Monday Night Catchall: January 11, 2015

Nothing much has been happening in my life besides making the world's ugliest cake ever (which my friend then tried to save by putting a panda on it and calling it a mountain, thus making its ugliness seem intentional). But hey, it tasted good!

Saturday's football game between the Bengals and the Steelers epitomized everything wrong with football. Since when it is acceptable in any context to purposefully slam into someone's head? And how come football makes it suddenly acceptable to punch women (or anyone, for that matter)? I'm very confused. Okay, rant over.

Hoverboards have just been banned in my dorm. :( Apparently there's an actual justification for this, though.

In other news, we've apparently be wrong to see the Supreme Court as, well, you know, supreme. I mean they pale in comparison to this judge in Alabama who apparently has more authority than them ...

Sunday Night Catchall: December 27, 2015

I've been somewhat less active on social media, mainly because I've been binge writing (with assistance from my cat again, as pictured).

On the political front, TSA has allegedly upgraded its language regarding transgender travelers from "anomaly" to "alarm." I say that with a lot of sarcasm, because I don't see how that's any better.

I met some therapy dogs in the United terminal in Newark! Maybe it's a smart ploy to help travelers cope with their flight delays.

Speaking of flights, how is it warmer in New York than it is in the Bay Area? I don't understand how coming to San Francisco made me colder in December than I was before. Wow.

Not exactly a YA book, but Our Queer Stories did a great spotlight on Large Fears by Myles E. Johnson (illustrated by Kendrick Daye)! Check it out.

Sunday Night Catchall: December 20, 2015

Abby Wambach retired. :'( Flashback to the wonderful week when I got to see her play in person. She was also stiffed by U.S. soccer, which is annoying but not surprising.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the conversation this week about queer stereotypes in YA literature. Feel free to keep Tweeting/messaging/commenting if you have something to add!

I think I found the world's most beautiful hospital room (pictured on the left).

For this week's YA book rec, let me refer you to the cool rundown Barnes & Noble just did of great YA books to look forward to in 2016. Also, be sure to check out #GayYABookClub on Twitter for great YA book suggestions with LGBTQ characters!

Most importantly on the personal front, finals are over! There's nothing like studying by watching the Warriors play while listening to the Hamilton soundtrack in the background. "My Shot" seemed particularly relevant and has just been stuck in my head all week, so linking it below.

Uploaded by AngelsBwayTunes on 2015-09-28.

Sunday Night/Monday Morning Cathcall: December 13, 2015

More activist-y megaphone pictures! I'm the blue puffy jacket person.

Janet Mock, author of Redefining Realness, is donating 120 books to schools through my organization, The Make It Safe Project. Want a copy for a school you know? Check it out!

The Onion has released its review of 2015. Uh oh.

As we near the end of the year, remember self-care! In the words of my friend Miles: "Eat lunch if you haven't yet. Take your meds. Please stay hydrated for me. Rest your eyes if you've been staring at a computer screen all day. Text a friend and check in on them. Take care of yourself."

My creative writing professor gave some ... different ... advice: "Creative narcolepsy can be your friend."

Weekly YA book rec: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

Sunday Night Catchall: November 29, 2015

Thanksgiving existed this week. That's probably what everyone writing about their weeks is leading off with. *sigh* But, since I mentioned it, my six-year-old sister beat me at Mexican Train! (I was third; she was second.) She's also far superior to me at ice skating. (See the picture!)

Lots of great book recs with the #MorallyComplicatedYA hashtag on Twitter, and also in this Bustle article. To be clear, I have nothing against the author or book that caused the hashtag — I just find the contention that no existing YA books involve complexity or depth completely unfounded. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the attack at Planned Parenthood this week. My heart goes out to everyone hurt. No matter what your beliefs, I think the goal of peace should be universal. 

For all of you in the home stretch of NaNoWriMo, good luck! Congrats to those of you who've already reached 50,000 words and I'm sending lots of virtual support to those of you still fighting to get there. I didn't do NaNoWriMo myself this year, though I've so far stayed true to my "edit or write for an hour a day" goal. Wrote 10,000 words last week; hoping more will follow. I'm terrified of what will happen when I turn on spellcheck again to edit. (I turn it off when I'm binge-writing.)