midwestbsfa Events, Fundraisers

Take the #CowboyBebopChallenge and Buy a Concert Ticket for a Local Student!

download

Ten years ago this month, back when I was a full-time magazine editor, I had the pleasure of witnessing the birth of a dream in real time.

I’d spent several months in late 2007/early 2008 shadowing a local teacher named Betsey Zenk and her autistic student Latron Dodd. Latron didn’t read, write or talk but he had perfect pitch. Betsey used her music therapy background to connect with him through music. Shortly before winter break, she taught Latron some chords on a piano. When he returned, he was playing parts of “Moonlight Sonata.” Betsey was amazed. Through music, she began to see something come alive in Latron and she wanted to nurture that spark. Continue reading “Take the #CowboyBebopChallenge and Buy a Concert Ticket for a Local Student!” →

midwestbsfa Events, Fundraisers

Become a Sponsor of Our Cowboy Bebop Concert This Fall!

cowboy bebop concert graphicOn Sept. 29, 2018, Her Royal Airship Ashanti and Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance are joining forces to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the classic anime Cowboy Bebop and we want you to be part of the action! We’re uniting the nerd and geek communities for a tribute jazz concert to the show’s music…and more importantly, to raise money for a great cause!

Continue reading “Become a Sponsor of Our Cowboy Bebop Concert This Fall!” →

midwestbsfa Events

Steampunk Character Building Workshop Recap

When Mandisa Njeri and Mirabella von Dueling of Airship Ashanti walked up to WordPlay’s doors, the kids in attendance at Midwest BSFA’s steampunk character building workshop shouted, “Pirates! Pirates are coming!” That was the beginning of this awesome program featuring a fun lesson on steam technology and brainstorming steampunk names and back stories.
Continue reading “Steampunk Character Building Workshop Recap” →

midwestbsfa Events

Steampunk Character Building Workshop at WordPlay Creative Writing Center!

2015091995180832Think steampunk is just for adults? Think again! Kids can get into steampunk, too! Ofeibea Loveless of Airship Ashanti and the Midwest Black Speculative Fiction Alliance will lead a steampunk character building workshop as part of WordPlay‘s Science Fiction Saturdays on Nov. 21! Students — 6 and up — will learn about steam technology and then work in groups to create narratives for their steampunk characters! Saturday, Nov. 21, noon to 2 p.m., WordPlay Creative Writing Center, 4041 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223 (Northside). No cost. For more information, contact WordPlay at 513-541-0930 or info@wordplaycincy.org.

midwestbsfa Musings, Steampunk

Being Black and Female in Steampunk

black steampunk 2
When I started getting into steampunk a couple of years ago, my first question was “There’s no slavery in this, right?” I was met with a very emphatic “NO!” It’s not like I didn’t have a right to ask. Any hobby that takes bits and pieces from a century that was horrific for at least 95% of the world’s population gets a very strong and lingering side eye. I began to feel more comfortable with steampunk when I stopped thinking about it from the standpoint of what was and started visualizing what never was but could’ve been. That, however, took some work.

Continue reading “Being Black and Female in Steampunk” →