Merry Christmas 2013

I'd like to wish all of my readers and all of my friends a very merry Christmas.  I hope that you are all having  great time with friends and family and that you get some great presents. 

Hopefully my new job will settle down soon and I can resume writing more new posts for you all.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Amy.
Xx

Supernatural 'I'm No Angel' Review

Where episode one of the new season focused on the angel problem and episode two the return of Abaddon the third episode takes a quieter moment to follow the journey of Castiel and his adjustment to being human.

As Sam and Dean attempt to find their wayward former angel Castiel tries to make his way across the country to the Winchester bunker, spending his time working in a shelter, making friends with the homeless and even unwittingly flirting his way into a woman’s bed.  All this is done with a child like blunder and naivete that is more touching than silly.

Bartholomew plots his campaign to retake heaven.

During the search for Castiel we are also introduced to yet another potentially hostile faction in the form of the angel Bartholomew.  A former underling of Naomi, Bartholomew is using an internet priest to find people willing to let the fallen angels to take possession of their bodies.

A slower paced but personal episode that sidelines the Winchesters to focus on Castiel yet also manages to introduce another of the ‘big players’ in the season story arc.  The episode is also noteworthy for introducing the first ever onscreen angel possession.  A beautiful special effect that acts as a perfect opposite to the demons black smoke.

A great episode that pushes Castiel to the fore and gives Misha Collins a chance to show more of his acting range.  8/10

Amy.
xx

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Arcade Awards Nomination

For the past few months now I’ve been working on a number of web comics with a great friend and fellow creator Mario Covone.  I have been privileged to be able to work on two of his books, ‘Circles’ and ‘A Stranger Comes To Town’, as a letterer and have loved working on them.

I’m very pleased to be able to announce however that ‘Circles’ has been nominated for an Arcade Award.  Frank J Right, the amazing artist on the book has been nominated for Best International Artist.

This is a great opportunity for Frank’s work to be appreciated for how great it is and for the other creators on the book to get recognised.  I know that my work on the book is fairly minimal and that lettering isn’t the most creative part of the whole process but I would love a book with a transgender creator on it to get some recognition.

So please, even if you are not a comic fan go along to the website and vote for Frank J Right for Best International Artist.

2013 Arcade Awards Voting

Amy.

xx

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Eye Spy' Review

Whilst episode three of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was something of a disappointment it’s good to see the show returning to its previous higher standards with an entertaining and engaging fourth outing.

Beginning with a visually interesting, if somewhat bonkers opening scene involving dozens of men in suits and red masks making their way through the streets of Stockholm in order to transport a shipment of diamonds.  The episode quickly sets up the central focus when the mysterious and dangerous former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Akela appears and somehow uses some extra normal ability to find and take down her target.

A former protégé of Coulson and thought dead for a number of years the skilled former agent storyline could have very easily been a hackneyed ‘good guy gone bad’ episode.  Luckily the episode works wonderfully well thanks to the strong and understated performance from Pascale Armand.  Armand plays the character as a woman that has hit rock bottom and hates the situation she is in rather than being an over the top arch villain type performance.

Akela and Coulson come face to face.

Just like J August Richards in the pilot episode her performance goes a long way to outshine that of the regular cast and becomes yet another guest character who you’ll be wanting to see more of.

The episode also sets up yet another potential mystery/big bad for the season, alongside Rising Tide and Graviton, in the form of the shadowy ‘handlers’ that are controlling Akela and the British man that also had an eye implant.  Who are they, what are they up to and are there any more people like Akela out there?  I’m sure these are questions that we will learn more of throughout the rest of the season.

S.H.I.E.L.D. branded H2O, because writing 'water' isn't cool.

The episode also seems to confirm what many fans have been speculating about for a long while now, that Mutants, and more specifically the X-Men are not part of this Marvel universe.  When the possibilities of psychics is raised during the episode it’s quickly dismissed as impossible.  Whilst this was hardly unexpected due to Fox owning the rights to the X-Men franchise it makes me wonder just how they are going to handle the origins of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Avengers 2.

A competent and interesting episode that further builds upon the Marvel movie universe and the past of  Coulson.  More episodes like this please!  7/10

Amy.
xx

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Supernatural 'Devil May Care' Review

Where episode one of season nine focused mainly on the fall out of the previous year, and in particular the angels.  We saw how the fall effected them, how they now view the Winchesters and what’s going on with Castiel.  The second episode ‘Devil May Care’ shifts its focus to the demons and hell.  This separate look at both heaven and hell, taking the time to look at them properly and explore the characters and establishing a potential series arc.

It’s also good to see that after eight seasons family is still a central motif in the show, and really comes through well in this episode without feeling forced or hammy.  Particularly in the way that Kevin is brought into the extended Winchester family  more so than ever before.

Having spent the previous season locked away on Garths safe house boat he’s now in the bunker with Sam and Dean and hopefully well have a chance to grow as a character and have more amazing scenes like his torture of Crowley in this episode.  Dean’s heartfelt speech to Kevin concerning the fate of his mother is a very touching and unexpected moment, and one that really does bring Kevin into the Winchester family proper.

Crowley and Kevin are the emotional heart of the episode.

Whilst the B story focuses on Kevin and Crowley, both acted amazingly by Osric Chau and Mark Shepherd, the A story follows Sam and Dean as they are lured into a trap by one of the potential new big bads, Abaddon.

When Abaddon’s host was destroyed in the season eight finale I was massively disappointed as she was an amazing breath of fresh air to the show.  Luckily the fans of the show weren’t quiet about how much they enjoyed Aliana Huffman in the role that the show runners brought her back in a brilliantly creative way.  Once again the creators of Supernatural have listened to their fans and kept on another brilliant character.

Ezekiel flexes his epic wings.

The highlight of the entire episode for me though was the moment when Ezekiel took over control of Sam’s body and we got to see his damaged wings, one of the best angel shots and one of the most beautiful effects in the entire show.

With some great action, the return of Abaddon and Crowley and some brilliantly played character moments ‘Devil May Care’ is a great second episode and a perfect companion piece to the season opener.  I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.  8/10

Amy.

xx

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Arrow 'City of Heroes' Review

Ollie returns to help Starling City recover.

Season one of Arrow ended on a brilliant note, and one of the best episodes of the entire show to that point.  Luckily season 2 opens on such a strong episode that the show looks poised to carry on the momentum set up in last years finale.

‘City of Heroes’ begins with Ollie back on the island of Lian Yu in a form of self imposed exile after the events of the season 1 finale, having spent the previous five months there trying to come to terms with the failure of his mission and the loss of his best friend Tommy Merlyn.   Whilst the show could have very easily spent the whole of the first episode having Diggle and Felicity trying to get Ollie to return to Starling City, instead they spend only ten minutes doing so and the episode benefits from this quicker pace.

Quentin's been demoted but has a new found faith in The Hood.

Upon Ollie’s return to his home city we see that things have moved on a little from the events of the destruction of the Glades, but Starling City is still a city reeling from a massive disaster, with many citizens in dire need of someone like Ollie looking out for them.  Hopefully this will continue on throughout the rest of the year, as the Glades in season one were not exactly the horrible place Malcolm Merlyn made them out to be, though now they are.

It’s not just Ollie that’s changed over the last five months though, Thea has become the manager of Ollie’s nightclub Verdant and seems to have dramatically grown as a person and is already a much better character than she was in the whole of the previous year.

Laurel has taken the death of Tommy hard and has completely changed her outlook on The Hood and now sees him as a criminal and a threat to the city.  Though this is something of a rather big leap from her character last year it’s a great contrast to her father Quentin, who has since been demoted to a regular beat cop and is showing full support for the man he once hated.

Ollie's island adventure continues with Shado and Deathstroke.

The episode also goes a long way to looking at Ollie's emotional fallout following the tragic events of the last season and his new mission now that he is no longer just crossing names off a list.  There was a lot of controversy the previous year over Ollie’s willingness to kill, and it looks like the show has addressed that fact in a way that doesn’t feel out of place at all.  By stating that killing would ‘dishonour Tommy’s memory’ fits in perfectly to his current emotion situation and is sure to be a vow that will be sorely tested over the coming episodes.

The final moments of the episode also gave the audience a nice tease of things to come later in the season as well as a massive treat for comic book fans.  The first appearance of Black Canary, who could quite possibly end up being Roy’s vigilante mentor rather than Ollie.

Black Canary makes her first appearance in Arrow.

A very competent opening episode that continues on with the great new tone and status quo established at the end of season one.  Hopefully the series will continue to carry on at this great level.  8/10

Amy.
xx

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Is Tomorrow Finally The Day?

Tomorrow is a big day.  Tomorrow is my second appointment at the gender clinic, and it’s the one where I should be started on Hormone Replacement Therapy.  I say should though because so far nothing has gone right during my treatment.  Just a few weeks ago I had a meeting to discuss my case and go through all of the problems that have happened and ended with the NHS representative I was talking to admitting that over a year of my treatment was just wasted time.

This means that, through the myriad of both small and quite massive mistakes and problems on their part I should be well into my transition by now, possibly even living happily presenting as female.  Instead I’m still spending each day avoiding my reflection, feeling uncomfortable in my body, jealous of every cis female I see, self harming, crying myself to sleep and thinking of suicide.  It’s a long list of stuff to go through I know, but for those of you reading this that aren’t transgender that’s pretty much what it’s like, though I can only describe my experiences and not talk for the whole community.

Because of all of these mistakes and delays I have little to no faith in the NHS.  I had to go and organise and chase up getting my blood tests done in time for tomorrow’s appointment because that was yet another thing they hadn’t done correctly.

I have been told that tomorrow I will have a physical examination, my hormone levels will be analysed and I will start HRT.  However, I don’t for a second actually believe that that is what’s going to happen.  I expect to walk in there and be told that something hasn’t been done right, some kind of paperwork has gone missing or that I’m going to have to wait until my next appointment with them, which based on the gap between the first two will be another four months.

This very likely scenario scares the hell out of me.  I don’t know what to do in that situation, or even how I will handle it.  I just know that however I take it, it will not be well.

I can see myself bursting into tears.  I could refuse to leave until they give me the medication.  I could threaten the doctor or do something stupid like that.  I could act fine and then come home and hurt myself.  Or I could do something a lot, lot worse.

This is all maybe’s though.  There is a chance that things will go right for once, but I’ve just become so jaded with the whole situation that instead of being excited for tomorrow I’m absolutely terrified.  I’m sitting here panicking, trying to keep my breathing in control, trying not to cry and I know that it’s going to be almost impossible for me to get to sleep tonight.

I hope, I truly do hope that all of this stress and worry is for nothing and that tomorrow’s post will be a big celebration of starting HRT.  I just don’t believe it.  Tomorrow cold either be one of the best days of my life or it could be one of the worst.  I’ve never been so scared before.

Amy.
xx

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'The Asset' Review

Skye infiltrates the bad guys party and has a dull conversation with him.

All of the excitement and intrigue of the past two episodes is all but gone in this fairly average espionage and infiltration episode that feels more like part of Alias than the show set up in the last two episodes.

The episode opens well enough, with an impressive hijacking sequence where cars and trucks are thrown through the air by some kind of unseen force and a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist is kidnapped.  Unfortunately the episode soon begins to move down hill after this point.  Sent in to retrieve the stolen scientist Coulson and his team are forced to trust into Skye the responsibility of infiltrating the bad guys party to let the team inside.

Doctor Hall makes his on screen appearance.

Not the most inspired plot, with everything playing out as an almost stereotype of spy drama and predictable every step of the way.  The only neat little inclusion her though is the gravity device that begins to play havoc.

The shifting in action from floor to ceiling to walls is visually interesting, for all of about a minute.  This wold have been an amazing place to have a fight, to see the room shifting around them as they punched the crap out of each other.  Instead the shifting room is used to have a conversation, one where we can see the solution to the problem long before the characters do as soon as Coulson and Hall end up standing on a glass window above the gravity device.

Coulson must find a way to save the episode.

A dull and lackluster episode that holds no surprises or revelations, or even anything the audience hasn't seen before.  Even the very last 'surprise' scene was something that I could see coming a mile away.  Hopefully this is not an indication of the quality of the show to come and it will soon return to the highs of the first two episodes.  4/10

Amy.
xx

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Supernatural 'I Think I'm Going to Like it Here' Review

The boys are back in town.

Supernatural has returned to our screens and the first episode kicks off where season eight ended with thousands of angels falling from heaven, Crowley a prisoner of the Winchesters, Castiel has lost his grace and Sam is dieing.  So, pretty high stakes for the season opener.

There are three main focuses of the episode, Sam in a coma trying to figure out whether he should fight or give in and die, Dean as he searches for a way to save Sam’s life, and Castiel who is coming to terms with being human.

Sam’s story centres on his trip through his subconscious, much like we have previously seen in season seven when Bobby was close to death.  Sam is helped along his way through his inner journey by Dean, who represents his will to fight for life and a special return of Bobby who is representing Sam’s desire to give in.

Dean watches over a dying Sam.

At first I found myself surprised that Sam would be so willing to just lay down and die, to stop fighting but then I think about everything the character has been through over the course of the show, especially last year with the strain of the trials.  Having Sam question whether or not it was worth trying to carry on makes sense at this point.  Plus the return of Death was a very pleasant surprise.

During Sam’s journey through his subconscious Dean is working hard in the real world to find a way to save his bother.  Driven to desperation Dean sends out an open prayer to any angel that will listen asking for their help to save Sam.  Unfortunately this makes the both of them open targets for any angel that wants revenge against the Winchesters and Castiel for being thrown out of heaven.

Luckily for Dean though help arrives in the form of Ezekiel, played wonderfully by the talented Tahmoh Penikett.  Ezekiel tries to help save Sam’s life whilst Dean battles the angels come to kill them but the only solution this time is a radial one, for Ezekiel to possess Sam.  Initially against the idea Dean consents to try it when he realised that Sam is ready to go with Death and cannot face loosing his brother forever.

Ezekiel tries to save Sams life.

The resolution here is a great one, so much better than just angel healing hands which would have been a very easy way out.  It also means that amongst all of the exciting new things the end of the previous season set up we’ve been presented with a new one, Sam with an angel inside of him.  Which he has no knowledge of.  I’m sure this is going to lead to some exciting moments later on in the year and I’m sure another heated argument between those grouchy Winchester brothers.

During all of this drama to save Sam we have Castiel wandering around getting used to his new human body.  Initially unsure exactly what to expect from being human, still expecting not to need to eat or drink, Castiel begins to discover many of his new weaknesses during the episode.  Especially when he meets another angel, Hail.

Castiel tries his best to help Hail with her new circumstances and shows that he has learnt a great deal from his time on earth sand tries to tell Hail that there is so much more out there for her to do and experience now that he is free from heaven’s rule.  What starts of as a fairly sweet story soon turns creepy though when Hail attacks Castiel and wants to possess his vessel, leading Castiel to have to kill  her.

Bobby's back....kind of.

A very busy start to the new season, with three very different stories all being told at once.  It’s great to see the start of the consequences of the angels falling and it gives a good taste of what more to expect from the rest of the year.   A great start to what is hopefully going to be one of the more interesting seasons of Supernatural.  Can’t wait until the next one!  8/10

Amy.
xx

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. '0-8-4' Review

The second episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to go out of its way to make itself very different from the pilot episode, with the action shifting from the US to South America and a non super powered threat. This helps the episode greatly and means that we get a brand new adventure that’s different and engaging enough from the first episode to not just feel like more of the same.

In the episode ‘0-8-4’ Coulson and the team are sent in to investigate a mysterious artefact that bears a striking similarity to the technology used by Hydra during World War 2.  The device is a great way of bringing even more outside references into the show, connecting to Captain America through the Hydra technology, the Hulk through Gamma Radiation and Thor through the ‘0-8-4’ designation, Coulson mentioning that the last 0-8-4 S.H.I.E.L.D. came across being a ‘hammer’.

Fury comes down hard on Coulson.

With multiple human threats rather than a single super powered bad guy it also means that we get to see every member of the team do something, for them to work together and form a plan that involves all of them actually helping to save the day.

I’m still finding it hard to like the two scientist Fitz and Simmons who just seem to be two halves of the same character, even at one point talking in unison.  Ward still remains somewhat a background player with no significant growth or interest to his character in this episode.

What we do get, however, is much more character development for Coulson and May.  We get to meet a person from Coulsons past and see some insight into his pre-Iron-man days and his continual love of collectibles that was started in Avengers with his Captain America trading cards.  Melinda May continues to intrigue and excite as potentially the most dangerous and bad ass member of the team, displaying combat skills that Black Widow herself would envy.

'When I need a gun I'll take one.'

The highlight of the episode for me though came at the not so surprise cameo of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.  Though a brief scene, and one filled with some great comedic acting between the two it goes a long way to further plant the show within the extended universe and feel like another planned part of the bigger tapestry.  It also sets up a potential doubt in some of the teams minds about the trustworthiness of Skye.

Though not a big in scale as the first episode it has much better character moments from the main cast and is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure story.  7/10.

Amy.
xx

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Pilot' Review

Agent Phil Coulson is back on screen after dieing at the hands of Loki during the events of Avengers Assemble and is busy building his own team of shield agents tasked with dealing with the emergence of more and more ‘gifted’ or super powered individuals and any such threats that might appear.  With a misfit group of field agents and scientists Coulson comes face to face with a down on his luck factory worker who volunteers to receive powers from a shady organisation.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kicks off without skipping a beat from its big screen counterparts and immediately sets its feet firmly within the same universe without feeling out of place.  From the opening montage of the Avengers and the battle of New York to the guest appearance of Maria Hill and the use of Extremis the show just feels like another part of the larger tapestry that Marvel Studios are creating.

Cobie Smulders reprises her role as Maria Hill for the show.

I was worried that the show wouldn’t be able to stand beside its big screen cousins and would feel like a sub par attempt to recreate the same movie magic on TV, but those fears were quickly put to rest and by the time the first ad break rolled around I was invested.

Having said that there are parts of this first episode that I’m not completely sold on, some of the characters felt particularly weak, Agent Ward for example, and some of the ‘comic’ banter between Fitz and Simmons was a bit too cheesy to be believable.

To counter these criticisms though Clark Gregg was fantastic as Coulson and I’m glad to see the character back as I’ve loved him sine his first appearance in 2008’s Iron Man.  I’m glad that we’ve not been told the whole truth as to his resurrection straight away and that it’s something even his character doesn’t know the whole truth of.  I’m hoping for a great season finale reveal as to how and why he’s back from the dead that will give Gregg the chance for some stand out acting.

Mystery surrounds Ming Na's Melinda May, a fierce field agent.

In addition Ming Na’s Melinda May was played well and given enough intrigue to her back story to have me eager to find out her past and J August Richards excelled in his guest appearance and helped to put a great deal of empathy and pathos to what could have easily become a hateable character.

All in all this was a great opening episode and it looks like Wheadon is on top form once again doing what he does best, making a great ensemble television cast.  A great start to what will hopefully be an amazing series. 7/10

Amy.
xx

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Taking the First Small Steps...Then Getting Knocked Straight Back Down

Having been born physically male my body isn’t feminine, I’m tall, broad and have too large hands and feet.  I am also, unfortunately, bald.  I have been since I was eighteen.  As I have now where near enough money to be able to afford any kind of hair transplant treatment I’ve come to accept that instead I will have to wear a wig in order to pass as female.

Last night was something of a big step for me, it was the first time leaving the house in my wig and letting people other than my parents and sister see it.  I wasn’t going anywhere fancy, just to a friends house where a group of us would be meeting up, a perfectly safe and secure environment with people guaranteed to respond positively.  However, it was one of the most frightening things I’ve had to do.

I don’t know why I was scared, as I said I knew it was a perfectly safe place and I didn’t have to walk their or back wearing it as friends were giving me a ride.  It was silly and irrational but I was completely panicked.  I felt sick, my breathing was all wrong and more than once I wanted to take it off.

However, I tuck with it and went out in the wig, and things went perfectly fine.  I felt comfortable and I received nothing but good comments about it.  I had made that first small step to being comfortable and confident enough to present myself openly as the person I really am and I was happy with myself for having done so.

Unfortunately such feelings couldn’t last.  It seems like I never get to enjoy anything for longer than five minutes.

This morning at breakfast my mum told me that my dad, who has not even mentioned my being trans or anything to do with my situation after first being told, is having trouble with it.  She told me that he’s not comfortable with my wearing the wig around the house, with my wearing female clothes.  In the past he’s also told me not to be barefoot because I’ve got painted toe nails or wear my pyjamas anywhere downstairs as they’re pink.

I’ve known, deep down, for a while now that my dad isn’t comfortable with me being trans, that he doesn’t like it or want it.  But hear it confirmed by my mum is another thing entirely.  Add onto that the fact that he doesn’t really understand it but refuses to talk about it or go and read up about it on his own and it just hurts.  I love my family, but to have my dad be so against it and unwilling to even say anything about it cuts me deep.

Maybe he doesn’t realise just how much pain I’m in because of this, or what I might end up doing to myself if I weren’t to transition.  I don’t know though as he wont talk about it.  How many other people inn the world are going to be against me if at this point my own father doesn’t seem to have my best interest at heart?

Amy.
xx

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Bullied Just For Being Who You Are

Cassidy Lynn Campbell being crowned Homecoming Queen.

Last night I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine about how she’s now more aware of things that could be considered ‘Transphobia’ (though it’s not really a fear, it’s being an arsehole) now that she know me and that she’s friends with a transgender person.  We talked about a comment in her employers dress code and if it could be considered anti-trans.

Realising that simply by knowing someone I was making them potentially more aware of anti-trans sentiment and more open to challenging such views and opinions was great, and I hope that it is not just her but more of my friends who may have had their perception of such things altered.  The more people out there who support trans people and challenge those against them the better a world we will have.

Unfortunately though it seems that for every trans ally there are dozens of enemies.

Last week American high school girl Cassidy Lynn Campbell was crowned as the very first transgender Homecoming Queen.  This was a massive victory not just for her but for the trans community.  It went a long way towards showing just how much more accepting and understanding people are becoming of transgender people and their struggles.  Especially in high school, where we are normally showered by stories of bullying and close-mindedness between teenagers.

Unfortunately Cassidy, simply through being transgender and that alone, became the victim of horrid online abuse.  Now, as far as I’ve been able to find out about Cassidy she’s not a criminal, she’s not a delinquent or drug addict, she’s not a bad student or a bully.  She’s just a normal average teenage girl trying to live her life as best she can.  So why has she been targeted to receive this vicious abuse?  The answer is simple, because of how she was born.

I find it appalling that in this day and age, with advances in medicine and understanding of the transgender condition and with all of this information right at people’s fingertips on the web that there are still so many incorrect views and hatred towards transgender people.

Lets boil it down to the simplest way possible.  Being transgender is not a choice.  It’s not a decision someone makes to fulfil a fetish or ‘challenge society’.  It’s a medical condition, one that you are born with and have no control over whatsoever.

I thank all of the people who know me and support me and go out of their way to help and defend me but I also ask them to defend others like me.  If you come across someone online or even in everyday life who is being bullied for being trans please stand up for them.  Report the abuse and the haters and give the victims your support.

A large part of the world still holds this view that trans people are open to be mocked, ridiculed and hated and that there are no repercussions for doing so.  Only together, by supporting these victims and the transgender community will we be able to stamp out this kind of behaviour and make a better world.

Amy.
xx

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Teenager Attempts Suicide due to Homophobic Teacher.

I’ve just read an article about a student in South Carolina, US, who tried to hang himself after suffering abuse at the hands of his teacher simply for being gay.  The article describes how the young man was verbally bullied in class in front of all of his classmates and friends for an extended period of time.  The teacher, identified as Alan Ingram, identified the student as gay, called him names such as ‘gay boy’ and ‘Mrs Pete’.

It is also reported that Ingram told the students classmates that he was in a relationship with another male classmate and that they were ’boyfriend and girlfriend’.  H also reportedly encouraged the rest of the class to join in the verbal abuse and bullying.

The Original Article at Pinknews.com

The bullying went on for such a long period of time and had such harsh consequences that the student tried to kill himself.  He has since been removed from school and is being home schooled.

It’s a terrible thing when anyone in a position of power abuses that power in order to cause harm to others, especially when those people are being punished simply for being who they are.  It makes it all the worse though when that person is supposed to be in a position to help other.

Teachers are trusted with the safety and wellbeing of children.  It’s there job to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation, to prepare them for the world.  But when a teacher is trying to force such horrific practices on their students, I can’t help but feel sick at the though,

Schools are supposed to teach us the facts not opinions.  Whether we like it or not teachers will have profound effects on the people our children will grow up to become.  They can’t be allowed to get away with this kind of behaviour.  This man, and any other teacher that does the same, should be held fully accountable for their actions and immediately be banned from teaching children ever again.

Amy.
xx

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Refusing Hormone Blockers to Those in Need

Leo Waddell and his mother Hayley.

I’ve just read an article about a young trans boy called Leo that has been refused hormones blockers to halt the onset of puberty.  The article outline how the family doctor refused to issue the important medication as she was unsure how the drugs would effect Leo later in life.  Leo is quite understandably devastated by the decision and is searching out other doctors who will prescribe the hormone blockers.

The original article at the Mirror.

This article had me thinking though, I wished that I’d known I was trans when I was that young and could have had the chance to take hormone blockers.

I hate the way I am right now, my body disgusts and upsets me.  And it’s not just because it’s male instead of female.  It’s because of the effects that puberty and testosterone had on me.  I’m too tall, my shoulders too broad, my hands and feet are too big, my voice is too deep, my body too hairy and my head too bald.

I’m not inn a good position to start transitioning from, the results won’t be good.  I’ve seen people that have had luckier puberties and transitioned well, and those that got to start transitioning so young that they received the blockers and I can’t help but feel incredibly jealous about it.

Denying Leo these important drugs could have devastating consequences for him.  It’s not just a bad decision to deny him the medication, it’s down right cruel.

Amy.
xx

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Should Supernatural Have Ended With Season 5?

First of all I think that it’s important that I start this article by stating that I’m a fan of the show, and really enjoy seasons 6 onwards.  This isn’t somewhere where I’m just going to be tearing apart the last three years of the show, it’s going to try and be a fairly reasonable thought out question.

Having read through a number of interviews and behind the scenes articles it’s become very clear that Eric Kripke, the former show runner, had a very clear plan in mind from the very start of the show and that the culmination of the apocalypse story arc was his endgame.

If the show had ended we'd have had less Crowley...

Throughout the fifth season it becomes increasingly clearer that many of the plot elements of previous seasons were in place to lead up to this point, as we saw in the season four finale where it was revealed that the original villain Azazel, or ‘yellow eyes’, and season three and four villain Lilith were not only connected, but were all working towards the rise of Lucifer.

The fact that Kripke left at the end of season five further reinforces the idea that the show could have come to an end at that point.  Much of that final episode was even made in such a way that it felt like an ending, from Chuck’s beautiful narration of the Impala to the montage as Sam remembers all of the good times he had with his brother.  The show had a natural conclusion at that point, even with the revelation in the final moments that Sam escaped the prison.

....or the deepening of the mythology and introduction of
the Leviathans.

On the other hand, however, we’ve had some great story lines since season five and some massive additions to the shows mythology, such as Purgatory and the Leviathans.  Some of the shows best episodes came after season five.  ‘A Weekend at Bobby’s’ and ‘The French Mistake’ are prime examples of the show at it’s greatest.

Despite some of these additions and some stand out episodes the quality just hasn’t felt the same since season five, the stakes just not quite as high.  I’m still enjoying the show and I’m definitely intrigued to see what direction they’re going to take after the shocking conclusion to season eight, but I’m still hoping that the show picks up in quality just a little bit.

With the main stars signed up until season ten I’m and the game changing end of season eight I’m hoping that the creative team has another big plan in mind, and when the time finally does come for the show to come to its conclusion it better be epic!

Amy.
xx

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Flora Publishes Homophobic Advert

A recent advertisement from margarine giant Flora has come under some serious criticism and has received a number of complains by comparing coming out as gay to your father to being shot through the heart.

Set on a pink background a bullet made up from the words ‘Uhh Gad, I’m Gay’ flies towards a human heart made from china.  At the bottom of the poster next to the Flora logo are the words ‘you need a strong heart today’.

Flora, which is owned by the consumer group Unilever, has come under a barrage of criticism from various individuals as well as a number of gay rights groups that find the advertisement homophobic.  A spokesman from the gay rights group Stonewall said that ‘Many people will find this advert offensive and inappropriate’.

However, a spokesperson from Unilever responded with the following statement, ‘This advert was prepared by an external agency in South Africa and was not approved by anyone at Unilever.  The advert is offensive and unacceptable and we have put an immediate stop to it’.

The question remains however as to how the advertisement was released in the first place if it had not received any prior improvement from Unilever.

Amy.
xx

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'The Dyatlov Pass Incident' Review

‘The Dyatlov Pass Incident’ follows a group of student documentary makers and mountain climbers on a trek into the Russian Ural mountains to investigate the true life mystery of nine Russian skiers that died under mysterious circumstances in 1959.

The actual Dyatlov Pass Incident that the film takes inspiration from concerns a group of nine experienced skiers and hikers that went hiking through the Ural mountains but never reached their intended destination.  After two months the hikers were eventually found.

Their camp was abandoned, the tent half destroyed and cut open from the inside, filled with all of their equipment and shoes.  The hikers were found in the surrounding area in pairs or on their own, apparently dead from hypothermia.  A number of the hikers were, however, found with a number of injuries including skull fractures, destroyed rib cages and in the case of one woman a missing tongue.

The abandoned campsite from the real life Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Upon further investigation it was concluded that massive force was required to inflict the bodily damage that the hikers had sustained, yet there was no visible evidence of any external trauma.  In the end the authorities concluded that the hikers were killed by a ‘compelling natural force.’  To this day there has been no further explanation give for the bizarre events that happened at the Dyatlov Pass.

The film takes this event as their inspiration and is set around a group of five students that travel to Russia to attempt to investigate the incident and discover what actually led to the deaths of the hikers.  Although based upon a real world incident the film makers make some very brave and possibly bizarre choices in the direction they take the story.

The student film makers investigating the Incident.

Beginning as a simple investigation into the deaths it leads the way to a government plot to hide the truth of what actually lies at the heart of Dyatlov and their willingness to kill anyone that came close to discovering the truth.  Finding an abandoned underground facility the group discover strange phenomena, monstrous creatures and experiments leading back to the Philadelphia Experiment and the USS Eldridge.

A well made film shot on beautiful locations the writers and director create a tale that requires you to think outside of the box and make your own deductions based upon clues carefully laid out earlier on in the film.  The film suffers mainly from the sudden turn of events towards the end of the film that changes the tone fairly dramatically and some effects shots that aren’t quite up to par with the natural beauty of the filming locations.

Probably not to everyone’s tastes, but based upon extremely fascinating real world events the film is well worth a viewing for both horror fans and people interested in the actual Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Amy.
xx

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The Sarah Jane Adventures 'Invasion of the Bane' Review

‘Invasion of the Bane’ is the first episode of the Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.  Though not a pilot in the traditional sense but a special, it still serves as the first episode of what would become a five series show, and an introduction to a number of the main characters.

The episode focuses on thirteen year old Maria Jackson who has just moved into Bannerman Road, opposite Sarah Jane Smith.  The night after moving in to her new home Maria is awakened by a strange light coming from Sarah Jane’s garden and goes to investigate.  She discovers Sarah Jane and an alien known as a Star Poet conversing, before the alien leaves, returning to the stars above.

The following day one of Marias neighbours invites Maria to join her on a free trip to the Bubble Shock factory to see how the new drink craze is being produced.  Overhearing the two girls talking Sarah Jane decides to investigate Bubble Shock to discover just how it’s becoming so popular so fast.

Mrs Wormwood leads the Bane.

 Sarah Jane interviews the boss of Bubble Shock, Mrs Wormwood, and tries to find out why the drink has been approved so fast, especially as their secret ingredient ‘Bane’ resists any kind of analysis.  As she is leaving the facility Sarah Jane is attacked and almost killed by Wormwood’s assistant. 

In the panic that ensues Sarah Jane and Maria discover that the people behind Bubble Shock are in fact aliens that are planning to use the Bubble Shock for some unknown reason.  They also discover ‘the archetype’, a composite human created by the Bane that the two of them help to liberate. 

Knowing that the Bane are planning to use both the Bubble Shock and ‘the archetype’ Sarah Jane and Maria must find a way to stop them.

The squid like Bane hunt Sarah Jane and her companions.

‘The Invasion of the Bane’ serves as a great introduction for the series, showing Sarah Jane continuing on her fight against alien threats and the affect that it has had on her life.  At the start she is much colder and closed off then we have seen her in the past, initially reluctant to have Maria involved in what is happening trying to encourage her to forget what she has seen and return to a normal life.

By the end of the episode Sarah Jane has warmed considerably, accepting that both Maria and Luke, formerly the ‘archetype’ and now her adopted son, are now a part of something bigger and important to her.

The Bane themselves are a great creation, with top notch effects.  Despite being the first episode of a spin-off the aliens are just as amazing and beautiful as they would be in their parent show.  They are also something very un-human, with an almost squid like appearance, which gives us something new and interesting to look at.

Though the show was initially created for the child audience of Doctor Who, and at times it can be very childish, it also has a lot of heart, and Elizabeth Sladen brings such heart and wisdom to the series that it’s impossible not to fall in love with it.  A good introduction to what is a great series to come.  7/10

Amy.
xx

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Transphobia or a Joke Taken Too Far?

A few months ago a friend of mine that is also a passionate gamer introduced me to the online game reviewer ‘Zero Punctuation’.  Staring Ben ‘Yahtzee’ Crowshaw Zero Punctuation offers a comical video review of a video game every week, complete with animation and fun facts.

The reviews are almost always humorous, and often can be very scathing towards the games faults or certain companies.  Crowshaw will even at times turn his jokes around upon himself and make himself the butt of the jokes.

However, one of his latest videos, in which he reviews two downloadable games seems to take a particular joke aimed at trans people and uses it repeatedly to the point where I have to question if it is even a joke anymore or just straight up Transphobia.

I’ve watched loads of these videos, so I know how his sense of humour works and that he can sometimes pick on people but it just seems like this time he’s crossed the line from cheap joke to something a little nastier.  I particularly object to the work ‘Trannies’ being used onscreen repeatedly during the video.

It’s all down to personal interpretation though, an I urge you all to watch it yourselves and give your comments on the video bellow, I for one though feel that perhaps this was one joke too far and is just another in a long line of examples of how trans people are used as a source of humour and a target of thinly veiled insults.

Amy.
xx


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Stephen Fry and the Winter Olympics

Stephen Frys recent letter to the government and Olympic Committee advocating the removal of the 2014 Winter Olympics from Russia due to its extreme anti gay laws was a brilliantly written, well thought out and emotional piece. 

Unfortunately not everyone agrees with him, and low and behold the Daily Mail in on the front lines of those attacking Stephen Fry for not just standing up for his personal beliefs but also for sanity and the goodness of human spirit.

The Daily Mail launches a vicious article that attacks Fry personally, and calls for people to do the exact opposite of what he advocates. Instead of boycotting the Olympic games in what is fast becoming one of the most extreme anti LGBT countries in the world their reporter, Andrew Pierce is urging people to not only attend the games but to openly protest them once there.

How is it that someone in the media could be so blinded to the previous violence against LGBT people and threats made by the Russian government should people attempt to do the same that they would encourage their readers put themselves in danger? If anything it appears to me that the Daily Mail, and Pierce in particular, are simply trying to place LGBT people in harms way.

Some might find this a somewhat ludicrous thought, but simply look at their past record of anti LGBT sentiment and the vicious hounding of school teacher Lucy Meadows, a campaign of hatred and harassment that led to Miss Meadows taking her own life.

I for one share Stephen Fry's views that attending the winter Olympics in such an anti LGBT country goes against everything that the Olympics stands for and common human decency.

Amy.
xx

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An Open Letter on Transphobia

Today I was made aware of an amazing video.  It is a response to the Julie Burchil article from several months ago that descended into pure hate speech towards transgender women.  The young woman in this video is not transgender, her views do not come from a place of hurt or anger from Burchil's comments, but rather from a detached and level headed point of view.

I hope that this video is interesting and thought provoking to people, and that you reallise just how much the trans community comes under attack in the modern media, and just how 'accepted' it is by people over other forms of desrimination.  Only with everyone working together can we stop this kind of thing happening again in the future.

Amy.
xx

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Bullying in the Trans Community

About a week ago someone posted a very rude and sexual comment on the  Face Book page for Trans Girl Writer.  This was not the first such message that I’ve received, but it was the first openly public one.  I was quite understandably upset and angry with this comment and went on something of a rant on Face Book about receiving these kinds of messages and being the focus of some peoples fetishes.

I posted this rant on a couple of Face Book pages that are designed for transgender people, for them to share their thoughts and feelings and talk to other people in the same situation as them.  For the most part people were of the same opinion as me and I received a lot of positive feedback about what I had written.

However, on one particular group, which I will not name, I began to receive negative comments.  Rather than these comments being targeted at what I had written though, they were targeted towards me.  The comments became directed towards how it was my fault for attracting these kinds of comments and messages towards myself.

After a while these comments began to change towards people turning around and accusing me of making the whole thing up, and even lying about being transgender in the first place.  Their basis for such conclusions are based in the fact that I don’t have any pictures of myself on my Face Book page.

I’m early on in my transition, I’ve never lied about what stage I’m in, so I don’t like the way I look.  I don’t like to look in the mirror and see a man looking back at me, so there is no way on earth that I’d post pictures of a body that I would hate on my Face Book for the whole world to see.  I’ve read countless accounts of transgender people that don’t like pictures of themselves pre or early transition and have even gone so far as to destroy these pictures of themselves.

For another transgender person to turn around to me and say that unless I post a picture of myself then they’re going to assume that I’m a guy just pretending to be a girl is horrible.  Even when trying to put my point across to them that I am being truthful and indeed transgender they just continued to bombard me with insulting and hurtful comments, even going so far as to advising me to ‘seek professional help’.

It’s bad enough that we become the target of bullying from the rest of the world, simply for being born different from everyone else, but to have people within the community turn on you because you don’t fit into their opinion of what a trans person is or should be doing is terrible.  We should be helping each other and giving our support to fellow transgender people, not attacking them.

The comments made have since disappeared from he conversation thread, either by an admin removing them or the original commenter taking back what they have said, but the damage from these comments has already been made.  It’s ruined my day.  I feel like complete shit and just want to break down into tears.

It wasn’t a trans hater or a bigot who made me feel like that, it was another transgender person.  This elitism of ‘I’m more of a trans person than you’ or ‘if you don’t do it a certain way you’re not really trans’ is disgusting and destructive to the community.  We need to work together here people.  If we can’t even accept and support each other how can we expect the rest of the world to do so?

Amy.
xx

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Peter Capaldi - Doctor 12

Sunday the 4th of August saw the worldwide reveal of the actor that will play the twelfth incarnation of the television legend, the Doctor.  After weeks of speculation on who would take over the ionic role from current Doctor Matt Smith it was announced that Scottish born actor, film director and screen writer Peter Capaldi will step into part.

Possibly best known for his role in ‘The Thick of It’ as foul mouthed Director of Communications for the British government, he has also appeared in a number of other well known television shows, including two separate roles in both Doctor Who and it’s spin-off show Torchwood.

When the announcement was made I was very happy with the choice and found myself looking forward to him taking over the role more than I am the upcoming 50th anniversary special.  Capaldi has always been an actor that I have liked whenever I’ve seen him in anything and I think that he will be able to bring a level of age and authority to the role that has been missing since the 70’s.

I know that a number of people on the internet have been complaining that he’s too old to play the part, but being the same age as William Hartnell when the role was first created for me means that he is in no way too old.  I can’t help but to feel that the people that are first in line to complain that he is too old to play the Doctor are people that are only familiar with the new series of the show, and haven’t had the pleasure of watching Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee, three of the oldest Doctors, play the part so absolutely brilliantly.

When the series was first announced back in 2005 I was excited by the return of the show, but had no real opinion on Eccleston in the role.  When it was announced that Tennant was taking over the role my heart sank and I found myself thinking ‘oh god not that twat from that awful Casanova show!’  With Matt Smith being an unknown I had no real opinion on him in the role when it was first announced.  Capaldi is the first Doctor since the show returned to television where I am really excited to see him in the role.

I know that many people are going to be polarised by this announcement, as they are every time a new Doctor is announced, but people need to calm down a little and wait to see him in the role before they make any snap decisions.  The people who are making harsh comments on the internet, saying that he’s too old and that they will never watch him as the Doctor are just being plain stupid.

I personally think that Capaldi could be the best Doctor we’ve had since the show returned and that the fans just need to relax and give him a chance to win them over.

Amy.
xx

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