music When birds sound like heavy metal and hardcore vocalists Rusty Blazenhoff

fake news The Queen dying, Brad Pitt’s bigamy, and official approval for hand jobs, in this week’s dubious tabloids Peter Sheridan

fake news Queen collapses, Stacy Peterson’s body found, Jennifer Aniston’s post-divorce hook-ups, and other news that never happened, in this week’s fact-challenged tabloids. Peter Sheridan

kitties Not just kittens… Maine Coon kittens Jason Weisberger

obits Mandy Johnson, 1953-2015 Rob Beschizza

Delightful Creatures Seven things you didn’t know about vultures Chuck Wendig

Gadgets Boing Boing Gift Guide 2016 Gift Guide

gift guide Boing Boing's 2016 Gift Guide: Books Boing Boing

lemony snicket A Series of Unfortunate Questions for Daniel Handler Mark Dery

offworld Why Silent Hill mattered Leigh Alexander

politics I survived an illegal abortion Fran Moreland Johns

fiction Star Star Narayan John Biggs

DRONES How Dan Shapiro created the most-backed game in Kickstarter history Mark Frauenfelder

books Jo Walton's "My Real Children" [book excerpt] Boing Boing

Disney Disneyland's original prospectus revealed! Cory Doctorow

Entertainment Game of Thrones recap: 'Breaker Of Chains' explores the many feuds of House Lannister [season 4, episode 3] K.M. McFarland