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Category Archives: Social Issues
Flawless Friday Video: Raja Belle Freeman
The Less than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch: #bookreview
Amazon
The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch by Marshall Thornton is set in Wyandot County in Michgan. There used to be a Wyandot County but it became Cheboygan County in 1853. It seems funny to hear the author refer to the area as the Northern Lower Michigan. It’s accurate. People always forget about the Upper Peninsula.
Henry Milch has recently moved to Michigan from Hollywood, California in order to live with his grandma. Henry had a choice between living with Nana Cole or going to rehab after an overdose. He’s still a drug addict and not always completely honest with anyone. He wants everyone to call him “Mooch” but it doesn’t stick. It’s a horrible nickname. Who really wants to be called “Mooch?”
Henry finds the body of Sammy Hart while working for a local land conservancy. There’s a reward offered for information about Sammy’s death. Henry’s motivation for finding Sammy’s killer is greed. He wants the money so he can move back to Hollywood.
Sammy was an interesting person while he was alive. He was an openly gay man living in a conservative area of Michigan. Unfortunately for Henry, the first gay person in the area that he meets is also deceased. Henry is also gay. He has only told a handful of people in Michigan.
Henry finds out everything he can about Sammy. Who would want to kill him? Was it because he was gay or was there another reason? Henry is really hoping that he solves the case before anyone else. Nothing is more important to Henry than getting out of Michigan.
If you are looking for an interesting LGBTQIA murder mystery, then The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch is a good match.
If you’re close-minded about everything LGBTQIA, then you should start reading articles or books about how to not be a bigot. Come back to the book at a later time.
Links for Tolerance articles:
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/speak-up/six-steps-to-speak-up
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/07/how-not-to-be-a-bigot/
- I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
Guest Post: Christmas Crime by Broken Lines
Winter can be a very lonely and miserable time of year, especially if you’re homeless. Yet we live in a world where there is plenty of money and space for everyone. We are all ‘guilty’ of overspending at Christmas, wanting to be generous to our friends and relatives, but what about those with no shelter, no home, no family?
The greatest gifts humanity has is to be able to communicate, help and love each other and yet we seem to find it the most difficult thing to do! Surely this is what Christmas is about?
We challenged ourselves to write a Christmas song, in a week, with the intention of doing something positive for our community and here it is… “Christmas Crime.”
We are selling our Christmas song online and donating all proceeds to Shelter Cymru.
Please don’t sit back and ignore it, get up and make a difference. It could be you one day!
Merry Christmas,
Broken Lines x
Bandcamp: https://brokenlinesuk.bandcamp.com/track/christmas-crime
JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/brokenlinesuk
“Mission Fat Hearts” Movie: Indiegogo Campaign
There is an Indiegogo campaign for making the “Mission Fat Hearts” animated movie. The movie is based on the children’s book, “The Adventures of Pookie: Mission Fat Hearts,” which was created by Mandy Rohr and written by Rebecca Yee-Peters.
The ladies behind the books believe that the Mission Fat Hearts movie can show kids that kindness can change the world. Even small acts of kindness can have an effect on someone.
My ex-boyfriend Pookie, not the same one in the books, was a believer in random acts of kindness. He was blessed by a random act of kindness. Someone that he wasn’t related to or work for helped him pay for college and didn’t really ask for anything in return. I know for a fact that Pookie has used his college education to help a lot of people.
If you are interested in doing your own act of kindness, you could support the campaign for the Mission Fat Hearts movie.
For more information on Mission Fat Hearts, visit MissionFatHearts.com
Interview: A Voice for The Innocent
While looking for something else on the Internet, I discovered this fantastic organization called A Voice for the Innocent. They provide support for those who have been victims of sexual abuse. A Voice for the Innocent gives sexual abuse and rape victims a safe place to share their story. Some might say that the one of the first steps in healing and recovery is to tell your story.
This group really deserves some recognition for all of the great things that they do. Bethany from A Voice for the Innocent responded to my questionnaire, which is appreciated.
If you get a chance to go to Warped Tour, please visit the AVFTI booth. Also, please visit their website and find out how to volunteer or share your own story.
How did AVFTI come into being?
AVFTI was developed because of Jamie Sivrais. Jamie survived sexual abuse from his father. When he disclosed his story to his mother, she responded in a way that gave Jamie as much control as he could have. This made Jamie comfortable telling his story later on. When Jamie was in a band, he would tell his story and people would in turn disclose their story. Jamie often heard people say “but you’re the first person I’ve ever told.” Jamie sought out to create a space where people could anonymously share their story of sexual assault or abuse and not be judged.
What are some of the goals of AVFTI?
AVFTI’s ultimate goal is to eventually not exist. We want everyone to be met with a response of belief and support when they tell their story. Eventually, we want to create a world that does not accept or question sexual assault.
What is the most difficult thing about working for AVFTI?
Personally, it’s really hard to hear stories and not focus on the anger or sadness I feel for victims. I want people to feel like they matter, and we often find that a person’s first time disclosing their story they are questioned or not believed. That’s hard. I want to make it right, but I can only do what I can in that moment.
How do you stay positive?
Our volunteers and my fellow board members all work tirelessly and have such immense energy at the end of the day. They are some of my best friends. When we started building this community, we created a community of friends who support one another.
How can others help AVFTI?
Our site is free, and we are always in need of people to respond to stories. We also are always looking for volunteers to help with various projects in whatever specialty they have. Our application is on our website!
How did AVFTI get involved with Warped Tour?
AVFTI has connected with the music scene since their beginning. Warped Tour has been a partnership that’s in it’s 3rd year. Our first year we toured for part of the tour, and our second we toured the full tour. Over that time we have taught classes to several bands on the tour, handed out lots of hope notes, and connected with tons of people across the country.
What do you want victims of sex crimes to know?
You are not gross. You are not dirty. You are not at fault for what happened to you and you are not alone. We are here if you need us.
Visit AVFTI at
Protect Yourself: Flooding Your Representatives with Letters
If you want to write a million letters to your senator, there are no laws prohibiting you from doing so.
I would recommend addressing one topic per letter. Keep it simple. Apparently, congressmen don’t have a lot of time.
Some websites have said not to write postcards but I say do it. Write postcards. Send faxes. Emails are alright but they might get lost in the shuffle.
Keep the language clean. Do not threaten anyone or make insane demands. They might answer questions but no one can promise anything. Cursing doesn’t help your cause.
Maybe don’t send glitterbomb letters. ( I know. It would be hilarious! However, you may not get your concerns heard afterward the representative opens your letter. Â Plus, they might not accept mail from you anymore.) So no glitterbombs!
Carry on! Write as many letters and postcards as you want! I found my fancy notecards so I did write one letter today. It’s not a million but it’s a start.
- Keep it simple. Stick to one topic.
- No cursing or wild demands.
- No glitterbombs.
- Write as often as possible.
The address for senators and representatives are, respectively:
The Honorable (insert senator’s name)
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable (insert representative’s name)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
You can also find addresses here while there is a recess.
P.S. Here is a website for starting a letter writing campaign.
P.P.S. This is a link to an article on turning old calendars into envelopes. Just in case you run out of envelopes
Protect Yourself : Protesting
I’m way behind on protesting. There have been no protest signs made at my house yet. However, I have been watching a ton of “Parks and Recreation.” So the spirit of protesting is here. The episode where Leslie chains herself to a mechanized gate is classic Leslie Knope. It’s one of my favorite episodes.
Unfortunately, small towns don’t have many protests. The only thing that I have ever protested was working in groups during English grammar. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Oh wait, a trip to the store to buy sign making supplies.
Then be aware of the rights of protesters and follow the rules. Seriously, I don’t want to get arrested in a world where mystery meat sandwiches are a real thing.
If you’re going to go out into the world and protest, here’s a short list of stuff you should do first.
- Know what your rights are while protesting. There are things you can do and things that you definitely cannot do. It all depends on how cool you are with getting arrested or not. I added a link to the ACLU’s guide to protesting.
- Make an amazing sign that will get noticed.
- Buy some comfortable shoes. Protesting involves walking and standing.
- Pack your purse or fanny pack with granola bars or small snacks.
Keep your strength up! Also, protect yourself
#weekendcoffeeshare: I can’t find my microphone
If we were having coffee, I would tell you . . .
- I can’t find my headset with the microphone. I just need it to pretend I’m Adam Sandler in “The Wedding Singer.”
- No, not really.
- I can’t find a picture of a soap box. But I feel like I’ve been writing from a soap box this week. Maybe it’s because I’m another year older and more aware of my mortality. I just don’t want to waste my life not doing anything about anything.
- While on Facebook, I found this post about Anna Duggar and raising our daughters to be powerful and educated. It may be the best Facebook post that I’ve ever read. #breathefire This is the link so you can also read it.
- https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10102329573942271&id=33000094
- If you want another good read, here is a post by Dee Barnes regarding “Straight Outta Compton” and misogyny. Someone should give this lady a job. It is beyond ridiculous that she can’t get a decent reporting job because Dr. Dre beat her. Why does the entertainment industry choose abusers over the victims?
- http://gawker.com/heres-whats-missing-from-straight-outta-compton-me-and-1724735910
- In other news, my week has been awesome sauce. Birthday, Huffington Post, Chinese Food and this mug. It seems like I’ve had too much coffee – there’s so much intensity and all – but I have only had one caffeinated beverage today.
Homeless Sessions the Sequel in over at Huffington Post
Well, today is my birthday. This is what I have done today.
- I may have thrown someone under the bus early this morning. This person totally deserve whatever sh**storm that comes their way. Muahahaha.
- I got my license renewed AND registered to vote. Bonus: The picture is pretty good too.
- I bought a cool Unicorn shirt and a mug that says “Awesomesauce.” They are both totally awesomesauce.
- I had Chinese food.
- The sequel to “Homeless Sessions: No Shelter” was posted on Huffington Post today. It is called “Homeless Sessions: No Water.” You can see it here. I’m really excited about it.
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holley-perry/homeless-sessions-no-wate_b_8000214.html?utm_hp_ref=impact&ir=Impact
- We’re not going to Detroit today so I’ll be over here thinking of what else to do. World domination is probably next, right?!
