Just an update on what I've been doing lately, since I wasn't reading...woah, that sounds crazy huh? Well,

That's right! You might wonder now what I've been doing instead. Don't worry: this post is all about informing you exactly of what! For those of you who recognised the gif, YES INDEED I'VE BEEN WATCHING THE LBD!

And of course, for those of you who have no idea what 'The LBD' is, I'll explain!

The LBD stands for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and simply takes less time to type. It's an awesome web series (which you can watch for free on youtube) based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - the 'Lizzie Bennet' kind of gave that away, huh?
Anyway, I really, really, really enjoyed it because the actors are genius in their roles as Jane Austen's characters. Of course some things differ from the actual story, but that's what makes it fun and realistic for this time period! The plot is pretty much the same (we still have a marry-crazy mother, an energetic younger sister, a Wickham and a certain mister Darcy) but I love how they worked it out for this series! Also, the episodes are only 4/5 minutes long so you can watch one whenever you feel like it or have some spare time.
Interested? Here you go!

Oh by the way, Hank Green developed this (with Bernie Su) so if you didn't have enough reasons to give this a shot, now you do (;

Yet another update to the YouTube Sex Scandal (for the full story check here, here, here, and this great video sums up the whole situation).

Good News: On May 4th, the official Nerdfigher tumblr (effyeahnerdfighters.com) FINALLY made an announcement about the elusive "resource team" that Hank Green said was putting together a response to the scandal and are putting in place measures to prevent it from happening again. [source]

Bad News: Luke Conrad, an admitted abuser of multiple women, will be a paid Special Guest at VidCon (a YouTube convention specifically targeted at teens). According to mellowblueness, who continues to be a great resource for information on this issue, at least two of Conrad's victims will also be attending Vidcon. [source]

This calls into the question the sincerity of the statement from the effyeahnerdfighters' post, that "The VidCon team is committed to improving safety options and opportunities for attendees." 

One would think the first step of ensuring the safety of attendees would involve not forcing them to have to share space with their abuser, much less to pay to see that abuser celebrated on stage.

It's even more interesting considering when author C.C. Finlay asked the official Vidcon Twitter account asking for a link to their official anti-sexual harassment and conduct policy, two days before the effyeahnerdfighters post went up, he was informed that not only did they not have one, but they didn't need one. [source]

Considering many of the victims who came forward about their abuse mentioned having met their abusers at Vidcon, this cavalier attitude about the lack of a harassment policy and the insulting/erasing declaration that everyone is "extremely respectful to each other" shows just how far the people who helm this organization have their heads shoved up their own asses. 

I think Whitney, one of Conrad's victims, does a fantastic job of summing up the situation:

"right, so, all of these ‘discussions’ and ‘panels’ and ‘video series’ about abuse and consent and manipulation and rape culture being planned by vidcon and the heads of the nerdfighter community in response to the past month & a half’s worth of conversations about abuse and consent and manipulation and rape culture are totally valid and not at all emblematic of laughably glaring hypocrisy considering the fact that they are still paying one of the most high-profile admitted abusers to appear at vidcon, where at least two of the women he abused will also be in attendance. 

 

right."

This is an update to my post about the recent revelation that two notable YouTube personalities (Tom Milsom and Alex Day), had been accused of and admitted to sexually abusing women (one of which was an underage fan).

Since my post went up Hank Green posted this video explaining the sizable steps the Nerdfighter community and Vlogbrother's channel will be making to help the community deal with the situation, and take steps to prevent abuse in the future.

Author Maureen Johnson wrote a post on her tumblr, in an attempt to lend a female voice to the discussion. She shared her personal experience with sexual abuse/assault.  

While the Nerdfighter, and Youtube community is still reeling more accusations keep coming in. Tumblr user mellowblueness has posted a round of up of information confirming that a total of NINE people with tangible connections "to nerdfighteria have been called out as sexual abusers."

See list below (Click the name to read the accusations against them):

• tom milsom
• alex day
• frezned / tom mclean
• dannyhooper
• alexcarpenter
• eddplant
• MikeLombardo
• JoshMacedo
• Kelly Montoya

The NerdfightersNotAlone Tumblr has been created to help survivors and/or a nerdfighters, by providing a support network and various resources.

The Daily Dot posted another article about the scandal, this time focusing on Alex Day and the "dangers of YouTube celebrity culture."

I would like to point out that this situations is not isolated to YouTube, or even Nerdfighteria communities. Sexual abuse and exploitation is very common in any community where certain individuals have more authority/power than others. I've witnessed similar situations through out my more than twenty years in various communities and fandoms. I've seen perpetrators and victim of every gender and sexual orientation.

People with popularity/authority in a any community also have a responsibility to not exploit that power. Part of that responsibility involves educating peers, and holding them accountable for their actions. It looks like the Nerdfighter community is working toward this goal. I hope it will prevent these situations from happening in the future.

Additional note [credit to Rose]: Tumblr user nephiesworld's account of her own disturbing encounter with Alex Day ends with an interesting bit of information.

"John Green’s been warning girls after they have been in videos with Alex about him for the past few years."

If Green had been aware that Alex's behavior was a problem why did he only bother to warn girls, rather than do something about the actual problem? 

[Read an update to this story here.]

I'm really surprised that there isn't more discussion or coverage of this issue, especially considering it involves two musicians (Tom Milsom and Alex Day) who are not only famous Youtubers, but were signed to DBFTA records, associated with Hank Green of the Vlogbrothers, aka John Green's brother. But even more disturbing is that at least one of these Youtube celebes (who was 22 at the time) was involved with an underage fan (a 15 year old girl). 

Here is a Daily Dot article that covers some of the issue, though if you want a more comprehensive view of events I recommend this tumblr post by Erika Lynae. Please be warned both posts cover sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse and rape culture. Erika's post links directly to victims (detailed) first hand accounts of their abuse. 

Considering that both the abusers and victims in these incidents are members of the nerdfighter community, as well as YouTubers, I expected the internet would be on fire. Not to mention the implication of John Green, a popular YA author's own connection to the abusers and the fact that he heads the community (nerdfighters) and event (VidCon) where these predators met their victims is HUGE! 

We are talking about a living breathing teenage girl who was sexually abused and manipulated by a man entrenched in a community founded by the "savior of Young Adult fiction." 

Why is no one in the YA literary world talking about this? 

"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten."

Let me start this off by saying this was the first John Green novel I had read (and best of his that I have read since) and the first book that got me back into the rhythm of reading. After finishing the Harry Potter series a few years ago I didn't want to read any other book because felt as if they wouldn't be as good as HP. Last year I read The Hunger Games series which wasn't as good as Harry Potter, but good enough for me to reread(because I didn't know what else to read).

I read a few more fantasy books but none really caught my eye like HP did, until I kept hearing clips of The Fault in Our Stars when my dad was listening to it on CD. I couldn't get the realistic narrative out of my head, so I asked my him if I could listen to it when he was done with it.

Well once he was finished and one short day later I finished listening to it and was simply in love!

John Green writes in such an amazing tone and voice that you feel that it's not forced. The dialogue is written extremely well and sounds like a real conversation between a mother and daughter or girlfriend and boyfriend. He also writes it in a way where you can empathize with the character even though she is living an imposable life. His writing is whimsical and funny but also very thought provoking and deep.

The characters in this book are very likable and relatable. Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters's relationship is very unique and special to see unfold. They don't have an average teenage relationship where they breakup one minuet and are back together the next. They are very mature characters because of their background but you can still see a hint of innocence and teenage emotions. 

The settings are very detailed and you can easily picture them, but Green has not overly elaborated on them to an extent of boredom. The settings are not static either, meaning the story moves around and the characters are taken to different scenes (like Amsterdam). 

This book is an all time favourite of mine and if you are ready for crying your eyes out to being in stiches laughing you will love this book too.