially when there’s been a long history of systemic barriers to entry. It’s essential to both create a space that welcomes and encourages others to come in, and to venture outside your comfort zones to find new people, invite them to share their voices and visions with you, and provide them with support and opportunities.”

Fake sci-fi boys cry salty tears over Puppies defeat at the Hugo Awards.

Do Better: Sexual Violence in SFF.

The Ultimate Guide to Every Science Fiction and Fantasy Show on TV This Fall.

An oldie, but a goodie: An Incomplete Guide to Not Creeping.

N.K. Jemisin: Scattered Post-Hugo Thoughts.

Awesomeness Out of WorldCon.

This Week in Love Conquers…

Sharon Van Etten’s Powerful Pulse Tribute Song Will Fight Gun Violence.

And other news:

Seattle Police on Drugging in Bars: “This Is Definitely a Problem”.

This week in Writing

Your Writing Group is Not a Godhead: Building Upon Some Fine Writing Advice from Ann Leckie.

Why I Talked to Word Sluts at WorldCon.

Networking: You’re Doing It Wrong.

This week in Words

Merriam-Webster: The History and Origin of ‘Headdesk’.

5 Writing Rules Destroyed by the Dictionary.

This Week in History

HUEY P. NEWTON’S 1970 SPEECH ON THE WOMEN’S & GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENTS.

The Macaroni in ‘Yankee Doodle’ is Not What You Think.

This Week in Tech

This Site Under Construction. Some people are trying to archive the old Geocities sites before the all vanish. This page contains hundreds of the old ‘This site under construction’ animated GIFs that were popular at the time…

‘Redshirts’ Author John Scalzi’s Suicidal Journey Through ‘No Man’s Sky’.

This Week in Covering the News

30K Muslims Just Slammed Terrorism And Media Is Silent.

NY Times’ Jim Rutenberg: Fox’s Hannity Acts Like A Trump “Adviser,” Ignores All Of “Journalism’s General Requirements”.

What Do The Simple Folk Do?.

Gawker Was Murdered by Gaslight.

This Week in Inclusiveness

All 162 Dead Lesbian and Bisexual Characters On TV, And How They Died. The first time I linked to this, in March, the title was “All 65…” there have been additions…

Queerbaiting Phenomenon Pisses Me Off & You Should Be Angry Too.

Writing Characters of Color: How to Avoid Being Racist.

Saying Goodbye to Larry Wilmore, a Voice of Advocacy in Late-Night TV.

HERE IS NO SECRET TO WRITING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LOOK LIKE YOU.

Culture war news:

Louisiana floods destroy home of Christian leader who says God sends natural disasters to punish gay people. This is not ironic. This is just desserts.

Ciara moved wedding to NFL’s Russel Wilson out of North Carolina over anti-LGBT law.

Welfare Reform Is 20 Years Old and It’s Worse Than You Can Imagine.

Michael Brown Has A Simple Solution To The Transgender Bathroom Controversy. What an idiot…

Anti-LGBT Preacher Flip Benham Tries to Disrupt Charlotte Pride (Photos, Videos).

Providing Transgender People Health Care Violates Religious Beliefs, New Lawsuit Claims.

Anti-Gay Family Research Council Leader (after his home is destroyed in Louisiana floods): I never said God causes disasters, but He can and does.

This Week in Hate Crimes

Man sentenced to 40 years for pouring boiling water on gay couple.

Washington man stabs kissing interracial couple, cites Donald Trump when arrested.

Yet Another Transgender Woman Suffers Brutal Attack in New York.

This week in rape culture

Judge sets aside rape charges for probation so ex-athlete can enjoy ‘a college experience’.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liars:

Gaps in Melania Trump’s immigration story raise questions. This is only relevant because Mr. Trump has made tough immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his campaign.

CNN’s Carol Costello: It “Seems Like The Conservative Media Is Running Trump’s Campaign”.

Dropping Out Is the Only Way for Trump to Save His Legacy, Argues John Oliver.

When Donald Trump says the election is ‘rigged’ what he means is that minorities get to vote.

This week in Politics:

19 Women Who Will Make History if Elected to Congress This Year.

U.S. Army fudged its accounts by trillions of dollars, auditor finds.

Clinton Spox: If You’re Troubled that Hillary Wants to Fight AIDS While President, Don’t Vote For Her.

Hillary Health Trutherism, Misogyny, And The Media.

Attention, Class! John Oliver Is Here to Explain Everything Wrong With Charter Schools.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe Restores Voting Rights to 13,000 Felons.

This Week in Racism

‘It’s not illegal to be black’: Cops complain online about white people getting ‘freaked out’ by their black neighbors and wasting police time with 911 calls .

‘Racialists’ are cheered by Trump’s latest strategy.

Trump’s New Ad Is The Worst General Election ‘Dog Whistle’ In Nearly 30 Years.

Americans May Not Be As Open To Mixed-Race Couples As They Think, UW Study Says.

The Alt-Right Is Neither Christian Nor Conservative.

This Week in Police Problems

MAPPING POLICE VIOLENCE: 2015 Police Violence Report.

Being white may have saved the Florida face-eating suspect from being shot by police. May have?

Cops Framed Schizophrenic Woman as Killer Lesbian, Sending Her to Prison for 35 Years.

Farewells:

Jack Riley, Voice Of Stu Pickles On Rugrats, Has Died. He’ll always be Mr. Carlin from the Bob Newhart Show to me…

Marvin Kaplan, Character Actor Known for ‘Alice’ and ‘Top Cat,’ Dies at 89.

Marvin Kaplan, R.I.P..

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 8/20/2016: Good night, and good news.

Highly illogical canines and the 2016 Hugo awards.

Characters (and stories) are more than the sum of their parts.

Zoinks! Trying to break some verbal habits.

Metallic Rodents and Secret Agencies: more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Frank Ocean – Nikes (Music Video):

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

The Get Down | “Telepathy” by Christina Aguilera [HD] | Netflix:

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

Barbra Streisand with Chris Pine – I’ll Be Seeing You / I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face:

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

Trailer – “Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders”:

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

Friday Links (sinking state edition)

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Drowning Louisiana © 2009 Nature Geoscience Magazine (click to embiggen)
Drowning Louisiana © 2009 Nature Geoscience Magazine (click to embiggen)
It’s Friday! August is zooming by. Wow! Work continues to be weird. I’m now metaphorically juggling 14 chainsaws, and I keep having to switch between my usual Information Architect/Tech Writer roles, and System Engineer, and Analyst; which are much worse than the usual context switching.

I’ve done very little writing and a lot of revising this week.

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

Louisiana Loses Its Boot: The boot-shaped state isn’t shaped like a boot anymore. That’s why we revised its iconic outline to reflect the truth about a sinking, disappearing place.

Two Black female swimmers just made US Olympic team history – and why that’s a big deal.

Happy News!

Man (who looks like an Ompah Loompah – seriously! Click on this for the picture!!!) arrested in Tickfaw church burglary.

Pulse Shooting Survivor Angel Colon Takes First Unassisted Steps.

Britney Spears Made Colton Haynes and His Impressive ‘Ass’ Part of Her ‘Freak Show’ – VIDEOS.

This week in stupid

Trump adviser Al Baldasaro: Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason, not assassinated. Stop misquoting him, libruhl media. He meant execution! Of course, everyone in the world, even US Weekly, reported this guy’s earlier remarks as a call for execution. It isn’t this guy who suggested Hillary should be assassinated. The person who did that was Trump himself…

Lyin’ Ryan! Star Olympian refuses to admit he made up robbery but is happy to laugh off Rio row by posting jokey videos online and posing with fans on his plane home.

This week in awful news

I live in Pakistan and was astounded by the lack of a global reaction to the hospital bombing here this week.

Scenes From the Terrifying, Already Forgotten JFK Airport Shooting That Wasn’t.

Why the media isn’t showing you the Louisiana flooding.

CNN Anchor Breaks Down During Heartbreaking Report On Five Year-Old Syrian Bombing Survivor [VIDEO].

News for queers and our allies:

20 ‘Gay Uncles Day’ Photos So Cute Your Heart Will Melt.

The results are in … we love Superhero gay porn parodies.

Much Beloved Drag Queen Darcelle Achieves Guinness World Record.

Egypt’s grand mufti says harming gays is unacceptable even as LGBT crackdown continues.

Science!

Fossil Friday: Cretaceous Captives.

Fossils hold hidden clues to the evolution of whales’ incredible hearing.

The Common Wisdom about Dog Nipples Is Wrong.

July 2016: The Hottest Month On Record [VIDEO].

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

2016 Hugo Ceremony Coverage Plans: how you can watch.

Queer fans who deny queer readings.

How Not to Respond to Accusations of Racism, World Fantasy Convention Edition.

Rape, Consent and Race in Marvel’s ‘Jessica Jones’.

How The CW’s DC universe became one of TV’s most inclusive.

The Strange Thing About Stranger Things – May it have been better to let it build?

Year’s best SF/F, January to June 2016 edition.

We Are Writing the Future #BlackSpecFic: A Fireside Fiction Company special report.

This is #guerrillaWFC.

Mister Rogers Said to Look for the Helpers

Pizza Village of Lafayette reaches out to flood victims.

And other news:

Suffering from Louisiana flooding only just beginning.

This week in Writing

The Cardinal Sin of Self-Publishing. There’s a great point in this blog post. I think he could have made it better.

The NRA’s Favorite Gun “Academic” Is A Fraud.

When You Don’t Get it Right (or That Time I Appropriated Spirit Animal).

This Week in History

Joseph Goebbels’ 105-year-old secretary: ‘No one believes me now, but I knew nothing’. Add me to the people who don’t believe that…

This Week in Tech

The Real Reason Apple Wants to Kill the Audio Jack.

Why Isn’t Twitter Taking Down Harassment As Fast As It Takes Down Olympics Content?.

Comment: A ‘boring’ iPhone 7 launch for insiders still holds magic for most.

This Week in Covering the News

My Complicated Love/Hate (But Mostly Love) Relationship With Gawker.

NPR Website To Get Rid Of Comments.

Gawker.com to shut down as Univision buys other sites.

This Week in Diversity

Larry Wilmore’s Nightly Show Was the Sharpest Late-Night Voice on Race, and Comedy Central Just Killed It. I really liked the show, and watched it more often than I had watched Colbert. Sorry to see it go.

LARRY WILMORE TALKS IN-DEPTH WITH CHARLIE ROSE ABOUT HIS SHOW’S CANCELLATION, ITS ORIGINS + WHAT COMES NEXT.

#YAwithSoul and the enduring struggle for inclusion.

Here’s Why Oprah Winfrey Eliminated the Term ‘Diversity’ From Her Vocabulary, Thanks to Ava DuVernay. Should I change the name of this section?

Culture war news:

Where the Confederacy Is Rising Again.

New CDC Data: LGB Teens Face Startling Rates of Violence, Bullying and Suicidality. Yes, I posted a story about this study last week. But I have since seen op-ed pieces that keep asking, “What’s the LGBT community going to do about this?” The LGBT community can’t do anything about this. This study is about how queer kids are treated in their homes, in their churches, and in their schools. The LGBT community con’t control homophobic parents, or homophobic churches, or schools. If yet another study showing that children are bullied to the point of suicide makes upsets the straight community, the straight community, which outnumbers us and has some control over these things, needs to step up.

ISIS execute another man they believe was ‘guilty’ of being gay.

LGBTQ people hold ‘kiss-in’ in a supermarket after a couple was ejected for holding hands.

For Millennials, a consensus on transgender bathroom use.

IOC calls Olympic Grindr sex article ‘unacceptable,’ says Daily Beast sent Nico Hines home.

The Top 5 Reasons Religious Organizations Went to Court in 2015.

BYU Is Punishing Gay Students Who Report Their Rape.

Federal Judge: Religious Liberty Includes a Right to Fire LGBTQ Employees.

2 Zika awareness billboards showing condom removed amid controversy.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liars:

Donald Trump’s Strange New Attack On Hillary Clinton Echoes White Supremacists.

Breitbart thought the polls were biased against Trump. So it did its own poll. Clinton won.

Rudy Giuliani claims Islamic terrorism started under Obama….

DONALD TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR EVERYTHING, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN DOCTOR. The doctor who supposedly wrote this very un-medical letter died five years before the letter was written…

Repeat After Me: A Vote For Jill Stein Is A Vote For Donald Trump.

Trump promised personal gifts on ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ Here’s who really paid.

This week in Politics:

The Libertarian Party Has Qualified for 39 More Ballots Than Evan McMullin.

#NeverNeverTrump: What’s Evan McMullin Really After?

POLITICS Republicans Just Leaked Classified FBI Intelligence In Attempt to Smear Hillary.

The Problem With The DOJ’s Decision To Stop Using Private Prisons: The private prison industry will still have access to its biggest cash cow: immigrants.

This Week in Racism

3 Facts You May Not Know About the Racist Origins of ‘Colorblindness’.

Skinhead Attacks Black Man in Olympia, Says He’s Protecting Police.

This Week in Misogyny

An Open Letter to White Dudes on the Internet Who Want to Teach Me Things.

Farewells:

Kenny Baker, actor behind R2-D2, dies.

Comrades, colleagues and Star Wars cast members celebrate the life of Kenny Baker.

THE NEW YORKER SENT STAR WARS ACTOR KENNY BAKER OFF RIGHT.

Peter Mayhew’s Touching Tribute To Kenny Baker Will Bring Tears To Every Star Wars Fan.

And Another Departure:

And then a blowhard and intellectual bully came to an end: The McLaughlin Group to End 34-Year Run, Following Host’s Death, and in case you don’t know why no one should shed a tear: THE MCLAUGHLIN GOOFS.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 8/13/2016: Bigotry comes in many forms.

Bullied Bullies: Shifting blame and whipping up the troops.

Don’t waste the reader’s time: avoiding the one-way street.

Skillful Men of the Medical and Chirurgical Profession – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix surprise a crowd at Denny’s in Santa Monica:

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Where Do Your Texts Go?:

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Things Husbands Do | MATT AND BLUE:

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A Science Vlogger Explains the Neat Genetic Differences Between Nectarines and Peaches:

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US Gymnast Danell Leyva Strips Down at Rio 2016:

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Not to Be Outdone: Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev gets silly on high bar:

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Friday Links (otterly happy edition)

blogging, ,

image (1)It’s Friday! Already the second in August. Wow! Work has been more chaotic than usual. My usual metaphor is juggling chainsaws, and this week the yanked about six of the 12 chainsaws I was juggling away and tossed in a dozen to replace them. I remain more than completely book for the next many months.

I did more reading this week and not much writing, again. That needs to change.

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

Slightly More Than 100 Exceptional Works of Journalism. I think only two of these links have been in a previous Friday Links… these are all extremely interesting!

America Votes with Cards Against Humanity. “Why can’t I buy a pack for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein? Just skip the middleman and vote for Trump.

Happy News!

Accidental Censorship Of Olympic Divers Makes Them All Look Like Porn Stars.

This week in evil people

This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical.

News for queers and our allies:

Young Americans overwhelmingly favor LGBT rights.

‘No differences’ between children of same-sex and opposite-sex parents.

Eight People of Color Discuss the Challenges of Navigating Queer Spaces.

‘I’ll Go To My Grave With This’: Why Bi Men Still Fear Coming Out.

Science!

Albino Otter Proves to Be as Adorable as You’d Hope.

Stardust trapped deep within the ocean reveals a 2.6-million-year-old mystery.

The centre of our galaxy has an enormous void that surprisingly lacks young stars.

Breaking relativity: Celestial signals defy Einstein.

Mystery object in weird orbit beyond Neptune cannot be explained.

Cassini finds flooded canyons on Titan.

A cluster of hot stars shines blue in this new telescope photo.

Humans may have taken different path into Americas than thought.

The Seven Skeletons of Lydia Pyne: The local science historian debuts her new book about famous fossil hominids.

SeaWorld Returns Salty The Sea Turtle To The Ocean, Will They Do The Same Thing To Pregnant Orca’s Upcoming Calf?

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience.

5 Massive Space Operas to Read Between Marathon Sessions of No Man’s Sky.

This week in Writing

Stop the Goodreads bullies … stopped? In case you need some context, here’s a link from an earlier Friday Links: Bullying & Goodreads.

What SFWA Authors Need to Know about Archiving Their Literary Papers.

EVENTUALLY, YOU’LL CARE LESS (AND THAT’S A GOOD THING!).

This Week in Tech

Help! I’m getting emails meant for someone who has the same name as me.

Haters Gonna Hate — but They Better Stop Doing It on Twitter, or They Will Kill It.

This Week in Design

Top 10 least-loved emojis.

Milton Glaser Rated Every Olympics Logo Ever. This Was His Favorite.

This week in Health

Stephen Fry on Coping with Depression: It’s Raining, But the Sun Will Come Out Again.

This Week in Diversity

THE FIRESIDE FICTION REPORT: A READER/CRITIC’S PERSPECTIVE.

FX CEO John Landgraf on the ‘Racially Biased’ System and Taking Major Steps to Change His Network’s Director Rosters.

Goodbye to ‘Honeys’ in Court, by Vote of American Bar Association: new ethics rule forbids comments or actions that single out someone on the basis of race, religion, sex, disability and other factors.

The Problem with Female Protagonists.

University of California Davis is suggesting students say ‘y’all’ to avoid offending people.

committing to diversity when you’re white: a primer.

This Week in Police Problems

DeRay Mckesson Sues Louisiana Police for “Unconstitutional” Arrest.

VINDICATION FOR BALTIMORE POLICE CRITICS — BUT NO ACTION. “To Baltimore’s black residents, the findings were hardly news.”

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

BlackRock Targeted by Gay Activists for Investing in Firearms.

Culture war news:

Judge Refuses to Lift Injunction on Law Protecting Clerks Who Decline to Issue ‘Gay Marriage’ Licenses.

Iran executes gay teenager in violation of international law.

Yo, Texas: Protecting Transgender Rights Is Not Dangerous, but Discrimination Is.

DEA Ignores Science, Refuses To Loosen Restrictions On Marijuana.

Gun Extremists Have Been Coming After Women for Years — & We Aren’t Scared.

This Daily Beast Grindr Stunt Is Sleazy, Dangerous, and Wildly Unethical.

Gay couple lose legal battle for equal pension rights.

LGBTQ Rights Groups Ask Big 12 Not To Include BYU Over Discriminatory Policies.

Victim’s Father Gets Life in Prison for Brutal Murder of Houston Lesbian Couple in 2014.

Daily Mail thinks Olympic divers should celebrate wins with a ‘manly pat on the back’.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students are significantly more likely to be the victims of physical and sexual violence and bullying than other adolescents.

President of Anti-Gay Organization To Supporters: You People Are Pathetic.

Donald Trump is Dragging Evangelical Christians Into His Gutter.

Surprise! Ark Encounter Isn’t Providing the Economic Boost Local Communities Were Expecting.

This week in rape culture

What Happens When the Democratic National Convention Doesn’t Have a Sexual Assault Policy.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liars:

Text analysis of Trump’s tweets confirms he writes only the (angrier) Android half.

Donald Trump hints at assassination of Hillary Clinton by gun rights supporters.

From Trump’s controversial words, a pattern: Outrage, headlines and then denial.

NRA circles the wagons around Trump.

Trump’s Wink Wink to ‘Second Amendment People’.

There’s a Name for Trump’s Violent Incitement Against Hillary: Stochastic Terrorism.

Trump’s long dalliance with violent rhetoric.

This week in Politics:

What do we know about the independence of think tank research that we didn’t a week ago?

Who will win South Carolina?

Majority Of North Carolinians Say Anti-LGBT Bill HB2 Is Harming The State.

ORLANDO: DNC Denounces Trump And Rubio For Headlining Today’s Anti-LGBT Hate Group Convention.

Why Progressives Are Celebrating Hillary Clinton’s Populist Economic Speech.

SCOTUS: Senate Democrats Will Try To Force A Vote.

This Week in Racism

Christian Website Wrongly Removes Article About How to Handle a Black Man Marrying Into the Family.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 8/6/2016: Pulse shooting still a gut punch.

By request: Some citations.

Nostalgic Regret and Convenient Amnesia.

Nothing wrong with a flawed hero….

Lost Friends in the Dreamlands – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Stephen Colbert Takes on Donald Trump’s Very, Very Bad Week:

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Unlimited Courage :

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Belle and Sebastian – Olympic Village, 6AM:

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Alabama Shakes – Don’t Wanna Fight (Live on SNL):

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer (Official):

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Friday Links (rescued tiger edition)

blogging, , ,

Rescued tiger, Aasha (© IN-SYNC EXOTICS)
Rescued tiger, Aasha (© IN-SYNC EXOTICS)
It’s Friday! And we’re into August, now. The year just keep zooming by! I’m much less tired and cranky this week. Part of that is because I worked from home an extra day this week, and working from home is always less stressful than a day in the office. I also have upgrading a few of my devices and had been having probably way more fun than I ought to playing with them. And, since Camp NaNoWriMo is over, I spent a lot of time this week reading, instead of writing.

But I need to get back to writing. Especially since I have promised some stories to several people.

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 Know Why Poor Whites Chant Trump, Trump, Trump. This is a long read, but it is an excellent article that has almost nothing to do with Trump, and instead talks about a few hundred years of how poor people of all races have been treated and manipulated in North America.

Happy News!

Sick Tiger Cub Gets Rescued From Circus, Makes Incredible Recovery And Finds Love!

News for queers and our allies:

Anti-Gay US Rep. Tim Huelskamp Loses Primary.

Catholic Archdiocese Loses Motion to Dismiss Fired Gay Employee’s Discrimination Lawsuit – VIDEO.

Science!

NASA plans to launch study of asteroid that could destroy Earth.

Humpback whales around the globe are mysteriously rescuing animals from orcas. Scientists are baffled at this seemingly altruistic behavior, which seems to be a concerted global effort to foil killer whale hunts.

Something crazy happens to Jupiter’s moon Io for 2 hours every day.

Where Does The Mass Of A Proton Come From?

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Science fiction publishing has a major race problem, new report shows.

Suicide Squad is worse than Batman v Superman. No, we didn’t think it was possible either.

That Time CBR Trashed Emma Frost Because of Sexism.

The Book Chelsea Clinton Touted as Her Childhood Favorite (Wrinkle in Time) Is Now Outselling Trump’s Art of the Deal.

What does Suicide Squad say about the state of superhero movies?

And other news:

A sexual assault case involving refugee children in Idaho. A microcosm of America in the age of Trump.

How Do Private Security Patrols In Seattle Neighborhoods Affect Livability?

Report: Immigrants Punch Above Their Weight In WA Economy. “Eighteen percent of the state’s 930,000 immigrants are entrepreneurs, and they’re employed at higher rates than the general population”

SPD’s efforts to prevent heroin deaths earns a visit from Surgeon General.

LAST TRUMP FOR THE SUIT? Luke Leitch fears that top-to-toe tailoring may be about to meet its maker.

This week in Writing

Did We Change the Definition of ‘Literally’? .

This Week in Tech

Lions’ Larry Warford wary of mind control, stops playing Pokemon Go.

WA ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST COMCAST FOR MORE THAN $100 MILLION. This is just one of the reasons I voted to re-elect him this week… Or maybe I should say more than a million reasons: ” The lawsuit accuses the company of more than 1.8 million violations of Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act”

New attack steals SSNs, e-mail addresses, and more from HTTPS pages.

Chip Card Nightmares? Help Is on the Way.

This Week in Diversity

Why There Is No Such Thing As Too Much LGBTQ Representation On TV.

This Week in Police Problems

Poll: Police harassment familiar to young blacks, Hispanics.

Culture war news:

Liberty Counsel Loses Yet Again, Federal Court Rejects Lawsuit Over Roy Moore’s Suspension.

Stockton mayor arrested at youth camp in Amador County. Previously, Mayor Silva has held official town hall meetings at an anti-gay megachurch and once held a taxpayer-funded ceremony to present the key to the city to God (who sadly did not attend).

Court denies North Carolina motion to stay decision on voter ID law.

U.S. Supreme Court blocks transgender bathroom choice for now.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liars:

Jill Stein Watered Down Her Own Statement Rejecting the Myth That Vaccines Cause Autism.

Jill Stein Explains Her Plan to Stop Trump by Electing Him President.

Ghazala Khan: Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice.

Why is no one in the Republican establishment directly condemning Trump’s nascent movement of thugs and fanatics?

John Noonan on nuclear deterrence and Donald Trump.

This week in Politics:

Repeat After Me: A Vote For Jill Stein Is A Vote For Donald Trump.

No, Clinton shouldn’t shift right to accommodate Trump dumpers.

Moderate Republicans cruise to victories in Kansas primaries.

Political DataViz: Who Lies More – A Comparison .

All Politicians Lie. Some Lie More Than Others.

Former Donald Trump Aides Are on the Ground in Wisconsin Trying to Defeat Paul Ryan.

Overworked And Underfunded, Mo. Public Defender Office Assigns Case — To The Governor.

This Week in Feminism

Obama Writes Feminist Essay in Glamour.

Farewells:

David Huddleston, Who Played ‘The Big Lebowski,’ Dies at 85. Until I saw his obituary, I never knew Huddleston was in that movie, because I’ve never seen it nor been interested in it. To me, Huddleston was one of the last of the great character actors: he played similar men in supporting roles in hundreds of TV episodes and movies.

Things I wrote:

Pot shots from the troll gallery: false equivalency edition.

Jill! Jill! Stein is Daft! Daft! Daft!

Asymptotic identities and contradictory infinities – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

All My Life – Tom Goss:

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Lindsey Stirling – Something Wild ft. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (From Disney’s Pete’s Dragon):

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A Great Big World – Won’t Stop Running:

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