The Happiness Tag

(Flashing Images warning: The gifs used in this post flash quite a lot and may cause problems for those with photosensitive medical conditions such as epilepsy and migraines.)


The lovely Emily @ The Paperback Princess tagged me for the happiness tag back in August, and now I've gotten around to actually doing the post (woo!) ;)

5 Things that Make you Happy 



Books - I'm stealing this one off Emily, because I totally agree. BOOOOOOKKKKSSS!!!!!!! ;)



Kitties! - My kitties are little furbabies with much the love and I love them all the way to the moon and back on account of cuteness and fluffiness and little noses, pawses, and whiskerses ;)

Fur-baby!

The Bestie - I have the bestest bestie :)

My family - yes I have some relatives who are better loved from a distance, but my parents in particular are the best.



Reality TV - I know, it's bad. But that's what makes it so good. Honestly, Judge Judy has probably indirectly saved my life more than once. You can laugh at that or dismiss it if you want to, but it's true.






5 Songs that Make you Happy 

My musical tastes tend towards the emo punk-rock side of life. As a teen, I was a small nerd who loved My Chem and Green Day - luckily, there were quite a few of us.

Every Snowflake's Different (Just Like You) by My Chemical Romance - I AM A UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE DAMMIT!!!!!

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Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At the Disco - AND LOVE IS NOT A CHOOOIIICCCCEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Miss Murder by AFI - OK, so it's not exactly a cheery song... but dude, I love the shouting-up-to-the-heavens-ness of AFI, and it always makes me smile.

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I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy - Because f**k the haters!

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The Bird and the Worm by The Used - because it's awesome-sauce.

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Cheery, no? ;)

5 Bloggers that Make you Happy 

ONLY 5?!?! Argh, if I don't mention you, I still love you - promise!!!!! I do!!!!

Emily @ The Paperback Princess - because she's amazing and I wish I was that talented as a teenager.

Ely @ Tea & Titles - because we have the same sort of sense of bizarre humour and obsession with Wales, and because she's so passionate about disability representation.

Naz @ Read Diverse Books - for being a constant inspiration, a pain in the TBR, and a force for good in the world.

Olivia-Savannah @ Olivia's Catastrophe - for being fun, entertaining, and someone who's gonna go a long way :)

Sierra @ The Nerdgirl Review - for being fun, bubbly, and awesome.




Not tagging anyone for this - do it if you want to! ;)




Like this post? Try these:

• The Greek Mythology Tag
• The Liebster Award
• Nerd Church - You're The Only You We've Got

5 Diverse Poets For You to Check Out on YouTube

You know that poetry is for everyone, right? Well slam and performance poetry is a great example of that.

And there are hundreds and thousands of poetry slam and performance videos on YouTube - they are so addictive, I'm surprised I ever get anything else done!

So I figured I'd share just a handful of my favourite diverse slam, spoken-word, and performance poets from YouTube (because my faves happen to diverse in this instance! Woo!)

Oh, and pretty much all of these have swear-words. Poets swear worse than sailors.

Winona Linn

Meskwaki poet Winona Linn is witty, clever, and passionate; her performances are amazing.

Check out: Knock-Off Native (below,) Currency, and Grey Owl.

Crystal Valentine

Stylish, bold, and unapologetically political, Crystal Valentine's poetry explores being a Black woman in today's America.

Check out: Black Privilege (below,) And the News Reporter Says Jesus Is White and Questions For Fox News Regarding the Race Card.

Dia Davina

A queer and genderqueer feminist, Dia Davina is awesome. They are funny and honest and just amazing.

Check out: Emergency Room (below,) Boy In My Closet and U-Haul

Elizabeth Acevedo

Afro-Dominicana poet Elizabeth Acevedo writes on race, feminism, and their intersection. She rocks.

Check out: Hair,  Afro-Latina, and An Open Letter to the Protesters Outside the Planned Parenthood

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Benjamin Zephaniah

One of the best modern British poets there is, I will never miss the chance to recommend the wonderful Jamaican-British Benjamin Zephaniah.

Never afraid to speak on politics and race, or to combine poetry with music, Zephaniah is a definite favourite of mine.

Check out: Having a Word (below,) Responsible, and Us an Dem

So check some of these wonderful poets out, and enjoy!

Like this post? Try these:

• The Poetry of Biffy Clyro
• What is Poetry?

Last updated: 9th October 2019

Nerd Church - You're the Only You We've Got

(Flashing Images Warning: some of the gifs in this post flash a bit faster than the gifs I normally use, and this may affect people with photosensitive medical conditions such as epilepsy and migraines.)



Hello dearest nerdlets! There's something I want you to do - take care of yourselves.

Self-care is not just something for those with mental health problems, any more than the gym is only something for those with physical health problems.

We all have mental health my nerdlets, even if you never have a problem with it.

And this time of year can be financially, emotionally, and physically stressful.

If you celebrate Christmas or any other December-based holiday, then there's loads of stuff to do, things to buy, and relatives to make nice with.

If you act as either a part-time or full-time carer, this goes double for you.

We end up picking up the seasonal social responsibilities of our loved ones as well as ourselves - helping out with the shopping, the decorating, the gift-wrapping, and the card-writing.

For anybody acting as a carer right now: you're awesome. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

So my nerdlets, here's just a couple of tips for how to take care of yourself over the festive period.

(Obviously everyone is different - these tips can theoretically apply to anyone, but do what works for you.)

• You-time is important. Take as much of it as you can. You're the only you there is - and we need you to be ok.

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• Perfection is an ideal, not a reality. It's ok for you to go with 'that'll do,' rather than 'that is perfect.'

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• You're human. There's a limit to how much you can do without exhausting yourself. Delegate or say no.

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• You need fuel in the tank. Regular meals are important. Regular sleep is important. Stay hydrated. If there's no fuel in the tank than you can't get this show on the road.

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• Put basic effort into your appearance. I don't mean be vain. I don't mean beat yourself up about how you look. I literally mean do things like brush your teeth and your hair; wash your face. Shower or bath regularly. It's good hygiene if nothing else.

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• Make an emergency self-care plan. This can be something physical like (just as an example) a box where you keep scented candles, chocolate, spa-style skin treatments, and your favourite DVD. Or it can be something you tell yourself, like 'I'm ok, I'm doing fine.' Or something you do to unwind - read, watch reality TV, make a cup of tea or coffee (although, be careful if your mood is easily affected by caffeine.)

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• Don't be so hard on yourself. This is a vital one. We're our own harshest critics. So give yourself a break.

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• Log off. Look, technology is great - but humans designed it, we weren't designed for it. Have a time in the day when you're not looking at a screen, and limit how much scrolling through social media feeds you do.

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• Limit the booze. Look, I'm no prude. Unless you have a legal reason or medical reason not to (and yes, that includes medications that shouldn't be mixed with alcohol,) then go ahead and have a drink. But remember, it's a depressant - you drink too much, even over a relatively spaced-out period of time, and you're gonna feel pretty sh**ty. And binge-drinking is not good for you, end of.

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So look after yourself guys!

Next week is the last Nerd Church before Christmas.

Like this post? (Of course you did!) Try these:

• Nerd Church - The Importance of Chillaxation
• Nerd Church - Celebrate the Small Stuff
• Colour Me Happy

Friday Fics Fix - Deck the Halls

More Christmas-y themed fanfiction for you!

And... well, I'm FrostIron trash, and I haven't recc'd FrostIron fics in quite a while... so it's FrostIron ;)

(Fangirling note: FrostIron is where Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and Loki have a little something romantical, sexual, or both, going on. It works way more than it should.)

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This is basically fluff - but hell, Christmas needs fluffiness!

And honestly, this fic is worth it for the pyjama-related comments alone.

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So, my dearest nerdlets, as I'm not really in too much of a rambling-on mood, let's get down to it!




This week's fic is:

Merry Christmas! Love, Tony and Loki by ragcat

Enjoy! And I'll be back next week for the last Fics Fix before Christmas!









Like this post? Try these:

• Friday Fics Fix - Tis the Season
• Friday Fics Fix - Let's Do This

Comics Wrap-Up - Setting Fire To The Sky

Graphic Novels

This week, I reviewed Rendez-Vous in Phoenix by Tony Sandoval (UK - USA ) a generally great graphic novel about a young man crossing the border into America.

There are some issues with the representation of black people, which I went into further in my review, but overall it's a great book.

You can check out my full review here.

Other Stuff

I read a fairly damn cool ghost-based webcomic called 'The Auntie' by Alyssa Wong and Wendy Xu.

You too can read it - FOR FREE - on Tor's website.

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Over on Women Write About Comics, Sergio Alexis wrote an awesome post about queer rep.

Alexis, quite rightly, points out that The Big Two (Marvel and DC to those who don't speak hard-core nerd,) are cr*p at selling queer comics, but that queer comics do sell elsewhere.

It's a really interesting piece, so give it a glance :)

Like this post? Give these a try:

• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) Rendez-Vous in Phoenix by Tony Sandoval
• Friday Fics Fix - Tis The Season
• Comics Wrap-up - Lego Time!

Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) Rendez-Vous in Phoenix by Tony Sandoval

Title: Rendez-Vous in Phoenix

Author: Tony Sandoval

Genre: Graphic Novels, Autobiography, Non-Fiction, Contemporary

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

This looked... intriguing.

And after making my list of graphic novels with Latinx characters, I became aware of just how few of them there are - particularly in terms of #ownvoices graphic novels available in English.

Premise:

Tony's girlfriend is in America. Tony is in Mexico, and can't get a visa. So he decides to do what so many others do, and cross the border illegally.

This graphic novel is based on the creator's true story of crossing the border for love.

Best bits:

Even though this is so short (it's only about 80 pages in all,) the voice is so strong, unique, and authentic, that you will feel thoroughly satisfied by the end.

I love finding new and different voices in graphic novels - and this was so strong!

There's a definite confidence to this - maybe it comes from telling your own story - and that shines through.

It took a little time to get used to the artwork but I really warmed to it after a while.

It's certainly distinct - but with the hint of an air of Belleville Rendez-Vous that maybe comes from the author currently living and working in France, but without the slightly unnerving edge that I've always found that film to have.

This little book is, above all, a love story - a story about humans and love and hope and happiness. And that's beautiful.

Not so great bits:

The art style does take some getting used to it - but as I said in the previous section, I warmed to it.

There's a bunch of swearing and some racial slurs directed at Tony, as well as references to the harrowing journeys of some of the other migrants which may upset some.

My main problem with this book, though, was with the black people, when they featured, being portrayed mainly negatively - as leering criminals lurking in the shadows, for example.

I know that this book is based on personal experience, but I still think that the rep., and the images, could've been tempered - at least a little.

That note did sour things a bit.

Verdict:

In the end, though not perfect, this is a book about hope and love; it's about looking for something better, reaching for the stars; it's about people.

And that's pretty damned awesome.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• Graphic Novels With Latinx Main Character/s
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Month in Review(s) - November 2016

November; the month in which the USA decided to make the UK's stupid political choices look relatively intelligent in comparison.

All we did was leave the EU... maybe... with no real plans, and a strong sense that nobody WAS LISTENING TO THE INFO ABOUT WHAT THE F**K THEY WERE VOTING FOR.

America decided to go bigger, and elected Trump. *sighs*

Still, we are so, so, so sorry America. We did let Farage faff around your country spreading his toady hatred by campaigning for Trump.

He's now wrecked two countries and potentially the whole world - maybe we shouldn't have given that man a passport.






But, my dearest nerdlets - if you're scared, if you're feeling hurt or alone, please understand this: THERE ARE PEOPLE ACROSS THIS ENTIRE PLANET WHO LOVE YOU AND ARE THINKING OF YOU. I promise.

On the personal side of things, my depression hasn't been as bad as it was last month (woo!) so that's got to be a good thing.

And my blog hit over 45k pageviews, followed by over 50k pageviews in the early days of December!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what about the books?

Well my nerdlets, here are the books I reviewed in November:

New Adult

Eyes of Persuasion by Adrienne Monson - Novella, Fantasy, Historical Fiction*, Crime*, Romance (M/F)* (*ish)

Adult

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison - contemporary, magic realism* (*ish)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin - classics (modern,) LGBTQ+ (M/M; M/F)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - LGBTQ+ (M/M; M/F,) Mythology, Historical Fiction*, Mythology*, Magic Realism* (*ish)

Graphic Novels

Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah by Nicolas Ortero - biography, contemporary, magic realism, non-fiction* (*ish)