From Italy to archives, preservation to history, climate change to LGBTQ topics, animation to the midterm elections
From Italy to archives, preservation to history, climate change to LGBTQ topics, animation to the midterm elections
This newsletter includes articles about archives, libraries, history, animation, anime, genealogy, climate change, environmentalism, and much more!
Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday morning. I came back from a trip to Italy in September with my mom and dad. Everyday I’m posting photos on my Instagram from that trip, if you are interested. Anyway, I know it’s been a while since my last newsletter, which came out on September 4/5, but I thought I’d write something before I fall too far behind with this newsletter. I expect I’ll write at least two more newsletters by the end of year, but hopefully more. In terms of articles I’ve written, I’ve continued pop culture reviews, but have also reviewed fictional librarians in Arthur and Victor and Valentino, and library scenes and libraries in Cleopatra in Space, and Dear Brother. More pertinently, I wrote about Indian voice actors who bring fictional librarians to life, LGBTQ+ librarians in fiction, going beyond the negative perception of archives and archivists in pop culture, the relevance of Star Wars to pop culture depictions of archives, and limits of inflation calculators and reassessing the wealth of my ancestor, Samuel Packard. I have posts about different Packards in my lineage, like a recent one about my ancestor who thought that using gas chambers to kill prisoners was more humane than hanging, firing squads, and other gruesome capital punishment. With that, let me move forward with the rest of my newsletter.
Let me start with archives. I was glad to see David Schorr of the Environment, Law, and History blog promote my article about the U.S. military’s pursuit of exemptions to the Kyoto Protocol, describing it as having “detailed commentary” and noting that there is “lots…[of] detail”, adding there are “27 archival documents and scores of links to other sources”. In fact, I’m testing out having a section in my newsletter focusing on the environment and climate, starting with this newsletter. Moving back to other archives-related issues, my colleagues at NSA wrote about the Cuban Missile Crisis, noting the cover-up by the Kennedy administration to hide the reality of the end of the crisis, the most dangerous day of the crisis, and how the crisis lasted 59 days instead of 13. Otherwise, there’s a review of a book by Trevor Owens (a professor who taught a class I took in grad school) about digital preservation, an archival record of Indigenous time featured in a Smithsonian exhibition, a U.S. court lifting a hold on seized Mar-a-Lago classified records, and the confirmation hearing of U.S. Archivist nominee Colleen Shogan.
At the hearing, off-the-walls reactionary legislator Josh Hawley went totally bonkers over a 2007 article (which is not representative of her), with other stodgy traditionalist politicians and figures predictably claiming she is “partisan” despite the fact that a video of her standing near to the former president is easily accessible online. Even Rob Portman was measured in his response. Shogan, for her part, said she was committed to more transparency, opening Civil Rights cold cases (an issue supported by Jon Osoff). Hawley claimed that NARA has been weaponized. She also said she would not decide the ERA unilaterally, stated she was nonpartisan and nonpolitical, and noted commitments to transparency, efficiency, and so-called “public private partnerships”. She said reducing the backlog of requests for veteran records as the “most important discrete problem” facing her if she is confirmed as the archivist.
At the hearing, Peters discussed legislation he is working on, and building support for, that will strengthen existing recordkeeping laws and address the use of emerging technologies to ensure that future administrations are appropriately managing presidential and federal records. Shogan stated that “the Archivist serves in the capacity, in a nonpartisan, apolitical capacity.” She also noted that NARA will need to “find creative ways to become more efficient, to capitalize upon public-private partnerships, and to engage previously underserved communities in meaningful ways”. This is in line with what David Ferriero has done when he served as archivist from November 2009 to April 2022.
She stated that the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), for which the archivist has the legal responsibility to “certify each state ratification of a proposed amendment and, once 38 states have ratified, publish the amendment in the Constitution”, could only have its fate decided by “the federal judiciary and/or Congress,” a response which pleased reactionary people. Also see her locked Twitter account, her official website, an AP article about her, and her bio on the website of the White House Historical Association. There was also lists of questions submitted by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) for her nomination, along with articles she has written (see here and here), criticism of GOP behavior at the hearing (here, here, and here), response from the ERA Coalition to Shogan’s comments, along with support for her nomination from the American Historical Association, Society of American Archivists, American Political Science Association, Association of Professional Genealogists, and National Coalition of History as shown here, here, here, here, and here. Her nomination did not continue out of the committee, and there is an ongoing petition by everylibrary.org which will be sent to U.S. Senators, urging them to vote for Shogan. If you haven’t signed it, I recommend you do so.
Apart from all of this, the American Archivist called for articles on Middle East and African Archives, a post from the Hornbake Library about the strange and fantastical world of sci-fi pulp advertisements, and others about the library’s featured collections on League of Women Voters, Committee on Political Education, and an early printed and manuscript leaf collection. On a somewhat related note is a resource bank with “relevant examples of exhibition and event-related policies, procedures, contracts, and other germane materials”, guidelines on how to submit an article to Archival Outlook, the fourteenth issue of the Los Angeles Archivists Collective publication, Acid Free, about artists, and the current issue of the San Jose University SAA Student chapter Archeota publication. Then there is the curious argument by Margaret Kimberley of Black Agenda Report that the former president should not “not live rent free in our collective consciousness” or become a “rallying point for politics”, noting that no one should follow his “shenanigans or allow the corporate media or the democratic party to make him their focus”. Whether you agree with this point or not, the focus on the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago has undoubtedly increased attention on the role of NARA and the Presidential Records Act.
To conclude this part of the newsletter about archives, I’d like to mention the Library of Congress’ Coronavirus Web Archive, along with other articles from LOC about conservation, engaging in conservation management during a summer internship, paints and pigments. Also of note is a re-imagining of descriptive workflows in order to have a community-informed agenda which has reparative and inclusive description, a response to a report of the truth and reconciliation task force in Canada, providing access to archival collections, long-term preservation of digital geographic information, an examination of complexities about “governmental creation and management of problematized social media records in the United States”, and interviews on Archives AWARE! about digital exhibits, preserving glass, and Indigenous history. Last, but not least, is an article in CBR talking about Madame Jocasta Nu, the archivist/librarian of the Jedi Temple Library/Archive, describing her as “in charge of the archives,” saying that she has “access to some of the most powerful relics in Jedi history” and survived Order 66 by “hiding in the Jedi Library until she was discovered by the Grand Inquisitor.”
That brings me to the subject of libraries. Some have said that a censorship promoting librarians are “more representative” of the profession than they should, while others noted the intersection of the pull of vocational awe and push low morale, said that collections should be used rather than sit in a box/drawer unseen, and criticizing those librarians showing their racist colors by claiming Lizzo being “disrespectful” for holding James Madison’s flute (also see here). There’s also Fobazi Ettarh discussing, in a post from November 2020, the “harm librarianship has done towards marginalized communities”, noting how librarianship is “not the last bastion of democracy…is not inherently good and sacred”. She added that librarianship is an institution “riddled with white supremacy, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and so on”, and that until this fact is accepted, the field will never move forward, and will be White and exclusionary with vocational awe, with every justification for a “nice but misguided” colleague, drives a “Black librarian from the field.”
In other library news are posts about stack maintenance at the New York Public Library, librarians feeling more unsafe in their jobs than ever, a library book investigated after claims it “harmed” minors, protesters disrupting a drag queen story time, conservatives joining liberals in ‘quiet and polite’ Idaho protest to protect their library from book-banners, and Huntsville residents pushing back after city removed read with Pride display from public library.
There were additional articles from Hack Library School about working on group assessments, setting yourself up for post-MLIS success, advocating for video games at your library, and private sector gems for public librarians. Further articles focused on the effects of censorship attempts on school library collections, a coordinated rise in attempted book bans, the lawsuit against the Internet Archive for its national emergency library begun during the pandemic, metadata rights of libraries, the growing movement to censor books in schools, and pandemic stresses causing increased burnout among librarians.
Other than this, are articles warning about the danger of current book ban efforts, a majority of Americans strongly opposing books bans (unsurprisingly), how conservative Facebook groups are changing what books children read in school, continued efforts by prison systems to restrict reading materials to prisoners (also see here), ethical/accessible design in libraries, and the deadly shooting of a library police officer. LOC also had a number of posts on various topics, either about recent developments in cryptocurrency law, the impact of the animal welfare act, exploring fact and fiction in Civil War imagery, and unlocking color photographs by Sergei M. Prokudin Gorskii from 1909 to 1915.
There were many other assorted articles, either about reactionary journalist calling LGBTQ books filth, a librarian resigning amidst violent threats, a Mom getting applause when ripping a book apart during a school board meeting, a terrible decision by Library Journal about incorrectly moving a column criticizing library relationships with Hoopla from news to opinion along with a “correction” from Hoopla (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), some suggesting prosecuting librarians for shelving “inappropriate” books, Cabella’s International publishing blacklist, and an article about multilingualism, neoliberalism, and language ideologies in libraries.
Since there are so many articles about libraries, I thought I’d add one more paragraph. Some wrote about creating inclusive learning environments for students with ASD, while others talked about bridging the database divide with proactive chat help, interrogating the impact of the branded book exchange manifested by “Little Free Libraries”, mapping the ASU Library Map collection, when publishing goes wrong, the stress from interviewing with a future employer, inherent bias in library discovery, digital curation for science, digital libraries, and individuals, and enduring access to digitized books. There are many fictional librarians to note as well, either the Deepwood librarian by Carolina Eade, the library underneath the Masyaf Castle in Assassin's Creed Revelations, created by Altaïr, a stern old librarian fetching three volumes about tax collection in the Ottoman Empire in Haruki Murakami’s The Strange Library, librarian in comics, a librarian in a comic strip, an various issues of Blobby & Friends about libraries.
In one pertinent issue, a mother, presumably a Baby Boomer, complains about kids “and their technology”, saying people should read a book instead of being glued to a screen. She is then shown trying to get onto Facebook and the site going down. The woman then says “I want to speak to their manager”. The point is that Baby Boomers are just as glued to their screens as anyone else. Another issue about the cost of therapy appears to be set in a library, while one more is about the types of books that people want to ban from libraries.
That brings me to the topic of history. There are many articles to cover. For one, some focused on the role of women warriors in the transatlantic slave trade shown in the film The Woman King, while others noted the stories from Black children about their experiences during Hurricane Katrina. There were further articles about how the murder of Emmett Till catalyzed the U.S. civil rights movement (noting the recent film, Till), why originalism and the “color-blind Constitution” are intellectually indefensible, the long road to redress in Ireland, an interview with Matthew Delmont about his history of Black Americans during World War II, the six common ways people relate to the past, the Supreme Court’s ignorance of the 19th century "Voluntary Motherhood" movement in the recent Dobbs decision, and a variety of responses to the problematic column by James Sweet, President of the AHA.
Additional articles focused on how all history is revisionist, why the right-wing now hates history, an argument that Ken Burns got "Prohibition" wrong, the 22nd Amendment's roots in partisanship and civil rights opposition, an argument that pessimistic economic forecasts ignore a history of dynamism, how Biden’s description of reactionary people as semi-fascist is correct historically speaking, and Lawrence Wittner explaining what he learned about governments from researching classified documents. There were further articles about colonialist violence and the rise of Francisco Franco in Spain, the loss of cursive writing knowledge among Generation Z/Zoomers (roughly 1997-2012), a National Archives exhibition which challenges the meritocratic (and democratic) myths of American Sports, and a review of a new book by Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò entitled Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else). The latter is about how Black élites or political operatives “claim to speak on behalf of the Black public or Black social movements while also engaging in political actions that either are in opposition to the movement or reinforce the status quo”, which is also known as elite capture.
There were additional stories of interest, such as those about the historical abuse of Puerto Rico by the U.S. (and arguing it should be independent, not a U.S. state), how to pass the torch of fight for Chicano (and now Latine) rights, the long-running debate through the 19th century on Ohio’s borders, especially regarding Toledo, Africa’s oldest dinosaur uncovered in Zimbabwe, debate in the British House of Commons in 1781 over whether the war in America should continue, a historian uncovering that prized Galileo manuscript was a forgery, asking whether King Arthur was a real person or not, how the first Chinese restaurant in America has a savory, and unsavory, history, the continua legal quest for repatriation, the role of Hessians in the American Revolution, and the deadly World War II explosion which sparked a fight by Black soldiers for equal treatment.
Others wrote about the stories of enslaved people showcased at the Riversdale House Museum, traffic flow maps from the 1920s, how two dozen rabbits started an ecological invasion of sorts into Australia, the American Revolutionary War in the South, Black women who changed America, a Russian czar who freed 20 million serfs before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and a glimpse into the New Mexico’s suffrage movement. There are so many more links I could add, but I’ve moved all the other links I have left to the draft for the next newsletter, so the articles may be incorporated there instead.
That brings me to my next topic: genealogy. Other than Black farmers in Arkansas seeking justice after Elaine Massacre in 1919, the limits of inflation calculators, old Irish gaelic boy names and their meaning, reparations for Black people as noted here and here, Montreal Archives Property Assessments 1847-2003, and connecting generations through family history, Keisha N. Blain made a valid point in her article about how the work of historians “will always reflect contemporary realities” either “explicitly or implicitly” and that “there is no standard or ‘neutral’ interpretation of the past” and the role of Black historians.
Also of note is an article in The Guardian about how the stories of enslaved peoples are “crucial to a legal battle over a Louisiana petrochemical facility that could triple residents’ exposure to carcinogens”, doppelgangers who look alike and share DNA, mediation by genealogist Ellen Fernandez-Sacco about family histories, saying they “contain worlds within them and perhaps answers that can help us heal in the present”, application of a female homesteader, how genetic data entered on Ancestry.com and elsewhere is not covered by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). There were further articles about many aspects of Chinese family tradition,environmental genealogies among the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, a preliminary analysis of Gaelic headstone inscriptions in Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.
Most interesting out of all of these was an article by Amy M. Smith about gender’s influence on genealogy narratives, in an essay which opens an issue on the topic. In it, she wrote that official/government data by its very nature can lock many doors for “women and women’s stories” while gender inequalities in the genealogy narrative can “sometimes overwhelm even the most seasoned of researchers”. She also writes that there are a number of ways that “gender shapes family narratives and genealogy as well as historical culture” and notes that the issue “aims to reclaim women’s history within the genealogical sphere.”
Articles in the issue focus on women in a family who “played an active role in shaping the family’s development across nearly two centuries”, exploration of a Japanese American family mortuary, genealogy explored through Black Feminist autoethnography, use of a theory of intertextual memory, highlighting the significant role of women in the development of a pioneer village, a historical and narrative study of “cross-racial, international couplings between Black U.S. servicemen and White German women during WWII and the children” from those couples. All interesting articles to say the least.
That brings me to a new section in this newsletter about environmentalism and climate. The Boston Globe summarized a study which showed that plastic recycling is a myth as only 5% of plastic is recycled since plastic is “notoriously difficult to recycle” and the fact that many plastics people believe they are recycling “never make it through a recycling process”. It notes that the plastic waste problem will never be solved by recycling. Otherwise, Smithsonian magazine explained how the Clean Air Act came into existence. The Nib had illustrations about a drag queen going as a scary costume for Halloween: climate change, while another was about messaging. There was also a recent comic from Blobby N’ Friends about a climate change denier and wondering whether such people are living on the same planet.
There were additional articles about climate activists arrested at private airports, local governments seeking damages from energy conglomerates, “alleging they knew in the 1970s that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic climate change”, minister of Gabon Lee White saying that “until more people in developed nations are dying because of the climate crisis” then nothing is going to change, and agriculture mega-corporation CEOs saying that world’s agricultural practices need to change or there will be a risk of “destroying the planet”. This is coupled with the continued Whiteness and non-diversity/non-inclusivity of the environmental sector, i.e. environmental charities. None of these stories are altogether surprising, but they are still of interest.
That brings me to another topic in an entirely different area: LGBTQ people. There is a thought-provoking piece by Doctor Andrew Joseph Pegoda arguing that no one is born gay or straight because those identities are socially constructed, while those who have been non-conforming have existed for decades, as have those engaged in same-sex behavior. He links to a book by Steven Seidman entitled The Social Construction of Sexuality. Their arguments are intriguing and I’d be willing to do a deeper dive into it at some point, as I’m not personally a fan of the idea that anyone is born with certain characteristics as it may engender biological essentialism or even justifications for racism, like scientific racism. Beyond that are posts about how trans women are also female (which we all should recognize) and another about pronouns. There were further articles arguing that Elon Musk’s Twitter looks grim for the LGBTQ community, explaining why women choose non-monogamy, defining what terms like “solo polyamory” and “cishet” mean.
Beyond this are articles about an asexual queer character in The Imperfects, Persian Gulf states warning Netflix over LGBTQ content they deem “offensive” to Islam (also see here and here), 10 things to know about pansexuality, seven LGBTQ Star Wars characters mainly in comics and video games, what its like to be in a throuple, how polyamory can be effective, the meaning of “panromantic”, 9 characters who were almost queer but studios chickened out at the last minute. Others wondered whether polyamory offers an antidote to toxic romanticism, explained the difference between polyamory and open relationship, noted cops shooting LGBTQ protesters during a march by the Proud Boys, the importance of refusing compulsory sexuality imposed by society, Seven Seas licensing a new yuri manga series (Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android?) (also see here for some ongoing girls love manga read by outofcontextyuri on Twitter) and a site provided a brief history of asexuality. Like some of the other sections of this newsletter, there are many more links about LGBTQ topics, but instead of putting them here, I have moved them to the draft for the next newsletter where they may or may not be included depending on how many links are in that newsletter on LGBTQ issues.
Related to this is some chatter by some LGBTQ Star Wars fans on Twitter, including Star Wars Queers Watch, arguing that Dave Filoni is homophobic by apparently retconing [retroactive continuity] events and not adding LGBTQ characters to his shows, either in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch (some fans argue that Omega is a trans woman) and elsewhere, like Tales of the Jedi, while not recognizing how gay he makes his characters. In terms of the latter story, fans say that Filoni removed a LGBTQ character, Kaeden Larte, and story. For more responses as to what Filoni did, see here, here, and here. For earlier responses, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. I have to agree with Star Wars Queer Watch that if there is a Jedi who is a woman or trans man, then Twitter “would explode”. Also of note is an article about LGBTQ representation in Andor and the latter account saying there are “no excuses for creators who never add queer representation anymore”.
Via tweet of the show’s creator, Lamard Cher-Aimé
That brings me to the topic of animation. There were some interesting articles about the final season of The Owl House, trans representation in Wendell and Wild and Dead End: Paranormal Park, gay characters in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, a gay princess in the new Ever After High, and faltering representation in Tales of the Jedi. There were further articles about fan theories for The Owl House, an interview with the director of Wendell and Wild, Henry Selick, 20 LGBTQ characters in comics and cartoons, the release date for the new Hazbin Hotel in 2023, redesign of villains for Hazbin Hotel, why ATLA’s Azula resonates with people while inspiring fear, the second cancellation of Tuca and Bertie (this time by Adult Swim), and a eight-part series about Lucasfilm and their animation department. Further articles assessed whether the new Hazbin Hotel will be worth the wait, cancelled merch for The Owl House, a review of Wendell & Wild, new animated movies and TV shows which have or will premiere this month (season 4 of The Dragon Prince, the film Strange World, and part 2 of Inside Job on Nov. 18), and the various renewed shows on Netflix which includes season 2 of Arcane, season 2 of Bee and PuppyCat, part 2 of Chicago Party Aunt, season 3 of Hilda, season 3 of The Cuphead Show, and many others.
There were additional articles about subscribers suing David Zaslav and other Warner Bros Discovery execs over cooking HBO Max subscriber numbers and misleading shareholders, Zaslav saying the company is not for sale, layoffs and “restructuring” as a result of the merger. The latter will especially be harmful to any possible future animated series on HBO Max or any platforms controlled by Warner Bros Discovery. The same can be said for the use of proprietary data by Netflix for creative decisions. There are also stories about the mature animated music television special, Entergalactic, the uncertain future for Lumberjanes (also see here), a conversation between animation luminaries ND Stevenson and Craig McCraigen, the cancellation of yet another animated series (this time by Cartoon Network), and a National Hispanic Media Coalition panel on women creators, including writers from Elena of Avalor (Silvia Olivas) and Encanto (Charise Castro Smith).
There were scattered additional stories like bisexual animator Nico Colaleo drawing his characters, Final Space creator Olan Rogers confirming that the series has become a tax write off for Warner Bros. Discovery, a possible fifth season of Young Justice hanging in the balance, Victor and Valentino creator Diego Molano speaking on his show’s cancellation and HBO Max, a Disney animated show including Filipino characters, the best villains in non-Disney animated films, the release date of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and how animation is something you “get to go big so much more than in other genres” as noted by composer Ryan Elder. Others talked about the seven year anniversary of the indie animation in development, Captain Zero, (also see here and here), the rare acknowledgment of trans people in the Star Wars universe, Infinity Train and earrings / ear piercings for characters, the problems with putting out all episodes of a series all at once, how Cassunzel somehow isn’t cemented in the current Tangled fandom, continued storyboarding of Brave War, delaying of Disney series Tiana and Moana: The Series, and the deaf Latine mermaid who communicated in sign language in a 1990s Disney series.
Last but not least were reminders to not harass the DTVA social media team regarding season 3 of The Owl House, the problems with those who say Elena in Elena of Avalor does not count as a “official” princess (also see here), the need for more Latine representation in Disney films, the original designs in the Lumi pilot, the possible removal of season 2 of DC Super Hero Girls from HBO Max LA, the disappointment from Rooster Teeth for not continuing Nomad of Nowhere or Recorded by Arizal not getting a full show, and recommendation from Ashley Nichols (one of the creators of the Far Fetched show) that you should start with a comic when doing an animated series. Additional comments were about how you should consider whether an indie animated pilot is the best way to suit your story, the possibilities that could have been fulfilled by Varian and Cass spinoff from Tangled, Perfuma having a small crush on She-Ra/Adora when they first met, appreciating the BIPOC talent within the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Netflix animation laying off 30 employees, and the premiere of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder in February 2023.
That brings me to the topic of anime. Recently the theme song artists of the yuri isekai The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess were announced. There were further articles about Bocchi the Rock anime (also see here), the best isekai manga needing an anime adaptation, the end of Lycoris Recoil, the refusal by Crunchyroll to even talk about a union contract, the difference between anime-inspired animation and anime, the joy of Sailor Moon season 3, the best queer anime as argued by Den of Geek (Yuri on Ice, Bloom Into You, No. 6, Wandering Son, Revolutionary War Utena, Doukyuusei: Classmates, Given, Land of the Lustrous, Princess Knight, and The Stranger by the Shore), and the best feminist anime to watch as argued by Fizzy Magazine (Pãfekuto Burū / Perfect Blue, Mononoke Hime / Princess Mononoke, Psycho-Pass, Koukaku Kidoutai / Ghost in the Shell, Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan).
Others talked about topics such as the end of Lycoris Recoil, fan favorite anime about athletes and sports, travel across Japan through anime, the most anticipated anime of fall 2022 (incl. Bocchi the Rock and part 2 of Spy x Family, and the possibly interesting IDOLiSH7: Third Beat! and Urusei Yatsura Reboot), the top 10 anime to watch this fall (incl. The Witch From Mercury), the schedule for the fall 2022 anime season outlined by Crunchyroll including I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss), the second episode of Interstellar Ranger Commence (also see here), the five visually stunning anime films for cinematography compiled by Black Girl Nerds (Belle, Spirited Away, Promare, Children of the Sea, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train), Jojo Bizarre Adventure actor Tiana Camacho discussing her favorite shoujo and systemic casting hurdles for actors of color.
Then there was a LOC post about a search for an American version of Sailor Moon that appeared to be long lost, Netflix adding 13 anime titles in a Nippon TV deal, a review by Lucas DeRuyter of the mixed depiction of golf in the wild anime series Birdie Wing, isekai anime with impossible competition (including Here and There, The Twelve Kingdoms, Gate, Grimgar: Ashes And Illusions, Restaurant To Another World, Outbreak Company, Ascendance Of A Bookworm, Hinamatsuri, and Drifters), and the best boys love anime to watch according to Epic Stream. The latter lists The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Gakuen Heaven, No. 6, Gravitation, Hitorijime, My Hero, Love Stage, Antique Bakery, Kyo Kara Maoh!, Loveless, Super Lovers, Junjo Romantica, Heaven's Official Blessing, Yuri on Ice, Banana Fish, Given, Dakaichi: I’m being harassed by the Sexiest Man of the Year, Sasaki and Miyano, The Titan’s Bride, Taishou Mebiusline: Chicchai-san, and Sukisho. Of these, the only one I’ve watched is Antique Bakery.
That brings me to other topics. For one is the recent midterm elections. There were ballot initiatives in many states about having language “permitting slavery and involuntary servitude for prisoners”, with only voters in Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, and Vermont approving measures that will “prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime”. Such measures failed in Louisiana while more than a dozen states still “have constitutions that include language permitting slavery and involuntary servitude for prisoners”.
These initiatives coincide with efforts by Jeff Merkley and Nikema Williams, D-Georgia to “revise the 13th Amendment to end the slavery exception”. It was also reported that in the elections, over 2.8 million Americans voted to legalize marijuana (ballot measures only succeeded in Maryland and Missouri, but failed in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota), while over 9 million voted in favor of reproductive rights (in California, Vermont, Michigan, Kentucky and Montana), over 3.2 million voted to expand voting access (in Connecticut and Michigan), and over 910,000 voted in favor of raising the minimum wage (in Nebraska and Oregon). Additionally, over 510,000 voted for ranked choice voting and open primaries in Nebraska, and over 900,000 voted to amend the Oregon constitution to “ensure affordable health care access, balanced against a requirement to fund schools, [and] other essential services”.
At the same time, about 2.1 million voted against Voter ID measures in Arizona, Nebraska, and Ohio (all three passed), while millions of Californians voted against legalizing sports betting in tribal lands or online (both measures passed), and over 400,000 against a pro-gun measure in Idaho (which passed), and over 929,000 for gun restrictions in Oregon. Also measures to expand Medicaid in South Dakota, limit medical debt in Arizona, dedicate funding for pre-K in New Mexico, and guarantee a right to collective bargaining in Illinois all passed. So that is a positive regardless of how the races for control of the U.S. House of Representatives turn out.
[DEAD LINK FOR VIDEO. The record of this on the Wayback Machine says this was "Harley Quinn abducts Queen Elizabeth for Poison Ivy - Harley Quinn S03 E01"]
Apart from this is a message from creators questioning Line Webtoon for their shady practices like underpaying creators, and hoping for positive change. Some of those creators likely include Chase and Miranda, Austen Marie, Mei, Mishima, Buttersphere, jjolee, Lauren Schmidt, Jime, and many others, along with further comments (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). Otherwise, there were posts about the troubles regarding FFN, with an update from them about what is going on with the long-running fanfiction site, papers revealing that Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office roles, Professor Uju Anya defending her words about Queen Elizabeth (saying “I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating” and “That wretched woman and her bloodthirsty throne have f***** generations of my ancestors on both sides of the family, and she supervised a government that sponsored the genocide my parents and siblings survived. May she die in agony”), and saying she will express nothing but disdain for a monarchy who “sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family” (also see here, here, here, here, and here). Another article is here.
Her views were echoed by others like Ebony Elizabeth Thomas , Bishop Talbert Swan, EM Abdul Rahiman, Ali Mustafa, Sirry Alang, and others as noted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, while Jeff Bezos snarled at the tweet (noted here). Even one independent U.S. candidate (a LeRouchite) asked “why are we, Americans, who had a revolution against the British Empire, flying flags at half mast in memory of one of the great genocidalists of all time?” while others said that the passing of Queen Elizabeth is a reminder of the impact of colonialism, and that monarchy is a powerful tool used to keep the “masses distracted and willing to invest their…money taking care of figureheads” who are in positions in power due to their bloodlines. Others talked about “unethical journalism and the bias and racism” that obfuscated the work of a Black female researcher, why “elite” Yelp reviews shouldn’t be trusted, making African cultural elements as “visually popular” as the Katana sword, and examining whether social media is creating overtourism and ruining travel.
I could include so many more articles in this section of the newsletter, but since the post is already “too long for email”, I’m moving those links to the draft for my next newsletter. With that, let me move onto illustrations from The Nib. There were illustrations about getting a hobby, Adobe’s 20 billion deal, social media substitutes (satirical), Facebook/Meta cutting its workforce, Japan’s Masked Wrestler Turned Masked Politician, election deniers on the ballot, remembering, subversion, so-called quiet quitters, making fun of those grumbling about the Little Mermaid now being Black, mixed messages, and CNN’s new roster of rogues.
That’s all for this newsletter. Until the next one.
- Burkely