A Bit of Delicate History

Hi! You might be a stranger but most likely you’re a friend, so welcome to my blog. It needs attention but that University life was killer ahaha.

If we met after high school, you probably don’t know this information because I haven’t shared it with anyone who knew me after that point. Not because it’s a secret or something to hide, I just didn’t want to. It’s a weird relationship carrying around a big life-changing event especially if you spend energy constantly trying to stifle and ignore it.

My auntie was Tiffany Morrison and you can get plenty of information on her and her story if you google her thanks to my mom’s amazing dedication to keeping her story alive. I would recommend looking it up but I’ll give a general run down here.

Actually HERE is a pretty good article from CBC

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June 18 2006, the summer after I graduated from elementary school, Tiffany went out to have some fun. She left her daughter with my grandma and said she’d be back later. The last we know is that she was seen getting into a taxi leaving Hiraki Bar in Lasalle with the intention to go home in Kahnawake.

 May 31, 2010 her remains were found beside the Mercier Bridge in Kahnawake that is now her memorial site. The area was previously just a bush area between the road and train tracks. Since then it has been cleared up a bit to make room for a bike path connecting the Clay Mountain area and central Kahnawake. I can’t stress how close this site is to my childhood home and grandparents house. We searched so long and so far and she was right there.

As you can imagine it’s not easy talking about this, which is why I admire and support my mom who has made it her mission the last 10 years to keep sharing my auntie’s story. Anyone who has to do this is incredible and deserves all the love and respect in the world.

My Auntie was 12ish years older than me when I was born. That’s only a year difference from the gap between me and my little sister. I feel the need to mention that because for whatever reason people tend to dismiss or downplay the effect she had on me once they realize she was my auntie. She was more like a sister and you can’t know how important someone is to someone else unless you physically are them, so keep that in mind when talking to friends, cousins and so on of people who have gone missing or were murdered.

I know that the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women issue has nabbed a bit of the spot light recently, which is great. We have found amazing friends and a strong bond with the families of other women in this sphere. When no one else was helpful or able to understand we were able to be there for each other, which is priceless.

This year is the 10 year anniversary of my auntie Tiffany’s murder. We need to remind the public that this is still an on going case and we need those with any information to come forward and help us find her murderer.

There will be a march and vigil on June 18 2016 in Kahnawake and everyone is welcome to come. If you don’t really know us but want to show support anyway, please come! We always welcome new friends and would greatly appreciate your support.

Details are still being worked on but the event is on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1161031877263894/1167231949977220/

We are working to have buses that can bring people to and from the event in Kahnawake from the Angrignon Metro Station for those that need it. We are always open to information that might be helpful like info on:

  • sound system options
  • t shirt printers

Thanks for checking this post out and I hope I wasn’t too awkward or rambly, if I was forgive me haha.

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Making after Monty

It’s been one year since beloved creator Monty Oum passed. As is the case with many celebrities, I never met Monty but he still left a mark in my life.

When I was struggling to get through the 3D Animation and CGI program that I was in for 3.5 years, on the really tough days where I forgot why I was there, Monty’s online presence was there to encourage me.

Monty created the 3D animated show RWBY, which is now on it’s third season, while working at Rooster Teeth. Before creating that he had worked on animations like the Dead Fantasy series and Haloid. I’ve loved Rooster Teeth for a while but never knew how I would be able to work there; not until RWBY was announced.

I worked very hard at school with the goal of working on RWBY in my mind as the ultimate goal. Monty had an amazing work ethic that I admired and continues to motivate me in his absence. I can only talk about what I knew through his posts online and I would never pretend to miss him the way those close to him do. Even so his loss is felt.

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A sketch I drew of Monty Oum in 2013

Many people who knew him have posted that Monty would want people to move forward from grieving and instead put their energy into creating. He died at 33 years old with too many opportunities still ahead of him.

Since he passed I’ve changed programs, schools and aspirations. I’ve written dozens of articles and met many people. I even made a small game. The year was certainly very rough but I pulled through with some great strides forward. I’m proud of my progress and I’m glad I wouldn’t have let him down.

Here’s to Monty, missed but not forgotten. Let’s keep creating and celebrating his legacy.

Let’s Watch!

I don’t know what it is about let’s plays but I’ve been watching people play video games for years now.

It started in high school where I first found Tobuscus, a YouTube personality. He played Minecraft and I loved his energy. Now my list of preferred YouTubers has expanded to the point that I have a few hours to watch daily. I’ve moved on from his channel but I know he was the starting point for my obsession.

I don’t always have the time to play games like I did in high school, so I put on videos of other people playing games while I work or relax. It probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to people who don’t take part. It’s the same idea as people who watch sports; either you don’t want to or can’t play so you watch other people do it for you. I’ve become very attached to many of the people putting out videos.

I follow them on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. I keep up with their lives and support their content. When Rooster Teeth announced they were going to be making a feature film, I jumped at the chance to back them up. I was even able to attend the Canadian premiere for their move Lazer Team!

Fans will draw fan art of the people, write fan fiction and crafts along with tons of other content. They do it for fun and to show thanks to the channels they love, which I just really admire. The communities that grow around these groups can truly be wonderful. There will always be rude or hateful people anywhere in life and it just takes a little effort to overlook them and have fun. Always remember the #1 rule of the internet:

Don’t read the comments!

One of the big pros is being able to see scary games from start to finish that I would never be able to play on my own. That need was met when I found Markiplier and I still prefer watching him play scary games over other people. He’s very easy on the eyes and has a big heart; it’s always touching to see him cry when he watches videos made for him by fans.

Sifting through the dozens and dozens of YouTube let’s players is worth the effort because there are some truly amazing people to be found. Genuine people who love their work, the games and their fans. Jacksepticeye is someone I found recently who embodies these positive traits. I recommend checking him out, along with anyone else mentioned in this post.

I’d love to give it a shot someday, solo or with pals. For now I’ll enjoy laughing at people scream at Super Mario Maker. I dropped some links to my favorite channels below.

Feel free to leave a comment with your faves for me to check out!

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Ripping off the Bandaid

I feel the first time using anything is going to be awkward. I have a habit of putting off the first drawing in a fresh sketchbook and I write on loose leaf before putting pencil to a new notebook. So I just have to go ahead and accept this first post as the wobbly legged deer it is.

I’ve been wanting to make a blog for a little while and I hope I have a lot of fun doing this. Hopefully readers will come around eventually but for now I don’t mind talking into the void haha.

Here’s to the future!