Today's Mighty Oak


Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, the trailer for the Zombieland trailer:

The National Cathedral (which is Episcopalian, by the way), has called out the President’s racism as a clarion call to white supremacists.

Here’s the cast for the Wheel of Time series. And here’s a primer about the the book series.

The Obi-Wan Disney+ series is officially happening! And here’s the trailer for The Mandalorian:

Speaking of Star Wars, how about a lightsaber bionic arm? Yes please!

The trailer for the new series, The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance (and the primer for that as well):

This German town will give you money to prove it doesn’t exist.

The trailer for the new season of AHS looks awesome. Slasher summer camp meets the 1980s (seems to be very Stranger Things influenced).

Holy crap, the cast for this show looks amazing and I can’t wait to watch the insanity:

Mayor Pete gives an eloquent and great breakdown about a form of homophobia often encountered.

The administration is once again pushing, this time to SCOTUS, to allow anti-gay workplace discrimination to be legal. Oh, and anti-trans discrimination too.

Brace yourselves, Texas passed a law I agree with! Sending unsolicited nudes is now considered a form of sexual harassment in their legal code!

I guess kind of a good story: a bigoted wedding venue changed their mind about barring a marriage when they couldn’t actually find proof in the bible that interracial marriage was a sin. They still block gay weddings, but hey, it’s nice to hear that they took the time to read and come to the right conclusion.

Guys, guns are totally gay:

Okay, that’s it for now, have a great one!



Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, in amazingness, a hotel clerk clapbacks at a racist customer trying to book a room.

In case you haven’t seen it, the trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild:

In Pride month news, an Alabama mayor defends his plan to kill queer people and a ‘death to gay’s pastor is going to hold a rally in Orlando because Pulse.

But in good news, the NYPD Commissioner has officially apologized for the raid on the Stonewall Inn.

Google has released a beautiful digital monument for the 50th anniversary called “Stonewall Forever,” preserving our history.

XKCD hits it out of the park. This. Absorb this:

And finally today, Mika announced a new album and he released the first single:



All right, let’s see what we have today. First up, Billy Porter delivers the Queer State of the Union:

A great piece over at Pittsburgh Lesbian Corespondents about the fractions of the local community and how seemingly good causes can actually be a detriment. Also, a reminder that Jackie Evancho sang at the last inauguration: she and her family can be safe, but ignore the plights of other minority communities, and that’s not okay.

The situation is getting worse in Chechnya, and it continues to be horrifying.

Some happy news, a neat queer take on a favorite show of mine, Critical Role!

Why yes, Fox News, that is in fact what racism looks like. Your hosts.

Health and Human Services has granted a waiver to an adoption agency to discriminate because “Jesus.”

Brazil’s only gay member of Congress had to flee the country for his safety.

Can we please just be done with Bernie. Please?

USA Hockey has an great new trans and non-binary policy, they seem to always be out in front of the other major sports.

Related, why is the current administration obsessed with erasing trans people?

Alright, sorry for most of the sad and infuriating news. Only up from here, I hope!



Alright, let’s see what we have today.  First up, in case you forgot, the TEA party didn’t actually care about deficits.  They were just racists.

Also, Debra Messing is not messing around.  Good for her, a fuck Susan Sarandon.

Brett Kavanaugh, who is incredibly anti-gay, won’t say on the record his opinions about same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws.  But his court writings reveal he’s as far, if not further right, than Scalia.

In that vein, 16 states are petitioning the US government to let them fire workers for being gay, after that executive order was struck down.

The Russo Brothers put out an awesome video that goes over all the deaths in the MCU:

Kipchoge broke the World Record in the Berlin Marathon this morning.  Dumb Runner, always spots on, weighs in.

I wrote a while back, at least I think I did, about the article ‘the epidemic of gay loneliness,’ and a recent Savage Love column looks at that as well, a good read for everybody.

In case you need some positive news, a heartwarming letter from a gay man’s little brother went viral.

Okay, that’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon!



Alright, let’s see what’s been going on.  First up, did you know that Harry Potter makes you more understanding of others?  It’s true!

Joseph Gorden Levitt writes about Star Wars: The Last Jedi (spoilers,obviously).

Like me, do you need a chart to see who owns the rights to which superhero?  Well this chart is handy (but won’t be accurate for long, I’m sure).

Super Mario Bros. in ragtime:

These are really bad times for queer people.  Just recently, the federal government has taken steps to allow doctors to deny services to anyone because they’re part of the LGBT community.

A new study has shown that 40% of LGBT high school students have considered suicide due to bullying because they’re queer.

The majority of people still think it’s okay for businesses to discriminate against queer people.  And the Supreme Court denied an appeal and Mississippi’s law allowing businesses to discriminate is able to stand.

Waste of oxygen and poor excuse for a human being, Mike Pence, will officially lead the US Olympic delegation and openly gay figure skater Adam Rippon is having none of it.

And in other slightly better news, Senator Doug Jones’ son, who is gay, stared down Mike Pence at his father’s swearing in and it made my day.

Here’s the Star Wars Cantina Theme played with pencil and paper, writing out a math equation:

In better news, a new ruling from the International Court of the Americas (didn’t know that was a thing) is bringing marriage equality to a lot of different countries (potentially)

And new year’s resolutions for gay men (and everyone, in some cases).  And speaking of resolutions, Surviving the World has a great coming about them.

Watch a Katana disappear.  Makes me think of the novel, “The 50 Year Sword”

Quite possibly the best thing ever, a T-Rex conducts the Jurassic Park theme music.

Pittsburgh non-profits come out hard against the PG and it’s owner’s racist editorial, published on MLK Day.

And finally, a great little comic about our place in the universe.



Shocker, people are idiots.

It’s decorative gourd season!  Check out this video years in the making:

Kids can become certified ninjas in Japan!  Well, close enough, at least!

A photographer added Pennywise into the engagement photos she did for her sister.

An awesome local protest piece of art here in town.

I”m so excited for Black Panther, check out the new trailer:

What happens with Chris Griffin and Pinky read Star Wars dialogue?  Tons of laughter.

Disney brought real sloths to the DMV to recreate Zootopia.  I’m so jealous!

Wizards of the Coast has pulled together some statistics about the most common race and class combinations, it’s pretty interesting.

Mika’s new song has dropped, and it’s catchy:

Another mystery solved: the scrolling text from The Matrix was a sushi recipe.

As always, XKCD makes a great point.

The trailer for season 3 of Eastsiders looks great (and even includes a stop in Pittsburgh)!  But sadly, Colby Keller is in it, so I may not watch it because of that (although I think this was filmed before he was doubling down on his white privilege):

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



Alright, let’s see what we have today, first up, the new Google ear buds are going to change the world with live translations.

Stan Lee takes a stand against bigotry.

Fitz and the Tantrums’ new song is my new jam:

A touching tribute to Matthew Shepherd.

And speaking of, the politician who was saved by a married lesbian spoke at a convention dedicated to taking away her rights.

Oh hey, so did the president.  The first to do so.  He spoke at a convention that has discussed ways to pass legislation to put gay men to death.  Let that sink in.

Also in the horror show that is this administration, Jeff Sessions has rescinded protections for trans* people.

The president has also removed all mention of the queer community from the Health and Human Services department, meaning no mention of queer focused health initiatives.

And Jeff Sessions rescinded other protections for all members of the queer community.  These are things that affect people you love.  Be fucking pissed.

Okay, quick pallet cleanser.  The new trailer for Super Mario Odyssey takes the form of a Big Band musical number:

After the horrific shooting in Vegas, just a reminder that your thoughts and prayers do jack shit.  We need comprehensive gun control in this country, including a rescinding of the second amendment.

It boggles my mind that it takes something personally happening to someone for them to take action.  It is not that hard to actually think about other people and try to imagine a better world for them, as well as yourself.  But, predictably, when gun violence is close to a gun fanatic, suddenly, he realizes his mistake.  It infuriates me that it takes a tragedy like this for him to realize how wrong he is, but hey, at least he came around I guess.  I just won’t be patting him on the back for his sudden realization.

A Dutch news program takes on (with dark humor) the insanity that we live with here in the US:

Okay, the graphic designers have gotten a hold of the US map.

Speaking of graphic designers, a great SNL skit about fonts:

And if you can believe it, the man who created Papyrus, responds!

Stranger Things 2 (or the second season, not sure what to call it) looks amazing:

The president rolls back the mandate for birth control under health care, because he wants to drive up abortion rates, the cost of healhtcare and get rid of preventative medicine.  Just kidding, he’s a racist and since it is both something Obama put into place and a GOP wet-dream, it’s gone.

And I’ll just drop this here, the 10 things you need to know about Patriotism:

In good medical news, due to PrEP, there has been a huge drop in new HIV cases in England (where it was studied).

And finally, the amazing trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi:



Alright, let’s see what’s going on.

First up: SEE?!?!  I’M IN DEMAND:

The (red band) trailer for the new Kick Ass movie, which I can’t wait for!

Instead of playing March Madness, you should play Star Wars March Madness.

I’m taking this as a sign that I would be a good parent.  Because I still have my parent’s set (and it goes away after we’ve been drinking, we’re not stupid)

Awesome typography/science posters.  A favorite:

You can tell the haters are really reaching for straws, when they’re attacking random swaths of all kinds of people: for adopting children.  And just remember, NOM is a certified hate group, hopefully this will make some other people notice.

So, my thoughts on the new pope: it’s awesome that he took the name Francis, as he’s one of my favorite saints.  Also cool that he’s a Jesuit, although I think that I always heard they had the sterotype of buying lots of land and making lots of money, which is the opposite of Pope Francis, who rode the bus to work!  Now, just like the other 114 cardinals, he still hates the LGBT community, women and you know, anyone who’s different, not that I expected anything different though.  More importantly, the new Archbishop of Caneterbury is enthroned on Thursday!

Because adding Batman is awesome:

E. L. James, the “author” of 50 Shades of Grey, is publishing a writing guide.  Excuse me as I go throw up.

Awesome note from a dad to his son.  It popped up in my newsfeed at work and I teared up a little bit:

This of course, comes after Rob Portman, sitting Senator from Ohio comes out for Marriage Equality.  You know, when it affects his son.  Yes, we’re happy that he’s supporting equality, but you should be able to see the need for equal rights without it personally affecting your immediate family.

Sooooooo, at the big conservative political gathering last week, there was a real life, true racist walking around.  Now to be fair, there are crazy people everywhere, but it’s fun to point this out.

John Green fills us in:

That’s it for now, have a great one!



Alright, let’s see what we have today.  First up, an amazing story from the world of soccer.  Fans were shouting racial slurs at a player, so the entire time left the pitch.

This is an awesome job.  The benefits are pretty amazing:

A Swiss bank is closing after admitting it helps US citizens evade their taxes.

I think I linked to it before, but the House GOP killed the Violence Against Women Act because this year, it added three extra groups: immigrants, Native Americans and the LGBT community.  So yes, they can agree to protect women if they’re white and straight.  But otherwise, nope.

But this is really cute, our youngest Senator:

Scientists have made a model of what Mars may have looked like if it was more Earth-like, i.e. our climate, water coverage and ecosystems.

The sad state of communications:

I kind of hope Taco Bell pulls this off, the press they would get from it would be amazing.  I still have trouble believing an athlete eats that much Taco Bell though.

This is what it looks like when a polar bear wants to eat you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH4KrdBp5OQ

So….the Pope denounced selfish capitalism:

Don’t forget that that throne is encrusted with jewels.

Okay, that’s it for now, have a great one everyone!



Update for everyone, let’s see what we have today.  First up, in major Pittsburgh news, a new program called “Mister Rogers for Adults.” is creating a series of short clips to air before movies and online.  I love Mister Rogers so much, so this is just amazing.  Check out the story here and subscribe via YouTube here.

NYC may be getting an underground park.  Which would be a cool compliment to the raised park that is nearing completion:

In sad news, the famous falling bear was struck by a car and killed.

To make you feel better, watch this video about dogs riding in cars.

MaddowBlog covers the new scare tactic by those who ignore science.

North Carolina will vote in less than a week to inscribe anti-marriage equality into their constitution.  In a strange and sickening turn, the effort has been endorsed by a White Supremacist group, after it was revealed it was written to “protect the white race.”  If that makes no sense to you either, don’t feel bad, it doesn’t to me.  Unless they were more concerned about the news that gay couples are more inter-racial and inter-ethnic (could someone explain the difference to me, please) than straight couples.

To cleanse your palate after that sickening development, watch this video on full-screen with the sound on.

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