Weekly Linkroll

So, yesterday it was 26.5 degrees when I got out of bed. Tomorrow the high for the day is supposed to reach 68. Welcome to October in New England.

You can find a little more consistency here, though, where it’s Sunday morning and I have links to share with you. Let’s see what caught my eye on the internet this week.

French bees’ love of M&Ms makes for colored honey.
As does Brooklyn bees’ attraction to maraschino cherries.

“Fanged vampire parrot” identified as new species of dinosaur.
“Fanged vampire parrot” is all you need to know. Cool!

photo from The Guardian

Writing is Rewriting
Christian Mihai’s thoughts on getting past a first draft. I’m in the midst of that right now, a challenging place to be sometimes.

Bullied teen sparkles at homecoming.
This made me smile. A brave, young woman showing the haters what little they’re worth.

Pakistan activist, 14, is shot by the Taliban.
This, though, is frightening. Another brave, young woman nearly killed by the cowardly men who are afraid of her. The fear of the Other is obvious in both links, at least to me. I hope this incident has as good an outcome as the previous story did. And yes, I know that linking these two stories is kind of odd and runs the risk of trivialization. In the big scheme of things, though, the same kind of problem is going on. Different weapons, but the goal’s the same: humiliation and silencing of the one who’s “different,” either by public shaming or murder. Standing up and fighting back is the solution to bullying in all its forms.

International Day of the Girl: What I’d tell my 15-year-old self.
Writings from the City Line’s thoughts on the subject. What would I tell my 15 year-old self? Lots of things, probably. The first one that comes to mind, though: “Go see Frank Sinatra with your mom next year. Those ‘friends’ you think might make fun of you? They won’t be in your life for long, but neither will your mom. Do it.”