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Meandering over to Tumblr! https://blue--mouse.tumblr.com
I am still keeping this blog -- let's be real, I love this oldschool aesthetics and interface. It's like a typewriter I can open up and turn into any DIY project. I initially set up shop here in 2018 when Tumblr looked like it about to crash. (It didn't, but if things change, you know where to find me I guess?)
I'll probably still drop a note here when global news happens.
I am still keeping this blog -- let's be real, I love this oldschool aesthetics and interface. It's like a typewriter I can open up and turn into any DIY project. I initially set up shop here in 2018 when Tumblr looked like it about to crash. (It didn't, but if things change, you know where to find me I guess?)
I'll probably still drop a note here when global news happens.
(no subject)
Jan. 10th, 2020 12:05 pmFor anyone who knows Japanese -- here's a video from an Iranian-Japanese mixed race person and his concerns about currently living in the US, with a possible Iran war.
Books for Littles and Raising Luminaries
Jan. 6th, 2020 10:53 amInteresting site/organization:
"We use picture books for kids ages 0-7 to instill values of compassion, equality, and smashing the kyriarchy in the next generation of leaders"
https://booksforlittles.com
https://www.patreon.com/booksforlittles
https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksforlittles
From the Patreon page:
You need help discussing hard topics with kids.
Implicit (unconscious) bias starts in infancy - so we've got to fight bigotry from the beginning.
If you're nervous about messing up or wondering how to get started - I've got tools to help! It can be simple (and even fun) with age-appropriate resources.
What does Raising Luminaries do?
Raising Luminaries (RL) is a community of dedicated parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone committed to guiding the next generation of kind and brilliant little leaders.
[about Ashia Ray] As a multiracial autistic mother, I've been told that the work I do is worthless - that I'm not enough, my work isn't enough - to sit down and stay quiet. But after hearing from families saying these tools changed the way they parent, I've realized the long hours of thought, writing, and connecting with families is valuable. These conversations are vital to raise this upcoming generation of luminaries.
"We use picture books for kids ages 0-7 to instill values of compassion, equality, and smashing the kyriarchy in the next generation of leaders"
https://booksforlittles.com
https://www.patreon.com/booksforlittles
https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksforlittles
From the Patreon page:
You need help discussing hard topics with kids.
Implicit (unconscious) bias starts in infancy - so we've got to fight bigotry from the beginning.
If you're nervous about messing up or wondering how to get started - I've got tools to help! It can be simple (and even fun) with age-appropriate resources.
What does Raising Luminaries do?
Raising Luminaries (RL) is a community of dedicated parents, teachers, librarians, and anyone committed to guiding the next generation of kind and brilliant little leaders.
[about Ashia Ray] As a multiracial autistic mother, I've been told that the work I do is worthless - that I'm not enough, my work isn't enough - to sit down and stay quiet. But after hearing from families saying these tools changed the way they parent, I've realized the long hours of thought, writing, and connecting with families is valuable. These conversations are vital to raise this upcoming generation of luminaries.
(no subject)
Jan. 6th, 2020 10:09 amOk so I have a generalish-knowledge of "US invades and meddles with many countries, takes resources" but I think I'm lacking and I gotta learn some more stuff. Because... apparently invading Iran is a possibility now and I need to get my know-how in order.
Guess I'm digging out my anti-war protest signs from when I was a teen and the Iraq war was starting up. :/ What, we gonna use non-existent WMDs as a rationale for invasion again?
So I've been using this dreamwidth space as a place to write notes on fanfics, diversity writing, interesting mosquito facts, and maybe some reactions to big news in the US. I kind of prefer to keep my news reactions to a general level -- but -- ok my coming-of-age in the US was marked in part by the startings of the Iraq invasion. (I mean there were other nicer things happening, but 9/11 and the Iraq war was still big.) And now, a similar thing is stirring again. I have a lot of reactions. I don't think I'm going to post too much about it here, but.
Guess I'm digging out my anti-war protest signs from when I was a teen and the Iraq war was starting up. :/ What, we gonna use non-existent WMDs as a rationale for invasion again?
So I've been using this dreamwidth space as a place to write notes on fanfics, diversity writing, interesting mosquito facts, and maybe some reactions to big news in the US. I kind of prefer to keep my news reactions to a general level -- but -- ok my coming-of-age in the US was marked in part by the startings of the Iraq invasion. (I mean there were other nicer things happening, but 9/11 and the Iraq war was still big.) And now, a similar thing is stirring again. I have a lot of reactions. I don't think I'm going to post too much about it here, but.
Welp my fanfic is out of date, I guess
Dec. 23rd, 2019 05:11 pmSince Trump is officially impeached, I guess my fanfic -- or at least the TRUMP 4 license plate joke -- is out of date?
Well, FINALLY.
(PS I still see the actual "TRUMP 4" license plate car from time to time, the real-life one that inspired the joke. Still thinking about signs I could tape to it.)
Update Feb 25th 2020: Since Trump did not get removed from office, and could potentially be impeached multiple times (according to some news thing I was listening to), is my Trump impeachment joke still technically current.
Well, FINALLY.
(PS I still see the actual "TRUMP 4" license plate car from time to time, the real-life one that inspired the joke. Still thinking about signs I could tape to it.)
Update Feb 25th 2020: Since Trump did not get removed from office, and could potentially be impeached multiple times (according to some news thing I was listening to), is my Trump impeachment joke still technically current.
(no subject)
Oct. 26th, 2019 09:28 pmHappy anniversary of that time I was at a Diwali celebration last year and had a vague thought of "hmm I could write a fanfic" and started noodling and writing after the event. 30K words later and after some number of weeks I had written a fanfic. I was at another Diwali event today and remembered this.
Edit: Wait, Happy Diwali! And thanks to all the local Indian and South Asian groups who let me hang out at events.
Edit: Wait, Happy Diwali! And thanks to all the local Indian and South Asian groups who let me hang out at events.
There is a mosquito that bites leeches
Oct. 18th, 2019 02:35 pmIncredibly pleased to learn that there is a mosquito that feeds on leeches.
Article from Nature here.
There's even photos of the mosquitoes biting leeches.
Article from Nature here.
There's even photos of the mosquitoes biting leeches.
(no subject)
Sep. 25th, 2019 06:50 pm What? There's actual impeachment stuff happening? At least an inquiry? Finally?
Oct 18 edit: so there's a lot happening about this and I feel like it's hard to keep up. Here's a few news aggregate sites on the subject (usual caveat of please check multiple sources on stories etc etc).
https://www.impeachment.fyi/
https://www.cnn.com/specials/politics/trump-impeachment
https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=impeachment
Oct 18 edit: so there's a lot happening about this and I feel like it's hard to keep up. Here's a few news aggregate sites on the subject (usual caveat of please check multiple sources on stories etc etc).
https://www.impeachment.fyi/
https://www.cnn.com/specials/politics/trump-impeachment
https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=impeachment
(no subject)
Sep. 22nd, 2019 09:09 pmCouple of years late to the game -- but WOW this blog post by Reni Eddo-Lodge "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race" hits on like every painful moment I've had. Can't remember if I posted about it, so here it is again.
Reading the follow-up 2017 book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race right now.
Keeping this blog and working on the fanfic has kinda made me catch up on the more recent discourses on race and stuff.
Also, at least part of the fanfic was me being like "Hey what if characters of color could just kinda hang out and shoot the breeze and not have to worry about white people getting upset or whatever." And then me realizing, "Oh wait. Wait, I love this. I want to do this more." That joy and catharsis did influence other work I've done since.
Side note, I recently learned that NK Jemisin writes award winning books and also writes fanfic.
Reading the follow-up 2017 book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race right now.
Keeping this blog and working on the fanfic has kinda made me catch up on the more recent discourses on race and stuff.
Also, at least part of the fanfic was me being like "Hey what if characters of color could just kinda hang out and shoot the breeze and not have to worry about white people getting upset or whatever." And then me realizing, "Oh wait. Wait, I love this. I want to do this more." That joy and catharsis did influence other work I've done since.
Side note, I recently learned that NK Jemisin writes award winning books and also writes fanfic.
(no subject)
Sep. 20th, 2019 07:30 pmI just wanna say I'm incredibly proud of the students and everyone protesting in the climate strike today (Sept 20 2019). Also, I'm so sorry the adults have not fixed this and the young'uns are organizing and fighting for their future. Power to the Sunrise Movement. Also to the Raging Grannies and everyone fighting for this.
Belatedly realized that "pants" in British lingo means underwear and/or rubbish, nonsense. And that this makes the convo in Ch. 23 of my fic unintentionally weirder. Whoops.
So Kiran does hang out with Ezekiel the American and she's spent some amount of time in the U.S. Besides showing enthusiasm for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kiran seems ambivalent about America. So I'm not sure if she'd go out of her way to pick up American lingo. (I'm also not sure how much American/British English lingo differences are generally known in the UK. I suspect the US has less knowledge of UK lingo than visa versa.) Anyway, Kiran might have reacted to Barry talking about pants. Or, rather, it would be funnier. If I had known earlier, I might have written that scene differently. Maybe having Kiran blink for a moment, then say something like "Oh... you mean trousers" and Barry being like "huh?" and then the conversation continuing on.
( ^ That reaction may or may not be based on when I've used the wrong slang in other countries/languages and people have cautiously clarified what I meant.)
Well, I knew going in that I wasn't going to get everything right while writing a British Indian character....
Speaking of which -- now that I've read more things from Muslim writers, there's at least three things in how I wrote Lujain where I'm like "...Hmm, looking back, not sure I got that right."
I did mention that I'm always looking for diversity collaborators and lingo checkers!
So Kiran does hang out with Ezekiel the American and she's spent some amount of time in the U.S. Besides showing enthusiasm for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kiran seems ambivalent about America. So I'm not sure if she'd go out of her way to pick up American lingo. (I'm also not sure how much American/British English lingo differences are generally known in the UK. I suspect the US has less knowledge of UK lingo than visa versa.) Anyway, Kiran might have reacted to Barry talking about pants. Or, rather, it would be funnier. If I had known earlier, I might have written that scene differently. Maybe having Kiran blink for a moment, then say something like "Oh... you mean trousers" and Barry being like "huh?" and then the conversation continuing on.
( ^ That reaction may or may not be based on when I've used the wrong slang in other countries/languages and people have cautiously clarified what I meant.)
Well, I knew going in that I wasn't going to get everything right while writing a British Indian character....
Speaking of which -- now that I've read more things from Muslim writers, there's at least three things in how I wrote Lujain where I'm like "...Hmm, looking back, not sure I got that right."
I did mention that I'm always looking for diversity collaborators and lingo checkers!
"Day-biters" and "Evening-biters"
Aug. 18th, 2019 02:10 pmOkay so I was listening in on people discussing disease vectors and people were talking about "Day-biters" and "Evening-biters". And you know they're talking about mosquitoes here.
But I immediately starting thinking "...vampires?" anyway.
But I immediately starting thinking "...vampires?" anyway.
