The Pride Flag Murder - A Reflection

Last week in California, Laura Ann “Lauri” Carleton, a 66 year old woman was shot dead in cold blood by someone who can only be described as a domestic terrorist who took issue with a rainbow flag displayed outside her business. 

The terrorist in question was named as one Travis Ikeguchi, a slavering and brainwashed devotee of the Trump/MAGA cult.

While this event may appear at first glance to be a simple hate crime, or yet another commonplace shooting incident, one of many that has already taken place across the USA just this year alone, there are actually more facets to this event than initially meet the eye.

OceanGate - A Recipe For Stupid Deaths

The incident with the OceanGate Titan submarine disaster - from beginning to end - reads like a recipe for stupid deaths. 

Think about it: You've got rampant corner-cutting to save costs, use of the wrong materials (carbon fiber instead of steel) to build a deep-ocean submersible in the first place, no back-up systems and reduced safety practices, poor maintenance and industrial safety compliance, lack of oversight or regulation, and pervasive greed and suicidal risk-taking. It's all in there. The only really amazing thing about this is that it took so long for something serious to go wrong. (1, 2, 3)

Port Elizabeth & The Appalling State Of The Place: A Justified Rant

Port Elizabeth - my home town, the city on the southeast coast of South Africa's Eastern Cape province - has long been the mounting cause for concern and anger on the part of many residents - but aside from them, on my part as well.

Does space suck? Find out here!

"Space Sucks!" Space Sucks! Book 1

Does space suck? Find out here!

After an unexpected battle in orbit over a strange planet, the crew of the surviving ship lands to repair their damage. Will the locals welcome them - or try to eat them?

On the border of Terran space, a lone starship on frontier patrol is unexpectedly attacked. How will the rest of their day turn out? Will they miss dinner?

At the very last moment, Earth’s first mission to send a ship to explore a nearby star system, is delayed. A shuttle is on its way to dock – a shuttle bringing an admiral bearing bad news – and the captain of Earth's first starship finds her life – and her career, poised on the edge of the PR department’s knife.

On the other hand, Lance-Corporal Thomas O’Blivion – a newbie to a deep space mining station where the miners have just gone on strike and turned to violence, has no idea how bad his day is about to get!

Lastly, while in the midst of taking revenge (and a second magnum of champers) insurance salesman Eric Sloane is paid a visit by a strange and extraordinary alien (who informs him her name is Catisha), and points out the flaws in his plan.

Launch into space, the future and beyond! Enjoy a humorous look at life in space through the eyes of some colorful characters in this collection of five unique sci-fi tales by Christina Engela, spanning everything from adventure to suspense to comedy and then back again!

Narrated by: Jennifer Pratt, Published by Peever Publishing

Read more: https://wp.me/PcoTxI-1Yw

'It's Just A Joke'

I just blocked another old school "friend" on Facebook for posting a transphobic "joke". 

Honestly, what some people think is funny at the expense of other people's suffering is quite beyond me.

It's not satire, because satire is meant to make fun of powerful institutions and people who are literally untouchable as far as ordinary people are concerned. Satire doesn't attack people who are vulnerable and victimized by society, or dehumanize them, or add weight or legitimacy to the arguments against them. 

What this constitutes is, in fact, bullying.

I mean, are you posting this sort of asinine infantile garbage because you think that letting people know you think the suffering of other people is genuinely funny, is somehow not going to hurt anyone - least of all the people whose suffering you're making a mockery of? Do you expect them to not be hurt by it simply because you're the one sharing it, and you're ostensibly their friend? Or do you simply not care?

Are you so self-centered or disconnected from your own humanity that you're somehow oblivious to the fact that you're actively rubbing salt in the wounds of any transgender people watching, and that you're basically laughing in their faces at their discomfort, their pain and their very real fears that they may be next?

Sharing material like that publicly, knowing that you have transgender people on your friends list, especially people you were friends at school with and know in real life? And doing so at a time when transgender people are being marginalized and being fucking murdered just for existing? 

What the fuck is wrong with you? 

A Better Way - An Alternative To War

It's no understatement to say that there are countries so well armed in the 21st century that we as human beings have the capacity to destroy the Earth many times over. Further, for nearly 80 years, humanity has lived under that threat of mutual annihilation as if it is somehow a "good thing" as presented by various dominating nations who hold the bulk of nuclear arsenals themselves and whose actions - either accidental or deliberate - set the tone of this "Cold War". A "hot war" would mean a return to open military action, real war, and a threat of total devastation - not only for the warring nations, but for every human being, every other species of life on Earth!

Why any species that considers itself so intelligent as to be worthy of colonizing neighboring worlds, or the stars, would paint itself into such a terrible corner, no-one knows. IF there were a god of some kind, they would most likely marvel at our human capacity for folly and fascination with large-scale industrial level death and destruction, and probably feel a little jealous, even slightly threatened.

As a teen I grew up under the threat of global nuclear war - it set the tone of my youth and given subsequent political and military actions around the world - the Gulf War, Sarajevo, the Balkans, Russia's war on Ukraine - even my adulthood. Humans don't seem able to choose a change from the way things have been since Hiroshima. Why can't things be different? Why must it always be thus? What if there was an alternative to the way things are? Surely there must be?

Let me offer you one.

My Rage Is Forged In Death

Another mass shooting in the USA isn't really exceptional these days, after all, it happens every other day, doesn't it?

 

Even so, the fact that it's taken for granted - and NOTHING gets done to address this growing problem is a striking indictment of the country that loves to bill itself as a bastion of the freedoms of speech and expression and as "the land of the free". Sadly it seems that inanimate objects in the shape of guns, have more rights than living, bleeding human beings do.

On the 20th another mass shooting took place, this time in an LGBT club in Colorado. Another cowardly white supremacist Christian terrorist has struck down people who had never interfered with him or his own life, nor threatened him in any way, shape or form. 

Let me point out that this is a case in point why I don't write for the masses. The masses are stupid. Stupid people hate those who differ from them for being different. Granted, a small part of that majority are stupid enough to commit violent acts of terror fueled by the stupidity shared with the greater whole of stupidity, but the stupidity is shared and the same.

Darkness Fades

 

Have you read the Galaxii series yet? It's got action! Adventure! Space Opera!

Have you read the Galaxii series yet? It's got action! Adventure! Space Opera!

Galaxii is an epic futuristic saga written by Christina Engela, that relates the struggles and adventures of diverse characters, each realistically portrayed with their own unique interests, circumstances, and each has their own challenges and obstacles to overcome: career-minded Space Fleet officers, solo adventurers and rogues, and Corsairs – the space pirates who made the space-lanes perilous to travel in their pursuit of autonomy, wealth and notoriety. The good guys aren't always what they seem, and neither are the villains.

Currently there are four titles in the Galaxii Series: “Blachart”, “Demonspawn”, “Dead Beckoning” and "Sentinel".

 

Read more about the series.

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.

My Association with the Alternative Religions Forum & the South African Occult Community

Good morning, friends and fans!

*Speaking in hushed, reassuring tones* Don't be afraid now, kiddies, but today we will diverge from talking about my fiction writing and take a closer look at some of my academic writing and advocacy work. 

This article will provide a brief description of my advocacy in the field of religious freedom, and will also take a closer look at my background in order to create a more balanced picture of me as an individual.

The State Of Our Nation Address, South Africa 2022 - My View

Today is Thursday 10 February 2022, and according to all the fanfare in the media, our State President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will deliver his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) tonight at 7 - not from the usual place, being in Parliament, but from the Cape Town City Hall. 

As usual, we can expect, a cavalcade of overpaid puffed up parliamentarians will parade at the entrance dressed in high fashion, with apparent total disregard for the plight of those who are footing the bill. It will feature a lot of broad grins, flashy clothes, broad hats, sparkly bling and labels - and photographers.

Tragedy At Moon Books Publishing

Good morning, friends and fans.

This is a special note to inform you of the death of my friend Brandon Mullins late last night. Brandon was the CEO of Moon Books Publishing in Indiana, who was also responsible for bringing my books to you in audiobook format, as well as in paperback and eBook formats to Amazon. He also created the brilliant new-look covers for my books and series. With the release of "Prodigal Sun" and "Opsaal" - my 14th and 15th audiobooks - earlier this month, 2022 was really looking promising for both of us. Unfortunately, tragedy struck.

Shut Up And Sit Down, Puny Human. Nobody Can Hear Your Cries

Got to love the perfect, repetitive stupidity of Facebook's AI. It will keep on making the same fuck-ups perfectly, the same way, over and over again - and if it runs an interaction service such as the "review" or "appeal" desk, there's no way to get past it to appeal to the much more reasonable intelligence of an actual person with the power to actually THINK instead of just follow an algorithm.

Google - The AI Indifference Engine!

I've had some ill dealings with Google in the past few years, and on the whole they're okay... but what really grates my carrot about them is their penchant for hysteria and control-freakiness. 

What am I talking about? Is it their monopoly of our information? Their near-total control over what we see in internet searches? Well, yes, but that's not the focus of today's rant. Again - what am I talking about?

Let's take a look at two examples, shall we?

Interview With Brandon Mullins Of Moon Books Publishing

This was an interview conducted by Brandon Mullins of Moon Books Publishing on September 21, 2021.

That one time when I got to interview prolific science fiction author Christina Engela

"I’ve had the opportunity to work with many authors over the years of being Editor-in-Chief at Moon Books Publishing and doing freelance self publishing mentorship on Upwork but I’ve never run across someone as unique and uniquely talented as South African science fiction author Christina Engela.

Christina is seemingly an unquenchable font of creativity and positivity who never ceases to amaze me with how much of her heart she puts into her work, or how invaluable of a partner she has become in running Moon Books Publishing.

Christina is more than that though, she has become a close friend and cohort. So now, I get to interview her to see just what makes her tick.... read more.

Christina Engela’s Monthly Newsletter: #56 August 2021

 

Hello friends and fans - here's my latest newsletter! :) 

https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-56-august-2021/

About That Blank Check

A topical favorite of religious people, particularly conservative Christians, is so-called 'sexual immorality'. 

 What is that exactly? 

To the rational mind, that would mean sexual-related activity which (so long as all participants are willing, consenting adults) results in harm to another person, or creature.

A system creates shame and then creates a means of absolving the shamed of their shame, provided they adhere to the rules of those who run the system. Convenient. 

Bigotry & Transphobia Stirs In South Africa - Again!

What really grated my carrot this week was part of the public reaction to the news that a transwoman had entered that archaic relic of the patriarchy which shamelessly puts women on show like cattle, the Miss South Africa contest!

It seems that as soon as things are nice and quiet and the bigots have stopped shouting for a little while, something happens to spark them off again - soon as they've more-or-less recovered from the disappointment that expressing racism and using the "k-word" in public gets people in trouble - the Karens come out screeching about how transgender people are somehow unfairly competing against them in x, y or z public domains and spaces, that "he-shes" don't belong in women's competitions (or in fact anywhere), and even that "god" created male and female, and apparently "doesn't make mistakes"!

This sort of idiotic Neanderthal mindset makes me bristle - so much so that it inspired my first LGBT activism-related article in quite some time!

So the news in question was that a local transwoman (a lady from PE called Zoe) is entering the Miss South Africa contest. It was in the Herald on Thursday morning, and by late afternoon every right wing lunatic bigot, transphobic halfwit and pious religious wanker who knows fuck-all about science, gender or what transwomen - and especially transwomen of color - endure in this country (or everywhere else) on a daily basis, started making an effort to vent their unintelligible hysterical bile in public. 

Prisons Of The Future - In Sci-fi, Galaxii, & Their Relation To The Contemporary

Modern prisons have by now been the setting for movies, books and series too numerous to mention. Some writers and movie makers have speculated about what form futuristic prisons might take - and they range from the ambitiously humanitarian and rehabilitative concepts of "Star Trek" and "Magnus, Robot Fighter", to the opposite extreme of positively brutal dystopian prison environments as seen in movies like "Fortress" and "Death Race" for example.

In this article (cross-posted from my author website) I'll be discussing the concepts of crime and punishment, and prison - in reality as well as in sci-fi settings - and the role of these in my own world-building in the Galaxii Series universe.

A Peek At My Week! #6

Time for another Peek @ My Week! :) What did I get up to? What's new, what's happening - and why do Americans laugh when I tell them my car has two hooters? 🤔

https://christinaengela.com/a-peek-at-my-week-6/

Christina Engela’s Monthly Newsletter: #54 June 2021

Hello friends and fans - here's my latest newsletter! :) 

https://christinaengela.com/christina-engelas-monthly-newsletter-54-june-2021/

I'm Back - Over the Pink Eye!

Touching base with fans & friends! :)