Yearly Archives: 2010

Quick Hit — 4D Plexes

Movie poster from the Korean realease of Avatar, showing a white man on the left and his blue faced Avatar on the right, with fantasy creatures imposed in the bottom foreground. Bottom has Korean writing for title "Avatar".Our local theater in South Korea has one of the first and only 4D Plexes in the world (and it is currently showing Avatar, so I could possibly be entertained and annoyed and over-stimulated all at once! Whee!).

“The way the company finally cornered that elusive fourth dimension is by engaging all five senses: moving seats, wind, water sprinkling, lasers, and synthetic smells are all used in time with the movie.”

What are your thoughts/feelings on this so-called break through in the movie going experience? Does the thought of a moving seat and being accosted with sprinkling water and scent sound like an enhanced movie experience for you? Does it seem like it would just provide another barrier to your enjoyment?

Personally I picture myself using my popcorn bucket for something other than its intended purpose…

Have at it in comments.

Singing in Sign

One of the things that drove me up the wall about a certain popular television show that I’m not going to talk about was the scene with the “Deaf Choir”. I put “Deaf Choir” in scare quotes here because, while the members of the choir showed in that show were Deaf, that didn’t look much like any of the Deaf singing that I’ve seen.

But hey – don’t take my word for it.

Auslan is the language of the deaf community in Australia. Here’s a video of a deaf woman signing “Madly Truly Deeply” by Savage Garden (lyrics below video).

Lyrics:

I’ll be your dream / I’ll be your wish / I’ll be your fantasy.
I’ll be your hope / I’ll be your love / Be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath / Truly madly deeply do

I will be strong I will be faithful /’Cos I’m counting on a new beginning.
A reason for living.
A deeper meaning.

I want to stand with you on a mountain. / I want to bathe with you in the sea. / I want to lay like this forever. / Until the sky falls down on me

And when the stars are shining brightly / In the velvet sky,
I’ll make a wish / Send it to heaven / Then make you want to cry..
The tears of joy / For all the pleasure and the certainty.
That we’re surrounded / By the comfort and protection of
The highest power.
In lonely hours.
The tears devour you.

I want to stand with you on a mountain, I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, Until the sky falls down on me

Oh can’t you see it baby? You don’t have to close your eyes
‘Cos it’s standing right before you. All that you need will surely come.

I’ll be your dream / I’ll be your wish / I’ll be your fantasy.
I’ll be your hope / I’ll be your love / Be everything that you need.
I’ll love you more with every breath / Truly madly deeply do

American Sign Language is used throughout the US & Canada (although Canada also has Quebec Sign Language (LSQ: (langue des signes Quebecoise) & Maritime Sign Language).

This video features a variety of people Signing Michael & Janet Jackson’s Scream. The video is subtitled, and lyrics follow:

lyrics:

[Michael]
Tired of injustice / Tired of the schemes/ The lies are disgusting
directed at me.
Kicking me down/ I got to get up / As jacked as it sounds
The whole system sucks

[Janet]
Peek in the shadow / I Come into the light / You tell me I’m wrong
Then you better prove you’re right
You’re sellin’ out souls but / I care about mine/ I’ve got to get stronger
And I won’t give up the fight

[Michael]
With such confusions don’t it make you wanna scream
You’re bash abusin’ victimize within the scheme
(Janet)
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
[Both]
Somebody please have mercy / ‘Cause I just can’t take it
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me/ Stop pressurin’ me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me/ Stop pressurin’ me
Make me wanna scream

[Michael]
Tired of you tellin’ the story your way / It’s causin’ confusion / You think it’s okay

[Janet]
You Keep changin’ the rules / While I keep playin’ the game / I can’t take it much longer / I think I might go insane

[Michael]
With such confusions, don’t it make you wanna scream / Your bash abusin’ victimize within’ the scheme
(Janet)
You find your pleasure scandalizin’ every lie
[Both]
Oh father, please have mercy ’cause I just can’t take it
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me / Stop pressurin’ me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me
Stop fuckin’ with me / Make me wanna scream

[Janet]
“Oh my God, can’t believe what I saw / As I turned on the TV, the city
I was disgusted by all the injustice / All the injustice”
[Michael]
“All the injustice”

[News Man]
“A man has been brutally beaten to death by Police after being wrongly identified as a robbery suspect. The man was an 18 year old black male…”

[Michael]
With such collusions don’t it make you wanna scream / Your bash abusin’ victimize within the scheme
[Janet]
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
[Both]
Oh brother please have mercy ‘Cause I just can’t take it / Stop pressurin’ me
Just stop pressurin’ me / Stop pressurin’ me/ Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me / Stop pressurin’ me
Make me wanna scream / Stop pressurin’ me
Just stop pressurin’ me / Stop pressurin’ me / Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin’ me / Just stop pressurin’ me / Stop pressurin’ me
Make me wanna scream / Stop your pressure!

(lyrics from Elyrics)

British Sign Language is used throughout the UK. I first learned about it by watching Paddy Ladd’s vids.

This guy is Signing Lady GaGa’s Poker Face (subtitles, lyrics follow):

Lyrics:

Mum mum mum mah / Mum mum mum mah

I wanna hold em’ like they do in Texas please / Fold em’ let em’ hit me raise it baby stay with me (I love it)/ LoveGame intuition play the cards with Spades to start/ And after he’s been hooked I’ll play the one that’s on his heart

Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh / I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh, / I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got

Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)
Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)

I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be / A little gambling is fun when you’re with me (I love it)
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun / And baby when it’s love if its not rough it isn’t fun, fun
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh / I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got / Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh,
I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got

Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)
Can’t read my / Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face (Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face (Mum mum mum mah)

I won’t tell you that I love you / Kiss or hug you / Cause I’m bluffin’ with my muffin / I’m not lying I’m just stunnin’ with my love-glue-gunning / Just like a chick in the casino / Take your bank before I pay you out / I promise this, promise this / Check this hand cause I’m marvelous

Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)
Can’t read my / Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)

Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)
Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)

Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)
Can’t read my, Can’t read my / No he can’t read my poker face
(she’s got me like nobody)

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)

P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)
P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face / (Mum mum mum mah)

(Lyrics from azlyrics)

Question Time: Shortcuts

Question Time is a series in which we open up the floor to you, commenters. We invite you to share as you feel comfortable.

Are there any “shortcuts” to save time/energy/et cetera that you make use of in daily life? How did you discover or hear about them? How do they help with your condition(s), if at all?

Chatterday – Open Thread.

This is our weekly Chatterday! open thread. Use this open thread to talk amongst yourselves: feel free to share a link, have a vent, or spread some joy.

What have you been reading or watching lately (remembering spoiler warnings)? What are you proud of this week? What’s made your teeth itch? What’s going on in your part of the world?

Today’s chatterday backcloth comes via … me. I captured these bees on lavender flowers at a winery down South last year. (Click photo to embiggen – recommended!)

bees on lavender flowers

A Conversation in the Lunch Room

I was sitting in the lunch room at work with a group of co-workers, flipping through the newspapers. I came to an article on the suicide of Marie Osmond’s son, which led to the whole table discussing the incident. And it was immediately underlined for me how little most people know about mental illness and depression. Here’s a brief list of some of the questions and statements that came up during the discussion, the entirety of which I spent shrinking into myself and trying to be invisible:

  • “Is depression even a real disease?”
  • “People who commit suicide don’t really want to die – evolution wouldn’t let us have suicidal tendencies because it goes against survival.”
  • “It must be because his mom had mental health problems too.” Someone inquired if depression was hereditary and the original speaker replied “No, but being around depressed people can turn you into a depressed person.”
  • “I once knew a bipolar. She married my cousin and my mom got so mad, like you should never marry a bipolar because it’s not a good idea for them to have kids.”

Finally, a young man told a long story about his ex-girlfriend, who had experienced major depression, and how it affected her and the serious limitations it caused her. It was a great illustration of the reality of depression and the changes it can cause in day to day life. It was unfortunately concluded with a “so that’s why you can’t be in a relationship with those people, it’s just too hard.”

We’ve got a long way to go, y’all.

Recommended Reading for Gimpuary 151st

Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language and ideas of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.

wheelchaircurling

British wheelchair curling team

Wheelchair Curling Blog: GB’s McCreadie “quietly confident of gold”

Bob Cowan reports Michael [McCreadie, British team captain] saying: “If we play at our best we will be a real handful for any country in the world …. The GB Paralympic teams work just as hard all year round and prepare for our winter games just as much as the competitors who are presently out in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics.”

Check out the rest of the Wheelchair Curling Blog, this Youtube video of wheelchair curling, and this Disaboom writeup which explains the game: Wheelchair Curling: Meet Paralympian Patrick McDonald .

kestrell at Reading in the Dark: Does anyone else experience a sense of horrified fascination whenever they read the word “blind” in a book title? [comments are actually recommended on this one]

What stereotypes do my fellow blind readers feel need to be included in the blind bingo card? Definitely the psychic blind person, although if you can make that an African-American blind person you get double points. And the pathetically helpless blind person, double points for combining it with other negative images of ageism. And the emotionally-isolated blind person, or the blind person who has nothing to do all day because s/he can’t reaqd or pursue any intellectual hobbies.

Washington Post: House approves bill to limit physical restraint of students [WARNING]

The House approved a bill Wednesday to limit the physical restraint and seclusion of students in schools, a response to an investigation last year that found numerous reports of students abused or killed through such disciplinary measures.

The bill, approved 262 to 153 with support from Democrats and two dozen Republicans, would establish safety standards in schools and prohibit physical restraint and seclusion of students except to stop imminent danger of injury.

Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii’s special treatment courts threatened by fiscal crisis

As a result of budget cuts, the 11 treatment courts, including those for adults with mental health issues and families with substance abuse problems, are handling fewer cases, providing less treatment and delaying more services, Judiciary officials say. At least one court is at risk of running out of treatment money by the end of the fiscal year, five have wait lists for accepting new clients, and O’ahu’s Adult Drug Court has reduced its treatment capacity by nearly 20 percent.

BBC: More help for adults with autism

Plans have been published by ministers in England to tackle the “social exclusion” of adults with autism. Campaigners have long accused the state of ignoring adults with the condition – just 15% are in employment and half live at home.

Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News: Burnham teen fights vile online disability abuse

A determined Burnham girl is fighting back against the cyber bullies who posted vile taunts on a web page she created to raise awareness of disabilities.

A Facebook group set up by schoolgirl Lydia Williams, who has a young sister with Down Syndrome, was hijacked by anonymous bloggers who uploaded cruel photos poking fun at disability, and left sick jibes on the comments section.

This is Why We’re Always on about Language

I’m not linking to the original source because the specifics don’t matter. This isn’t about the individual people or the individual documents involved. This is just an example of how the use of ableist language harms disabled people. Sometimes our posts on ableist language are on the abstract side, so here’s something real concrete. The ableist language is “insane” used to mean “this is bad.” The disabled people are me and everyone else who has been abused and has mental illness.

Some context is necessary, though. The first quote is from the comments thread of a post on intimate partner abuse. More specifically it’s about the way people outside the abusive relationship contribute to the abuse. Even staying “neutral” or “not getting involved” contributes to the abuse: when power is unequally shared among people in a relationship, staying neutral is siding with the person with the most power. But much of the time people don’t stop with that much. They actively side with the abuser. (The reasons for this is a subject for another post. Graduate degree dissertations. Books. I’m headed in a different direction right now.)

One of the commenters expressed disgust with the people who’d taken the side of the abuser and ended the comment with:

How insane is that?

Here’s my reply.

It is appalling, frustrating, disappointing. It makes me want to cry every goddamn time I see it because I know my abusers are fine upstanding successful people and I’m fucked up and broken and poor.

It is not insane.

I am insane. I have had delusions and paranoia and hallucinations. There are parts of me I do not talk about ever because I am deeply ashamed of them: what’s wrong with me that this is in me? How can I be this fucked up? I spend every day working on not killing myself because the parts of me that hate me and want me dead never shut up.[1. Unfortunately, none of this is even exaggerated.]

I would like, please, to not have to be the metaphor for abusers and their abettors as well as their victim. I carry enough shame already.

This is why we talk about ableist language. It’s not because we hate fun. It’s not because we have no sense of humor. It’s not because we want to take people’s words away.

It’s because we shouldn’t have to be the metaphors for our own oppressions.

Recommended Reading for February 4th

Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language and ideas of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.

Knox Leader: Talks over parking for disabled in Boronia

…are in talks to put a much-needed “disabled” car parking space in front of the school after a mother was forced to park in a no-go zone and fined for it. A Wantirna mum is livid at Knox Council for having no “disabled” spot at her daughter’s school and then fining her $117 for parking in a school safety zone. But she said she had no choice because there was no “disabled” parking outside the school. Her daughter, 5, who has a disability, has just started at the school. […]

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development spokesman Nick Higgins said when a child with a disability was enrolled at a mainstream school, the needs of the child were assessed and catered for through the department’s integration program. Where possible the department also advocated for indented parallel car parking spaces outside school grounds. But Mr Higgins put the onus for “disabled” parking on the council.

The Lariat Online (Baylor University): Faculty Senate focuses on Disabilities, BU bookstore

Faculty members have recently been looking into concerns about how far to go to accommodate disabled students. Dae Vasek, director of the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation for Baylor, addressed some of the concerns of the faculty at the meeting.

Dr. Dennis Myers, chair of Faculty Senate, said an example concern was if a student with a disability is required to follow the same attendance policy as other students.

Vasek said the answer was yes. Myers said faculty members were also concerned about students who might disrupt class, such as students who have panic attacks. “It is not permissible, whatever the accommodation for the student, for the student’s behavior to be disruptive to the class,” Myers said.

Students who have disabilities that may be disruptive are asked to sit in the back of class.

Edmonton Journal: NDP MP’s bill seeks to outlaw genetic discrimination

Increased use of genetic testing is leaving Canadians more vulnerable to discrimination on the basis of their genetic characteristics, a Winnipeg MP says.

“We’re starting to hear about people who are actually losing job opportunities, employment opportunities because of (their) genetic characteristics. So it’s a real issue,” Judy Wasylycia-Leis told a news conference Thursday, flanked by members of the newly created Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness.

Assiya at For a Fairer Today: Time

Sometimes when people ask me what activities I do, I jokingly include my health as an activity. I either say, “I get sick a lot” or “and I have chronic health problems” or something like that. Often it’s kind of awkward and I make a mental note to never say that again (until the next time of course). But here’s the thing: being ill, or disabled, or whatever label you want to afix, takes a LOT of time.

Nilesh Singit at Disability News Wolrdwide: The Right to Learn

Universal primary education by 2015: this is the second of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed by every country in the world in 2000. Yet this mission will only succeed if it reaches all children, including those with disabilities. Today more than 80% of all children in developing countries are enrolled in primary school, but up to 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school.

Panel at The Guardian: A matter of life, death and assisted dying

After two high-profile court cases reignited the arguments around assisted deaths last week, Observer policy editor Anushka Asthana brought together five of the most outspoken figures in this controversial debate and put to them the most challenging questions raised by these cases.

See also:

Madeleine Teahan at The Guardian: A welcome message for the weak

BBC Daily View: Assisted suicide law clarification

Clair Lewis at The Independent: Disabled people need assistance to live, not die

Dominic Lawson at The Independent: Who are we to decide that a dependent life is a pointless life?

[NB: These latter links are purely for your information. I request that you take discussions of the pros and cons of euthanasia/assisted suicide elsewhere. Thanks. ~L]

Recommended Reading for March 3rd

Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language and ideas of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.

captionedplay

A scene from an open-captioned performance of “Twelfth Night” in Central Park last year.

New York Times: Making Broadway Accessible for the Disabled

“No one wants to feel left out of a performance,” said Lisa Carling, the director of the Theater Development Fund’s [TDF] accessibility program, which offers assistance to theatergoers with physical disabilities. “If you miss a punchline or a dramatic statement, everyone else is included but you are not.”

Pulling out a comment from this article from “HAROLDAM” of Ft Myers:

I dislike the metaphors “the” and “disabled.” We are not a generic ” ‘the’ disabled” […] “Universal access” is a metaphor that is appearing quite often, it intends that venues not disable people from attending, participating. That electric door that opens for you, opens for people with disabilities. That curb cut that allows wheelchairs easy access, allows baby carriages the same access.

aris_tgd in access_fandom on dreamwidth: Dancing on Wheels ep 3: Simone, Harry, and the reality TV narrative.

So the drama in Episode 3 of Dancing on Wheels is interesting because it’s the first time on the show they’ve really talked about the representation of people with disabilities on and because of the show. And given the subject, I’d like to talk about the edit that the producers gave Simone and Harry this week.

sarahj at My Own Last Words: Celebrity Stuttering

Connecting to other people who stutter is important to me. People like Marty Jezer, who embrace their identity as someone who stutters, make me more inspired to accept me and my stutter as they are. Celebrities that hide and denounce their stutter as a childhood vice plays into the “inspiring disabled person” story that I and many others detest.

Bernama.com: Facilitate Accessibility For Disabled, Urges Chew

The disabled are finding the environment increasingly unfriendly, no thanks to a wonderful law which glaringly lacks proper enforcement. […]

These were among encumbrances that need to be addressed to facilitate the accessibility of a disabled person, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun. Expressing displeasure towards the snail-pace progress in creating a barrier-free environment, she said:

“A wonderful law without proper enforcement cannot create a disabled-friendly environment…a lack of cooperation from the local authorities would make it almost impossible to create a barrier-free environment.”

Washington Post: Parity law requires mental health benefits comparable to physical care benefits

While visits to [Denise Camp’s] internist for physical problems required a $20 co-pay, her weekly therapy sessions with a social worker cost $50 and trips to the psychiatrist who prescribed her medication were $75. A similar disparity applied to medicines: Drugs to treat the crippling depression that ended her engineering career cost her twice what she paid for an antibiotic. […]

Camp is among an estimated 140 million Americans, most of them covered by group insurance plans provided by employers, who are the beneficiaries of a sweeping new federal law designed to guarantee parity in insurance coverage.

The law, which took effect for most plans Jan. 1, applies to groups of more than 50 employees and is designed to end what Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called “needless and arbitrary limits on care.” Higher deductibles, steeper co-pays and other restrictions are no longer allowed for mental health and substance abuse treatment.

The Mainichi Daily News: People with disabilities snubbed by Tottori prefectural housing complex manager

The manager of a prefectural housing complex appointed by the Tottori Prefectural Government refused to rent apartments to three people on the grounds that they had disabilities, it has been learned. […]

Officials said that the 25 people were selected to enter the 156-apartment complex in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, in August and December last year and January this year. A prefectural official reportedly handed over information on the 25, including the name of the householder, the number of people in each home, and data on whether there were elderly or people with disabilities. The official also verbally conveyed the level of disability of three candidates who used wheelchairs.

The manager subsequently refused to allow two of the disabled people to enter the apartments. One other person with a hearing disability who was selected in June last year was also turned away by the complex manager on the grounds that he had a disability.