Happy firework day! July 4, 2009

As protests continue in Iran, and dramatic pictures keep flowing out, check out these pre-election images to get an idea of what the difference is: part one and part two. People go skiing, feed dolphins, catch trains, bowl, hang out on fast-food playsets, compete in chess tournaments…it’s all overwhelmingly normal. If you haven’t seen Jason Jones’ reports from the country, those, too, are well worth a watch.

Keeping the news of that kidnapped journalist off Wikipedia, in a very personal case of “freedom of information vs. security.”

For the GLBT(TSQQIAAXYZ) folks: a quick roundup of ways in which Jon Stewart is an awesome ally. (Although Stephen tweets that it wasn’t so bad before Stonewall.)

Speaking of Twitter, it’s apparently great for customer service.

White dad willing to put in hours of hair care for adopted black daughter. Probably ought to come standard, but doesn’t, so it’s good to read.

The Practical Guide to Help Spurned Political Wives Survive Old Problems in the Era of New Technology. More and more relevant these days.

News that sounds like an urban legend, but isn’t: one study found that gay men have, on averages, larger penises than straight men. (I know someone out there is thinking it: “And people wonder why straight women like slash.”)