2017 Elections Are Upon Us!

2017 Elections Are Upon Us!

If you are a Minnesota resident, it is election time once again - Tuesday, November 7th. Minnesota is one of those states that has an election every year, and it is important to vote in those elections. And as John Oliver reported, local governments get more done than the federal government - unfortunately, people tend to not focus as much on what is happening locally. So I am here to help you find out what is on the local elections. For more precise information, make certain to go to the State Secretary of State's website to look at a sample ballot. If you know your address, this will give you all of the information on the ballot itself, including a PDF to download to bring with you.

I'm still here - things have just been hectic!

Good evening, all! Just a quick note to you all before I head off to bed.

My apologies for not posting more regularly as of late - things have been incredibly busy. I have ended one job, started another job, gotten reacquainted with some old friends, helped other friends with their kids, and dealt with a multitude of other things. At the same time, I have begun drafting two blog posts as well as worked more on a science fiction story, so I have not been totally idle on the website end of things! I can't say with 100% certainty when I will have the next post up, but I hope that it is very soon. I am getting settled in on this job, and other aspects of life are smoothing out.

In the mean time, I have done a few things to the website, which some of you may have noticed. First, I have made it possible to subscribe to blog posts! I'm still working out the web formatting, but one step at a time.

Secondly, I have a Patreon now - I created it to help fund the work that goes into maintaining a website and creating researched content. For those who want to make a one-time donation, I also have PayPal and SquareCash.

Thirdly, I have created a calendar to show when I am going to be on panels at future events. If you are planning on being at one of these conventions, please feel free to come and check out the panels!

Take care, all. Another post coming ASAP.

If you like what you read here, and would like to show your support, please consider donating.

I am on Patreon to help fund the work that goes into maintaining a website and creating researched content. Also, it will give me some financial relief as I am also endeavoring to complete a number of science fiction and fantasy stories, and hopefully compile them into zines or collected works. As a sponsor, you'll get quality blog posts, early access to completed stories, and the knowledge that you are helping me fund the creative process. I will get the benefit of some stress reduction as I won't have to worry about finances as much anymore, and that will help me be free to create more work.

It's not always possible to sponsor on a monthly basis. If you would like to do a one time donation, please feel free to use PayPal or SquareCash. Producing content takes time and effort, and any support would be most appreciated. Your donations help me cover expenses and eventually will let me be able to create quality content full-time.

The GOP is not the Party of Lincoln - A Brief History. Part I: Whigged Beginnings

The GOP is not the Party of Lincoln - A Brief History. Part I: Whigged Beginnings

Back in June, a friend of mine said “I really think it's time for the Democrats to reclaim Lincoln from the Republican Party.” It was quickly pointed out that Lincoln was indeed a Republican [4], which is factually correct, but ignores the differences in the politics and policies of the Republican Party of the 1860s and the Republican Party of the 2010s. When looking at political parties of any era, especially when comparing parties of said eras, it is important to take into account the political realities of the time, the stances of the parties, the viewpoints of the members of the parties, and what the parties were voting for.

To Survive, Persons of Color are Taught Differently.

Back on 10March2017, I was pulled over by the Saint Louis Park Police Department. The light over the rear license plate was burnt out - the person whom I had borrowed the vehicle from knew that the light was burnt out and told me that she was going to replace it. I was under the understanding that she was going to replace it before I borrowed the vehicle, but she did not get around to it. She's a white ruralite who does not understand the importance of having every part of a vehicle being up to specs at all times. Fortunately, I only received a verbal warning.

CONvergence 2017 - Two Weeks Later

CONvergence 2017 - Two Weeks Later

Since I have returned home, I have not had a change to down the notes that I took on the the other panels that I attended at CONvergence - "Women of Color in Comics: Race, Gender and the Comic Book Medium" and "Latinx Empowerment Through Latinx Heroes" (I also attended "Don't Go There: Taboo Topics and Triggers In Art," but I did not take any notes) - but now I have a moment to get some thoughts down. These two panels do tie into the other panels that I was on (read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4), and I plan on writing out detailed thoughts about these as time permits.

CONvergence 2017 - Day 4

CONvergence 2017 - Day 4

To catch up on the weekend, here are Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

"Steven Universe as Queer Space Opera" was the final panel that I was on - we had great conversations about queer shaped relationships, gender and gender roles, polyamory, and how having a child-orientated cartoon that features these subjects is important.

CONvergence 2017 - Day 3

CONvergence 2017 - Day 3

If you haven't read CONvergence 2017 - Day 1 or CONvergence 2017 - Day 2 already, I would suggest that you read those two entries first - the four panels that I was on, "Speculative Fiction Against Colonialism," "Avoiding Tokenism in Comics & Sci Fi Characters," "Diversity, Class Systems, and Equality in Science Fiction" and "50 Shades of Blackface," all relate to tonight's panel: "Androids, AI, And Gender Theory."

This post will be in three parts: First, a couple of definitions and points - these definitions will be without citation, as I jotted them down in a notebook for reference for the panel, though I do plan on revisiting them in a future post. Second, a listing of media that has to do with stories about Androids, AI, and/or Gender. Third, free-form notes that were taken during the panel that I plan on elaborating on at a later date.

CONvergence 2017 - Day 2

CONvergence 2017 - Day 2

If you didn't read the previous post, CONvergence 2017 - Day 1, I would suggest checking that out first. The panels that I was on, "Speculative Fiction Against Colonialism" and "Avoiding Tokenism in Comics & Sci Fi Characters," were both directly related to today's panels, "Diversity, Class Systems, and Equality in Science Fiction" and "50 Shades of Blackface."

CONvergence 2017 - Day 1

CONvergence 2017 - Day 1

CONvergence is an annual convention about Science Fiction and Fantasy, held at the Doubletree Hilton and the Sheraton in Bloomington, Minnesota. This year's theme is To Infinity and Beyond: Epic Tales of Space Opera. Today I was on two panels, "Speculative Fiction Against Colonialism" and "Avoiding Tokenism in Comics & Sci Fi Characters" - in both of the panels, I said that I would gather the books and/or sources that were discussed and put them up on here.

On Tokenism

Token. Noun. "An item, idea, person, etc., representing a group; a part as representing the whole; sample; indication" [4].

Tokenism. Noun. "The policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate)" [5]; "the practice of doing something (such as hiring a person who belongs to a minority group) only to prevent criticism and give the appearance that people are being treated fairly" [5].

The Invisible Generation

Depending on whom one asks, a person born between 1977 and 1987 is either a member of Generation X or of the Millennial Generation - different lists of generations will give different dates. NPR gives the following list as the American Generations Timeline:

  • GI Generation (Born 1901-1924) [Note 2]
  • Silent Generation (Born 1925-1942)
  • Baby Boomers (Born 1943-1964)
  • Generation X (Born 1965-1979) [Note 3]
  • Millennials (Born 1980-2000) [Note 1]
  • Generation Z (Born 2001-2013)

NPR also points out that "though there is a consensus on the general time period for generations, there is not an agreement on the exact year that each generation begins and ends" [1], which can be seen if one searches for generational lists. Though Baby Boomers and earlier (including The Lost Generation (Born 1880-1915) and The Interbellum Generation (Born 1901-1913 [3] [4]) have fairly static dates across the different lists, Generation X and beyond does not. So, you may end up with dates that are somewhere in the following ranges:

  • Generation X (Born 1965-1984)
  • Generation Y/Millennial (Born 1977-2004)
  • Generation Z/iGeneration (Born 1996-Today)
  • Generation Alpha/Generation α (Born 2010-Today)

I argue that those born between 1977 and 1987 are neither a part of GenX or GenY, but rather the Invisible Generation. The people born in the age range with all of the disadvantages of both GenX and GenY, but none of the advantages. GenXers were raised to believe that getting a college education would guarantee a career because that was true for the Boomers. GenYs are seen as narcissistic and and entitled, snowflakes who were given participation trophies as children and are not willing to work. However, GenXers had to learn to adapt to technology, while GenYs are unable to find employment because Boomers and GenXers have the majority of the jobs.

Those in the Invisible Generation are those who are old enough to have received the college education that was expected to make life better, but are young enough to end up having it become a requirement to find the basic of all jobs. The Invisible Generation was born into the early stages of modern technology and has been at the forefront of each new innovation, but has at the same time seen jobs taken away due to new technologies and Boomers ruining the economy [Note 4]. The Invisible Generation, along with GenY, are stuck catching the blame from Boomers for the shrinking middle class and being left with a job market that is ultra-saturated with higher education degrees [9], but is old enough to be in the management positions that GenX holds if the Boomers would (or could) retire.

And so the Invisible Generation is there, in between GenX and GenY. But that generation will likely be unrecognized and continue to be invisible.

If you enjoy reading my analyses and reviews of various subject matters and want to help me afford to have the time and resources to dig into the subjects, you can do so by clicking the link to Patreon to help me out on a monthly donation, or click the links to PayPal, Square Cash, or Vemno for one-time donations. And also, just share these posts! I would love to reach a wide audience and touch many lives.

Notes:

1. Personally, I hate the term Millennial - I much prefer the term Generation Y. Part of it is because I grew up with the term Generation Y, whereas Millennial was first coined in 1991 [1] [2] and became widespread more recently. The term Millennial has all sorts of negative associations: entitled, narcissistic, overly dependent on technology. However, Generation Y does not have that connotation.

2. Most people know this generation as "The Greatest Generation," named after Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation [5] [6].

3. Generation X was initially known as the "Baby Busters" because of the dropping fertility rates after the Baby Boomers [1].

4. I say that Boomers ruined the economy as a blanket term - not all individuals share the same traits, but rather it is a common trait as a society. Boomers were born into a period where they were the first to have a television in the house, became more susceptible to consumerism, grew up into being the ones to make poor policy decisions [7], creating a society with higher education costs, crumbling infrastructure, and economic mediocrity [8].

Event Calendar

Blog Calendar

References:

1. Raphelson, Samantha. “From GIs To Gen Z (Or Is It iGen?): How Generations Get Nicknames.” NPR, NPR, 6 Oct. 2014, www.npr.org/2014/10/06/349316543/don-t-label-me-origins-of-generational-names-and-why-we-use-them. Accessed 14 June 2017.

2. “Generation Naming: What Came Before Millennials and Founders.” Time, Time, 1 Dec. 2015, time.com/4131982/generations-names-millennials-founders/. Accessed 14 June 2017.

3. Robinson, Michael T. “The Generations.” The Generations - Which Generation are You?, www.careerplanner.com/Career-Articles/Generations.cfm. Accessed 14 June 2017.

4. “Generation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation. Accessed 14 June 2017.

5. “Greatest Generation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 June 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Generation. Accessed 14 June 2017.

6. “G.I. Generation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Generation. Accessed 14 June 2017.

7. Berman, Jillian. “Baby boomers ruined America, according to this Generation X author.” MarketWatch, 4 June 2017, www.marketwatch.com/story/baby-boomers-ruined-america-according-to-this-generation-x-author-2017-03-10. Accessed 14 June 2017.

8. Gibney, Bruce Cannon. “How the baby boomers destroyed everything - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, 26 Feb. 2017, www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/02/26/how-baby-boomers-destroyed-everything/lVB9eG5mATw3wxo6XmDZFL/story.html. Accessed 14 June 2017.

9. Balkin, Alexander S. “Baby boomers ruined America: Why blaming millennials is misguided — and annoying.” Salon, 20 Oct. 2014, www.salon.com/2014/10/20/baby_boomers_ruined_america_why_blaming_millennials_is_misguided_and_annoying/. Accessed 14 June 2017.

Two more friends have died recently, and I've not been handling it as well.

Hello, all. It's been a while since I have posted here. Two more friends of mine have died recently: Jessica Jo Goodmanson/Seon Ja Kim (Born February 2, 1985, Adopted June 13, 1985 - Died April 11, 2017) and Jason Alexander Ritenour (April 30, 1985 - April 30, 2017). These two people were great people, and with all of the things that have been going on, I ended up reverting to some habits and hiding in a computer game and not being able to sleep much. Though I kept up with other aspects of my life (committee meetings, work, friends), I ended up not being able to keep up with this or some new projects that I had started.

Seon was one of the few people who knew the most about me. She was one of the people whom I would have late-night conversations with about what was really going on in our lives, the deep subjects that would delve deeper with full introspection. She was non-judgmental, understood what I was talking about, and was truly unique.

Jason was one of the kindest, gentlest people whom I ever had known. He was kind to me when I was undergoing life changes. But that was Jason - many, many people have been touched by his insurmountable charm and his wonderful puns. So many gathered to share the love that he put into the world. I'm finally past the point waking up and hoping that it was just a horrible nightmare, but it's still difficult.

Jessica Jo Goodmanson
Jason Alexander Ritenour

I find that I am still not able to properly write about either of these fine folks. They are sorely missed.

I've reached my goal for Walk MS, but the efforts go on.

Hello, all!

Step by step and dollar by dollar, Walk MS is changing lives. That's why I registered for Walk MS and why I'm asking for your support. Though I have now reached my goal for Walk MS, there is still a long way to go to bring an end to multiple sclerosis. We all either know someone with MS, or know someone who has someone close to them with MS. So, if you can, please consider doing one of the following:

  • Donate to my fundraising efforts
  • Forward this email to others who might be interested in helping us raise money and create awareness
  • Share this on social media to spread the word

Our fundraising drives groundbreaking research, provides life-changing services and guarantees a supportive community for those who need it most. Together, we will help create a world free of MS. Please, help if you can. I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted about my progress. Thank you.

V/r,
Justin Grays

I am a Virtual Walker for Walk MS on 30Apr2017. Can you help me reach my goal?

My Dear Friends and Family,

I know that I've said it a number of times, but that is because it is true: ending multiple sclerosis for good will take all of us. It’s why Walk MS matters so much. And it’s why I’ve registered to be a virtual walker for Walk MS 2017. I hope you will support my fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible donation. After all, we all know someone with MS, or we all know someone who has someone close to them with MS - and even if we didn't, this demyelinating disease must be brought to an end.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to creating a world free of MS, but they can't do it without our help. It’s faster and easier than ever to support this cause. Simply click the link below to visit my page and make a donation. Or share this email and let other people know about it. Every little bit helps - use social media, use word of mouth. Any kind of help is wonderful.

Your donation will drive groundbreaking research, provide life-changing services and guarantee a supportive community for those who need it most. Together, we will end MS.

Please support me by making a donation today. I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted about my progress. Thank you.

V/r,

Justin Grays

Two friends have both died recently.

I wanted to post this much earlier, but things have been tough. Two friends have died recently: Robert L. Gartner (September 10, 1944 - January 3, 2017) and Michael A. Cucchiarella (January 19, 1958 - February 13, 2017). 

Both of these men are people who are held in the highest esteem, and their passing has left a giant hole the hearts of those who knew them. I met both of them through the Royal Manticoran Navy, and I am glad to have been able to have spent what time with them that we were given. I will miss their friendship, their willingness to help, their dedication to being involved in our activities. Not just the conventions and the charities that we support, but in the social aspects - getting together for celebrations and to hang out. Trading stories and hearing jokes, sharing in their knowledge and experiences.

Robert L. Gartner
Michael A. Cucchiarella

So long, friends.