Weekly W...*delete* Monthly Re...*delete* Quarterly Goals!

 

The title is literally what just happened, because in my head, I thought, "Well, you can't say Weekly, because you haven't written in a month." So, I deleted it and started to write Monthly Review, and as I went to see which Friday it was for my tag, I noticed it's a FIFTH Friday, so here's an early Quarterly Goals post! Let's see how I did.

Last quarter, I was supposed to have gotten to part three of Divided Princess. Well??? I restarted, I think, twice? So, I'm not even at part two yet, BUT I do have scenes written FOR parts two and three, so there's that. I've actually been back to writing more, and the scenes I kept from the third pass are about to be placed, so I'm excited that it's coming back together.

I also had a goal to record the audiobook in January, but I'd been getting sick so much I didn't have the energy or the voice to, but I've figured out the issue and am periodically (quite literally periodically, ladies) increasing my Vitamin C and Zinc intake to boost my immune system. Since I work from home Thursdays and Fridays now and they're typically slow workdays, I'm going to do my best to record during those days.

I'm a little behind on my reading goal, because I was struggling through a book I've since given up on. I think I can catch up, though. I'm currently reading Mo Dao Zu Shi Book 2, and it's an easy read, especially having watched the Netflix show (The Untamed) twice. I love this franchise so much. I also want to get back into Chinese and Korean series. So little time to watch everything I want to watch, read everything I want to read, write everything I want to write. GAH!

I was supposed to be more engaged last quarter. I did join Threads, but Fractured Princess is no longer on Barnes & Noble's website. :( Maybe they stopped working with Amazon? I'm not sure. I just need to try to keep engagement up and generate interest. I will be participating in an Ace Aro Raid Train which starts tomorrow (click the banner to the right for all of the info and participants), so hopefully there will be some avid fantasy readers in the mix. I may also try to stream recording the audiobook again. We'll see. All that said, check my Linktree for updated links.

That's all for now. More convention news to come next quarter! Hopefully there are a few more down the line. Have a great weekend and see you next month! ;)

TV Show Review: We Are Lady Parts

Happy Friday! 

How are we already in May? I've vowed to do as much writing as possible today, so hopefully by the time this goes live, I've started. (Spoiler alert: I was still writing THIS 20 minutes ago.)

This is a rare review, in that I don't think I've ever reviewed a TV show. It's also a full circle moment in a weird way. The other day I was trying to find a blog post that talked about a webcomic I'm reading because it's about to end, and I stumbled upon this old post about a self-hating POC against Ms. Marvel being Kamala Khan. Since that post, we've not only gotten a Disney Plus show about Kamala Khan but a movie! I loved both. Others not so much, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the lighter sequels in the MCU after being gutted by Chadwick Boseman's real death, forcing Black Panther's death, and Iron Man's death.

But I digress. Kamala Khan was not only relatable and loveable, but seeing how she navigated her Muslim identity as a superhero made it even more authentic. I hope Mr. Ampikaipakan has either seen the error of his ways or still loses sleep seeing the success of Ms. Marvel all these years later.

All of that said, I stumbled upon a great show yesterday on Peacock and proceeded to binge watch it (there are only six 24-minute episodes, so it was easy). We Are Lady Parts created by Nida Manzoor.                          

Geeky biochemical engineering Ph.D. student Amina Hussein becomes the unlikely lead guitarist of Lady Parts, an all-female Muslim punk band on a mission to get a proper gig. Saira, the band's fierce and enigmatic frontwoman, sees something in Amina the others can't. Saira leverages Amina's desperation to find a husband and offers to set her up with potential matches if she agrees to join. Torn between her straitlaced university friends and members of Lady Parts, Amina tries to find her voice.

The show opens up with an instant clash of Muslim cultures as Amina (center) sits with her parents to meet a potential husband with his parents. Her parents are progressive and for the most part loving and supportive, but in this instance, they're embarrassing. Not that the other family was worthy of Amina, but at one point, her parents mention that she teaches music to under-privileged kids, for instance, and that earned a frown and "music is haram" from the other family. Yikes.

Amina is desperate to find a husband because all of her friends are married or engaged, and she sees a beautiful Muslim man who hands her a flyer for a band looking for a guitarist. She doesn't even pay attention to the band part; she just goes looking for the man and finds herself meeting Lady Parts. Mayhem and music ensue. I don't have a voice right now (been sick for two weeks), but there was one part where I whisper-yelled, "Yes, guitar riff!" Amina can SHRED!

So, we meet the other four girls on the poster: left to right: Momtaz, Saira, Bisma, and Ayesha, and right-off the bat, we have four different Muslim experiences on screen just by looking at them. They each have their own challenges as Muslim women as well as women singing very white-centered punk music. On top of this, Amina is trying very hard to balance these two lives she's in, so we have these five women just trying to live and love the music they create all while living in Muslim skin.

This show is topical, funny, heart-warming, and even as a Black Christian woman, a story that resonated with me because they're women of color trying to be heard in a world that has already labeled them as unworthy. I love each of the five characters, and Amina's parents, ugh, I just love them so much. I'm probably going to watch it again, and I just saw that Season 2 comes out at the end of this month (the first season aired in 2021!), so I can't wait to watch the trailer and see what's next to come for the ladies and their parts! hehe