November 7, 2025

I have a little less than a month left for this semester (should've been my senior year but advising has decided nope) and baybeeeee? I'm exhausted. I've been job searching for a little over two years now and I need all of us to pray that this degree brings me a remote, long-standing, good-paying, soul-enriching job, Amen.

I had three incredibly stressful events last week and now that I'm on the other side of them, I'm getting back into writing here. So let's go!

A Note: my friend and I are running QTBIPOC Storm, a mutual aid bundle for Queer and Trans Creators of the Global Majority! It'll run from roughly end of November to mid-December. To learn more, visit the itch.io page!

1. Halloween Watch List

Last month, a lot of people in horror circles were making a list of thirty-one horror movies they'd watch in October. I decided to make a list and then--change it every day so who knows what the original looked like. As of this writing, I made it 64% of the way through with about 68% of them being first-time views.

My favorite first-time watches: - Exist Within - Within

My favorite rewatches: - Sinners - Scream 4 - 1BR - The Black Phone

Most fucked up movie of the bunch: - Tie between Sound of Violence¹ and The Monkey⁴

2. Long Covid Is Real and It's Changing and Entire Generation in Rolling Stone

It’s a slow-moving spiral: first their health, then their grades, then their future. And as the country throttles past the pandemic’s fifth anniversary, those for whom Covid looms very present are feeling increasingly forgotten, subject to pervasive skepticism and a kind of cultural fatigue when it comes to their illness. ~Eli Cahan

One of the reasons I've been stressed for months is because choosing to mask for an event has changed one of my most important relationships. People still give me shit about it even though I'm asthmatic and my asthma was barely managed before the pandemic that fucks up your entire immune system and destroys your respiratory system. I'm in a class for juvenile justice this semester and articles like these are really important but they make me really worried about kids who aren't able to protect themselves from the virus while having to stay in communities that will demonize them for masking and will let them fall to the wayside if they become disabled. I try to "look for the helpers"² like Mister Rogers reminded us, but it's hard this month.

3. Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty - BBC Africa Eye Documentary

Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty is about reporter from BBCAfrica, Runako Celina, delving into the story of the Ugandan woman, Mona Kizz, who was seen jumping from a high-rise in Dubai. Celina learns the truth about the human and sex trafficking ring that runs from Uganda to Dubai. Shortly after the documentary aired, one of the suspects connected to the possible murder was held by police.

"The truth comes from visible sources."

I watched this in September after coming across a post on LinkedIn. It's a really difficult documentary to watch but especially as I'm doing a paper on media relations for victims and survivors, feels really timely in how we use social media to shape (and often disform) real events for the sake of a click or two.

I'd be remiss if I didn't share some of the resources I found this week: - Media Ethics and 'True Crime' from National Center for Victims of Crime - For victims, victim advocates, and supporters of victims: Navigating Media in the Wake of Tragedy , Working With The Media - For journalists and content creators: Creating Survivor-Centered Media - For general public: Eight Simple Rules For Being an ETHICAL True Crime Fanatic, you can also watch the panel from 2023 Crime Con here

4. Hourlies by ash-k

I know we know this, but capitalism really will rob you of any hope that you are worth anything if you are not working. Anyways, I really like this application cause I can write down what I'm doing from hour to hour and look back and see what I've done for the day. Especially during unemployment, it's been hard for me to validate my existence and/or answer the simple question of "How was your day?"³ and this helps me remember that I do exist and even if it is daydreaming or doing my little exercises, those still count. It's the little things that still build a life.

5. Managing OCD: Because therapy is expensive and scary, and you deserve relief even if you can't access it by dinonugget7

On the way to the diagnoses that we've landed on, one or five therapists thought I had OCD. Even though I can see the possibility, it's not something I'd claim but the tools used to manage it have often been helpful for me. Even if you feel like the intrusive thoughts or repetitive actions aren't "bad enough", I think it's a good lil zine with some good coping skills!

6. BSonBlast

BSonBlast has been sharing information about Sudan's war since April 2023. She shares a daily update as well as fundraises for direct support to Sudanese community. Follow her on all platforms, share the information (usually under the hashtags #EyesOnSudan, #TalkAboutSudan, #Sudan, #KeepEyesOnSudan), and donate when possible.

7. # ‘The Toxic Avenger’ Has Helped Eliminate Over $15 Million in Medical Debt

I added this weeks ago but all I can remember is how happy I was to read this title during a low point. So sharing it with you (and adding the movie to my list)!

8. Melt ICE Zines

Free zines in English and Spanish with information about protecting your neighbors (and yourself) from ICE, based on state.

9. Trans Ruckus: A Virtual Poetry Reading

Help Split This Rock! make their goal and get to listen to amazing poets on November 20th! Poets include: Chrysanthemum, Ezra Fox, Golden, Jimena Lucero, Zuggie Tate & Cai Sherley. They also have workshops so check out their website for more!

Odds & Ends

The past couple of months have kind of kicked my ass and I think the things I shared reflect that. Here's to hoping I can find at least three puppy videos to share next month!

• A Black Feminist Apocalypse/Dystopian Survival Resource Compilation
• Anti-Surveillance Protest Guide
• Blackline: Peer support for Black people. I'm not sure if they do mandatory reporting
• Chronic Illness Resources by Marz Corbeau
• Common Misconceptions About Screen Readers
• Creating a Flourishing Digital Public Space for Your Local Area
• De-escalating Violence - How To Stop Violence Before It Happens)
• Dabanga Radio's Timeline of Sudan's War and Humanitarian Crisis: Dabanga Radio is an independent media that keeps a tri-monthly update on the movement, murder, and famine across Sudan due to the war that began in April 2023
• Global Aid Freeze Tracker: Places in the world that have lost global aid because...well you know....and the effects of them and give you a possible start into looking where you can help out
• Mask Bloc: International: Find your nearest mask bloc to get access to resources!
• Omniglot: in my mind, I'm gonna learn toki pona one day and that led me to this encyclopedia for writing systems and languages
• Path to Pro: Home Depot has a free training for learning about construction safety, using tools, and other skills
• Rad Reader by Alexander Cobleigh is a local RSS reader for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Haven't tried it yet but I want to be free of inoreader so hopefully soon (I know I've said this before)
• Survivor Library: I love stuff about survival because of dystopian media so here goes one that I mean to download Speaking of download have you read if you love it, download it? Also a gentle reminder to get copies of physical media whenever possible.
• Toni Morrison Essays in the Form of Zines
• Why You Need a Digital 'Dead Man's Switch':⁵ People are disappeared every day and that terrifies me. I can't really get all the people I care about to do this with me but something like Wellness Ping could be useful for you and people you love.

Destroy the systems that seek to destroy you then build something better in their place!

A Parting Video

A link to the parting video again

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