I react to the series premiere of HALO on Paramount Plus. As someone who has not played the HALO campaigns outside of HALO: Reach, I am not overly familiar with the franchise. Therefore, my expectations aren't much more than a superficial understanding of who some of the characters are and the alien design. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts/reactions!
Breaking the 4-star trend, I give Persepolis Rising 5 stars. I honestly liked it better than the previous books in the Expanse series (you can read my Expanse reviews here - I never got around to reviewing Babylon’s Ashes, but know that I gave it 4 stars). Minor spoilers ahead.
Season 2, Episode 02 of Star Trek: Picard. I'm thinking out loud about the episode while watching it, and am sharing my thoughts with you. Please forgive the low quality - I am using my laptop's internal camera and I do not have any video editing skills. This is an experiment and a learning experience. Please feel free to leave a comment!
The adventure of cleaning up audio and improving show notes from previous panels continues in today’s episode of Justin on Panels. We are still working through MarsCon 2018, with the panel “Gem Watch”.
Discussion of the recent episodes of Steven Universe. What are your theories about events on Homeworld? What will this bring to Beach City?
With: Kathryn Sullivan, mod.; Justin Grays
Content Warning - mentions of:
Death
PTSD
Stress
Toxic Masculinity
Toxic Relationships
Trauma
Spoiler Warning: Steven Universe
The other day, I had pondered the idea of doing reaction videos. Specifically, reacting to Star Trek: Picard. I decided to give it a shot. I've never done a reaction video before - this is an experiment. I may only do the one episode, I may go the entire season, I might even do other shows.
Please forgive the low quality - I am using my laptop's internal camera and I do not have any video editing skills. As I said, this is an experiment. Please feel free to leave a comment!
Over the last four years, I have been promising to finish cleaning up the audio from the various panels that I have been on and improve the show notes. Now that GraysMatter Podcast is up and running, I have taken the time to also revisit these panels. Please join me in experiencing Justin on Panels.
Starfleet's Prime Directive is evidence that Borg, Dominion, & Klingons are not the only ethnocentric civilizations in Star Trek. Let's talk about how and why deciding what's best for another culture is problematic regardless of intentions, even in space.
With: Justin Grays, Stephanie Stensland
Over the last four years, I have been promising to finish cleaning up the audio from the various panels that I have been on and improve the show notes. Now that GraysMatter Podcast is up and running, I have taken the time to also revisit these panels. Please join me in experiencing Justin on Panels.
Creating actual diversity requires a great effort to avoiding 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 sci fi and comics?
With: Justin Grays, Rob Callahan, S.N. Arly, Tyler Tork, mod.
Content Warning:
Mention of the slur for Romani people
Transracial/Transcultural adoption
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from politics to PRIDE.
This episode is not sponsored.
FaeBun (she/her)
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
Autoimmune Disorders
Police
Sexual Assault
Transphobia
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from White Liberalism and Oregon to The Simpsons and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
This episode is not sponsored.
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nat MN (they/them)
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
Animal Injuries
Blood
Collapsed Lung
Medical Neglect
Medical Racism
Medical Sexism
Nazis/NeoNazis
Racism/Racial Slurs
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from politics and lateral reading to science fiction and polyamory.
This episode is not sponsored.
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nat (they/them)
Noel (they/them)
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
The Bible
COVID-19
Death
Guns/Gun Violence
Joss Whedon
Mass Shooting
Masturbation
Military/National Guard
Murder
Nazis/Neonazis
Odinists
Police
Porn
Religion
Richard Spencer
Seth MacFarlane
Sex
Suicide
Violence
Zack Snyder
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from COVID-19 & Recreational DNA Testing to Education & Multiple Intelligences.
This episode is not sponsored. We are not medical providers, and nothing we say should be construed as medical advice.
Hosted By:
FaeBun (she/her)
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Michelle Chmura (she/her) - https://twitter.com/avocadabro & https://residentialrobot.tumblr.com/
Content Warning - Mentions of:
COVID-19
Medical Procedures
Murder
Serial Killers
Ted Cruz
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from Star Trek to recycling.
This episode is not sponsored.
Erin (she/her)
Jen (she/her) - https://twitter.com/Jenathi
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Mentions of Incest.
Star Trek: Picard
The Dragon Prince
In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from capitalism & Star Trek, to cats & bunnies, to healthcare & stigma.
This episode is not sponsored. We are not medical providers, and nothing we say should be construed as medical advice.
FaeBun (she/her)
Jen (she/her) - https://twitter.com/Jenathi
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
COVID-19
Armed Security
Broken Elevators
Workplace Injuries
Weight Stigma in the Medical Community
Reproductive Organs
Medical Conditions
Death
Joss Whedon
Seth MacFarlane
Executives Abusing Power
Game of Thrones
13 Reasons Why
We talk about everything from masks, fashion, and glasses, to policing, skinny dipping, and kayaking.
This episode is not sponsored. We are not lawyers, and nothing we say is intended to be, nor should be constituted as legal advice.
FaeBun (she/her)
Jen (she/her) - https://twitter.com/Jenathi
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nazis
Rape Culture
Vomiting
Police
Transitioning
Black Fan, White Fandom: What it was like in the days before representation was as prominent, even though we have a long way to go. Panelists: Taylor Aaron Cisco, Briana Lawrence, Justin Edward Grays. Liaison: Shannan Paul
Although COVID-19 has postponed CONvergence: The Stuff of Legends to 2021, we still were able to move forward with having an online convention. CONvergence Online was a free to attend event where we can digitally gather and enjoy the convention weekend; we were still able to hold room parties and participate in panels over Zoom. You can listen to or download an audio version of the panel here, or watch on the CONvergence YouTube channel.
Although COVID-19 has postponed CONvergence: The Stuff of Legends to 2021, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a CONvergence in 2020. This weekend will be CONvergence Online - a free to attend event where we can digitally gather and enjoy the convention weekend! I hope to see you all there!
I will be on a panel with Taylor A Cisco on Friday the 21st at 6PM: Black Fan, White Fandom - “A discussion of how PoC kept their geek torches burning in the days when representation was non-existent.” If you have any early questions that you would like us to consider during our discussion, please feel free to fill out the form below. I cannot guarantee that your question will come up, but even if it doesn’t, I will do my best to answer your question in a post after the convention!
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.
