Web Crush Wednesdays: Diversity in YA

Young adult literature is just about my favorite genre to read, but YA has a complicated relationship with diversity. Although the number of stories on the market celebrating people who don’t meet the white-straight-cis-abled norm is increasing, they are still a significant minority, and often don’t get the press or love that other books get. Book covers get whitewashed, and authors are still questioned about whether their minority characters are ‘realistic’ in their storylines. That’s where Diversity in YA comes in.

From DiYA’s tumblr:

Diversity in YA was founded in 2011 by YA authors Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo as a website and book tour. While the tour is over, we’ve revived the website as a tumblr! We celebrate young adult books about all kinds of diversity, from race to sexual orientation to gender identity and disability. We hope you’ll enjoy celebrating them with us.

Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon are excellent and talented writers in their own right and their stories are filled with diverse and interesting characters. It’s great to see that they’re also taking the initiative to celebrate other stories like their own.

The DiYA tumblr features a variety of content. Sometimes they recommend upcoming books that feature diverse characters. Sometimes they have interviews with authors who are of color or are GSM or disabled, or whose stories include such characters. And sometimes they just moderate discussions about topics like “Dismantling White as the Default” and “Beyond Diversity 101: On Bisexual Characters and YA Literature”, just to list two examples. They are pretty new on tumblr, as their description points out—they’ve only got about fifteen pages of content so far—but they’ve recommended dozens of books that I would probably have otherwise not heard about, and they are contributing to an important discussion in the literary world just by existing at all. Give their tumblr a look-see and let me know if you try any of the books they’ve featured!

Web Crush Wednesdays: A Game of Thrones Supplement

So, I guess Game of Thrones is pretty cool or whatever.

Okay, okay, fine. I love Game of Thrones. I love all the drama, all the dismemberments, all the scenery, and of course, all the fantastic characters. What I love most about it though, is the richness of its universe. It’s clear that there are hundreds of houses the audience may never know about or lands that may never be visited within the story that the audience is allowed to view, but it’s clear that they all play a role in things like how a character may strategize their tactics for battle or how they may choose their allies. While the show does a rather good job at giving the audience information on Houses, lands, and other such things that directly affect the main players, sadly there are many things that are resigned to staying questions in the viewer’s mind.

A good example of this: the other day I was talking to my girlfriend about the late King Robert’s rebellion and his relations to the Starks. Now, as someone who hasn’t read the books and doesn’t really have any plans to in the future, I know that Robert was in love with Ned Stark’s sister and eventually took the throne from the mad king, Aerys Targaryen. Little did I know all the extra delicious tidbits that had been left out of the show—no doubt due to time constraints—that she had only been too glad to tell me. Such as there being certain other, juicer elements at play during Robert’s rebellion (of course, when playing the game of thrones, nothing is ever as it seems). So while the show is wonderful, those of us who aren’t taking the literary pilgrimage presented by George R.R. Martin are dreadfully out of the loop on some things.

Though today’s webcrush may not fill this information gap entirely, it certainly is a great start. Today, I bring you youtuber gameofthronesfan94 and their stash of videos on the mythos of Westeros.

As much as some of us fans want to read the novels, we just don’t have enough time or the will to sit through those bricks (I proudly place myself in the latter category), especially not with all the ‘glowing’ reviews of Martin’s writing style. So, stumbling upon a channel with lore that I can watch, or at least listen to while I’m doing other things—guess what I’m doing right now?—is a godsend for me. Not only is the lore interesting, but I love the fact that these history lessons are given by the characters that know them best. A study on the Targaryens is given by the little shit Viserys and likewise the history of House Greyjoy is presented by the Greyjoy children. (And since I love House Tyrell, I’ll give you a snippet from them. Biases, ho!)

So, if you find your knowledge of the kingdoms of Westeros a little lacking but simply don’t have the energy to get into the books, I’d highly recommend taking a look at these videos. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to get back to my regularly scheduled sobbing over Theon.

Web Crush Wednesdays: The Smart Girls Channel

Amy Poehler is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and feminist. She is the current star of the excellent show Parks and Recreation, and is close friends with Tina Fey.

Amy Poehler has always been one of my heroes, but recently APerigren introduced me to her YouTube show Smart Girls, a show that interviews women who accomplish amazing things and who have a wide array of interests. Smart Girls truly shows how diverse and talented women and girls are.

The motto of Smart Girls is: Change the World by Being Yourself.

Smart Girls teaches girls to be themselves but still provides guidance to them by showing them fun, creative, strong women for them to emulate. Their mission statement explains:

Here at Smart Girls, we believe that the cultivation of the authentic self is very important. We also believe that guidance is helpful as we try to find our way to ourselves. We hope to be of help in the exploration and discovery process.

This is where you might learn about something you would like to experience. You might learn about a woman you’d like to emulate. You might learn a new perspective or an unfamiliar custom or a new way to talk to yourself about something.

It is our hope that you will learn more about your truest self. (source)

The result is an awesome web series that truly exemplifies how intelligent girls are and how many great female role models there are out there.

One of my favorite videos is an interview with a seven year old feminist, which is just beautiful and ridiculously cute.

There are so many other amazing videos and stories from Smart Girls that are just amazing. Please check them out.

Check out the Smart Girls website and Youtube channel.

Hannah Hart’s “Hello Harto” Tour

About a year ago (wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long!) I talked about Hannah Hart in a Web Crush and since that time I have grown from simply crushing on this wonderful young woman to full on loving her. Yes, I am a Hartosexual, and I’m clearly not the only one, because Hannah is taking her show on the road!

When Hannah first proposed her tour, she started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to fund it. I had every intention of making a post here about it to help spread the word a little, but it turned out that I didn’t have to. Why? Because Hannah reached her goal of $50,000 in less than 24 hours. I literally didn’t have time to make a post about her campaign before the Hartosexuals of the world swooped in and saved the day, making her campaign one of the most successful in Indiegogo history and reaching more than four times the original goal. Hannah’s response to the success was touching:

Because Hannah is such a loving person, her tour is going to focus on charity. In each city she visits, rather than doing a typical “Meet & Greet” event, she will be volunteering at a local non-profit organization where fans can pledge to spend their time volunteering with her. She will also be filming episodes of her web series “My Drunk Kitchen” in fans’ kitchens throughout the tour.

I don’t know about you, but I really find Hannah very inspiring. For one thing, she is one of the success stories that really shows the power of the internet to connect people and move them. We aren’t just schlubs who sit in basements watching cat videos and ranting anonymously about whatever irritates us, we are people who have found a community and connection with people spread far across the world that we often have difficulty finding in person.

In addition to this somewhat intangible success, Hannah is taking that community out into the “real” world and doing good. This humanitarian effort, combined with her own personal brand of entertainment, helps so many people, from the organizations she assists to her fans who get to be a part of something bigger than themselves. If you’re a fan, or even if you just want to be part of a group of people trying to make a difference, I encourage you to check out her tour site to see when she’ll be near you and pledge to take part in the activity she has planned for your area.

So You’ve Been Told About Homestuck ==> Celebrate with Booze!

Happy early 4/13, Homestucks! Last year Tsunderin regaled you with her path to getting Homestuck, and suggested a bunch of great ways to spend tomorrow’s Homestuckiversary (I just made that word up now), and she had some great ideas so I don’t want to step on that. But for our 21-and-over readers, here are some drinks—inspired by the characters and created and tested for deliciousness by yours truly—to get you through your Nic Cage movie marathon!

Web Crush Wednesdays: okaynate

You know the deal, everything good on the internet comes either from or in association with Grace Helbig, so today I have another of her My Damn Channel co-workers for your Web Crush: okaynate.

Good ol’ Nate. He’s not Nate the Great, or Domi-Nate, he’s just okaynate. Not even special enough for capital letters and that’s just fine. Now what makes him so okay? I’m glad you asked. Well he started out as part of the “My Damn Channel Live” production team as comment DJ/Punching Bag.

He keeps the show running but gets no respect: that’s okay.

Also, he can fill out a dance number and, despite being barely competent, do absolutely nothing to pull focus from the other dancers:

Is he a great dancer? No, he’s just okay.

Now that he has his own vlog we get to hear his okay stories about his okay life. Even his fantasy life in which he is king features him making the very mediocre laws of movie theaters playing the Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended edition) back to back, but not as a main attraction, merely as background noise for communal naps:

He even got to meet Grumpy Cat. His mediocrity did not cheer her in the least:

He was upstaged on his own show by a tired cat and that’s okay.

All kidding aside though, Nate is more than just okay; he’s a really charmingly simple and earnest person. His videos are always entertaining and he really connects with his viewers by responding to comments and using their input to guide video ideas. I think he really has a handle on the interactive aspect of YouTube and I’m eager to see him continue as a tuber.

Sailor Moon 2013 Anime News Roundup

*crickets*

*tumbleweed*

*crickets on a tumbleweed*

…yeah, we’ve really gotten nothing. What I said last summer when the news broke is about all we have still, though initial thoughts that Momoiro Clover Z’s song “Otome Senso” would be the new theme have been pretty much refuted, and, though they are set to sing the new anime’s opening theme, we do not know what that song will be. We have gotten a video of the group doing a live-action parody of the original opening for the third season of the anime, which is fun:

I don’t know if this means that “Moonlight Densetsu” will once again be the theme or not, but at least they’re keeping Sailor Moon (and their connection to it) fresh in the public’s mind.

A good place for information on the new anime (and any and all Sailor Moon media) is moonkitty.net which has this page set up to gather news and make reasonable guesses as to possibilities for the series. Anything that is a supposition is labeled as such, so don’t worry about rumors being started on the site and passed off as news. The webmaster (Brad, a really nice guy, judging by his YouTube videos) is a big moonie and he has never seemed interested in deceiving or tricking the fandom. The latest tidbit he’s offered via twitter is that the anime seems to have been delayed from its projected summer premiere:

Nothing really confirmed though.

Well that’s about it, unfortunately. The main reason I’m posting a news roundup with no news available is to remind everyone that I haven’t forgotten about this, it should still be happening, and to be careful with what you see online. Many people have posted supposed art from the new series and I want to remind everyone to be very skeptical of anything like that. As of right now, nothing that concrete has been released so anything you see claiming to be a new character design or a screencap from the series is most likely not what it claims to be.

For the time being we’re all just going to have to sit tight and make sure we check the sources on anything claiming to be news. It could turn out to be a Negaverse plot trying to steal your energy!

Web Crush Wednesdays: OC Remix

We all have those video games whose soundtrack we can never get out of our heads. Whether it be the captivating wind instruments from the lost woods in Ocarina of Time or the simple 8-bit earworm that never dies from Tetris I think that it can be agreed on that  music has the capacity to not only set video games on different levels of greatness, but to make a game truly timeless. Today’s Web Crush explores the true impact of these memorable tunes on this generation’s composers.

I actually stumbled upon this site a very, very long time ago while looking for remixes of the ‘Serenade of Water’ from Ocarina of Time. Although my tastes in music have shifted from that time—I’m all about the Gerudo Valley these days—I’m still continuously impressed by the quantity and quality of tracks that find their way onto Overclocked Remix (shorthand: OC Remix). In fact, the rate that it has expanded in my nearing eight years of knowing of its existence is somewhere between startling and inspiring.

In terms of ‘startling’, I’m scolding myself for even thinking that. Looking at some of the more popular acts within the video game community, there’s a very strong group that utilize these games if not in name, but in samples and riffs within their own tracks. A good example of this is The Protomen, whose name is not only based on a character from the Mega Man series of games, and whose music takes cues from the plot of the games as well. Also, it seems now more than ever we have a large group of gamers that are endlessly yearning for satiation to their hunger for nostalgia. We have shirts in Hot Topic that feature 8-bit characters, at cons there are tournaments for older games like Pokémon Stadium and Goldeneye—although to consider the N64 era as nostalgic as say, the SNES, makes me feel really old—so to think that music wouldn’t also try to cash in on these trends is rather shortsighted of myself.

Luckily, at OC Remix you won’t have to “cash in” on anything as all the music is free for download. All of their music is neatly organized and easy to find. While you may not find a track for every game you’re looking for—I was a touch disappointed to find they didn’t have any Ganbare Goemon remixes—they’ll no doubt have at least one track that catches your eye. Or ear, rather.

Let Saika Tell You About Homestuck: Act 3

It’s been a while since my Act 2 post, for which I apologize—I got too sucked into actually catching up to write about catching up, I guess. Anyway, if you’re here I’m guessing you’ve read all of Act 2, and you’re ready to start Act 3. That means spoilers for Act 2 are fair game after the jump. Shall we?

Web Crush Wednesdays: Tee Turtle

I ordered this one!

I wrote another web crush ages ago about a nerdy t-shirt site called TeeFury, and I’ve got another one shirt site for you today called Tee Turtle.

Tee Turtle is a somewhat similar site, but what I like better about this one is that it has a set of shirts that are available every day by the same person (I assume the host of the site) and has a weekly guest designer. What it lacks for in variation it makes up for in consistency. In recent days, TeeFury has been putting up some real stinkers (in my opinion). And I love all of the Tee Turtle shirts. All of them. And while they cost five to ten dollars more on Tee Turtle, I’d rather pay the couple dollars more for a shirt I like more.

I love the drawing style on all of the shirts, and I love all of the subtlety and wit in many of them. I’m the type of person who prefers my nerd shirts subtle, so I appreciate what the artist in question, RamyB, is doing.

So if you are interested in some (more) wares, go check out Tee Turtle!