These fucking morons don’t understand a thing about soft power. They’re so ridiculously eager to remove the US from a place of global leadership. The next decade is going to be wild beyond anything any of us millennials have ever lived through.

Damn! That’s pretty cool. Mine are definitely coins, mixed in with a bunch of coins from other countries I’ve been to…I just need to find the yogurt container they all live in.

I’m pretty sure I have some Kuna around somewhere

Nah the take is:

Often times in media the only queer representation is a villain.

It’s actually difficult to find characters that are gender non-conforming and good or at least neutral in any media before like 2006. Only having queer people show up as villains subtly hints at your brain that something is wrong with queer people, that you should be wary, that they are bad. This is held out in scientific studies and also applies to bipoc representation in media too.

I’m all for queer and bipoc villains but we also deserve to be heroes.

Currently looking at Australia or NZ.

NZ seems like a pretty good bet although I’d love to know what I’m getting into if anyone has more thoughts. And I’ve been to Australia. I know what I’m getting into there but god I like Brizzy. The most racist people I’ve ever met have been in Australia.

Ireland has been of interest, my stepsister lives there and is trans.

And France, Spain, Portugal all come to mind also.

I think most important part of this is being open and informed on a new set of challenges. Everywhere has their own problems and I need to know about them but frankly we have the luxury of picking. Some of my friends do not and will not. We are all scared of what the future brings.

Thanks for the quick reply! I’ve wondered about Canadian citizenship through family ties before, but my mom would have to assert her citizenship first and that’d never happen!

Also thanks for your well wishes. It’s a pretty trying time. We’re good, my partner and I, for now since we live in a liberal city on the West Coast. But I’ve read books. How long will that last? Nobody knows right now.

I hope your daughter’s friend is okay and stays safe!

I’ve seen a couple of your posts. Is your daughter trans? I only ask because as a trans person I’m needing to get healthcare wherever I move to and my needs seem tog globally be getting more controversial. Any tips for getting out?

“Shooting death.” Can we not say he murdered the homeless man?

Like oh no, the gun shot and this man spontaneously died! Fucking passive voice bullshit.

I think the point is that adopting should be much easier. I’m not sure I agree but if that’s the premise I can’t really disagree.

No idea for the US but a few years ago South Korea dealt with a similar situation. It was revealed that the president had a friend who was acting as an unpaid, unelected advisor making decisions for the president, seeing classified information, and helping set national policy. They had million person protests in the middle of Seoul that culminated in the impeachment of their president and her removal from office. The advisor was also arrested and sentenced to 20 years or something.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_South_Korean_political_scandal

Any chance you could link to this or help me find more stuff from Robert? I am always interested in his takes.

As an American I agree with everything you said after your BTW. It’s fucking wild that Trump is as awful as he is. It’s wise that he seems to be genuine about the Canada stuff. I’ve lived close to the border for a long time and America’s hat stuff is common… But like it’s a meme, it’s not supposed to be real life. What a fucking lunatic we voted for. I’m sorry, I’m setting up to get out as soon as anti-trans stuff gets rolling.

Honestly I’m sure I’ll find it similar but it’s the last book, I’ve just got to try! I’ve set the series down for a break and a change of pace whole I read the latest Stormlight book, Wind and Truth. It’s a good break.

Don’t force it! I think if you read books solely because other people say it’s good then you’re doing it wrong! :)

If you were interested in the Cosmere but wanted something light…much lighter. Then try Tress and the Emerald Sea. The narrator breaks the 4th wall a bit and speaks directly to you but if that isn’t an immediate deal breaker the story is light-hearted and adventurous. It follows a girl, Tress, as she leaves home to save her beau.

I dropped ASOIAF in the middle of the third book. It probably had something to do with knowing it’d never be finished, but I just felt bored. It was all so high stakes and meaningless, not for me.

The writing in The Expanse is grating, it’s all he said, she said, he said, they said, he said, said said said said said said said said said said said. If I hadn’t been listening to it while at work I’d have bailed in the first book. If you can get past that the series has great world building and I love Avarsarsla.

Rothfuss is indeed great but I can’t recommend it to anyone knowing we’re only getting two nights of the three promised.

Silo is actually on my list.

I’ve also been rereading the Honorverse by David Weber. I love it still but it gets to be a slog and the story is feels like it’s the same everytime. I want to get past book 6 or 7 but never have.

I can’t say enough good things about the Stormlight Archive.

But then again I also enjoyed the hell out of Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series which seemed to be mostly disliked on the whole. I read it before the 4th and 5th books were released so I’m not sure where it goes and need to get back to it some day.

Speaking of Weeks, the Night Angel Trilogy is bomb. It’s no literary masterpiece but it’s a dark and gritty world that sets your expectations and fulfills them over and over again. The story is cliche and I like it. The characters are fun to follow as they navigate the plot points I can see coming from books away.

I read Mistborn and loved it, my partner finished it a week or two later and then we both struggled to get into the second book. Vin, the main character treats a creature that is in her thrall with extreme prejudice. While it certainly fits the character it was such a change of tone that it threw both of us right out of the series. Mix in a whole new world of politics and coalition building and the story plods. I dropped the Mistborn series like 7 or 8 chapters into The Well of Ascension.

I’ll come back to it in audiobook form.

Speaking of audiobooks, I’ve listened to all of The Stormlight Archive. Audiobooks have one major advantage to actually reading the words, it is easier to multitask. If the story is boring I’m less likely to notice while preparing dinner. With Stormlight however I listened to the books 12 hours a day. The voice actors are Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, they only work on books they like. They also did all of Wheel of Time together.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that I frequently sat down and just listened to the story throughout the day because I am so engrossed in the world and the lives of Kaladin, Syl, Shalan, and others. It’s a storytelling medium that lends itself to multitasking and I frequently stopped to just listen.

I think it’s hard to go wrong with a starting point in the Cosmere. The magic system in Mistborn is really interesting and the world is dark and gritty like chewing charcoal; Unpleasant not offensive. The Stormlight Archive is bold and wide ranging with concepts, ideas, and exploration of pain, trauma, and metal health. I recently read Tress and the Emerald Sea, a light-hearted romp about a girl who lives on a desolate rock in the middle of an ocean and wants to stay there.

Just jump in, the worst thing that can happen is you find it’s not to your taste. When that happens it’s all good and I find some other masterpiece to chew on. It happens for me with videogames all the time. Elden Ring is not for me. :)

Just working my way through a reread of the expanse since it’s been a few years and the…final? book has been released. I definitely enjoyed the first 4 books more than 5 and 6. But book 7 is back up to snuff!

It’s Fantasy but I need to mention that I’ve been devouring The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson! These books might just be my all time favorites for fantasy!

I just looked at that books by the foot website and their example of reversed books is really gross looking. I’d rather have all white books than have them reversed. It just looks closer and gross.

Wait what? Can you even do that? A clean look? What!?

I would not be surprised, but it would be disappointing. I want to believe people are smarter than voting against their own interests. But I’ve been proven wrong in that so many times I don’t have any faith.