Reflections of 2016: The Little Things

It's the last day of 2016, and there's quite a bit I didn't care for about this year, if I'm being honest. More challenges, too many good people dying, just a lot of terribleness and a general sense of dissatisfaction.

And it's easy to dwell on that, to find one's self thinking on all the things you wish had gone differently. But I want to say good-bye to 2016 and hello to 2017 with a sense of positivity and hope.

Resolutions are coming, goals I've started on this year that I want to see come to fruition in 2017, but for now, I am looking to bring some brightness and love into my little world.

So I am borrowing an idea that a twitter mutual borrowed from someone else: a list of things I love. Because some times, maybe most of the time, it is the little things that help us get through the tough days. Therefore:

A List of Little Things I Love

• the night sky/galaxies
• rain--the sound of it, the smell of it, the promise of it on the horizon as the moutains are consumed by dark clouds
• cool sheets and a warm blanket
• the smell of my pillows
• the feel of satin ribbons
• the smell of tomato sauce at every stage of its creation
• the texture of freshly baked bread
• pumpkin bread
• extra cheesy mac n' cheese
• Pepsi
• the smell of lavender
• soaring instrumental music (especially violin and piano)
• singing out loud without feeling self-conscious
• cats
• seeing something grow that I had a hand in tending
• new, uncreased book spines
• books!
• reading a new book in a series I love
• new episodes of a show I love
• Steven Universe and its music
• Yuri on Ice and its music
• The Hamilton soundtrack
• dragons, unicorns, and griffins
• Star Wars (The Force Awakens and Rogue in particular, General Leia Organa overall)
• learning an actor whose work I enjoy is an unproblematic fave
• remembering the name of an HITG ("Hey, it's that guy/girl"--when you see an actor all the time, but can never remember their name even though they're in everything)
• wrapping something perfectly
• folding origami perfectly
• finishing a piece of art (painting, jewelry, anything) and having it look the way I imagined it
• finishing writing a story
• learning a new skill
• see someone excited about and using something I made for them
• watching a movie with friends in an empty theater, so no one can complain if I talk during the movie
• Disney and fantasy art
• sketches 
• receiving an unexpected gift or a pleasant surprise
• feeling accomplished and productive
• finding the perfect gift
• hearing about good things happening to/for friends
• geeky references in unlikely places
• people catching on to and appreciating my geeky references
• feeling listened to 
• finding new art I love
• finding fandom fabric
• wearing something I love -and- feeling beautiful in it
• happy ending, or at least hopeful ones
• my armor: art nouveau Maleficent t-shirt, comfortable jeans, Maleficent socks, and my galaxy sneakers or ass-kicking boots

Branding your platform, or platforming your brand?

When you are first thinking about starting a new blog or website, if you're like me and you go searching for tips and tricks to make it look interesting (eye-catching but easy-to-maneuver), one tip is often to make sure you know what your site's purpose is and make sure you keep the focus on that. If you blog is about being a first-time mother and is for first-time mothers, you shouldn't stray to movie reviews. If yours is a crafting blog, there shouldn't be posts about your trips to the gym. 

I've always thought this was good advice—your goal is to build a brand, so to speak, and talking about anything and everything dilutes that brand—but I've also always had a hard time sticking to that. CoffeeQuill was a blog I began because 1. I am a writer, and 2. A writer has a blog, for them to talk about their process, their stories, their tips and tricks, and the challenges and delights of publication. 

But earlier today I was reminding a friend that they are more than a writer. It can be a big part of a person's identity—it certainly is for me—but it isn't the whole of who I am. And frankly, there are only so many posts one can make about the importance of the oxford comma. (Don't get me wrong, I will defend the oxford comma to my dying breath, but there's only so many times someone wants to hear about it, and I know from experience, for someone people the number of times is often zero.) 

I am a writer, but I also love music and art and fashion and history and nature and crafting. I take photographs of the flowers around my neighborhood, and landscape pics of the sea. I sew stuffed animals and messenger bags and totes. I wire-wrap gemstones and create necklaces and bracelets. I loved sculpture when I took it in high school, and the only thing really stopping me from doing it now is space and equipment. I love fantasy art, and am essentially teaching myself Photoshop to improve my digital art and graphic art design skills. Don't get me started on my love of watching (and critiquing!) TV shows and movies. 

I have a variety of social media outlets, tumblr for the fandom primarily, twitter for short bites about important issues in the publishing and movie industries. Both of these to address, signal boost, and examine issues of privilege, equality, and representation. Facebook is for more daily life things, keeping in touch with friends I don't get to see as much. Livejournal (yes, I'm still on LJ) for personal venting and self-analysis, and for keeping in touch with some authors who also use it (I am not the only one!). And two blogs, Red-Inked Leaf for very specific editing posts (updated rarely because so much has already been said, and I don't want to rehash the same things without adding something new or different). 

That leave CoffeeQuill. As I said, it started as a writer blog, but my interests are varied. 

I made a Yakul (from Princess Mononoke) for a friend of mine.

Here's what I realized. Even though I think it's a good idea to have a focus for one's blog, there is a way to do that while still bringing in the variety of interests you have. 

That mom blog reviewing movies might do so from the perspective of someone who needs/wants to bring their child, or for whom being a mom has changed their perspective on what they find amusing or worth their time. The craft blogger talking about their time in the gym might be examining time management—how to fit in crafting with self-care or other obligations. Or they might be talking about how the gym provides them the energy to craft, or a chance to generate ideas, returning home with a lot more plans for things to make. 

I write fantasy. I create worlds that are informed by my knowledge of art and fashion and history and politics. The publishing industry is informed by and informs the world's ideas and attitudes about equality, representation, and diversity. The photographs I take sometimes become inspiration for locations, and the drawing and painting and crafting are ways for me to give my mind a break when a story is being difficult, and sometimes they help me visualize something I couldn't before. When I post about the ABC show, Once Upon A Time, I am breaking down the story structure and looking for ways to make my own writing better. When I write about white privilege, I am examining my own attitudes and seeing how they inform my writing, whether I want them to or not. 

The key is bringing it back to your platform, your brand. It's not always easy. (I'm sure there are posts where I could've done better to bring it back to the writing angle. It's a learning process.) But it's worth the effort. You get to write about something you enjoy, and you give readers a bigger glimpse into who you are. 

The author blogs I've most enjoyed have been ones that also talked about their families and pets, their daily walks, the shows they enjoy watching, and the issues that are important to them. There's more to them than just the writer, and it's okay to show that.

Why Pop Culture Matters

It's the "Age of the Geek," as Alec Hardison would say. He's a hacker on a TV series that ended four years ago, but his words are no less true.

In many ways, most people are geeks, expressing their deep interest in a particular film, television show, band, hobby, or sport. They are not just comic-collecting, bespectacled nerds brandishing a wand at a moment's notice. The world is full of geeks, and many of these geeks engage directly and enthusiastically with popular culture.

Pop culture is usually viewed as something silly, fun, and not worth thinking about too deeply. Tell that to the sports fan with countless stats memorized, or the budding musician who spends hours practicing their favorite band's songs. Fans of the "geekier" side of geekdom—genre-specific films, shows, and books—often express their  interest by writing and creating art based on it, but some also engage with it through critiques of the shows and movies they love.

Unfortunately, critiques of big names in pop culture are invariably met with someone saying, "Why are you complaining about this? It's fiction! It's not real! It doesn't matter!"

They couldn't be more wrong. Yes, these stories are fictional. Yes, wizards and superheroes aren't real. But it absolutely does matter.

Recently, JK Rowling was criticizedfor her presentation of Native American magic in the wizarding world. Many people, including fans of the Harry Potter books, felt she didn't do enough research. They argued that she appropriated concepts and values of Native American nations (ignoring the differences between nations), and that she presented a non-white culture as less civilized than their European counterpart. For example, while establishing in the original series that wandless magic showed exceptional skill, she implied the lack of wands among Native American magic-users was a sign that they were less developed than European wizards.

Marvel is also not immune to criticism, as more images from their upcoming Dr. Strange film illustrate a blatant appropriation of Asiancultures with nary an Asian actor in sight. Films like Dr. Strange contain costumes, settings, and props inspired by Asian cultures (often lumping the many different countries into one vague culture. And yet, the presence of Asian actors is completely missing. When that occurs, it can feel as if the filmmakers are treating the cultures themselves as props—that the look of Asian cultures is worth using, but the actors from those countries aren't. Children notice that.

Fiction—be it fantasy, science fiction, horror, superheroes, or any genre bringing the unreal to the page or screen—tells us something incredible about the things that are important to us as human beings. It matters, not just to the fantasy and sci fi geeks, but to everyone who reads and watches and engages with these fictional portrayals.

http://www.quirkbooks.com/post/awesome-racebent-harry-potter-fan-art-and-why-racebending-matters

Rowling writes about wizards and dragons and magic. She also writes about a boy growing up in a role he never asked to be in, joining a new school, and navigating a culture that's unknown to him. How many people have been the new kid at school? How many have had to deal with the expectations of adults around them?

Marvel's X-Men, the crime-fighting group of super-powered mutants, has long been seen as a metaphor for race. Kids growing up with the comic books, learning how mutants respond to often hateful reactions from non-mutants, see a similarity in how people from other races are treated, making real-life experiences easier to understand.

Representation matters. Pop culture matters. Because even in a world of magic, superheroes, aliens, or ghosts, the characters are based on our understanding of humanity, and there's no way to write a story or make a movie without consumers looking for themselves and learning about life. When a piece of pop culture deliberately ignores a group, or dismisses a population's experiences or identity, it is a reflection of the world we live in.

The Privileges of Foot-Stompers

Earlier today I read a post on an author blog (passionate, full of truth bombs strategically dropped) that used the example of someone stepping on a person's foot as an analogy to explain what it's like for a person of color to deal with the problematic and privileged things people say, even when the foot-stompers in question are friends.

"It's like someone stepping on your foot and getting angry with you for saying 'um, ow, could you get off?'"

It got me thinking about the different ways white people react to being called out for saying or doing something racist. [It can apply to various types of privilege, of race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status, but in this case, we're focusing just on race.]

Disclaimer: I am white, so while this is me trying to understand and frame the issue in a way that makes sense to me, it is also through my observations as someone with white privilege. Hopefully, I get it right, or at least, don't get it wrong in a way that hurts people of color.

Types of Privileged Foot-Stompers:

1. If you're lucky, you meet someone/are friends with someone who, even if they have privilege, walk carefully, so as to avoid stepping on someone's foot altogether. This strikes me as the Informed Ally. They might still step on your foot, but it tends to be a rare occurrence.

2. Then, you have the Newbie Ally. They know they should step carefully, but they don't know the way just yet, so they stumble a lot. They will step on feet, but they tend to apologize, and use the experience to try and avoid doing it again.

3. The Ignorant Ally/Neutral Privileged is someone who thinks they know where they are going and is walking pretty confidently to their destination. They may not be looking for feet to step on, but they also are not watching out for people's feet. They may apologize because they know they should, but they don't tend to look at their behavior, reflect, and change route.

4. The Arrogant "Ally" is exactly that. They think they know everything, they think they are an ally, but they don't really listen. They step on people's feet and say they didn't, or that it isn't their fault your foot was there. Apologies are begrudging, often insincere, and it becomes more about them feeling attacked for being called on the foot-stomping rather than the fact that they stomped on someone's foot.

5. The False Ally claims to care about the daily micro- and macroaggressions POC have to deal with/suffer from/try to survive, but they blatantly say and do things that show they either do not know or do not care. They stomp on feet and not only claim your foot shouldn't have been there, but that you must have put your foot there on purpose, in order to get it stomped. Why, you were probably trying to trip them. How could you do that to them? They've tried so hard to be a good person, and you know, people have stomped on their feet, too.

6. I don't have a good name for this last category. They're bigots. They're deliberate foot-stompers, out to hurt people because…who knows. Maybe they like hurting other people, maybe they were raised to stomp feet and don't want to think about changing, don't want to see that it hurts others, or maybe they are just so afraid of being called wrong that they double-down on their feet-stomping, because if they're louder and stomp more feet than anyone else, that means they're right.

Here's the take-away: Stepping and stomping on other people's feet is wrong, hurtful, and you should not do it. And if you do, apologize sincerely. If you have a moment of thinking, "It's not my fault! I didn't mean to!" keep it to yourself. It happens, stepping on others' feet. But even if it's unintended, you still hurt someone else. It doesn't matter if it was an accident or done out of ignorance. Apologize to them, then take a step back, look at the interaction. Was there something that precipitated the foot-stomping? Something you said or did that changed the interaction from friendly to foot-stompy? Think on it and try to change. But don't put the onus of your change on the person whose foot has been stepped on, they are already in pain, and they have probably had their foot stepped on multiple times that same day.

Words may not break bones the way sticks and stones will, but words still hurt like a thousand papercuts, or a million foot-stomps. Worse, words can sometimes inspire others to become foot-stompers. Think about what you say and what you do, educate yourselves. It's an ongoing process, but why harm when we can try to make the lives of others just a little less painful?

Helping the Syrian Refugees

I don’t normally do things like this, but my friend Ariel Ricker is currently in the area where refugees are fleeing. She was first in Turkey, helping out with refugees leaving and is currently in Greece, helping when refugees arrive. She is working with others to put together care packages–food, clothes, shoes, and other necessities. She’s told me the refugees are no longer even allowed to bring one bag of belongings, so they are literally arriving in Greece with nothing.

I’m sure many of you have seen the photos of refugees who have not made it. But for those who have reached the shore, there is still a lot that can be done to help.

If you are in that region, this is the website of an organization she’s working with where you can find out what refugees need and where you can drop items off: Care Packages for Syrian Refugees.

My friend is also personally going into stores, and buying food and supplies, but her financial resources are not limitless. If you are in the US and would still like to help her, you can go to her GoFundMe page. The money donated there will help her with basic housing and necessities so she can stay there as long as possible to help, and the rest will go towards helping the refugees.

I know some folks like to donate through larger organizations, others prefer something more direct. I have seen the posts from my friend, the photos of what she's seen and who she's met, so I know she is there and doing the work.

If you have a few dollars and have been looking for a way to help, I’ll hope you’ll consider donating to my friend. If you can’t, please spread the word.


Related to this, she is also a journalist and writing articles on the situation: 

Giving aid to Syrian refugees heading to Greece