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During these times I'm reminded of Public Enemy's Welcome to the Terrordome lyrics- "Caught in the race against time; The pit and the pendulum."  Anywho....let's get to it!  Check out the latest episode of Afronerd Radio's Mid Week in Review airing this Wednesday at 8 p.m. eastern on BTalk 100.  Your ever-vigilant AFROnerdist hosts will be musing about the following (mid) weekly issues: whelp, shocker! Marvel has another anticipated project that has hit the Disney+ streaming service this week. What If...? marks its debut today and we give you our impressions of the first episode; Just when you thought things couldn't get any more bizarre during these trying times....some anti-vaxxers are referencing the 2007 Will Smith zombie apocalypse film, I Am Legend, as a reason not to take the COVID19 vaccine (really?):

The Caped Crusader's third Robin (Tim Drake) may be exploring sexual alternatives according to the new issue of Batman: Urban Legends;  Governor No More!  (Reminds one of Spider-man's canon) New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo resigns from office amid growing claims of sexual misconduct while in office:  

CW/HBO Max's Stargirl returns for a second season this week; and, in even more DC news Milestone's Hardware and Batman '89 comic mark their return and debut, respectively; Oh and then there's the Doom Patrol S3 trailer that hit the internets this week;  

Screenrant.com waxes about the viability of the Star Trek movie franchise and how filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino's reboot pitch might have been the nitrous oxide needed to rejuvenate the 55-year old series; Lastly, isn't anyone concerned about the largest crypto (600M!!!!) hack to date?  

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF

Call us LIVE at 508-645-0100. AFTER CLICKING ON THE HIGHLIGHTED LINK, GO DIRECTLY TO AFRONERD RADIO!!! 

or This link below.....

Also, Afronerd Radio's podcast format can be heard via BTalk 100 Pandora, Spotify and,  IHeartRadio....more formats to follow!

Since its original self-published release in 2018, Black Girls Must Die Exhausted has been on the radar of well-read Black girls. The book was originally a trilogy project by author Jayne Allen. Yet after a massively positive independent release, Allen was offered a four-book deal by Harper Collins — a highly unusual feat in the publishing world.

So how good does a book have to be to get published twice? Let’s discuss.

Tabitha Walker has it all — a well-respected job on the local news, an enviable boyfriend, supportive friends, and ample savings to put a down payment on the house of her dreams. As a woman in her early thirties, everything seems right on track for her. That is, until a routine checkup reveals that she also has a dwindling egg supply that’s been diagnosed to run out within the next six months if she doesn’t do something. Fast.

Determined to have the biological family of her dreams, Tabitha must scramble to pull her life together against a ticking clock. This means getting her boyfriend on board with the domestic future she’s aiming for, figuring out how to finance the five-figure expense of egg freezing, supporting her friends in their own spiraling romantic lives, and trying to score a promotion over her cocky coworker.

At its core, Black Girls Must Die Exhausted is about the never-ending series of demands that are constantly placed on Black women and how we are expected to manage them all without breaking a sweat. In Tabitha’s case, these demands show up in family, friends, and work responsibilities. The stress and fast-paced nature of her life are ultimately the cause of her infertility issues in the first place. As the pieces of her life begin to fall apart, her interpersonal relationships become strained, and we see the facade of perfection fall away as she makes increasingly desperate and erratic choices.

All the while, many of the white characters are eager to pile onto her, expecting her to prioritize their issues, as well as relinquish her free time and commitment to her personal life. Even when she’s not being directly asked to take on new burdens, society demands that she go the extra mile to be “presentable” as a Black woman — straight hair, perfectly neat appearance, and always in shape to meet beauty standards.

Affairs, workplace competition, pregnancy bombshells and more abound in this true-to-life story of a Black woman on the edge. And make no mistake about it — Allen knows how to write compelling drama. This novel was definitely a page-turner from start to finish. It’s also clear that when it comes to writing about the inner life of a successful young Black female professional, Allen has plenty of experience to pull from. The author herself is a Harvard Law graduate turned speaker, business executive, and “serial entrepreneur,” in addition to being a writer of clear talent.

All of that being said, I did have a few reservations about the book.

On a personal level, while it was an entertaining read, the narrative didn’t really resonate with me in a number of ways. Allen’s fervent emphasis on the precarity of Tabitha’s “only” shot at a family, coupled with the fairly hostile attitude the book had towards characters who weren’t particularly interested in marriage or children, was off-putting. As a Black woman with my own infertility issues and differing attitudes towards family and relationships, it was often an isolating read. Kudos to Allen’s skill as a writer in making me invest and sympathize with her main character, despite feeling like I almost certainly wouldn’t like Tabitha’s more shallow and classist tendencies if I knew her in real life.

One thing I did love, however, was the beautiful way Allen portrays complex familial relationships. Tabitha and her grandmother of the same name are thick as thieves, and the story does a brilliant job of capturing the depth of their bond and the importance of intergenerational relationships. As someone with a similar relationship to my own grandmother, I thoroughly enjoyed the representation of that. There were also a lot of great illustrations of the complicated dynamics between parents, step-siblings, blended families, etc.

This book is the beginning of what aims to be a series. As such, a lot of threads remain unresolved by the end but offer a good amount of intrigue to keep readers wanting more. The novel is scheduled for release on September 28, 2021.

If Gene Roddenberry were still with us, he’d be turning 100 on August 19 and would be seeing his creation, “Star Trek,” spawning more editions as the franchise continues to grow. Both “Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” are entering their second seasons, for instance, and a new series, “Star Trek: Prodigy,” is set to launch in the Fall. And those are just a few of the Trek-related media currently running!

To celebrate his father Gene’s centennial, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, who continues his father’s legacy, launched a campaign on roddenbery.com under the banner “Think Trek.” Components of the campaign include #talkTrek, #seeTrek, #beTrek, and #makeTrek, all of which have the goal of furthering the notions of inclusivity, kindness, and the Vulcan philosophy IDIC — Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

The Nerd Element spoke with Rod in the run-up to his father’s centennial about the Think Trek campaign, what message Gene would have for the world today, and what we as fans and as fellow human beings can do to celebrate the man who gifted us with a vision of a world where differences are embraced and diversity is optimal for existence. You can watch the interview here:

The post Think Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s Centennial: A Conversation with Rod Roddenberry appeared first on The Nerd Element.

@Tiffie Starchild is unpacking her Blerdcon haul to highlight Black Creators putting out content in comic books, art, novels, and more. You wanted Black content, right? Original stories, Black characters, and other characters of color are being created by Black writers and artists constantly. What better way to show that off then checking out a few of the creators putting that werk in to make sure we see ourselves in the media we consume. We can literally have it all, yall… because we deserve it all! Check out the featured content below.

Featured Content:

Tuskegee Heirs
Greg Burnham (Story) – Instagram
Marcus Williams (Story/Art) – Instagram
www.platform-l7.myshopify.com
www.MarcusTheVisual.com

Fight Scene
Indiepomp and Middnite Designs
Anderson Richardson (Story)
Anna Jefferson-Richardson (Artist)/ Middnite Designs

Bearers
Jocelyn Short – Instagram
www.JocelynShort.com

Adalithiel
Andrea Rose Washington – Twitter
www.AndreaRoseWashington.com

The Search for Sadiqah
Greg Burnham (Writer/Creator) – Instagram
Shannon Sapenter (Line Art) – Instagram
Patricia Daguisan (Colors/Text) – Instagram
Marcus Williams (Story/Art) – Instagram
www.platform-l7.myshopify.com

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The post Tiffie’s Treasure Trove: Black Creator Content from Blerdcon appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.