7th Anniversary Special – A New YouTube Channel and my First Blind Reaction

Hello everybody, this is George Harvey (aka The Autistic Blogger). I know it’s a couple of days late, but I’ve finally finished my 7th Anniversary Special. I’ve wanted to try something like this for a while now, so I hope you’ll forgive me if it’s a bit different.

In the past, I’ve talked about how much I admire films and TV series like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. What you may not know, however, is that I also admire people who share their initial reactions (blind reactors). Seeing someone else watch something for the first time adds a new layer of entertainment to your viewing experience. However, it can also form a connection between you and the reactor. Maybe you laughed and cried in the same places they did. Maybe you agreed with a comment they made. Or perhaps they noticed something you didn’t, giving you a new perspective on the film or series. It can feel very relatable if your reactions are similar. 

Considering how much I want to reach out to other people, I’ve decided to try making these videos myself. However, I also don’t want to run into any more copyright issues as I did before. So that’s why I won’t be posting anything here. 

Below is a link to my new YouTube channel: GeoStar The Autistic Vlogger. By following it, you can view my first ever blind reaction to the My Little Pony: A New Generation movie – or just its highlights. I’m hoping this will start a new venture where I can make videos based on my interests and express how influential they are. Of course, I will still be writing for this blog. But it might mean I have to limit my posts to once every 2 to 3 months – my shifts at work tend to keep me busy most evenings.

With all that said, I want to thank everyone who’s continued supporting me these last seven years. It’s been reassuring to know you all still enjoy my work even when it’s not put out too frequently. I’ll be sure to bring you more written content in the future. So, until then, stay tuned.

My new YouTube channel – GeoStar The Autistic Vlogger – YouTube

Into My Autistic Mind: A Lazy Day Off Work

Hello everybody, this is George Harvey (aka The Autistic Blogger). I’m sorry I haven’t posted any Autism-related content in a while. Work has kept me busier than I expected. I haven’t even managed to post on Autistic Blogger Creates as frequently as I wanted. Rest assured, I am working on bringing content to both blogs right now. In the meantime, here’s another instalment of Into My Autistic Mind. For those of you who don’t know, this is when I type out everything that’s going through my head without any sort of filter. It’s rather nonsensical, but that’s the whole idea. I hope you enjoy.

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As Bruno Mars would say: “today I don’t feel like doing anything“. That’s how I decided to live today. I’m thinking of the music video now with the guys in monkey masks. I’ve often imagined a different version with anime characters. Now I’m remembering a fan animation that took the closing song from one anime but featured characters from another. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is going through my mind now too. And Disney’s the Rescuers. I don’t want to get off topic. I’ve given myself until my dinner is done to write down my thoughts. I’ve spent almost all day inside today. I was catching up on wrestling: WWE Payback and WWE RAW. I also watched the latest episodes of Pony Life – the spiritual successor to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I’m actually typing all this on my laptop rather than my iPad as I normally do. I wish I had something else to post this month, but work has kept me busy. I’m thinking of the Pony Life theme song now. There are always two words I can’t quite make out, which makes it difficult if you want to sing along. I just spent a moment massaging my fingers there. Now I remember a scene from the Aristocats where they’re playing the piano. Apparently they convinced a famous Frenchman to come out of retirement to sing the opening song they had. I also remember the movie features what used to be one of my favourite songs. The one that goes “ta-ra-ra boom-bee-aye, ta-ra-ra booom-bee-aye“. I wasn’t sure whether to uses dashes there. It looks better with them. Anyway, I’m in the midst of a nine-day break from work. Up until now I’ve been constantly visiting people. Whether it’s my college friends at a local park; my girlfriend at Danson Park; my dad, my step-mum and my girlfriend at my dad’s house; or my girlfriend and her family at the Bull’s Head Bar and Hotel for dinner. I’m thinking of a half-snake half-bull creature I saw on Friendship is Magic once, for some reason. I hope my laptop has enough power. I usually always have it plugged in and charging, but I’ve moved it to my table so I can type this. I think it’s best I keep my work space and my relaxation space separate. I haven’t typed at my table for a while because I’ve had – hold on I’m thinking of a scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As I was saying: I haven’t typed at my table for a while because I’ve had two large boxes of VHS tapes underneath it and I couldn’t get my legs under. There’s nowhere that will take old VHS tape anymore. I’m remembering a very old book I used to read about Rapunzel at my nan and grandad’s house. I had to correct my spelling of ‘Rapunzel’ there. People have said I should just throw away the VHS tapes, but I know the right people will sometimes pay a fortune for them. For some reason, I’m remembering Cheaper by the Dozen staring Steve Martin. I almost forgot his name there. It’s not just VHS tapes, I’ve got a large binder full of original Pokémon cards – including one I know is worth a lot of money given it’s a first edition. I just tried to do something with the ‘e’ in ‘Pokémon’ and I just typed a whole lot of them. How many of you remember old adverts you used to watch on TV? I can remember old Skips adverts where two boys would cause things to melt just by placing a Skips crisp on their tongues. Then there were the ones later on that featured a talking tongue. He’d say “this is your tongue talking“. One time, two of these adverts appeared before a movie I was watching. I heard there was controversy several years ago at one particular cinema. They were meant to be showing Finding Dory, but the wrong movie was played and all of the advertisements beforehand were aimed at an older audience. This meant that a trailer for Sausage Party played and hundreds of kids heard R-rated language. I can’t remember if it was the theatre owner or one of the people who made Sausage Party, but, when asked about it, they thought it was hilarious. I just corrected the spelling on ‘hilarious’. I don’t know why I’ve got a lot of movies on my mind right now. Even direct-to-video movies like Belle’s Magical World and The Return of Jafar. One moment. Sorry, I had to check on my dinner. My sausages needed turning over and the pasta needed to be heated more. I don’t know why but I’ve been watching old clips from the original English Dub of Sailor Moon. There’s a YouTube channel called Sailor Moon Says which features them. Sailor Moon Says also used to be the segment at the end of each episode that would teach a moral – like Sonic Says at the end of Sonic SatAM. I just had to check to make sure I got that right. Apparently, it’s Sonic Sez and the show was better known as Sonic the Hedgehog. The segment might have actually been apart of it’s predecessor series: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I often remember watching Sonic Underground and wondering why there was never an episode that acted as the series finale. Why I am talking so much about Sonic the Hedgehog? In trying to think about something different I’m now remembering those old educational shows that used to be on TV for primary school children. They included Words and Pictures, Number Time and The Magic Key. I always remember reading the books with Biff, Chip, Kipper, Floppy and the others when I was younger. They’re actually still being used today. My cousin read them when he was a little younger. I haven’t really talked much else about my day today. I’ve been outside for my daily walk in the sun. I’ve transferred some money into my savings account. I still have one more thing I want to watch today. I’ve recently been watching the boxset of Yu-Gi-Oh. I’m on the third season now. That’s not what I’m planning to watch though. It’s a blind reaction to a Phoenix Wright / MLP crossover fan project that recently released it’s second part and acts as a sequel to a similar project called Turnabout Storm. This one is called Turnabout Theatre. Anyway, before all that, I have to get this post tagged and uploaded before the day is out. I’ll try to have better content than this soon, but my spare time is complicated at the moment. Stay tuned and stay safe everyone.

If you have any questions be sure to leave me a comment – I’ll be sure to answer them. Also, be sure to check out my second blog site Autistic Blogger Creates (https://autisticbloggercreates.wordpress.com/blog-2/)

Friendship is Magic – a series for everyone

I know it’s only been a month since my last post. But this couldn’t wait. There’s something I have to talk about and give recognition to. Because, honestly, it’s had a major influence on my life. About three weeks ago (October 12th, 2019), something truly eventful happened. One of the finest television shows of the modern-day came to an end after nearly ten years on the air: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Let me explain.

We’re all familiar with the famous toy-line, merchandise and other forms of pony-media over the decades. But never has there been a TV series based on My Little Pony that became a global phenomenon like Friendship is Magic did. I know it’s hard to believe, but this was a seriously great show. There were ideas and concepts explored in the episodes that other series would never dare to.

For example, there’s a character in the show called Scootaloo, a pegasus pony, who’s one of the three young fillies we follow. Now, despite this, many fans noticed she was never seen flying in the series. Well, it turns out, she can’t fly; she has a disability that prevents her from doing so. And some episodes do focus on her dealing with the grief that she never will. In another story, the six main characters – Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy – all visit a village on the edge of their world. It seems to be a place where ponies live equally. But there’s something off about their wide grins and matching body marks. That’s because the village is a cult! And their leader actually captures the “mane six“, extracts part of their souls and tries conditioning them into forgetting their individuality. It is so dark and foreboding. Not something you’d expect to see in a show for little girls. But then, that’s the whole idea.

When Lauren Faust created this series, she didn’t want it to be another generic girls’ show. Instead, she aimed to make this the best TV series, period. Something the whole family could relate to and learn from. Hence why she placed heavy emphasis on world-building and character development. And you know what? It really paid off. The stories centre around real-world issues and morals; the characters all have fleshed-out personalities and life goals; the lessons are for adults as much as they are for kids. And, in my opinion, it has some of the greatest songs ever written, by the one man who could perfectly compose them. Seriously, if I were asked to hire someone to write songs for TV, this is who I would want: Daniel Ingrim. This guy is a creative genius. Not only has he penned more than 80 songs for My Little Pony, but they have the power to make you feel things you never thought possible. For example, Seasons 1-5 had an earth pony named Diamond Tiara; she was the typical bully character who nobody liked, and that’s all there was to her for a while. But then it’s revealed what her home life is like, and why she’s feels pressured into acting the way she does. And when we hear her sing Pony I Want To Be, we don’t just feel sorry for her, we feel ashamed for ever hating her because we didn’t know the full story.

But that’s one of this series’ strongest points; it’s never afraid to challenge its audience. True, it talks about basic things like kindness, honesty, generosity and loyalty. But it also teaches complex and mature subjects, too. These include racism, depression, civil war, stress, anxiety, disabilities, death, even gay relationships. That’s right; the last episode implies two sets of female ponies get married to each other. And nowhere does the series shine greater than its lessons about friendship.

We tend to forget just how important friends are to us. Sometimes we take them for granted because it seems easy or pointless making them. But this show reminds us how essential they are. Pretty much, if you had nothing else; no money, no home, no family; friendship could mean the difference between life and death. Plus, there are many different layers to it. Sure, you can make friends. But how exactly do you do that? And, are you making the right friends? Do you treat them all fairly? Can you respect their differences and communicate? What do you do if something in your life changes things? The lessons and benefits are endless, and this show never gets repetitive with how it teaches them. When it says “Friendship is Magic“, it’s not just a tagline; it’s a lesson in life everyone needs to know.

With so much going for it, it’s little wonder why the series gained universal appeal. Not just from little girls, but older girls, boys, teenagers, their parents. Even grown men and celebrities are obsessed with this show. Some of which provided their voice talents to it. These include Sia, Weird Al Yankovic, Lena Hall (who actually referenced the show during the 2014 Tony Awards), Emily Blunt, William Shatner. And their most-recurring guest star, John De Lancie as Discord. Yes, the man who played Q in the original Star Trek, also voices the Lord of Chaos, in My Little Pony.

However, what I love most about this series is that it listens to its fandom. Even before Season 1 ended, it was clear they were influencing the show’s writing and animation. Whether that was giving them stories they wanted or making pop-culture references. And they could get very diverse with these. How many little girls would know when a pony is referencing The Shining, or Metal Gear Solid or Game of Thrones?

But most touchingly of all, this show encourages viewers to create their own fan-content. And have that represented in the series. The prime example of this is Derpy Hooves. Originally a random background pony, people noticed she had cross-eyes during one frame of the first episode. This was an animation error. But people thought it was a lovely way to represent diversity. They then took this pony and made her the official mascot of their fandom. Hasbro soon took notice; and they started featuring Derpy more prominently in the show, along with a new design to include her cross-eyes. Even when they removed her from the series, due to controversy, fans campaigned so passionately (#SaveDerpy) that they brought her back. This then culminated in the show’s 100th episode, where she and other fandom ponies were the stars of a story – described as a “love letter” to them.

Putting it simply; its because of their fanbase that Friendship is Magic has lasted so long. It ended after its ninth season. But it’s legacy lives on through Equestria Girls, the upcoming “fifth generation” and the numerous fan-content creators it inspired. Criminally, though, there are still people who refuse to give this series a chance because it’s called My Little Pony. They’re so focused on what it used to be that they can’t accept this new show being different. Except it is. My Little Pony today isn’t the same My Little Pony made in the 80s or 90s.

If you’re still not convinced, take a look at me.

When I first heard boys and grown men were obsessed with Friendship is Magic, I couldn’t believe it. I’d seen how sissy My Little Pony used to be, and its writing was atrocious. These guys must’ve been crazy. But then I happened across the episode Lesson Zero. More specifically, Twilight Sparkle. Even if she wasn’t autistic, I noticed her traits and behaviours were similar to mine. In fact, all the characters had distinct personalities. Surely the show wasn’t this detailed? Plus, its quality was unlike anything I’d seen before – right down to the Flash-style animation. So one day, I decided to watch the first season out of curiosity. And I’ve never looked back since.

Truth be told; I was going through some hard times during my last year of college. Seeing what these ponies had to offer really helped me stay above high water. Plus, I can honestly say I’m a better person, thanks to this show. Whenever I see someone acting generous, I always think of Rarity. Whenever I’m tempted to lie, I remember Applejack’s honesty. And every time I’m stressed or trying too hard; I think I’m behaving like Twilight. But more importantly, I’ve realised how essential making friends is. And I’ve since made better efforts to communicate with people and form lasting relationships. I want everyone reading this to have that same opportunity. If you ever get the chance to watch Friendship is Magic, or just a few episodes, definitely watch as many as you can. Lauren Faust wanted to make this the best all-inclusive show of the modern-day, and that’s exactly what she did.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this article. I know I talk about this series a lot, but it’s honestly that good. And I had to do something to commemorate the end of its final season. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment – I’ll be more than happy to answer them. And, until next time, stay tuned.

My Little Pony: Lesson Zero and Autism (Part 1)

Hello, everybody, this is George Harvey (aka the Autistic Blogger). And today I’m going to be looking into something I’ve wanted to for quite some time now.

If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I could write on and on about why I support the fandom, and why I think the show appeals to all audiences – not just young girls – but that’s something for another time. What I want to do, instead, is focus on one episode in particular, and discuss how I think it’s significant to people with Autism.

But before I do, allow me to give an overview of the series.

Friendship is Magic takes place in the land of Equestria, a magical world inhabited by Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies – as well as other mythical creatures such as Dragons and Alicorns (winged unicorns). In the beginning, the main character is Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn who studies magic under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, the alicorn monarch of the land. Twilight is a model pupil, and she seems content with her life. But she always spends her free time studying. As a result, she never socialises with anybody other than Spike; a young, flightless dragon, who acts as her personal assistant. This concerns Celestia.

One day, the princess sends them both to Ponyvile to help with the Summer Sun Festival. As they explore the village, Twilight encounters five other ponies. Applejack; a hard-working farm pony. Fluttershy; who loves animals and gets scared easily. Pinkie Pie; who’s full of energy and loves parties. Rarity; who dreams of opening fashion boutiques all over Equestria. And Rainbow Dash; who thinks she’s the coolest flyer around and plans on joining the Wonderbolts aerial team. At first, Twilight wants nothing to do with these ponies. Even when they join her on a quest to stop the evil alicorn, Nightmare Moon. As they journey to the villain’s lair, however, Twilight realises her companions represent the Elements of Harmony – honesty (Applejack), kindness (Fluttershy), laughter (Pinkie Pie), generosity (Rarity) and loyalty (Rainbow Dash). More importantly, though, they’re her friends! Together with Twilight’s own element of magic, they defeat Nightmare Moon and restore her to her true form; Princess Luna. After the festival, Celestia allows Twilight to stay in Ponyville so she can learn more about the magic of friendship.

Now the premise might sound cheesy, I know. But you’d be surprised how seriously Friendship is Magic takes itself. Unlike previous generations of My Little Pony, the show doesn’t appeal to audiences by being over-the-top and girly. Instead, it focuses on teaching universal morals that everyone can relate to. These morals include: being open about your problems, discovering your purpose in life, and staying true to yourself no matter what tries to sway you. Some episodes even touch on deeper subjects like depression, racism and civil war.

Additionally, the show has run for over six seasons because its characters are always developing. Fluttershy is now braver and more assertive, Rarity and Rainbow Dash have achieved their dreams in fashion and flying, and Twilight herself has become an alicorn princess with a student all her own.

But I don’t want to ramble for too long.

The episode I’m going to discuss is called Lesson Zero (S2, Ep3). Admittedly, this is one of the older stories in the series, now. But it’s significant to me for various reasons. Not only was it the first episode of ‘Friendship is Magic’ I ever saw, but after watching it again, I realised something familiar about Twilight’s behaviour. Specifically, she showcases many autistic traits throughout the story. For a brand that used to be all Happy Rainbow Butterfly Pony Flowers (Animat, 2012), I think it was admirable of the writers to take My Little Pony in this direction.

Just for the record, I don’t think Twilight is autistic – there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that she’s not. But I do see a lot of myself in her. Even her friendship experiences are similar to mine. For example, if you listen to the extended version of the Friendship is Magic theme song, Twilight sings:

“When I was young I was too busy to make any friends. Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends. But my little ponies, you opened up my eyes. And now the truth is crystal clear as splendid summer skies. And it’s such a wonderful surprise.”

This is my life in a nutshell.

Also, I’m not the only one to make a connection between Twilight and Autism. Many parents have watched this episode, and they agree the writer (Meghan McCarthy) must’ve had some experience with the condition. If you want to know more, I’d recommend watching Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony. For now, though, let’s take a look at Lesson Zero.

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The episode begins with Twilight and Spike making a list of everything she needs to accomplish by the end of the day. Item 1: create said checklist.

Straight away this relates to Autism. A lot of people write lists to remind them of things. But it’s especially helpful if you have trouble processing large quantities of information. When I have multiple thoughts on my mind, it’s difficult keeping track of them all – sometimes I focus too much on certain tasks and forget about doing others. That’s why I write checklists/timetables. If I know when, and how long, to work on something I feel more in control. And it keeps me from stressing out. The only downside is I literally have to note down everything – to the smallest detail.

This is sort of what Twilight does. Her first task is to create the checklist she’s writing; mine is to wake up in the morning. Her last item is to triple-check her list to make sure she didn’t miss anything when she double-checked it; mine is to get to bed by a certain hour. Twilight is definitely a well-organised pony who enjoys doing things by the book. We even see she has a list of materials needed to make a checklist (quills, parchment, ink, etc.).

Back onto the story; Twilight gets ahead of schedule, so she and Spike go to Sugarcube Corner. There, they collect some cupcakes for an afternoon picnic with her friends. When she opens the box, however, there are thirteen cupcakes instead of twelve. The store owner, Mrs Cake, says she had one extra, so she made it a “baker’s dozen”. Twilight appreciates the thought, but she’s concerned that icing from the thirteenth cupcake is getting over the one next to it – thus making them uneven. She tries to balance things out. But ends up removing all but a drop of icing from each cupcake.

I have to say, this might be the most memorable moment of the entire series for me. Twilight is acting more Autistic/OCD here than she ever has in the show’s history (i.e. letting a small change throw her off and trying to fix something that’s not a problem).

Technically, yes, there’s nothing wrong with the cupcakes. But for Twilight, there’s a major issue. She doesn’t want her friends to think she’s valuing some ponies over others by giving them more icing. You might say this is overreacting a bit, but it’s easy to see a small problem as something bigger – especially when you’re autistic. Plus, Twilight feeling this way isn’t unreasonable. In a previous episode, she couldn’t decide which friend to take with her to a party, and it caused some friction within the group (S1, Ep3).

It’s also established that Twilight is a perfectionist and prefers doing things exactly right. However, being this way 24/7 has its drawbacks. In some cases, you end up making a problem worse rather than fixing it. Case in point: me and my writing.

If I were in Twilight’s predicament, my problem wouldn’t be with the icing, but rather the number of cupcakes. Since you can’t divide thirteen by six (evenly), I’d want to get rid of that extra cupcake. It probably wouldn’t even occur to me to just save it or give it to Spike – which I’m surprised Twilight didn’t think of.

It turns out, though, this scene only foreshadows a greater problem to come.

With the cupcakes in tow, Twilight and Spike head home. Spike has a “claw-cramp” after holding the checklist all day and says he’s glad they don’t have anything to report to the Princess this week.

Before I go on, let me explain.

At this point in the series, Twilight would write letters to Princess Celestia at the end of every episode. The letters would express the moral of the story and what lessons she learnt about friendship – you know, typical kid’s show stuff. Here’s the thing, though; Celestia never said this was a weekly assignment. You could assume she mentioned it off-screen. But it makes more sense to think that Twilight decided this deadline herself. We know she takes pride in being Celestia’s student and is determined to prove her worthiness. So it’s natural she’d want to set herself personal goals.

As we find out, though, trying to do too much too soon can have disastrous consequences.

Twilight looks over her journal and discovers it’s been almost seven days since she sent her last letter. Which means, if she doesn’t send one by sundown, she’ll be late for the assignment – something that’s never happened before. Spike tells her not to worry because he’s sure the princess will forgive her for missing one little deadline. But Twilight doesn’t want to take the risk. In fact, she’s concerned what might happen if Celestia thinks she’s slacking off.

Remember that greater problem I mentioned earlier? This is it.

(Continued in Part 2: https://georgeharvey2015.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/my-little-pony-lesson-zero-and-autism-part-2/)

(Image courtesy of http://www.brony.com/brony-facts-faq/my-little-pony-cast/)

Update August 1st: Making Plans and Thinking of you Guys

Hello everybody this is George Harvey (aka The Autistic Blogger) with a quick update.

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post any new content for a while. I’ve just had a lot of things on my top priority list lately; job searching, drama rehearsals, overtime at work, etc. It’s very rare I get the chance to just sit down and focus on my writing these days. Rest assured I’m still thinking of you guys, and I’m determined to give you all my very best Autism content whenever I can.

Speaking of which, I’ve started making plans for my next big post. Most of you will remember my review on the first episode of The A Word and how well it represents Autism in the media. My next post will be something similar, only it will focus on an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – where I think one character displays common Autistic traits.

Another post I’m planning to make – hopefully around October – is one that talks about my time at University. I’ve been putting it off for a while, because University wasn’t the most comfortable time of my life. But I think now is a good opportunity to discuss it, since it’s been almost a year since I graduated.

Finally, I know my other blog site – Autistic Blogger Reviews – hasn’t received as many views as this one, but I am continuing my work on there, too. My next 5 reviews will be available shortly.

So all in all, I just want to thank everybody for their patience and I promise they’ll be more exciting content to read in the near future.

Be sure to check out the other material on this blog and Autistic Blogger Reviews (https://autisticbloggerreviews.wordpress.com). If you have any questions please leave me a comment – I’ll be happy to answer them. And, as always, stay tuned.

P.S. For those of you who live in Kent (England), I will be performing in a stage production of ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford next month (October 5th – 8th). There are still plenty of tickets available, so if you’re interested be sure to book at the following website: https://orchardtheatre.co.uk/Online/default.asp

Into my Autistic Mind 5

Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these. Enjoy.

6 months. That’s how long it’s been since ‘Into my Autistic Mind 4’. My laptop is buzzing and I see my memory stick sticking out to one side. Or shoud (sorry) soul (grr) studpid (OH COME ON!) Okay…stupid typos. There I said it. I’ve taken my USB stick out now – that’s what I was trying to say. It’s beside me now next to my Samsung phone. I’m glad I upgraded. To the left of me is my iPad. I’ve just been playing ‘Candy Crush’. Level 1111 I’m on now. Still I’ll never catch up to the levels. They release so many so often it just never ends. Once again, I’m thinking of ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.’ And now ‘The Book of Pooh’ – an old ‘Playhouse Disney’ cartoon from my childhood. I remember on one of … sorry, brief pause there. I remember I was looking at interview advice and one of the suggestions was to mention the skills that would be useful in the job you’re applying for (brief moment to scratch my shoulders). Saying you’ve completed 1000 levels of ‘Candy Crush’ isn’t a good option they said. LOL. I d0n’t know why I’ve made a paragraph between ‘(OH COME ON!)’ and ‘Okay’. I never do that. Alright, fixed it. And I’ve just turned off my ipad – I’m writing on my laptop. For some reason my laptop doesn’t know what an ipad is – even if you spell it with a capital ‘I’. Why, why, why do I always think of ‘Friendship is Magic’ episodes when I write these? I’m planning to write a review of one of the episodes which I think portrays Autism. It should be interesting. I’ve reviewed movies and whole anime series on Amazon, but never an individual episode. Now I’m thinking of ‘Mog’. You know, those old books with the cat. There was even a Christmas advert made about him last year. It’s good to promote children’s literature. I hope I get to be an author one day. I’m speaking to someone at the moment who says he’ll keep an eye out for openings. There’s someone else I’ve sent my CV to as well. For some reason I’m thinking of ‘Only Fools and Horses’. Specially, the episode where Del and Rodney dress up as Batman and Robin. That moment they run out of the fog with the Batman theme playing is just class. The first time I saw it I laughed so hard I wet myself – literally. I’m thinking of a certain anime character who likes dressing as a bunny rabbit. It’s best I put that out of my mind. As well as something else: ‘Friendship is Magic’. Just taking a moment to gather my thoughts. A little more. A little more. Nothing is coming into my head. Oh. My laptop just auto-corrected ‘coming’ – and I almost misspelt it again. You know ‘misspelt’ is the most misspelt word in the English language according to a ‘Qi’ book. ‘Finding Nemo’ is a great film. I still can’t believe they’re making a sequel. I’m just looking around at the big empty living room. With brown sofas. Red curtains. The lights above – with one bulb blown. ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ is in my head now. Do you think it’s a coinicedence – excuse me, ‘coincidence’ – that the father is called Tom Baker. Just like the man who played the 4th Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’. I wonder if these ‘Into my Autistic Mind’ segments could work as a book? What do you guys think? Would it be weird to have a book full of random gibberish? Maybe I could try telling my life story and show you how hard it is to concerntrate (‘concentrate’) on it with all these thoughts coming into my head. It’d be like that Broadway show ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’. Let me know in the commnets – grrr – ‘comments’. Mum’s just come in…oh no, it’s my sister actually. Well I think this a good place to finish. Speak to you all soon.

I hope you enjoyed yet another glance into my (unfiltered) Autistic thoughts. If you did then please check out the other instalments of ‘Into my Autistic Mind’ (1-4). If you have any questions about me, or Autism in general, then please leave me a comment – I’ll be happy to answer them. And, as always, keep an eye out for the next post. Stay tuned.

Interests, Update and Music Video

Hello Internet. This is George Harvey, aka ‘The Autistic Blooger’. It’s been a while since my last post, as I’ve been on holiday in Majorca, and had other commitments. So to make up for it, I’ve decided to upload something special.
Over the last several months, I’ve written many posts about my experiences with Autism, and why I’m so passionate about raising awareness of it. I’ve also written creative pieces and reviews that showcase my other skills as a writer. However, one thing I’ve not been able to discuss in great detail are some of the interests I have as an ‘Aspie’ (autistic person).
I’ve said in the past that Autism makes me interested in a variety of different things. And these interests sometimes distract me from important things, like finding a full-time job, talking to people or completing a writing task. This is actually why it takes me longer to do certain things than other people – it’s not just that I’m a perfectionist. I’m not ashamed to say I have these interests. In fact, I think they’re what makes me relatable to other ‘Aspies’ around the world. Depending on whether they share my interests, of course.
So what does my Autism make me interested in?
Those of you who’ve read ‘Into My Autistic Mind’ would’ve noticed that I keep mentioning the series ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. I will admit that I’m a fan of the show, like so many other Bronies and Pegasisters. A lot of people have problems with older audiences – especially teenage boys and grown men – liking ‘My Little Pony’. But I really think those people should watch an episode themselves, before they point fingers. The reason I like the show is because, unlike previous generations – which were so sissy even the target audience (little girls) would cringe – ‘Friendship is Magic’ teaches very sincere morals, which kids and grown-ups of all ages can learn from. There’s even one episode, which I think portrays one of it’s main characters having Autism – or at least Autistic traits. So I’m actually thinking of writing a review on that episode in the future. It’s called ‘Lesson Zero’, so please check it out. Also, check out the documentary ‘Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony’ on YouTube.
Other interests I have include trading cards. I have a large collection of ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ cards at home – including one of the Sacred Beasts and two the Egyptian Gods. Every so often, I like to take them out and build decks, so I can see how they match up against each other in duels. I’ve only ever had real opponents during my time in secondary school, when I played against my friends in the spectrum base. Since then, I’ve only played against myself. It’s rather lonely, but still enjoyable. I’d love to take on real opponents, or teach somebody how to play, if I was given the chance to.
Another of my interests is wrestling. I first discovered WWE in 2002, and four years later, I became a full-time fan; watching ‘RAW’ and ‘Smackdown’ on TV, buying merchandise, visiting WWE.com, and even going to live events when they came to London. Not to mention I own all 31 editions of ‘WrestleMania’ on DVD. I’m usually not much of a sports fan – I actually quit football, karate and gymnastics when I was younger. But what I love about wrestling isn’t just the athleticism of its superstars. It’s also the creativeness that goes into the storytelling. Everyone knows wrestling is ‘fake’. But that doesn’t matter when you get to experience a great show. Sometimes what you see is so engaging, you completely forget what you’re watching is staged. This is why WWE sometimes influences my own creative writing skills. It takes a lot of talent to suspend your audiences disbeliefs. And that’s exactly what I aim to achieve with fictional writing.
I love wrestling so much that I’ve even written for HighlightNation, a website dedicated to all things WWE. They were generous enough to post a link to my blog there, so I feel it’s only right I do the same for them. If you like WWE as much as I do then visit: http://www.highlightnation.com.
Another interest that influences my creative writing is animes. I absolutely love animes. Ever since I saw ‘Sprited Away’, I’ve been obsessed with Japanese culture and how well they do animation. The ideas that go into their movies and TV shows are so unique, and inspiring, you couldn’t imagine them being made anywhere else in the world. Not even in America. Why? Because Japan comes up with stories that other countries wouldn’t dare to try. I now own more than 50 different anime DVDs. Including almost every Studio Ghibli film, and ‘Sword Art Online’ – which in my opinion is the greatest animated series ever made, and one every anime fan should own. When I decided to become an author, I knew I wanted to create books that would be as memorable and exciting as animes.
A good writer is first and foremost a good reader. And as a writer I do love to read. Especially the Jacqueline Wilson books. Most of you will have read my review of ‘Lily Alone’, and learnt just why I love Jacqueline Wilson as an author so much – I’m thinking of reviewing another of her books, ‘Lola Rose’, soon. I’ve also read book series like the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Hunger Games’. I sometimes even read series that are outside my target audience, like ‘Dork Diaries’ and ‘Magic Animal Friends’. My reasons for reading them are the same reasons I’m a Brony. Plus, it’s good research for me as a writer to learn what makes certain books best-sellers.
My final interest is one I never thought I’d have. I was never much of a music fan growing up. But I started listening to Michael Jackson songs after he died, and realised just how good they were – it was like he told a short story while singing. Soon, I was listening to his music daily; going to see ‘Thriller Live’ at the Lyric Theatre; I even created my own ‘Billie Jean’ music video as an ICT project once (see below). I’m so passionate about MJ sometimes I like to imitate him. In fact, during my holiday in Majora I saw a tribute band to him, and they invited people to dance on stage. I showed off my stuff, and they thought it was pretty good. It was the highlight of my visit.
I could go on and on about other interests I have, like Doctor Who and YouTube videos by Markiplier, Mr. Enter and AniMat, but I think you get the general idea. I want to finish off by saying that I do still have plans for this blog. As I mentioned, there are two reviews I’m thinking of writing – one will touch on Autism, the other will touch on another personal issue. I also still have plans to interview people in my life and ask them how my Autism effected them. But before all that, I want to write something I’ve been meaning to for a long time now. Months ago, I uploaded pieces that talked about my experiences in primary and secondary school. However, I’ve yet to speak about my college and university years. The next upload will likely be a piece on when I first entered North West Kent college.
I’ll now leave you now with this music video of me trying to be Michael Jackson.
If you’ve enjoyed this post about my interests, then feel free to check out the other pieces I’ve uploaded to this blog. Leave me a comment if you have any questions – I’ll be glad to answer them – and, as always, stay tuned.

I do not own the song ‘Bille Jean’ or anything else. This was simply made as an ICT project.

‘Lily Alone’ Review

Hello Internet. This is George Brian Harvey, otherwise known as ‘The Autistic Blogger’. Now, this week, I decided to post something that’s a little bit different than normal. This won’t be a post where I talk about Autism or my experiences with it. This will actually be my first ‘Review’.
When I started this blog, I had two main goals for it. The first was to express myself as an advocate, since I’m very passionate about raising awareness of Autism and its effects. The second was to showcase my skills as a writer. However, I also had a third objective: to let people know exactly what I think are some of the best examples of influential work.
Autism is my primary focus, but I understand how important it is for people to know the effects of other real-world issues and disabilities. And there’s no better way to raise awareness than through the media. Every so often, I come across a book, TV series, movie, etc, which I think does well to emphasis how certain issues effect people and society. When that happens, I defiantly feel it’s something everybody should watch/read. This is why I watch TV shows like ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ or read books that are aimed at young children. It doesn’t matter to me what their target audiences are. If their morals are universally appealing then they’re worthy of my praise and attention. The message of a story is always more important than the story itself, I feel.
One author I really look up to as a writer is Jacqueline Wilson. From foster-care, to divorce, to social anxieties, her books touch on a number of issues that many people can relate to and learn from. I hope someday I’ll be able to write books as inspiring as her’s. To honour this, my first review for this blog will be on her (2011) novel, ‘Lily Alone’.

‘Lily Alone’ is the story of Lily Green; the eldest of four children, who lives in a rundown flat with her mother and three half-siblings. Lily struggles to care for her family, since her siblings (Bliss, Baxter and Pixie) are very young, and her mother (Kate) is often too sick or depressed to look after them. It doesn’t help either that Lily seems to be the only one in the family who takes matters seriously. One night, Kate meets Gordon, a young man who she agrees to go on holiday with. Despite Lily’s protests, Kate leaves a message for her ex-husband (Mikey) to look after the kids and departs for Spain. However, the next day Lily gets a call back from Mikey, saying he can’t come as he’s away in Scotland for the week. Now with limited food, no money and no front door key, Lily has to find a way to support her siblings, whilst making sure nobody finds out about their secret.
It’s clear from the premise that ‘Lily Alone’ deals with issues of child neglect – as well as responsibility and young caring. How the narrative expresses them to the reader is by telling the story from Lily’s perspective (1st person). Every emotion she feels, or opinion she has, we agree with because it’s how she sees the world. If the story were told from another perspective the feeling and moral would arguably be a lot different. But since the purpose of the story is to emphasis Lily’s struggles, it makes sense that things are shown through her eyes. Jacqueline Wilson has mastered her style of writing to not only raise awareness of real-world issues, but also to make sure her morals are expressed by the right character.
Another thing I like about the story’s narrative is how it always feels believable. Jacqueline Wilson uses many real-world references to emphasise that the story takes place in modern day Britain. Some references include The ‘Secret Garden’ (novel), ‘Chessington World of Adventures’ (theme park), TV shows like ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’, and other things like Smarties, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, Batman, Spider-Man and McDonalds. Wilson even mentions the TV adaption of her ‘Tracey Beaker’ book and the Disney Pixar movie ‘Up’ (2009). Everything makes the story feel realistic and gives the impression that ‘Lily Alone’ is based on actual events – which is just the feeling you want to get from a book like this. The references also advance the plot or express Lily’s mindset (e.g. Lily compares her mum to step-mothers in fairytales, or imagines herself as Peter Pan). There’s even one scene where she describes herself ‘crushing’ fairytale characters inside a book as she closes it.
It’s easy to understand why each character has the personality they do in the story – just as if they were real people.
Bliss is the most sensible and well-mannered of the three younger siblings. She clearly enjoys the affection from Lily and her mother, which is probably why she always tries to be a good girl. However, like most kids her age, she occasionally makes a ruckus and wants things she can’t always have.
Baxter (Bliss’s twin) is the complete opposite of his sister. He’s the hardest to deal with, because he’s violent, reckless and always wants to be in charge. He likes the idea of killing animals; wishes he could join a group of older boys with their beers and cigarettes; swears even though he’s six; sometimes runs off on his own; looks at rude, inappropriate magazines; refuses to be kissed, etc. His behaviour probably stems from his father, Mikey, who Lily feels is too rough and not a good influence on him. She even implies that Mikey has his own knife and let’s Baxter play with it sometimes.
I actually think Baxter represents the problem with most young children today: they don’t act their age. Kids these days use swear words, know sexually inappropriate things and just want to act as grown-up as possible – as quickly as possible. It really concerns me how they’re essentially throwing away their childhood, because of influences they get from their parents. If their parents swear, they think swearing is appropriate; if their parents are aggressive, they think violence is appropriate; if their parents smoke, they’ll want to buy their first packet of cigarets as early as secondary school – possibly even sooner. Whether intentionally or not, I think Jacqueline Wilson raises this issue in ‘Lily Alone’ and emphasises how parents (like Mikey) should be more considerate when speaking and behaving around their children.
Pixie is the youngest of the three siblings and still has a bottle, buggy and cot. By her age (3) she probably would’ve been taken off such things, which implies to me that she may have problems with her personal development. This could be because her family is disorganised and unable to give her the proper growth she needs.
And then there’s Kate. You might think that she’s just a selfish, heartless woman, who would abandon her kids in a heart-beat to go on a holiday. But that’s actually not her character at all – if it was, she’d be stereotypical. Kate’s problem is that, for the most part, she’s still a child herself. She gave birth to Lily when she was just 15, so she’s young enough to be her older sister. The two don’t even act like mother and daughter most of the time – sometimes Kate calls Lily her “best mate”. It’s clear, too, that Kate doesn’t always take her role as a mother seriously. She acts more childish than Lily and never seems to think things through (e.g. money issues or how she’s going to get back from her holiday). What’s more, Kate doesn’t always learn from her mistakes. She’s committed credit card fraud multiple times, had kids with three different men and been to court – all before her 27th birthday.
So can Kate be described as a bad mother? Well…yes. But she’s not terrible. She does understand child neglect and tries to avoid it by setting things up with Mikey. However, just leaving him a message and expecting him to look after the kids isn’t the wisest decision. She doesn’t know if Mikey has plans. And why would he want to babysit for her if he knew she was going to meet her ‘new’ boyfriend?
There’s no denying Kate has faults as a mother, but you can’t really hate her for it. She’s not a bad parent intentionally. She’s just young and misguided. She really loves her kids with all her heart and would do anything to keep them by her side.
This is what makes the story more believable to me; it proves that parents don’t always have to be cruel or uncaring to commit child neglect. Sometimes it just comes down to the circumstances and making the wrong decisions. What’s important is Kate learns her lesson by the end of book – even though it might be too late.
Finally, there’s the main focus of the story: Lily. When we’re first introduced to her, it’s clear she shoulders responsibility well; she’s glad to look after her siblings so her mum can rejuvenate. However, it’s also clear that she isn’t entirely happy with the life she has. She understands the sort of person her mother has become and doesn’t want to end up like her – hence she never wants to have a boyfriend, get married or have children. Her dream is to live in a luxurious house, alone, where she won’t have to worry about caring for anyone but herself.
As the story progresses we see just how old Lily is for her age. She knows about things like the Magistrates’ court and paying the bills, even though she’s eleven. It feels like she’s always taking care of the family even when her mum is around. And when Kate leaves for Spain, Lily doesn’t allow herself to cry or question things, like her siblings, because she’s the oldest and has to keep them happy. Speaking of which…
Despite her plans not to be a mother, Lily really knows how to look after kids well. Some of the things she does in the story could even be considered genius. She knows how to keep Baxter under control; she knows how to keep Bliss smiling; she watches Pixie to make sure she’s kept out of harm’s way, and she keeps the kids entertained with stories and made up games. All the while, she manages to do all the necessary things, like making sure everyone has clean clothes and the right nutrition – like a real mother would. The siblings love their “Lilymum” and Lily almost reconsiders wanting to live alone.
However, Lily isn’t ready to be a parent. She’s just too young to handle the enormous responsibility. Throughout the book she shows signs of still being a child herself, like enjoying fairytales, fearing the dark and constantly wishing her mum would come back. There’s even one scene where she cuddles a pillow, with her mother’s scent on it. The pressure soon gets to Lily, as she begins resorting to more drastic things, like running away from the flat, eating out of the rubbish and even breaking into somebody’s house for food – which just goes to show what real children in similar situations would do to survive neglect. Plus, there’s the constant threat of strangers and somebody discovering their secret. In the end, Lily is close to breaking point, before help arrives. And even then she blames herself and refuses, very stubbornly, to accept that she needs support.
It’s almost upsetting to know how quickly Lily’s had to grow up and how responsible she thinks she is. All she wants is to be a family with her mother and siblings again.
The hard situations Lily and her siblings go through are padded out by people being nice to them (e.g. an ice cream man, a fish and chip shop owner and an elderly couple). However, children in similar situations probably wouldn’t be so lucky. Jacqueline Wilson understands this and so, for realism purposes, she doesn’t make clear whether the ending is happy or sad. Instead she leaves things open-ended for the readers to work out what logical events will likely follow the story’s conclusion. It’s one thing for a story to blatantly express its morals to a reader, but it’s another thing to actually challenge them to think about what lessons they’ve being taught. That’s what I admire about Jacqueline Wilson.
In conclusion, ‘Lily Alone’ portrays a very realistic situation of child neglect, with highly believable characters and an ending that really makes you think about the universal moral. I would recommend this book to any fans of Jacqueline Wilson, since it’s definitely one of her finer works. I would also recommend it to first-time readers of the author, who want to understand her writing style – and mine. But most importantly, I’d recommend ‘Lily Alone’ to anyone who wants to understand the realities of child neglect, young caring and responsibility. I think there’s no better way to learn about such issues than through the eyes of a child.

If you enjoyed this review, then please check out some of the other things I’ve written for this blog. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think, or ask any questions. And keep an eye out for the next post. I don’t know yet when my next ‘Review’ will be, but I have some ideas for the future. Plus, you can follow the link below to my Amazon page to see some of the other things I’ve reviewed over the years. I hope you enjoy them. Stay tuned.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/pdp/profile/A2AR00PMKLC1TG/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Alone)