My Dream Loot Crate: Nasty Women

Have you looked longingly at subscription boxes like I have? These have boomed in popularity in recent months, and I love looking at unboxings yet haven't been able to justify shelling out the money to subscribe to one yet. One subscription service that I've heard about, namely through Kristina Horner, is Loot Crate Loot Crate, which sounds awesome for geeks and nerds like me. So when they approached me about creating my own "dream crate" I knew I had to jump aboard.

Almost right away I knew I wanted to center my box around awesome female characters, and with the crazy election, my dream box is the NASTY WOMEN box.

Nasty Women Dream Loot Crate

My first choice is this Orphan Black t-shirt because this fabulous array of female characters were the first ones that came to mind. It was hard deciding on a product that could encompass Orphan Black (and there's surprisingly little merch), but this shirt is perfect and lists most of the major kick-ass female clones (portrayed by the equally kick-ass Tatiana Maslany), as well as a few other important characters.

My second choice was another easy one. This Rey print is stunning and also shows BB-8, another favorite. I loved Rey from the moment she appeared on screen in the new Star Wars movie. She's an amazing addition to the SW universe, and Daisy Ridley is perfection. Another easy choice.

Of course no list is complete without some Harry Potter reference. I actually have two different choices because they're possibly my two favorite HP characters, and I couldn't choose which one I wanted to feature more. This is Hermione's wand. Do I even need to explain this choice? Hermione meant so much to me when I was reading Harry Potter for the first time, and she still remains close to my heart. (Also, Emma Watson is perfection.)

The other amazing female character I love in Harry Potter is none other than Luna Lovegood! Her Spectrespecs are so unique to her and everyone who knows the movies will recognize it right away. Luna stays true to herself, regardless of what others will think. She's kind and creative.

Another easy choice is Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series. She, like Hermione, is the brains of the trio. She's such a solid heroine and similarly inspiring as Hermione. I found these books in middle school and am just now realizing how great of a transition it was to find it a few years after the last Harry Potter book. It's no wonder I loved Annabeth! This is an Annabeth Chase candle. 

This one is a less obvious choice, but this Everyone Deserves Tea mug represents the ladies of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and of Pride and Prejudice). Not only do I love tea, but this is also a reminder of sisterly bond that is so strong in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. And I love all three sisters, the actresses who portray them, as well as the supporting female cast (Charlotte, Gigi).

I'm not sure if the image is hard to see, but this Belle shirt caught my attention right away. Belle has long been one of my favorite Disney princesses (alongside Mulan). Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Belle. She was one of the first females I saw on screen who loved to read and comforted the bookworm in me. 

This was a bit of a late addition, but I've included it for a few reasons. For one, while I personally don't like Katniss, many people do, and this pullover partially represents her. But the other reason I included it is that it represents the thousands/millions of female ballerinas out there. Ballet has sort of been brought back to popular culture thanks to people such as Misty Copeland. As a dancer/ballet dancer myself, I had to throw something in there. Ballerinas (and all dancers) work so hard yet also work to make what they do effortless. They're often not given nearly enough credit and aren't seen as on-par with other athletes, when in many ways, we're more athletic. So I had to include this in my dream box.

I apologize that this Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan pillow isn't included in the overall graphic, but I added this after I made it. As I wrote my honorable mentions/extras below I realized I didn't have any non-white women above, which is a huge and real problem (and also why we need more diversity in popular culture). So Kamala Khan popped into my head. I wanted to pick an item that's different from the others, and this pillow fits that bill. 

Another last minute addition not included in the graphic is this Schuyler Sisters sticker. I had them in mind since the beginning, but it slipped my mind as I was finishing up this post. This is such a given. Does it even need explaining?

Extras/Honorable Mentions

There were a few items that don't fit into the popular culture category, so I've listed them here instead.

 

I absolutely love this image and think a tote would be fabulous. If we're going to talk about feminism, it should be intersectional. Unfortunately, basically all of the women above are white women, and it's important to acknowledge all types of women.

Michelle Obama is all kinds of goals, and I've fallen in love with the recent Strand merch including this quote. This is the magnet, and after the election, this is just so inspiring and lovely. I love Michelle Obama and think she's an amazing figure for all of us to look up to.

And last but not least, I had to include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists. To me, Adichie is one of the ultimate feminists, and while there are plenty of others whom I love, she speaks so eloquently and rawly and openly about transnational and intersectional feminism. She supports other women, even if she disagrees with them (see her comments on her feminism vs. Beyonce's feminism). She has been so integral in the recent pushes/fights for feminism, and she is such an important part of educating others on inclusional feminism. I just love her, and I think this (or her TED talk) should be required reading (viewing). 

~~~

Ladies, let us continue to be "nasty women." Let's continue to fight for inclusion and diversity, for equality, for respect. Let's continue to support one another and critically discuss issues important to all of us.

Be sure to check out Loot Crate Loot Crate

if you're interested in their subscription boxes!

And let me know below or on Twitter what you would include in your dream crate!

Best of 2015

Hey, lovelies! So I'm hoping to make this blog bigger and better in the new year. I feel like I always say that, but at least for now, I'm really motivated and excited. In addition, I'm hoping to really start up my personal blog, Infinite Golden Floors. At this point, I may still end up combining these two blogs, but I'd probably have to change my blog URL again, and I'd rather not. (Regardless, I'll be changing my Twitter handle.)

But let's talk about this past year! It's definitely been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but overall, I would say I've had a good year, at least looking back now. I'll admit that I think more in school years/semesters than calendar years, so some of the beginning of the year is fuzzy, but I'm loving where I am now in college.

And here is my Best of 2015 list! Everything is listed in no particular order. (I've reviewed many of these, some won't be reviewed at all, and others will be reviewed in early 2016, by the way.)

Top 10 Reads of 2015

Honorable Mentions: I Crawl Through It by A.S. King, Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom, Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Top 2 Graphic Novels of 2015

I decided to just pick two despite having a read a few because most of the graphic novels I read were all within the same rating range and don't particularly stick out.

Top 10 Albums of 2015

(Though most of these were released in 2015, not all were. In addition, I didn't include albums for musicals.)

Honorable Mentions: Stand By You and Fight Song by Rachel Platten, Rabbits on the Run by Vanessa Carlton

Top 3 Movies of 2015

(I'm very bad at keeping track of movies I watch, so I've only looked at those released this past year. I didn't watch very many movies (probably around 5 in theaters), so.)

Honorable Mention: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Top 6 Shows of 2015

American Ballet Theater November 1st Performance (After You, Piano Concerto #1, The Brahms-Haydn Variations)

The Royal Ballet Junes 27th Performance

Happy New Year!

And that's a wrap! I hope you've all had a good year, and I hope the next year will bring even better things. Have a happy new year, lovelies! <3

What were your 2015 favorites? Do you make resolutions; what are some of yours?

Unconventionally Creating a Graphic Novel | Tour: Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci sounds like an incredible graphic novel. It's about growing up in Turkey and trying to find her passion when her family and society are trying to tell her what direction to go in. What makes the book even more interesting is that she utilizes unconventional materials throughout the book. Each post on this tour will highlight one such material. 

For my stop, Ozge will be briefly talking about her use of evil eye beads. When I saw that that was the featured material for my blog, I got really excited. I actually own a few pieces of jewelry with evil eye beads and have one hanging up at home. They're pretty commonly found in Brazil. But here's Ozge's own words on it.

Beads for evil eye are part of the culture in Turkey. In Turkey, many people believe that babies, kids, adults, men and women can be harmed by the evil eye, the jealous gaze of others. To protect themselves from the harms of evil eyes some people wear an evil eye bead by pinning it under their shirt or visibly by attaching it to a wall of their home or a mirror of their car. In my comic-collages evil eye beads make wonderful eyes for the characters.

I can't wait to read this book, and I hope you'll all check it out as well! 

Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux (BYR)

Release Date: November 17th, 2015

Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?
In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship.

Review: The Chase by Balak, Sanlaville, and Vives

Last Man: The Chase by Balak, Sanlaville, and Vives
Publisher: First Second
Release Date: October 6th, 2015

Richard Aldana, the mysterious stranger who entered the Games in the first volume of Last Man, continues to defeat all of his competitors, despite his outlandish refusal to use any magic, and to rely solely on martial arts. With young Adrian fighting at his side, he's beginning to look like a likely contender for the Royal Cup. But in a breathtaking twist, everything changes: this world is not what you thought it was, and Richard Aldana is certainly not who he claimed.

With the same fast-paced, action-oriented storytelling and gorgeous art asThe Stranger, the third volume of Last Man changes all the rules, and will leave readers eagerly awaiting Book 4!

Disclaimer: I received a copy for review from the publisher. This did not affect my review in any way, nor am I being compensated for this.

I've become invested in this series in a way I didn't expect, but here I am, back reviewing the third book to the Last Man series. I still find myself a tiny bit shocked by the graphic-ness of the books in this series, but it's not a bad thing, just something you don't see often, at least in what I'm used to reading/seeing.

I think every book in this series just gets better and better, building off of the books before it. The Chase is no exception. My favorite aspect of this installment, however, is how it finally gets to the female empowerment. Finally, finally, finally Marianne gets her time to shine. And how badass is she? She sticks up for herself, takes care of Adrian, and kicks butt all at the same time. She shows that she doesn't need someone to take care of her. In a male-dominated world, she's so underestimated, but she finally steps out of the shadows and takes the leading role.

On a different note, I feel as though this installment didn't really give any answers the way I hoped it would. Marianne seems to have gotten the part of the map from Aldana, but what about the bike? I feel like she had that there the whole time, so who did she get it from? How does she know about these other worlds? And of course, the book ends with yet another confusing Aldana scene. Just when I thought I was starting to get a better sense of the story, they throw this curveball, and I'm left trying to figure out what just happened! I guess that's how they get us to keep reading, though. ;)

Another great installment! I can't wait to find out what happens next.

The Chase: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Review: The Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes
Publisher: First Second
Release Date: September 29th, 2015

Welcome to Stately Academy, a school which is just crawling with mysteries to be solved! The founder of the school left many clues and puzzles to challenge his enterprising students. Using their wits and their growing prowess with coding, Hopper and her friend Eni are going to solve the mystery of Stately Academy no matter what it takes!

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher. This did not affect my review in any way, nor am I being compensated for this review.

As soon as I saw that Gene had a new book coming out, I knew I needed to read it. Add to it the fact that this new series is meant to teach kids coding--something I'm interested in learning--and I knew I needed to read this at some point. And both Gene and Mike certainly didn't disappoint.

Secret Coders makes learning basic coding interesting, fun, and easy. People of any age could understand the book. I liked the sense of interaction in the book, and they did a fine job of keeping me engaged the whole time. I don't know that I agreed with all the ways they presented information, but I remained interested throughout the whole book, so I guess it's okay. Older audiences may find the "now you try" parts a little elementary and reminiscent of children's shows that do the same, but it's not a big hindrance in the story.

That being said, not much actually happened in this book. Most of the book was set up and background that will propel the later books. The ending was definitely a great cliffhanger that will leave readers wanting the next book already. Many of the conflicts also didn't feel very fleshed out, but I figured it's more a first book in a graphic novel series thing than anything else. I'm hoping they'll be explored more later!

In addition, we didn't actually learn much coding in this one, so I'm not sure how much each book will roughly cover. I don't mind how little was taught, but I can only imagine how much more there is to coding than the very basics presented in this first volume. I'm definitely looking forward to the later books!

Lastly, I continue to love Gene's smooth inclusion of diverse characters. He never seems to be inserting them for the sake of including them. It's all included very seamlessly, and I love that about each of his stories. A character is never defined by the way they look, the way they identify, whatever. This kind of representation is so refreshing to see, especially in graphic novels, where characters are drawn out and pictured on every page. I can't wait to see what's to come!

The Secret Coders: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Gene Luen Yang: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Mike Holmes: Website | Tumblr | Flickr