I think its interesting how your taste buds change as you get older. I have never been a very good fruit eater. I like bananas and I like cantaloupe and watermelon, but I don't eat any fruit consistently. On a rare occasion I'll eat a few strawberries. I seriously disliked orange juice and oranges. I would eat fruit cocktail as a kid but that was about it. And I thought it was gross to eat fruit with protein like chicken or fish.
Now I find myself experimenting a bit more with food, including fruit. I really like orange juice now. Last night I ate tuna salad with a small bowl of canned peaches on the side...and it was good! I really liked the combination of flavors, the saltiness of the tuna with the sweetness of the peaches.
Did I just sound like a judge on "Top Chef"? LOL
A silly thing to blog about? Perhaps. But I'm trying to be more consistent with my blogging. To share my thoughts and observations - about everything from politics to food, and stuff in between. :)
Not a very thought-provoking post, I agree. But did it make you hungry? :)
librarianintx
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Writing
http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/people-first-empowering-people-with-disabilities
BloggersUnite had asked for bloggers and writers to make a commitment to blog on Saturday, July 24th. The goal was to raise awareness about persons with disabilities, two days before the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I received a message through Facebook, so I went to the BloggersUnite web site, and signed up to participate.
But I didn't blog that day.
And I didn't blog the next day either.
I am embarassed to say that I have not blogged since May 24th. Even though I endeavor to blog at least a few times per week.
I keep a handwritten journal as well. As much as I like computers, my first love will always be archiving my thoughts using pen and paper. It is the only craft I partake in, since I have no artisitic ability, no affinity for music, and my eyesight no longer allows me to do needlework. I do feel guilty that trees are dying to support my addiction, but I must admit that purchasing or receiving a new journal affords me quite an exceptional high. Obviously its not such a bad thing to be hooked on, but I often have to avoid the office and educational supplies section of stores like HEB or Target. Back to School displays are especially dangerous. And lets not even discuss the "fine art of writing" materials at Barnes and Noble. Ornate journals almost too lovely to write in, beautiful pens in assorted colors, have I mentioned the delicate stationery and decorated boxes of notecards in assorted designs?
....deep breath
But I have not written in my journal as much as I'd like to, either.
And why?
Two reasons mainly, one practical, and one emotional.
The practical reason is pure and simple: time.
I have been raised to always compare my life to others, and therefore find myself lacking, so I am a natural at the sport. An example: A friend of mine is raising four children. Yes, he has a partner. No, he does not have a disability. Yes, he has two months off in the summer because he works at a school. Anyway, he arises at some ridiculous hour (4 am? 5 am?) and works out a gym. He tends a garden in his backyard. He actually uses those vegetables in recipes he creates. He performs in local theatre productions, and devotes time to auditioning and rehearsing for aforementioned projects.
I only work half time. No husband, no children. I have a cat, but other than trying to trip me in her quest to reach the refrigerator before me, because I MUST be on a course there with the sole intention of feeding her, she does not ask too much of me otherwise. I just have to keep in mind that the bed is more hers than mine, and if I leave my shoes on the floor that is considered an invitation for her to chew on them. As are my bare feet when they're outside the covers at any time during the night. Since I am sleeping on HER bed, after all. She, Goldie Locks. Me, baby bear.
But instead of blogging or journaling, my weekdays are spent travelling to and from work using the city's paratransit service. Let me see if I can succinctly describe my daily commute. Okay, here we go: one word. LONG. Hours spent, usually in the backseat, of converted police cars. There are no headrests in the backseat of cop cars. Does the police department care about the comfort of alleged criminals? No, and apparently the city's paratransit service doesn't either. Every day I have an important decision to make: try to hold my head up, risking a sore neck and abdominal muscles, or choose to go for the lean and try not look like I've slipped into a coma. The car is much preferable to the paratransit bus, however. I compare those rides to something you'd expereience at a theme park, a carnival, or maybe a bucking bronco at a rodeo. As long as I hold on for dear life to the seat ahead of me and beg the driver to go slow over speed bumps and road humps, I can usually make it to my destination without wondering if I've damaged any vertebrae.
Once I get home, my afternoon and evenings (and some weekends) are usually spent taking care of the daily household duties that my personal care attendant has been hired to do. In the roughly five months that this particular person has been working for me, she has been to the emergency room, one of her five children has been to the emergency room, her other clients have had emergencies, her mother has had an emergency, she has been in more than one car accident, she has run out of gas multiple times...and it has been raining. Not like a tornado or something like that. Just...raining. Even when she does decide to grace me with her presence, she apparently has her clocks set to pacific instead of central time, since our meeting time is three o'clock and she usually arrives around five.
So often there isn't enough physical and mental energy left for writing after the chores are completed. Energy and hours in the day.
So those are the practical reasons for my lapses in writing. I have other excuses too, like the daily phone and web cam chats with my mother, and the barrage of television shows, movies, and music that my entertainment-addicted housemate lures me into. The newest is a BBC show about three roommates who appear human, but in reality they are a vampire, a wherewolf, and a ghost. Ok, I know, but its actually good! Although I guess I shouldn’t use the phrase “in reality.” Even reality shows aren’t real.
But I digress. Moving on to the emotional component. Back to the competition thing (refer to page _ , paragraph _ , section _ ) I'm not good enough. My writing isn't good enough. Why bother? What's the point?
When I think of other people writing, I envision a scene from a romance novel or movie. A beautiful girl with long, flowing hair, in a flowing skirt, sitting on a mountain watching the sun rise (or set, I'm not picky on that detail), a serene look on her face, gliding her pen smoothly over the paper as she writes for hours without pause. Contrast that to how I (and probably many other people) write: in fits and starts, either with wads of paper on the floor and pens thrown across the room, or banging on the keyboard in frustration, howling as I pace the room, and disentagling the strands of hair from my fingers that I've pulled from my head....
Mmmmm...if they ever need a female wherewolf character for that show, I should audition. Except they'd have to hire a voiceover to do the actual howling. Not enough lung capacity.
My journey from childhood where my disability was ignored to present day life as an openly physically-challenged individual continues to evolve. The reasons for the denial are numerous and complex. My father was also affected by the neuromuscular disorder, but was not diagnosed until I was. I was sixteen months old; he was thirty-two.
No one can say I was adopted. Well, my older and only sister tried the baby in a basket on the doorstep story, but I knew it wasn't true. I have always been the female version of my father. Same long, thin face. Same ears - huge. Same sense of humor. Similar limitations.
My father worked long hours managing a jewelry store. His job necessitated moving the family four times in less than ten years. He didn't like vegetables, avoided going to the doctor, and stood for hours each day on leg muscles that weren't strong enough.
In the last image I have of my father, he is sitting at the dining room table, weak and shaking. He has been ill for a few days. My mother hands him a glass of orange juice, but he can't hold it. The glass falls, but does not break, as some of the liquid spreads out on the chocolate-colored carpet. My sister and I are hurried out the front door and off to school. By the next afternoon he is dead of a massive heart attack.
He was forty one years old.
I was nine.
Was my father's death the reason that my mother couldn't even utter the name of my condition until I was in my middle teens, and the accompanying conditions of severe scoliosis and malformed jaws necessitated two major surgeries in the span of three months? Or did the ostrich-like behavior (head in the sand) begin with my father and was simply continued after his death? Was it guilt on the part of my parents, because they knew there was something physically wrong with my dad and they never attempted to investigate? Why did they turn a blind eye to a possible genetic disorder?
I probably will never have an answer to my questions. My grandparents and my father are gone, and my mother has a very difficult time speaking about such matters. She only told me about three years ago that her father died of melanoma. Which of course makes my sister, myself, and my mother at higher risk for the deadly form of cancer. Would have been a good idea to know this, and to take more precautions, such as preventing the significant sunburns I had as a child.
Many people with disabilities talk about the societal struggles they've faced, dealing with mainstreaming in school, lack of friends, social isolation, bullying, employment problems, etc. But my struggles have been more familial rather than societal. Sure, I got teased as a child. I was always the smallest student, I had short, kinky brown hair, and an overbite of Grand Canyon proportions. Dodgeball and Red Rover are nightmares I don't want to re-visit. I rode a bicycle with training wheels until I was in the fifth grade, when I finally gave up on the dream of one day having enough strength and balance to ride a two wheeler. I had guys in high school pretend to ask me out, then laugh themselves silly, believing that I thought they were serious.
I knew they weren't.
And yes, I have had society-based frustrations, transportation and attendant care being the major ones. But by far my greatest journey has been accepting myself as a person with a disability, and learning to overcome both the denial of my immediate family and the hopefully unintentionally insensitive comments expressed by my extended family. Questions like, "When are you going to get a real job?" when I had been employed for several years in the professional, albeit half-time librarian position that I still hold today. Or "You should eat a banana every day" - this uttered by the well-meaning, clueless uncle who has been convinced since I was sixteen years old that my uber thin frame is due to anorexia.
Its very difficult to write about family, to expose these hurts and tell these stories. It was hard the first time I had pains in my chest that resembled pleurisy and my mother told me I was just nervous. I was amazed that when my brother in law's recklessness caused my foot to be run over by my own wheelchair, a security guard saw me crying and came over to inquire as my brother in law, sister, and mother all stood there laughing. Isolated incidents? Unfortunately, no.
Does my family love me? Without a doubt, yes. Do they understand me - my needs, my desires, my viewpoints - no.
I just finished reading a book called Thicker Than Water; it is a collection of essays written by adult siblings of people with disabilities. I have no idea what my sister would say if she contributed a chapter. My sister doesn't communicate her feelings to me, about anything. I am pretty much invisible to her most of the time. It hasn't always been that way. We never shared a room, but there were summer nights growing up when I would sleep in her twin bed and we would giggle long into the night. I don't know what happened to us, and I'm not sure she would be able to articulate a reason for her distance. Its probably complicated, but that's as far as I'm willing to speculate. Somehow I remain hopeful that our relationship could improve. Its never too late.
I think a big part of my optimism stems from the three daughters she and my brother in law have raised. For all the turbulence and lack of care I have often faced in their presence, I have received nothing less than complete acceptance and love by their children. One day I was complaining about how terrible my teeth looked in a picture. My youngest niece said to me, "I like your teeth. They are a part of who you are."
She was twelve years old at the time.
I aspire to be as intelligent, resilient, and capable as they are.
I worry that anyone who reads this will view my words as a pity party. Poor me, look at what I've been through. I hope you can believe me when I say that I am grateful. Grateful for the people in my life, grateful for the life I've been able to carve for myself, grateful for the independence that I've been able to achieve. I have amazing role models. My BFF is a woman who has the same disability I do. She escaped a life of true familial neglect that nearly took her life. She moved halfway across the country on her own, has been employed full time for twenty years, and is happily married to her college sweetheart. She is one of the strongest and bravest people I know, and her example has helped shape my destiny.
Every day I endeavor to practice resiliency, experience happiness, learn, grow, DO.
librarianintx
BloggersUnite had asked for bloggers and writers to make a commitment to blog on Saturday, July 24th. The goal was to raise awareness about persons with disabilities, two days before the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I received a message through Facebook, so I went to the BloggersUnite web site, and signed up to participate.
But I didn't blog that day.
And I didn't blog the next day either.
I am embarassed to say that I have not blogged since May 24th. Even though I endeavor to blog at least a few times per week.
I keep a handwritten journal as well. As much as I like computers, my first love will always be archiving my thoughts using pen and paper. It is the only craft I partake in, since I have no artisitic ability, no affinity for music, and my eyesight no longer allows me to do needlework. I do feel guilty that trees are dying to support my addiction, but I must admit that purchasing or receiving a new journal affords me quite an exceptional high. Obviously its not such a bad thing to be hooked on, but I often have to avoid the office and educational supplies section of stores like HEB or Target. Back to School displays are especially dangerous. And lets not even discuss the "fine art of writing" materials at Barnes and Noble. Ornate journals almost too lovely to write in, beautiful pens in assorted colors, have I mentioned the delicate stationery and decorated boxes of notecards in assorted designs?
....deep breath
But I have not written in my journal as much as I'd like to, either.
And why?
Two reasons mainly, one practical, and one emotional.
The practical reason is pure and simple: time.
I have been raised to always compare my life to others, and therefore find myself lacking, so I am a natural at the sport. An example: A friend of mine is raising four children. Yes, he has a partner. No, he does not have a disability. Yes, he has two months off in the summer because he works at a school. Anyway, he arises at some ridiculous hour (4 am? 5 am?) and works out a gym. He tends a garden in his backyard. He actually uses those vegetables in recipes he creates. He performs in local theatre productions, and devotes time to auditioning and rehearsing for aforementioned projects.
I only work half time. No husband, no children. I have a cat, but other than trying to trip me in her quest to reach the refrigerator before me, because I MUST be on a course there with the sole intention of feeding her, she does not ask too much of me otherwise. I just have to keep in mind that the bed is more hers than mine, and if I leave my shoes on the floor that is considered an invitation for her to chew on them. As are my bare feet when they're outside the covers at any time during the night. Since I am sleeping on HER bed, after all. She, Goldie Locks. Me, baby bear.
But instead of blogging or journaling, my weekdays are spent travelling to and from work using the city's paratransit service. Let me see if I can succinctly describe my daily commute. Okay, here we go: one word. LONG. Hours spent, usually in the backseat, of converted police cars. There are no headrests in the backseat of cop cars. Does the police department care about the comfort of alleged criminals? No, and apparently the city's paratransit service doesn't either. Every day I have an important decision to make: try to hold my head up, risking a sore neck and abdominal muscles, or choose to go for the lean and try not look like I've slipped into a coma. The car is much preferable to the paratransit bus, however. I compare those rides to something you'd expereience at a theme park, a carnival, or maybe a bucking bronco at a rodeo. As long as I hold on for dear life to the seat ahead of me and beg the driver to go slow over speed bumps and road humps, I can usually make it to my destination without wondering if I've damaged any vertebrae.
Once I get home, my afternoon and evenings (and some weekends) are usually spent taking care of the daily household duties that my personal care attendant has been hired to do. In the roughly five months that this particular person has been working for me, she has been to the emergency room, one of her five children has been to the emergency room, her other clients have had emergencies, her mother has had an emergency, she has been in more than one car accident, she has run out of gas multiple times...and it has been raining. Not like a tornado or something like that. Just...raining. Even when she does decide to grace me with her presence, she apparently has her clocks set to pacific instead of central time, since our meeting time is three o'clock and she usually arrives around five.
So often there isn't enough physical and mental energy left for writing after the chores are completed. Energy and hours in the day.
So those are the practical reasons for my lapses in writing. I have other excuses too, like the daily phone and web cam chats with my mother, and the barrage of television shows, movies, and music that my entertainment-addicted housemate lures me into. The newest is a BBC show about three roommates who appear human, but in reality they are a vampire, a wherewolf, and a ghost. Ok, I know, but its actually good! Although I guess I shouldn’t use the phrase “in reality.” Even reality shows aren’t real.
But I digress. Moving on to the emotional component. Back to the competition thing (refer to page _ , paragraph _ , section _ ) I'm not good enough. My writing isn't good enough. Why bother? What's the point?
When I think of other people writing, I envision a scene from a romance novel or movie. A beautiful girl with long, flowing hair, in a flowing skirt, sitting on a mountain watching the sun rise (or set, I'm not picky on that detail), a serene look on her face, gliding her pen smoothly over the paper as she writes for hours without pause. Contrast that to how I (and probably many other people) write: in fits and starts, either with wads of paper on the floor and pens thrown across the room, or banging on the keyboard in frustration, howling as I pace the room, and disentagling the strands of hair from my fingers that I've pulled from my head....
Mmmmm...if they ever need a female wherewolf character for that show, I should audition. Except they'd have to hire a voiceover to do the actual howling. Not enough lung capacity.
My journey from childhood where my disability was ignored to present day life as an openly physically-challenged individual continues to evolve. The reasons for the denial are numerous and complex. My father was also affected by the neuromuscular disorder, but was not diagnosed until I was. I was sixteen months old; he was thirty-two.
No one can say I was adopted. Well, my older and only sister tried the baby in a basket on the doorstep story, but I knew it wasn't true. I have always been the female version of my father. Same long, thin face. Same ears - huge. Same sense of humor. Similar limitations.
My father worked long hours managing a jewelry store. His job necessitated moving the family four times in less than ten years. He didn't like vegetables, avoided going to the doctor, and stood for hours each day on leg muscles that weren't strong enough.
In the last image I have of my father, he is sitting at the dining room table, weak and shaking. He has been ill for a few days. My mother hands him a glass of orange juice, but he can't hold it. The glass falls, but does not break, as some of the liquid spreads out on the chocolate-colored carpet. My sister and I are hurried out the front door and off to school. By the next afternoon he is dead of a massive heart attack.
He was forty one years old.
I was nine.
Was my father's death the reason that my mother couldn't even utter the name of my condition until I was in my middle teens, and the accompanying conditions of severe scoliosis and malformed jaws necessitated two major surgeries in the span of three months? Or did the ostrich-like behavior (head in the sand) begin with my father and was simply continued after his death? Was it guilt on the part of my parents, because they knew there was something physically wrong with my dad and they never attempted to investigate? Why did they turn a blind eye to a possible genetic disorder?
I probably will never have an answer to my questions. My grandparents and my father are gone, and my mother has a very difficult time speaking about such matters. She only told me about three years ago that her father died of melanoma. Which of course makes my sister, myself, and my mother at higher risk for the deadly form of cancer. Would have been a good idea to know this, and to take more precautions, such as preventing the significant sunburns I had as a child.
Many people with disabilities talk about the societal struggles they've faced, dealing with mainstreaming in school, lack of friends, social isolation, bullying, employment problems, etc. But my struggles have been more familial rather than societal. Sure, I got teased as a child. I was always the smallest student, I had short, kinky brown hair, and an overbite of Grand Canyon proportions. Dodgeball and Red Rover are nightmares I don't want to re-visit. I rode a bicycle with training wheels until I was in the fifth grade, when I finally gave up on the dream of one day having enough strength and balance to ride a two wheeler. I had guys in high school pretend to ask me out, then laugh themselves silly, believing that I thought they were serious.
I knew they weren't.
And yes, I have had society-based frustrations, transportation and attendant care being the major ones. But by far my greatest journey has been accepting myself as a person with a disability, and learning to overcome both the denial of my immediate family and the hopefully unintentionally insensitive comments expressed by my extended family. Questions like, "When are you going to get a real job?" when I had been employed for several years in the professional, albeit half-time librarian position that I still hold today. Or "You should eat a banana every day" - this uttered by the well-meaning, clueless uncle who has been convinced since I was sixteen years old that my uber thin frame is due to anorexia.
Its very difficult to write about family, to expose these hurts and tell these stories. It was hard the first time I had pains in my chest that resembled pleurisy and my mother told me I was just nervous. I was amazed that when my brother in law's recklessness caused my foot to be run over by my own wheelchair, a security guard saw me crying and came over to inquire as my brother in law, sister, and mother all stood there laughing. Isolated incidents? Unfortunately, no.
Does my family love me? Without a doubt, yes. Do they understand me - my needs, my desires, my viewpoints - no.
I just finished reading a book called Thicker Than Water; it is a collection of essays written by adult siblings of people with disabilities. I have no idea what my sister would say if she contributed a chapter. My sister doesn't communicate her feelings to me, about anything. I am pretty much invisible to her most of the time. It hasn't always been that way. We never shared a room, but there were summer nights growing up when I would sleep in her twin bed and we would giggle long into the night. I don't know what happened to us, and I'm not sure she would be able to articulate a reason for her distance. Its probably complicated, but that's as far as I'm willing to speculate. Somehow I remain hopeful that our relationship could improve. Its never too late.
I think a big part of my optimism stems from the three daughters she and my brother in law have raised. For all the turbulence and lack of care I have often faced in their presence, I have received nothing less than complete acceptance and love by their children. One day I was complaining about how terrible my teeth looked in a picture. My youngest niece said to me, "I like your teeth. They are a part of who you are."
She was twelve years old at the time.
I aspire to be as intelligent, resilient, and capable as they are.
I worry that anyone who reads this will view my words as a pity party. Poor me, look at what I've been through. I hope you can believe me when I say that I am grateful. Grateful for the people in my life, grateful for the life I've been able to carve for myself, grateful for the independence that I've been able to achieve. I have amazing role models. My BFF is a woman who has the same disability I do. She escaped a life of true familial neglect that nearly took her life. She moved halfway across the country on her own, has been employed full time for twenty years, and is happily married to her college sweetheart. She is one of the strongest and bravest people I know, and her example has helped shape my destiny.
Every day I endeavor to practice resiliency, experience happiness, learn, grow, DO.
librarianintx
Monday, May 24, 2010
Lost
For six seasons I have liked and disliked, been frustrated and captivated by this show. For years I have sat quietly and listened while my sci-fi friends dissected, discussed, and theorized about Babylon 5, Dr. Who, the various Star Trek shows, etc. My first foray into these conversations was with Battlestar Galactica, as we talked about the social, political, and religious themes of the show.
And then came Lost.
I don't do scary. And I don't do gross. So the show almost lost me from the very beginning. But I was fascinated. I wanted to understand what was going on. I wanted to make sense of it all. I enjoyed being surprised every week, even though I don't usually enjoy surprises. I liked being confused, also rare for me.
I didn't always like it, though. I broke up with Lost as least twice that I can remember. I just got too frustrated with all the twists and turns. Too many questions and no answers. Too many new characters and new situations to keep up with. I gave up.
But I went back. I willingly got lost again.
At the heart of any show for me, sci fi or otherwise, is character development. You're going to hook me if you present me with characters that I can fall in love with, that I can care about, that make me want to tune in every week to see what happens to them. And Lost absolutely did that. Every character was so interesting, so compelling, so multi-dimensional. As one fan wrote, "There is a smoke monster in all of us." I don't necessarily like to believe that is true, but it probably is. Actually, I'd rather believe there is a Hurley in all of us.
Lost WAS about the smoke monster and the polar bears and the donkey wheel for me. But it was even more about Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Locke, Claire, Charlie, Aaron, Sun, Jin, Juliet, Desmond, Penny, Shannon, Boone, Rose, Bernard, Michael, Walt, Russo, Libby, Mr. Ecko, and the rest. And yes, it was even about Ben, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel, Charles Whitmore, and Eloise. It was about Jacob and the Man in Black. And of course it was about Vincent! Dare I say it was even about Nikki and Paolo? :)
I wish we knew the real name of the Man in Black.
Before anyone is amazed that I remembered all those names, I'll admit that I didn't. Even though in every episode they continually say each others names, I still had to look several of them up in wikipedia. :) And I still can't remember Ben's daughter's name. Arg!! Oh wait, its Alex. Yea! I remembered without having to look it up!
I have always said I'm not smart enough to be watching this show. I was confused all the time, including at the end. I don't know enough about mythology. I'm not a Christian. I was an English major for awhile in college, but I didn't get most of the literature references. But I kept watching. Because I wanted to understand it. And because I wanted to see what would happen next.
The way I coped with not understanding was to at least think I could try to remember everything that happened. So I started taking notes. I currently have notes for seasons one through four. I don't know if I'll go back and take notes on the last two seasons. I wonder if the story will become more clear if I do that.
So thank you Lost, for six seasons of incredibly smart, innovative, engrossing television. It was all worth the ride.
librarianintx
And then came Lost.
I don't do scary. And I don't do gross. So the show almost lost me from the very beginning. But I was fascinated. I wanted to understand what was going on. I wanted to make sense of it all. I enjoyed being surprised every week, even though I don't usually enjoy surprises. I liked being confused, also rare for me.
I didn't always like it, though. I broke up with Lost as least twice that I can remember. I just got too frustrated with all the twists and turns. Too many questions and no answers. Too many new characters and new situations to keep up with. I gave up.
But I went back. I willingly got lost again.
At the heart of any show for me, sci fi or otherwise, is character development. You're going to hook me if you present me with characters that I can fall in love with, that I can care about, that make me want to tune in every week to see what happens to them. And Lost absolutely did that. Every character was so interesting, so compelling, so multi-dimensional. As one fan wrote, "There is a smoke monster in all of us." I don't necessarily like to believe that is true, but it probably is. Actually, I'd rather believe there is a Hurley in all of us.
Lost WAS about the smoke monster and the polar bears and the donkey wheel for me. But it was even more about Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Locke, Claire, Charlie, Aaron, Sun, Jin, Juliet, Desmond, Penny, Shannon, Boone, Rose, Bernard, Michael, Walt, Russo, Libby, Mr. Ecko, and the rest. And yes, it was even about Ben, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel, Charles Whitmore, and Eloise. It was about Jacob and the Man in Black. And of course it was about Vincent! Dare I say it was even about Nikki and Paolo? :)
I wish we knew the real name of the Man in Black.
Before anyone is amazed that I remembered all those names, I'll admit that I didn't. Even though in every episode they continually say each others names, I still had to look several of them up in wikipedia. :) And I still can't remember Ben's daughter's name. Arg!! Oh wait, its Alex. Yea! I remembered without having to look it up!
I have always said I'm not smart enough to be watching this show. I was confused all the time, including at the end. I don't know enough about mythology. I'm not a Christian. I was an English major for awhile in college, but I didn't get most of the literature references. But I kept watching. Because I wanted to understand it. And because I wanted to see what would happen next.
The way I coped with not understanding was to at least think I could try to remember everything that happened. So I started taking notes. I currently have notes for seasons one through four. I don't know if I'll go back and take notes on the last two seasons. I wonder if the story will become more clear if I do that.
So thank you Lost, for six seasons of incredibly smart, innovative, engrossing television. It was all worth the ride.
librarianintx
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Yea, wifi!
Okay, it only took me nearly six months to do it, but I finally got the AT&T uverse wifi to work in the apartment! YEA! Three reasons why it took so long:
1) I've been busy
2) I tried a few times and couldn't figure it out.
3) Historically I can't figure things out on my own so I put off trying to do it.
Now before I get too excited, I d0 have to remind myself that:
1) The uverse installation man actually wrote out exactly what information I needed, but I overlooked it, and...
2) My wonderful computer friend gave me a big hint that helped me figure it out.
So I did not figure it out 100% on my own. But hey, 75% is still pretty exciting. I can count it as 75%, can't I?
Wifi rocks. I can now blog anywhere in the apartment. Well, I could do that anyway with my Blackberry. But typing is easier on a laptop than on a smartphone. I'm not the greatest typist on a laptop, but now I'll have more opportunities to practice. :)
It feels so good to figure something out by myself, at least mostly by myself. I was probably working on it for only about 20 minutes so far today. But when that webpage finally appeared after several failed attempts, I cried out, "Ahhh! Its working! I got it!"
Feels good to have something to cheer about today.
librarianintx
1) I've been busy
2) I tried a few times and couldn't figure it out.
3) Historically I can't figure things out on my own so I put off trying to do it.
Now before I get too excited, I d0 have to remind myself that:
1) The uverse installation man actually wrote out exactly what information I needed, but I overlooked it, and...
2) My wonderful computer friend gave me a big hint that helped me figure it out.
So I did not figure it out 100% on my own. But hey, 75% is still pretty exciting. I can count it as 75%, can't I?
Wifi rocks. I can now blog anywhere in the apartment. Well, I could do that anyway with my Blackberry. But typing is easier on a laptop than on a smartphone. I'm not the greatest typist on a laptop, but now I'll have more opportunities to practice. :)
It feels so good to figure something out by myself, at least mostly by myself. I was probably working on it for only about 20 minutes so far today. But when that webpage finally appeared after several failed attempts, I cried out, "Ahhh! Its working! I got it!"
Feels good to have something to cheer about today.
librarianintx
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Technology and autism
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/personal-tech/apple/for-autistic-kids-idevices-are-life-changers/article1530164/
When you enter Emily Buczek’s Toronto classroom, it’s like Times Square: Everywhere you look, there’s a new visual distraction.
A picture of each student is tacked onto a large, colourful map above his or her country of origin (Emily’s mug hovers over Poland).
There’s a shelf of well-loved toys – a slumped-over clown, a plush frog – and rows of picture books, among them Emily’s favourite: a cardboard volume of Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
All these diversions are there to keep up with students’ fleeting attention spans: Emily and her peers at Beverley School all have developmental and/or physical disabilities.
Emily, a profoundly autistic 13-year-old with an overgrown pixie cut and fingernails that have been cut or chewed to the quick, doesn’t fit the stereotype of an early adopter of the iPad.
But parents and educators of children with developmental disabilities – particularly autism spectrum disorders (ASD) – have celebrated its release. While the device was created mostly for media consumption, it has plenty of surprising uses for children with such disabilities.
Emily doesn’t have an iPad in her hands yet, but the learning curve won’t be very steep when it’s released in Canada at the end of the month – she’s already mastered the iPod Touch at school and at home.
It’s been a godsend, her mother Christina says. With an autistic child, even the simplest tasks can be emotionally and physically draining.
She recalls many days when Emily, who is mostly non-verbal, indicated she wanted to go shopping – but wouldn’t say where.
“I’d be driving her toward one store and pulling in and she’d be really upset because it wasn’t the one she wanted,” she says. “It’s wasting a lot of time, it’s a lot of frustration.”
But then she downloaded the iConverse app on Emily’s iPod Touch. One of many assisted communication programs available for people with disabilities, it allowed Ms. Buczek to load photos of her daughter’s favourite stores, set to audio recordings of their names. Now all Emily has to do is run the app and click on the button that corresponds with her choice.
While Apple has not yet revealed Canadian prices for the iPad (it starts at $500 in the U.S.), Ms. Buczek says a price tag of even several hundred dollars would be significantly cheaper (not to mention more portable) than some of the assisted communication devices currently on the market, which can cost more than $10,000.
Emily, like many kids with ASD, struggles with her fine motor skills, and a larger screen would help her navigate the apps with greater precision, Ms. Buczek says.
At Emily’s school, six teachers are using the iPod Touch with their developmentally-disabled students, as part of a University of Toronto study led by faculty of information professor Rhonda McEwen. Professor McEwen wants to see how it can help them communicate.
So far, their greatest use is easing anxiety among students, says Emily’s teacher, Ian Stuart.
The iPod Touch that he uses with his class has been outfitted with speakers.
“Touch the bee,” says a tinny female voice in one app. Displayed on the screen is a chocolate bunny, a bee and a shopping cart. Emily’s hooked index finger hovers over all three options before it presses down on the bee.
Mr. Stuart frequently uses apps like this to help Emily focus before she moves on to a new activity in class, since transitions can be very difficult for kids with ASD.
There’s a stack of deep blue one-inch binders in his classroom that are collecting dust. Before, whenever he’d head out with his students, he’d have to bring them along.
Inside each binder are pages of picture cards arranged in various sequences. A picture of a ball and swing followed by a computer means recess is followed by computer time.
Since Mr. Stuart has used the iPod Touch, he’s done away with the binders. All those sequences can be stored in apps on the device, which has become a magic wand of sorts.
“[When we transition], some won’t even look at me,” he says. “But then I’ll pull out the iPod and when they look at it and hear sounds it’s like an epiphany.”
Software developers who enjoyed success with accessibility apps for the iPhone and iPod Touchhave now focused their attention on the iPad.
The latest version of Proloquo2Go, the most popular AAC app in the iTunes store, was released at the start of the month to work on the iPad. As of Friday, it was ranked No. 34 overall in the United States among all 185,000-plus apps.
It can be used by people with disabilities – particularly non-verbal ones, many of whom have strong visual memories – to express their wants and needs.
“It’s just a game changer,” Samuel Sennott, co-creator of the app, says of the iPad. “It’s … [a] portable, table-top solution for people with physical impairments, people with visual impairments. You can see more on the screen.”
For Stacie Carroll, another teacher at Beverley School, there’s another perk to using these gadgets with students: “It’s the cool factor,” she says.
“This is their world. They pick up a cell [phone] and they know what to do with it.”
Whether they’re using an iDevice for scheduling, learning or easing anxiety, the key is that they blend in with other kids, she says.
She uses eight apps regularly with her students, including a few unusual ones. She shows off iSeismo, which graphs even the slightest movements. She’s used it teach her class – a rather fidgety bunch – how to sit still and control their body movements.
Both she and Mr. Stuart say they see great potential in their classrooms for the iPad and its larger interface.
“A camera on [the iPad] would make it nearly perfect,” Ms. Carroll says.
Anissa Hersh, a speech-language pathologist on the ASD team at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board in Hamilton, says she’s interested in seeing how the device might benefit the students she works with as well.
“You have a whole generation of adults now who were never taught independence,” Ms. Hersh says. “If you have this technology, and know how to use it, the idea is that down the road, [they] can use it in their work field.”
Alex Stephens’s five-year-old son Luc has ASD and is “completely infatuated with computers,” he says. He’s an expert with his father’s iPhone, which works as both an entertainment device and an educational tool.
Mr. Stephens can barely keep up with all the unanticipated expenses that come with his son’s disability: special vitamins, speech therapy and social therapy.
At the moment, an iPad is a luxury he can’t afford, he says. “But if I were convinced it would help Luc, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.”
End of article
When you enter Emily Buczek’s Toronto classroom, it’s like Times Square: Everywhere you look, there’s a new visual distraction.
A picture of each student is tacked onto a large, colourful map above his or her country of origin (Emily’s mug hovers over Poland).
There’s a shelf of well-loved toys – a slumped-over clown, a plush frog – and rows of picture books, among them Emily’s favourite: a cardboard volume of Winnie-the-Pooh stories.
All these diversions are there to keep up with students’ fleeting attention spans: Emily and her peers at Beverley School all have developmental and/or physical disabilities.
Emily, a profoundly autistic 13-year-old with an overgrown pixie cut and fingernails that have been cut or chewed to the quick, doesn’t fit the stereotype of an early adopter of the iPad.
But parents and educators of children with developmental disabilities – particularly autism spectrum disorders (ASD) – have celebrated its release. While the device was created mostly for media consumption, it has plenty of surprising uses for children with such disabilities.
Emily doesn’t have an iPad in her hands yet, but the learning curve won’t be very steep when it’s released in Canada at the end of the month – she’s already mastered the iPod Touch at school and at home.
It’s been a godsend, her mother Christina says. With an autistic child, even the simplest tasks can be emotionally and physically draining.
She recalls many days when Emily, who is mostly non-verbal, indicated she wanted to go shopping – but wouldn’t say where.
“I’d be driving her toward one store and pulling in and she’d be really upset because it wasn’t the one she wanted,” she says. “It’s wasting a lot of time, it’s a lot of frustration.”
But then she downloaded the iConverse app on Emily’s iPod Touch. One of many assisted communication programs available for people with disabilities, it allowed Ms. Buczek to load photos of her daughter’s favourite stores, set to audio recordings of their names. Now all Emily has to do is run the app and click on the button that corresponds with her choice.
While Apple has not yet revealed Canadian prices for the iPad (it starts at $500 in the U.S.), Ms. Buczek says a price tag of even several hundred dollars would be significantly cheaper (not to mention more portable) than some of the assisted communication devices currently on the market, which can cost more than $10,000.
Emily, like many kids with ASD, struggles with her fine motor skills, and a larger screen would help her navigate the apps with greater precision, Ms. Buczek says.
At Emily’s school, six teachers are using the iPod Touch with their developmentally-disabled students, as part of a University of Toronto study led by faculty of information professor Rhonda McEwen. Professor McEwen wants to see how it can help them communicate.
So far, their greatest use is easing anxiety among students, says Emily’s teacher, Ian Stuart.
The iPod Touch that he uses with his class has been outfitted with speakers.
“Touch the bee,” says a tinny female voice in one app. Displayed on the screen is a chocolate bunny, a bee and a shopping cart. Emily’s hooked index finger hovers over all three options before it presses down on the bee.
Mr. Stuart frequently uses apps like this to help Emily focus before she moves on to a new activity in class, since transitions can be very difficult for kids with ASD.
There’s a stack of deep blue one-inch binders in his classroom that are collecting dust. Before, whenever he’d head out with his students, he’d have to bring them along.
Inside each binder are pages of picture cards arranged in various sequences. A picture of a ball and swing followed by a computer means recess is followed by computer time.
Since Mr. Stuart has used the iPod Touch, he’s done away with the binders. All those sequences can be stored in apps on the device, which has become a magic wand of sorts.
“[When we transition], some won’t even look at me,” he says. “But then I’ll pull out the iPod and when they look at it and hear sounds it’s like an epiphany.”
Software developers who enjoyed success with accessibility apps for the iPhone and iPod Touchhave now focused their attention on the iPad.
The latest version of Proloquo2Go, the most popular AAC app in the iTunes store, was released at the start of the month to work on the iPad. As of Friday, it was ranked No. 34 overall in the United States among all 185,000-plus apps.
It can be used by people with disabilities – particularly non-verbal ones, many of whom have strong visual memories – to express their wants and needs.
“It’s just a game changer,” Samuel Sennott, co-creator of the app, says of the iPad. “It’s … [a] portable, table-top solution for people with physical impairments, people with visual impairments. You can see more on the screen.”
For Stacie Carroll, another teacher at Beverley School, there’s another perk to using these gadgets with students: “It’s the cool factor,” she says.
“This is their world. They pick up a cell [phone] and they know what to do with it.”
Whether they’re using an iDevice for scheduling, learning or easing anxiety, the key is that they blend in with other kids, she says.
She uses eight apps regularly with her students, including a few unusual ones. She shows off iSeismo, which graphs even the slightest movements. She’s used it teach her class – a rather fidgety bunch – how to sit still and control their body movements.
Both she and Mr. Stuart say they see great potential in their classrooms for the iPad and its larger interface.
“A camera on [the iPad] would make it nearly perfect,” Ms. Carroll says.
Anissa Hersh, a speech-language pathologist on the ASD team at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board in Hamilton, says she’s interested in seeing how the device might benefit the students she works with as well.
“You have a whole generation of adults now who were never taught independence,” Ms. Hersh says. “If you have this technology, and know how to use it, the idea is that down the road, [they] can use it in their work field.”
Alex Stephens’s five-year-old son Luc has ASD and is “completely infatuated with computers,” he says. He’s an expert with his father’s iPhone, which works as both an entertainment device and an educational tool.
Mr. Stephens can barely keep up with all the unanticipated expenses that come with his son’s disability: special vitamins, speech therapy and social therapy.
At the moment, an iPad is a luxury he can’t afford, he says. “But if I were convinced it would help Luc, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.”
End of article
Thursday, April 08, 2010
My "hair trigger" effect
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/07/ultra-sensitive-its-in-your-brain/?hpt=T2
Ultra-sensitive? Its in your brain.
By Elizabeth Landau
CNN.com Health Writer/Producer
If you are particularly sensitive to the world around you - whether it's music, caffeine, other people's emotions, you may have a personality trait called "sensory processing sensitivity."
People who are highly sensitive in this way tend to look and observe and process things deeply, as opposed to boldly going ahead, says Elaine Aron, professor of psychology at Stony Brook University, who helped pioneer research on the subject in the 1990s. Having vivid dreams and being aware of subtleties in your environment are also characteristic of this temperament, she said. Take this quiz to see if this fits you.
Now, Aron's group has shown evidence in the brain that these people are more detail-oriented. The study is published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of 18 participants. They found that people with sensory processing sensitivity tended to have more brain activity in the high-order visual processing regions, and in the right cerebellum, when detecting minor details of photographs presented to them.
"They are better at noticing subtle details in their environments than people without the trait," said Jadzia Jagiellowicz, lead author and doctoral candidate in the department of psychology at Stony Brook University.
Sensory processing sensitivity has been associated with introversion, but only loosely - about 30 percent of highly sensitive people are extroverts, Aron said.
Highly sensitive people probably make good counselors and recruiters, said Jagiellowicz, because of their attention to detail. They are able to more deeply process details as well as emotions, which are good skills in these professions. Accounting, which requires taking in a lot of information at once, may also be a relevant field, she said.
But the study showed that highly sensitive people do not quickly take in these details; in fact, they spend more time looking at them, so a job that requires a quick assessment of minutiae may not be the best fit, she said.
End of article
My comments: This article confirms what I finally figured out a few months ago. I'm simply wired differently. Its not my fault and I don't think I can fix it, but I can work on my reactions to the stimuli.
I can't remember a time when I haven't been on a "hair trigger." I've always been super sensitive. You look at me wrong and I feel like crying (and often do). Loud noises freak me out. I have a severe weather phobia. I have never reacted well to change. I worry obsessively.
But I'm working on all of this. I'm not autistic, but I can understand how scary changes in routine are to someone with autism. I used to be a slave to routine. I'm endeavoring to be more spontaneous. I'm finding that change can be exciting. I'm learning to roll with life.
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. IT GOES ON."
Robert Frost
librarianintx
Ultra-sensitive? Its in your brain.
By Elizabeth Landau
CNN.com Health Writer/Producer
If you are particularly sensitive to the world around you - whether it's music, caffeine, other people's emotions, you may have a personality trait called "sensory processing sensitivity."
People who are highly sensitive in this way tend to look and observe and process things deeply, as opposed to boldly going ahead, says Elaine Aron, professor of psychology at Stony Brook University, who helped pioneer research on the subject in the 1990s. Having vivid dreams and being aware of subtleties in your environment are also characteristic of this temperament, she said. Take this quiz to see if this fits you.
Now, Aron's group has shown evidence in the brain that these people are more detail-oriented. The study is published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of 18 participants. They found that people with sensory processing sensitivity tended to have more brain activity in the high-order visual processing regions, and in the right cerebellum, when detecting minor details of photographs presented to them.
"They are better at noticing subtle details in their environments than people without the trait," said Jadzia Jagiellowicz, lead author and doctoral candidate in the department of psychology at Stony Brook University.
Sensory processing sensitivity has been associated with introversion, but only loosely - about 30 percent of highly sensitive people are extroverts, Aron said.
Highly sensitive people probably make good counselors and recruiters, said Jagiellowicz, because of their attention to detail. They are able to more deeply process details as well as emotions, which are good skills in these professions. Accounting, which requires taking in a lot of information at once, may also be a relevant field, she said.
But the study showed that highly sensitive people do not quickly take in these details; in fact, they spend more time looking at them, so a job that requires a quick assessment of minutiae may not be the best fit, she said.
End of article
My comments: This article confirms what I finally figured out a few months ago. I'm simply wired differently. Its not my fault and I don't think I can fix it, but I can work on my reactions to the stimuli.
I can't remember a time when I haven't been on a "hair trigger." I've always been super sensitive. You look at me wrong and I feel like crying (and often do). Loud noises freak me out. I have a severe weather phobia. I have never reacted well to change. I worry obsessively.
But I'm working on all of this. I'm not autistic, but I can understand how scary changes in routine are to someone with autism. I used to be a slave to routine. I'm endeavoring to be more spontaneous. I'm finding that change can be exciting. I'm learning to roll with life.
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. IT GOES ON."
Robert Frost
librarianintx
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Glee cast on "Oprah"
This was a question from the audience that didn't air on the show:
Q: "For me it's refreshing to see someone who's not able-bodied, as it were, on TV. I'm curious about the reaction you've gotten from viewers in terms of your character [Artie]."
Kevin McHale (Artie): "I'll reference a story that happened last weekend. A woman came up to me and she was saying her 16-year-old son is in a wheelchair, and he became obsessed with the show. She's like, 'I started reading books after the 10th time [he watched] the pilot episode, because I was over it. ... Me being the mom, I couldn't figure out why he liked the show so much.' It was the first time that her 16-year-old son had seen somebody in a wheelchair, representing his people, on TV. He'd watch the show and be like: 'That's my boy. That's my boy.' That right there, that's what it's all about. We are all playing somebody that somebody can relate to, and it's great. I'm so honored and proud to play that part. And they do an incredible job writing it, and it's just fun to sit back and do what they say."
I am very proud to say I am a "Gleek." I have been a fan of the show since I saw the first commercial for it. I love everything about it...the humor, the fun, the singing, the dancing, the heart, and of course the message...that its okay to be different, that everyone is different in their own way, and when we celebrate our differences, we often find our commonalities. I think just about everyone who watches the show can find a character they relate to, and that's one reason why the show is beloved by people ages seven to seventy.
I think all the characters are great, I have a very healthy crush on Mr. Shu, but my favorites are Artie and Kurt. Even though I did not start using a mobility device until I was in college, and even then I didn't use it all the time, I still feel such a connection to Artie. I am so proud of the show every time I see Artie front and center in the choreography, moving around the stage like everyone else in the choir, including participating in partner dancing. I love the fact even though he's not considered one of the "hunks" of the show, he is arguably one of the strongest male singers in the cast, and receives more than his share of the solos. It is so important having a major character with a disability in such a popular show. Its important for people with disabilties to see someone they can relate to, and its important for able-bodied people to see a portrayal of a healthy, active, intelligent, creative, talented person with a disability. No, the actor who plays Artie does not have a disability, and yes, I wish the show would have hired an actor with a disability. But Kevin McHale does a terrific job.
The character of Kurt, played by the talented Chris Colfer, is another important character to have on this popular show. Kurt is a proud, strong, confident gay young man, and arguably the most popular student in the choir. He steals every scene he's in, whether it be with a wink, a snappy one liner, or his incredible voice. The scenes with his widowed father are groundbreaking, whether his father is fighting for his son to have the opportunity to sing the usually female solo in a performance, or Kurt is saying he needs to remove his designer sweater before he lends a hand at his dad's auto repair shop. Kurt even joined the football team for a short time as the kicker.
Its important for 16 year olds and 42 year olds, and everyone in between, with and without a disability, to see someone like Artie on their tv screens. And its important for 16 year olds and 42 year olds, and everyone in between, gay and straight, to see someone like Kurt on their tv screens.
None of these characters are stereotypical. They have been created and are portrayed week after week in the way that reminds me of the famous quote from the movie "The Breakfast Club": "But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal."
librarianintx
Q: "For me it's refreshing to see someone who's not able-bodied, as it were, on TV. I'm curious about the reaction you've gotten from viewers in terms of your character [Artie]."
Kevin McHale (Artie): "I'll reference a story that happened last weekend. A woman came up to me and she was saying her 16-year-old son is in a wheelchair, and he became obsessed with the show. She's like, 'I started reading books after the 10th time [he watched] the pilot episode, because I was over it. ... Me being the mom, I couldn't figure out why he liked the show so much.' It was the first time that her 16-year-old son had seen somebody in a wheelchair, representing his people, on TV. He'd watch the show and be like: 'That's my boy. That's my boy.' That right there, that's what it's all about. We are all playing somebody that somebody can relate to, and it's great. I'm so honored and proud to play that part. And they do an incredible job writing it, and it's just fun to sit back and do what they say."
I am very proud to say I am a "Gleek." I have been a fan of the show since I saw the first commercial for it. I love everything about it...the humor, the fun, the singing, the dancing, the heart, and of course the message...that its okay to be different, that everyone is different in their own way, and when we celebrate our differences, we often find our commonalities. I think just about everyone who watches the show can find a character they relate to, and that's one reason why the show is beloved by people ages seven to seventy.
I think all the characters are great, I have a very healthy crush on Mr. Shu, but my favorites are Artie and Kurt. Even though I did not start using a mobility device until I was in college, and even then I didn't use it all the time, I still feel such a connection to Artie. I am so proud of the show every time I see Artie front and center in the choreography, moving around the stage like everyone else in the choir, including participating in partner dancing. I love the fact even though he's not considered one of the "hunks" of the show, he is arguably one of the strongest male singers in the cast, and receives more than his share of the solos. It is so important having a major character with a disability in such a popular show. Its important for people with disabilties to see someone they can relate to, and its important for able-bodied people to see a portrayal of a healthy, active, intelligent, creative, talented person with a disability. No, the actor who plays Artie does not have a disability, and yes, I wish the show would have hired an actor with a disability. But Kevin McHale does a terrific job.
The character of Kurt, played by the talented Chris Colfer, is another important character to have on this popular show. Kurt is a proud, strong, confident gay young man, and arguably the most popular student in the choir. He steals every scene he's in, whether it be with a wink, a snappy one liner, or his incredible voice. The scenes with his widowed father are groundbreaking, whether his father is fighting for his son to have the opportunity to sing the usually female solo in a performance, or Kurt is saying he needs to remove his designer sweater before he lends a hand at his dad's auto repair shop. Kurt even joined the football team for a short time as the kicker.
Its important for 16 year olds and 42 year olds, and everyone in between, with and without a disability, to see someone like Artie on their tv screens. And its important for 16 year olds and 42 year olds, and everyone in between, gay and straight, to see someone like Kurt on their tv screens.
None of these characters are stereotypical. They have been created and are portrayed week after week in the way that reminds me of the famous quote from the movie "The Breakfast Club": "But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal."
librarianintx
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Librarian 2.0 Step 11: The Wide World of Podcasting
My thoughts:
I have some experience with podcasts. My roommate subscribes to several podcasts on I-tunes, and I have listened to the ones for the tv show "Lost." Some of them have been podcasts and some of them have been vidcasts. Also I recently listened to Resiliency Radio, a podcast developed by Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe, on BlogTalkRadio www.blogtalkradio.com.
Since I am more engaged by video than audio, I prefer vidcasts. But I like podcasts too. I don't know if I would ever make one, since I think no one should be subjected to my voice for long periods of time. :) But it might be fun to do it at least once, to show myself that I could learn how. Maybe eventually I'll embed a pod or vidcast in my blog. You never know. :)
librarianintx
I have some experience with podcasts. My roommate subscribes to several podcasts on I-tunes, and I have listened to the ones for the tv show "Lost." Some of them have been podcasts and some of them have been vidcasts. Also I recently listened to Resiliency Radio, a podcast developed by Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe, on BlogTalkRadio www.blogtalkradio.com.
Since I am more engaged by video than audio, I prefer vidcasts. But I like podcasts too. I don't know if I would ever make one, since I think no one should be subjected to my voice for long periods of time. :) But it might be fun to do it at least once, to show myself that I could learn how. Maybe eventually I'll embed a pod or vidcast in my blog. You never know. :)
librarianintx
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thicker Than Water
I have quoted a few times already from the book Thicker Than Water: Essays by Adult Siblings of People with Disabilities. I am finding many of the essays very compelling. The one I'm quoting here sounds so much like me:
The author is writing an imaginary conversation between G-d, a guardian angel, and St. Michael:
[Yes, I'm Jewish and there are no saints in Judaism, but work with me here] :)
"G-d: Well, I have sent [name] just about as many signs as I could send - without showing up in person - to let her know that she needs to...
Guardian Angel: I've tried my best to whisper words of encouragement. And I have even whispered advice into her friends' ears so she could hear it from them. But she answers EVERY piece of advice with another fear, another 'what if..' She's wearing me out.
St. Michael: It is looking pretty hopeless, G-d. I can't even begin to penetrate the wall of fear she's built around herself to give her a shot of faith and courage. She has no idea I am even around!
G-d: We tried the easy way by laying the whole path out in front of her, and by bringing people into her life who could help her and lead the way. But she's not getting it! There's only one way to help her now. I am going to have to resort to...
G-d, St. Michael, and Guardian Angel in unison: The HARD WAY!"
And later in the essay:
"And during the year that was my chasm, I faced a thousand tiny fears I had saved up since I was three...
Fears about having enough money...
Fears about not being to care for...
[in the essay it was her brother. In my case it would be myself.]
Fears I had no family. I found that families are made from the heart, not from blood.
Fears that my fear would kill me. I am still here"
From the essay, "The Chasm," by Antoinette Errante
librarianintx
The author is writing an imaginary conversation between G-d, a guardian angel, and St. Michael:
[Yes, I'm Jewish and there are no saints in Judaism, but work with me here] :)
"G-d: Well, I have sent [name] just about as many signs as I could send - without showing up in person - to let her know that she needs to...
Guardian Angel: I've tried my best to whisper words of encouragement. And I have even whispered advice into her friends' ears so she could hear it from them. But she answers EVERY piece of advice with another fear, another 'what if..' She's wearing me out.
St. Michael: It is looking pretty hopeless, G-d. I can't even begin to penetrate the wall of fear she's built around herself to give her a shot of faith and courage. She has no idea I am even around!
G-d: We tried the easy way by laying the whole path out in front of her, and by bringing people into her life who could help her and lead the way. But she's not getting it! There's only one way to help her now. I am going to have to resort to...
G-d, St. Michael, and Guardian Angel in unison: The HARD WAY!"
And later in the essay:
"And during the year that was my chasm, I faced a thousand tiny fears I had saved up since I was three...
Fears about having enough money...
Fears about not being to care for...
[in the essay it was her brother. In my case it would be myself.]
Fears I had no family. I found that families are made from the heart, not from blood.
Fears that my fear would kill me. I am still here"
From the essay, "The Chasm," by Antoinette Errante
librarianintx
Librarian 2.0 Step 10: This Wiki World
Wikis are cool, but problematic for me. A wiki is like a pathfinder, and I really enjoy creating pathfinders. I like the fact that you can find a wiki on just about any topic these days. It makes finding information very easy. What I don't like is how easily people can make changes to a wiki. Incorrect or subjective information can find its way into a wiki. If I created a wiki, I wouldn't necessarily want people I don't know adding to it or changing it. So I would want some control over that. However, I really like the fact that you don't have to know HTML or have any kind of technical webpage knowledge to be able to create or maintain a wiki. At work, I don't have the ability or the authority to update our agency web page; the office manager is in charge of that. I think it would be so much easier to have a wiki for the reference center that I could create and manage myself.
PB Works looks pretty cool; I want to learn more about it. I had some trouble at first adding to the LD wiki, but then I got the hang of it. I even created a new section, although I don't think anyone else has added to it yet. Its a section on favorite tv shows. Surprising, right? :)
librarianintx
PB Works looks pretty cool; I want to learn more about it. I had some trouble at first adding to the LD wiki, but then I got the hang of it. I even created a new section, although I don't think anyone else has added to it yet. Its a section on favorite tv shows. Surprising, right? :)
librarianintx
Friday, March 19, 2010
quote
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh” - A.A. Milne
Friday, March 12, 2010
Essay Excerpt
"Todd's disability was never a tragedy in my eyes. Todd was always just Todd...I consider it a tragedy that most of Todd's classmates and teachers over the years missed out on the privilege of getting to know him as we do. Spending time with him is my favorite thing to do in the world. He has so much to offer - he is outgoing and smart and funny. He is playful and sarcastic and interesting. He is unique. And yet, very few people know this."
From the essay "Don't Apologize for Being a Brother," by Zachary Rossetti, from the anthology Thicker Than Water: Essays by Adult Siblings of People With Disabilities
From the essay "Don't Apologize for Being a Brother," by Zachary Rossetti, from the anthology Thicker Than Water: Essays by Adult Siblings of People With Disabilities
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Notes from first Resiliency Radio Show
I'm such a librarian. :)
Here are notes I took while listening to Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe's first BlogTalk Radio show:
Resiliency Radio
Episode One
Make a choice to use your life experience to inspire.
Resiliency is a choice you have to make every day.
We all need a spark of inspiration.
“ability to weather life’s storms”
“endure, adapt, overcome”
Question: Resiliency for kids aged 6 - 10
Ideas: rhythm, breathing, visualization, and working together as a group
Question: Will Raven Drum release a drum circle on dvd?
Releasing an audio (drum rhythms) this year and video next year hopefully.
Drum rhythms can change, affect heart and brain rhythms.
Whole foods and nutritional supplements can assist resiliency.
Show #3 will be about chronic pain.
Question: How does financial comfort affect resliliency?
Creating resiliency is an inside job. Its your mindset, your perspective that makes the difference. Some people are born with a positive attitude; for others its more of an effort.
21 Ways to Build Resliency on the Raven Drum web site
www.ravendrumfoundation.org
Question: Can Raven Drum help with addiction?
Yes. The circles support everyone. Playing together makes you feel supported, you begin to identify with each other, no matter what your problem or situation is.
Sense of belonging and acceptance – drum circles
Drumming with intent
You can create your own drum circles, create your own rhythms. Families can do this as well as organizations, groups, etc.
Community feeling, bringing old and young people together.
Know and understand your path, what you’re meant to do in life, connect with your purpose, ask for guidance if you don’t know yet what your purpose is.
Question: Any advice for young musicians?
Play from your heart, listen to the greats, those that have inspired others, make the music your own
We’re all unique. Embrace your uniqueness.
21 Ways to Build Resiliency
Copied from the Raven Drum Foundation
www.ravendrumfoundation.org
Nourish positive relationships
Avoid isolation
Share your feelings
Be mindful
Don't believe everything you think
Accept the things you cannot change
Focus on forgiveness and gratitude
Have faith in something other than yourself
Make healthy choices
Be open to learning
Create your own sacred space
Be of service
Avoid trying to understand why
Be a part of community
Breathe and meditate
Listen to nature
Create calming rituals in your home
Avoid thinking of challenges as impossible to bear
Laugh deeply
Connect to your purpose in life every day
Be patient
www.ravendrumfoundation.org
Nourish positive relationships
Avoid isolation
Share your feelings
Be mindful
Don't believe everything you think
Accept the things you cannot change
Focus on forgiveness and gratitude
Have faith in something other than yourself
Make healthy choices
Be open to learning
Create your own sacred space
Be of service
Avoid trying to understand why
Be a part of community
Breathe and meditate
Listen to nature
Create calming rituals in your home
Avoid thinking of challenges as impossible to bear
Laugh deeply
Connect to your purpose in life every day
Be patient
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Hockey
Hadn't planned to watch the gold medal match between the U.S. and Canada. But its now tied 2-2 in overtime. So I'm watching. :)
Librarianintx
Update: That was quick! Canada won.
Librarianintx
Update: That was quick! Canada won.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Learning
I just learned how to put CNN and Weather Channel apps on my BB for quicker access. Blogger doesn't seem to offer that, but I've saved the page to my bookmarks, so that will help. Fun stuff!
librarianintx
librarianintx
Friday, February 26, 2010
Spectacular!
I was most excited to see the men's figure skating at the Olympics this year, and it certainly was an exciting night of great performances (Johnny Weir was robbed!) But I must apologize to the ladies for underestimating their competition. WOW! A thrilling night of unprecedented performances! History was made three times during the ladies figure skating section of this Olympics. Kim Yu-Na won the first Olympic gold medal in ladies figure skating for South Korea, AND she posted the highest score ever witnessed in the sport, with a combined score of short program / free skate of 228.56.
Her rival, Mao Asada, took the silver medal for Japan, and skated into the history books as well. She is the first woman ever to land THREE triple axles at the Olympics, one in the short program and two in the free skate. I don't think a woman has ever even landed one triple axle at the Olympics.
Our American ladies did very well, even though they didn't medal. Sixteen year old Mirai Nagasu skated an excellent routine to finish in fourth place, edging out Miki Ando from Japan. And Rachael Flatt also skated a great routine. She finished in seventh place because several of her jumps were downgraded due to boot placement when she landed.
Congratulations to all the ladies!
librarianintx
Her rival, Mao Asada, took the silver medal for Japan, and skated into the history books as well. She is the first woman ever to land THREE triple axles at the Olympics, one in the short program and two in the free skate. I don't think a woman has ever even landed one triple axle at the Olympics.
Our American ladies did very well, even though they didn't medal. Sixteen year old Mirai Nagasu skated an excellent routine to finish in fourth place, edging out Miki Ando from Japan. And Rachael Flatt also skated a great routine. She finished in seventh place because several of her jumps were downgraded due to boot placement when she landed.
Congratulations to all the ladies!
librarianintx
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Johnny Weir
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=444997.html#weir+wants+critics+think+make+apologies
Weir wants critics to think, not make apologies
VANCOUVER (AP) -- Johnny Weir
var hb4 = new HelpBalloon({dataURL: '/athletes/athlete=2368/library/_flyout.html'});
is looking for understanding, not an apology.
Broadcasters on French-language RDS who made derogatory comments about the American figure skater's masculinity need to consider the impact their words will have on others, particularly impressionable youngsters, Weir said Wednesday.
"I want them to think before they speak. I want them to think about not only the person they're talking about, but also other people like that person," he said. "What people as a majority need to do is think, and think about who they're affecting. ... I don't want, 50 years from now, more boys and girls to go through this same thing."
The Quebec Gay and Lesbian Council demanded a public apology from RDS after one commentator said Weir hurts figure skating's image and another said Weir should be made to take a gender test. The remarks were "outrageous" and "homophobic," CQGL said in a statement on its Web site.Mark Tewskbury, a gold medalist in swimming at the Barcelona Olympics, called the remarks "totally unacceptable."
"I think Johnny Weir adds a fantastic element to men's figure skating," Tewskbury said at a news conference at Whistler Pride House, a venue designed to support gay and lesbian athletes and coaches. "It doesn't send the message that you have to be Johnny or be like him. It shows that all kinds of people take up figure skating, and all kinds of people can be excellent at figure skating.
"I was actually quite shocked that that is still happening in 2010."Although Weir said he found the comments "offensive," he supports free speech and doesn't think the broadcasters should be punished. He also doesn't really care if people criticize him.
But he does worry that the broadcasters' comments and the attitudes they foster will hurt kids who are different and are trying to find their place in the world. Or cause parents of those children to be less supportive.
"I hope more kids can grow up like I did and more kids can feel the freedom to express themselves," he said. "Out of ugly, I think the most important thing in life is to make something beautiful."
Weir is one of skating's most oversized personalities, and he enjoys challenging convention. He was targeted by animal-rights activists after adding white fox fur to his free skate costume for last month's U.S. championships, and he once posed for a photo shoot in a skirt and stilettos.
But he repeatedly has avoided questions about his sexual orientation, and did so again Wednesday. People shouldn't be defined by labels, Weir said.
"I don't think the fact I'm a figure skater matters. I don't think who I sleep with matters. I don't think where I'm from matters. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am," he said. "I don't feel there's anything that anybody has to be out and about about. I think you should be out about being yourself. You need to be out and really own who you are."
End of article
I put in red the quotes I liked the most. Johnny expresses himself so well, both on and off the ice. If only all of his talent was respected, and he could be who he is without being ridiculed. Every person deserves that. I'm glad he has very supportive family, friends, and fans.
librarianintx
Weir wants critics to think, not make apologies
VANCOUVER (AP) -- Johnny Weir
var hb4 = new HelpBalloon({dataURL: '/athletes/athlete=2368/library/_flyout.html'});
is looking for understanding, not an apology.
Broadcasters on French-language RDS who made derogatory comments about the American figure skater's masculinity need to consider the impact their words will have on others, particularly impressionable youngsters, Weir said Wednesday.
"I want them to think before they speak. I want them to think about not only the person they're talking about, but also other people like that person," he said. "What people as a majority need to do is think, and think about who they're affecting. ... I don't want, 50 years from now, more boys and girls to go through this same thing."
The Quebec Gay and Lesbian Council demanded a public apology from RDS after one commentator said Weir hurts figure skating's image and another said Weir should be made to take a gender test. The remarks were "outrageous" and "homophobic," CQGL said in a statement on its Web site.Mark Tewskbury, a gold medalist in swimming at the Barcelona Olympics, called the remarks "totally unacceptable."
"I think Johnny Weir adds a fantastic element to men's figure skating," Tewskbury said at a news conference at Whistler Pride House, a venue designed to support gay and lesbian athletes and coaches. "It doesn't send the message that you have to be Johnny or be like him. It shows that all kinds of people take up figure skating, and all kinds of people can be excellent at figure skating.
"I was actually quite shocked that that is still happening in 2010."Although Weir said he found the comments "offensive," he supports free speech and doesn't think the broadcasters should be punished. He also doesn't really care if people criticize him.
But he does worry that the broadcasters' comments and the attitudes they foster will hurt kids who are different and are trying to find their place in the world. Or cause parents of those children to be less supportive.
"I hope more kids can grow up like I did and more kids can feel the freedom to express themselves," he said. "Out of ugly, I think the most important thing in life is to make something beautiful."
Weir is one of skating's most oversized personalities, and he enjoys challenging convention. He was targeted by animal-rights activists after adding white fox fur to his free skate costume for last month's U.S. championships, and he once posed for a photo shoot in a skirt and stilettos.
But he repeatedly has avoided questions about his sexual orientation, and did so again Wednesday. People shouldn't be defined by labels, Weir said.
"I don't think the fact I'm a figure skater matters. I don't think who I sleep with matters. I don't think where I'm from matters. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am," he said. "I don't feel there's anything that anybody has to be out and about about. I think you should be out about being yourself. You need to be out and really own who you are."
End of article
I put in red the quotes I liked the most. Johnny expresses himself so well, both on and off the ice. If only all of his talent was respected, and he could be who he is without being ridiculed. Every person deserves that. I'm glad he has very supportive family, friends, and fans.
librarianintx
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