When people say, "I don't approve of queer people/gay people/gay people going out in public like that/gay people kissing/gay people holding hands in public," and such, they might as well say, "I don't approve of breathing." LBGTQA people exist - they have always existed, and they will continue to exist. It's who they are. That is a fact of life. What does it matter if you approve of them or not, and what they do? That's nobody's business but theirs. It's extremely harmful, dangerous and pointless for the queer community to be made to hide who they are, just because of narrow minded, stubborn, childish and cowardly bigots. Why should they have to hide just because their very existence makes certain, undeserved and reality-deficient people uncomfortable? No, religion is no excuse, and it should never used as an excuse. Because, and I know this will come as an earth-shattering shock to so many bigots (conservatives, hate groups, and other groups, religious or not): The world does not revolve around you and your little, limited social bubble. Other people are not playthings that you can just wish away whenever you want. And bubbles always burst. Ignorant and bigoted things said like the above examples dehumanizes and oppresses already-marginalized and struggling everyday people. Think before you speak.
The marginalized are far braver, far more resilient and adaptable, than the bigoted, overprivileged populace put together. They have put up with so much more than the privileged could possibly imagine. Marginalized communities - women, minorities, ethnic groups, immigrants, queer, trans, Muslim, Jewish, disabled, etc - will never give up, will never die out, will never stand for injustice, hatred, fear, oppression, and inhumane actions and laws, no matter what anyone says or does; and there is nothing they can say or do about it. Hasn't history taught us anything?
Plus, remember: The rich and powerful are often as plastic, worn out and full of old holes and hot stuffy air as their wallets, and are just as trustworthy.
Sunday, 15 September 2019
Saturday, 14 September 2019
Book Review - 'The Apple-Pip Princess' by Jane Ray
A sad but loving and hopeful princess fairy tale, featuring a practical, POC princess.
Lessons to take from 'The Apple-Pip Princess' include: Go outside and play and plant a garden, for nature and your home and people will thank you later; look out for those less fortunate than you; materialistic things and showing off are unimportant, especially if you're a leader of a nation; speaking of, slave labour used in order to build materialistic things simply out of hubris is very wrong; the bigger the ego, the lonelier you'll become; things and memories of the past can be an important use for saving the present and future; in other words, learn from the past in order to save the future; grief can be a source of strength, not weakness; there is beauty in everything as long as we hope and prosper; and outdoor activities are a blossoming blessing and a joy in so many ways. Anyone can do and enjoy anything out in the grounds.
I don't want to spoil much about the plot, but Princess Serenity (lovely name) is a small, plain princess with a big and beautiful heart who will use her late mother's teachings and mementos to save her desolate kingdom, under her old, grieving and depressed father. Unlike her shallow and arrogant older sisters, Suzanna and Miranda, she will try to actually do something for the good of her people.
I'm relieved that the sisters don't turn out to be one-dimensional, and the story is more about grief, family, motherhood and sisterhood, than magic. There is no explicit romance, either, thank Queen Elizabeth I.
The illustrations are as illustrious and gorgeous as the progressive fairy tale. In some soft spots the writing is quite quaint, self-aware and humourous; Jane Ray shows off her personality in her opus.
In fact, "quaint" describes 'The Apple-Pip Princess' wonderfully.
Raindrops, sunlight, moonlight, a rainbow, a starbird's feather, a spider's dewy web, a nightingale's song, an embroidered silk bag, mist, a black cat, and an apple pip and other fruit pips - such are the ingredients for a marvelous, succulent and sweet princess tale; as well as for a magical garden, and for life.
Sugar, spice and everything nice don't cut it anymore. Neither do roses, kittens, bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens.
It seems that every great picture book I've read recently can so easily be made into an animated family film. Come on, make more female-led animated films!...whoever might be reading this!
'The Apple-Pip Princess' - Absolutely breathtaking, mellifluous, feminist, and important to read to children. It is about happiness, and working hard to save the environment and your society. What could be more important than that?
For we will all live happily ever after then.
'Can a tiny apple pip really bring hope and happiness back to Serenity's beloved kingdom?
Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the biggest difference...'
Final Score: 5/5
Lessons to take from 'The Apple-Pip Princess' include: Go outside and play and plant a garden, for nature and your home and people will thank you later; look out for those less fortunate than you; materialistic things and showing off are unimportant, especially if you're a leader of a nation; speaking of, slave labour used in order to build materialistic things simply out of hubris is very wrong; the bigger the ego, the lonelier you'll become; things and memories of the past can be an important use for saving the present and future; in other words, learn from the past in order to save the future; grief can be a source of strength, not weakness; there is beauty in everything as long as we hope and prosper; and outdoor activities are a blossoming blessing and a joy in so many ways. Anyone can do and enjoy anything out in the grounds.
I don't want to spoil much about the plot, but Princess Serenity (lovely name) is a small, plain princess with a big and beautiful heart who will use her late mother's teachings and mementos to save her desolate kingdom, under her old, grieving and depressed father. Unlike her shallow and arrogant older sisters, Suzanna and Miranda, she will try to actually do something for the good of her people.
I'm relieved that the sisters don't turn out to be one-dimensional, and the story is more about grief, family, motherhood and sisterhood, than magic. There is no explicit romance, either, thank Queen Elizabeth I.
The illustrations are as illustrious and gorgeous as the progressive fairy tale. In some soft spots the writing is quite quaint, self-aware and humourous; Jane Ray shows off her personality in her opus.
In fact, "quaint" describes 'The Apple-Pip Princess' wonderfully.
Raindrops, sunlight, moonlight, a rainbow, a starbird's feather, a spider's dewy web, a nightingale's song, an embroidered silk bag, mist, a black cat, and an apple pip and other fruit pips - such are the ingredients for a marvelous, succulent and sweet princess tale; as well as for a magical garden, and for life.
Sugar, spice and everything nice don't cut it anymore. Neither do roses, kittens, bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens.
It seems that every great picture book I've read recently can so easily be made into an animated family film. Come on, make more female-led animated films!...whoever might be reading this!
'The Apple-Pip Princess' - Absolutely breathtaking, mellifluous, feminist, and important to read to children. It is about happiness, and working hard to save the environment and your society. What could be more important than that?
For we will all live happily ever after then.
'Can a tiny apple pip really bring hope and happiness back to Serenity's beloved kingdom?
Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the biggest difference...'
Final Score: 5/5
Book Review - 'Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale' by Eileen Spinelli (Writer), Jane Dyer (Illustrator)
This is sadder than 'Charlotte's Web'.
I like spiders, and a picture book about a creative female spider sounded really attractive to me. What I did not expect was a punch to the feels by the end of this gorgeously-woven tale.
The language, the writing style, the illustrations, the colour, it is all lovely. The silk, the moonlight, the starlight, the spinning, the webbing, the knitting, the pines, the snowflakes, the warmth, and wow, the heart. It really is a new fairy tale.
The ending might just break you, however. But in a beautiful way.
The creative life of a spider is as full of hardships and dangers as a human artist's, and can be just as unrewarding. But Sophie is strong, and thoughtful. She has drive, she has love, and she never gives up. Such a determined little spider...
Indeed, 'Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale' is a masterpiece.
Final Score: 5/5
I like spiders, and a picture book about a creative female spider sounded really attractive to me. What I did not expect was a punch to the feels by the end of this gorgeously-woven tale.
The language, the writing style, the illustrations, the colour, it is all lovely. The silk, the moonlight, the starlight, the spinning, the webbing, the knitting, the pines, the snowflakes, the warmth, and wow, the heart. It really is a new fairy tale.
The ending might just break you, however. But in a beautiful way.
The creative life of a spider is as full of hardships and dangers as a human artist's, and can be just as unrewarding. But Sophie is strong, and thoughtful. She has drive, she has love, and she never gives up. Such a determined little spider...
Indeed, 'Sophie's Masterpiece: A Spider's Tale' is a masterpiece.
Final Score: 5/5
Book Review - 'Stellaluna' by Janell Cannon
A sweet, cute story about a baby white bat, Stellaluna, who gets separated from her mother in an owl attack in the air, and ends up being raised in a bird's nest. It's a tale about discovering your strengths and weaknesses, trying different things, and accepting differences in others, and still being friends. It is about tolerance.
'Stellaluna' is probably the only picture book I've read where an owl is an antagonist.
A nocturnal, beautifully-illustrated coming-of-age fable. Big-eyed, bewildered Stellaluna is cute and fluffy.
Final Score: 3.5/5
'Stellaluna' is probably the only picture book I've read where an owl is an antagonist.
A nocturnal, beautifully-illustrated coming-of-age fable. Big-eyed, bewildered Stellaluna is cute and fluffy.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Graphic Novel Review - 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' by Mariko Tamaki (Writer), Steve Pugh (Artist)
Can we just let Mariko Tamaki write whatever she wants in comics? With 'Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me', 'Supergirl: Being Super', her 'She-Hulk' run, and now 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass', it seems she can do no wrong in my eyes (I've only read her most recent work so far).
'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' is one of the best Harley stories I've read in a long time, and what a great, gulping, shuddering relief that is. The art by Steve Pugh is absolutely fantastic, and it is super, unapologetically feminist.
Harleen Quinzel is a teenage, new-girl-in-Gotham antiheroine here, leaning towards the "heroine" part. She is girly, adorable, angry, sad, not-so-stupid and trusting, and loves fairy tale analogies.
And she will not let anyone get away with fooling and abusing her. She kicks arse, takes names, wears her own clown costumes for different occasions, and is more altruist, egalitarian and brave than psychotic. She is able to learn and grow from her mistakes whilst keeping her bubbly, childlike personality, which is mostly a cover for a deeper shallow end.
Like 'Teen Titans: Raven', also by DC Ink, 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' is aimed at a young audience, the YA crowd, and it doesn't talk down to them. There is excellent writing and character work all around.
Ivy in this version is a fellow high school student, and she becomes Harley's only friend there, albeit reluctantly on Ivy's part; for she is a lonely, frustrated, POC social justice warrior and feminist. Her focus is currently on her school's excluding film club, history, the big, corrupt building corporation and enterprise run by soulless and plastic rich straight white people - the Kanes - and her own gardens. Ivy's gardens and other, poorer properties and "ghettos" in Gotham are in danger of being termed "condemned", and shut down and bulldozed in the wave of the rich white-owned gentrification enterprise making their mark.
This affects Harley and her new home at a drag queen karaoke cabaret/bar, run by Mama, a gay, plus size drag queen who has been through so much and is beloved by everybody in his LBGTQ friends' circle, including Harley, who loves him as a guardian and mentor from the start.
The number of brilliant, colourful and passionate characters in 'Breaking Glass' is outstanding. And the real life issues it raises and their effects are devastating. Without Harley's excitable, infectious personality, and her positive influence, creativity and drive, this would be a dour book.
Wonderful symbolism on a number of gorgeously illustrated panels, and character development, particularly for Harley and the old and new ways she is starting to see the world. A world where people cannot simply be divided into angels and devils (or boogers, as Harley frequently calls baddies), for everyone is complex (except for the Kanes, they can go straight to Hell where they belong), and they are going through their own issues and problems. A world where, despite what history keeps warning us over and over again, human society never learns and we keep repeating past mistakes. Mistakes like trusting rich white people in positions of power who are more plastic than heart and brains.
The alternate interpretation of Harley's relationship with the Joker here is rendered irrelevant in the midst of all these themes going on. Slight spoiler, but there is no real romance in the book, and the abuse element to this (in)famous abusive relationship is about being careful about suspicious people and who you can trust; for not everyone who says they have your best interests at heart actually mean it. It's about learning who your true friends are.
I could talk even further about 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass', but I wish to let people read it and discover the depths and delight for themselves. I was immersed, hook line and sinker, from the first few pages, and I never wanted to let go. I never wanted it to end.
I love the characters and their terrific, heartfelt relationships with one another. 'Breaking Glass' is one of the most feminist books with the DC name in recent years (though it still centers on white people as the main players, and Harley and Ivy aren't a couple (yet)), threading subtle elements and surprises towards the end as well.
Harley can work well on her own, without the Joker. She can equal him, yet succeed him in better, healthier ways.
She can get herself out of that toxic legacy.
Final Score: 4.5/5
'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' is one of the best Harley stories I've read in a long time, and what a great, gulping, shuddering relief that is. The art by Steve Pugh is absolutely fantastic, and it is super, unapologetically feminist.
Harleen Quinzel is a teenage, new-girl-in-Gotham antiheroine here, leaning towards the "heroine" part. She is girly, adorable, angry, sad, not-so-stupid and trusting, and loves fairy tale analogies.
And she will not let anyone get away with fooling and abusing her. She kicks arse, takes names, wears her own clown costumes for different occasions, and is more altruist, egalitarian and brave than psychotic. She is able to learn and grow from her mistakes whilst keeping her bubbly, childlike personality, which is mostly a cover for a deeper shallow end.
Like 'Teen Titans: Raven', also by DC Ink, 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass' is aimed at a young audience, the YA crowd, and it doesn't talk down to them. There is excellent writing and character work all around.
Ivy in this version is a fellow high school student, and she becomes Harley's only friend there, albeit reluctantly on Ivy's part; for she is a lonely, frustrated, POC social justice warrior and feminist. Her focus is currently on her school's excluding film club, history, the big, corrupt building corporation and enterprise run by soulless and plastic rich straight white people - the Kanes - and her own gardens. Ivy's gardens and other, poorer properties and "ghettos" in Gotham are in danger of being termed "condemned", and shut down and bulldozed in the wave of the rich white-owned gentrification enterprise making their mark.
This affects Harley and her new home at a drag queen karaoke cabaret/bar, run by Mama, a gay, plus size drag queen who has been through so much and is beloved by everybody in his LBGTQ friends' circle, including Harley, who loves him as a guardian and mentor from the start.
The number of brilliant, colourful and passionate characters in 'Breaking Glass' is outstanding. And the real life issues it raises and their effects are devastating. Without Harley's excitable, infectious personality, and her positive influence, creativity and drive, this would be a dour book.
Wonderful symbolism on a number of gorgeously illustrated panels, and character development, particularly for Harley and the old and new ways she is starting to see the world. A world where people cannot simply be divided into angels and devils (or boogers, as Harley frequently calls baddies), for everyone is complex (except for the Kanes, they can go straight to Hell where they belong), and they are going through their own issues and problems. A world where, despite what history keeps warning us over and over again, human society never learns and we keep repeating past mistakes. Mistakes like trusting rich white people in positions of power who are more plastic than heart and brains.
The alternate interpretation of Harley's relationship with the Joker here is rendered irrelevant in the midst of all these themes going on. Slight spoiler, but there is no real romance in the book, and the abuse element to this (in)famous abusive relationship is about being careful about suspicious people and who you can trust; for not everyone who says they have your best interests at heart actually mean it. It's about learning who your true friends are.
I could talk even further about 'Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass', but I wish to let people read it and discover the depths and delight for themselves. I was immersed, hook line and sinker, from the first few pages, and I never wanted to let go. I never wanted it to end.
I love the characters and their terrific, heartfelt relationships with one another. 'Breaking Glass' is one of the most feminist books with the DC name in recent years (though it still centers on white people as the main players, and Harley and Ivy aren't a couple (yet)), threading subtle elements and surprises towards the end as well.
Harley can work well on her own, without the Joker. She can equal him, yet succeed him in better, healthier ways.
She can get herself out of that toxic legacy.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Book Review - 'Heather Has Two Mummies' by Lesléa Newman (Writer), Laura Cornell (Illustrator)
A classic picture book simply about families and acceptance. We live in a society where something as happy, playful, wholesome, adorable, and decent as this can be banned. For decades.
Tolerance and equality: We need to do better.
Kids need better. Give them more credit and respect.
How about instead of teaching each generation to hate and fear the "other", we teach them that love is love, and that discrimination in all forms is wrong and so is hurting other people. And yourself.
Being "different", or being from a "different" family, is a good thing. There is nothing wrong with them, and it is terribly important that we tell them that. As soon as we can.
'Heather Has Two Mummies' - Very, subtly feminist and diverse, too. Or at least its 2016 updated version is.
“The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other.”
Final Score: 4/5
Tolerance and equality: We need to do better.
Kids need better. Give them more credit and respect.
How about instead of teaching each generation to hate and fear the "other", we teach them that love is love, and that discrimination in all forms is wrong and so is hurting other people. And yourself.
Being "different", or being from a "different" family, is a good thing. There is nothing wrong with them, and it is terribly important that we tell them that. As soon as we can.
'Heather Has Two Mummies' - Very, subtly feminist and diverse, too. Or at least its 2016 updated version is.
“The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other.”
Final Score: 4/5
Book Review - 'Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters' by Nikita Gill
Prepare to fall under the spell of powerful writing.
Indeed, I was immersed - enchanted - throughout reading 'Great Goddesses'. From morning til night, I was almost brought to tears by the end of it at midnight. The writing of each poem is digestible as well as tasty, and they all can be read in a breeze. I also learned so much more about Greek mythology than I did before.
The feminist perspective helps to bring a broader, multidimensional scope to the Greek goddesses, the Greek gods (yes, even they receive their own modernised POV poetry segments; even Ares is made sympathetic!), the nymphs, the monsters, the mortals, the victims, and the queens. There is proud LBTGQ content, such as in regards to Apollo, and Athena's relationship with Pallas, which I wasn't even aware of before reading (Pallas Athena is Athena's chosen name, after her fallen love). I have a newfound respect for Persephone (birth, spring name Kore), and she and Hades are one of my OTPs.
The black and white sketched illustrations are lovely and express character emotions perfectly.
The poems are so clever and painfully, soulfully human; a creative, imaginative mind and heart that endorses kindness and equality and justice to all women is nothing to be frightened of.
My only real complaint is, despite what the cover illustration and blurb suggest, there is very little of Medusa featured in this poetry collection about female Greek mythology figures. All we get is several verses of Athena's POV towards Medusa as she had apparently empowered the sexual assault victim by turning her into a monster to be feared by men, thus making her her own woman and goddess. Er... okay. And there's a short segment about gorgons and how they're only reduced to monsters by men because powerful women terrify them and ugly evil women to be killed violently are easier to handle than women who tell the truth. Seriously, Odysseus's dog (Cerberus's past life) has more pages dedicated to him and his POV than Medusa!
Despite this, the beautiful magic of 'Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters' cannot be denied. I think I might read more of Nikita Gill's work in the future. She possesses stunning, sparkling talent and knowledge. What I didn't get from 'Becoming the Villainess' by Jeannine Hall Gailey, I got here.
Every woman is a goddess, for she carries a deep, vast, varied, changing, temperamental, tempestuous, torturous, agonising universe inside of her.
Spellbinding. Transcending. Cosmic. Relevant.
Final Score: 4/5
Indeed, I was immersed - enchanted - throughout reading 'Great Goddesses'. From morning til night, I was almost brought to tears by the end of it at midnight. The writing of each poem is digestible as well as tasty, and they all can be read in a breeze. I also learned so much more about Greek mythology than I did before.
The feminist perspective helps to bring a broader, multidimensional scope to the Greek goddesses, the Greek gods (yes, even they receive their own modernised POV poetry segments; even Ares is made sympathetic!), the nymphs, the monsters, the mortals, the victims, and the queens. There is proud LBTGQ content, such as in regards to Apollo, and Athena's relationship with Pallas, which I wasn't even aware of before reading (Pallas Athena is Athena's chosen name, after her fallen love). I have a newfound respect for Persephone (birth, spring name Kore), and she and Hades are one of my OTPs.
The black and white sketched illustrations are lovely and express character emotions perfectly.
The poems are so clever and painfully, soulfully human; a creative, imaginative mind and heart that endorses kindness and equality and justice to all women is nothing to be frightened of.
My only real complaint is, despite what the cover illustration and blurb suggest, there is very little of Medusa featured in this poetry collection about female Greek mythology figures. All we get is several verses of Athena's POV towards Medusa as she had apparently empowered the sexual assault victim by turning her into a monster to be feared by men, thus making her her own woman and goddess. Er... okay. And there's a short segment about gorgons and how they're only reduced to monsters by men because powerful women terrify them and ugly evil women to be killed violently are easier to handle than women who tell the truth. Seriously, Odysseus's dog (Cerberus's past life) has more pages dedicated to him and his POV than Medusa!
Despite this, the beautiful magic of 'Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters' cannot be denied. I think I might read more of Nikita Gill's work in the future. She possesses stunning, sparkling talent and knowledge. What I didn't get from 'Becoming the Villainess' by Jeannine Hall Gailey, I got here.
Every woman is a goddess, for she carries a deep, vast, varied, changing, temperamental, tempestuous, torturous, agonising universe inside of her.
Spellbinding. Transcending. Cosmic. Relevant.
Final Score: 4/5
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