I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend. Have some links!

Culture

  * [9 women open up about their natural hair experiences](http://www.refinery29.com/real-life-natural-hair-care-experiences?utm_source=tumblr.com&utm_medium=post#slide-2) -- Interesting slideshow in which several black women relate their experiences with wearing their hair naturally--a growing trend against making their hair conform to white beauty standards.

Social Justice

  * [New York City lays out transgender protection on dress codes, bathroom use](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-transgender-protections_56799028e4b0b958f6582ba9) -- Welcome news! I hope many more cities follow.
  * [15 arrested as protesters disrupt Minneapolis airport after leaving Mall of America](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-mall-of-america-black-lives-matter-protest-20151223-story.html) -- Black Lives Matter protesters, after being barred from the Mall of America, choose instead to disrupt airport traffic.

Film

  * [The brand-confused world of IMAX and LieMAX](http://johncanfield.me/blog/brand-confused-world-imax-liemax/) -- Did you know that most of the theater screens labeled as "IMAX" these days aren't?

News

  * [Powerball exec Charles Strutt quietly quits post as nationwide investigation into lottery rigging grows](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/powerball-exec-quits-nationwide-scandal-grows-article-1.2475227) -- This wasn't something I was aware was going on, but it seems there's been a significant issue with lottery officials attempting to rig jackpots.

Politics

  * [Latinos scold Hillary on Twitter: you're "not my abuela"](http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Latinos-Abuela-Hillary-Clinton-Twitter/2015/12/23/id/706905/) -- After attempting to present herself, in a tongue-in-cheek way, as an "abuela" (Spanish for "grandmother") in an effort to reach out to Latino voters, Twitter has some fun with it.
  * [Military strategist explains why Donald Trump leads--and how he will fail](http://thefederalist.com/2015/12/16/military-strategist-explains-why-donald-trump-leads-and-how-he-will-fail/) -- Although an interesting (and lengthy) bit of writing, it seems to suffer from the old "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" problem. It also gives Trump perhaps too much credit in terms of managing his strategy.
  * [Voight-Kampff Empathy Test 2015](http://neverbeenmad.tumblr.com/post/134528463529/voight-kampff-empathy-test-2015-by-smlxist-and) -- An amusing comic mocking conservative attitudes.

History

  * [The fallen of World War II](https://vimeo.com/128373915) -- A video that presents a series of infographics about the death tolls of World War II and compares them with both preceding and subsequent conflicts to illustrate the lengthy period of (relative) peace we've had since.

Video Games

  * [Video games are amazing and fun, the culture war is miserable and boring](https://supernerdland.com/videogames-amazing-fun-culture-war-miserable-boring/) -- First of two links on this subject. Suffice it to say, I don't agree with the themes here. Typical GamerGate nonsense that SJWs hate fun and want to destroy video games.
  * [Sex-negative beliefs are ruining gaming, and society at large](http://nichegamer.com/2015/12/sex-negative-beliefs-are-ruining-gaming-and-society-at-large/) -- Surprisingly similar to the first piece in both tone and content. One wonders if these things are cranked out of a factory somewhere.