It’s Friday! The second Friday in August. Tonight is the first pre-season game for my beloved Seahawks, playing against the team I grew up rooting for because of where I lived, the Denver Broncos. Which means that mostly it will be all the rookies on both sides, because neither coach wants to risk the star players getting injured in what is merely an exhibition game. But it’s the first time seeing them play, so I’ll be watching!

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Adorable Orphaned Kangaroo Hugs Teddy Bear In Viral Photo. We Can’t Make This Stuff Up.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Cartoon: Why Facebook is a Doughnut Stealing Mobster That I Hate Hate Hate. Thanks to ChasPAMelville for sharing.

Columbia House, the Spotify of the ’80s, is dead.

The lawn’s gotta go: Nostalgia and drought just don’t mix.

Why I Am Backing Away from Creative Commons.

That’s Not How Dicks Work: On Not Gay and “Straight” Men Who Have Gay Sex.

This week in Heart-wrenching

The girls who weren’t saved: Haunted by the 40-year-old Lyon Sisters kidnapping, a writer wonders why the biggest clue went unexamined.

Science!

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Offers a New View of Killer Whales.

Largest Great White Shark Ever Filmed Puts ‘Jaws’ to Shame: VIDEO.

Venomous frogs discovered during painful scientific mishap: Frogs head-butt enemies with their spines to inject toxic venom.

First Galaxies Cleared Young Universe of Cosmic Fog.

Russian doll disease is a virus inside a parasite inside a fly.

Oldest Human DNA Reveals Mysterious Branch of Humanity.

“Protosuns Found Teeming with Prebiotic Molecules” –The Precursors to Life.

Pulsar Proves Gravitational Constant is ‘Rock-Solid.’

Medieval Sword Carries Mysterious Inscription.

Attack on the pentagon results in discovery of new mathematical tile.

The Physics of Butterfly Wings.

Watching the Numbers Flow on This Ferrofluid Clock Is Almost Therapeutic.

Los Angeles Just Found an Awesome Way to Fight the Drought. It Involves Balls. Here Is a Video.

15th-Century “Sea Monster” Lifted from Baltic Sea.

The End of the Universe: A (Slightly Premature) Lament. “A trillion years, tops”

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Seven Atheist Arguments For The Existence of God.

The Victorian Hugos: 1893 Was to Books What 1977 Was to Movies. I had no idea that Jess Nevins was doing a regular column at io9 awarding honorary Hugo awards to works of the Victorian Era.

Uncanny Magazine: Writing Queerly: Three Snapshots.

Culture war news:

The KKK issues plea for members to kill gay people.

This browser hack reveals the truth about “political correctness”.

BLM Activist Who Shut Down Sanders is Radical Christian, Sarah Palin Supporter.

The Reverend Dan Erickson explains why I shouldn’t be an atheist.

Austerity Kills: The Sad, Sick Truth About Right-Wing Economics’ Body Count.

Study Reveals The True Scope Of Voter Disenfranchisement In Texas.

Republicans Bleeding From Their Everywheres, And It Is Awesome.

Other Families’ Values.

Pat Robertson: Christians Can Ignore the Book of Leviticus (but the Anti-Gay Parts Still Apply).

This Week in the Clown Car

Donald Trump Is Winning The Polls — And Losing The Nomination.

Why Donald Trump Isn’t Going Away.

Fox Stacked The Deck For Walker In Debate, Walker Still Lost.

Ted Cruz Pledges Support For Constitutional Amendment Banning Birth Control.

The real lesson of Donald Trump’s support for Planned Parenthood: The GOP primary has stopped making sense entirely.

Inside the GOP Clown Car: On the campaign trail in Iowa, Donald Trump’s antics have forced the other candidates to get crazy or go home.

This week in Other Politics:

In U.S., 65% Favor Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants.

Thanks, Obamacare: America’s Uninsured Rate Is Below 10% For First Time Ever.

Poll: Bernie Sanders surges ahead of Hillary Clinton in N.H., 44-37.

Sanders Shamelessly Pandering to Voters Who Want to Hear Truth.

This Week in Racism

A year after Michael Brown’s fatal shooting, unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire.

Dear White America: I know it’s hard, but you have to acknowledge what’s happening in this country.

This Week in Sexism

Young Adult publishing and the John Green effect.

The Real Real Genius: Thirty years ago, I helped inspire the lead female character in the classic nerd movie. I finally understand why some critics disliked its portrayal of women.. I was just talking about Liralen Li with friends the other day!

CBC reporter Megan Batchelor ‘rattled’ by unwanted kiss from man on live TV.

News for queers and our allies:

Linda Harvey: LGBT Rights Will ‘Wipe Out Free Speech’ And ‘Obliterate’ Christianity.

Kentucky high school removes gay basketball player from yearbook page.

Eddie Redmayne: An Education.

It’s Okay to Be Gay, So Long As You’re White.

What Gay Men Should Do Next.

The obligatory Sad Puppies update:

and here we go a’SWATing.

David Gerrold on Lou Antonelli’s Apology.

A Statement about Lou Antonelli, Lakeside Circus, Harassment and Safety.

Dreaming About Other Worlds: Author – Antonelli, Lou.

Pattern Matching: Lou Antonelli and the Sad Puppies.

Things I wrote:

Getting to know y/o/u/ me.

Sunday Funnies, part 14.

Please don’t ask me to applaud mighty whitey.

Doesn’t my artistic license cover that?

Bigotry isn’t a bug or a put-on in the rightwing base.

Thinking Machines and Thoughtless People: more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

How To Fix Trolling:

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

Eric Alán – My Favorite Sin (Official Video):

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

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Sex Education (HBO):

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

Disclosure – Omen ft. Sam Smith:

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

The Young Professionals – S.O.S (ABBA Cover):

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

Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach (lyrics NSFW):

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

It’s Friday! The first Friday in August. It is also, alas, the first Friday without Jon Stewart hosting the Daily Show. I don’t know how we’re going to get through the insanity of the 2016 Presidential Campaign without him to help us laugh at the worst of it…

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Lenny Kravitz accidentally “frees the bacon” — and has the perfect response to #penisgate. “The confirmation that a 51 year-old man and father has what looks like a functioning penis was promptly declared “shocking” and “epic.” ”

This week in Difficult to Classify

Nazi-Inmate Romance Novel Inspires Outcry, Soul-Searching in Romance World.

Florida Sheriff’s Office Wrongly Blames Gruesome Murders on “Wiccan Ritual Killing.”

Happy News!

British Library releases over a million public domain images.

Science!

Star Trek’s Uhura to fly NASA mission aged 82 – three months after having a stroke.

Mapping the United Swears of America.

Neutron Star Jets Near Speed of Light –“Rival Those of Black Holes.”

Early Earth –“Evidence Discovered of First Reproduction in Complex Organisms.”

First 3D-printed pill approved by US authorities.

Four-legged snake fossil sparks legal investigation.

Giant Mystery Ring of Galaxies Should Not Exist.

THE VIRGIN RAINBOW, THE WORLD’S FINEST OPAL, IS ABOUT TO GO ON DISPLAY.

Satellite 1 million miles away captures moon passing over Earth.

The Ghost of a Dying Star.

Earth’s Voyage Through the Interstellar Cloud –“20,000 Years Left to Go.”

Stealing Sedna.

MIT claims to have found a “language universal” that ties all languages together.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

2015 Hugo Award Voting Closed; Ceremony Plans in Place.

David Steffen: Why do I Value the Hugos?.

We LOVE Worldcon….but here’s what happened….

2015 Hugo Voting Participation Smashes Records.

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy: Hear the 1973 Radio Dramatization.

This Week in Historical Studies

The Internet has been buzzing about how discrimination against the Irish was a myth. All it took was a high schooler to prove them wrong. Thanks to Mintrainbow1 for the link!

New Documents Found Pointing To Japan’s WWII Atomic Bomb Program.

Culture war news:

Scott Lively: ‘Religious Freedom’ Only Applies To Christians, And That’s Why God’s Punishing Us With Gay Rights.

“Adios motherf*ckers!”: Jon Stewart calls out Fox News hypocrisy one last time — and it’s absolutely glorious.

Kochs Rebrand Themselves As Champions Of Poor, Fight To Slash Wages And Eliminate Their Health Care.

Maine Supreme Court Again Rules Against NOM: Yes, You Really Do Have To Reveal Your Donors.

5 despicable ways the right is trying to undermine the way we teach U.S. history.

Alabama Lawmakers Advance Bill to End Marriage Licenses Statewide.

Crazed Cop Stalks Man then Pulls a Gun on Him for Filming from his Own Front Yard.

Man Banned From Food Bank Over His Views Of Marriage Equality.

Texas Could ‘End Up Paying Through The Nose’ For Resisting SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling.

President Obama Says Racism And Homophobia Come From The Same Mindset.

The Mistreatment Of A Dying Gay Man In Texas Goes ‘A Step Beyond Even Westboro Baptist Church.’

This Week in the Clown Car

Donald Trump Thinks You Should Be Able To Bring Guns Anywhere, Except His Own Hotels.

30% of The Participants In Fox News’ Sham Debate Are Former Fox Employees.

What Rubio doesn’t know can hurt him.

The GOP’s mind-blowing gun-control hypocrisy: Americans have the right to bear arms — except at our debates!.

“HELL IS EMPTY AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE”: A SHAKESPEAREAN GUIDE TO THE 2016 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY..

(There were many, many more outrageous headlines regarding the clowns scrambling to out-bigot each over for the Republican nomination; but sometimes enough is enough.)

This week in Other Politics:

After 6 Years Of Taking Their Crap, Obama Calls Out Republicans For What They Really Are.

Court Rules Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking Violates Fourth Amendment.

It’s Our Duty To Support The Troops And The Second Amendment In Case We Ever Need To Kill Them All.

Feds Bust Wingnuts Who Plotted To Lure Jade Helm Troops Into Ambush.

This Week in Diversity

Hollywood Diversity: USC Study Reveals More of the Same.

IN YOUR FACE JAM: Why Bisexual Hercules Matters To Me.

This Week in Racism

Episcopal priest on road trip with interracial family shares harrowing story of police harassment.

Alabama officer kept job after proposal to murder black man and hide evidence.

Federal Court Says Texas Voter ID Violates Voting Rights Act.

This Week in Sexism

The real reason some men still can’t handle the all-female ‘Ghostbusters’.

Women in Congress Should Never Have to Filibuster Again Over Reproductive Health.

CNN Confronts Man Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Over His Link To Anti-abortion Violence.

News for queers and our allies:

Homophobe Punches Married West Point Gay Grads, Ends Up In A World Of Pain.

Prop 8 Fighter American Foundation for Equal Rights Closing Down: ‘Together, We Made History’.

David Drake Reads Sean Strub’s Account of ACT UP Disrupting Mass In St. Patrick’s Cathedral From ‘Body Counts’ – LISTEN.

San Francisco Public High School Becomes First-Ever To Offer LGBT History Class. They picked the absolutely stupidest photograph imaginable to illustrate this story. I’m embarrassed on their behalf.

Bishop T.D. Jakes On The Black Church’s Shifting Stance On The LGBT Community.

True Detective’s Big Gay Problem.

6 Reasons You Need to Use the Word “Queer.”

Being “Feminine” Can Be a Double-Edged Sword for Bisexual Men.

How One Straight, Latina Cake Baker Is Taking A Stand For Gay Rights In Dallas: VIDEO.

Court decision ends discrimination against same-sex couples in foster system.

“The Sexual Duality In All Of Us,” And Five Other Mandatory Gay Viewing Moments From Jon Stewart’s Daily Show.

Republicans quietly drop anti-gay proposals.

The obligatory Sad Puppies update:

The Puppies are taking science fiction’s Hugo awards back in time. “The Hugos are decades behind in that regard, and the Puppies want to drag it back further.”

E Pluribus Hugo vs Slates.

10 Misguided Social And Political Movements Of Our Time. Guess where the Puppies came in on the list?

Farewells:

Lynn Anderson, singer of Rose Garden, dies aged 67.

Things I wrote:

There’s goals in them there hills!

Invisible? Refusing to see what’s already there….

Invisible no more: rooting out exclusion as a storyteller.

Dark Prophecies and Evil Half-brothers – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

MIKA – Staring At The Sun:

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

Kristin Chenoweth, Dove Cameron – Evil Like Me (From “Descendants”):

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

Stonewall Trailer | In Theaters September 25:

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

I’M NOT YOUR GAY BEST FRIEND:

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

The Real Queens and Kings of Stonewall:

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

WELL-STRUNG – Blank Space (feat. Johann Sebastian Bach):

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

It’s Friday! A Friday in which every source of news is almost certainly going to be giving wall-to-wall coverage of yet another horrific shooting in a public place. Which I’m not going to say anything more about just now.

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Body of man decomposed in car for nearly two weeks with small arsenal at home.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Nightmarish video of gun-firing drone to be investigated by US aviation authorities.

When Was the Last Time You Read To Kill a Mockingbird? Do You Remember How Funny It Is?

A TRUE CRIME TALE OF COMIC BOOKS, CORRUPTION, AND A $9 MILLION VANISHING ACT.

Happy News!

Two Fox Babies Adopted by Mama Cat Growing Up with Kitten ‘Siblings’.

Touching Image of Two Shelter Pups Hugging Before Being Schedule To Die, Saves Their Lives.

Science!

Pluto and Charon Keep Getting WEIRDER.

Meet the Scientists Who Helped Make Those Groundbreaking Pluto Photos Possible.

Russian entrepreneur launches $100 million search for aliens, backed by Stephen Hawking.

Build your own Pluto!

“The Dead Galaxies of the Coma Cluster” -One of the Largest Structures in the Universe.

Red Planet, Icy World? New Picture of Ancient Mars Emerges.

Runaway star creates spectacular shockwave.

June was Earth’s warmest month, and 2015 is its warmest year so far.

Single cell eyeball creature startles scientists.

Plants Murder Bugs to Pay Their Bodyguards.

As we marveled at Pluto, this spectacular comet image came out.

Large Hadron Collider discovers new particle.

Apples and Oranges — A Comparison.

Americans’ Air Conditioning Habit Is Eco-Friendly. The European myth that we use more a/c is based on comparing American cities with average summer temps on 88F (31C) to European cities with average summer temps of 73F (23C).

Surprises from Placental Mammal Phylogeny 1: Pangolins Are Close Kin of Carnivorans.

Sending Quantum Messages Through Space.

A New Planet That’s Almost — But Not Quite — Like Earth. Even the “almost” is stretching things more than a bit…

After Pluto there’s still plenty of the solar system left to explore.

Astronomers Spot a Intriguing ‘5-Star’ Multiple System.

Spectacular Einstein Ring –“Reveals Secrets of the Early Universe.”

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Joe Phillips’ ‘Silver Screen Heroes’ Imagines an Old Hollywood Take on Superhero Movies.

Why Science Fiction Is a Fabulous Tool in the Fight for Social Justice.

George RR Martin urges ‘every true fan’ to rally for Hugo awards vote.

CHOSEN ONES, SPECIALNESS AND THE NARRATIVE OF THE ONE.

9 Diverse Fantasy Books That Will Challenge Your Idea of Fantasy Fiction.

DEAR GUY WHO IS MAD BECAUSE I WROTE A GAY CHARACTER IN A BOOK. Favorite line: “you’re on the third book of a series and this character isn’t new, so…? The whole gay thing has kinda been in there since the first book.”

The Great Divide.

ARMADA IS F—ING TERRIBLE.

Five Ways to Add More Diverse Writers to Your White Male Dominated Reading Lists.

Culture war news:

‘You’ll burn’: Bigoted Georgia vandals paint dire warning on pro-LGBT church.

Editor fires back at racist complaints: “Championing of diversity does not extend to bigots.”

City fires investigator who found cops at fault in shootings.

Indiana-Style Bill Promoting Anti-Gay Discrimination Gains Steam In Congress.

Jesse Ventura’s perfect Ann Coulter putdown: “What has she ever done to deserve any credibility whatsoever?”

Florida Parents Try to Ban Books With Characters That Pray to Non-Christian God.

This Letter To The Editor Shoots Down Every Argument Against Gay Marriage In Just 150 Words.

Dear Adam: Being Gay Is Not Just about Sex.

This Is How Republicans Are Secretly Denying Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples.

This Bizarre Bill Would Protect Discrimination Against Gays—and, Um, Single Mothers.

Judicial Elections Make It Impossible for Alabama Judges to Protect Individual Rights.

This Week in the Clown Car

Republican candidacy has become more of a business model than a political commitment.

Andrea Mitchell: Why Didn’t GOP ‘Stand Up’ to Trump on Birtherism, Immigration?

‘You’re Fundamentally Wrong On Civics’: Rachel Maddow Explains The Constitution To Rick Santorum.

(There were many, many more outrageous headlines regarding the clowns scrambling to out-bigot each over for the Republican nomination; but sometimes enough is enough.)

This week in Other Politics:

I missed this! And it begins with an Isaac Asimov reference! Primary Amnesia: What the press forgets every election.

A letter to my dismal allies on the US left: Please, radical leftists, spare us the bitterness and negativity; we need hope and incremental victories and you provide neither. This is from three years ago, but is still true.

The unexpected and ingenious strategy of Obama’s second term.

On a similar note: Obama on the Hoofbeats of History.

Let’s stop pretending Republicans have a serious critique of the Iran deal.

This Week in Racism

16 Gut-Wrenching Photos Show What a KKK Rally Looks Like in 2015.

WATCH: KKK supporter uses ‘gorilla’ taunts to mock black crowd during tense Confederate flag rally.

This Week in Love vs Bigotry

How Bea Arthur Became a Champion for Homeless LGBT Youth.

After Charleston, Atheist Stands Guard Outside AME Church in Colorado So Members Can Worship in Peace.

This Week in Feminism

My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time.

This Week in Sexism

The Mansplainingest Mansplainer Who Ever Internetted.

News for queers and our allies:

Sexual Orientation Bias Common Among Health Care Providers.

Minister Raises $2,000 Bail for Black Woman ‘Arrested While Trans’.

Thomas Roberts Becomes First Out Gay Man To Host Nightly Network News.

Hollywood Gayze: Mark Simpson on Hollywood heartthrobs going ‘gayish’.

Transgender experience isn’t caused by a hormone imbalance so just give it up already.

As a Gay Widower, What the Word Marriage Means to Me.

A brief history of homophobia in Dewey decimal classification.

Why Coming Out As Bisexual Is Perpetually Exhausting.

Ending the “Gay Exception”: The Marriage Ruling and a Fight to Make Ohio and America Whole.

The obligatory Sad Puppies/Hugo Awards update:

That Sledge-Hammer was Always Meant To Hit There: A Hugo Theory.

the new shtick: bring it all down?

Farewells:

Theodore Bikel (1924-2015).

And other news:

Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk—they come from families with money.

Things I wrote:

Authorial i/n/t/e/n/t/ consent.

Hugo Ballot: My final take before voting closes.

Enchanted caves and bastard princes: more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Batman’s Awesome Backhand:

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

Spectre Official Trailer #1 (2015) – Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz Action Movie HD:

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

‘America’s Best Christian’ roasts Goodwill: They’re ‘secular charlatans’ using religious tricks to get rich:

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

Sleeping clouded leopard cubs at Point Defiance Zoo:

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

‘Hugging Dog’ viral photo saves pair from being put down:

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

Kelly Clarkson covers “Bye bye bye”:

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

It’s Friday! It’s the third Friday in June. Happy Queer Pride Month! I had planned on calling this week’s Friday Links something like “adorable octopus edition” but there is way too much serious and depressing news, and I left a lot of it out!

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

They published this op-ed about 36 hours before the Charleston shootings: The Other Terror Threat: the main terrorist threat in the United States is not from violent Muslim extremists, but from right-wing extremists.

Science!

Gun owners not likely to use firearms for self-defense, study claims.

The Little Boy Who Should’ve Vanished, But Didn’t.

Gravity –“The Clue to the Dark, Quantum World of Our Universe.”

Tiny Octopus Is So Cute Scientists Might Name It ‘Adorabilis.’

The Oldest Depiction of the Universe Was Made in 1600 BCE.

Does a black hole create a hologram copy of anything that touches it?

This really belongs under an Anti-Science headline, but: 5 completely insane things Christian fundamentalists are teaching their kids.

Gay moths? London museum gives insects ‘gender treatment’ to protect artifacts.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Giant Cell Arteritis Correlated with Solar Cycles.

General relativity explains why Schrodinger’s cat is alive.

Remembering Clyde Tombaugh on Pluto’s doorstep.

Helium-Shrouded Planets May Be Common around Other Stars in Our Galaxy.

Cosmic ray observatory to explore hotspot.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Terry Pratchett’s Daughter Says Discworld Is Over.

SORRY, GAME OF THRONES: IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME.

Mad Max: Fury Road Makes Your Rape Arguments Invalid.

Thousands Of Gay Geeks Unite At Flame Con, New York’s First LGBT Comic Con.

Political/culture war news:

Opinion: Washington needs to tell the truth about police violence.

Why There’s No Conservative Jon Stewart.

The GOP Needs a War on Christianity.

John Oliver and Helen Mirren debunk U.S. torture practices: “The reason so many of us believe that torture works is that it does—on TV”.

Donald Trump Campaign Offered Actors $50 to Cheer for Him at Presidential Announcement.

Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal: Clash of identity and authenticity.

“Shit’s Gonna Hit the Fan”: Talking to a Billionaire About Class War.

#NoMoreBushes trends on Twitter as Jeb Bush announces he will run for president.

This Week in Racism

Too often we give lots of press to the hateful killers who commit these crimes, when we should be remembering the victims. There are pictures of each of the nine people killed in the church in Charleston, with some biographical details. I needed more than one kleenex: These Are The Victims Of The Charleston Church Shooting.

Why Recognizing The Charleston Church Shooting As An Act Of Racially Motivated Terrorism Is Only The First Step.

Police Search For Man Suspected Of Killing 9 At South Carolina Church.

For Charleston’s Emanuel A.M.E. Church, shooting is another painful chapter in rich history.

Is South Carolina Just Gonna Fly That Confederate Flag Today or What?

“he just said ‘I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.'”

An Emotional Stewart Drops the Comedy to Talk Charleston: ‘We Still Won’t Do Jackshit.’

Shot fired into Saint Matthew Church in Memphis.

Tip from Kings Mountain florists led to Charleston shooting suspect’s arrest. Not just a tip: she called police from her car and kept following him, giving police updates along the way!

Larry Wilmore smacks down Rachel Dolezal: “Sorry lady, you are white, you don’t get an opinion on this. This is not a Buzzfeed quiz”.

Rachel Dolezal Isn’t the Most Important Race Story in Spokane: The Media Circus over One Woman Is Distracting from the Underlying Issues That Need Addressing.

This Week in Sexism

How Tor Books Threw Its Women Employees Under The Bus.

Forget Redefining Beauty: This Fat Chick Just Wants Some Nice Clothes.

News for queers and our allies:

This Trans Man’s Breast Cancer Nightmare Exemplifies The Problem With Transgender Health Care.

Daddy Issues – After years of thinking my father couldn’t understand his gay son, I was surprised to find he accepted me in ways I never could have imagined possible.

What Religious People Actually Think About Using ‘Religious Liberty’ To Justify Anti-Gay Discrimination. 59 percent of white mainline Protestants, 63 percent of non-white Protestants, and 64 percent of Catholics reject “religious liberty” bills.

‘Oranges, Baby Powder, Handcuffs And Duct Tape’: Inside The Trial That May End The Gay ‘Cure’.

Southern Baptist Manual Offers Suggestions on How to Get Around LGBT Anti-Discrimination Laws. Because, obviously, Jesus wants them to disobey the law and discriminate against their neighbors. Because when he said “love your neighbor as you love yourself” he didn’t mean literally love them…

You Have Two Men To Thank For The Greatest Strides In LGBT Representation On TV.

Gay Marriage Isn’t About Assimilation. My Engagement Was a Radical Act.

Don’t Listen To Same-Sex Marriage Foes: It Was Always About Hating On The Gays.

California attorney general moves to dismiss ‘shoot the gays’ ballot proposal.

‘As a Christian, I am Sorry:’ Evangelical Pastor’s Reflections on Attending First Pride Parade.

Southern Baptist President Bravely Pledges Resistance Against Non-Existent Forced-Marriage Threat.

‘Israel wouldn’t be able to “pinkwash” the oppression of Palestinians if the Palastinian Authority and the other Muslim nations that surround Israel treated their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens at least as well as or better than Israel treats its own sexual minorities. The treatment of LGBT people in the Arab/Muslim world is “barbaric, anti-gay, and backwards”—that’s not Israeli spin, that’s a fact. If you think “pinkwashing” is wrong—if you think it’s actually a thing—then you shouldn’t just be calling for a boycott of Israel. You should be calling for better treatment of LGBT people in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and what’s left of Syria.’

How Schools Justify Canceling Valedictorian Speeches About Coming Out.

Meet Ryan Anderson, The Anti-LGBT ‘Scholar’ Peddling Junk Science To National Media.

What Are the Sounds of Transphobic Dinosaurs Dying?

Richard Land Bigotsplains Why Acceptance of Gay Rights is Growing.

Black gay men face shocking bigotry.

MARRIAGE NEWS WATCH: 1. The president doesn’t get to veto Supreme Court rulings. 2. Rick Santorum will never be president.

The obligatory Sad Puppies/Hugo Awards update:

Infoxicated Corner: ALL THESE THINGS ARE TRUE: Saumya Arya Haas. “It is true. As in many SF/F tales, a world is at risk. The world of “tradition,” the world where straight, cis, white guys are the inheritors of the throne, the world where women and minorities have their identities dictated and blunted by a dominant narrative: that world is gravely at risk.”

The “Heinlein Couldn’t Win a Hugo Today” crowd is now boycotting Heinlein’s publisher.

Puppies Crying Bitter Tears.

The Blending Puppies.

I am a real person and I stand with Irene Gallo.

Final Words on #Hugowank.

Thoughts on toxic bigotry.

And other news:

JACKASS OF THE WEEK: CHRISTOPHER MIMS.

Happy News!

Christian Homeowner Threatens Neighbor Over ‘Relentlessly Gay’ Rainbow Yard Lamps, Because Children; Homeowner Promises More Rainbows. “Needless to say… I need more rainbows… Many, many more rainbows….”

Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Of South Bend, Indiana, Comes Out As Gay.

Meet The First Gay Couple To Graduate Together From The Boston Police Academy.

Boy Who Lost Stuffed Tiger At Airport Finds Tiger Stayed Very Busy.

Things I wrote:

Hugo Ballot Reviews: Novella.

Sincerely (up) yours,.

Hugo Ballot Reviews: Graphic Story.

The Best Kind of Books Are Magic Books – more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

THICK THIGHS by Willam feat. Latrice Royale:

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

How Much Would it Cost to Build Jurassic Park?:

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

Thousands drawn to Indy Pride Parade:

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

Curious otter pup:

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

Long After You’re Gone: A Leverage Tribute:

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

Greg Holden – Boys In The Street (Official Music Video):

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

It’s Friday! The the second Friday in June. Happy Queer Pride Month! It’s been a grueling week, though the difficulties of each day have been very different. I really need this weekend!

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Alyssa Wong: “No, Short Fiction Isn’t Too Short to Include Diversity.”

Science!

The Surprising Reason Why Some People Smile More.

Endangered otters make comeback in Sweden.

Five Weeks to Pluto: The Strange Discovery of Planet X and a World Like No Other (Part 2).

Mystery on Mercury: Strange Pattern of Huge Cliffs Defy Explanation.

Supernova prized by astronomers begins to fade from view.

Monstrous Galaxy Spotted Near The Edge of the Universe.

Saturn’s biggest ring just got BIGGER: New image reveals it is 20 times larger than any other ring in the solar system.

Quantum Phenomenon That Existed in the Early Universe –“Evidence Observed”.

Alaska researchers may use drones to study otters.

Political/culture war news:

Dennis Hastert Apparently Had Sex With Male Students. Does That Make Him Gay?

Pope Creates Tribunal To Judge Bishop Child Sex Abuse Cases.

When the Therapist Is a Quack. Bad headline: any therapist offering gay cures is a quack. Period. Every single medical and psychiatric association has said so.

GOP Calls for ‘All Hell Breaking Loose’ Over Gay Marriage, Because ‘God’.

Hillary shocker: Who needs Elizabeth Warren? Clinton unleashes inner liberal, media freaks out.

Michael Slager, Cop Who Fatally Shot Walter Scott In South Carolina, Indicted For Murder.

5 reasons George W. Bush is still one of the worst presidents ever.

Indiana’s ‘Religious Freedom’ law is already hilariously backfiring.

Liberals Make Big Comeback in 2015, Poll Analysis Finds.

How to Tell the Difference Between an Open-Carry Patriot and a Deranged Killer.

Rand Paul Caught Trying to Use Fake Quote from Founding Father to Justify His Ignorance.

Michigan Senate OKs bills allowing adoption agencies to deny LGBT parents.

Ben Carson: Gay Rights Aren’t Civil Rights Because Gay People Don’t Have Separate Water Fountains.

Libertarianism is for white men: The ugly truth about the right’s favorite movement. Wait, you’re just now figuring this out?

This Week in Racism

On Fox News: A White Sexual Abuser Was “Curious” But A Black Victim Of Police Abuse “Was No Saint.”

What determines if a murder case gets solved? Race.

This Week in Sexism

#Distractinglysexy Twitter campaign mocks Tim Hunt’s sexist comments.

Abortion rights leader’s pregnancy surprises opponents: ‘Is that real?’

Woman Charged With Murder For Taking The Abortion Pill [UPDATED].

News for queers and our allies:

Conservative British MP Comes Out, Announces Wedding to Secret Partner of 29 Years.

Why we still need our gay bars.

How The Nonreligious ‘Nones’ Are Driving LGBT Equality in the U.S.

Straight talk on gay marriage: Even if gay marriage becomes legal, it will not be compulsory.

Evangelical Christian Leaders Are Taking Baby Steps Toward LGBT Acceptance.

Tony Campolo Calls for Full Inclusion of Gay & Lesbian Christians.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE’S NOTHING LEFT TO SAY ABOUT MARRIAGE.

16-YEAR-OLD ADAM KIZER’S DEATH DRAWS ATTENTION TO BULLYING, SUICIDE EPIDEMIC AMONG BISEXUAL TEENS.

Archivists Recover ‘Lost’ 1961 TV Documentary on Homosexuality.

Why the military depends on gay and lesbian troops.

Murders of LGBT and HIV-positive people in the US rise 11% in 2014.

An Updated Graphic Guide to LGBTQ YA Literature for Pride Month.

“Midnighter” Is The Gay Comic Book You’ve Been Waiting For.

New Study Sheds Light on Problems Facing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Homeless Youth.

Dear Bigoted Couple Who Want To Divorce To Protest Gay Marriage….

The obligatory Sad Puppies/Hugo Awards update:

co-signed, strong letter to follow. Dara comments on the Irene Gallo situation and rounds up several other links that shed more light.

Tom Doherty Statement on Tor.com [fixed]. What Tor’s publisher should have said.

Puppies in Their Own Words. I disagree with one of Jim’s conclusions… but my disagreement deserves a blot post of its own.

The Revolution of Self-Righteous Dickery will Not Be Moderated.

How Tor failed Social Media 101.

Farewells:

Hermann Zapf, the font designer behind Palatino and Zapf Dingbats, has died at 96.

Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93.

Ron Moody, Who Delighted Audiences As Fagin In ‘Oliver!’ Dies.

Ornette Coleman, Composer and Saxophonist Who Rewrote the Language of Jazz, Dies at 85.

Gilbert Lewis, the Original King of Cartoons on ‘Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,’ Dies at 79.

Godzilla Actor Hiroshi Koizumi Dies at 88.

And other news:

Woman Asks Psychics to Connect With a Dead Sister Who Never Existed… and (Surprise!) They All Do.

Why Don’t Christian Writers Know Why People Really Leave Church?

Happy News!

3 Asian Small-Clawed Otters Born At Denver Zoo.

New mom Asha nurtures her baby otters at Denver Zoo.

Watch: John Waters gave the 2015 commencement address at RISD and CRUSHED IT.

http://www.alternet.org/media/collapse-rush-limbaughs-radio-empire.

Spy Beats Entourage at Box Office Because Women Don’t Hate Themselves .

2015 Gale/LJ Library of the Year: Ferguson Municipal Public Library, MO, Courage in Crisis.

Things I wrote:

Two very different coming out stories, and a reflection on mine.

Putting the genie back in the bottle.

Hugo Ballot Reviews: Novelette.

The Moon Harshed My Mellow: more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

冬至 Tooji –The Father Project:

“Tooji is a Norwegian artist. As a one year old boy, he came to Norway together with his mother, who fled from the authoritarian regime in Iran. Tooji became known in Norway when he won the national Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and represented Norway in the international final of ESC in Azerbaijan with the song “Stay”. In the autumn 2013 Tooji cut all ties to the Norwegian music industry and moved to Stockholm, Sweden. Toojis new song “Father” is Oslo Pride’s official pride anthem for 2015.”

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

Three Otter Pups Born at Denver Zoo:

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

Fly Over Dwarf Planet Ceres:

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

Rachel Maddow – Franklin Graham’s anti-gay banking protest backfires:

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

Alan Colmes vs. Todd Starnes: Are Christians persecuted in US?:

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

Prides – Messiah (2015):

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

Aston Merrygold – Get Stupid (Official Video):

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