I like to read articles about the moral problem with football. But this one from Bill Morris at The Millions rubbed me the wrong way. He says a number of things that are super true and are real problems with football that need to be fixed; but he starts out with a thing about Penn State that seems to imply that football fans are uniquely terrible about accepting that prominent people in their field are capable of wrongdoing. Which, like, no. That is everywhere. People do not handle cognitive dissonance well. Moreover, the passage about Southern girls is the most minimizing, insulting bullshit. I’m so very fucking delighted that you enjoyed our blonde hair and taut bodies, Bill Morris, as that really is all there is to us Southern girls. I’m confident that black Southern football fans were thrilled to be judged “every bit as luscious” as their white counterparts in husband-hunting.
This is your annual reminder that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the best. You may forget about this important issue from time to time, but I will always be here to remind you.
Ship Your Enemies Glitter. There’s really nothing further that needs to be said about this.
Alexandra Petri has some theories about Mike Huckabee’s sudden obsession with Beyonce.
It all started one afternoon in 2008. “Mike, c’mon,” Rick Santorum yelled, disgruntled, after flawlessly executing the entire choreography for “Single Ladies” while Huckabee struggled and flailed behind him. “It’s step step kick seven eight, stepping left on first and four, and you need to keep your head down. Look, Newt has it.”
“I have it,” Newt Gingrich added. “It’s simple, yet elegant. Like a moon base.”
Social justice-themed speculative fiction: A list from the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog.
An art and feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon created Wikipedia pages for dozens of female artists not previously included in the online encyclopedia. Hooray!
Here is a baby turtle eating a strawberry. Thanks, Mother Jones.
Has it been a while since you took in some of Anne Helen Peterson’s wonderfully cogent and feminist pop culture criticism? It has for me! Here she is on the trouble with “It Girls.”
Book Riot’s FAQs about reading diversely have been terrific so far, and I’m excited for future installments. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2.