Persepolis Rising: Book Review
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.
What Makes Math Fun For Kids?
The following is a guest post from Regi Publico. She is a full-time writer who is also an artist for fun. She takes pride in her towering collection of books and loves reading about anything under the sun. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge through every article that she writes. You can find her on LinkedIn.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Justin Grays. Any content provided by the author is of their opinion and has not been verified by Justin Grays.
Justin Reacts to "Assimilation"
Justin Reacts to "Penance"
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!
Justin on Panels - Season 2, Episode 05
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
Pronoun Quick Guide
Over the years, I’ve been asked a number of times how to use a variety of neopronouns in different syntactic contexts. I have also been asked to make a quick-and-easy guide on how to use different pronouns. As there are many, many different pronouns, I am not going to list them all - you can find more about neopronouns here, here, here, here, and here (also here, here, here, and here). However, I will do the following:
Justin Reacts to "The Star Gazer"
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!
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 17
The Season Finale! In this episode, we discuss topics ranging from theater to anime to World War II.
This episode is not sponsored.
Hosted By:
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nat MN (they/them)
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
Chronic Pain (Migraines / Sciatica)
COVID-19
H. P. Lovecraft
Louis C.K.
Holocaust / Nazis
Robert A. Heinlein
Student Debt
Teammates: On Ice - Book Review
5 stars.
This is perhaps the most real book that I have ever read. I’m not particularly a fan of contemporary fiction, but On Ice is the exception. The characters are well-developed, empathetic, and true. Even as a person who is not a fan of sports, I found the sporting elements engaging and understandable.
Justin on Panels - Season 2, Episode 04
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
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 16
In this episode, we talk about topics ranging from guns and droughts to language and history.
This episode is not sponsored.
Hosted By:
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nat MN (they/them)
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
Death
Guns
NRA
Police
Ronald Reagan
Second Amendment
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 15
As longtime listeners may be aware, the usual format of this podcast is for me and two or three of my co-hosts to talk about society and current events from a perspective other than your stereotypical podcaster - that is, not from a cishet white male. But another thing that I’ve been meaning to do is to sit down and talk to fellow POC folx in the geek community about our experiences.
Our special guest this week is local geek Kareem Abdelrahman.
Justin on Panels - Season 2, Episode 03
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.
In society and in the media, a number of myths have revolved around polyamory. Though polyamory is becoming more generally accepted, the media shows it as a white phenomenon. Explore and discuss how the polyamorous experience is portrayed and how it differs from reality.
With: Kyle Andrew, Justin Grays
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 14
As longtime listeners may be aware, the usual format of this podcast is for me and two or three of my co-hosts to talk about society and current events from a perspective other than your stereotypical podcaster - that is, not from a cishet white male. But another thing that I’ve been meaning to do is to sit down and talk to fellow POC folx in the geek community about our experiences.
Our guest today is an accomplished performer, choreographer, and director with Fandazzi Fire Circus, Katy Solko. You can find Fandazzi Fire Circus here:
Website: https://www.fandazzifire.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FandazziFire
Instagram: https://instagram.com/fandazzi
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 13
Welcome to Part 2 of my conversion with Sonni de Soto. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, I suggest you listen to it first. Sonni and I had a lot to talk about, and this is starting right where we left off.
You can find Sonni with the following links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonni_de
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonni_de_soto/
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 12
So, as longtime listeners may be aware, the usual format of this podcast is for me and two or three of my co-hosts to talk about society and current events from a perspective other than your stereotypical podcaster - that is, not from a cishet white male. But another thing that I’ve been meaning to do is to sit down and talk to fellow POC folx in the geek community about our experiences.
And so with that in mind, today we have a special guest - writer and cosplayer, Sonni de Soto (she/her). You can find Sonni with the following links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonni_de
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonni_de_soto/
What I'm hoping to see in Star Trek Discovery Season 4 - Part II
In typical Justin format, I’m getting this up after Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery started. In fact, I finished making my notes the day that episode one aired, and yet I didn’t write them up into an actual post until today. But now that Season 4 has started, some of the things that I’ve been wondering about have some answers. At least, the beginnings of answers. And so I will include some of my thoughts about the first two episodes of the 4th season at the end of the post - there will be some spoilers, so be forewarned.
GraysMatter Podcast - Season 1, Episode 11
In this episode, we are picking up from where we left off last week about policing.
This episode is not sponsored.
Hosted By:
Justin (xe/xem) - https://www.justingrays.org/
Nat MN (they/them)
Sarah (she/her)
Content Warning - Mentions of:
Burglary
Edina
Military
Penal System
Police
Pregnancy | C-Section
Slavery
Student Debt
Violence
War
Resources that Sarah gives:
Justin on Panels - Season 2, Episode 02
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.
The panel from CVG 2017 is back! Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Maybe you've worded something poorly or were misinformed on a topic. Maybe you just didn't think a decision through and something went the wrong way. It happens. But how we react in these situations is what matters most.
With: Rachel Cleveland, Kyle Andrew, Michelle Chmura, Jennifer Jones, Justin Grays
Content Warning: Mentions of:
Abuse
Anxiety
Divorce
Imposter Syndrome
Inappropriate Touching
Mental Health / Mental Illness
Racism
Sexism