Linkee-poo, when winter calls with chilling breath for fireside and good cheer

Do men receive bigger book advances than women? While the data is derived from a generalized source (Publishers Weekly announcements), the numbers seems somewhat comparable, overall. Until you get into the weeds of the different genres. And then there are some big disparities (wow, the SF/F is kinda disheartening, as well as MG and YA). (Grokked from Mer Haskell)

For me, spoilers really don't spoil a movie for me, but I know for most people they are a problem. And while it can be a pain to accidentally spoil a movie, creating a campaign to actively spoil it for as many people as possible is a real dick maneuver. I'll eventually see the Star Wars movie, probably sometime around the holidays, and knowing things about the movie really won't stop me from seeing it (even if everybody says, "Wow, JJ and Disney have just fucking lost their minds and ability to tell a story", hell, I saw "Phantom Menace" in the theater). So they can't wreck it for me, but I know I'm weird. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

"'I got into therapy and I got on a pill, and what I discovered was getting help didn’t make me less creative. What was making me less creative was being a depressed crazy person. Figuring out how to be happy and have fun with the kids again, how to have fun with my life and work, actually made me a better writer, not a worse writer.'" Joe Hill on dealing with the price of success. Also to note, yea, I've thought of going back to drafting longhand. And it seems to keep popping up all over the place. The problem is my hand hurts after so long. But, yes, writing long hand is much different than typing. (Grokked from Mur Lafferty)

And, synchronicity wise, 1 minute of writing tips from Stephen King. (Grokked from Mrs. Tadd)

The comedian to do list. (Grokked from Liz Winstead)

XKCD on why the 3 Laws of Robotics are in the order they are. (Grokked form Hannah Bowman)

"Anna Yocca was 24-weeks pregnant when police say she filled a bathtub with water, untwisted the wire of a coat hanger and plunged it into her womb in an attempt at 'self abortion.'" She's now being held in jail on attempted murder charges. Christ, do we really have to learn this lesson all over again? (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)

"That view of secularism as a religion has since become a key part of the conservative argument against a strict separation of church and state. It suggests that when government authorities ban prayers or Bible readings or Nativity scenes on public property or in official settings, it isn't avoiding the appearance of state support for religion, it's unfairly favoring one faith tradition over another." No, secularism is not a religion. Evangelicals love to position themselves in a context where "well, it's just another belief system" when it comes to things they disagree with. No, evolution and science are not a religion. Global climate change is not something that requires "faith." Also note in the article who is afraid of being recriminated against, and who actually is discriminated against.

Finding the next pain killer. In this case a combination of new and old. Could be interesting, but I have a feeling there are some unforeseen consequences here. But it might be a god-send for those who live with chronic pain. Here, though, I will note that chronic pain actually changes the functioning and structure of your brain, so it might not work as well as hoped. The kicker here, "Wood has filed a patent on the therapy in hopes that a pharmaceutical company will be interested in developing a treatment." Yea, that. (Grokked from John)

"An analysis published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the ability of fish populations to reproduce and replenish themselves is declining across the globe." We're boned.

Things are getting ugly at the Trumpster's rallies. (Grokked from Dan)

So, Ted Cruz, "Have you ever considered piracy?" Ted Cruz quotes the Princess Bride, but misses the point. Mandy Patinkin is more than willing to school him in the real meaning of the movie.

So, the good people of Dearborn held an anti-ISIS march, and within a week the conservative social media were reposting a photo of the parade saying it was a pro-ISIS march. Because the truth is important to them, or something. Who wants to lay money that most of the people who saw it was a pro-ISIS rally will never accept that it was actually an anti_ISIS rally? (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)

A list of anti-muslim attacks after San Bernardino. The Trumpster continues to rise in the polls of GOP voters after making a call to bar all muslims from entering the country (also stoking fears of a registry for muslims living here, which he later denied). And the rest of the world wonders just WTF we're doing over here. Well, okay, some people at the UN are "sickened" by all the hate speech going on.

An excellent infographic on those states that have surrendered to ISIS. Yup. (Grokked form Elizabeth Bear)

"Oklahoma sheriff urges residents to arm themselves for war with radical Islam." Because reasons. (Grokked from Saldin Ahmed)

"In a statement Monday evening, (Marco Rubio) campaign spokesman Alex Conant repeated the claim that Rubio 'is the only candidate running for president with a signature win against Obamacare that stopped a $2.5 billion taxpayer-funded bailout of health insurance companies.'… But it had consequences. As a result, the administration announced this fall the government could pay only $362 million of $2.87 billion in risk corridor claims from insurers for 2014. The industry says the government still owes $2.5 billion." So, you know, those high-premium increases, thank Sen. Marco Rubio. Also, there's plenty of people in the GOP side going, "Wait a minute, it wasn't his thing to take credit for." In fact, when Sen. Sessions was asked who was responsible for the budget rider, Rubio's name didn't come up.

Having sowed up the "hate all foreigners" market, the Trumpster goes on to be the "Good Guy With a Gun" in his own mind. Hey Donald, I know a way you could prove your toughness, refuse the Secret Service detail and just carry your own gun to your rallies. Yea, I'm not holding my breath either.

Hey, you know that "freedom of the press" thing? It makes it difficult to accept when even the reporters for The Review-Journal can't find out who is behind the group that bought their paper. Say, did I mention Nevada, where the paper is, is an early primary state? It's also where they're debating tonight.