**_In the column Straight Nonsense, columnist Moises Mendez II takes a queer eye to the insanity of straight culture._**_****_ I don't want to be writing aboutCharlie Kirk, but that's the name on everyone's lips since his assassination earlier this week. The second the videos of the right-wing political commentator getting shot while speaking at a Utah university began flooding my timeline, I felt like there was a magnetic pull to my phone — I couldn't look away. I couldn't stop refreshing my feed. After he was pronounced dead just a few short hours later, the dread of the even darker political moment that we just entered settled in. Not too soon after, social media users began celebrating Kirk's death, while others criticized those who did. Then conversations around morality came into play, and it felt like every Instagram Story was one post after another about how even though someone may not agree with his politics, we shouldn't be celebrating his death. Then there's the politics of it all, the president and governing bodies are calling for moments of silence and lowering flags at half mast to honor Kirk. But I'm not here to discuss any of that. This week's topic of discussion for Straight Nonsense is about taking time away from the internet when there's just too much harmful content to consume. Believe me when I say, I'm not sitting on my moral high horse to share my thoughts on how one person should react to the death of someone who was racist, homophobic, transphobic, and frankly, fact-phobic. I can't take time away from social media, because as an internet culture/entertainment reporter, it quite literally is my job to stay up to date. But no matter what, it's tough to not let the effects of it make your brain feel like mush. Every second, there is a new piece of news about Kirk's death, like how Representative Nancy Mace used transphobic slurs when she assumed the shooter was trans and suggested that the culprit should receive the death penalty — only to walk those sentiments back after it was revealed that the alleged shooter in custody was a cisgender white male. > — (@) Stupidity is everywhere, and it's consuming all of social media — especially from the Straights™, so don't be afraid to take time away from social media or just your phone in general. You don't need me to give you suggestions for what to do, but if you do, here are a few: Read a book, play video games, bake a cake, go on a date, clean your room, buy some candles, organize your pantry, have sex (if that's something you like to do), go shopping, watch a television show or a movie. There's an endless amount of options for taking the time away from social media. I encourage this time away from social media because as someone who reports on the internet for a living, I've seen how it's rotted people's brains from the inside out. One of the most recent examples is the subject of my inaugural column, Netflix's _Unknown Number: The High School Catfish_. Even just this week, we saw makeup influencer Jeffree Star finally fall into the right-wing deep end after going on a rant against the nonbinary and trans community in a recent TikTok Live. "If you believe in they/thems, you're a part of the problem." He's made comments like these in the past. But the more social media companies take away the guardrails for protections against hate speech, it's easier for it to proliferate online — and for people to push anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Take time for yourself this week. You don't need to be online every single second. And if you can't pull away from the piling atrocities of the world, watch content that feels like a brain massage or something that allows you to turn off your brain. I've been getting into watching coloring TikToks, and the stress dissipates from my body the second I watch the markers brush the page. > @kaylamamilcar > > hello?!? 🪩🌟🌈 this page turned out so cute?! 🥹 probably my new fav HAHAHA! @bobbiegoods #colorwithme #coloring #color #colortok #bobbiegoods #bobbiegoodsart #bobbiegoodscoloring #bobbiegoodscoloringbook #bobbiegoodscoloringpage _Moises Mendez II is a staff writer at_ Out _magazine. Follow him on Instagram_ _@moisesfenty_ _._ __Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the_ _LGBTQ_ __+_ community and its allies. Visit __out.com/submit_ _to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of_ Out _or our parent company, equalpride.__

**_In the column Straight Nonsense, columnist Moises Mendez II takes a queer eye to the insanity of straight culture._**_****_ I don't want to be writing aboutCharlie Kirk, but that's the name on everyone's lips since his assassination earlier this week. The second the videos of the right-wing political commentator getting shot while speaking at a Utah university began flooding my timeline, I felt like there was a magnetic pull to my phone — I couldn't look away. I couldn't stop refreshing my feed. After he was pronounced dead just a few short hours later, the dread of the even darker political moment that we just entered settled in. Not too soon after, social media users began celebrating Kirk's death, while others criticized those who did. Then conversations around morality came into play, and it felt like every Instagram Story was one post after another about how even though someone may not agree with his politics, we shouldn't be celebrating his death. Then there's the politics of it all, the president and governing bodies are calling for moments of silence and lowering flags at half mast to honor Kirk. But I'm not here to discuss any of that. This week's topic of discussion for Straight Nonsense is about taking time away from the internet when there's just too much harmful content to consume. Believe me when I say, I'm not sitting on my moral high horse to share my thoughts on how one person should react to the death of someone who was racist, homophobic, transphobic, and frankly, fact-phobic. I can't take time away from social media, because as an internet culture/entertainment reporter, it quite literally is my job to stay up to date. But no matter what, it's tough to not let the effects of it make your brain feel like mush. Every second, there is a new piece of news about Kirk's death, like how Representative Nancy Mace used transphobic slurs when she assumed the shooter was trans and suggested that the culprit should receive the death penalty — only to walk those sentiments back after it was revealed that the alleged shooter in custody was a cisgender white male. > — (@) Stupidity is everywhere, and it's consuming all of social media — especially from the Straights™, so don't be afraid to take time away from social media or just your phone in general. You don't need me to give you suggestions for what to do, but if you do, here are a few: Read a book, play video games, bake a cake, go on a date, clean your room, buy some candles, organize your pantry, have sex (if that's something you like to do), go shopping, watch a television show or a movie. There's an endless amount of options for taking the time away from social media. I encourage this time away from social media because as someone who reports on the internet for a living, I've seen how it's rotted people's brains from the inside out. One of the most recent examples is the subject of my inaugural column, Netflix's _Unknown Number: The High School Catfish_. Even just this week, we saw makeup influencer Jeffree Star finally fall into the right-wing deep end after going on a rant against the nonbinary and trans community in a recent TikTok Live. "If you believe in they/thems, you're a part of the problem." He's made comments like these in the past. But the more social media companies take away the guardrails for protections against hate speech, it's easier for it to proliferate online — and for people to push anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Take time for yourself this week. You don't need to be online every single second. And if you can't pull away from the piling atrocities of the world, watch content that feels like a brain massage or something that allows you to turn off your brain. I've been getting into watching coloring TikToks, and the stress dissipates from my body the second I watch the markers brush the page. > @kaylamamilcar > > hello?!? 🪩🌟🌈 this page turned out so cute?! 🥹 probably my new fav HAHAHA! @bobbiegoods #colorwithme #coloring #color #colortok #bobbiegoods #bobbiegoodsart #bobbiegoodscoloring #bobbiegoodscoloringbook #bobbiegoodscoloringpage _Moises Mendez II is a staff writer at_ Out _magazine. Follow him on Instagram_ _@moisesfenty_ _._ __Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the_ _LGBTQ_ __+_ community and its allies. Visit __out.com/submit_ _to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of_ Out _or our parent company, equalpride.__

**_In the column Straight Nonsense, columnist Moises Mendez II takes a queer eye to the insanity of straight culture._**_****_ I don't want to be writing aboutCharlie Kirk, but that's the name on everyone's lips since his assassination earlier this week. The second the videos of the right-wing political commentator getting shot while speaking at a Utah university began flooding my timeline, I felt like there was a magnetic pull to my phone — I couldn't look away. I couldn't stop refreshing my feed. After he was pronounced dead just a few short hours later, the dread of the even darker political moment that we just entered settled in. Not too soon after, social media users began celebrating Kirk's death, while others criticized those who did. Then conversations around morality came into play, and it felt like every Instagram Story was one post after another about how even though someone may not agree with his politics, we shouldn't be celebrating his death. Then there's the politics of it all, the president and governing bodies are calling for moments of silence and lowering flags at half mast to honor Kirk. But I'm not here to discuss any of that. This week's topic of discussion for Straight Nonsense is about taking time away from the internet when there's just too much harmful content to consume. Believe me when I say, I'm not sitting on my moral high horse to share my thoughts on how one person should react to the death of someone who was racist, homophobic, transphobic, and frankly, fact-phobic. I can't take time away from social media, because as an internet culture/entertainment reporter, it quite literally is my job to stay up to date. But no matter what, it's tough to not let the effects of it make your brain feel like mush. Every second, there is a new piece of news about Kirk's death, like how Representative Nancy Mace used transphobic slurs when she assumed the shooter was trans and suggested that the culprit should receive the death penalty — only to walk those sentiments back after it was revealed that the alleged shooter in custody was a cisgender white male. > — (@) Stupidity is everywhere, and it's consuming all of social media — especially from the Straights™, so don't be afraid to take time away from social media or just your phone in general. You don't need me to give you suggestions for what to do, but if you do, here are a few: Read a book, play video games, bake a cake, go on a date, clean your room, buy some candles, organize your pantry, have sex (if that's something you like to do), go shopping, watch a television show or a movie. There's an endless amount of options for taking the time away from social media. I encourage this time away from social media because as someone who reports on the internet for a living, I've seen how it's rotted people's brains from the inside out. One of the most recent examples is the subject of my inaugural column, Netflix's _Unknown Number: The High School Catfish_. Even just this week, we saw makeup influencer Jeffree Star finally fall into the right-wing deep end after going on a rant against the nonbinary and trans community in a recent TikTok Live. "If you believe in they/thems, you're a part of the problem." He's made comments like these in the past. But the more social media companies take away the guardrails for protections against hate speech, it's easier for it to proliferate online — and for people to push anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Take time for yourself this week. You don't need to be online every single second. And if you can't pull away from the piling atrocities of the world, watch content that feels like a brain massage or something that allows you to turn off your brain. I've been getting into watching coloring TikToks, and the stress dissipates from my body the second I watch the markers brush the page. > @kaylamamilcar > > hello?!? 🪩🌟🌈 this page turned out so cute?! 🥹 probably my new fav HAHAHA! @bobbiegoods #colorwithme #coloring #color #colortok #bobbiegoods #bobbiegoodsart #bobbiegoodscoloring #bobbiegoodscoloringbook #bobbiegoodscoloringpage _Moises Mendez II is a staff writer at_ Out _magazine. Follow him on Instagram_ _@moisesfenty_ _._ __Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the_ _LGBTQ_ __+_ community and its allies. Visit __out.com/submit_ _to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of_ Out _or our parent company, equalpride.__

Introduction I was given a copy to review by ZooLoo’s Book Tours. My review is honest and freely given.     #JMLangan #AboutCharlie #BookTour #ZooLoosBookTours #BookTour #BookReview #BookTourReview  #FreeReview #AdPR #Gifted Blurb Emma is a lost soul, seeking solace with anything that will help her forget, drowning her pain to blur the edges of reality in the backdrop of 1990s London. Jason witnesses Emma’s darkest moments but can he forgive everything?