Top Ten Pop Culture Moments of 2016

It’s December 23, it’s almost Christmas, so let’s do a top ten list! In this list, I will be listing my Top Ten Favourite Pop Culture Moments of the Year! That’s right, moments! There will be spoilers after this point.

1.) Deadpool’s opening credits

This is how all credits should be done. They showcased the tone of the entire movie, and even broke the fourth wall a few times! From Hugh Jackman’s sexiest man of the year cover, the Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern trading card, to bullet holes and blood, these credits showed us exactly what we were going to get over the course of the film. Thankfully, the movie lived up its amazing opening credits!

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjyGL0go60

2.) Jon and Sansa being reunited

These two hadn’t been seen together since the first or second episode of Game of Thrones, and they were the first of the Stark children to be reunited after all the terrible things that befell their family. It was possibly the first truly happy moment the series gave us, and it made everyone tear up with joy.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzHj-LrhwBc

3.) Spider-Man taking Cap’s shield

I could’ve listed so many things from the airport battle, but Spider-Man’s entrance with him taking Cap’s shield and webbing his wrists together was just great.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBANU6ZVFZY

4.) Wonder Woman’s entrance in BvS

There isn’t too much great we can say about BvS, but Wonder Woman’s entrance is one of them. From the electric violin, to Batman and Superman’s shocked looks, the scene showed us how could the movie could’ve been. She was in the movie for far too short of a time, but what a time.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgPtAKTfq8

5.) Samurai ATOM

Ray Palmer’s ATOM suit, with a samurai helm, on horseback. Thank you season two of Legends of Tomorrow.

6.) Ghost Rider’s reveal

This season of Agents of Shield brought it, and brought it hard. We got LMDs, Coulsen back in the field, and Daisy going full superhero. On top of that, we got Ghost Rider, flaming skull and all. Doctor Strange brought magic and idea of other realms into the MCU, Agents of Shield brought in hell and demons all wrapped up in a glorious burning chain.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpW6XVe8JvM

7 & 8.) Battle of the Bastards and Sansa’s revenge

They’re in the same episode, so I’ll put them together on the list. First off, the battle. It was the largest battle every filmed for television and involved thousands of extras and a month of filming. It is easily on par with, or better than, the massive battles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. On top the of pure scale of things, it’s a deeply emotional and human experience. There are very few things that have left me on the edge of my seat and breathless, this battle did it. And then, at the end of the amazing episode (which also featured dragons destroying a fleet of battleships), Sansa got her revenge on Ramsay Bolton by feeding him to his own dogs that he had starved for days.   

Watch the battle here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsFeIVJfKsA

Watch Sansa’s revenge here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6cVrn4bqdM

9.) Darth Vader takes out entire rebel platoon

So technically this happened in 2015, but the collected edition of the storyline didn’t come out until 2016, so I’m counting it. Basically, in the amazing Star Wars comics that Marvel is doing, Darth Vader gets shot down and the rebels think it’s their best shot at taking him out. At one point he gets surrounded by an entire platoon, and after insulting them (see above), he kills them by detonating their grenades. Damn.

10.) Titanfall 2: Cause and Effect mission

Easily one of the best designed video game levels ever. During the course of the mission you get a new piece of equipment that introduces a new gameplay mechanic: you can jump through time. This allows you to try so many different things over the course of the mission, and is just ridiculously fun!

I’m not posting a link to a video, as they’re all walkthroughs and super long.

Let's f*****g talk swearing

Swearing, in English, is an interesting experience. Our curses range from the religious to bodily functions, and are often used to punctuate statements, or even inserted into the middle—fuck it. We all curse. Even if we avoid the traditional swears and use something like “fudge” or “heck” or “poop”, we all know what word you’re actually saying. My time at a Christian college was one of the most swear-filled times of my life! Of course fuck was replaced with frick or frak or frig, but the word popped up constantly, and was very obvious as to what word it was replacing. We called things “BA” instead of saying “badass”, because it was the actual saying of the word that made it wrong! If we replaced it, it was all good!
What a bunch of morons. Did we honestly believe that replacing the word made it okay, or did we think we were tricking the all-knowing God by using something else?
Idiots.
I am often thankful that my parents are never around me when I play Mario Kart or Halo, as every second word out of my mouth is some variant of “fuck”. My friends find it funny and think that I should stream it, but I don’t see the appeal of watching some guy swear a million times because a flying blue turtle shell came out of nowhere. Part of me believes that my family would think less of me if they ever heard (I know they wouldn’t), but I think that’s just left over shame from the church.
For a time, I was fascinated with British swears. While I was in school I decided that they didn’t count as swears because they were from a different country, so I called everyone “bugger”, and threw “bloody” into every possible sentence. It was bloody bollocks, it was. I blame it all on Ron Weasley. He was a right wanker. A tosser even.
I still use the word “frak” sometimes, but that’s because I like the word and it makes me think of Katee Sackhoff. And thinking of Katee Sackhoff makes me happy. For those who don’t know, Katee played Starbuck in the 2004 BSG series. Which, if you haven’t watched, you really should. It’s frakking awesome.
Just like swearing is for your health (talk about amazing transitions! I’m a professional, trust me)! It helps to release pent up negative emotions, which thereby helps clear the mind, and allows people to think…better. I was going to say “more clearly” but I had just used the word clear and now I’ve just gone and fucked everything up and this is becoming a huge run-fucking-on sentence. Ahem. Swearing releases a kind of endorphin that acts as a pain-killer, which would explain why we always want to swear when we get hurt. In fact, my grade seven English teacher told us the only time it would be appropriate to swear in glass was if we got hurt. If we got actually hurt/injured we had full permission to drop the old f-bomb. Unfortunately, it is rather easy to stay uninjured in a grade 7 English class, so the school hallways never rang with approved fucks, only the unapproved. Take that however you want.
Swearing, like everything, has a time and place. Swearing in front of little kids just isn’t cool. Same as swearing in front of grandparents—unless it’s a family thing. And swearing every second word should be strictly left to Mario Kart.
Also, don’t call your boss a fucking dickweed unless that’s how your office operates, but really confirm that information first if you’re the new person.

The changing thoughts of Canada

I haven’t written about anything important for a while; sure, I’ve mentioned my opinions, but those don’t count. Today will be different.

                I have seen a fundamental shift in the paradigm of Canadian thought over the past few months. Or at least a changing of the prevalent thoughts. Since Trump began his campaign of xenophobia and ignorance, many here in Canada began to parrot his ideals. Hate crimes became more common, and racist thoughts became vocalized. A person running for head of the federal Conservatives is even trying to mirror Trump’s campaign. We, the strong North true and free, watched a megalomaniac come to power and decided that he had some good ideas.

                We, a nation that is still trying to earn back the trust and respect of the First Nations people, decided that now would be a good time to turn our backs on others simply because of their skin and beliefs. My feeds on social media are constantly assaulted by people who believe in this. People who are not willing to label themselves as racist because they know intrinsically that racism is bad, yet they still hold on to the tenets of it. Simply put, if you rail against people because of their religion or skin colour, you are a racist. There is no other word. You can call yourself the Alt-Right in a vain attempt at rebranding, but deep down everyone knows alt-right is just a way of saying Nazi without the historical baggage.

                We are a nation that fought, bled, and died to stop the original Nazis. We fought to stop the people purporting genetic purity and race classism, and now our closest neighbour and ally has elected one to lead its country. And we as a nation are thinking maybe that’s a good thing.

                This past year I have been called a white traitor and a traitor to Canada by my fellow Canadians. I have been spat on by people I once respected, all for saying that we should allow refugees into Canada. I was mocked by Christians I attended school with for saying that I am a feminist, and sent death threats for having the audacity to come out of the closet. I have straight friends who still use the word “fag”, and every time they say it, all I can think of were the times I was told to “go kill [myself], fag” or that someone was going to kill me for being a “fucking fag”. They’ll never understand how much it hurts to hear them say something that I associate with hate and death. Unfortunately, I believe that hate speak will be on the uptick the next couple of years as the racists and the ignorant feel more and more validated. People like this already believe that they are right and that they speak for us, and the more they believe that, the truer it will become. Hate is always louder than love. Love is the quiet actions in the night, whereas hate is the fire that burns bright.

                We are being surrounded by those flames, not yet engulfed, but surrounded all the same. The flames, for now, are stretched thin in their efforts to surround, and if we act now we can snuff out those flames before they become a bonfire.

                I use the term we in this because we are a country united. The thoughts of neighbours reflect upon us to the world, and if my use of the word we upsets you, stand up and act so that the world knows that we disagree. Stand up and act so the world knows that we are still Canada.

                We are better than this. We are better than the hate and racism that is spewing from our gutters.   

masking and making

words struck through
lines erased
lies disguised as truths
what words mask
what words make
the same? no
different? no
neither, nor, no
masking the real
making the truth
feelings and thoughts disguised as words.

Have a sexy saturnalia!

                The holidays are right around the corner, so I’m want to talk about them. Now, I say holidays because there are several celebrations throughout the month of December—that’s right, more than just Christmas! Now, Christmas is the one that I celebrate, so I do say Merry Christmas to people, and they say it back to me. However, if I know someone does not celebrate Christmas I don’t make a big deal out of it. If they want to wish me a Happy Holiday, that’s fine. I wish them one right back!

                A lot of people seem to think that there’s a “war” on Christmas these days, and that’s pretty stupid. Just because someone calls this time of year the holidays doesn’t mean that there’s a war on Christmas! That just sounds ridiculous. The Jewish people don’t go around saying that there’s a war on Hanukkah—although if there is a war against a religious celebration in North America during December, that would be the one. People are becoming more open to other people’s ideas and beliefs, and because of that we are becoming more respectful of those beliefs. Saying “Happy Holidays” does not negate Christmas, it’s simply acknowledging it and all the other celebrations. Never mind the fact that Christmas stole the day, and traditions, from a pagan festival, and that Jesus was most likely born in the spring; maybe we should be wishing people a… savvy saturnalia? Sexy saturnalia? I don’t know how the Romans greeted people on that day, but my moneys on sexy saturnalia.

                Christmas, for Christians and everyone else who celebrates it, is a time of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Part of that acceptance includes accepting other people’s beliefs, and not forcing your own onto them. Jesus taught through love, not force.

                So this year, instead of getting out of sorts when someone says “happy holidays”, just smile and wish them a sexy saturnalia.

                After all, it was Saturn’s, the father of Jupiter, party first. 

Clearing up

I have a problem with writing things that I think may offend my friends and family. I hold back sometimes for that exact reason. I really shouldn’t. If my views and ideas are offensive to them, that’s not my problem! I should be speaking my mind! However, I need these people to read what I’m writing because as of right now they’re a large percentage of my readership. So am I restraining myself to offend their delicate sensibilities, or am I doing it to not lose readers?
I suppose I just have to ask myself what really matters: being true to myself and my views, or maintaining readership. It’s a scary question, especially since both options involve a sacrifice. But since I’m talking about this, lets clear up some of my stances with the internet’s favourite kind of article: a list!
1.) Donald J. Trump
He’s a fuckwit. And he’s terrifying. The possible implications of his love-affair with Russia and Putin are horrifying. His admiration for dictators is worrying. And all of this is without mention his racist and fear driven platform that won him the American election! Honestly, if you think Trump is a suitable President, just get out of my life. I don’t care who you are, because your support of him shows me that you don’t care about me or anyone else that is “different”. And in this case, as with most, different means not straight and white. I’ve already said that any Christians who voted for Trump have lost sight of Christ, but I’ll go a step farther: anyone who voted for him, knowing his platform, is a bad person.
2.) Syrian Refugees
Good people, we should be taking more in. They’re running away from hate and violence, we should be welcoming them with open arms and open homes. Anyone who disagrees with that has forgotten what being Canadian means. As with Trump, if you disagree, just leave my life.
3.) Kayne West
I’ll admit that he is a talented rapper and artist, but he’s also kind of a dick. However, I wish him all the best as he’s going through this difficult time. I’m not a monster.
4.) Pipelines in general
The environmental side-effects are a big enough reason to not build them. I understand what benefit they would have for the economy, but if the cost is the environment, is the economy worth it? No, no it is not. Our environment is wrecked enough right now without us adding to the problems. I’m honestly scared for our planet right now.
5.) Justin Trudeau
I voted for him, and I would again. Has he made a few decisions I don’t agree with? Yeah, but he’s still a decent human being who wants Canada to become a truly equal country, and the beacon of hope that it used to be. He’s the best option we have right now, and he’s actually a good option.
6.) Brad Wall
He’s been in power for too long and it’s gone to his head. At one time he was a good leader, but now he thinks he knows what’s best for the entire country, and constantly forgets that he’s the premier of one of the smallest provinces in Canada. Plus, he was against bringing refugees into the province unless they went through more rounds of vetting because the UN and Canada weren’t being thorough enough. And he was excited about Trump becoming President. And he got into a twitter fight with A&W. Seriously Brad, maybe take a sabbatical.
7.) Hockey
Meh, it’s alright when you’re actually at a game with some friends, but watching it on TV (outside of Olympics hockey) is kind of a waste.
8.) Religion
Everyone should be free to practice whatever religion they want without fear, but a religion that preaches discrimination should be re-evaluated. That being said, a lot of my “Christian” friends are some of the most hateful people I know. Oh sure, they’ll open their hearts and homes to other Christians but heaven forbid they do that for other people without being preachy. Honestly, Christians, us queer folk are here to stay no matter how much you pray the gay away, so just stop.
9.) Abortion
It’s her body, she should have control over it. Pro-choice all the way. If we take away the right for women to decide this, where does it stop? It stops with women becoming property again.
10.) Gender
Biological sex and gender are different things. Being as I personally am a “different” gender, it should be no surprise that I fully support people’s gender identities. History is also on my side with many cultures having more than two genders. Sorry reddit.
11.) Clickbait
Hate that I sometimes have to find out what the scientists/random dude found.
12.) Star Wars
Fun, shallow sci-fi that drowns when you compare it to hard sci-fi. It’s better to call it fantasy and then not compare it to other fantasies.
13.) Marijuana
It should be legal. Tobacco and alcohol are, why not pot?

Well, there ya go. Some of my distilled thoughts on various topics.

The new nuclear family

The family is a primordial idea. Wild animals recognize the importance of family groups or packs. With a family, the animals survive; without they perish. In human culture, family has generally been limited to those with whom one shares blood. However, as mankind’s capacity to be horrible to one another knows no bounds, oft-times blood relations can be abusive. Times have changed, and with them so has the concept of family. To my generation, the oft-mocked and belittled millennials, family means a lot more than mere blood relations. To us, people earn the right to be family; it’s not a matter of blood, it’s a matter of shared trust. Maybe it was the pop culture we were raised on, maybe it’s the more accepting and open culture that we are promoting, or maybe it’s just a growing cultural awareness. Whatever the cause, the modern idea of a family is much different than it was in the past.  

To many millennials, family are the people who have your back. They’re the people who are there when one needs them, even if it’s 3 in the morning. Because of this many consider their closest friends to be family, and not just friends. With the advent of instant messaging, we’re able to be constantly in contact with anyone, which allows us to form tighter bonds with people outside of our genetic family. Which is good. Family is evolving along with society. This evolution of family is particularly important for queer people! Not all genetic families are supportive or understanding, and this evolution allows queer people to surround themselves with a family that loves and supports them. 

That’s what defines a real family: love and support. Blood and genetics do not define family. If I limited my family to the genetic relations that love and support me, my family could be counted on a single hand. Fortunately for me, I’ve not done that since I was a teenager. Today my family spans the globe and can be counted on two hands! I honestly don’t know where I would be today without my family, and I don’t know who I would be if I had limited my family to genetics.   

Like most 90s kids, I grew up with a pop culture that highlighted atypical familial units: single parents, adopted families, children being raised by their aunts and uncles. As we aged, the pop culture we consumed changed, but the idea of an atypical family stayed. We began to explore new mediums and new cultures, and our minds grew. We saw and read stories about groups of misfits coming together to form families, we bonded over message boards and fan theories, we encouraged each other behind our keyboards and we evolved the concept of family into something that fit into the burgeoning digital world we were creating.  

A list of happy things from 2016

I was going to write out my thoughts on Luke Cage (it’s amazing), but I’m not qualified to really get into it. I can’t discuss how accurate or inaccurate it is to the modern Black American experience—I know nothing about that, I’m white. Instead, I will just say this: it is an amazing show with terrific actors and phenomenal writing. And the soundtrack is well-worth multiple listens.
The world is a complicated place right now, and it is hard to focus on the good in the world right now. That’s what this post is going to do though. We’re gonna look back at 2016, and I’m going to list (kinda) the things that made me happy this year.
- Deadpool: might as well start with the low hanging fruit since it’s just dangling there anyways, flaccid in the wind.
- Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Finally, a comic’s accurate Spider-Man played by a teenager, who is sarcastic, actually poor, and has an aunt who looks like a normal aunt and not a great-grandmother.
- Bucky and Falcon’s banter: “Can you move the seat?” “No.” Classic.
- Ant-Man’s reaction to seeing Steve Rogers
- Basically all of Civil War
- Wonder Woman and her electric violin intro: by far the best thing DC has put out all year in the film department. I mean, the way she smiles before she jumps into the fray? Amazing. And the only time someone smiles in that movie.
- Saskatoon Pride 2016: just an all-around great time with some great people.
- Getting back into the Pokémon TCG: I’m a nerd, yeah. Get over it.
- Star Trek’s 50th anniversary: Always nice to see loved ones survive the test of time.
- Star Trek Beyond: A return to form for the Star Trek franchise that included using science to defeat the enemy instead of phasers.
- Starting a hilarious and amazing DnD campaign with some great people (plus Hudson): seriously, it’s kind of hilarious. My character had a fling with a bear.
- Luke Cage: I already talked about this, why would I say more?
- Mending relationships with old friends (one in particular)
- Thanksgiving at the sister’s: it was great. Plus we beaked her one friend so hard and she never picked up on our sarcasm.
- Partying with a bunch of directors at a small after party: great times, but man can they drink.
- Hitting one hundred vlogs and getting all the nice letters people sent: Seriously, that was awesome.
- Summertime swimming: nothing is better than Canadian summers spent at a beach.
- Starting a new job: new adventures are always fun. And other clichés. But seriously, I’m enjoying it.
- New Harry Potter: From the screenplay of The Cursed Child to the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it’s been a good year for the Potter-verse.
- Joe Biden memes: while not new to this year, they become more relevant.
- Expanding my musical horizons: to include actual musicals. And more varied hip-hop.
- Reading The Expanse series: finding and falling in love with new science fiction is always a good thing.
- Preacher: more Dominic Cooper is never a bad thing.
- Season 2 of Supergirl: SUPERMAN SMILED AND WAS NICE TO PEOPLE. Don’t tell Zak Synder.
- Jason Momoa’s Instagram.
- The Rock’s Instagram.
- My Instagram.
- Spending time with loved ones.
- Writing pieces that resonated with people and made a difference.
- Being able to make positive changes in people’s lives
- -Being Canadian: That makes me happy every year, but with everything that happened south of the border this year, I was especially happy about that fact this year.
- Coming out about my gender.
- Being honest about mental health.
- The sun.
- Hanging out with the puppers, and going camping with her.
- And a bunch more probably.
2016 was a rough year, but there has been good stuff too. Tell me what made you happy in the comments!  

Love in the face of darkness

There is a lot of turmoil in the world right now. A lot of people are eagerly waiting for 2016 to end, after it has brought us tragedy after tragedy. And yeah, it has been a pretty rough year with the constant celebrity deaths, Brexit, Trump, DAPL, and everything else. There a lot of angry and hurt people right now, and I can’t blame them. I’m angry and hurt too. Every time I read the news I find something else that upsets me. Here in Canada, I can pretend to be apart from all the problems, I can easily bury my head in the sand and say that these global issues won’t affect me.
      I know it’s a lie, but it is a nice lie.
     The truth isn’t as nice. The truth is hard and heavy. All these events have global ramifications. And we all have the responsibility to admit that and understand that. To the South we have a rebirth of fascism and a resurgence of racism. To the East we have one of the oldest powers in the world slowly crumbling under the weight of its own failings. Just passed that, we have Russia casually sticking their fingers into multiple pots, watching the reactions and waiting. The Middle East is continuing to be the battleground it’s been for generations, and North Korea has upped their blustering.
       We can try and pretend that things are not as bad as they seem, but that would be a lie. Things are bad—no, they’re terrifying when one actually thinks about it. There’s a president-elect who has been officially endorsed by the KKK and the Kremlin. The American police are brutishly attacking peaceful and legal protestors—including one young woman who may be facing amputation from the police’s “non-lethal” methods. When we live in a world where protestors can lose limbs from the police’s non-lethal methods, we really need to reconsider…well, everything.
          Our ancestors fought for our freedoms and against tyranny in two brutal world wars. They sacrificed everything so we wouldn’t have to deal with a dictator taking away our freedoms, and we have repaid them by democratically electing a person who idolizes dictators and ran on a platform of hate. We owe it to everyone who fought and died in the world wars to stand up right now. We owe it to them to stop all of this before it escalates any farther. They fought and died so that everyone would have peace and freedom. They fought to liberate the Jewish people, and now their progeny want to get rid of the Jewish people. We have unprecedented numbers of people openly calling for white supremacy, and many of these people are so-called Christians who have apparently forgotten everything Jesus ever said.
        The point of this is not to depress or anger, although I can easily see how it could do both. We need to stand together. History has shown that we can defeat Nazis through force, let us show future generations that we can defeat them through unity and love. We as a people are better than this, we know our history and we should not be repeating it. We need to stand together against hate. We need to show the Neo-Nazis taking over America that their ideals are not the ideals the modern world has been built upon. We need to stand together and show Russia that bullying isn’t something that we will tolerate. Together we can prevail against the darkness invading our societies. Together we can show that love and acceptance is the proper way to go.
       There has been a lot of bad this year so much that it seemingly overshadows the good, and it is okay to feel that way. So much has happened this year that it can be hard to keep track. Dozens of major terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East. The Pulse shooting. Natural disasters. Ebola. Zika. The deaths of so many influential people. Suicides in Northern Canadian communities. Things seem so dark right now, and a lot of people are saying this is the worst single year in history. Honestly, I’d almost be inclined to agree with them.
        There has been good this year as well though! There have been countless medical breakthroughs! Endangered species have seen population growth! Worldwide crime has dropped, even if that’s hard to believe. Disparate groups have banded together to stand against ISIS. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to support Black Lives Matter. This year, hidden by the thicket of bad, we have shown solidarity. In the dark, we have stood together to shine our lights.
        Together we can bring down the darkness. The fight will not be easy, and it will not be over quick. Things are bad, and they may be bad for a while yet, but as long as we stand together in love and unity we can prevail.
       To the Christians reading this, Jesus taught that when struck on one cheek to turn the other one towards the striker. He leaves what to do next vague, but remember what happened when he found the vendors in the temple: he chased them out. All these Neo-Nazis and Fascists are vendors infringing on the temple trying to corrupt the holy. Chase them out, and stand with all your brothers and sisters: the Muslims, the Jewish people, the queer community, the Black community, the Latin community, the Asian community, the disabled community, and everyone else that has been hurt by hate this year. “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Too many forget what Jesus considered to be the second most important commandment. It’s time to remember.
       To those of other religions reading this, stay strong and stand together.
       To the atheists reading this, remember to practice love and acceptance to all.
      We will win. Love will trump hate. Love and peace to you all.

blocked words

When words fail, we blame writer’s block. For those who do not write, the idea can seem either ridiculous or irritating. It is neither of those things. Writer’s block is a huge, nigh insurmountable mountain that can appear without warning leaving the writer dazed, confused, and frustrated. Hours can be spent pounding around the keyboard attempting to find a pass of any size through this damnable mountain, only to have an avalanche come crashing down upon the writer’s head. Now, instead of just a picturesque mountain, the writer has a suffocating and chilling mass pressing down upon them, slowly killing what hope they had left.
Damn.
There are times when the writer is left for days in this situation, barely clinging to life, before remembering that they have a match, a shovel, a staff of igniting, something! that can get them out from under the crushing snows. Slowly, resolutely, the writer pulls themselves out of the crushing snow, and, if they are lucky, they find that the snows have pushed them to the entrance of a winding mountain pass. This pass is full of twists and turns, and oft-times will have the writer backtracking to find some obscured turn that they missed, but eventually the pass will show them clear. The writer, exhausted but exhilarated, triumphant, will begin to write with a renewed passion and dedication! The path clear in front of them.
Until the next moment of writer’s block.

blank pages

Here I sit
staring at a wall of white
words dammed up
soul damned up
thoughts like a river coursing
-once
now dwindling trickling stopped
blank whiteness searing in
taunting my hand
cursing my mind
words a well fresh water
-poison
so here I sit
words bottled up so long
they’ve become rotten
lost the way
maybe lost the say
ink stains the paper
-yet it does not create

On the Election

I have friends who still believe that both candidates in the American election were bad choices. I have friends who believe that the reactions would’ve been the same no matter what. Worse still, I have friends who believe the right person won.

All of those friends are wrong. At best they are woefully ignorant of the situation, and at worst they are xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic imbeciles. Being as these people are friends, I truly wish that I could believe the best of them, unfortunately I can’t do that. They live in this world, they have the responsibility to open their eyes and see what is going on around them. The fact that they choose not to is a point against them.

Donald Trump is a bad man. It’s a simple statement. He’s a failure. He’s a thief who takes from charities. He’s a bully who mocks disabled people. He doesn’t care about the military and calls POWs losers. He’s an abuser in every sense who believes that women are things for him to take and enjoy. By now most people have heard the “grab em by the pussy” tape, and yet somehow this cretin got elected. He threatened to have his opponent assassinated, and said that if he lost he would not accept the results. He called Mexicans rapists and Muslims terrorists. He claimed that Black people lived in war-torn hellholes. On the day of the worst mass shooting in US history he tweeted out “I told you so”.

But he has been elected. Even though he’s going to trial for rape and fraud in the next couple weeks. He was officially endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. Every living president was against him. But he has been elected.

I watched the polls coming in with my heart breaking. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. People were voting for a man who bragged about abusing women. People were voting for a man who is openly racist. I went to bed in disbelief, and that morning I wept as I read people’s reactions to the election.

I wept as I read about Muslim families deciding that they couldn’t wear their hijabs in public anymore, I wept as their Imams told them it was okay to not wear them and that Allah would understand. I wept as my family in the LGBT community were too frightened to leave their homes, and I wept as people told them their few rights would be taken away from them. I wept at the videos of white males running up to black people, calling them n*****s and that they’d be sent back to their own country soon enough, I wept as white men threatened to murder black people on the street. I stared incredulously at swastikas spray painted on businesses run by people of colour. After a while I ran out of tears and just became empty.

Teachers began to share what they had to tell their students, many of those students minorities. The stories were heartbreaking, but none more than the kindergarten teacher who was asked if they [black people] were going to become slaves again with Trump elected. A five year old was worried about slavery in 2016 in a country that prides itself on freedom.

Don’t get me wrong, America has a lot of freedom for the straight, white Christians. Everyone else should just be happy that they get to live in the same country.

I had a friend who claimed that people would’ve been upset either way. And, yeah, people would’ve been upset if Hillary had won. But people wouldn’t be scared. Five year olds wouldn’t be worried about slavery. LGBT people wouldn’t be worried about having their marriages annulled. Women wouldn’t be worried about going to prison over abortions.

I have spent the last two days worrying about my loved ones in the States, all the while hearing from straight white people about how things were going to be okay and that people were overreacting. The thing is, history is cyclical. We often repeat the mistakes of past generations. Germany was warning Americans this whole time about Trump because he was saying things that sounded a lot like someone from their history. A certain man who believed that other races were inferior. A certain man who ran on a racist platform that led to one of the worst wars in human history. A certain man who committed genocide. History repeats, but it doesn’t necessarily repeat in the same place. Trump is a man who openly admired Adolf Hitler, and kept a copy of Hitler’s speeches at his bedside.

Maybe nothing bad will come of this—other than all the bad that’s happened in the past two days. Maybe Trump will be a good president. I’m sure the people of Germany, Russia, China, Cuba, Italy, North Korea, and many more thought something similar.  

A list of Sci-Fi!

                I’ve been having difficulties with writing lately. I just can’t get my thoughts to coalesce, let alone get them on paper. With that in mind, today’s post will be another list! You all like the lists, right? In light of President Obama releasing his favourite science fiction movies, I will be doing something similar! If you’re going to copy someone, why not Obama (a sentiment sadly not shared by many)? A slight twist, I will be listing my favourite genre films and television series! I’m saying genre so I can list some fantasy and stuff instead of just science fiction.  As usual, this list will be in no particular order, and for a change the list will counting up from one! WHAT?! Okay, it’s not that exciting. I just—never mind, on with the list!

1. Star Trek: First Contact

The first of a “few” Star Trek entries that will be on this list; First Contact has long been my favourite Star Trek film. When I was younger I appreciated it for the action scenes and space combat, but as I aged I began to appreciate and understand the moral complexities that were at the heart of it. From Picard coming to accept and overcome his unrelenting hate of the Borg, to Data accepting that he didn’t need to become human to be perfect. The film is possibly the darkest Star Trek film, reaching Deep Space Nine levels of moral questions and ambiguity. And the acting! Patrick Stewart was in top form playing the emotionally haunted and damaged Jean-Luc, with Alfre Woodard playing the perfect foil and moral centre. Plus the film was the debut of the Enterprise-E, one of the most gorgeous ships in Star Trek history.

2. Children of Men

Alfonso Cuaron is an amazing filmmaker. His films are filled with beautiful visuals, and amazing talent. Children of Men is no exception. The film features a dystopian future where the youngest person on the planet is celebrating his 18^th birthday—in case that went over your heard, no one has been born for 18 years. The tension is tight, and the film does not let you go. If you’re looking for a smart sci-fi that makes you question basically everything, give this a watch. I honestly don’t want to go into the plot so I don’t ruin anything. Clive Owen shines in his role, and Michael Caine plays a cynical hippie, what more do you need?

3. Captain America: Winter Soldier:

I’m picking this Marvel movie over some others simply because its themes are the most relevant and plausible in today’s world. A shadowy government agency that is spying on everyone and recording their every move? An agency that is judging people’s future actions based off an algorithm? The lines between fiction and real-life got real blurry in this movie. When the real-life actions of the NSA, CIA, CSIS, C-SEC, and other agencies are being used as the inspiration for an illegal and immoral group, you know things have gotten bad. Plus that fight scene in the elevator. It was beautiful.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy:

Marvel’s beautiful space opera, and most blatant sci-fi film is easily one of my favourite movies of all time. I watched it five times in theatres. I never watch movies more than once in a theatre, but I couldn’t stop watching Guardians. The film had me, and most of the audience, in tears within the first couple minutes, and then a few other times throughout the film. I still tear up at “We are Groot”, and I can basically recite the film. The CGI is beautiful. The aliens look amazing. The action is phenomenal. Chris Pratt takes his shirt off. The bad guy is defeated by the power of friendship and a dance-off! Seriously, this is the greatest movie of all time. It’s the G-MOAT. I’m so gonna watch it this weekend now. Not only is the film outstanding, the soundtrack is out of this world (I had to. I had to say it.).

5. Orphan Black

Remember, I said films and TV shows! The first thing you need to know about Orphan Black is this: Tatiana Maslany is the most talented person to ever grace a television series. And that’s not just my opinion; it’s the opinion of everyone who knows anything about the industry. The series follows Sarah as she discovers she is part of a large conspiracy involving clones. Which she plays all of. There are episodes where she plays 6+ vastly different characters. Characters with different accents, mannerisms, ways of speaking, gaits, languages, EVERYTHING. Outside of Tatiana’s stellar acting is the story. The story is deep and complex, and leaves the watchers asking questions.

6. Battlestar Galactica (2004):

A lot of people were confused when, then, SciFi decided to reboot the gloriously goofy 70s sci-fi series. It was an odd choice. Sure, it had grown to have a large cult fanbase, but it didn’t seem like a good fit for a reboot. Well it was. During its four seasons it was consistently considered by critics to be the best written show on television. The series explored morality, ethics, robotics, genocide, warfare, PTSD, slave labour, and survival. The show was constantly asking its viewers how far the human race would go for survival—and the answer was usually something we didn’t want to admit. To this day, Battlestar Galactica stands out as an example of what a well executed television series can do. Even if the finale left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.

7. Firefly/Serenity:

I can’t have a list like this and not mention Firefly and Serenity, it’s just too shiny. Plus, one of my all time favourite quotes comes from it: “When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl - when you can't do that... You find someone to carry you.”

8. Star Trek Deep Space Nine:

“And if I had to do it all over again - I would. Garak was right about one thing: a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant.” DS9 did something that no other Trek had done: it went dark. It explored the grey areas of the human psyche, it explored the affects an occupation had on a people, and it explored racism in a way that was, at times, uncomfortably real. It wasn’t the shiny future of The Original Series or The Next Generation; it was a Star Trek that was real and grounded. It portrayed a humanity that had fixed everything on Earth by projecting all of the bad into space. It was groundbreaking for its time. The themes that it explored were ones that most shows wouldn’t begin to explore until a decade after DS9 was off the air. Its portrayals of PTSD are some of the best that have ever been put on film.

“What I want to know is, out of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren't?”

“My dear doctor...they're all true.”

“Even the lies?”

“Especially the lies.”

9. Arrow

Arrow kicked off the golden age of superhero television. Smallville was over and all but forgotten, and the crime procedural was king. The only genre shows were on cable. Then along came Arrow. Arrow proved that superheroes being superheroes could work and thrive on television. Not only that, Arrow sparked a whole universe of spin-offs: The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Even NBC’s short-lived Constantine was brought into the fold with crossovers and mentions.

10. Star Trek (2009)

The introduction of the Kelvin Timeline revitalized the franchise, and brought Star Trek back into the public eye. The recasting of the iconic Original Series characters was pitch perfect, and helped ease a lot of worried fans. For many (me) seeing the Enterprise up on the big screen again was a religious experience. One that sent chills down my spine and stayed with me for weeks afterwards. The Kelvin timeline has had a couple missteps, but it has allowed Star Trek to come back to life in a huge way. 

Another thing on #NationalComingOutDay

                I’ve come to the realization that I, a writer, have never actually put to words my coming out. I’ve spoken about in videos, and I have mentioned my sexuality in other posts and articles, but I have never actually written down my coming out. Since it is #NationalComingOutDay, and my pumpkin spice latte is empty, I thought that today would be a good day to do so.

                I am asexual, and my journey towards that discovery was long. I won’t bore you with that journey as this is the story of my coming out, and not of my entire life. I discovered asexuality through tumblr, also known as the modern encyclopedia, and I immediately felt a connection to the term. I dismissed that connection at first and scoffed at the very idea! By the next day I was reading every article I could find on the subject. With each article I read, things made more sense. After a few days of research and reflection, I came out to myself as asexual.

                I didn’t rush out and tell a bunch of people right away. I wanted to understand things first. After a while, I did tell a few close friends just so that I didn’t have to process it all by myself. Around this time of slowly coming out, I began to look at my gender identity as well. Was I male? Was I something else? I never had the opportunity to explore my gender before, and now, with my research into sexualities, I was able to explore the idea of gender. I was learning so much about myself, now that I actually allowed myself to question things!

                I slowly began to tell more people, and soon I was tired of just telling people individually; it was too time consuming. So I did what anyone from my generation would do: I tweeted about it. And posted on Facebook and Instagram.

                Soon I was getting messages of love and support from the friends that didn’t already know. It felt so good. Of course there were people who didn’t understand, but no one was outright rude or mean. I got the expected “so ur a plant lol” from some people, and a few asked me if I thought about what would happen to my “social standing” now that I was out. One person even asked me if my friends were worried that other people would think they were like me.

                Over all, my coming out was smooth. Most of the questions were polite and genuinely curious. Most of the comments were positive and supportive! It could’ve gone a lot worse, and I was scared that it would. But it didn’t. I took my time. I did it in a place where I felt comfortable, and at a time when I felt I was ready.

#NationalComingOutDay

                Today is National Coming Out Day! Which can be a very exciting time for those who come out today! And for those of us who have already, it is a day to celebrate with others. I’ve written before about the amazing freedom that comes with coming out, and I’ve written about the perils as well.

                I didn’t come out on National Coming Out Day, I came out on my own terms and at my own time. I was planning on coming out as non-binary today, but I couldn’t keep that to myself any longer, so I did it at an earlier date. And that’s kinda what I want to talk about. Not me or my coming out, but coming out in general.

                Today could be the day you come out. Maybe the feeling of comradery and solidarity is what you needed to be able to come out. And that’s awesome! But, the main thing you need to be before coming out is ready. This can mean multiple things! It can mean that you know you’ll be safe, that you’re comfortable with telling people, and that you want to do it.

                Never come out because of a day on the calendar. Don’t do it to be part of the hashtag. Do it for yourself. Do it because you’re ready. And do it because you want to. Coming out is possibly the most personal thing you will do, and could even be the most important. So do not rush it. Don’t be pressured into it. Do it for yourself, on your time!

                And don’t come out as an ally. Today isn’t for that. I mean, sure, congrats on being a decent human being who supports equal rights, but don’t use today for that.  

Short thoughts on a deep subject

                Yesterday I wrote an article about my journey of self-discovery over the last two years. It is possibly the most revealing and intimate piece I have ever written. I won’t be sharing it on here until have it is published next month. I sent to several people whom I trust to have them go over it. Usually I edit all my articles myself, or just have my editor do it, but for this one I wanted some extra help. My friends read it, and gave positive reviews. None of them really questioned the content, except for one. I’m pretty sure the one that questioned it was the only one who knew that it was going to be published. Everyone else thought it was just an exercise in release.

                The one friend asked me if I was sure I wanted to put the article out there as it is incredibly personal and heavy. I said yes. She then asked me how I could do that as she didn’t believe she could ever put something like that in the public eye. My response was simple and clichéd: I said that if it helped one person, then it would be worth it.

                In the article I touch on some very heavy subject manner, issues that I have skirted around in this very blog! Recently a friend has been pushing me to be more open and vulnerable, and last week I took her advice and I began to open up more, and it was from this that the article was born.

                One of the other readers asked me if it was hard to write and then send. I said that I wouldn’t have been able to do either a week ago, but that today had been easy.

                Writing this article, to be published, has been daunting, scary, and incredibly freeing. The weights fell from my shoulders as I typed, and I felt better than I had in a long while. 

The Fabled One

In the event of my untimely (and unlikely) demise, please consider this note my last will and testament. I have lived a good life, and I wish my belongings, in their entirety, to be bequeathed to the sea. The sea has been the only one who has truly understood me all these long years. Yours in death, Beyonicus.
I carefully set the note in the centre of my rough hewn table, so that it could be easily found in the event of my death. I looked around my dwelling (I hesitate to call it my home as I had only been in it for a week), and smiled at my collection of antiquities and rarities. The massive (and valuable) collection was one of the main perks of my occupation. One of the downsides was the frequent possibility of death.
You win some, you lose some.
You see, for I, Beyonicus, was the fabled treasure/bounty (I diversified my brand at the start) hunter: Beyonicus the Bold. It was my noble duty to go out and find lost treasures, and “lost” people. To say I was good would be a cruel understatement.  To say I was the best that ever walked the gods green Earth would be accurate. There was a reason I was not called Beyonicus the Humble.
When one is as famous as I, subtlety is not something one needs, and both my armour and my arms represented that. Great swirls of gold emblazoned my breastplate, and the hilt of my brightly burnished sword was bedecked with jewels. On top of all that, my cloak was a deep violet, a colour usually reserved for royalty, and made of the finest silks. How fine? I bred the worms myself, and I fed them by hand. After a short time arranging my flowing, golden locks, I was ready to depart on my latest adventure: a quest to find the lost treasures of Dracon.
The treasures were said to be guarded by the most fearsome Orcish tribes in all the realms—a tribe so fearsome that the other Orcs had all but denied their very existence. The tribe is said to consist solely of male warriors in their twenties, and their language is almost unrecognizable as Orchish. The rumours also state that they are almost constantly drunk.
As I left my dwelling I was accosted by Benji, the town’s “greatest” warrior. I say “greatest” because his abilities are a truffle compared to my one. Truffle, like a pig finds them in the dirt. It was funny, I, Beyonicus the Bold, am also funny. He apparently bested some “Champions” from the neighbouring towns, or something.
“Hey, I heard you were leaving off on another quest. Thought you might be interested in team-up? The town’s two greatest warriors off on a badass road trip?” Honestly, even his voice was beneath my own.
“Listen, Benji is it?” My voice was melodic in its lie, of course I knew the fool’s name. “I’m really more of one person adventuring group. I just find that other people, I call them ordinaries, like yourself just get in my way. Ya feel?” Confident that I was finished with this inane conversation, I started down the road.
“They call you Beyonicus the Bold. They should’ve named you Beyonicus the Dolt. A real man would accept my help.” Benji said to my back.
I paused. No one had called me a man in years. Most people knew better. A million thoughts rang through my head at once. Part of my wanted to answer with my blade, but I just cleaned it, and getting all the blood out of the ornamentation was a hassle. I spoke instead, “I have fought my entire life to be known for the person that I am, and not as the person I look like. I have made my reputation large enough to shadow the doubts and the hate that comes my way,” I turned to him now, “I will not be called a man by a person like you. You, a person who came to me asking a favour. I will do nothing for you. You look at me, but you do not see me. You claim to know me, but you can’t even see the legend around me. I am Beyonicus the Bold, not because of the things I do, but because of who I am.” With that, I left.
 Dear reader, you may feel that the last conversation was a departure in tone from the rest, but it was not. Stories reflect life, and, like life, moods and tones change from moment to moment.
I left the village on horseback after I liberated my valiant steed Richard from the stables. As the wind whipped through my glorious locks, I put my encounter with Benji out of my mind. With a youth like mine, one soon grew used to sad, pathetic people such as him. I had three days of travel before me, and I wanted to make the best of it, so I began to sing. As you should expect, my singing voice was as magnificent as the rest of me.
In my youth, before I became the fabled treasure/bounty hunter, I was often invited to sing at local events. My voice would ring out, strong and true, and the maidens would weep openly while the men would pretend to have dust in their eyes. I hated that. Even in my youth I knew that those stereotypical actions were wrong. I suppose, even then, I knew who I truly was.
Due to my fame, I rarely had to pay for lodgings. Instead I would sing, and regale the audience with tales of my prowess! And in the mornings, before I left, I would give all the workers a gold mark in thanks for their kindness. I am not a charity. I pay my way.
The lost treasures of Dracon were located in a cave, as many lost treasures are. As I previously stated, the caves were guarded by a particularly nasty tribe of Orcs. What I did not mention was that the cave was located on an island in the middle of a lake. This lake was treacherous. The waves could grow to 20 feet in height, and the fish tasted bad. That doesn’t have to do with the waves, but it is a reason as to the badness of the lake!
Fortunately, the day I arrived the lake was calm and I didn’t have to worry about the waves. Long story short, I made it to the island with ease.
As darkness descended, I approached the Orc camp. Thankfully, I was fluent in all dialects of Orcish, so I was able to listen in to their chilling conversations:
Orc 1: Bruh, you see that sick flip I did earlier, bruh?
Orc 2: Dude, it was tight. Just like my main undur!
Orc 3: Sick.
Orc 1: Toss me the ale, my cup runneth dry, bruh!
Orc 3: Bro, I tell you about that boat I saw earlier? Looked like someone was comin’ here to mess with us!
Orc 2: They got another think comin’ if they think they can take us!
All: [grunting and hollering]
As I said, chilling.
I squared my shoulders, and made ready to fight. Drawing my sword, I stepped out into the light of the fire.
“I, Beyonicus the Bold, have come for the lost treasures of Dracon! Tremble and weep before me, for I am your undoing.” I had practiced that in front a mirror for hours before I left the village, and, I gotta say, it was worth it.
The Orcs looked at each other in confusion, “Who in the seven hells is she, bruh?” The first one asked.
The other two just shrugged and drew their weapons. I smiled sadly, and then attacked before they could.
The fight was short, for I, Beyonicus the Bold, am without equal. The Orcs lay dead at my feet as I sheathed my sword and made my way into the cave.
The cave was dark and full of terrors, but it was nothing that I could not handle. After casually dispatching a handle of skeletons, answering a sphinx’s riddle, and juggling a dozen small rodents to prove my worth, I was at the treasure.
Great heaps of gold. Towering stacks of gems. Bundles of magnificent armour. Silver swords by the armload. All that and more is what I expected to find.
Instead, there was only a mirror.
Upon the frame was inscribed, in great flowing script, the words: Inside Truth is Found Inner You.
Not only was there not actual treasure, the inscription on the mirror was gibberish.
I suppose not all quests end in spectacular fashion, but I, Beyonicus the Bold, am used to a certain standard.
Least I have a new mirror.