media, Media Literacy and Analysis, On Reading, Uncategorized

Project Hail Mary and the Covert Pretension of Sci-Fi Readers

I, like many others, saw Project Hail Mary last week. It was one of my favorite books of 2021, so I had followed the development of the movie closely. It was both a wonderful movie in its own right, and, I feel, a good adaptation. It fell well within all the parameters that Iโ€™m looking… Continue reading Project Hail Mary and the Covert Pretension of Sci-Fi Readers

comics, fandom, Media Literacy and Analysis, Storytelling, Uncategorized, World Building

You Can Call the Symbiote Venom: A Textual Analysis

Who is Venom? What is the Venom symbioteโ€™s โ€œname?โ€ Why even ask this question? Why do we care? Because the fandom community around this character has very strong opinions around who and what โ€œVenomโ€ is. Thereโ€™s a hostile undercurrent in regards to nomenclature that claims, with certainty, that only the bonded host and symbiote as… Continue reading You Can Call the Symbiote Venom: A Textual Analysis

Fan Theory and Transformative Works, Media Literacy and Analysis, Queerness, Storytelling, Uncategorized, World Building, Writing Theory

Deadpool Needs to Kiss a Dude for Real: The Shifty Nature of Canon

With the recent addition of Deadpool to Marvel Rivals, my various queer comic subreddits have raised the question โ€œis Deadpool ACTUALLY pansexual?โ€ meaning is it โ€œcanonical.โ€ Is it โ€œin the comics?โ€ And this raises the question of how do we do character analysis within an expansive, multi-contributor lore? The first two obvious and interconnected hurdles… Continue reading Deadpool Needs to Kiss a Dude for Real: The Shifty Nature of Canon

Uncategorized

On the Passing of a Matriarch

Yesterday, September 10th, 2025, I received the call from my mom that my maternal grandmother had died. This is where I have to frame this properly because my grandmother hasnโ€™t been Granny for a number of years, at this point. The past few years, in particular, it was a genuine surprise every time she managed… Continue reading On the Passing of a Matriarch

Books and Literature, Reviews, Uncategorized

April Reads and Reviews

Check the end for promos, free books, and special sales from the Bookfunnel community of indie authors. For updates on my own books delivered to your inbox, sign up for your newsletter of choice. Queer Fantasy :: Sci-Fi Romance When the Moon Hits Your EyeJohn ScalziSci-fi (2025, Recent Release!) From Storygraph: One day soon, suddenly… Continue reading April Reads and Reviews

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March Reads and Reviews

For updates on my own books delivered to your inbox, sign up for your newsletter of choice. Queer Fantasy :: Sci-Fi Romance SoftwareRudy RuckerSci-fi, Cyberpunk From Storygraph: "It was Cobb Anderson who built the "boppers"-the first robots with real brains. Now, in 2020, Cobb is just another aged "pheezer" with a bad heart, drinking and grooving on… Continue reading March Reads and Reviews

Books and Literature, Reviews, Uncategorized

February Reads and Reviews

Check the end for promos, free books, and special sales. For updates on my own books delivered to your inbox, sign up for your newsletter of choice. Queer Fantasy :: Sci-Fi Romance We Have Always Been HereLena NguyenScience Fiction (2021) From Storygraph: Misanthropic psychologist Dr. Grace Park is placed on the Deucalion, a survey ship… Continue reading February Reads and Reviews

Books and Literature, Reviews, Uncategorized

January Reads and Reviews

Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke Science Fiction, 1953 From Storygraph: In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankindโ€™s largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development. Their purpose is to dominate Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly benevolent: end war, poverty, and… Continue reading January Reads and Reviews

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How Comics Expose Our Expectations Around Critical Analysis

Recently Iโ€™ve been spending a lot more time in comic book and super hero spaces. Despite being a low-key (and occasionally high-key) fan of a few different franchises for years, those kinds of spaces were not great to navigate as a kid or teen femme-presenting person. As an adult, I donโ€™t give as many shits,… Continue reading How Comics Expose Our Expectations Around Critical Analysis

Books and Literature, Media Literacy and Analysis, Storytelling, Uncategorized

I Hate the Book It, but Love the Mini-series

When I was about nine (give or take a year) some cable channel or other was re-running the 1990 It mini-series over the course of a week leading up to Halloween. My mom hadnโ€™t seen it since in released the first time and thought it would be fun family TV. Now this might be horrifying… Continue reading I Hate the Book It, but Love the Mini-series