We’ve reached the final Friday in January. In just two days the Seattle Seahawks are going to play in the Superbowl again, and while I do not expect them to obliterate their opponents as they did last year (we didn’t just mop the floor with the Broncos, we stomped the Broncos until they were the floor, and then we mopped them), but I do believe we’re going to beat the Patriots. Go Hawks!

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch: “I’m here preparing for a game”.

The obscenity of calling Saudi King Abdullah a “reformer”.

7 heinous lies “American Sniper” is telling America.

Simon says the Republican Party’s clown car has become a clown van..

America’s best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise.

What ‘Explicit’ Gay Sex Scenes Is Billy Crystal Talking About, Exactly?

The Cop Who Choked Eric Garner to Death Won’t Have to Pay a Dime in Damages.

Oklahoma’s Refreshingly Honest Plan To Discriminate Against Gay People.

Astronomers Catch A Quasar Shutting Off.

Unseen Galaxies of the Universe Detected.

LOOK! The Asteroid That Flew Past Earth Tuesday Has Its Own Moon.

Fox News, American Sniper, Jesus, and…well…I can’t even.

Bobby Jindal’s Prayer Rally Explicitly Advocated a Christian Theocracy in America.

Bones From Era of Alexander the Great Raise More Questions Than Answers.

Mary Jane Watson was not the sort of girl you brought home to meet your mother.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Reveals Tantalizing Details in Best Photos Yet.

The Absurdity of Infinity: Astrophysicist Janna Levin Explains Whether the Universe Is Infinite or Finite in Letters to Her Mother.

The Secret Douglas Adams RPG People Have Been Playing for 15 Years.

Some Thoughts on White Anti-Racists and Angry Black People.

Study: Men more open to feminism when it’s paired with a photo of Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.

More of Seahawks Tight End Cooper Helfet’s Modeling Career.

The Real Learning Channel: A Straight Spouse Of A Gay Husband Speaks Out.

OP-ED: MALE GAYS AND THE MALE GAZE.

Newfound Mormon LGBT Tolerance Is The Same Old Discrimination.

Why Apple Selling Fewer iPads Is Actually A Huge Achievement.

For Lawyers, a Rocky Walk Down the Gay Marriage Aisle.

My boyfriend in Dragon Age: Inquisition broke my heart when he told me he was gay.

TED Talk: the Myth of the Gay Agenda. “This is the gay agenda: equality. Not special rights, but the rights that were already written.”

Three policies Obama can adopt to support LGBTQ criminal justice reform.

Okay, New Starbucks Palace on Pike Street, What the Hell Are You?.

The Cops Don’t Care About Violent Online Threats. What Do We Do Now?

The AFA Cannot Wash Its Hands Of Bryan Fischer’s Bigotry That Easily.

Bryan Fischer Was Not Fired From Wingnut Central For Saying Any Of The Following.

The serialist’s dilemma.

In case you haven’t already seen it: Lars Andersen: a new level of archery:

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George Takei presents, My Husband’s Not Straight:

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You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Ruby Friedman Orchestra:

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The Dancing Traffic Light:

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What happens when men find out the women they’re catcalling are actually their mothers in disguise:

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2CELLOS & LANG LANG – Live And Let Die [OFFICIAL VIDEO]:

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It’s already the fourth Friday of 2015! But it’s still January, so it’s too early for “the year’s just flying by” jokes, right? I either had a major relapse or came down with a new bug on Sunday, so I’ve been out of it a lot again, this week.

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

My Seahawks are going back to the Superbowl!!!

The Purple Passions of Carl Corley. I love all the old paperback cover art!

The pope stumbles over Charlie Hebdo.

Deflated footballs just latest corner Belichick’s Pats accused of cutting. (Warning: there’s an autoplaying video.)

Father rips into Steve Deace on gay rights.

Galapagos Tortoises Make a Comeback, Thanks to Rat Eradication.

The boy who didn’t come back from heaven: inside a bestseller’s ‘deception.’

What the Reaction To Billy Crystal Tells Us About Gay Tolerance.

The Real ‘Deflategate’ Scandal Is That Anyone Cares.

Shouts Of Protest At Supreme Court On ‘Citizens United’ Anniversary.

Nullification, Now Coming to the Supreme Court? – Mike Huckabee suggests that if the justices rule that gay-marriage bans are unconstitutional, states don’t need to listen.

Mike Huckabee’s PAC Paid His Family Almost $400,000.

Dumb arguments against legal protections for transgender people, part 4.

This goes way beyond double-standards!

Maybe it wasn’t as funny as I thought.

Jeremy Jordan – “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” (Broadway Loves Celine Dion):

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Jessie Ware covers Labrinth’s Jealous in the Live Lounge:

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Simon Amstell Stand-Up 01/14/15 – CONAN on TBS (Not exactly safe for work, but hilarious-stand-up comedy about his regrets of not being more sexually adventurous before settling down with his boyfriend):

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Just A Gay (Blank Space MashUp) — Morgan Reynolds:

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Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Pastor’s Gay Brother ‘Frustrated That NPR Made This A News Story’.

Supreme Court faced gay rights decision in 1958 over ‘obscene’ magazine. A nice story of another mostly forgotten stepping stone in the gay rights movement.

Why it’s time to pull the plug on the worst awards show in Hollywood. “Broadcasting transphobia under the guise of punching up is still punching down.”

“Excommunicated Any Day”: The Real Reality Of ‘My Husband’s Not Gay’. “In reality, that choice has been dictated by the threat of being ostracized by their families, community and religion.”

Scenes from the Portland Counter-Protest That Drove Off the Westboro Baptist Church.

Dog sometimes hops on bus alone, gets off at Seattle dog park.

God, Gays and the Atlanta Fire Department.

What TLC doesn’t show on TV: Nearly 7 in 10 Mormon marriages between straight women, gay-leaning men end in divorce. Thanks to @seashellseller for the link!

What not to say to authors (and what to say instead).

132-year-old Winchester rifle found propped against desert tree in Nevada.

How secular family values stack up.

The Importance Of LGBT Visibility: Why I Want Everyone To Know I’m Gay. Awesome cartoon!

All The Little Things | Panti | TEDxDublin:

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Nice Guys Finish First:

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Patrick Roche – “21” (CUPSI 2014):

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Bright Light Bright Light – There Are No Miracles (Official Video):

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It’s Friday! Already the second Friday in December. Only a few more to go and then there will be no more. Before we reach that point, Christmas day will be upon us, and I feel so unprepared!

Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:

Joyce Brabner’s ‘Second Avenue Caper: When Goodfellas, Divas, And Dealers Plotted Against The Plague’: Book Review.

Let’s Stop Making Jokes About Furries While Discussing That Recent Terrorist Attack on Furries.

“I won’t be a weapon anymore,” says former symbol of ex-gay movement.

Why Evangelical Christians Oppose Obamacare and Civil Rights.

The dangerous myth at the heart of conservative ideology.

FBI Understates Hate-Motivated Attacks on Transgender People.

Marriage equality in N.C. grows LGBT wedding professionals’ businesses.

Michigan House Passes Bill Allowing EMTs To Refuse Gay People.

2 Futures Can Explain Time’s Mysterious Past.

Gigantic Cambrian Shrimplike Creature Unearthed in Greenland.

Begun The Christmas Tree War Has. Fight over artificial vs cut live trees has been raging for over 100 years.

Obama’s Approval Rating Is in the Tank Because Americans Are Being Lied To.

Shonda Rhimes Delivered The Most Inspiring, Badass Speech. “How many women had to hit that glass before the first crack appeared?”

HARPERCOLLINS REFUSES TO PUBLISH BOOK UNTIL AUTHOR RENOUNCES GAY DAUGHTER.

Anti-gay N.C. church members indicted on felony kidnapping, assault of gay man.

Bobby Jindal’s Prayer Rally Materials Blame Gays & Legal Abortion For Hurricane Katrina.

Good riddance, Darrell Issa: A wasteful blowhard’s humiliating history.

After half a century of waiting – this gay couple were finally allowed to tie the knot.

Pastor Donnie Romero Says Gays Are ‘All Pedophiles’ Who Should Be ‘Put To Death’ (VIDEO).

Family Research Council Will Fix Constitutional Flaw That Allows Trans Americans Too Much Freedom.

I’m Still Bitter, Bill.

Becoming Willing to Tell Our (Tragically) Unflattering but Still (Super) Effective Stories of Trans Allyship.

Neil Gaiman recites Jabberwocky:

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Carol of the Bells (for 12 cellos) – ThePianoGuys:

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The Couch Gag Before Christmas | THE SIMPSONS | ANIMATION on FOX:

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President Obama Hijacks The Colbert Report ‘I, Stephen Colbert, Have Never Cared for Our President’ – President Obama literally takes over Stephen’s job for a segment, and it’s awesome:

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Mad Max: Fury Road – Official Theatrical Teaser Trailer [HD]:

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Iron Sky The Coming Race Official Teaser Trailer 1 (2016) – Fantasy Movie HD:

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DANIEL J CARTIER “THIS CHRISTMAS (STAY)”:

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[Official Video] Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy – Pentatonix (ft Tori Kelly):

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Annie Lennox – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen:

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