Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

23 years ago in Montreal, 14 women, mechanical engineering students, were murdered by a man that believed feminists ruined his life.

Although nowhere as severe, I have experienced threats due to my gender. And it angers me as more recently, especially in the geek communities, that sexist attitudes still prevail and women still face threats of violence for standing up for themselves, or disagreeing or cosplaying or even simply playing a video game against a man.

The amount of harassment I have experienced is unreal. Or so I thought. Too many women get harassed a lot. Frequently. I am willing to speak out about it. People constantly write me about their experiences. People have told me they wish more women were like me. There are so many others out there that never say a word because of shame and guilt. I am happy to help but I can’t do this alone.

It is not just a matter of case-by-case basis, there is a problem with society and we need to fix it. And it’s not a job just for politicians or police. It’s not something that only “strong women” can or should be expected to fight for. I am happy if the things I do leads the path for others, but we need to work together. To learn to respect one another. To educate that it’s not okay to treat others like crap and to help teach the victims that they are not alone and show them the way out.

But for today, evaluate how you treat others around you. Look into yourself and consider ways that you can improve yourself and become an example to others that would make society and the culture around you more interested in equality and respect.

Then take a moment to tell the important women in your lives that you care about them. Because they are the ones that make your works go round.

Want to make haiku.
The words are eluding me.
Incomplete.

I originally posted this message on Facebook, but I think it applies to any social media.

This is something important I need to tell you all…

If you know anything about me, there are probably a few things that stand out as my passions. This is about two of them. I believe in the power of technology and social media as a form of communication and networking. And more importantly, I strongly believe people should be treated fairly and equally with respect.

That being said, harassment needs to stop. I am increasingly growing tired of creepers. I strongly believe there are things we can do to improve our quality of life, so I am going to up my game. I’m not putting up with assholes, perverts and jerks that think they can either sweet talk their way into my bed or troll me. As I already have in the past, if you’re going to start crap up with me, I WILL take you down. But here’s the new twist. If you are going to have the gall to send me a private message, then I’m going to call you out and post it online. Last month I reposted Trevor Conrod’s “Fuck you too” and tonight I took a screen grab of Adam Yau’s “ur such a good pussy” and graciously tagged him in the image. Think of this as a reminder that If you can’t say it to me publicly, then you should not be saying it to me at all. And if you choose to do so publicly or privately, expect to be humiliated.

Communication is a wonderful thing and we cannot let a few people ruin it for the rest of us. What I am doing isn’t going to be something anyone can do. You need a certain kind of personality to pull this off. You may need to find your own solution that works for you. But I think it’s important that we do something to stop this behaviour before the internet is overtaken by it.

It’s back! My 24 Hour Comic Day fundraiser and cookie bake sale!

Win a Weekend Pass to the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo!!

HOW? Make a $10 or more pledge in my name for the 24 Hour Comic Day fundraiser and be automatically entered to win one Weekend Pass (Saturday and Sunday) to this new Edmonton event! A $25 value!

A minimum $10 donation in my name will also get you a variety of homemade cookies from me! Bacon Cookies are back! Also going to try making Chocolate Chili Cookies and S’More Cookies! Over a dozen other different varieties of cookies will be available, from cookie classics to crazy concoctions! Email me before the event if you have any cookie suggestions! I aim to please!

Draw will be made shortly after the 24 Hour Comic Day event ends on the morning of Sunday Oct 7.

Click the link below to see the details and ways to send funds to all of my incentives for this year’s 24 hour comic day!

http://www.stephaniechan.com/24-hour-comic-day/

I originally made these predictions back in July 2012, so some information has come since then.

Iron Man 3: Things between Tony and Pepper heat up then Tony says some witty things and the audience laughs. There is some cool action. Tony makes another wise crack. Iron Man and War Machine defeat the Mandarin, then a minion of Thanos recovers the Mandarin’s rings which he will use to propose to Death.

Thor 2: Loki and Thor go back to Asgard and Loki breaks free, grabs the Infinity Gauntlet and pisses of a Korbinite that gets the power of Thor who is known Beta Ray Bill. Meanwhile, Thor takes his shirt off for some fangirl servicing. Tom Hiddleston being in the film is continuing the fangirl servicing but he doesn’t have to take his shirt off. Thor then goes and sees Jane and teaches his father Odin about the greatness of shwarmas.

Captain America 2: Cap is trying to grasp the reality that he’s no longer in his time. He finds an elderly Peggy Carter in a nursing home and takes his shirt off (see Thor 2, above). Nick Fury hunts him down and tells him to stop living in the past. I really don’t know anything about Captain America to do a more in-depth write up but evil strikes, then Peggy sacrifices herself to save her one, true love. Captain America becomes even more melancholy.

Guardians of the Galaxy: In this direct sequel to Thor 2, Beta Ray Bill assembles a talking tree, a racoon and a punk kid and form the Guardians. They chase after Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Whole lotta CGI; movie should have been made by Pixar. Rocket Racoon becomes a sex symbol to the furries community.

Avengers 3: Thanos tries to impress Death with the Infinity Gauntlet and asks her to marry him but she is uninterested. She instead runs off and has an affair with Deadpool (played by Ryan Renyolds). Deadpool gets a Power Ring and takes off to OA for training. Death says “oh that GL movie was a stinker” then doesn’t follow him and takes off. Thanos is pissed off Death left and tries to destroy the world. Captain America, Hawkeye and Thor are in the gym… with their shirts off. Iron man says a few witty things that are endlessly quoted in trailers. Black Widow does some badass moves and remains cold. Hulk is Hulk and makes the audience laugh. This is possibly the first time Bruce Banner is played by the same actor two consecutive films in a row. Thanos then has a showdown with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Avengers win. Gauntlet is destroyed. Then something hilarious happens after the credits.

Lately, Alberta has been hit by an unusual amount of wicked storms. This storm was actually close to me! The lightning was rippling through the clouds making me wish I had a video camera. What an absolutely stunning evening!

This bolt was cool to watch, as two smaller bolts merged to make the mega bolt that struck the ground. I am particularity partial to the two lightning eyes above the main chain, making a face!