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capri0mni1) I am such a screw-up... And mostly, with myself. I kinda knew, in the back of my mind, that my wheelchair batteries were getting old, and I should probably get some new ones. But I kept putting it off. Then, as I was going to bed (closer to morning than is reasonable), I noticed that the battery charge indicator was ticking down at a ridiculous rate -- like as I watched, while just sitting there. And I thought it might be dangerous to try and force new charge into it -- like cause fire dangerous. And, of course, the wheelchair supply place is not open til Monday... So now, I'm sitting in my manual chair (kinda-sorta -- more like perched). And I'm "working" on about three hours sleep, with a migraine.
You remember when I posted Shakespeare's sonnet 44? Well, right now, these lines are going through my head:
"But ah! thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone"
Only: forget "lengths of miles;" I'd be tickled just to leap myself to the bathroom, or to the kitchen, or back to bed, just by imagining myself there...
2) One reason I stayed awake ridiculously long was This video of Rowan Atkinson's "Invisible Drum Kit" Routine. Does anyone have more information about it than the person who posted it provided?
3) So: I've subscribed to the "Geek & Sundry" channel, on YouTube. Like a broadcast channel, there are some shows I like ("TableTop," "The Guild," "Sword and Laser") and others I'm "meh" on. Overall, I hope they get renewed for another season. But I also told myself I wouldn't post about it unless and until something triggered an idea for something to say.
Anyway, on Tuesday nights (8 pm PST), they stream live Google Hangout feeds -- and then, upload them in an archive version the next day. My favorite of these, by far, so far is "The Story Board" (First Tuesday of the month) -- which is a panel hosted by Patrick Rothfuss with three different fantasy/sci-fi authors each time -- talking about some aspect of writing, and story making. I don't know if I'd actually like any of these authors' works (this is one of the things that led me to realize that I haven't read any fiction that was written in the last 20 years), but it's still interesting to listen in on professionals talking about the nuts and bolts of their craft.
So... Last month's "Board" was Concerning Characters (Whole video is a little over an hour). And one of the panelists (Mary Robinette-Kowal) described a writing assignment she often gives in a college writing course she teaches:
Write about a classroom as seen by three different characters. Don't describe any character directly, but reveal who they are by the things they first notice when they enter the room. For example: a firefighter would likely notice whether the curtains are hanging too close to the radiator, and where the exits are; a janitor would notice the state of repair or disrepair of the light fixtures, and whether the trash had been taken out, a teacher would notice the assignments written on the board, etc.
And here's the idea triggered by that (which triggered this mention): That got me thinking about what I notice when I enter a room, thanks to the life I've lived -- the empty spaces in the room -- almost as a reflex, I make a snap judgement about whether I can maneuver my chair (or make my way with crutches) to where I need to go. This includes the "empty spaces" that are the widths of doorways, and the aisles between shelves at the library (and whether there are any step stools left in the middle of them, and so forth. But, judging by how many people leave step stools in the aisles of libraries, I don't think that particular detail would clue any TAB readers in to the fact that the P.O.V. character is a wheelchair user.
4) Let's memify #3! What's (one of) the first thing(s) you tend to notice, when you come into a new space?
5) The importance of hiring disabled actors to play disabled characters (on TV, especially) = more interesting stories. The actor who plays the chief medical examiner on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" walks with a single forearm crutch (think he was in an accident as a teen -- too low on spoons, atm, to Google it). For most of the time he's played the role, the writers kept him standing behind an examination table, so that, unless you knew his already knew his bio, you could get by thinking he's able-bodied. And then, toward the end of last season, he was thrust into the center of the A-Plot: A man was murdered in his house, and his wife was the prime suspect. So that his co-workers had to go into his private space, and photograph his wheelchair, crutches, etc. And of course, they talked amongst themselves about "What an inspiration he is, doing all he does, in spite of his physical challenges," and what sacrifices his wife makes to stay with him (one of the reasons people assumed she was having an affair). If the actor had been able-bodied, it would likely have stopped there. But because the actor at the read-through could say to the writers' faces: "This is drivel; here's what it's really like," the story got a lot more interesting/less cliched (Turns out: there was an affair in the history of the marriage, but he was the one that was unfaithful, because: Surprise! Disabled people are still sexual).
Anyway, since that episode aired, the character has been seen actually walking down the hall with his crutch... makes me think that the show's producers realized that: Hey! The audience can see a disabled person and not be freaked out/hate the show!
Anyway-the-second, in the most recent episode, the character actually got to use his crutch as a defensive weapon against a creepy sexual stalker who had barged into the morgue.
So that was cool (even though the franchise as a whole is still one of the most ableist out there).
You remember when I posted Shakespeare's sonnet 44? Well, right now, these lines are going through my head:
"But ah! thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone"
Only: forget "lengths of miles;" I'd be tickled just to leap myself to the bathroom, or to the kitchen, or back to bed, just by imagining myself there...
2) One reason I stayed awake ridiculously long was This video of Rowan Atkinson's "Invisible Drum Kit" Routine. Does anyone have more information about it than the person who posted it provided?
3) So: I've subscribed to the "Geek & Sundry" channel, on YouTube. Like a broadcast channel, there are some shows I like ("TableTop," "The Guild," "Sword and Laser") and others I'm "meh" on. Overall, I hope they get renewed for another season. But I also told myself I wouldn't post about it unless and until something triggered an idea for something to say.
Anyway, on Tuesday nights (8 pm PST), they stream live Google Hangout feeds -- and then, upload them in an archive version the next day. My favorite of these, by far, so far is "The Story Board" (First Tuesday of the month) -- which is a panel hosted by Patrick Rothfuss with three different fantasy/sci-fi authors each time -- talking about some aspect of writing, and story making. I don't know if I'd actually like any of these authors' works (this is one of the things that led me to realize that I haven't read any fiction that was written in the last 20 years), but it's still interesting to listen in on professionals talking about the nuts and bolts of their craft.
So... Last month's "Board" was Concerning Characters (Whole video is a little over an hour). And one of the panelists (Mary Robinette-Kowal) described a writing assignment she often gives in a college writing course she teaches:
Write about a classroom as seen by three different characters. Don't describe any character directly, but reveal who they are by the things they first notice when they enter the room. For example: a firefighter would likely notice whether the curtains are hanging too close to the radiator, and where the exits are; a janitor would notice the state of repair or disrepair of the light fixtures, and whether the trash had been taken out, a teacher would notice the assignments written on the board, etc.
And here's the idea triggered by that (which triggered this mention): That got me thinking about what I notice when I enter a room, thanks to the life I've lived -- the empty spaces in the room -- almost as a reflex, I make a snap judgement about whether I can maneuver my chair (or make my way with crutches) to where I need to go. This includes the "empty spaces" that are the widths of doorways, and the aisles between shelves at the library (and whether there are any step stools left in the middle of them, and so forth. But, judging by how many people leave step stools in the aisles of libraries, I don't think that particular detail would clue any TAB readers in to the fact that the P.O.V. character is a wheelchair user.
4) Let's memify #3! What's (one of) the first thing(s) you tend to notice, when you come into a new space?
5) The importance of hiring disabled actors to play disabled characters (on TV, especially) = more interesting stories. The actor who plays the chief medical examiner on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" walks with a single forearm crutch (think he was in an accident as a teen -- too low on spoons, atm, to Google it). For most of the time he's played the role, the writers kept him standing behind an examination table, so that, unless you knew his already knew his bio, you could get by thinking he's able-bodied. And then, toward the end of last season, he was thrust into the center of the A-Plot: A man was murdered in his house, and his wife was the prime suspect. So that his co-workers had to go into his private space, and photograph his wheelchair, crutches, etc. And of course, they talked amongst themselves about "What an inspiration he is, doing all he does, in spite of his physical challenges," and what sacrifices his wife makes to stay with him (one of the reasons people assumed she was having an affair). If the actor had been able-bodied, it would likely have stopped there. But because the actor at the read-through could say to the writers' faces: "This is drivel; here's what it's really like," the story got a lot more interesting/less cliched (Turns out: there was an affair in the history of the marriage, but he was the one that was unfaithful, because: Surprise! Disabled people are still sexual).
Anyway, since that episode aired, the character has been seen actually walking down the hall with his crutch... makes me think that the show's producers realized that: Hey! The audience can see a disabled person and not be freaked out/hate the show!
Anyway-the-second, in the most recent episode, the character actually got to use his crutch as a defensive weapon against a creepy sexual stalker who had barged into the morgue.
So that was cool (even though the franchise as a whole is still one of the most ableist out there).
no subject
Date: 2012-10-14 08:08 am (UTC)What do I notice when I first enter a space? I have no idea, I'll have to try and find out next time I go somewhere. I wonder why I don't know...
no subject
Date: 2012-10-14 09:17 pm (UTC)I know! I realized I'd never even thought about it until the puzzle was presented to me, and then, I figured that kind of thing is useful to keep in mind if I ever want to write a story with a wheelchair-using protagonist... Even more so since I've come to think of fiction as a method of activism.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-14 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-14 09:05 pm (UTC)Because normal battery lifespan is in the range of several years, but can still vary widely depending on use / stress... I'm thinking there ought to be a place on the chair itself where I can write down the date the current battery set was put in -- like labels on bags of leftovers you put in the freezer.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 08:48 pm (UTC)How this is not illegal, I do not know -- Oh, yes, I do: all the economics of the system are controlled by for-profit insurance companies.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-15 09:02 pm (UTC)