Brandon Gee's Blog

https://twitter.com/by_brandon_gee/st...

 

 

It felt necessary to do a post with my thoughts on the hate crime shootings in Atlanta as an Asian American...I just needed time to process it. So I took a few days being really angry about it, tweeting everything on the news about it, donating to stop AAPI hate causes, and trying hard to be nice to myself. I tried really hard to have some consciously restful days, bought myself a nice pair of shoes (it's been well over five years since I've purchased new shoes), and spent times playing cards with my wife and taking naps with my cat. It helped, but not all the way.

My shoulders became tense like actual stone. I must have been ready to defend myself even around the corridors of my own home (we don't go out in the pandemic). Headaches plagued every part of my head. There are A LOT of different headaches you can Google. And I even had a very odd encounter with cereal.

I stared for a long while at my Rice Krispies. The joyful elves Snap, Crackle, and Pop stared back at me smiling. I stared long enough to notice that their names were written on their hats. It took me thirty years to notice that. And then I stared long enough that their smiles started to annoy me. What was their to smile about you stupid little elves? 

I then started to wonder why were so many food mascots elves? (secondary concern: why was I mad at them? I'm supposedly a grown man here...)

The elves, leprechauns, and other-lings make our cereal, cookies and snacks. They hustle and bustle in their workshops and produce us our food. They look different than us humans, and yet, they serve us. And down the rabbit hole I went...

As many different "laborers" have helped build this country, hardly ever by their own choice, often with names difficult to remember that they needed tag them on their hats or on name tags, who looked different, and were indeed seen as less than human...

Was it just easier to print elves on boxes than it was to print minority mascots? Subliminally harmless? Or was it malicious?

The elves were Asian. That's where I arrived in my mind and I had no idea why. I mean how could they not be? All I was ever made fun of as a kid was for eating rice! Rice Krispies - HELLO! That's what I battled with that morning. 

And it didn't matter so much that my conspiracy theory held any ground. It's definitely just that elves are cute and cereal is sold to kids (duh). But there's also a non-zero chance that food creation mascots are people-like, but not fully people for a reason. A subconscious story telling of the history of our country. These are my thoughts now. This is America.

But the real kicker here is how my thoughts were invaded by such loony thoughts, loony like the cartoons staring back at me, and yet that is our reality at the moment. Me, an American citizen, not born in China, but New York metro. A kid who once did a book report on the guns of World War II, specifically the Garand, the gun that won the war, because I was, at a time, a juice drinker. I was so very proud of our victory over the Nazis, over evil. And yet, there I was staring at a box of cereal in an identity crisis remembering I could be shot at the same grocery store I pick up that cereal at. Remembering also that some who rushed our capital were in fact Nazi supporters just a couple of months prior, many angry at the elves who make their food, that they wanted them dead or out of this country. 

It was that very real invasion of the mind that let me know a morning of peaceful cereal, of love for thy neighbor not fear, of freedom, justice and democracy for all...was gone.

At least until we can work together to make it better, for the future, for our children...

For the cereal eaters who like elves on the boxes.

 

 

 

So I started a YouTube channel! I was motivated to do so after reading a really interesting article that combined two of my favorite things: true crime and basketball card collecting.

In my video I was on the search for an infamous card...A card showing the Menendez brothers sitting at floor seats at New York Knicks game. (Wild!)

The brothers went on a spending spree after the murders and someone had noted that they had attended a game. Since the internet is curious as it is someone had the nerve to check basketball cards from the time to see if they could find them at this game...low and behold...a Mark Jackson card from the 1990-91 Hoops set had a shot of them!

 

When I found this out I thought it was a must that I add it to my collection! I am a huge true crime fan (I just read and saw "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" by Michelle McNamara RIP) and also love the NBA!

Many of us are reconnecting with old hobbies now that we're home all the time. It's a way for us to have fun and stay safe! Coincidentally, I also started watching box break videos on YouTube of card collectors purchasing boxes of card packs and opening them to see what they get. This was a huge thrill for me as a kid to try and see what you could pull and experiencing that with someone else was a really cool thing to watch. Thus, I made my own!

You can check out the video here: https://youtu.be/XYzWRVCcf_4

Please like and subscribe to my channel : https://t.co/lc2TqA4DI4?amp=1

Be well!

B

 Modern Cat Friday Giveaway for Immortal Cat

I cannot believe the response that this giveaway on ModernCat.com 's FaceBook group got today! I hope my work will be able to connect with many fantastic new readers! Cat lovers unite ✊😸

 

https://www.rowellpublishing.com/immortal-cat/ 

Happy to be featured on another book blog :) 

 

 

I just created my Wattpad account! Follow me here.
And what a great project to finally craft my first horror story: Pristine
I have been a horror fan for my entire life basically. It's amazing to me how many amazing tools and resources there are online nowadays. I can't wait to see where this story will go as its been on my mind for some time 💀

 

 

I wanted to share the fantastic news that "Immortal Cat" is featured on ModernCat.com! An amazing cat magazine and resource for all things cats!

Check it out here!

This is going to be a short post, but one that really warms my heart. 

Here is a post from my cover artists on their Insta: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXPgXSDjle/ 

It's amazing to see how proud we both are of our collaboration and also seeing the wonderful response from people out there. It makes it all worth it (really). Hiring professional help can sometimes seem daunting, but it's like adding allies to your team. Many of us are just trying to share our art with the world and its more fun when you're not alone :)

-B