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Afternoon Delight: A peek at “Pretty Little Liars'” coming out episode, and are Tracy Chapman and Guinevere Turner U-Hauling?

The weekend is finally upon us, and so is the mid-season finale of Pretty Little Liars! If I’m understanding ABC Family’s promos correctly, we’ll get two more episodes in the next two weeks, and then the remainder of season one will air in January. And you know what that means: More reveals than you can shake a Risen Mitten at! Here’s a sneak peek at a secret Emily is hiding in next week’s episode.

Also, Tamara let us know that Bianca Lawson is going to be answering fan-submitted questions for her Facebook fans. Check out the interview page to submit your own question!

We’re not sure if this is true or not, but rumors have surfaced that Tracy Chapman and Guinevere Turner (Gabby of L Word fame) are all loved-up in lesbian bliss. They were photographed together at Outfest a couple of weeks ago, and they sure are cute.

Earlier this week I told you about British TV presenter Clare Balding’s new show Britain by Bike. Well this week, Balding has gotten all kinds of publicity for her show – and not in the way she wanted. In a Britain by Bike review in last weekend’s Sunday Times, writer AA Gill said:

Some time ago, I made a cheap and frankly unnecessary joke about Clare Balding looking like a big lesbian. And afterwards somebody tugged my sleeve to point out that she is a big lesbian, and I felt foolish and guilty. So I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise. Sorry.

Now back to the dyke on a bike, puffing up the nooks and crannies at the bottom end of the nation.

Balding protested in two letters to John Witherow, the editor of the Sunday Times. He responded quite glibly to her concern, saying that being a celebrity means occasionally being the butt of jokes, and that if straight men have to endure ridicule about their clothing choices, so does she. Balding sent another letter to Witherow explaining: “When the day comes that people stop resigning from high office, being disowned by their families, getting beaten up and in some instances committing suicide because of their sexuality, you may have a point.”

There’s been a bit of a national outcry in Britain. A #GoClare Twitter hash tag popped up a few hours ago, and people have been rallying around her all week. The Guardian even picked up the Twitter buzz and wrote an article about it. You can follow the story at Clare’s Twitter or at UK’s contemporary feminism blog, The F Word.

Or you can follow lesbian TV presenter Sue Perkins, who always has something clever to add to the conversation:

(I should say that I first heard about this controversy from Jack Thorne, writer of Naomi’s episode of Skins and of the Skins movie. He Tweeted about never buying the Sunday Times again. Champions of lesbians, those Skins guys! And while we’re sharing the love, his film The Scouting Book for Boys is up for three Digital Spy movie awards! You should vote! )

Whew, that was long! (That’s what she said.) (Sorry, it’s Friday afternoon.)

Amanda Palmer is working some more of her trademark magic. Last week, she released “Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on her Magical Ukulele” in a limited vinyl run that sold out in 24 hours. (She made $15,000 in the first three minutes!) She’ll be releasing another set of vinyls – 1,000 each, starting with orange and working her way through the rainbow – soon, and you can stay updated via her Twitter or her blog.

And speaking of vinyl, Tegan and Sara are releasing an official vinyl collection box set that will include five of their previous albums – 2000’s This Business of Art, 2002’s If It Was You, 2004’s So Jealous, 2007’s The Con, and 2009’s Sainthood – and a bonus album, Home Recordings.

You can listen to Home Recordings today only at Because Sound Matters. The album will be available on August 31st.

Next month, ESPN will roll out another round of its “30 for 30” series. On tap in September is Unmatched, a documentary that focuses on the unlikely and lasting friendship between former tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

“I remember that she was fat,” Evert recalled. “She was very emotional on the court, whining if she didn’t feel she was playing well. But I remember thinking, if she loses weight, we’re all in trouble.” Said Navratilova, “My goal was for her to remember my name.” Eighty matches later — amid the extraordinary growth of women’s tennis — Evert not only remembered, but became a tried and true friend and confidante, remarkable considering the two appeared to be polar opposites in upbringing, life styles and personal relationships.

If you’ve got some free time this weekend, don’t forget to catch up on Trish Bendix’s TCA coverage!

Today’s Afternoon Delight is brought to you by Gabourey Sidibe at the request of RDG10. (In all my time talking to celebrities, Sidibe is my absolute favorite. So warm. So real. So funny.)

(Thanks to on_the_level_77 for the photo suggestion.)

Have a beautiful weekend, friends.

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