When I saw this dress, I swear my jaw dropped. Absolutely stunning! Cosplay by Anja Takera.
Everything Wrong with Millennials Part 2
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
I’m sorry that I didn’t actually tell you what was wrong with Millennials in the first post in this series.
I could wax poetic about the economy, job market, debt, social issues etc…
Instead I’m going to tell you there’s nothing wrong with them. They are just like every other generation; trying to survive and make a better life for themselves and their kids.
If there is anything wrong with them, it’s that in general their opinions and feelings are ignored.
Here are a few examples from my own life.
Grade School
As a kid I felt completely helpless in the world. When I complained that one of my teachers was emotionally abusive, I was told I didn’t understand the world and I was being disrespectful. Other than my mother, no one believed me.
This teacher would stop class to spend an entire morning yelling about how stupid we were and how disrespectful we were. He’d yell and rant and then the next day he’d bring candy as treat for the class and say he was sorry.
I had long hair (my older brother had long hair and he was cool so…) and the teacher loved to make fun of me and call me a girl. He’d encourage the other students to make fun of me. Once he went as far as pulling the hair tie out of my hair… so basically pulling my hair. I yelled at him and was sent to the principal’s office. I was sent home. You see, I was just a kid and he was a well-respected teacher. I was sent home a lot because of that teacher.
This was throughout my seventh grade and half of my eighth grade. Just before Christmas break, he stopped being at school. We had a substitute teacher for the rest of the school year. It turns out that he’d been sexually abusing some of the other students. He’d been doing it for years and no one had come forward. They were afraid no one would listen. They were right! No one did until three of them bypassed the community and went to the police.
I still feel guilty for not having realized what he was doing to my classmates. My mom was a social worker and I should have seen the signs. I guess I was too busy dealing with my own stuff.
High School
I was a little of an over achiever in high school. It didn’t translate in grades so much as school involvement. I helped out whenever I could and I joined, or founded, more groups than I can remember.
I volunteered, mostly with the school, and did my best to make things better for the other students and hopefully future students.
In my last year I joined the PTA as the student adviser when a friend couldn’t handle it and her extra courses (brilliant girl both for doing 5-7 classes a semester and for knowing her limits.)
I remember sitting there after a meeting while my ride was at the washroom or talking to someone else and hearing two parents talking about how lazy kids were. How they didn’t work hard enough, didn’t take anything seriously, didn’t volunteer enough, etc.
I didn’t scoff or laugh it off. I took it to mean that being part of 8+ clubs, taking a full course load, working part time, and volunteering wasn’t enough.
I still have trouble saying no. I still feel like I should be doing more.
University
When I was in university, I met a man on the bus. He asked what I was studying and why. When I told him communications, he snorted and said, “You have no idea how good you have it.”
I believed him. Past generations went to war, fought against oppression, saw rampant hate, dealt with economic crises. I must have been living in a golden age. I felt guilty.
Even though I was working 40 hours a week, taking four classes, and would end up finishing university with $30,000 worth of debt. I still felt guilty.
It’s great to encourage youth to improve themselves and the world around them. It’s important that we millennials take responsibility for the world around us. We know this and we’re trying, but we are the most diverse, and officially now, the largest generation; we won’t all have the same priorities and we might not share yours.
Éric
Blush: Sexplanations Recommendation
When Dr Lindsey Doe’s channel Sexplanations went live almost 3 years ago, I was super excited to hear about it. She has uploaded tons of videos since, and although I’m not a religious watcher of her channel, I think its a fantastic resource! She’s adorable, hilarious, and educational all rolled into one package. Highly recommended!
Wargrave Island (Serial Story) Part 4
List of Characters | Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3
“Well I’m going to have another of these,” Jonathan slurred picking up a full bottle of gyn.
The rest of the group just sort of stared at him for a little until Zoe launched herself at him. “You killed her you bastard.” Arun jumped into action and grabbed Zoe before she reached Jonathan.
Falling backwards off his chair, Jonathan made a whimpering noise.
“Ok. Relax everyone. Someone has obviously staged this. We can’t even be sure that’s Allison.” Riko tried to sound calm despite the panic she felt. “If one of us is the murderer, we just have to stop them from killing until the boat comes in the morning.”
“So we should just lock ourselves in our rooms and wait it out?” Zane clung to Blane.
Nodding solemnly, Abe said, “Right. You should lock yourselves in your rooms while the detectives and I investigate.” The doctor looked like he was half in shock and half enjoying himself.
“Weren’t you totally into these kinds of movies?” Sandrine was standing like she expected to be attacked, and in her dress it was easy to see the strong muscles of her legs and arms. She owned a construction company and must still do some of the work. The teasing, judgmental tone of her voice hadn’t changed in the past ten years.
Either Abe didn’t realize she was accusing him or he ignored it. “No way. I hate psycho killers. I’m all about monsters. Dracula, Jeepers Creepers, Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“I’d feel safer if I was with someone who has a gun,” slurred Jonathan.
With hatred in her eyes, Zoe said, “I’d feel more comfortable if you were with someone who has a gun too.” Turning to Riko and Ethan, she asked, “You have guns right?”
“No,” Ethan said and shook his head. Riko knew he was lying. The group was too frazzled; adding guns to the mix would guarantee that someone would get shot and it probably wouldn’t be the killer. “We’re off duty. No gun.” He said it as if it was obvious. She nodded in agreement.
“So we’re on an island with a psycho killer and no guns. Okay then.” Jonathan took a great big drink of the already half empty bottle of gin.
“Abe is right. Everyone should go to your rooms, lock the doors and stay there until the morning.”
Slowly everyone went up to their rooms. When no one but Riko, Ethan, and Abe were left, they carried Missy’s body up to the makeshift morgue. When they’d placed the body next to the others, Abe turned the air conditioning on to maximum.
“It’ll hopefully preserve the bodies a little.” He shrugged. The room already smelled of death and bodily fluids.
In Ethan’s room, Abe asked, “Which one of them do you think the killer is?”
“Why do you think it’s not one of us?” asked Ethan with a smirk. Riko’s heart fluttered at the smirk.
Looking like he was solving a puzzle no one else could, Abe answered, “Riko has always been the most stand up person I know. If she kills someone, it’s because they were a really bad person. If she trusts you enough to be your partner, it can’t be you either.”
Despite it feeling like a back handed compliment, Riko liked that her former classmate saw her as incorruptible. She said, “I’m not sure who it could be. I mean Jonathan is a broken jackass. I’m sure Sandrine is capable of killing, but I don’t think she’d play these games.”
Shrugging, Ethan said, “I haven’t seen anything to make me suspect anyone, but whoever this is, they’ve put a lot of thought into what they’re doing.”
They talked a little more about the others, but nothing came to mind. With no cell signal on the island and no access to the WiFi, they had no way of contacting the outside world. They finally decided to get some sleep.
“We’ll walk you to your room,” said Ethan. Every corner and every shadow made Riko’s skin crawl. She felt like she was playing a survival horror video game. Any moment she expected a zombie to crash through a window.
Despite her nerves, they walked Abe to his room and nothing happened. They said their goodnights and headed back to Riko’s room.
Ethan went for the adjoining door, turned, and said, “Goodnight.” His smile was tired but warm. She wanted to tell him to stay. She wanted to feel his arms around her, his warmth on her back as she slept. She wanted him.
“Goodnight,” she replied as he closed the door, her moment passed.
She changed out of her dress and into a comfortable pair of shorts and a Superman tank top. She wasn’t expecting to fall asleep, but the stress and worry had worn her out.
She woke up to an alarm. She hit the alarm clock next to the bed but nothing happened.
The sun shone meekly through the hotels curtains signaling a beautiful day was about to start. The smell and sound of Lake Ontario wafted through the window. She must have forgotten to close it last night.
The alarm was her phone. She had a text message. It was from a blocked number, and all it said was, “The forth preferred those who were incapacitated, now it’s his turn to be penetrated.”
There was a scream from the hallway and she ran out to find Sandrine standing in the doorway of Abe’s room. She was ashen with shock, and didn’t stop screaming until Riko pulled her into a hug.
Over the shoulder of the shocked woman, Riko could see Abe’s body hung on the wall by a six foot square patch of spikes. It looked like someone had pushed or tossed him into the spikes.
Everything Wrong with Millennials Part 1
Hello My Imaginary friends,
On Monday night a friend, someone I genuinely respect, posted a video. I can’t find the video to show you but it made me angry. It was a young woman, from her accent she was American, bemoaning the horrors of Generation Y (AKA Millennials or the Entitlement Generation).
She went on a minute long rant about us being emotionally stunted, entitled, rude, and wasteful. In one part she said something about Gen Y only complaining on Facebook. It was particularly ironic that the video was uploaded to Facebook. The friend also added a melodramatic comment about how no one would listen and they worried about the future of our world.
I see these kinds of ageist rants a lot. I’m used to people attacking me for my age / generation. This was just particularly hurtful coming from a friend.
They’ve since apologized for what they said and painting a whole generation in one stroke. They’re not mean spirited and I’m sure the post was brought on by some bad experience.
Ageism
There’s a stigma about being young, or old. People dismiss your opinions as inexperienced or dated.
Every generation has said, “Kids these days!” and I look forward to being the old man on the internet yelling back, “Shut up. Don’t you remember what they said about us?” (Sorry in advance, Gen Z /Digital Natives/Post Millennials)
Millennials are getting it pretty bad right now. Search the term “Millennial Generation,” and you’ll find people trying to understand us like we’re some sort of alien culture, people decrying that we’re going to ruin the world, people worried that we’re entitled, irresponsible, etc.
I’m not sure what’s causes this fear and hatred, but it’s wrong.
The Desmarais Prejudice Test
My friend didn’t think to include me or my wife in their generalization. Probably didn’t realize that we were in that age group. We are the early Millennials.
In hopes of helping people avoid insulting other I give you the Desmarais Prejudice Test:
If you’re going to say something about a group of people, replace that groups name with “Black People” or “Jewish People”. If it sounds racist, your comment is showing prejudice and maybe you shouldn’t say it.
Of course, this only works if you don’t want to be prejudiced.
Dangers of Generalizing
We are currently approaching 7.5 billion people on this planet. It’s a human instinct to categorize and label things. That’s a normal trait. I’m Canadian, a Geek, a Writer, a French Canadian, and a book lover. I’m also Cis, White, Male, middle class, agnostic, and a millennial.
I share traits with all of the above labels, but that’s all they are: labels. Hot Dogs and Steak can both be All-Beef but they’re not the same thing.
If you start generalizing people based off their labels or generalizing labels based off of bad examples, you’ll end up hurting someone and possibly losing a friend.
Éric
Disney Cruise to Canada?
Disney announced the other day that their Transatlantic cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida to Dover, England will include a stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia. I’m rather excited about this, for obvious reasons. (Yay Canada!) You can check out the full itinerary here.
On top of that, the price is ridiculously low for a Disney cruise. Fourteen nights, and…well, you’ll just have to look at the price list here. Yes, that’s in USD, unfortunately. However, yes, that is for two people. No, it doesn’t include airfare.
Yes, it leaves on Ottawa Comic Con weekend, because it is the Disney Magic, heading over to Norway for its Frozen-themed cruises in May, June, and July. It’s also going to do a nice little tour around the British Isles. There are also itineraries in the Mediterranean, departing from Barcelona, Spain.
Want to go on a Disney cruise? I sure do, now that I’ve done my research for this post! Jen has retired from working as a travel agent. Hope you’ve enjoyed Fandom Travel.
Dear Dragon – I’m Sorry
Hello Dragon,
You’re half way here. Right now you’re swimming around in your mother as if you were a fish. I can’t feel you move yet, but she does, and it somehow makes you more real.
We found out that you’re going to be a girl. At least, your sex designation at birth will be girl.
I have never doubted that I wanted to have you; even when you were a small probability in the far future. I always wanted you. That doesn’t mean I haven’t worried about bringing you into this world.
We (humans) as a race are capable of such horrible things. I will tell you it’s because of fear, insecurity, or sickness, but sometimes it just seems inexplicable. Nothing in all of history has killed more humans than humans themselves. When we don’t attack each other physically, we do it with our minds and words. The world is filled with people who want to make themselves feel better by bringing someone down.
I’m sorry for everything you will have to go through because of other people. Every parent wants to protect their child and hopes these things won’t happen.
There is good in this world though. There is beauty. (and ice cream!) For every terrible thing in this world that humans have created, there is something beautiful. They don’t balance themselves out, but the beauty can help. Music, art, literature, architecture, and science can help you recover. Life is not easy and as a girl it’ll be a little harder.
There are two things I want you to remember. The first is that there’s always hope, as long and you can find the beauty in the world. I will never have to look far for it, as long as I have you and your mother. You are my hope.
The second thing I want you to remember is something I will repeat over and over. Your mother and I love you and we’ll always be there for you when you need it. Life isn’t always fair, humans aren’t always kind, and you will have terrible days; but we will ALWAYS be there for you; even if it’s only in these letters.
Enjoy swimming around and try to stop kicking that nerve that makes your mother uncomfortable.
I love you, Baby Dragon,
Your worried Father
New Companion?
I was still hoping that the new companion would be Osgood, because I love her so much! But I’m really excited to see what Pearl Mackie brings to the show! What are your thoughts on the new companion?