Prepare yourselves, everyone, I’m going to get controversial here. I think it’s just as hard to ‘come out’ as a geek as it is to come out as gay.

Now, before you get out the pitchforks and torches, let me explain. First, I have had to tell many people that I am engaged to a woman, and I have had to tell equally as many people that I need time off to go to New York for the Quidditch World Cup or that I have to get home early for a role-play session. I’ve been through both.

Yes, this is how my desk actually looks.

Second, society is changing. Yes, there are still people who are anti-gay, and honestly, there will probably always be people who are. However, society at large is becoming more accepting of gay people. A recent poll indicated that for the first time, over 50% of people were supportive of same-sex marriage!

However, geek culture is not so lucky. Sure, we have Big Bang Theory, Community, and other geeks in pop culture (anyone seen what Felicia Day’s doing lately?), but it’s not as, dare I say it, mainstream. While it’s becoming accepted to be gay, there’s still many times a stigma associated with fandom or gaming or similar pursuits. Many people, both young and old feel uncomfortable saying that they’re gamers or role-players, or write fan fic.

What’s the point? Well, bluntly, I’ve got your back. We’ve all got your back. Gaming/fan culture is passionate, loving, and, above all, powerful. Don’t be afraid to let your freak flag fly, to quote one of my favourite musicals.
Even if you don’t find someone where you are right now who shares your passions or your loves, they’re out there, I promise. It’s hard. Trust me, I had to explain my Portal water bottle to the President of the Senate, but you can, come out of the basement so-to-speak.

Now it’s your turn! Do you have a geek story where you had a surprising reaction? Are there just no geeks around you? Am I full of it for even thinking this? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you all.

The article makes the very good point that most of us think of ‘going green’ as being something that we do at home, and rarely do we extend the practice to the work place. Yet, almost 40% of CO2 emissions caused by power use are generated in work places. This issue is part of a rising awareness of environmental issues in the Middle East, and how the design market is catering to the new demand.

“There is an increased awareness for sustainable structures here in the UAE. The current challenge is not to get the client on board with environmental issues, but it is to make them more aware of the selection of useful energy saving materials and devices.” ~Geoff Black, Operations Director at AK Designs.

According to the article, they’re being quite successful, and new designs for sustainable office buildings are becoming very popular. What they’re finding is that well designed, sustainable buildings are often better for the employees as well as the planet.

“We did a fit out for a banking client and they had 40 photocopiers in the building,” said one designer. “We cut it down to two. As a result, employees were walking more, leading them to be a lot fitter and they met a lot of people on the way as well.” It’s really a win-win situation, if you think about it. Save power, and probably money, conserve paper, encourage your employees to be more active and more social, all at the same time! Really, it’s amazing how often saving the planet goes hand and hand with making life better for those who live on it.

Some people believe the country should take sustainable building to a legal level. “Environmental legislations are important. If there is a strong environmental regulation, people will know they have to do it,” said Scott Whitaker, executive director and founder of Design Worldwide Partnership (DWP). Others maintain that simplicity and choice are the way to go, keeping legislation simple and relying on human enthusiasm to bring about the change.

“The power should come from the people, employees must demand for a green space.”~Ben Corrigan, principal designer and partner at Bluehaus Group, an interior design consultancy.

It’s a refreshing outlook on sustainability, and one that I hope is being being replicated in America as well. The way forward for our species lies in cooperation and shared goals; in the ability to use what we have in new and creative ways, and in learning to make the best of everything and see potential in challenges. So here’s hoping we can all take a leaf out of these designer’s books, and learn to make our own lives better by improving the world around us.

Yep, you read that right. And now you’re probably wondering how such a situation could possibly be “one of the best” of anything. The answer is, these miners are a) actually getting paid–even if it probably isn’t much, b) not children, and c) not currently involved in the various ethnic wars that have torn their countries apart for decades. Wars, slavery, and child labor plague the mines of the DR Congo, and much of it has been paid for by the money from these very mines. See? Suddenly that first option doesn’t sound so bad, and now we’ve got a whole new set of problems to tackle.

Courtesy of Francis Hannaway

As you can see, a difficult problem, because the solution to the problem causes almost as many problems as the original cause, and it only gets more complicated when you take a closer look. But is there a better way to fix it? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

Bah! I say to them. The West Wing is one of my formative experiences growing up. And so I was much dismayed to learn that Aaron Sorkin, the show’s creator and writer, spoke at Syracuse’s commencement ceremony this year. My own commencement speaker in 2011 was rather lackluster. I know, I know – Syracuse is Sorkin’s alma mater, blah blah. Whatever. Doesn’t he hear my appreciation for him calling across the eons?

Okay, so that was creepy. But the point is, Sorkin said something very interesting to the class of 2013 of Syracuse University. He said:

“And make no mistake about it, you are dumb. You’re a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people. I was there. We all were there. You’re barely functional. There are some screw-ups headed your way. I wish I could tell you that there was a trick to avoiding the screw-ups, but the screw-ups, they’re a-coming for ya. It’s a combination of life being unpredictable, and you being super dumb.”

This, coming on the heels of an economic crisis that has left many of us wondering if college is worth it, is sort of disheartening. The worth of college has become a numbers game – how many graduates are still unemployed a year after commencement? How much money are graduates making? How many of them feel they are using what they learned at university in their jobs post-graduation?

This is a load of crap. Education is important. My current job is a glorified assistant, which I could have gotten and succeeded in without my diploma from a well-reputed university. But I would not trade in those years at school for all the tea in China. Getting to spend four years discussing ideas, thinking critically, reading and writing and arguing was an invaluable experience. At no other point in your life is anyone going to care that much about what you think purely for the sake of thinking it.

College isn’t for everyone. I’m not saying it should be – technical schools, community colleges, apprenticeships, jobs, the military – these are all equally valuable options. What I am saying, however, is that learning is important. That settling, that being stagnant is antithetical to being human. We can always be better. Sorkin’s point is that we’re going to mess up. We’re going to fall over and over and over again. But that only means we’re can keep learning, keep growing. Elite is not a four letter word. Smart is sexy. And anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or jealous.

We can always be better. Let’s remember to try.

photo courtesy of THE DENVER POST | RJ Sangost

Perhaps, however, we can take heart in the mere fact that such things are being taken so much more seriously than before. Even if this bill doesn’t pass now, other bills will pass later, and the issue is becoming more and more pressing. At this point, people all over the country are beginning to realize a few things about the fight for equality:

• Yes, this really is a serious human rights issue that isn’t just going to go away if you ignore it.
• This issue isn’t only of concern to the LGBTQ community; people of all religions, creeds, sexual preferences and races are standing up and demanding that same-sex couples have the same rights as everybody else.
• States that have passed civil-union laws–yea verily, and even same-sex marriage laws(!)–have not turned into dens of iniquity. In fact, they’ve carried on just like all the other states, only with more happy couples.
• Finally, progress is inevitable, eventually. You can’t stop it, but you have a choice when it comes to facing it. You can fight against the inevitable, or you can embrace it–and maybe even help it to occur.

Maybe, just maybe, today will be the day. Maybe my state won’t make the same mistake as NC (though, obviously, this is a different type of bill we’re talking about). Maybe, I can wake up tomorrow feeling proud of my state and my country, and certain in the knowledge that change is happening for the better.

And then again, maybe I’ll be throwing things at the wall and hoping for next time.

Now, if you will all indulge me for a moment, let me tell you a story of three mothers: one who gave everything for her child, one who–even though she might not have seemed to be there, came through for her family when the chips were down–and one who stuck by her family through absolutely everything.

Let’s start with the most obvious, at least to most Harry Potter fans. Molly Weasley is many people’s dream mother. She is always behind her children, giving them everything she can, many times even when her kids don’t think they want what she has to give. Above everything, she is passionate for her kids, putting herself in danger in front of one of the scariest people in the entire wizard world to save her daughter.

Not my daughter, you bitch! ~Molly Weasley, Deathly Hallows

She reminds me of the metaphorical mother hen, always fussing over her kids, always there for skinned knees, sometimes overbearing, but always loving.

Credit to jelaa.tumblr.com!

Second, we have Lily Evans-Potter. We’ve never heard much about her, but she, at least in my head, has always seemed playful and caring. (Who wouldn’t be playful, connected to the Marauders like she was!) However, at the end, she showed the ultimate love by sacrificing herself for Harry. Lily reminds me of the moms who walk in on their kids playing Mario and tell them that there are 1-ups in the kitchen for when they finish the level.

Finally, we have a mother who on the surface has never been seen as one of the best mothers, but I have to say is one of my favourites. Narcissa Malfoy is probably on the surface, the most reserved mother we see in the series. However, when she had to choose between Vold… well you know who… and her son, her family won. Narcissa loves her son, no matter what the world would try to say about her. When it matters, she’s there, and her love overcomes even her fear of what could happen. She’s the hands-off mother, but when it matters, she steps up and shows how much she cares.

Now, before I leave you to go hug mothers in your life, I’d like to add one of my other fandom-favorite mothers (other than the one referenced in the title. Points if you get that reference!). Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson’s mother from the series of the same name, is just plain awesome. She’s really a combination of Molly and Lily. For those of you who don’t know the series, Sally works at a candy shop and marries an ogre of a man so that Percy will be alright in the middle of New York City. Without spoilers, she bakes Percy blue cake, creates blue coke for him, and is always there, through everything that Percy has to do.

So, now it’s your turn. Who’s your favourite mother in fiction? Have I missed anyone? Let me know in the comments!

Yep, that’s right. Whatever you think of him, President Obama just became the first American President ever to openly support gay marriage. I think that deserves a round of applause, personally. It’s a huge step forward in the fight for equality, and coming as it did on the same day that North Carolina passed a bill making same-sex marriage bans part of their state constitution, it was even more powerful.

Politically, it was a risky move, and may well hurt Obama’s re-election campaign. But knowing that, he stood up and did it anyways, claiming personal reasons for the sudden move.

“At a certain point I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” ~Barack Obama

Pete Souza/White House, via Reuters

The announcement has certainly reminded me of the importance of voting, and whatever the outcome of this year’s presidential election, I think it is safe to say that Obama’s legacy will be greatly enhanced by being remembered as the first American President to stand up for LGBTQ rights.

What do you think of the President’s announcement? Tell us in the comments below!

There must be something in the air.

As per usual, the reasoning goes back to the uneducated idea that teenagers are too impressionable and never do anything so questionable as talk about sex (or curse, but that’s not the issue this time).  A bill was recently passed in Tennessee that says teachers can’t encourage any kind of “gateway sexual activity”.  This is the basis behind the sudden string of Looking for Alaska bans in the state.  A two-page oral sex scene.  In a 250-page novel.  Such a high ratio.

Courtesy of Emily Rachel Hildebrand on flickr

I have to admit, in a time where any information is accessible online with the click of a button, half the shows on primetime TV talk about sex at least once, and the big controversy rocking through high schools is sexting, I get a little dumbfounded when parents and school boards get so worked up about a few pages in a Printz-recognized novel.  I was a high schooler not all that long ago, and I can say without a doubt that these teenagers in Sumner and Knox Counties are talking about sex on a far more regular basis than the adults in their community seem to realize.  And if they read the scene in Looking for Alaska, they would likely not be phased one bit by its supposed suggestiveness.

They see worse things on TV at 9/8 central.

Not only that, the new law in Tennessee restricting what teachers can teach feels very Educational Decree Twenty-Six to me.  Restricting things such as this don’t deter teenagers, but there is the possibility that they will get hurt because of it.  Being undeterred, but perhaps not being educated on the risks…it’s not a good mix.

What particularly got me worked up about this, though, was something said by Jeremy Johnson, a Sumner County school spokesperson:

You take somebody like Hemingway or a John Steinbeck and there can be some language or description that may make parents uncomfortable, but the value of a writer like that outweighs what controversy may be in the individual book.

As a writer, I take particular offense at this.  Saying that one writer’s value is worth more than another’s, just because their books are considered classics now, is petty.  But beyond that, you shouldn’t be able to pick and choose.  If Tennessee wants to cut books that contain suggestive scenes out of the curriculum, for fear that these books will infect the poor, impressionable minds of the teenagers, they should cut out ALL of them, not just ones that have been published in the last decade.

Or, perhaps everyone should allow teachers to teach and teenagers to learn.  They’re going to learn it anyway, if they truly want to.  It’s probably better to learn it from a Printz Award-winning novel than from Jersey Shore.

Good question. I’m glad you asked.

Well, I have no doubt that it’s important for all sorts of reasons which we don’t have time to go into at the moment, but in the ongoing battle for equality, May 8th is the date of the next engagement. On May 8th, North Carolina will vote on an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage completely.

Actually, same-sex marriage is already illegal in North Carolina, but the new bill would define marriage in the state constitution as a union between a man and a woman, and thus would ban any type civil partnership or domestic union. Although this bill originally failed to receive enough votes to be placed on the ballot, the second time it was brought up it passed the House 75-42 and the Senate 30-16.

Can I just take a moment to express my extreme frustration with this whole situation? I mean, I’m an optimist. It may seem silly, but I like to think of the future as being progressive. We should be improving things, not taking bad decisions from the past and making them state laws. But maybe that’s just me.

The good news is that there is a very strong resistance to the bill. Opponents of the bill include everyone from President Obama to various town and city councils, and even churches around the state. Many local people are standing up and speaking out against it, and the press is following suit.

“North Carolina can cast a clarion vote against discrimination and in favor of human dignity and loving relationships by rejecting Amendment 1.”~The Independent Weekly

So while it may seem a little bleak when we consider that such a bill even made it as far as the ballot, I’d like to take a moment to cheer on the people fighting against it, and wish them the best of luck in tomorrow’s voting. Let us hope that citizens of North Carolina will take the initiative and refuse to allow discrimination to become a state policy.

For more information on the North Carolina bill, click here.

Photo courtesy of Ruud Panhuysen

In a lot of ways, this project shows all the greatest abilities of creative minds. Not only does it help to solve multiple problems in one go, it does it in an artistic, and and imaginative way. Just take a look at at their incredible “Robodock Fenix” sculpture, an exquisite–and environmentally friendly–testament to creative minds at work.

If the future of our planet and our species is to be as bright a one as we ever-hopeful fans could wish, it will depend on this sort of approach. Clever and creative and resourceful all at once–the ability to take our past weaknesses and turn them into future possibilities–the ability to take what life has given us and imagine better.

To learn more about the so-called ‘architects of waste,’ check out the video, and tell us what you think in the comments!