deerstalker

https://blackgirlnerds.com/travel-gifts-under-50-that-will-enhance-your-adventures/

Whether you’re a traveler or know someone who loves to travel, here are some simple, thoughtful, and affordable gifts that won’t leave you overdrawn. 

1. Noise Canceling Headphones

Hands down, one of the most handy travel gifts is noise-canceling headphones. Crying baby on the airplane? That’s no problem; these headphones will drown out the whining and amp up the music. Too much chatter on a busy train in London? Background noise doesn’t exist with the right set of headphones. 

When shopping for your ideal device, look for foldable, lightweight, and high-quality sound features. 

I suggest the Soundcore Anker life Q20 hybrid active noise canceling headphones.

2. Solar-powered power bank

Have you ever reached a destination with only 10% of your cellphone battery and discovered that your phone charger doesn’t fit any outlets? Every traveler has had that moment of panic when they need to charge their phone but don’t have the means to do so. 

On one trip, I ended up sharing an outlet with an ATM, to charge my phone. Don’t end up in a similar situation; consider purchasing a solar-powered charger. 

Great for charging phones, tablets, and other devices, such as wireless headphones, this device requires only some daylight to get up and running. It makes an excellent gift for yourself or your eco-conscious travel friend. 

Look for lightweight chargers with high charging capacity and the ability to charge various devices, such as USB C or Apple devices. I suggest the LATIMERIA Solar Charger Power Bank.

3. Bug bite zapper

Now, this isn’t the most glamorous gift, but if someone put this in my stocking, I’d be eternally grateful. When I’ve traveled to tropical places, I’ve slathered myself in every cream, spray, and oil possible to repel bugs, but I constantly get bitten.

While I may not be able to prevent bugs from biting me, I can control how long their annoying and itchy bites stay with me. A portable bug bite zapper uses sound or vibrations to reduce swelling and neutralize the itch. 

No more messy creams; this handy device will fix your bug bite problems. 

While many people have positively reviewed these products, everyone’s reactions differ. Whether gifting this to a friend who’s a mosquito magnet or keeping it for yourself, remember to use it cautiously and stop using the product if any irritation occurs.

I recommend trying out the Original electronic bug bite treatment for mosquito bites.

4. Neck Pillow

If you’re shopping for a friend who’s a traveler, chances are they already have a neck pillow. However, theirs is probably a run-of-the-mill and not super comfortable. If this is the case, you can be that good friend who buys them a quality yet affordable neck pillow that is comfortable and durable. 

When shopping for the neck pillow that will wow and ahh, make sure you find one that can easily be attached to luggage or packed in a suitcase or carry-on. Pay attention to the material that is made of. Aim for soft yet firm material such as memory foam. Lastly, notice the shape and whether it supports the neck from the back and sides.

If you’d like to narrow down your options, check out this list of suggestions from Conde Nast. 

5. AirTags

What’s something that every traveler crosses their fingers and hopes doesn’t happen. The dreaded losing of the luggage. It’s such a gut-wrenching feeling knowing that your poor suitcase is lost somewhere on a random airport runway, taken by mistakes, and locked up in some storage closet.

To help you solve the mystery of what happened to your missing luggage, you can use Airtags. These nifty devices can be attached to your luggage and use Bluetooth technology to locate your bag through an application on your phone. 

Airtags are a handy device that every traveler will appreciate. If you’re an Apple user, the tech company has its signature Apple Airtags, but you can also find other brands on Amazon. 

6. Travel Journal

Not every memory can be captured on camera. When I think back to my travel experiences, some of the most memorable moments were the conversations I had with new people, the surprising flavors I tasted, and those nights I spent dancing in the streets and fully living in the moment. 

Even though a picture or video can capture the colors and lights of a space, words can capture the emotions of a given moment in time. That’s why a travel journal is a perfect gift for the adventurer who believes that not every moment needs to be posted online. 

There are a wide variety of travel journals to choose from. Some have blank pages to sketch the scenery, while others have prompts to help you record your favorite moments or plan your itinerary. This travel journal by Duncan & Stone Paper Co. can make a great gift.

7. Experiences

While tangible gifts are lovely, many travelers explore the world for the experiences they can have, not the things they can collect. Therefore, a great gift can be an experience such as tickets to a local wine tasting, food tours, museum entry passes, and local tours.

Gifting an experience is a unique and memorable gift. Make sure you choose an experience that matches the personality of your giftee. Check out Gifting Owl to find experiences in your area and price range. 

Hopefully, this list will help you complete your Christmas shopping. You can also revisit this list throughout the year when you’re looking for a quality and affordable gift for other occasions

The post Travel Gifts Under $50 That Will Enhance Your Adventures appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/queer-pastor-fights-back-against-ame-churchs-lgbtq-ban/

After the African Methodist Episcopal Church decided to keep its ban of LGBTQ+ marriage, one queer pastor is fighting back for those like her, the Associated Press reports.

Same-sex marriage in the world’s largest independent Black Protestant denomination has been banned despite three years of research conducted by the Sexual Ethics Discernment Committee as a resolution to help the church move forward.

The decision left Rev. Jennifer S. Leath, who identifies as “quare”—defined to describe her same-sex attraction and intellectual heritage as a “blackqueer womanist” thinker—feeling “disappointed and frustrated” but not enough for her to leave her denomination. 

Instead, she pushes the narrative that the church’s stance heightens the reasoning behind the alienation of LBGTQ+ members of the church. “LGBTQ+ people in the church suffer in relative silence while those who have left are forced to find or even create new spiritual communities,” Leath said.

Participation in same-sex marriages or unions was deemed punishable by official AME church law in 2004 as a response to Rev. V. Gene Robinson being elected as its first openly gay bishop in 2003. Since then, same-sex marriage has become equal in the eyes of the law, pushing Leath to stand her ground for the youth coming up. 

Within the church, research shows a number of older clergy, lay leaders, and academics consider LGBTQ+ sexual relations sinful and believe that God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman. As society proves the younger generations accept sexual diversity more, Leath feels the church should accept and celebrate that all are created in the image of God and most importantly feel safe within the house of God.

“I feel the undeniable urgency of the children who are feeling like the only way through this is death or out of the church,” Leath said. “As a pastor who follows the way of Jesus, that weighs on me.”

During AME Church’s 52nd Quadrennial Session of the General Conference in August 2024 in Ohio, delegates voted 896 to 722 in favor of deleting an amendment that would allow same-sex marriage, according to Christian Post. In a statement, bishops questioned if a committee would make changes to church teaching on LGBTQ+ issues.

“Rational arguments on the matter of sexuality, sexual orientation, same sex marriage, the structure of the family, and the meaning of male and female will not resolve the controversy because the issues have deep theological and psychological roots,” the bishops wrote. 

Decisions handed down by outside denominations have given Leath hope that things may turn around her AME.

“To me the AME church is a place where diverse perspectives on issues like these can co-exist while we faithfully pursue justice for all,” she said. “But this is only viable and sustainable as long as we are collectively and individually committed to recognizing the least among us, and recalibrating our faith and practices accordingly.”

In early 2024, the United Methodist Church (UMC) made headlines after an overwhelming vote resulted in the removal of a longstanding ban of clergy performing same-sex wedding ceremonies after close to 7,500, mostly conservative congregations, left the church. More churches within the denomination led efforts of disaffiliation since the change was made.

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https://nerdist.com/article/history-of-superman-fortress-of-solitude-superman-and-lois-dc-comics/

Superman’s Fortress of Solitude has been a staple of the Man of Steel’s mythology for decades. We’ve seen it in the pages of DC Comics, TV shows, and in feature films. And now, it’s playing a big part in James Gunn’s Superman. But what is the history of Kal-El’s majestic home away from home? And how did its media representations change from the source material, and then change the comics in return? Let’s take a deep dive into the history of Kal-El’s iconic tribute to his long-lost world.

Superman’s Golden Age “Secret Sanctuary”

Today, we think of Superman’s Fortress as an ice palace, far away from humanity in the Arctic. But originally, it was just a mountain cave where Clark stashed his belongings he didn’t have anywhere else to house. This “Secret Citadel” was located in a mountain range outside of Metropolis. It first appeared in Superman #17 in 1942, and it didn’t make many appearances. In those days, Superman’s Kryptonian heritage was more of an afterthought, a mere explanation for how he got his powers. The term “Fortress of Solitude” first appeared in Superman #58 1949, as Superman’s sanctuary located in “the polar wastes.” Interestingly, the name “Fortress of Solitude” actually predates Superman. The pulp adventurer Doc Savage had a Fortress of Solitude located in the frozen north, and DC Comics very liberally took the name and concept.

Kal-El’s Home Away From Home

The Fortress as we know it today really first appeared in Action Comics #241, in “The Super-Key to Fort Superman,” back in 1958. This Fortress was built into an Arctic cliff, and was safeguarded by a giant iron door. The only way to turn the lock on that door was with an equally giant metal key, located just outside. Not entirely subtle there, Kal-El. Of course, no one on Earth but someone with Kryptonian strength could lift said key, making the Fortress only accessible by Superman and his cousin, Supergirl. And, of course, Kryptonian criminals like General Zod.

During the Silver Age of Comics, and into the Bronze Age, Superman’s Fortress was both a museum dedicated to his Kryptonian heritage, and a tribute to his many adventures. There was a giant statue of his birth parents Jor-El and Lara, holding up the planet Krypton. In addition, there was an alien zoo, a legion of Superman robots, and the projector into the Phantom Zone, which housed Krypton’s worst criminals. Most importantly, the Fortress became home to the Bottle City of Kandor, a city from Krypton shrunken down by the villain Brainiac. There were statues of his childhood best friends, the Legion of Super-Heroes. And of course, the Fortress housed Superman’s super-powered dog, Krypto.

Superman: The Movie Showcases the First Live-Action Fortress of Solitude

The first time we saw the Fortress in other media outside comics was in 1978’s Superman: The Movie. Director Richard Donner radically reinvented the looks of the Fortress for his film. Instead of being carved into the side of an Arctic cliff, a Kryptonian crystal formed it from scratch in the frozen wastelands. This Fortress wasn’t “made,” so much as “grown,” and it didn’t have all the artifacts found in the comics version. In fact, all it had were slots for various Kryptonian memory crystals, that allowed Superman to access thousands of years of Kryptonian knowledge. Chief among them was an interactive hologram of Superman’s father, Jor-El.

We saw this version of the Fortress in Superman II, and again in Superman IV. The Fortress debuted on TV a year after the film, on the animated Super Friends cartoon. In the few appearances in that Saturday morning cartoon, the Fortress of Solitude was a bit of an amalgam of the comics Fortress, and the movie one. Thanks to the continuity-altering events of Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, the classic version of Superman’s home would get wiped from reality. It would be several years before a new one appeared.

A New Fortress for a New Era

The Post-Crisis Superman got a radical reinvention, and didn’t even have a Fortress of Solitude for years. Finally, he received an ancient Kryptonian artifact called the Eradicator. Much like the big screen fortress, it “grew” from this device, also in the Arctic just like the movie one did. There were several nods to the Silver Age Fortress with this one, only now reflecting a modern take on Krypton. There was Kryptonian tech everywhere, from the planet’s golden age. The robot Kelex, who served Superman’s father Jor-El on Krypton, maintained the Fortress. He was to the Fortress what Alfred was to the Batcave.

The ‘90s Superman: The Animated Series took a “best of both worlds” approach to their version of the Fortress. Superman constructed it from parts of the Kryptonian android Brainiac’s ship, but also contained alien species liberated from cruel alien zoos. It was the perfect mix of Silver Age and Modern Age comic book sensibilities. 2011’s New 52 reboot kept a lot of these elements, although now the Fortress was spherical.

The Fortress of Solitude on Television

In the 21st century, we’ve seen the Fortress a lot in live-action. Smallville had a version, inspired heavily by the ’80s Richard Donner films. Both the TV series Krypton and Supergirl showcased the Fortress, again, taking their visual cues from the design and look of the 1978 big-screen Fortress. 2013’s Man of Steel perhaps changed the Fortress concept the most, as their version was an exploratory Kryptonian ship, thousands of years old, and trapped beneath the Arctic ice. The one on Superman and Lois had a similar aesthetic to Donner’s cinematic one, only with more holograms for training Lois and Clark’s twin sons.

The Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn’s Superman

All of this brings us to today, to the Fortress of Solitude in Superman. The teaser trailer shows crystal spires coming up out of the ground, a similar aesthetic to the Richard Donner version, and the ones that followed. When Superman asks Krypto to “take him home,” we know he means the Fortress, not Smallville. We also see Superman cradling a robot inside the Fortress, which may very well be Kelex, the Kryptonian robot and Fortress guard. Judging from the brief glimpse we saw in the trailer, the interiors of this Fortress have a very ’70s flair, once again looking just like the one in Richard Donner’s 1978 film. Will the new Fortress be filled with all kinds of Superman Easter eggs from the comics? We can’t wait to find out.

Originally published on March 14, 2024.

The post The History of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude appeared first on Nerdist.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/famu-espn-2024-band-of-the-year/

Florida A&M University (FAMU) won the ESPN 2024 Band of the Year competition last week.

FAMU’s Marching 100 Band took the title for the Division 1 category when it beat last year’s champions, the North Carolina A&T State University Blue & Gold Marching Machine, on Dec. 13.

“Speechless, humbled, and proud of our AMAZING Marching 100 band students & staff on an extraordinary performance tonight during the 2024 Band of the Year in Atlanta,” Dr. Shelby R. Chipman, Director of Bands and professor of music at FAMU, wrote on Facebook. “I asked them to do one thing: follow the process from Aug, don’t leave nothing for chance during this ‘One Shot’ experience. Special kudos to the number-one band staff in the WORLD… I’m grateful and lost for words as I shed tears heading back to celebrate Commencement with some of our graduating senior band members tomorrow.!”

The competition took place last week at the Mercedes Benz Dome stadium during the HBCU Celebration Bowl. Miles College Purple Marching Machine won the 2024 ESPN Division II Band of the Year contest against the Virginia State University Trojan Explosion.

The Marching 100 was the only HBCU band to be awarded the John Phillip Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Trophy, widely regarded as the Heisman Trophy of marching bands.

The school also announced that it has hired a new registrar, Antonio Witherspoon. The three-time FAMU graduate will start on Jan. 3, 2025.

“Witherspoon’s deep connection to the university’s mission and community will help propel the registrar’s office forward in helping students achieve their educational goals,” Provost Allyson Watson, Ph.D., said in a written statement. “His passion for student success and commitment to operational excellence make him an ideal fit for this leadership role. His extensive experience and deep ties to FAMU’s mission will drive transformative progress in the registrar’s office.”

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