Month in Review(s) - September 2020

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, Transphobia and JKR, and mental health)

September was weird. I think that goes for much of 2020, but September felt especially 2020-ish.

In August, Wales was down to a very small number of Coronavirus cases. We had it in control. 

By the end of September, over half of our population was in Lockdown, and remain in Lockdown. That includes yours truly.

Nerd Church - Mr Trump, The USA Would Be Lucky To Look More Like Wales

 (Warning: this post discusses the Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and Donald Trump.)

Some little-known American politician named Donald Trump retweeted a journalist(..?) named Laura Ingraham in which she said: 'Your future under Biden: "'Rolling Lockdowns' will become norm in Wales"'

She then linked to a BBC article about the problems we're having with Coronavirus, and that we may be in and out of local lockdowns for a while yet. Which... yeah? We might.

I'm currently in Lockdown. I make no secret of that.

OK, my darling nerdlets, let me tell you a little open secret: Wales will always prioritise the lives of the Welsh people.

If there ever comes a time when we don't, we will have truly lost ourselves.

It's sad that the idea seems so strange to some Americans.

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Locked Down Again

(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post discussed Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and people acting like petulant children)

I'm in a local Lockdown.

...Along with nearly half of the population of Wales, and nearly a quarter of the population of the UK as a whole.

(Yeah... the government's working so hard to avoid a nationwide lockdown that the entire nation may well end up in 'local' lockdown.)

Month in Review(s) - July 2020

July was a month that happened.

Is it bad that all of the months have just kind of squidged into one and I can't remember what happened in July vs what happened in June?

Can I blame the Dyscalculia for that, d'y'think? Or is it just me? (It's probably just me.)

Anyhow, this is your reminder that the Coronavirus situation is NOT over, and you need to keep taking all the hygiene and distancing precautions.

(People who think 'it's all over' are... ARGH!) 

#StaySafeDearestNerdlets

Nerd Church - Caffeinated Current Events: Explaining the Headlines

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, the backlash against Black Lives Matter, and general Nazis. Because 2020.)

If you don't know, Caffeinated Current Events (CCE) is where I explain various stuff in the news whilst under the influence of caffeinated beverages.

I haven't actually written a CCE post in a while because... 2020. But I felt like now was the right time to do so because... 2020.

Disclaimer Time: This post is primarily a satirical and snarky look at the news, intended for entertainmaint and comedy purposes. As such, hyperbole is likely. You've been warned - don't sue.

This time, I thought I'd take some real-life headlines and explain them with my own cynically optimistic and optimistically cynical caffeine-hyped frame of mind.

I'll link to the article each headline comes from so that you can see what the 'professional' news reporting is like!

Month In Review(s) - June 2020

June 2020. Somehow we're only half-way through 2020... which is... interesting.

We're still more-or-less on Lockdown here in Wales, though we're slowly easing things - so as of 6th July, we formed a social bubble with my brother, which meant we could hug him and everything.

Anyways, I had an OK month, although I did have a migraine, and hayfever, and a few bad Depression days... but I'm still here, still standing, still writing slightly rambley blogposts! 😊

Speaking of my blogposts - I once again posted zero reviews this month, and had one of my regular existential crises re: this blog.

(Not to be confused with my regular existential crises re: writing, Queerness, productivity, the meaning of life, etc. etc. etc.)

The typical, really: does my blog have enough bookish content? Can I even call it a book blog? Am I somehow misleading people by posting about other topics on here?

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Seriously, People? There's Still A Pandemic

(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19)

I swear to all that is, or may be, holy: VIRUSES DON'T GO AWAY JUST 'COS YOU GOT BORED.

Covid 19 is still a problem.

So people who are cramming their butts onto beaches? Or celebrating football wins? Or having massive brawls on the beach?

- What, exactly, is wrong with you?

Nerd Church - Supporting Black People, Trans People, and Black Trans People

(Warning: this post discusses racism, Transphobia, and racist, Transphobic, and Transmysogynoiristic murder.)

Brief note before I start: 

Please, please, please remember that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic with Covid 19/Coronavirus - a pandemic that disproportionately takes the lives of People of Colour/BAME people.

Stay safe. 

KEEP SOCIAL DISTANCING - 2m/6ft apart if possible. 

Stay home when you can. 

Wash your hands A LOT. 

Wear a face mask if/when appropriate.

 

Once again, the rights and lives of Black people, Trans people, and Black Trans people, are under threat.

I'm privileged in that I'm a White Cis woman. 

And after all the media attention has died down, I will still be a White Cis woman, and Black people will still be Black, and Trans+ people will still be Trans+.

Month in Review(s) - May 2020

(Warning: this post discusses the Coronavirus/Covid 19, and references the death of George Floyd)

May 2020... who wrote this film?!

Obviously, globally, May was a dumpster fire. 

(And Black Lives Matter. George Floyd deserves justice. If you disagree, you can eff off.)

Nerd Church - Power and Privilege In 2020

(Warning: This post discusses 2020. 

Which means it discusses:

- Coronavirus/Covid 19, and the death statistics

- racism

- racist murder (inc. murder of Black people by the police)

- Transphobia

- Transphobic murder

- Homophobia/Queerphobia

- Donald Trump

...I think that's everything. 2020, everyone.)

Well... it's been a week, right?

Unfortunately, if there's one theme to this week, both here in the UK and over in the USA, it's this: The more power and privilege someone has, the more they will abuse that power and privilege.

Nerd Church - For Those Of Us Feeling Overwhelmed Right Now

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and references Anxiety and mental health problems)

This post isn't a magical solution to feeling overwhelmed, but hopefully it'll help a little.

Disclaimer time: I'm not a medical or mental health professional. I'm someone with my own personal experiences of Depression/Anxiety which may or may not be helpful to you. Always do what's right for you, k? K.

Sometimes it can be hard to keep moving forward. It can feel overwhelming as f**k, let's be honest. 

But to make it less overwhelming?

You have to take everything one step at a time - as goddamn irritating as that can be, sometimes. 

Month In Review(s) - April 2020

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and Anxiety)

April 2020.

Um... yeah... 

(I know it's the 13th of May - I'm disorganised, and you all know this.)

OK, plus side: I had fewer panic attacks this month!

I mean, I still had panic attacks, and a butt-tonne of Anxiety, but I had slightly less of it! Woo!

(Small victories, dearest nerdlets, small victories.)

Nerd Church - How Are You Bored...?

(Warning: this post references Coronavirus/Covid 19, and Lockdown)

"Bored!" I kicked the carpet with my heel. "Bored!" I kicked it with my other heel. "Bored!" I switched back to the first heel.

...That's the last time I can remember being plain bored. 

I think I was eight. I definitely wasn't older than ten.

Don't get me wrong - I've been bored of things plenty of times. Teachers, mostly. 

(School is good and something you should go to and all that - but my school sucked. On many levels.

We used to hide maths homework inside our PSE (Personal Social Education) booklets - because apparently LSD was a big threat to the teens of the mid-to-late 00s. (Spoiler: it wasn't.) 

Also we had to colour in the pictures of drugs for some reason? Like this is gonna put us off in any way? (Don't do drugs, dearest nerdlets, k? K.)

Also the teacher I had for PSE told us way too much about the various times she 'ran away with [man] to [location] and it all went wrong and I ended up stranded in [location - not necessarily the 1st location]' We honestly didn't want to know. 

We were hiding maths homework, dearest nerdlets. Maths. Homework.)

Nerd Church - I'm SO Tired

(Warning: this post references Coronavirus/Covid 19 and Lockdown, and discusses mental health problems and Anxiety throughout.)


I'm so tired.

Like, SO tired.

Part of that is probably due to an existential tiredness related to the Lockdown and wanting things to go back to 'normal' - whatever normal is.

(Stay Home though, dearest nerdlets - STAY HOME PLEASE! It's so important!)

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Why Are People Like This?

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19 and lockdown/quarantine throughout. It also discusses Donald Trump and medical misinformation. It also gets kinda rant-y.)



What is wrong with people? 

I mean... does anyone know?

As I sit here, still on full lockdown in the UK, my neighbours have gone out. Again.

If you read this blog/follow my Twitter (thank you, I love you!) you may know that I have Problem Neighbours™.

What started as some sloppiness with letting their 2 dogs out has morphed into a general disregard for the people around them (...and they have 4 dogs now.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Heaven Ablaze In Our Eyes, We're Standing Still In Time

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

(Warning: This post references the Quarantine/Lockdown for Coronavirus/Covid 19)


You need some superheroes? Well it's a good job it's Thursday - let's get some comics-y goodness!

Everything this week is in the 'Other Stuff' category again - for which, as is traditional, we will blame Loki.

Nerd Church - Watching 'Orange Is The New Black' In Lockdown

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, and prison, and references drugs and death.)


You know all those shows that you just don't get around to for whatever reason? 

Orange Is The New Black was one of those for me.

So what better series to start when we can't go out, than one where they can't either, y'know? 

The UK is in Lockdown - we can only go out for specific reasons, which does currently include 1hr exercise, provided we practice social distancing, so we're better off than some.

Month In Review(s) - March 2020

(Warning: This post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19 (b/c March 2020) and related stuff like lockdown and Anxiety)



...Maybe the first rule of March 2020, is that we don't talk about March 2020.

But then, I'd totally break that rule in half and throw the pieces in the air like confetti anyways, so here we are!

Nerd Church - A General Message of Positivity For Anyone Struggling With Their Mental Health ATM

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, and mental health problems/general mental health)


I think we could all do with some positivity right now.

We all need to take care of our mental health. You don't need to have a mental health problem in order to be struggling with your mental health.

We all need to take care of ourselves.

So here's one of my famous (notorious? infamous? who knows,) pep talks, with the hopes that it'll do some good, somewhere.

Comics Wrap-Up - I'm Not The Man They Think I Am At Home

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

It's Thursday, and everyone could do with a helping of superheroes - right? So let's get some comics-y goodness!