Crossplaying and Cosplaying

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Some cosplayers may dress as characters that do not fit their gender. A girl may cosplay the masculine Vegeta while a boy might dress as the frilly, feminine Madoka. In these instances, the cosplayers are entitled ‘crossplayers’ because they’re cosplaying a character that isn’t their gender.

Here’s some advice when interacting with a crossplayer:

-Do not automatically believe they’re homosexual: when I cosplayed a male character people thought I was a homosexual. This doesn’t sound terrible at all, but being verbally and mentally harassed for supposedly being one is. While I do support homosexuals and whatnot, I’m a heterosexual woman who’s incredibly confident with her orientation. I know who and what I am. I felt comfortable with cosplaying the character (Jack Skellington) because I love the outfit and I can relate to the character. Speaking of which…

-Do not stop them from cosplaying the character: that character could have important meaning to them.  For me, cosplaying Jack Skellington was crafted from relating to the character (being bored of a routine life and finding something new and heavily embracing it), my overall admiration for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and Tim Burton, and how that movie has shaped me into the creative individual I am today.

-Never humiliate them: or any cosplayer or anyone for that matter.  This includes trying to convert their sexuality into something or someone they’re not, publicly shaming them, sexual assault, and generally making them uncomfortable. No one likes experiencing those things regardless of their cosplay or sexual orientation.

-Treat them as a human being: because that’s what they are! Crossplayers (regardless of orientation) are just like you and me. There’s no need to mock them, degrade them or bring any harm to. Make friends with them, talk about how much your fandoms are fantastic, and just generally be good person.

Cosplaying is about having fun regardless of who you dress as or what that character’s gender is. Everyone cosplays characters for their own reasons, so let them express their love for their character.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, critique, share and subscribe.

So tell me, have you ever crossplayed?

A Dying Pulse: Orlando Shooting

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

You know, as mysterious as this blog is life is also mysterious. It’s strange how on the same day gay pride parades are held everywhere, the largest mass shooting in America against homosexuals takes place.

Pulse, a gay nightclub was where 50 victims fell to Omar Mateen’s artillery on June 12^th, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Mrteen held people hostage in the bathroom, praised ISIS to the police while making the attack, and was ultimately shot by officials.

Mateen has been noted as a suspicious character from abusing his wife to purchasing guns as a part of his security job at G4 Secure Solutions – one of the world’s biggest private security companies. From 2013- 2014, he was interviewed by the FBI due to his remarks regarding ISIS and suicide bombers. They halted his investigation because they found nothing to keep continuing it.  

However, no sooner this tragedy unraveled another one nearly sparked in Santa Monica, California.  James Howell had informed a police officer that he was going to harm the gay pride parade. This message was tweeted, only for the officer to retract what Howell had said, believing there was a miscommunication.  Howell was still detained for his extensive and harmful collection located in his car when he made that statement. There has been no connection between him and Mateen.

Vigils and ceremonies for the passing innocents have been held throughout the nation. People have been donating blood to those who have suffered an incredible blood loss from the incident. Celebrities and government officials have given their respectful thoughts and prayers to this situation.

The absolute rage I feel about this incident is unfathomable. Even collecting information for this entry is just filling me with even more anger. For the record, I am a heterosexual woman with many bisexual, homosexual, and transgender friends and I stand by them. Frankly, I’m proud of them for their bravery to be themselves in a dark and cruel world. They’re wonderful people. For this to occur as well as the homophobic comments that followed this situation (most notably Trump’s unneeded, unnecessary, unwanted ego stroke) have indefinitely caused my blood to boil.

It feels as though we took three steps forward and two steps back. Three steps forward in allowing homosexuals to marry everywhere, fighting for their rights as well as transgender rights, and generally improving on the LQBT community. Two steps backward in the prejudice still shown to this collective group and now this ungodly shooting. We need to be on the same level.

Always advancing forward and yet, there will always be people like Omar Mateen and James Howell. These people are viruses in our society that must be reprimanded in proper fashion. From these horrific situations, we must find the strength to be there for each other regardless of sexuality. We must accept each other for who we are and what we are. Homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders, and other sexuals are no different from heterosexuals because in the end we’re all humans who want to love who we love without repercussions.

I believe John Lennon said something years ago that still holds true to this day : “all you need is love.” All we need is love and love can come in many forms of acceptance, friendship, strength, and comfort.  I know it’s an incredibly overused phrase to say, but it still rings true. All we need is love to love each other, all we need is strength to lift each other, all we need is acceptance to embrace our fellow brethren and sisters, all we need is friendship to understand each other better, all we need is love. Love is all we need.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this ungodly massacre?

Parents: Get With the Program

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Most of you are in your teens to twenties and probably live with strict parents. Especially if you’re an only child or a younger sibling, things tend to seem unfair. Some parents fall back relentlessly on ideals from the 50s (if not older) and never seem to let them go. Tonight, I’m going to dispel some of these ridiculous myths that you may have heard throughout your lifetime.

1.”If you hang out with nothing but men, you’re a whore.” – FALSE. Ladies, guess what? We can have nothing but guys as friends and it’s okay. Why? Because they’re human just like us and maybe you prefer to do things with them as opposed to women. It’s perfectly okay and by no means are you a whore. Rather, you just have awesome friends you like to do things with.

2.”Everyone is out to get you.” – FALSE. For starters, this is something you shouldn’t tell someone with anxiety or paranoia because it only makes it worse. Regardless, yes, the world is comprised of wonderful people and terrible people. Not everyone is out to get you because they are too focused on their lives to even care about you. However, it is still good to be cautious when venturing out in the world – just don’t overdo it.

3.”You need a man to do things and go places with.” – FALSE.  I’m pretty sure that most of us can handle ourselves in this world. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with the buddy system and hanging out with friends is fun. Yet there are some days when we want to have some ‘me’ time and do things we want to without anyone’s company. We don’t need an escort or a chaperone. We can do it all ourselves.

4. “You can’t drive alone at night because it’s dangerous.” – FALSE. Want to know the difference between day time driving and night time driving? Headlights. There’s also a fewer amount of cars on the road as well as people, but as long as you know where you’re going, stay awake, and keep your doors locked, you should be fine.

5. “You shouldn’t wear boys’ clothes because you’ll look like a lesbian.” – FALSE. Why not dress in boys’ clothes? For the record, I am incredibly girly – I will wear pink frilly dresses until I’m deceased, but I love wearing big shirts and men’s sweatpants because they are comfortable. Am I a lesbian? No, I am a heterosexual, but I do believe homosexuals have an equal right to marry, to wear whatever they want, and to be treated as a normal person.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, share, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what are some things your parents say that drive you insane?

Homosexuality for the Crystal Gems

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

“Steven Universe” is popular show on Cartoon Network following the adventures of a boy (Steven Universe) and his friends, the Crystal Gems – beings infused with gemstones. The show is completely and utterly Earth shattering in its unique art style, interesting plot, and portrayals of relationships, especially those of the homosexual variety.

Homosexuality is a topic that’s accepted to a certain degree in our society. Homosexuals have been finally allowed to legally marry in America and it’s considered a gigantic triumph in the gay community. However, there are still people who are homophobes and enforce their opinions in any way possible. Such as Cartoon Network UK censoring “Steven Universe” to make it less homosexual.

The censored scene in particular is a fusion dance where Pearl and Rose Quartz (both females) meld together to become Rainbow Quartz. A fusion dance is an intimate, unique dance that two (or more) gems can partake in to become a stronger being. This dance was featured in the episode, “We Need to Talk” and has been hailed by fans everywhere as an act of unrequited love between the characters. Pearl and Rose Quartz, however, are canonically labeled as lesbians by the fanbase, and are not officially a lesbian pair.

Cartoon Network UK has altered this scene so that one of the characters has a more masculine face to stray from the homosexual nature of this scene. Fans everywhere have signed a petition to keep the scene as it originally was and without the homophobic alteration. Cartoon Network UK has taken note of this petition and stands by their alteration.

While I’m not a homosexual or bisexual myself, I still believe that regardless of ethnicity, color, and sexual orientation people should have the right to be wed. Furthermore, all people of colors, orientations, and ethnicities should be portrayed on television in their proper roles. For a show like “Steven Universe” to exist and portray loving homosexual couples (like Ruby and Sapphire and also the fan labelled lesbians/bisexuals Pearl and Rose Quartz), is something tremendous.

The world isn’t all one shade, one ethnicity, and one orientation. The world is thousands of different shades, tons of ethnicities, and millions of orientations. So why shouldn’t each one be equally represented? Ruby and Sapphire are “Steven Universe”’s official lesbian pairing and thankfully, they haven’t been censored. This show has been accepted by tons of people as a sort of solace for their orientation and a universal symbol of peace among people and acceptance. For it to be censored over a dance of unrequited love is something unnecessary and ridiculous.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe, share, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you think of “Steven Universe”?

The Passing of Phelps: To Mourn or to Celebrate

Good evening everyone and welcome to a late night entry of The Magical Mystery Blog.

The Internet erupted with the passing of Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC for short), has done many terrible, and unforgiveable acts of unneeded protest and violence in the past. Most assaults were targeted towards homosexuals because of their extremist ideology that homosexuals are horrible people. They have even gone so far to protest the funeral of homosexual soldiers killed in combat and Lady Gaga concerts.  Thankfully, people have fought against them in the past and continue to do so.

Fred Phelps was the most hated man in existence next to Hans of the Southern Isles and Hitler. But with him gone from this world, a few questions come to mind: should we mourn his death? Should we celebrate it?

Immediately your brain jumps to ‘celebrate it’ as mine did. While my brain still chooses to believe that we should celebrate the death of a hated man, others think differently. Many people have chosen to regard his death with silence and carry on with life, knowing that a vile being has left our world. It’s what George Takei did and many are following in the wise man’s shoes. This, I agree is the mature way to handle Phelps’ death, but people will respond differently to situations.

Then there are those who wish to picket his funeral.  Even the Huffington Post polled its readers, asking if the funeral should be picketed, like he had picketed so many funerals before his death. There are nearly 14% who are undecided, 39% who say yes, and 48% who say no. In the comments below, people claim that we should give him little attention because he deserved none in life, and that no one should stoop as low as he did.

So what do you think? Should we celebrate the death of a hated man or silently regard it and carry on?

Feel free to comment and reblog, and as always feedback and followers are welcomed.

Walkin in an Olympic Motherland

Hello everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Tonight the Sochi Winter Olympics welcomed everyone with their opening ceremony. Teams from all over the world gathered in Sochi, Russia to represent their nation and strength. The Olympics is a special time of the year when viewers everywhere see the athletic talent of other countries. With every performance, a nation’s culture is displayed by how an athlete interprets a song through ice skating or how an athlete shows their skills in bobsledding.

As mentioned before, I am not a sports fan, but I am fond of ice skating. I’ve always enjoyed the grace skaters displayed while performing with bladed shoes. To this day, I am still fascinated by their skill and beauty.  Although there will be tons of figure skaters in Sochi’s Olympics, I still refuse to watch this special program.

• The Olympics is a time of coming together and celebrating various nationalities, regardless of race, color, and/or orientation. When asked about having homosexuals in Russia, Putin replied that they are not accepted; especially after he passed an anti-gay law last July. This led to an onslaught of violent attacks towards those who are interested in those of their own gender. Not only does this go against the purpose of the Olympics, but it terribly violates people. In response to this outrageous treatment of homosexuals, Google has changed its Olympic logo to the colors of the rainbow – the symbol for homosexuality. The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion also rallied for homosexuality in Russia and the Olympics by making a PSA.

CNN.com

• In order to prep for the coming of the Olympics, Sochi had to clean up its town. This meant getting rid of trash, restoring some of their hotels, and killing stray dogs. Yes, the last one is sickeningly true. Apparently, dogs roamed around the parks in Sochi, and no one seemed to mind; they even enjoyed the company of a fluffy, four legged friend. But with the Winter Olympics approaching, this drastically changed; pest control was hired to kill dogs by any means possible to make the Olympic Village more sanitary and beautiful. Thankfully, animal rescue shelters and charities have been able to save most of the dogs from death.

The Olympics is a celebration of life, strength, nationality, and unity. When the country that’s hosting the Olympics abuses homosexuals and murders dogs, it’s a contradiction. There are other places that would have been better suited for the Winter Olympics that uphold the themes of unity and admiration.

Where would you like to have seen the Olympics?

Feel free to comment and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.  

Coca Cola's Vision of America

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

With the Superbowl finished (the Seahawks slaughtering the Broncos and taking the trophy (just as The Oatmeal predicted)), people are still abuzz about a few things; namely, the game and the Coca Cola advertisement.  For those of you who didn’t bother to watch the game, here is the Coca Cola commercial that everyone is fighting over:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8iM73E6JP8 – Coca Cola: America, the Beautiful

People have been tweeting Coca Cola no sooner they saw the commercial. Each tweet contained a message of people deeming Coca Cola “un-American” and vowing to never drink their product. Their ultimate reason for this is because that the song America, the Beautiful was sung in eight foreign languages.

(theblaze.com)

But what is America exactly? Most of us have different definitions of it. America is patriotic, idealistic, the land of opportunity, the home of dreams, and my personal favorite, the ultimate supplier of bacon. Coca Cola envisions America as a diverse melting pot, culminating with races and languages of different nationalities. This theme was seen and heard throughout the ad which featured a homosexual couple roller skating with their daughter, a family dinner, friends engaging in various fun activities such as surfing and watching a movie, and various nationalities joining in on the fun.

Coca Cola’s intent was to “get people talking and thinking about what it means to be American” (Lee, USA Today). While their attempt was promising and understandable, most people thought otherwise. As for myself, I’m not a big fan of Coca Cola for what it does to your body, much like other sodas. However, I believe the commercial was decent and carried out a meaning of America that has been always defined this nation.

America has always been a melting pot that speaks more than one language. The most popular languages spoken in this nation are: English, French, and Spanish. They are languages that have migrated to this country by way of people. Over time, more people have come to this country in search of a new life, and with it, they brought their language regardless if it was Japanese or Italian. So why are we now causing a commotion over something that has been happening for ages with this nation?

Feel free to leave your comments below and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.

Farewell 2013

Greetings everyone and welcome to the near end of the year at The Magical Mystery Blog.

Wow, what a year and it seems to have flown by fast, too.  One moment we were welcoming 2013 and now here we are bidding it a fond farewell.  So much has happened this year, from the death of prominent persons to Miley’s train wreck of a performance at the VMAs. It’s amazing how as a society we can keep up with all of this information circulating throughout the globe and always being there for us to catch up on. Below are just a few notable topics from 2013.

4) Here Comes the Groom

This has been a good year for homosexual marriages. With tons of states approving it, wedding bells have chimed for many couples. Other places across the globe have also approved homosexual marriage, while others are still playing catch up or ignoring the rise of happy homosexual newlyweds.

3) Journey to the Red Planet

In August 2012, the Curiosity rover landed on Mars and showed us more than what our science classes did. This year the rover has released information about the red planet and based on what’s been revealed Mars could potentially qualify as a habitable planet. Along with this exciting knowledge, NASA has launched the MAVEN probe to understand Mars’ atmosphere. In the future, more crafts will be sent to Mars to analyze it better.

2)  Boston Marathon Bombing

The Boston bombing was a tragedy that shook the media and rocked the nation. Over 200 people were injured and even killed at the marathon on April 15^th, when two bombs exploded at the finishing line. While citizens were escorted away from the scene and rushed to the hospital, the entire city shut down until the terrorists were captured. Thankfully, they were able to find them scattered throughout Boston.

1)  Collapse of Healthcare.gov

No sooner this web site was launched it greeted people with glitches, cookies, viruses, and other problems. Originally supposed to be a marketplace for healthcare insurance, the site turned out to be quite a historical flop.  Not only was it an embarrassment for the government but it showed everyone that not all technology is perfect.

Well here’s hoping the new year to come will be better, filled with fortune and love for all, and be as memorable as 2013. Happy New Year’s everyone! Try not to get too hammered and have fun.