Today's Mighty Oak


Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, the stories behind the names of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.

The stories within stories: the fictional books we wished were real.

The recurring jokes of Arrested Development.

New Looney Tunes are coming to HBO Max and this is making me want to subscribe:

The PG (granted, it’s become a right-wing rag on the editorial side) has a neat interactive site about the bridges of Pittsburgh. Note this may be behind a paywall, I think it was one of my three free articles when I read it.

Dolly Parton secretly executive produced Buffy! And we just now found this out!

A DM and a set designer created a DnD adventure in a dresser! Each drawer is new level of the dungeon!

We’ve all been doing a lot of virtual exploration of place, and the British Museum recently revamped their online collections.

Speaking of, need some peace in your life? Check out the livestream of the Northern Lights!

Because there is such a need for blood right now, the FDA has reluctantly allowed itself to accept blood from gay men, as long as we don’t have sex for three months. They still don’t want our blood, but they realize they need it.

The Atlantic has a great piece about pandemic fatigue, how we should approach it both in ourselves and others. The article also covers the similarities between COVID and the HIV pandemic: they’re very, very similar, just on a different time scale. Be kind to yourself and others, be as smart and safe as you can.

Also in Pandemic related content, CGP Grey’s new video about it. While I will disagree, I think that for many, just surviving is enough (instead of creation of coming out ‘better’ in some way), this video has great tips about how to survive our new reality:

Dumb Runner, The Onion of running, hits it on the head: Local runner cancels backyard marathon, refuses to offer refund.

New research shows that Antarctica used to be a rain forest. Global tectonics and climate history really are awesome!

The voice of Big Thunder Mountain looks exactly how you think he does. And that is comforting.

The trailer for the new Netflix show ‘Hollywood” looks really fun:

Myst is set to become a TV Series….for the third (?) time. I’m excited, but will believe it when I see it.

Slog has great coverage of the white privilege of protesting stay at home orders. Worth a read.

An artist created a chandelier that forms as it collects rain water, and it’s beautiful!

That’s it for today, but I’ll be back soon, have a great one!



Alright, let’s see what we have today.  First up, a high school valedictorian was thrown out of his house for being gay, and raised money so he could attend college, all while being homeless his senior year.

Jake Shears is back with a new single.  it gets more fun as it goes along:

Someone put together an Iron Man tribute video.  He was always my dad’s favorite character growing up, so this was neat to watch!

Topher Grace edited the three Hobbit movies down to one, two hour one.  Yes to all of this:

Grace told IndieWire that he undertook the ambitious fan edit project in part to unwind from his newest role in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Grace indicated that he felt stressed from having to portray white supremacist David Duke, and diving into Tolkien’s cinematic world was something of a version of therapy. (He also shared his belief that The Hobbit shouldn’t have been so greatly expanded upon for the big screen in the first place

The Aquaman trailer looks really good, and it’s great to have a minority director at the help and in the lead role!

And the next Harry Potter movie has a new trailer:

Leslie Jones’ latest live twitter was Infinity Wars, and it did not disappoint.

Jeff Session’s new “religious liberty taskforce’ is just a thinly veiled anti-queer commission.  And surprise, it’s being spearheaded by an anti-gay activist group.

A Buffy reboot was announced, but it’s actually more of a continuation, just twenty years later.  How this will fit in with the comics, we’ll have to see.

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



Alright, let’s see what’s been going on.

First up, if you use Chrome, check out this really fun map of the cosmos.

Here’s what I just don’t get about those who stockpile guns.  I can’t imagine living life so scared of the world.  And that’s what the NRA does, convince people to be afraid.  And just a reminder, the NRA represents the gun makers, and works to make them money.  So making the public afraid enough to stockpile guns is their goal.

And of course, death threats will be made, you know, for proposing any kind of gun-control legislation.

And in other far-right news, those who continue to fight, saying climate change is a hoax, are funded by the far right.

The far-right should really consider changing their views, as that holds back their technology.

So, the Pope is retiring:

And the Gutters covers it here.

Yes, I’m excited, considering Benedict continued to hide child molesters and defend them in court (see: Australia, L.A., et. al.).  But I can’t imagine the next pope is suddenly going to drop the homophobic, misogynistic, anti-sex views.  I’m not holding my breath.  Corporate Hallucinations covers it here.

And this happened the day it was announced:

The other big news is Orson Scott Card being tapped to write a new Superman series.  Card, is a very outspoken homophobic bigot (as well as hating the Jews, you know, for being Jews).  He’s entitled to his opinion, and I’m entitled to not buy his comics.  That’s how it works, although you’ll probably notice that the far-right complains and claims they are being harassed and victimized when the center/left does anything they disagree with.  However, when someone like Card, who has been quoted saying that it should be illegal to be gay, gives tons of money to hate groups like the FRC and NOM (and is a member of their board), it’s a bit beyond his opinion and more like a crusade on his part.  So excuse me as I try to protect myself.  Anyway, the Gutters covers it here.

And here’s a quote from Michael Hartney:

If this was a Holocaust denier or a white supremacist, there would be no question. Hiring that writer would be an embarrassment to your company. Well, [Orson Scott] Card is an embarrassment to your company, DC. And of all the characters Card could have been hired to write, you give him Superman? The character that taught me to lead by example? To do the right thing, even when it was hard? To keep going, even when it seemed hopeless? What an insult. Kids are killing themselves. They are killing themselves in a climate of intolerance and homophobia publicly fostered by people like Orson Scott Card. You don’t have to contribute to this. You shouldn’t. You mustn’t.”

Copyranter covers some of the greatest taglines:

And a freelancer goes up against a gym chain after they don’t pay him.  Ballsy and awesome.

The amount of puns (and carbs) in this coming out is jaw-dropping.

In case you missed it, the cool Oscar poster for this year, showing 85 years of Best Picture.

Pretty cool ad campaign, dolphins and machine guns!

In case you missed the story, a group of parents and students in Indiana wanted a “traditional Prom,” because the idea of seeing same-sex couples walk in holding hands is so repulsive to them.  The school has nothing to do with it, although one of the teachers has said on camera that gay kids “serve no purpose.”  The community, a local church and the school are reaching out to all kids, and you can read about the whole ordeal here.

Buffy, well at least SMG, is coming back to TV, and with Robin Williams!

For the first time that I can remember (because I think it’s the first time), a majority of Pennsylvanians think we should have marriage equality.

And as the UK debates equality, take a look at this amazing speech by one of the MPs:

And the last thing to talk about, the AP has decided that same-sex couples don’t get to use the terms husband and wife.  Journalists have called them out on it, and have declared they will ignore the memo.  But Fake AP Stylebook (which you should follow on Twitter), wins the Internet:

Avoid using “husband” or “wife” in reference to same-sex married couples; instead use “roommates” or “confirmed co-bachelors.”

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



If you never saw Buffy, here’s a quick recap of all seven seasons.  If you did watch it, here’s a cool refresher:

 

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (Abridged)

 
 I’ve moved over to the new server, and as far as I know, everything is working.  Let me know if something isn’t though!  I’ll be adding more photo galleries soon, so make sure to look for them!  A bigger update is coming, I just wanted to post this before I forgot!

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