Month in Review(s) - January 2017

Well, that was January 2017... don't blame 2017 too much, guys, it keeps following 2016's examples.

I'm sure that in time it'll move away from the influence of it's older sibling, who was, let's face it, a freaking disgrace of a year.

2017 though can still be steered in the right direction with the help of intervention programmes, and stopping it from hanging out with the wrong people. We hope.

On a more positive note, this was the month that yours truly, along with Angel, Jolien, Dina, Lara, and our fearless leader, the lovely Ely, ran #DisabilityDiaries2017.

And it rocked. In case you hadn't noticed. ;)

You can check out alllllll of the posts from everyone during the event in this Google+ collection, and most of the posts in this BlogLovin collection.

If I've missed your post out, please let me know! Some of the posts I couldn't add to the BlogLovin collection, because not all of the blogs involved had an account there.

You can also submit your discussion and list posts from the event to The Bookish Diversity Link List 2017.

So, I only reviewed 2 books in January (I know, I know, I need to review more!) and both were for the Disability Diaries:

Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton

Jerkbait by Mia Siegert

My other posts for #DisabilityDiaries2017 are listed below:

Harry Potter and the Representation of Scarring

Nerd Church - No Shame, No Stigma

The Writer Diaries - The Challenges of Writing With Depression and Anxiety

And that's January! :)

Nerd Church - The Age of Media

(This post contains gifs with jerky/not smooth motions, which may cause problems to those with photosensitive medical conditions such as epilepsy or migraines.)


We live in a world of media.

Mass media, social media, targeted media - it's all there.

And yet Media Studies and related subjects are often criticised and seen as 'easy.'

The fact is, Media Literacy is something we all need - urgently - in today's world.

Too many people are left illiterate in this area. And in a world of Trumpy McTrumpface and all the other sh**, this IS NOT GOOD.

So today, my nerdlets, I'm going to attempt to show you why you need to start thinking about this - and how you can do that:





What counts as 'media?'

The Internet, social networks, magazines, TV, film, music, and, yes, even books. That's just a few.

Media is modern life - modern popular culture, the modern world.

via GIPHY

Why is it important?

It's important because we need the relevant critical skills to analyse and think about the media we consume.

We need to understand what different pieces of media are saying about topics, and about groups of people.

All human beings have biases, therefore all media has biases.

So you can't trust everything you see.

You also have to realise that every part of the media you consume is part of a wider picture - it's all telling you something, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and you need to be able to figure out what that is.

via GIPHY

Where can I start?

Media literacy isn't something that you just magically acquire.

I personally think it's something that you have to develop over a lifetime (although many may disagree,) but the first step is understanding that you need to know more.

And while the obvious place to start in the digital age may seem to be Google, it can often be difficult to figure out what to search for, and what sites are useful.

via GIPHY

Here are a few websites to get you started:

• TV Tropes - this is a huge resource of recurrent themes, stereotypes, and symbols, within all aspects of the media, complete with examples (the site started with TV themes etc. - hence the name.)

• BBC Bitesize Media Studies homepage - this is based around a Media Studies qualification in the UK, but the information is relevant all the same. The representation section in particular may be useful to you.

• Common Sense Media - this is a site with a focus on media literacy for kids, and is aimed primarily at parents and educators; it does have some really interesting articles and resources which I'm sure you'll find useful.

OK, I hope that's useful guys - go be awesome! :)





Like this post? Give these a try:

• Nerd Church - Not A Sprint
• Nerd Church - Make It A Year For Learning
• Nerd Church - A Nazi is a Nazi

Friday Fics Fix - I Think You're My Best Friend

Do you feel like some Sherlock-y goodness? Of course you do!

And lucky for you, I just happen to have some. I know, convenient, huh?

I came across this awesome li'l fic - the first in a series in fact - about an aromantic Sherlock.

I've brought you asexual Sherlock fics before now, of course, but that doesn't mean I can't bring you more dammit! 

And, as I said last week, fanfiction can sometimes be a godsend when it comes to plugging the gaps in the diversity of your reading.

(And a lot of diversity seems to come from the Sherlock fandom - aka the Sherlockians - possibly because Sherlockians are a) awesome and b) completely uncontrollable. And I should know, because I totally am one. 😈)

via GIPHY

A little note though - this fic mistakenly places Aromantic (Spectrum) Awareness Week in November (possibly because this was the date of the first AAW.)

For the last few years, this awareness event has actually taken place in February.

So this week's fic is:

National Aromantic Week (I'm Not A Machine) by shnuffeluv

Enjoy, be awesome, and come back next Friday for more attempts to use fanfiction to make the world a better place (Mwahahaha! 😉)

Like this post? Try these:

• Friday Fics Fix - And It's Our Time Now If You Want It To Be
• Friday Fics Fix! - Absolutely Ace
• Friday Fics Fix! - No Sex Please, We're British

Comics Wrap-Up - But I'm No Good, Good, At Lip Service

Webcomics

In the wake of a whole lotta stupid coming out of the US in terms of policy this month, let's take a look at some excellent webcomics/cartoons/art from the webs, which make the world a better place.

(I'm embedding tweets here, and I've never done that before - so let's hope this works!)

First, let's let Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, show us how it's done:

@MaryneeLahaye @GynoStar sometimes words aren't needed: pic.twitter.com/vgSdeYTRaX

— This bear hates Nazi (@ADobsonComics) 28 January 2017

Phil Noto Revises Cover Art In Reaction To Immigration Ban https://t.co/Iwj3TuUDBz pic.twitter.com/pZeX63xE96

— Dark Matters (@DarkMattersProj) 29 January 2017

Now, let's let Lady Liberty show the world how she would greet refugees:

RETWET this POWERFUL art #MuslimBan #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/xvisAnvvSa

— #HeWillNotDivideUs (@HWNDUS) 29 January 2017

My dear friend @TheKeyThief's art is being shared around the world as a call to arms. If you want a printable version for protests DM her!! pic.twitter.com/HFM4HVT3l3

— Diya Mishra (@thedimishra) 30 January 2017

cred: star-socks on Tumblr #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/R5z33OoXwR

— Fem For All 🏳️‍🌈 (@projectFem4All) 31 January 2017

And just to round off the webcomics section, here are a couple of awesome artworks/cartoons from LGBTQ+  creators:

"No, not like that." #transgender #AssignedMale pic.twitter.com/FRreMKAtFB

— Sophie Labelle (@AssignedMale) 28 January 2017

Finished this one for friends over the holidays. Just some dads, being dads and gay and in love and also dads. pic.twitter.com/gzwqLgWokZ

— ✨genué ECCC U3✨ (@hrtbrokentweets) 1 February 2017

Other Stuff

The wonderful Supergirl TV series has been nominated for a GLAAD award for outstanding drama series.

The awards honour media with outstanding LGBTQ+ representation; and the current series of Supergirl has made leaps in rep. with the step of allowing Supergirl's sister, Alex, to be lesbian.

via GIPHY

And here's a bunch of interesting links of the comics-y type that I've come across this week:

• The lovely Tina @ As Told By Tina gave us her list of Top Ten Graphic Novels

• Swapna Krishna @ Book Riot wrote an excellent piece about Captain America and the 'should we punch Nazis?' question that challenges the comics world to do better in the modern age.

• Naja Later @ Women Write About Comics also writes an excellent piece on this topic - and points out that Cap has never been a neutral kinda guy.

• Dan Van Winkle @ The Mary Sue wrote about the California council member who was sworn in holding a Captain America shield XD

• Johanna @ Comics Worth Reading gave an informative analysis of the problems with new comics series The Assignment - which appears to be full of misogyny, transmisogyny, and transphobia. This doesn't bode well for the film version, due for release later this year.

Like this post? Try these:

• Comics Wrap-Up - Destroyed in an Hour
• Be Brave, Be Bold
• Nerd Church - When Heroes Fall

Micropoetry - January 2017

Ok, January 2017's micropoetry by yours truly.

There's only 3 pieces this month because I've been uber-busy with work, personal stuff, and #DisabilityDiaries2017

20th January

Strength.

Not shouting the loudest.

Not hating the most.

But loving all you can.

Getting back up.

Facing another day.

That's strength.

25th January

You do not understand

As I take you gently by the hand

& tell you

no

& try to stop you pushing the knife

further into me than you have

28th January

But my dears,

The rain

Is just the part

Of the sky

That we can touch.

And

That touches us.

Like this post? Try these:

• The Writer Diaries - Micropoetry, December 2016
• The Writer Diaries - Micropoetry, November 2016

Nerd Church - Never Ever Forget

Warning: this post discusses the Holocaust and related topics

Human beings can be horrific to each other. That's why we must never forget.

Holocaust Memorial Day last Friday reminded many people of the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s. It's a lesson that we can't afford to forget.

We have to be willing to learn the lessons of those past days.

In order to do that, we have to force ourselves to remember how this happened - what led to the murder of so many.

Over the past few years, I've contributed to several projects to preserve historical documents digitally - including Holocaust records.

What's chilling about many of the records is their straightforward nature. This is the bureaucracy of genocide - a well-oiled machine of paperwork and permits.

It hits home, though, just what it is you're looking at, when you see the same date of death recorded for every member of the same family, or when you see record after record marked with the year 1942 as its final date.

Or when you look into the eyes of a Jewish girl your age in the picture on her identity papers - she's working as a secretary, she's dressed smartly, hair neatly curled.

Her smile is sweet but slightly mischievous. 

And you know she probably died soon after.

And she's full of life in her picture. And you realise she deserves to be remembered - not just because of what happened to her, but because of her.

And because no-one should have been able to take that life from her.

The Holocaust did not begin with murder. It began with the gradual erosion of human rights. It began with prejudice and hate.

It began with cataloguing people; registering them, restricting them, seeing them as somehow inferior. That can't happen again.

To educate yourself about the holocaust, there can be no better place to start than the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.

You can learn more about the project I talked about - the World Memory Project - here.

You can also search the records that are available online so far for free.

Friday Fics Fix - And It's Our Time Now If You Want It To Be

Ahhhhh, fanfiction, some days you make me think this flying dirtball zooming through space isn't quite so doomed after all!

Which is an achievement, given the current levels of cr*pitude going around.

So why the optimism?

Well I've come across what I consider a little gem of a fic.

via GIPHY

I've been trying to read more diversely in terms of gender, since at the moment, most of what I read is by and about cis-gendered people who fit into the gender binary of male/female.

Fanfiction is often a great resource when it comes to reading diversely.

(Don't get me wrong - it can sometimes be shockingly mis-representative, but due to the open and accessible nature of the medium, there are also people doing some amazing stuff for diversity through fics.)

via GIPHY

This week's fic is a short, sweet, little fic about Harry Potter's friendship with Luna Lovegood.

Both Harry and Luna identify as non-binary in this fic, with Harry using they/them pronouns, and Luna using xe/xyr pronouns.






This week's fic then, my dear nerdlets, is:

Blibbering Humdingers are Allergic to Bread by hanarsweater









See you next week for more fanfiction-y-ness - same time, same place! :)






Like this post? Try these:

• Friday Fics Fix - Bat Outta Hell
• Friday Fics Fix - Absolutely Ace
• The Harry Potter Tag
• #DisabilityDiaries2017 - Harry Potter and the Representation of Scarring