Weekly Linkroll

Summer has arrived in Vermont, at least for the weekend. Hot and muggy and time to clean the carpets? Yeah, don’t ask. But they’re mostly done, and I’m recuperating on the couch with a cold drink and links for you. Enjoy!

What Do We Really Know About Vampires?
From R.G. Emanuelle at Women & Words. House of cards, people.

Copyright and Using the Work of Others
A good reminder from Karen Gadient. Don’t be grabby and rude–a good philosophy to live by.

Hot pants, wobbly toning shoes, and the latest in skinny making fashion
Sam B. at Fit, Feminist, and (almost) Fifty on the scam of exercise fashion. Yoga pants and seaweed?

The Distress of the Privileged
The Weekly Sift dissects privilege and the folks who just want their dinner.

A Safer and More Caring Society
On the anniversary of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, we also mourn the death of Dr. Henry Morgenthaler, the man who succeeded in making abortion legal in Canada. The Belle Jar shares her thoughts in a beautiful essay.

25 Vintage Photos of Librarians Being Awesome
Hannah Meiklejohn shares a great collection of library pics that she reblogged from Flavorwire. Librarians rock.

Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart
LemonSweetie tells us about her meeting with Patrick Stewart. It’s gonna get dusty.

Casting Lord of the Rings, the gender swap and POC version
This is amazing. Sabrina Vourvoulias at Following the Lede recasts Lord of the Rings. My only question: where’s Gina Torres? She would make an awesome Aragorn, too. Or Boromir. Ooh, wouldn’t that be interesting?

A Transcript of Joss Whedon’s 2013 Wesleyan Commencement Speech
How could I not link to this? Joss Whedon’s commencement address at Wesleyan. Pretty cool. Although I learned that in Billie Jean King‘s commencement address at Williams College today, she played tennis with the audience. Wish I’d seen that!

 

Weekly Linkroll

Another Sunday is well under way. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone who’s into that. I’m still processing the verdict in the Steubenville rape case and wondering at the insanity of the news coverage of it all. Those poor rapists and their ruined lives. The pity party going on for them is just outrageous.

Well, you know what? If you don’t rape people, you don’t ruin your life. Pretty simple. Maybe try that the next time the option presents itself.

Anyway, let’s see what else happened on the internet this week.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Artist Lee Moyer discusses sexism in cover art, prompted by questions from Jim Hines. An interesting read.

Pope Francis Vs. Black Francis
Well, the Catholic Church has a new pope who took the name Francis. It was only a matter of time. Thanks, Mother Jones, for doing it first.

The Rhetorical Power of Pig Pain
Shakesville’s super takedown of Richard Dawkins’ assholish tweeting about abortion this week. FYI: fetal pain is a myth. This guy is supposed to be a scientist?

Sir Patrick Stewart: ‘Violence Against Women Is Learned’
Patrick Stewart talks personally about domestic violence for Amnesty International. Wonderful and heartwrenching.

The Art Of Asking: For Writers And Storytellers
Chuck Wendig at Terrible Minds ponders AFP’s amazing TED talk. What does it mean for writers?

Dad hacks Donkey Kong for his daughter; Pauline now saves Mario
Ars Technica on the latest Donkey Kong hack. I heard about this on NPR earlier this week. Neat!

Happy St. Urho’s Day, 2013
I like this idea for a holiday better than St. Patrick’s Day, really. Bug Girl’s Blog gives us the lowdown.

What if “it” REALLY were an inside job, not a terrorist attack?
Teacherken over at Daily Kos has the inside scoop. The truth seems pretty clear.