Another eventful week, full of domestic terrorism, Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi testimony, a new Star Wars Ep 7 trailer, some helpful life advice, and, for those in the know about how awesome she is, a new Kelly Link story for our Fk Yeah! finisher.
Short on time today, so let’s get down to it.
Domestic Terrorism
“Authorities don’t yet know who sparked the flames or why, but they believe the crimes are connected. In each case, an accelerant was used to light the front doors of the churches on fire. The buildings were all unoccupied at the times of the attacks.”
Reward Offered After “Alarming Pattern” of MO Church Fires on CBS
“The media need to report these incidents as what they are: domestic terrorism. By staying silent or failing to discuss this new wave of attacks on health clinics in the context of anti-abortion extremism, the media is giving extremists the cover to regressively and violently attack women, their access to health care, and the medical professionals who provide it.”
NARAL President Calls Out National Media for Ignoring Recent String of Anti-Planned Parenthood Arson Attacks on Media Matters
Politics etc.
“There are lots of good reasons why neither the #Benghazi squad yelling at Hillary Clinton nor the House Oversight Committee yelling at Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards worked out particularly well for Congress. Some of it stems from the fact that both hearings were show trials, a purely partisan effort to show the folks back home how erectly principled their conservative principles are. But there’s also a visual, theatrical reason: watching a body composed predominantly of white men shout at, interrupt, and harangue a dignified, composed woman has always been a bad look, and in 2015, it’s one the public will no longer accept.”
Why Angry Old Men Calling a Meeting to Yell at a Woman is Always a Spectacular Failure on Jezebel
“There are a few elements that make this an unusual incident. First, there was no sign of forcible entry; the office was searched but its contents were treated carefully and the door was locked upon exit, characteristics which do not fit the pattern of opportunistic campus theft. Prof. Godoy’s office was the only one targeted, although it is located midway down a hallway of offices, all containing computers. The hard drive has no real resale value, so there seems no reason to take it unless the intention was to extract information. Lastly, the timing of this incident—in the wake of the recent publicity around our freedom of information lawsuit against the CIA regarding information on a suspected perpetrator of grave human rights violations in El Salvador—invites doubt as to potential motives.”
Two Weeks After It Sued the CIA, Data is Stolen from the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights in the Slog
Culture and Entertainment
“Here is the problem. Most of the Star Wars movies are not good, but bad. Betting on this one to be good—to be the best movie of all time—is betting against the trend. The overall mean grade of the six existing Star Wars films is, like, a D.”
What if the New Star Wars Sucks, Too? on Deadspin
“The series, like its heroine, mixes playfulness and resourcefulness: for example, there’s an episode where Phryne traps a poisonous spider – under her diaphragm. The Holmes to Fisher’s Watson is her housekeeper and travelling companion, Dot, who goes from being a soft-spoken religious girl with no life goals outside of making tea to a fine detective in her own right – with her own burgeoning collection of cloches to match. Miss Fisher and Dot’s feminist power is strong enough to pull men into its orbit. Dot’s erstwhile police constable boyfriend comes around to agreeing that she should keep working after they get married and that a civil wedding might be as valid as a religious one.”
How Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Conquered America in The Guardian
“I guess I can only keep discovering my stories by writing them. But they will come from me, from the woman who loves roses and monsters and lace, and hates violence. And if at some point the culture decides they are worthwhile, that will have nothing to do with me. I will have written what is in me, which is really all I can do, and all I aim for.”
Writing Your Stories, on Theodora Goss’ blog
Life Advice
“Imagine the scene again: someone is screaming at you, one inch from your face.
You want to scream back. Or even hit them.
But what if I told you their mother passed away yesterday? Or that they were going through a tough divorce and just lost custody of their kids?
You’d let it go. You’d probably even respond to their anger with compassion.
What changed? Not the event. Situation is the same. But the story you’re telling yourself about the event changed everything.”
How to Never Get Angry: 3 New Secrets from Neuroscience on Bakadesuyo
“Seriously, these fundamental principles of communication can help you deal with anyone. So let’s see what parenting experts and hostage negotiators can teach us, and how it can make for a more peaceful, happier home.”
This is the #1 Mistake Parents Make When Arguing with Kids from Bakadesuyo
[Bakadesuyo might be my new favorite website. But then, I’m a sucker for applied neuroscience.]
Fk Yeah!
“If there’s one thing Anat knows, it’s this. She loves Oscar her brother, and her brother Oscar loves her. Hasn’t Oscar raised Anat, practically from childhood? Picked Anat up when she’s fallen? Prepared her meals and lovingly tended to her scrapes and taught her how to navigate their little world? Given her skimmer ships, each faster and more responsive than the one before; the most lovely incendiary devices; a refurbished mob of Handmaids, with their sharp fingers, probing snouts, their furred bellies, their sleek and whiplike limbs?”
The Game of Smash and Recovery, a new Kelly Link story at Strange Horizons
[this space intentionally left blank] 