Nec Hoc Nec Ilud

* "Texas' state run psychiatric hospitals are now gun friendly:" http://boingboing.net/2016/01/08/texas-state-run-psychiatric.html

* "88 Detroit Public Schools Closed After Teachers Protest Conditions in 'Sickout':" http://mic.com/articles/133026/88-detroit-public-schools-closed-after-teachers-protest-conditions-in-sickout?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social#.rAtpAzx9D

* Re: the Bernie Sanders establishment thing. I do think it was ambiguous in its context and he did walk it back, but I think it was absolutely the wrong thing to say about NARAL in particular. My theory is he meant they are a well established group that's been working for a long time, it could easily mean what it sounds like in sound bite. Either way, it was the wrong thing to say and I'm not convinced his voting record or his apologies will fix it. They are already so under attack, that the last thing they need is someone on the left appearing to go after them whatever his intentions were.

I also think even in the worst construction he wasn't even a little wrong about the HRC and I was sad to see him walking that back. They are very much establishment. They deliberately only represent the interests of wealthy white gays and lesbians and ignore the needs of anyone else. For the most part they only want white gays and lesbians in leadership roles and the rare people ho are anything else don't last long. Oh, they are happy to ask the rest of us for money, but gleefully throw us under the bus, not even for concrete gains, but at the drop of the hat to show willing to rich white straight people. They care far more about cosying up to Congress critters than actually advocating for basic rights for the rest of us. The HRC is as establishment as a group that pretends to advocate for a minority can get.

* "What Sarah Palin gets wrong about PTSD:"

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* "White Debt:" http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/magazine/white-debt.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1

* "There's a Big Issue Missing From How We Talk About Race — One New Study Proves It:" http://mic.com/articles/111578/there-s-a-big-issue-missing-from-how-we-talk-about-race-one-new-study-proves-it?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social#.1iy3luKEw

* "Snyder e-mails missing key year in Flint toxic water disaster:"

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* "Flint water tie eyed in outbreak of deadly Legionnaires' disease:"

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* "This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows that the Romans Were Nanotechnology Pioneers:" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1600-year-old-goblet-shows-that-the-romans-were-nanotechnology-pioneers-787224/?no-ist=

* I love Baron Von Steuban: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/137805814037/please-do-make-a-real-post-about-how-much-you-love

* "Keeping Up with Iran:"

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* "Wrestling with History in Upstate New York:"

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* "Sarah Palin Endorses Donald Trump:"

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* "The Legend of Sarah Palin:"

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* "The Larry People vs. Flint - Fallout From Toxic Tap Water in Michigan:"

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* I've been feeling above average crap for over a week, plus my lung machine started to die last Friday and the saga to get it sorted ate a ridiculous about of sleep and wasn't solved until Tuesday. Luckily, i only lost about twelve hours of coverage and my lungs have been doing comparatively well so it was the lost and disrupted sleep that was the more serious issue. I'm suspecting I've picked up a pathogen but my immune system being more focused on self destruction than repelling invaders, it's a slow symptom build up often. We'll see.

Wednesday was a terrible mobility day and forage wore me out well above average. I ended up going to bed ridiculously early. I woke up still tired which had the upside of me reading significantly more of the Night Vale book, which had to go back today. I still haven't finished, but I actually made it through the slow first 2/3rds and was actually starting to enjoy it. (I have a hard time processing poetry, and Night Vale is poetry. It's the same brain wiring glitch that makes my relationship to music complicated. I generally have to listen to night Vale episodes two or three times, and I'm better at processing poetry out loud than silently). There were days I was hard put to make two pages total. So add that nothing much happens for the first half to a third of the book and my struggling with the language, and you can see the problem right there. There were bits and bobs I liked in the slow bits, but I honestly came close to giving up in frustration, but once we ht the absolutely lovely Library section I was fine. I have hopes of finishing next iteration, whenever that is given the line length.

Anyway, the rest of the day was like being eaten very slowly by a python. I did many time consuming things that likely are unnoticeable to anyone else while feeling dizzy, achy and sluggish. So physically a vast improvement over yesterday, but still wildly unpleasant. The cats have already half undone the cleaning of my room. Of course they have. We didn't really have a winter, so half the garden never slept and the bulbs in one of the long tubs are well up, and ones in other containers starting, which meant moving everything around to get better sun for all the things growing. I really wanted the damaged tub to sleep so I could transfer the contents, but we've had lettuce trying to grow in there since about when the last tomato plant went and when I went to try to move the lettuce, there were a bunch of bulbs coming up, so I duct taped things back together as best I could to try to last another year. I sweep and sweep and still keep stepping on glass in unlikely places after Hector's glass breaking tantrums earlier in the week.

* Today I achieved next to nothing and didn't even make it to GoB due to a physical inconvenience that comes with my chronic illness and has nothing to do with pathogens.

* "Thoughts on Writing #49: Leave Reviewers Alone.:" http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/662129.html

* "Frozen: The Economics and Politics of Arendelle :" http://www.fandomfollowing.com/frozen-the-economics-and-politics-of-arendelle/

* "A Tale of Two Discworlds, Or, How I Expected Way Too Much From Obscure Animated Films :" http://www.fandomfollowing.com/a-tale-of-two-discs-or-how-i-expected-way-too-much-from-obscure-animated-films/

* NWS. I want that planter. *hangs head* http://oglaf.com/upcycling/

* Ebays:

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* Help the poisoned children of Flint Michigan. "Water Crisis:" https://www.cfgf.org/cfgf/GoodWork/FlintArea/WaterCrisis/tabid/855/Default.aspx

* "How to help Flint, Michigan:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/how-help-flint-michigan

* Want to help finance Hector's cat food and my meds/medical co pays? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com

* Donate to help refugees "UN Refugee Agency:" http://donate.unhcr.org/international/general

* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* It's looking like Putin's forces have killed a couple hundred people while bombing civilian targets in Syria.

* Someone actually wished me Happy Festivus yesterday! In related news, I have taken to responding to people saying Merry Christmas with Merry Gothmas. (Having never actually seen an episode of Seinfeld, I would feel weird adopting it as a greeting, though I'm considering it.

* My body vetoed the Post Office and bureaucracy. I did have to get hector food and had a dinner engagement with friends. It turns out that the game of what's that smell one of the cats challenged me to last night right before bed was a rather more involved version than previously thought, so instead of doing my lungs I got to play round two and clean up the results. I still ended up arriving late, and I'll be working on fixing it off and on all the rest of this evening. Dinner was fun tough and there was tofurkey, excellent potatoes, gravy, pie, etc.. There were also bourbon balls which I have been longing for 3-4 years now. I have a ball in my mouth right now.
Omnomnom.

* "American Exceptionalism in Speculative Fiction:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/12/american-exceptionalism-in-speculative.html

* "Z Nation, Season Two, Episode Fifteen: All Good Things Must Come to an End:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/12/z-nation-season-two-episode-fifteen-all.html

* "Into the Badlands Season One, Episode Six: Hand of Five Poisons:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/12/into-badlands-season-one-episode-six.html

* "Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 3: The Nightcomers:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/05/penny-dreadful-season-2-episode-3.html

* "Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 4: Evil Spirits in Heavenly Places:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/05/penny-dreadful-season-2-episode-4-evil.html

* This really captures why I'm so angry about Angelique's fridging. "Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 8 Momento Mori:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/06/penny-dreadful-season-2-episode-8.html

* This does a good job of explaining why I’m so angry about Sembene. The thing is, I knew damned well they were going to do the boring, tropey, racist thing, and in something like a minute, I thought of something more interesting they could do instead. But they went for the fridge. Of course they did. "Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 9: And Hell Itself My Only Foe:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/06/penny-dreadful-season-2-episode-9-and.html

* This, this, so much this! "Penny Dreadful, Season 2, Episode 10: And They Were Enemies:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/07/penny-dreadful-season-2-episode-10-and.html

* "The Librarians, Season Two, Episode Eight: And the Point of Salvation:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/12/the-librarians-season-two-episode-eight.html

* Something Positive is doing something beautiful. This child just came out as bisexual to an adult friend.: http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp12172015.shtml

* "A First Reaction to The Force Awakens, from a Life Long Star Wars Fan:" http://bb8s.tumblr.com/post/135431272454/a-first-reaction-to-the-force-awakens-from-a-life

* Want to help finance Hector's cat food and my meds/medical co pays? Paypal Lethran@gmail.com

* Donate to help refugees "UN Refugee Agency:" http://donate.unhcr.org/international/general

* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* "Colombia President Santos offers truce with Farc:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34661146

* "Bob Dole buries big, old hatchet with Bush endorsement:"

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* "Politicians' 'Secret information' a factual red flag:"

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* "Worlds collide: Reading poetry at a Donald Trump rally:"

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* "Why is Trump hailing 'Operation Wetback?':"

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* "Shocking video of police encounter:"

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* "What the Mizzou protests are really about:"

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* "Cop Handcuffed 7-Year-Old Boy for No Reason and then He Lost the Key:" http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-handcuffed-7-year-old-boy-misplaced-key/

* There is zero reason to hand cuff a seven year old. Seriously. Yes, some of them can be pretty violent, though this child wasn’t. Look at the size differential between even a large seven year old and the average adult. It’s not that hard to restrain an unarmed seven year old gently until the child calms down, which usually isn’t long because nearly all of them have tiny attention spans.

And can we just stop arresting children for things that aren’t actual crimes?

I am tempted to paste one of my other rants on over policing children and proper classroom discipline, like the one I did a few weeks ago after that police thug brutalized a bereaved child who just lost her mother and just landed in foster care for using a phone, breaking her arm and giving her a concussion, traumatizing a room full of other children in the process.

As someone who taught for a living and loved it and only gave it up because my body couldn’t do it anymore, I am furious. Job one for a teacher is to keep the children safe. You never bring in an outside authority to hurt children. Arresting and humiliating a seven year old for having a disability is not protecting the children; it is deliberately harming them. calling in a violent thug to brutally beat a child in mourning is not protecting the children. It is cruelty that oes permanent damage not only to that child, but every child in the room. It breaks the relationship between teacher and students that makes learning possible and traumatized children have trouble learning. We are getting ionto human rights abuse areas for no good reason at all except naked racism.

I am honestly shaking I am so angry and I’m struggling for words that are not obscene, though I know no words as obscene as an act of cruelty like this perpetrated on a child so young.

* "Cop accused of raping black women gets all white jury:" http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-accused-raping-black-women-white-jury-article-1.2423160

* "New Spike Lee film spotlights Chicago gang violence:" http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/11/12/chicago-violence-spike-lee-movie-cooper-dnt-ac.cnn

* "It's NOT about the Bathrooms:"

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* "Autogynophilia pathologizes normal female behavior:" http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/133050624532/autogynophilia-pathologizes-normal-female-behavior

* "Upcoming 20th Anniversary Of Chanelle Pickett's Murder:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/11/upcoming-20th-anniversary-of-chanelle.html

* "Happy Veterans Day 2015, Trans Vets!:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/11/happy-veterans-day-2015-trans-vets.html

* "Oldest evidence of breast cancer found in Egyptian skeleton:" http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/us-egypt-antiquities-cancer-idUSKBN0MK20620150324#pVKlpobSTdvMGOoG.97

* "Economic Schools of Thought: Crash Course Economics #14 :"

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* "Wrecked oil train had passed nuclear missile silos:"

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* "What the Actual Fact? - Truth and Fiction in the GOP Debate:"

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* "Blacklash 2016: The Unblackening - Dumbing It Down at the GOP Debate:"

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* "Blacklash 2016: The Unblackening - Donald Trump Is Stupid:"

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* "American Heroes: Campaign Donors Go Big:"

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* "The Federal Election Commission: As Useful as Men's Nipples:"

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* "The Myanmar Daily Show:"

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* "The Fight Before Christmas - Bloomingdale's Eggnog Ad & Starbucks Cup Controversy:"

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* I actually did get my notes ready in time and was prepared to go, but the boys turned up soaked and frozen out of the storm, just as I was waiting for the oven to get hot enough for the biscuits. I made hot chocolate and we ate and chatted instead as after their trek through win and rain warm and cheerful was what was called for.

It's fine. I woke up feverish again anyway. I've had this pathogen since April and the fever rises and falls like a tide.

* "The linguistics of horror:" http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/133126946962/the-linguistics-of-horror

* "Fangs For The Fantasy: The Librarians, Season Two, Episode Three:And What Lies Beneath the Stones:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/11/the-librarians-season-two-episode.html

* "Sunday Sweets Gets OVER DRAMATIC:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2015/11/8/sunday-sweets-gets-over-dramatic.html

* "The Great Fucks Famine of 2015:" http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/133055264912/uglyfun-just-read-it-source-behind-closed

* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help

* A list of LGBTQA Charities: http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* "The Shoreditch Cereal Café Was Attacked By Anti-Gentrification Protesters:" http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/anti-gentrification-protesters-attacked-the-cereal-cafe-in-s

* "Sweden experiments with six-hour workday, finds people enjoy having lives:" http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/263503/sweden-six-hour-workday-labor-awesome/

* You'd think it would make more sense to print the names of corporate welfare recipients and people in the top 1% paying a lower tax rate of all their income than the lowest rates available for everyone else, given that that is an actual national shame and way more expensive to the taxpayer, if we're going to be doing this to anyone. "Republican Mayor: Let's Shame Food Stamp Recipients By Publishing Their Addresses:" http://www.occupydemocrats.com/republican-mayor-lets-shame-food-stamp-recipients-by-publishing-their-addresses-2/

* "San Jose: Cop charged with on-duty rape fired from police department:" http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_28871980/san-jose-cop-charged-duty-rape-fired-from

* Crash Course explains Affirmative Action: http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com/post/129985965204/so-weve-been-talking-about-civil-rights-for-the

* WTF! "Chicago TV Station Wishes Jews A Happy Yom Kippur With Nazi Emblem:" http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wgn-yom-kippur-nazi-badge

* In case you missed the Viola Davis speech: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/129981910007/mattsmcgorry-viola-davis-acceptance-speech-for

* "Why one gay Catholic is still fighting for equality in the church:" http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2015/9/24/why-one-gay-catholic-is-still-fighting-for-equality-in-the-church.html?utm_campaign=americatonight

* I am not afraid of flying. I am afraid of the TSA trapping me in the wrong part of the country and me having no way home. "Transgender woman says TSA detained, humiliated her over body 'anomaly':" http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tsa-transgender-20150921-story.html

* "New Satellite Images Show Just How Parched the Ground Is:" http://gizmodo.com/new-satellite-images-show-just-how-parched-the-ground-i-1731878514

* "Michigan doctors issue dire warning about lead levels in water, tell residents to stop drinking ASAP:" http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/25/1424875/-Michigan-doctors-issue-dire-warning-about-lead-levels-in-water-tell-residents-to-stop-drinking-ASAP?detail=tumblr#

* "FOUND: An Extremely Rare Andean Cat:" http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/found-an-extremely-rare-andean-cat-and-her-kitten

* "John Waters: my family values:" http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/18/my-family-values-john-waters-film-director-hairspray-serial-mom

* "Pride and Prejudice at 20: The scene that changed everything:" http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150922-pride-and-prejudice-at-20-the-scene-that-changed-everything

* "Eight things Hamilton taught us about writing romance:" http://avian30.com/2015/09/24/eight-things-hamilton-taught-us-about-writing-romance/

* I watched House of Cards Season 3 this weekend and was having a hard time figuring out how to explain my response. I am going to link rm's response instead because seriously, no words here. The thing I've been particularly poking at are 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 14. I have also become fascinated by the Jackie Sharp character design in ways I simply can't word yet. For me the turning point in the season was the gay activist in Russia with Claire episode. http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/115635114575/random-things-about-s3-of-house-of-cards

* Ebay:

A Low Candle-Lit Room 2013 (LE, Yules): (Company says: Candle wax and waxen "skin," rotting leather and reeking damp wood, and the ashes of a yawning, cold fireplace.). 3/4 Full.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301748365881?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help

* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* Slovakia wants their share of the refugees only be Christian.

* "LeBron James' Latest Slam Dunk Actually Took Place off the Court:" http://mic.com/articles/123940/le-bron-james-is-sending-1-100-kids-from-his-hometown-to-college-for-free?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

* The Republican Party truly is the Know Nothing Party now. I feel like the Whiggish worm is eating it's tail.

* "Why Christie needs to clean up the Hudson tunnel mess:" http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/why_christie_needs_to_clean_up_the_hudson_tunnel_m.html

* Re: Ashley Madison. I don't have any skin in this game. I have never cheated, not have I been cheated on, though I have been in a lot of relationships with negotiated openness of one type or another. I am a believer in ethical polyamory, not cheating. In a Modern American context, there are very few circumstances that excuse it. We no longer have arranged marriages. no fault divorce is the law of the land. People whom can not split up for reasons such as finances, children, serious medical issues, etc. can use their damned words and work out an open marriage arrangement like sensible adults. I do think that in times, countries, and circumstances that are coercive, where people really don't have options, cheating, while not ideal is acceptable. I think those conditions apply rarely in this country now. It is completely unacceptable to subject a partner to risk without consent, with the obvious exception of a situation where a person is being coerced to stay and they that isn't a partner, that is a rapist. Otherwise, leave or use your words. Like a grown up.

That said, I am also a huge fan of privacy. Showing Jennifer Lawrence's genitals to people without her consent is not okay. Showing anyone's genitals to people without their consent is never okay regardless of gender and celebrity status. Warrantless collection of email by governments is not okay. Warrantless wiretaps are not okay. Publishing someones name and address and urging people to kill them because you don't like what she said about gaming on the Internet or what he does for a living or who they sleep with is not okay. And on and on.

Publishing the names and financials etc. of people registered on Ashley Madison is not okay. Privacy trumps the fact that cheating is a shitty thing to do. Publishing someone's personal details and fucking up their whole family's lives is way shittier, especial as the financials mean you are stealing not just from the cheater but that person's spouse and children if any. You are punishing the whole family for something that is not illegal and is incredibly common. What you are doing is way shittier than whatever that cheating spouse did, it truly is.

* "New hypothesis: Jeb Bush is bad at his job of running for president:"

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* "O'Malley makes smart move with union at Las Vegas Trump protest:"

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* "Maine governor offers to resign if enough people ask. Asking commences.:"

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* On Antisemitism, race, ethnicity, and Othering: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/127074325117/hey-im-black-and-not-jewish-and-am-struggling

* "The B Word:" http://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/125762297115/i-kiss-the-pretty-boy-in-black-semi-sheer-thigh#notes

* Three More Trans Women of Colour Murdered: Last year there was one trans woman murdered in this country for every month in the year. As of this week sixteen trans women have been murdered, most of them women of colour, most of those of African decent. Can we please all agree that Black Trans Lives Matter and do something about this?

* This was the hottest July in the history of recordable temperature keeping on Earth.

* Today there was pie and pizza and podcast. We did episode 2 of Slavery and Slavery like structures, and I had to stop just before the Great Peasant Revolt, which is unfortunate. I'd hoped to finish off serfdom today and start fresh with the return to chattel slavery next week.

* "These 4 Charts Reveal Exactly How Terrible Hollywood's Diversity Problem Really Is:" http://mic.com/articles/123731/4-charts-reveal-exactly-how-terrible-hollywoods-diversity-problem-is?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

* "The Beauty and the Sadness of Geek Culture:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/08/the-beauty-and-sadness-of-geek-culture.html

* "Questions and answers, #6: Just kidding around.:" http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/635569.html

* "‘Sesame Street’ to Air First on HBO for Next 5 Seasons:" http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/business/media/sesame-street-heading-to-hbo-in-fall.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=2

* Leather Bear: http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp07222015.shtml

* "With great power comes...:" http://cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com/490959.html

* Ebay:

Lindworm 2012 (LE, DragonCon, Event Exclusive): (Company says: Smoky green leather smeared with crushed grasses and wild herbs). 3/4 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301718133830?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* Trying to stay afloat until September: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com

* "MLK Statue Will Replace White Supremacist On Georgia Capitol Grounds:" http://newsone.com/3145156/mlk-statue-will-replace-white-supremacist-on-georgia-capitol-grounds/

* "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro:" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html

* I had no interest in seeing Gravity when it was in theaters. It looked like all special effects and cheesiness from the commercials, but having a chance to watch free a few weeks ago, I gave it a shot. It was better than I expected. They didn't do either of the two extremely boring things I expected. Sandra Bullock definitely had the acting chops for this sort of demanding performance. It gave me the good bits of what I was expecting and hardly any of the bad. Was it great art? No, but it was beautiful and one of the better disaster movies I've seen. Gravities commercials mildly misrepresented it in hopes of tricking a general audience in. It clearly succeeded admirably at that.

I mention this, because I watched Interstellar this weekend, and their commercials clearly misrepresented the film to a huge extent. We are talking Lady in the Water level of commercial completely failing to convey the sort of film actually in the theater. To me, the commercials were a bit boring and were a strong disincentive to spend money on a movie when I was scrambling for ever penny just to feed my elderly birmin. The commercials said: here is a nothing special space movie.

The commercials lied. This is surprisingly complex and suspenseful, despite me guessing the two big plot twists well in advance. This is a movie with a great deal of heart and a lot to say. This movie was both way more thoughtful and a way better action movie than I expected. I love that it took time with character and world building in the fitrst third so that we actually give a shit about what happens in the other two thirds. Thank you, Tibicina and her gentleman friend for convincing me that this was worth while, as I would have missed a real gem otherwise.

* Mad Max: Fury Road: Character Arc, Plot, and the Hero's journey: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/123353998167/redshoesnblueskies-malibujojo

* "General Gary Stu: Righteously Commanding His Lessers:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/07/general-gary-stu-righteously-commanding.html

* "Sunday Sweets: Summer Fun:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2015/7/5/sunday-sweets-summer-fun.html

* Ebay Time:
AUTUMN FANCIES 2013 (LE, Halloweenies): (Company says: Dry grasses bathed in amber light, muted by gentle shadows.) Top of label.:http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/301667294922?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com

* My RL oldest continuous friend is doing a fundraiser: http://www.gofundme.com/x9g7q2k

* Trying to stay afloat until August: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com

* Boka Haram murdered 2000 people Friday.

* Melissa Harris Perry had by far the most nuanced and grown up conversation about the Charlie Hebdo murders in a French and Global context that I've seen so far. It lasted the whole show, so I'm just going to link to the start. http://on.msnbc.com/14GnMIk

* "Why The Lack Of Media Coverage Of The NAACP Terror Bombing?:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-lack-of-media-coverage-of-naacp.html

* "Robber barons and silicon sultans:" http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21637338-todays-tech-billionaires-have-lot-common-previous-generation-capitalist

* "Why Your Family Name Was Not Changed at Ellis Island (and One That Was):" http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/07/02/name-changes-ellis-island

* "Fearing NSA, Writers in USA and Worldwide Avoiding controversy, keyword Searches:" http://www.juancole.com/2015/01/worldwide-controversy-searches.html

* "Phyllis Schlafly: Campus sex assault is on the rise because too many women go to college:" http://www.salon.com/2015/01/06/phyllis_schlafly_campus_sex_assault_is_on_the_rise_because_too_many_women_go_to_college/?utm_source=nar.al&utm_medium=urlshortener&utm_campaign=FB

Note: She also thinks it would be a good idea to force everyone not born to the 1% to work aprox: 48 hours a week at manual labour jobs plus presumably a second job to pay for food and housing while going to college. I am confused as to when she thinks they will have time to go to class let along do all the homework.

Obviously this is secondary to her massive endorsement of rape culture, but I thought we should to a moment to think about how incredibly classist and out of touch Republican thinkers are these days as well as being generally pro-rape, anti-education, and against women having any chance f economic success or personal fulfillment.

* "Every Internet Conversation With Dudes, Ever:" https://medium.com/the-archipelago/every-internet-conversation-with-dudes-ever-6e17bb4b906d

* Incredibly cool intersectional Disability Sensitivity Training Video

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* "Loco Parentis: You Pretty Much Get It:" http://the-toast.net/2015/01/06/loco-parentis-you-get-it/

* "I Have Asperger's and I Read Your Comments Too - Empathize This:" http://empathizethis.com/stories/aspergers-read-comments/

* "Russia Bans People With "Gender Identity Disorders" And "Disorders Of Sexual Preference" From Driving:" http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/russia-bans-people-with-disorders-of-sexual-orientation-from#.ijM5vY4bE

* "D.C. march to honor Leelah Alcorn draws hundreds:" http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/01/10/d-c-march-honor-leelah-alcorn-draws-hundreds/

* "Transgender Community Speaks Out About Suicide:" http://news2share.com/start/2015/01/10/transgender-community-speaks-out-about-suicide/

Our kids deserve a better world than we are giving them.

* "Call For The Ballroom Community And Allies To Boycott Saks:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/01/call-for-ballroom-community-and-allies.html

* This needs to be a Thing: http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3602#comic

* "Cat interrupts German weather broadcast and demands cuddles!:" http://www.iizcat.com/post/1211/Cat-interrupts-German-weather-broadcast-and-demands-cuddles

* "Super damsels - Strong Women in Peril:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/01/super-damsels-strong-women-in-peril.html

* "The Winter Long (October Daye #8) by Seanan McGuire:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/01/the-winter-long-october-daye-8-by.html

* May I add, we have colonial era divorce records. It wouldn't be a new idea to Crane. "Sleepy Hollow, Season Two, Episode Twelve: Paradise Lost:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/01/sleepy-hollow-season-two-episode-twelve.html

* "American Horror Story, Season 4, Episode 11: Magical Thinking:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/01/american-horror-story-season-4-episode.html

* "16 Hilarious One-Star Reviews Of Children's Books:" http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/hilarious-one-star-reviews-of-childrens-books#.aoZvmwzE3

* Help my friends adopt two cats: http://djinni.livejournal.com/516743.html

* Our Financial Situation continues Scary: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovwsma

* Nigeria is officially ebola free. Their aggressive attempt to trace contacts and treat the sick worked. Senegal was declared ebola free last week.

* It is incredibly offensive that a college turned away a Nigerian exchange student on the grounds of ebola risk. After all Nigeria is ebola free and we are not. Just saying.

* There is no ebola in Zambia and Rwanda, but people are being sent home in this country from schools because of ignorant panic. Africa is huge. These countries are not close to the hot zone.

* Also, Europe is not a West African country. Use a map once and a while, why don't you.

* Why is George Will still on TV? You don't get to make up that ebola is airborne and cite authorities who say it isn't as proof you are right and all medical authorities are wrong and still be considered credible about anything.

* The family Dallas officials inexplicably confined with Mr. Duncan's medical waste are officially out of quarantine and the kids are back at school.

* The freelance cameraman is well and is awaiting final tests before leaving the hospital.
* CDC has changed their guidelines to match the Doctors without Borders ones. (Doctors without Borders are the Gold standard in ebola care and infection control.) 1. require people working with ebola to be actually trained to do that. 2. Have gear that covers their skin. 3. Institute the buddy system where a trained observer watches people getting in and out of their gear. Well, duh. I am confused as why this wasn't the standard to begin with.

* Can we take a moment to honor the brave health care workers here and abroad who have risked and in so many cases given their lives caring for the sick often without proper equipment and training?

* "French archaeologists say they have discovered historically significant pre-Neanderthal remains which give insight into the behavior of the extinct human species.:" http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/fd4703813a2b804b8d9c553589c3a43f.htm

* "'Significant' Neolithic pottery found at site on Scilly Isles:" http://www.cornishman.co.uk/Significant-Neolithic-pottery-site/story-23025515-detail/story.html

* "Excavations shed light on Urartian’s social life:" http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/excavations-shed-light-on-urartians-social-life.aspx?pageID=238&nid=72607&NewsCatID=375

* "Bronze age palace and grave goods discovered at La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia:" http://phys.org/news/2014-10-bronze-age-palace-grave-goods.html

* "Greek Bronze Age ended 100 years earlier than thought, new evidence suggests:" http://phys.org/news/2014-10-greek-bronze-age-years-earlier.html

* "Roman cockerel figurine goes on show:" http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-29505165

* "Coptic landmark restored in Cairo:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29584656

* "The 18th Century mystery of Oliver Cromwell's missing head:" http://georgianera.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/the-18th-century-mystery-of-oliver-cromwells-missing-head/

* "Jennifer Laude Case Update 2:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/10/jennifer-laude-case-update-2.html

* I have high end antibiotics. Yay!

* "Fangs For The Fantasy: Consent in Romance: Being Able to Leave:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2014/10/consent-in-romance-being-able-to-leave.html

* "Sunday Sweets: Gothic Elegance:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2014/10/19/sunday-sweets-gothic-elegance.html

* Fundraiser to Help Us Survive: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws

* "How the US helped create the border crisis:"

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* TW: Rape. "Sonia Nazario:"

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* Yes, I grew up with Gilbert and Sullivan, but I am not blind to how incredibly offensive the Mikado is to Japanese Americans. It's definitely a case of extremely racist yellow face. I support the people protesting in Seattle. It's time we retire this one, folks.

* "Calling Out The US Conference Of Catholic Bishops Transphobia:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/07/calling-out-us-conference-of-catholic.html

* "Say Hello To Andreja!:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/07/say-hello-to-andreja.html

* "The Word - See No Equal:"

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* "Five Officers and a Gentle Man - Brandishing Blackness:"

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* The fuck! They nearly doubled the dues in July without warning. Living here suddenly went from viable to impossible. I can't afford to move and My housing Assistance is gone. (Ten year waiting list to get back on.) We are so fucking fucked.

thewynne said: Jesus, I’m sorry. I’d offer to help out if I could. That shit doesn’t sound legal though, is it possible to talk them out of it?

Oh, it’s legal and back dated to January. It explains why my accounts weren’t coming out right since June. Apparently, they voted in the near doubling just before I took possession. They claim they sent notice, but it disappeared into the same hole my automatic rent withdraw paperwork fell into, I expect. So now I not only owe the back rent from them losing my paperwork, but now my rent is about two hundred less than my social security, and energy bills come out to nearly two hundred… yeah, fucked.

It’s a home owner’s association, so they can do anything they like to me. I’m guessing this is how they paid for the big refurbishment project that will likely kill my garden sometime in August.

* Oh and to cap off the shittiness? While I was asleep someone threw my laptop on the floor, damaging it. The battery popped out and I can't get it back in and ripping out the speakers damaged the plastic so that speakers no longer can be plugged in so I can hear things well enough to understand them. It's irreplaceable. Of course.

Why didn't I notice right away? Someone put the computer back in it's place, only backward, which I thought was weird, but didn't have time to worry about in the middle of trying to trace the WTF on the financial stuff. I found the battery, when I stepped on it when I came over to start doing it. I noticed the speakers when I went to listen to a clip.

* "Euphemisms For Body Parts In Romance Novels : A Ranking :" http://bookriot.com/2014/07/09/euphemisms-body-parts-romance-novels-ranking/

* "Nordstrom Just Celebrated Diversity, in a Big Way That's Guaranteed to Make You Feel Good Inside:" http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2014/07/nordstrom-amputee-disabeled-models.html

* Seanan McGuire's "Sparrow Hill Road" is amazing. At first, it looks like loosely connected short stories, but it's not. It's a cleverly designed set of tightly constructed stories that spiral up and down the timeline to create an arc that is tense and beautiful. Nothing is wasted and nothing is only what it seems to be. I love the Newsflesh Trilogy, but this is the cleverest, most complex, and deepest thing I think she's written, all while making it look effortless and light. You can read it skating the surface, or you can plunge all the way down to Midnight. you can ride the plot like a wave or you can soar above, stunned by the intricacy of the knotwork of the story design. I suspect a lot of people will miss the clever because the prose is so light, but I for one stand amazed my how much planning and thought must have gone into making it look like there wasn't.

* "Rare Incan 'Calculators' Found in Peru:" http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/rare-incan-calculators-found-in-peru-140627.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1

* "Deadly Victorian fashions or "Don't lick the arsenic dress:"" http://www.macleans.ca/culture/arts/deadly-victorian-fashions/

* "Hundred-year Mafia murder 'solved':" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27971542

* "The Soapbox: Black Nerds, Escapism, & Why We Need More Diverse Books:" http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-07-04/the-soapbox-black-nerds-escapism-why-we-need-more-diverse-books/

* "Effortless Beauty: I Know You Didn't Really Eat That Pizza:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2014/07/effortless-beauty-i-know-you-didnt.html

* "Stopping James Crow III:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/07/stopping-james-crow-iii.html

* "Shut Up Fool Awards-Fourth Of July 2014 Edition:" http://www.transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/07/shut-up-fool-awards-fourth-of-july-2014.html

* How did I not know Douglas Addams wrote for Doctor Who?

* I wish I could see this. "This Beautiful Mourning Attire Is Coming To Met's Costume Institute:" http://gothamist.com/2014/07/01/this_beautiful_mourning_attire_is_c.php

* "Josh Charles shares ‘Dead Poets Society’ memories, 25 years :" http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/07/03/dead-poets-society-josh-charles/

Along with "Another Country," "Dead Poet's Society" is one of two films I have ever seen that really speaks to my experience of high School. It's hard to watch still. It was extra unnerving for me when it first came out, as the boy I was dating, and in fact watched the film in the theater with, looked eerily like Neil. His parents were a special class of horrible, seeing him not as a human being with needs and wants of his own, but their favorite pawn in a complex psycho-sexual game they played with each other. He went to a different prep school we used to run against. It was way to close and very dagger to the heart at the time. (This is the same boy who took me to see his psychiatrist to 1. prove I was not a particularly elaborate fantasy/symptom of a psychotic break and 2. So that I could validate his descriptions of his treatment at home.)

Anyway, it was an incredibly hard film to watch, but the thing that bothers me still is that I knew damned well that schools like mine loved teachers like Keating. No really. They were rare, but oh so cherished. I could list my Keatings here if I wanted. The thing about prep school is that there is massive pressure to conform, but there is this countervailing force to turn the exceptional into future leaders. Conformity was for the middle of the personality Bell Curve. At the ends were the rock stars and the monsters. The system reinforces the monsters into something out of "American Psycho;" you need Keatings to turn the eccentrics into leaders and writers and Great Men/Women.

* "The Famous Artworks That Inspired 15 Films:" http://flavorwire.com/464926/the-famous-artworks-that-inspired-15-films