I actually finished reading this book a couple weeks ago. I’ve been thinking about how to write this review since then - there’s only so many times I can say “I give this book 4 stars. The world is still very gendered, and that is annoying.” I somehow doubt that I’ll be changing that stance as I review future Expanse books.
Back in November, I participated in NaNoWriMo and set some personal goals for myself: write at least once a day every day, and reach 21K words. I was successful in that goal, hitting 21,052 words by the end of the month. It was a fun time for me, as well as very productive - not only did I get more posts up, but I also practiced creative writing more. It was a wonderful time.
Back by popular demand! Polyamory means “many loves;” but there are many ways to be polyamorous. Come discuss it and some ways to navigate it. This panel provides space for those new to/curious about polyamory.
I did not record the panel this time due to privacy concerns. It is not safe for people to be openly polyamorous; people who are outed can lose their friends, lose their jobs, be denied promotions, lose their children, and lose their homes. There are audio recordings from other panels that I’ve been on about polyamory & non-monogamy - look at posts with the tags Polyamory or Non-Monogamy [Note 1].
There will be another post later for the Polyamory 202 panel at CONvergence 2019. At the end of that panel, I had made a post that included links to related topics and a form for those who had feedback or had more questions to ask. I am still accepting questions from it and will be making a separate post with responses after I finish writing about the CONvergence 2019 panels.
Androids & AI in sci-fi disrupt the idea of a gender binary: what purpose is there for an android and/or AI to have gender? Could an android/AI be trans, gender-fluid, and/or non-binary? How will that affect how we as a society see gender as a construct? Participants: Naomi Kritzer (mod), Leigh Hellman, Justin Edward Grays, Nate Bird, Elliot Besmann
Content Warnings:
Mention of sexual harassment towards AI.
References to the dehumanization of indigenous peoples.
Watchmen. Oh, shit, friend. What even is going on. What even is going on?
Same disclaimer as the previous two episodes: this post has spoilers, and it is not a review - rather, it is more of a reaction piece that I am writing as I am watching the episode. Please feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts and reactions to the show!
Watchmen. This show is still giving me lots of feels and leaving me with lots of questions, but in a good way. Marvelously put together. Again, this post has spoilers, and it is not a review - rather, it is more of a reaction piece that I am writing as I am watching the episode. Please feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts and reactions to the show!
At Minicon 2019, I attended a number of fantastic panels and took some notes at most of them. These notes reflect my thoughts as the panelists were speaking, and may not align with what the panelists meant to say.
I watched the pilot episode of Watchmen last night, and I was left with many questions. Many questions in a good way, but still many questions. I also caught a number of things along the way, and so I decided to record what I was thinking as I was watching the show here. This will contain spoilers, but it is not a review beyond “I liked it and am ready for more”. These are my thoughts as I was thinking them, so they are kinda rambly with very little analysis; a written first reaction, if you will. Please feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts and reactions to the show!
Protein resequencer, food synthesizer, replicator. In Star Trek, food production technologies are far more advanced than what we have here in the early 21st century. While we still need to devote acres upon acres of land to crops and animals for human consumption, the future that is Star Trek has mostly eliminated that need. As an added bonus, as all of the food that comes from these devices will technically be vegan, that should settle the ethics debate of eating animals. I personally welcome this future - not just for the ease of preparing meals (especially in a hurry), but for helping solve food production and distribution issues, eliminating food waste, and a host of other issues.
Caution: This review contains spoilers. Proceed with caution.
I gave this novel 4 out of 5 stars, just like the previous books. Early into it, I wanted to throw the book across the room, but I resisted because I cannot afford a new iPad (and the one that I own was a gift, which makes it a treasured possession).
The implications of recreational DNA testing. 23 and Me was used to find at least two serial killers by finding their relatives, and has been used to find birth parents who may not have wanted to be found. How ethically dubious is that? What implications does DNA testing have for the future?
Participants: Sharon Kahn (mod), Bill Thomasson, Justin Grays, Katie Clapham, Shaun Jamison
Creating actual diversity requires a great effort to avoid unintentionally tokenizing your characters. Tokenism, even when unintentional, is what leads to adding "diversity" for the sake of diversity. How do we engender true diversity in our literature?
Panelists: Tamora Pierce, Justin Grays, Kerry Peterson (mod), Jei Herald-Zamora
At the end of the Polyamory 202 panel at CONvergence, I promised that I would put up a form for those who might have more questions or want to see what was discussed on previous panels. Most everything will have the tags Non-Monogamy or Polyamory, so they will be easy to find in the future (as well as any future writings).
When I had released the survey asking people what to discuss at a future polyamory panel, one of the suggestions was intersections of polyamory, race, and queerness. This topic could be a panel by itself. Here I will attempt to give some insight to my experiences as an African American who happens to be polyamorous, but I am not going to go into detail about my experiences with being queer as I am often perceived as a cishet male and have only recently begun to explore elements of my queerness.
