I was thinking on the way players in some of my games have fallen into tropes during character creation that…
From: Great American Satan
A few links of interest from around the web: A recent episode of The 1A asks "what’s inspiring the next…
From: Freethinking Ahead
That segment ended somewhat abruptly but it continues below with some overlap. {AD}
From: Mano Singham
This one comes courtesy of sonofrojblake, in a comment on last week's GGS post. Like last week's, it's another instrumental…
Now that the attempts to repeal Obamacare failed in the US Senate, a peevish Donald Trump vows to sabotage it…
From: Mano Singham
Aubépine (Hawthorn). J.J. Grandville, Les fleurs animées. {AD}
From: Affinity
How could Valerian fail? Luc Besson, $200 million budget, the stills and clips I saw beforehand were visually spectacular. And…
From: Pharyngula
I'm not a fan of the big heads carved into a mountain farther west, but this one looks good. That's…
From: Pharyngula
In 2006 I spoke at a conference in Budapest. At the time, there was a bunch of fascists protesting in…
From: Stderr
David Futrelle has been listing tweets he finds interesting, amusing or, in a few cases, actually important. I won't repeat…
From: Pervert Justice
Okay, I love The Wicker Man, one of my fave films. The original, of course. I own the collector's limited…
From: Affinity
I'm registered for Skepticon 10. Are you? If not, go here. 10-12 November in glorious Springfield, Missouri.
From: Pharyngula
Wallnau, again. Lance is the gift of never-ending eyerolls. Now it's Jehovah playing with the stock market, just to fuck…
From: Affinity
For this month's repost, I selected an article I wrote in 2008. Considering how old this is, I don't necessarily…
From: A Trivial Knot
This hit my inbox a few days ago. It's some kind of masterpiece. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Anti-Terrorist And…
From: Stderr
An organization called Mythicist Milwaukee is putting on a one day skeptic/atheist conference called Mythcon, a "mythinformation conference". I think…
From: Pharyngula
I fell in love with a new word: Squink. It's onomatopoeically delicious! I had expressed a desire to use this…
From: Affinity
My guest for today is Armin Navabi, ex-Muslim and founder of Atheist Republic. He’s also the author of the book…
From: Bi Any Means
Self-styled "prophet" Mark Taylor is at it again, this time loaded with all kinds of war vernacular, made to appeal…
From: Affinity
I got some spam this morning from "Natural Health Choice", which you can guess from the name is not going…
From: Pharyngula
But then, everything sounds lovelier in French. I'm told the refrain translates as “angel dust got into you, you’d make…
From: Pharyngula
It takes a while to assemble a comprehensive rebuttal to pseudoscientific claims -- everyone who has dealt seriously with creationists…
From: Pharyngula
Holly Wood champions her coining of the term "shit-toweling" to describe the facile arguments mass-flung at anyone who dares to…
From: Against the Grain
A gay man in Oklahoma is suing the Sheriff, Under Sheriff, Mayor, and six other officials of Hitchcock, OK. There…
From: Stderr
[caption id="attachment_20957" align="alignnone" width="1050"] Flyer courtesy Girl Mobb.[/caption] When it comes to street art, saying there's a gender disparity is…
From: Affinity
Nothing to see here, folks: 1963 The Great Breen Boondoggle: Walter Breen excluded from Worldcon as he was judged (correctly)…
From: Against the Grain
As I have said before (a number of times) in this series, a principle component of fascist policing is an…
From: Pervert Justice
My inestimable colleague Crip Dyke reminded me that I've never justified the vocabulary I use in my writings on trans…
From: Against the Grain
Cheesy singing, dirty dancing and that moment revellers jumped into the Trafalgar square fountain; it is fair to say I…
From: YEMMYnisting
I called it a "persistent, sustained, and uncoordinated gaslighting," this idea that readily observable bodily characteristics necessarily trumps a person's…
From: Against the Grain
Some readers may be aware of the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case where two young undergraduates at the University…
From: Mano Singham
During the eclipse, the Donald was yelled at to not look directly into the sun, and what does he do?…
From: Pharyngula
I met with my first group of new student advisees this morning. I think we'll keep them. Also, totally irrelevant:…
From: Pharyngula
There doesn't seem to be any question that Andrew Escobedo, a professor of English at Ohio University, sexually assaulted several…
From: Pharyngula
Sources say Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar is unharmed after repeatedly holding his breath in defiance of opposition Trustee Robert Jaskiewicz.…
From: The Bolingbrook Babbler
We're having an eclipse tomorrow. A white moose has been spotted in Sweden. And the corpse flowers are blooming. I…
From: Pharyngula
I am incredibly lucky, and so very privileged to know so many wonderful people. Voyager has been helping to clean…
From: Affinity
Alex Jones visited downtown Seattle to record himself ranting on street corners about immigrants and evil antifa, and posted the…
From: Pharyngula
I took a selfie: [caption id="attachment_3696" align="alignnone" width="450"] Pictured: How Siobhan feels after working out.[/caption] -Shiv
From: Against the Grain
Gonna have to grit my teeth and allow myself to get robbed, need good markers. © C. Ford, all rights…
From: Affinity
Okay, I love The Wicker Man, one of my fave films. The original, of course. I own the collector's limited…
From: Affinity
The Vice News video of the events that unfolded in Charlottesville by reporters embedded among the marchers has had over…
From: Mano Singham
I fell in love with a new word: Squink. It's onomatopoeically delicious! I had expressed a desire to use this…
From: Affinity
There is an interesting development in Australia where there is a raging scandal involving pedophilia in the Catholic church. A…
From: Mano Singham
Self-styled "prophet" Mark Taylor is at it again, this time loaded with all kinds of war vernacular, made to appeal…
From: Affinity
[caption id="attachment_20884" align="alignnone" width="749"] Screengrab.[/caption] The Jefferson Gathering, a group of fanatical, conservative christians who have a lock on a…
From: Affinity
No man on earth is truly interested in sustaining error; sooner or later it is compelled to surrender to truth.…
From: Stderr
"Cursing" is a left-over of the jewish restrictions on saying "Yahweh" [caption id="attachment_611" align="alignright" width="195"] Is this the right room…
From: Stderr
Robert Jeffress is an evangelical pastor who has been a steadfast supporter of Donald Trump and even said during the…
From: Mano Singham
The Vatican has fired shots across the bow, aiming at the heart of christian conservatives, and their current rule over…
From: Affinity
They aren't colorful enough, either. [caption id="attachment_35624" align="aligncenter" width="500"] NatGeo[/caption]
From: Pharyngula
As I have said before, I am not that excited about the solar eclipse that will occur over parts of…
From: Mano Singham
The folks over at the Philly Voice were kind enough to host dueling comments between Flat Earth believers and people…
From: The Bolingbrook Babbler
If you've ever wondered what squid ink is made of, here's your answer: Generally, cephalopod ink includes melanin, enzymes related…
From: Pharyngula
[caption id="attachment_20941" align="alignnone" width="1136"] Screencapture.[/caption] There's been some very interesting research happening in Chicago, and it turns out that trees…
From: Affinity
Mano Singham is unenthused about the eclipse. Same here. It's neat, would be an interesting phenomenon to observe, but I'm…
From: Pharyngula
Recently I wrote a piece about The AI That Will Kill Us All [stderr] and hypothesized one thing (which my…
From: Stderr
There seems to be a lot of excitement about the solar eclipse that will pass over the US on Monday…
From: Mano Singham
[caption id="attachment_20910" align="alignnone" width="765"] A depiction of a 15th-century bed. Public Domain.[/caption] Blankets, sheets. Most people have trouble sleeping without…
From: Affinity
Cassini's Grand Finale... The thin sliver of Saturn's moon Prometheus lurks near ghostly structures in Saturn's narrow F ring in…
Dawn Paley and I agree that the naive idealism with which Canada is perceived really ought to be shattered at…
From: Against the Grain
Morgan's back from her vacation, and so is the show! Today we talk about Charlottesville and all that happened there.…
From: Bi Any Means
Round 1 ED: You see a well groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you see a gazebo. ERIC:…
From: Oceanoxia
Wallnau, again. Lance is the gift of never-ending eyerolls. Now it's Jehovah playing with the stock market, just to fuck…
From: Affinity
Holly Wood champions her coining of the term "shit-toweling" to describe the facile arguments mass-flung at anyone who dares to…
From: Against the Grain
David Futrelle has been listing tweets he finds interesting, amusing or, in a few cases, actually important. I won't repeat…
From: Pervert Justice
I fell in love with a new word: Squink. It's onomatopoeically delicious! I had expressed a desire to use this…
From: Affinity
[caption id="attachment_20952" align="alignnone" width="1935"] 150 Years of Iconography, courtesy of Southern Poverty Law Center. Sourced from their story, Whose Heritage?…
From: Affinity
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/896523232098078720 Barack Obama: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background…
From: Affinity
Bob Vulfov has some very serious words for some very serious people: Thank you very much for coming in today…
From: Against the Grain
I just finished listening to Donald Trump's highly promoted speech about what he plans to do in Afghanistan and to…
From: Mano Singham
That segment ended somewhat abruptly but it continues below with some overlap. {AD}
From: Mano Singham
We know that Donald Trump knows little about policy and seems to care even less. What drives him seem to…
From: Mano Singham
The Secret Service has a problem - they can't pay their employees. The Tiny Tyrant's profligate habits, and those of…
From: Affinity
The Vice News video of the events that unfolded in Charlottesville by reporters embedded among the marchers has had over…
From: Mano Singham
It's the "full list of antifa members" on 8chan. I had no idea my application had been accepted! (Actually, I…
From: Pharyngula
Dawn Paley and I agree that the naive idealism with which Canada is perceived really ought to be shattered at…
From: Against the Grain
Sources say Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar is unharmed after repeatedly holding his breath in defiance of opposition Trustee Robert Jaskiewicz.…
From: The Bolingbrook Babbler
Now that the attempts to repeal Obamacare failed in the US Senate, a peevish Donald Trump vows to sabotage it…
From: Mano Singham
As Donald Trump continues to make statements that signal support of neo-Nazis and white supremacists, already we have seen one…
From: Mano Singham