Welcome to Velociriot, home to criticism of the best and worst: media, culture, and more. Continue reading
So I realize I say this all the time, but you’ve got to bear with me. I’m sure these sound strange, at best: jam? In brownies? I know. It’s weird. Weird but so, so delicious. This recipe (fun fact!) was the first vegan dessert I ever made and it comes directly from the genius minds … Continue reading
Trigger Warning: racism, colorblind racism The United States is not a “post-racial” country, and the world in general hasn’t gotten past centuries of anti-Blackness. How can I be sure of that? Because between this past Monday, the 29th annual observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, and the end of February, … Continue reading
Trigger Warnings: misgendering, cissexism, harassment, transphobia, suicide The world of journalism was met with a challenge in August of 2013: Chelsea Manning came out as transgender. Her announcement pointed out the glaringly obvious: mainstream journalists (as well as the majority of the world) did not know how to talk about transgender people. In fact, they … Continue reading
Trigger Warnings: mentions of queerphobia and racism, mentions of abortion and rape [Editor’s note: This post is image-heavy, due to screencaps of tweets.] Last weekend, 1/5 of internationally famous boy band One Direction forgot to think before he tweeted. Following a tweet to Willie Robertson (of “Duck Dynasty” fame, who’s likened homosexuality to bestiality and … Continue reading
Trigger Warnings: gun violence, sexual abuse In the United States, we’ve become accustomed to a lot of everyday violence. While school shootings used to always make headlines, now that happens with increasing rarity. In a way, they’ve become a part of our norm. What’s seldom noticed is all of the other forms of violence (or … Continue reading
Time Magazine has generally been very successful at dancing along the dividing line between controversial and offensive. But sometimes they overstep the boundaries and publish cover images that genuinely upset portions of their audience: countless 20-somethings side-eyed the “Millennials” cover (May 20, 2013) that suggested they were all ungrateful narcissists, while the year before, nursing … Continue reading
Hey geeks and peeps alike. It’s Monday, meaning it’s sad music time. Yaaaaaaaaaaay. So today, I don’t have a whole lot to talk about, but I think that all this music I am about to discuss is very good and should definitely be listened to. The National – Alligator The National are one of my favorite … Continue reading
Books This week, I finally sat down to read Ryan North’s To Be or Not to Be and discovered that the choose-your-own-adventure Hamlet isn’t so much a book as it is a game. And it’s a hilarious game, at that. Given the option to play as Ophelia, Hamlet, or Hamlet Sr. (the ghost) — though sometimes you might end … Continue reading
TWs: discrimination, religious persecution, racism, sexism Tuesday, Jan. 14 marked the beginning of hearings on Québec’s proposed charter of values which will run until Friday, Feb. 7. Since its first announcement in May 2013, the charter has gained much public criticism and has struck the debate on individual freedom and rights, and religious accommodations in the … Continue reading
Apparently, Cartoon Network isn’t the only corporation that thinks its female viewers are worth less than its male viewers. Starting on Friday, Jan. 17, fast food giant McDonald’s will be featuring a new line of gendered toys (which is problematic in and of itself). (First of all: Don’t you think non-binary children would like some … Continue reading
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