- Wesley Morris’s piece on Grantland starts out as a review of 12 Years a Slave that slowly weaves itself into a discussion about slavery narratives and the need to refocus these stories on black experience, not white guilt.
- In a ranking of twenty classic YA heroines, who comes out on top? The answer may surprise you. [Flavorwire]
- The New York Times, despite a ludicrous headline, has a thoughtful read on the need for media representation for women computer scientists and hackers.
- While we’re on the subject of hackers, this dude challenged hackers to infiltrate his life. I know that this is real-life stuff, but I kept getting very Oryx and Crake vibes. Maybe it was the lingo. [PandoDaily]
- GEORGE TAKEI READS SULU/CHEKOV SLASH. GEORGE TAKEI READS SULU/CHEKOV SLASH. [Watch What Happens Live After Show]
- Xiangjun Shi’s short film, “Why Do I Study Physics?” is beautiful, thoughtful, and well worth the 3:14 (get it?) it takes to watch.
- The US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association is partnering with the kids show Octonauts in an effort to raise awareness about ocean exploration. How very Magic School Bus. [Salon]
- OFFICIAL HALLOWEEN PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Please do not dress up in a racist costume. Just don’t. Use your imagination and find something else. There’s a whole lot of literature on the subject, but it’s worth revisiting this Native Appropriations piece.
- Do you love Disney villains and musicals? Then “The Spell Block Tango” is definitely for you.
- When I wrote about queer representation in the Star Trek universe a little while ago, it started a pretty great Facebook conversation about whether shows acknowledging queer shipping without going further was progressive or queerbaiting. Bitch magazine has a pretty good followup to the topic.
- Kotaku uses a Twine game about consensual kink to take a look at torture in video games more generally.
- Via Buzzfeed, Cosmo sex tips, as told by Gollum. Terrifying, slightly NSFW, flawless.
Top image: “Evil Flush,” by Jesús Alfonso Sánchez
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