Alright, let’s see what we have today.  First up, we salute you bravely fired McDonald’s social media employee

Mostly Human takes a look at technology, and how we process grief after the loss of a loved one.  With bots.

Having a good work/life balance is important.  Science has proven it, and a healthy sex life improves job satisfaction!

And speaking of, the (straight) media needs to leave Tom Daley alone.  We don’t know the details of his relationship with Dustin Lance Black, nor is it our business.

Clue is becoming a comic book!  With multiple endings, because of course!

If you’d like a good variation on Pachelbel’s Canon, take a listen:

There is now reusable tape that you can use to make anything a LEGO surface!  It bends!

As it turns out, Mr. Aonuma and I have the same favorite Zelda game: Phantom Hourglass!

Would you like to see Chris Hemsworth do his Thor workout? Of course you would.  You’re welcome.

The HRC brilliantly trolls right-wingers by buying ads on grindr during CPAC:

If you’re not reading The Player’s Tribune, you’re missing some of the best writing anywhere.  They posted this article dedicated to the memory of Brendan Burke.

Alright, let’s see what we have today.  This was written before the awful GOP bill was introduced, but here’s a real-life example of what people will lose if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.  And how it will affect the queer community as a whole.

A great Kiss Cam ad:

And check out this awesome ad coming out of Denmark, celebrating our similarities.

The Church of England has a small revolt to allow for same-sex matrimony.

Which is good, since The Church (in the greater sense) drives gay people to suicide.

Madeline Albright is a badass:

A great resolution to the story of a trans boy who led the BSA to change their membership policies.

A great cover of “Million Reasons:”

A great (very) short film about what it’s like to be trans in everyday situations, check it out.

And lastly today, the gay pep-talk you may or may not need to hear:

 

Alright, let’s take a look at what I have today.  First up tips for remaining productive in terrible times.  Important regardless, don’t forget to floss!

And speaking of, here’s some great advice from Surviving the World.

In defense of participation ribbons (or medals), and a funny look at running..

I’m pretty sure this is an accurate representation of conversations I’ve had:

The nerd takes on “Nevertheless, she persisted.” From Buffy to Katniss to Hermionie, as awesome as you imagine it.

I have never been prouder to be a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison!

An amazing look at OCD from the Player’s Tribune.

Justin Sayre is a treasure:

The perfect shower beer has been made!

Did you know that Pluto is still a planet…in New Mexico?

Ugh, I think what scares me the most is that Lord Dampnut is just a mirror to what this country is, and I can’t believe we’re that awful.

Two of my favorite people on the internet got together and made an awesome video:

And finally, one more from Surviving the World.

Have a great one!

Let’s see what we have today, first up, don’t worry, Drumpf is taking a long weekend.  Thank goodness there isn’t a war starting in Western Africa or North Korea is reading nuclear weapons.

Speaking of, Al Franken is having none of Betsy DeVos and her lies or support of gay “conversion” therapy.  DeVos also thinks we should have guns in schools because of bear attacks.  Seriously.

Dumpf is already planning slashing large chunks of the government, including essential services for women who are victims of domestic abuse, and the national endowments for the arts and humanities.

And in further horrific news, Drumpf has already shut down the office of AIDS policy.  To those saying “we survived Bush/Reagan, we’ll survive this,” I will remind you that we literally are missing a generation of gay men due to the AIDS crisis and Regan’s refusal to even say the word.  Check your privilege, not everyone made it.

But let’s look at the positives, here’s a great thank you to Obama:

Brian Sims is introducing legislation to ban conversion therapy in the state!

In other good news, the abortion rate is the lowest it’s been in decades! (expect that to change as Republicans seek to close health clinics, but for now, good news!)  A reminder, those of us who are pro-choice don’t want to see more abortions, and with comprehensive sex-ed as well as access to resources at Planned Parenthood, the abortion rate will continue to decline!

And here’s how to dedicate yourself to making the world a better place!

Okay, one last comic before we move on:

xkcd has a shout out to Yucca Mountain!  Yes, I’m an energy nerd.  I’ve accepted that (and a transportation nerd).

And JoHo looks at how maybe, just maybe, we’re not a horrible species.

I had a great weekend, and I’ll be uploading some pics and talking about it soon, so look for that!

 

Quick update today, first up, in case you missed it, watch President Obama’s farewell address.  For a little bit, it made me hopeful for the future, and is a great send off for the work we have to do during the next administration.

And speaking of Obama, he surprised Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, and it’s touching (and well deserved)

A new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild dropped, and it looks amazing:

A new study has estimated that Pokemon Go has added more than 144 billion steps to our global activity levels.  That’s awesome!

Mark Hamill (who voices the Joke in the Batman animated series) is doing god’s work by reading Drumpf’s tweets as The Joker.

Current regulations make gay men remain celibate for a year if they want to donate blood, and a man did that, to protest the discriminatory ban.

And finally, the IOS has a great video about how we have to work together, have a watch:

That’s it for today, have a great one!

Alright, let’s see what we have today, first up, in not shocking news, not having access to comprehensive sex ed leads to a rise in abortion.

Two Google Homes are talking on twitch, and it’s as crazy as you think it is.

The trailer for Bright Lights:

Hey look, well don’t actually look, we have a new organ!  Or at least, bits that we thought were separate are now considered an organ!  Don’t dissect yourself or anyone else to look, please.

New Year resolutions for gay men.  One of mine is to volunteer more and another is to be in more queer spaces.  To help with that, I’ll be volunteering at Outrageous Bingo again!  It’s a great night of fun bingo, huge cash prizes and a drag half time show!  It usually sells out, but I hope to see you there sometime this year (January is already sold out, it almost always does, so buy early)!  Another resolution: write more, especially this blog!

This week’s Savage Love column included a shout out to the FrontRunners, my running group (just a different chapter), so cool!

This analysis from 538 might not be accurate: we still don’t know much about Supreme Leader Snoke and his involvement, there’s a theory he’s been around since the prequels.

That’s it for now, trying to keep these shorter and easier to handle, with a little more commentary!  Have a great one!

It’s the yearly round-up of yearly round-up videos.  First up, DJ Earworm:

Google’s year in search, this one will probably make you cry (I did!):

And YouTube’s year in review:

The good things that happened in 2016, from Super Fruit:

That was all that I came across this year, but I also took the last week of the year off Facebook and Twitter, so your mileage may vary.  I’m still working on my personal 2016 wrap-up video, that will be coming (hopefully) soon!

Alright, let’s see what we have today.  I’m a (not so) closet transit nerd, and PAT released this awesome blog post about how each route got its number. I knew about the colors, but the numbers were always a bit confusing, but it’s really fascinating to read.

One of the Sabres’ goalies has a pride flag on his helmet (airbrushed, of course), and it’s a cool story that spawned from Pride Tape.

And speaking of goalies:

Supposedly, this song will put you to sleep in under eight minutes.  I don’t know if I buy that, I’ll have to test it out.

There is a cute rap about the Hufflepuff House.

The queer community has a lot to fear over the next four (hopefully only two if we can win back the Senate) years.  For those not sure why we’re so afraid, here are eight threats, and in true clickbait form: you won’t believe number 8. No really, yo won’t, it’s unconstitutional, the scariest, but a high priority of Republicans and the President-elect.

But in good news, Pittsburgh has signed into a law a ban on anti-gay torture on minors.

The world’s largest musical instrument, an organ made of stalactites.

Would you like to make Eggs Woodhouse from Archer?  Probably yes.  But don’t try to eat them:

Sassy political buttons from years’ past.  I especially love the “not tonight dear, it’s a felony” one.

The NRA chants that the only thing that can stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun. But what about good people with dildos?  Better add that to the list.

And in a report that really, should not surprise anyone, members of the queer community suffer from higher rates of mental illness (depression, anxiety and PTSD) due to having to remain closeted, political pressure and dealing with harassment.

This was plugged during New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and it looks amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CBZZgXaE_A

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back with more soon!

This post was started before the election and finished after.  NaNoWriMo (which was a success) tends to do that, but enjoy!

When Arrested Development meets the debates, it’s perfect:

Aside from one glaring reason why this wouldn’t work (you know the scene in Empire where Darth declares he’s Luke’s father), it’s a great way to watch the prequels

The trailer for ‘Jackie’ staring Natalie Portman looks really good.

Fraggle Rock is coming to Netflix!

Two of my favorite people, Brian Sims and Dylan Marron, sit down to call out political bullshit.  It’s wonderful.

The trailer for Fences, probably my second favorite August Wilson play:

When Darth Vader meets VEEP.

Netflix’s new show The Crown premiers in November, and looks really good!

The Supreme Court is taking up a landmark transgender rights case (about using the bathroom, because that’s how basic we have to be, sadly), this will be interesting to watch!

And speaking of, Secret’s new ads have been killing it, and their latest is no exception. Check it out.

Surviving The World takes on politics:

Ben Carson has said that gay marriage will lead to utter chaos and mass killings.  Guess I should get to work on that, sorry for the delay!

A man in the UK has run 401 marathons in 401 days to raise money for anti-bullying charities.  The craziness is that his cool-down is a month of back-to-back half marathons, then another month of 10Ks and then 5Ks.

Hufflepuffs, the very best house, obviously, are finally getting their own play about their time at Hogwarts!

The Texas GOP is trying to take away rights from gay couples, because of course they are.

Pentatonix covers ‘Hallelujah:’

Remembering the Radioactive Boy Scout.  A fascinating read!

A cool new app (and really funny video announcing it) from Google to scan in all of our old, printed out photos!

An amazing new episode of Billy on the Street that just deteriorates and it’s amazing.

A PSA about the best house (along with all the others), Hufflepuff:

 A great Surviving the World from the day before the election.

Quite frankly, it’s a really scary time right now, especially for any minority group, and I’m still processing and figuring out how I can help try to protect the rights I have.  The podcast Throwing Shade, right after the election had a great quote, which I transcribed:

Anyone who is marginalized in this world, knows the feeling of having to push through and work hard to feel safe and heard, and it’s shitty that it has to keep happening but it does, and then I really do think it’s over.  I think this is one of the last death rattles we have to deal with, literally the voice of the angry white man.  I think it’s almost over.  I think this might even be the last of it.  And I don’t care what I think, I’m doing to do all I can to make it the last of it.  

And I think SNL nailed it with their cold open.  The last line was great, “I’m not giving up, and neither should you:”

 

I don’t agree with everything here (but most of it), but it’s a good look into what it feels like right now to be queer in Trump’s America.

Matthew Dempsey gives us another perspective on the election.

Leslie Knope (from Parks and Rec) wrote a letter to America about the election!

Eli Lieb wrote a song about the election:

And Surviving the World has some good advice:

That’s it for now, I’ll be back soon with more.