August 31, 2008

True To Type

Overheard as I passed a group of RNC delegates who were standing outside the Graves 601 Hotel:

"Oh my God, I forgot my cigars!"

I was smiling the rest of the way home.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:40 PM | Comments (0)

Fun With The First Amendment

The convention hasn't even started yet, but the parades are already underway here in downtown Minneapolis. Today's post-modern political parade can be a frustrating thing to watch if you're expecting a consistent, unified message. It's best just to take in the spectacle and not try to make sense of it. To illustrate my point, here's a sampling of what I saw at today's parade on Nicollet Mall:

• A gaggle of vocal Ron Paul supporters who aren't ready to let go yet
  
• A bunch of people dressed up in military outfits and Guy Fawlkes masks. Very Comic-Con-ish.
• Some environmentalists dressed up as a surprisingly lifelike polar bear
  
• A couple middle-aged women in rooster outfits. This is about when I stopped looking for a message.
  
• Zombies! I think these guys were my favorite. No political message other than "Braainns!".
  

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 03:57 PM | Comments (1)

August 30, 2008

A Heartbeat Away

I've heard from various sources that Governor Pawlenty was in a pissy mood after he learned that he wouldn't be McCain's veep pick. It would seem that he got bitten by the same identity politics that Republicans have long accused Democrats of playing. Any Republican who denies that gender was the prime consideration in Sarah Palin's selection is kidding themselves. Sure, she's a strong fiscal and social conservative, but so are plenty of other, more experienced candidates. And I'm not one of those who believes that pointing out that Palin's inexperience only highlights Obama's own inexperience. What's really at issue is the candidates' judgment. Obama's pick demonstrated that he has the necessary judgment to surround himself with competent and experienced advisors. As James Fallows points out, McCain is more interested in getting votes than forming an effective government.

One thing that hasn't received much attention in the liberal blogosphere is the fact that Palin has a child with Down's Syndrome. I'm curious how this informs her views on issues like special education, civil rights, and health care. Hopefully, someone in the press will ask those questions.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:18 PM | Comments (2)

August 29, 2008

Annual Pilgrimage

Summer is coming to an end. I know this because I paid a visit to the State Fair today. The Fair becomes much more tolerable when it isn't oppressively hot and this evening was spectacular. I also discovered that the Fine Arts Building is a wonderful showcase of local artists while it also provides a refuge from the Fair's more annoying patrons. Like the guy sitting on the sidewalk who, as I passed by, exhorted me to "check out the girls."

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2008

The Wheels Of Justice Turn Slowly

Target has settled the class action lawsuit brought forth a couple years ago by blind customers unable to navigate the store's inaccessible website. The terms of the settlement require the merchant to pay $6 million in damages to members of the affected class as well as improve its website's accessibility. Kudos to Target for choosing to settle rather than litigate. The settlement is significant because it signals to other corporations that, in the long run, it's cheaper to make their websites accessible rather than risk legal action.

And yes, I need to do more to make this blog accessible to everyone.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2008

Misnomer

I've always liked my first name. It's short and resistant to any nicknaming conventions (very few people have ever called me Marky). It's old-school but not antiquated. And it sounds really sexy when women whisper it in my ear (or so I imagine). But whenever I have to introduce myself, people usually can't catch it the first time around. The peculiarities of my disability cause me to struggle a bit with the hard "k" sound, so I'll say "Mark" and people will hear "Marv" or "Murray" or even "Mara". My life would probably be incrementally easier if my parents had named me "Joe" or "Andy", but I don't think I look much like either one of those guys. Besides, I need to practice my enunciation so that everyone will understand my coronation speech on the day I'm crowned Emperor of Everything.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2008

Power Suit

Remember how I was moaning yesterday about wanting a pair of booster rockets? Screw that. I want this guy's exoskeleton. It looks bad-ass, like something you would wear to a showdown with Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom. Maybe someone could outfit me with an exoskeleton tricked out with booster rockets, kind of like Iron Man. Except without the handsome multimillionaire on the inside.

My ventilator keeps alarming for no apparent reason. Perhaps it's bored. Pushing breath after breath into me must get old after a while. I'd better give it some attention.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2008

Give Me A Lift

I need a wheelchair with booster rockets. In the past week, I've been invited to a couple events at friends' homes--homes that were built in a previous era when people like me were expected to stay in the attic and not venture out to socialize with the neighbors. My friends, of course, are wonderful and are always quick to offer to move events outside or make other arrangements to accommodate me. But I feel awkward whenever situations like this come up. For all the noise I make about how the world needs to be more accessible, I don't want my friends to apologize for living in houses with front steps or narrow doors. It's certainly not their fault that the homebuilders of yesteryear weren't schooled in the ways of universal design. Just give me a couple booster rockets that can elevate me a few feet over those pesky architectural barriers. Some kind of teleporter would be even better, but I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:25 PM | Comments (2)

August 24, 2008

Peanut Sighting

I was walking near the Guthrie yesterday and noticed an attractive, middle-aged woman with auburn hair and sunglasses heading in the opposite direction. My nurse said to me, "You know who that was? Melissa Gilbert." Gilbert played Laura Ingalls in the TV series Little House on the Prairie and she's currently playing Ma Ingalls in the Guthrie's musical adaptation of the same. I would never have recognized her if my nurse hadn't said anything. It was the absence of pigtails and a bonnet that threw me off.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:24 PM | Comments (1)

August 23, 2008

Running Mate

What will the political blogosphere do now that it can't speculate on Obama's veep pick? Oh, sure, McCain still has his pick to make, but that's like waiting to discover what's on the clearance rack at JC Penney's. I don't think either veep candidate will do much to change the final outcome of the election, but Biden is a good choice. He's brilliant, solidly progressive, and he might be able to teach Barack a thing or two about making one-on-one connections with voters. He just needs to keep his mouth in check.

Oops, Obama just introduced Biden as the next President of the United States. Way to feed into our subconscious jitters, Barack.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2008

Hello, Neumann...

I'm taking this opportunity to plug my friend Kelsey Neumann's newly hatched blog. Kelsey is a delegate to this year's Democratic National Convention and she'll be blogging on her experiences throughout the week. Kelsey also has spinal muscular atrophy, which means that she's sure to snag plenty of photo ops with party bigwigs and accumulate all kinds of interesting stories. Keep checking in with Kelsey for her coverage of the events.

Kelsey, you better bring me back a button or something.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 05:55 PM | Comments (1)

August 21, 2008

Blanket Statement

Recently, a McCain spokesman unfavorably compared the New York Times' editors to Obama bloggers who live in their mother's basements and "rant[] into the ether in between games of dungeons and dragons."

Well, I don't know who this guy included in his survey, but it wasn't me. Now, he could have referenced any number of tabletop games. Risk? Played it for hours on end. Monopoly? Of course. Stratego? Can't tell you the number of times I made my brother cry and scatter the pieces. But I've never so much as touched a twenty-sided die. And my parents' basement is a few hundred miles away.

Stereotyping just makes me so...[inarticulate sigh of exasperation]. I need to unwind. Think I'll load up some Titan Quest and try to level up my warrior.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:21 PM | Comments (1)

August 20, 2008

Recipe For Success

I stumbled across this list enumerating the qualities of good blogs. A couple highlights:

Good blogs reflect focused obsessions. People start real blogs because they think about something a lot.
Maybe even five things. But, their brain so overflows with curiosity
about a family of topics that they can’t stop reading and writing about
it. They make and consume smart forebrain porn. So: where do this
person’s obsessions take them?

When I first started this blog, I wanted to make it all about fishnet stockings. But then I realized that there's only so much you can say about fishnets (i.e. "those look HOT!") before you start repeating yourself. So I decided that I needed to branch out in other directions. But even when I'm blogging about disability issues or Battlestar Galactica, I usually have fishnets on the brain.

Another tidbit:

Good blogs try. I’ve come to believe that
creative life in the first-world comes down to those who try just a
little bit harder. Then, there’s the other 98%. They’re still eating
the free continental breakfast over at FriendFeed. A good blog is
written by a blogger who thinks longer, works harder, and obsesses
more. Ultimately, a good blogger tries. That’s why “good” is getting rare.

So that's my problem. I might be compelled to try harder if I wasn't always so damn distracted by persistent thoughts of women in fishnets.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:54 PM | Comments (1)

August 19, 2008

Kids These Days

This is one in series of photos depicting the faces of young people bathed in the soft glow of laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices. The artist is making a statement about how today's youth are both connected to and cut off from the world around them. Or something.

Of course, my face has been illuminated by a computer screen's phosphorescent glow on most evenings since I was a wee one. And back then, the glow was more of a sickly green hue, making me look like a Vulcan with a touch of the flu. Some people would say I still look like that.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:15 PM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2008

East Meets West

The BBC reports that the forthcoming Beijing Paralympics might contribute to more enlightened attitudes about disability amongst the Chinese. The article emphasizes that Chinese with disabilities still face long odds of achieving any meaningful integration with mainstream society, but there are at least a few emerging social programs that offer job training. It's not much, but it's an improvement.

The Paralympics may change some attitudes, but it's really the forces of globalization that will usher in a different perspective on disability. As more Chinese with disabilities become aware that their Western counterparts have more opportunities to work and live independently, they may put growing pressure on their own government to do more. And if living standards continue to improve, the government--and society as a whole--may be more inclined to oblige. Of course, the West has a long ways to go to achieve full integration and acceptance of people with disabilities, but it's probably fair to say we're a few steps further down the road.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:34 PM | Comments (1)

August 17, 2008

Yearbook Photos

Let's imagine that there are alternate versions of me in parallel universes that graduated from high school in earlier decades. This is what I might have looked like in the Eisenhower era:



This version of me was class president.

Here's an alternate me from the Seventies:



This version of me went on to work in a record store for the next twenty years.

And finally, Eighties Me:



This version of me went on to found a New Age cult in Northern California.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:07 PM | Comments (1)

August 16, 2008

Critical Failure

I continue to be a big fan of Gmail (and if you're using Firefox, you can make Gmail look real purty with the Better Gmail extension). It's a cinch to find old messages and accessible from anywhere. But news from the past week contains reminders that the on-line computing "cloud" upon which we are increasingly reliant can sometimes send a lightning bolt down on our heads. One on-line storage service lost most of its customers' files and couldn't do much more than issue an apology.

While Gmail has served me reliably, other users have not been so lucky. That's why I recently backed up all my Gmail messages to my hard drive. The loss of my e-mail archive would be devastating to me and it's worth the extra hassle. Someday, cloud computing may be sufficiently reliable that such precautionary measures may not be necessary, but that day hasn't arrived yet.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2008

Channel Surfing

I'm watching a live handball match between China and Brazil on NBC's Olympics website. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I'm okay with that that. Ah, China just scored a...goal? What do you call a point in handball? Oh well, doesn't matter. The lack of announcer chatter adds a sort of Zen quality to the viewing experience. Hey, look, it's women's field hockey. And the Americans are ahead, so I guess that's good. That sure is a tiny ball they're hitting around.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2008

New Toy

After months of thinking about it, I finally picked up a stereo/iPod dock for my bedroom. This Onkyo model was on sale at Amazon and it includes a radio and CD player (just in case I ever want to listen to any of the half-dozen CDs still lying around my house). It sounds great, but I'm trying to be responsible with the volume so as not to incur the wrath of the neighbors. Navigating the iPod menus with the remote can be a little tricky, but every gizmo has its quirks. Now I just need to program it to wake me up with Crowded House's "Don't Dream".

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:32 PM | Comments (1)

August 13, 2008

Workout

I frequently log into my work network from home to compose an e-mail or finish a project that I didn't get to while I was at the office. And for whatever reason, the word prediction on my on-screen keyboard doesn't work with my employer's web interface. As a result, I have to type out e-v-e-r-y l-e-t-t-e-r of every word I'm writing. It slows me down a bit, but my neck muscles are getting awfully buff. My ginormous head doesn't feel quite as heavy as it once did. Girls can't resist a thick, muscular neck, right? Or, at least, a neck that is slightly less scrawny than the rest of me.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2008

Name-Calling

A coalition of disability organizations is organizing a boycott of the film Tropical Thunder. They object to the film's frequent use of the word "retard". By default, I tend to be suspicious of any film boycott, whatever the motivation. In this case, I agree that "retard" is an ugly word, but it seems inconsistent to single out this movie when shows like South Park and even The Daily Show use it just as liberally.

The boycott's organizers make the argument that "retard" is just as offensive as racial epithets. But I'm not sure the comparison is justified. Racial epithets have long histories of derogatory use. But even today, "retarded" is a common descriptor of people with cognitive disabilities in some medical and social service circles. There isn't much distance between "retarded" and "retard". The organizers might consider giving equal scorn to the medical professionals and bureaucrats who continue to perpetuate the word's use in polite society.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2008

Origins Story

A few months ago, I wrote an article for a newsletter called Ventilator-Assisted Living describing my own experiences as I transitioned to the vent life. You can find it by going here and then clicking on the article entitled "A Life Less Ordinary" (it's a PDF file). And I need to Photoshop the accompanying photo; that earring is starting to look a bit dated.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:45 PM | Comments (2)

August 10, 2008

Back To Work

Today marks the last day of my summer staycation. Having a week off does weird things to my internal calendar. Towards the end of the week, I had to make a conscious effort to remember what day it was. I did manage to make it to the lake, catch up on some reading, and generally loaf about. In other words, mission accomplished. Next year, I might even take two weeks off.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 08:06 PM | Comments (1)

August 09, 2008

Who Says The Cold War Is Over?

Media coverage of the Olympics is likely to crowd out news of other world events for the next couple weeks, including the escalating war between Russia and Georgia. After years of turning inward (and becoming increasingly authoritarian), Russia seems ready to flex its muscles again. It will never regain its former superpower status, but with its substantial stockpiles of oil, natural gas, and nukes, Russia can still throw its weight around; a fact that is probably causing plenty of Western diplomats to lose sleep tonight.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

August 08, 2008

Stacks Of Wax

Time for another glimpse into my current musical obsessions:

• "Chariot" by Page France -- I first heard this song during an episode of Weeds and remained stuck in my head afterwards. It has a playful indie vibe that doesn't fall into the trap of taking itself too seriously.
  
• "Cherry Tulips" by Headlights -- This gorgeous song hearkens back to an era of jukeboxes and AM radio, when kids still used the phrase "making out" without any hint of irony.
  
• "Standing Next to Me" by The Last Shadow Puppets -- Another song dressed up in retro clothing, this time in the mod stylings of early Sixties British pop. It makes me think of miniskirts and knee-high boots. Can you tell I'm a very lonely man?
  
• "Anywhere" by The Presets -- This propulsive, melancholy bit of electronica is too moody for the dancefloor, but it's just the thing for chilling out late at night.
  

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:27 PM | Comments (1)

August 07, 2008

In The Drink

I was returning home from a walk this afternoon when I noticed several emergency response vehicles heading towards the riverfront. Curious, I headed down there myself to see what was going on. I couldn't see much from where we were standing, but my nurse said he witnessed a rescue boat in the waters near the Stone Arch Bridge and someone being placed on a gurney. I checked the local news sites for any mention of the incident, but found nothing.

Just another day in the big city.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 07:18 PM | Comments (1)

August 06, 2008

Footwear, Part II

Could I be any more of a cliche? This is me modeling my new pair of Birkenstocks. I'll be wearing these for the big summer picnic that the local chapter of the Godless Pinko Public Radio Boosters throws every year. Just wearing these makes me want to write a letter to the editor extolling the virtues of organic farming. And they're quite comfy in a decadent, liberal sort of way.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:06 PM | Comments (4)

August 05, 2008

Aging Out

Via The Gimp Parade, here's a Houston Press article discussing the challenges facing young adults with disabilities who are aging out of the pediatric care system. While this really isn't a new phenomenon, the piece does a good job of explaining the institutional biases that are still the norm in many states. For example, many state Medicaid programs will not provide private duty nursing services after age 21 and will only cover the costs of institutional care. Families are suing states like Texas in efforts to get the services that will keep their sons and daughters in the community and not warehoused in facilities.

The article goes on to describe how some hospitals and clinics serving kids and teens with disabilities are doing more to prepare them for the transition to adult lives of independence and employment. I could think of a few Minnesota-based hospitals that might want to consider implementing similar programs. But the real changes will have to come from the bureaucrats. And speaking as a bureaucrat, I can tell you that we're not always ones at the bleeding edge of social change.

Further evidence that the world is astonishingly small: Steve Elliot, the attorney interviewed for the article, was one of my mentors when I clerked at the Minnesota Disability Law Center many years ago.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 11:21 PM | Comments (1)

August 04, 2008

Footwear

I decided it was time for a new pair of shoes, seeing as how it's been almost a decade since I purchased my current pair of Dexters. I paid a visit to Robert's Shoes in south Minneapolis and found a nice pair of all-purpose loafers that should look quite natty on me. But I'll be damned if I could find a pair of sandals that (a) fit me and (b) didn't look like ass. Perhaps I should take this as a hint that the general public doesn't want to see my bare, slightly swollen feet.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 10:41 PM | Comments (2)

August 03, 2008

Avoidable Tragedy

Danieal Kelly was a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who starved to death because her mother didn't feed her. But the extent of her mother's neglect didn't end there. Danieal was kept hidden away in a filthy apartment and often left to lie in her own waste for days at a time. She didn't go to school and she didn't receive any medical attention.

But what truly gets me is the utter failure of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and its contractor to investigate the numerous complaints they received regarding Danieal's mistreatment. She had the supreme misfortune to have her fate rest in the hands of incompetent, apathetic bureaucrats and social workers who demonstrated little interest in performing their jobs.

As I was reading the scathing grand jury indictment [contains one very graphic photo] late last night, I began to cry. I don't cry easily, but Danieal's story devastated me. Perhaps it was all the systemic failures that contributed to her death. Perhaps it was the bleak horror of Danieal's life in the care of a neglectful mother. She was an innocent kid who must've been in a great deal of pain and nobody lifted a finger to help her. And there are probably plenty of other kids like Danieal out there, suffering in isolated anonymity.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 09:31 PM | Comments (2)

August 02, 2008

Staycation

Today marks the start of my summer vacation. For the next week, I will not have to check my Outlook calendar and I will not have to wear pants. I'm doing the financially responsible thing and sticking close to home, but I'll manage to keep busy. There are books to read, writing to resume, friends to see, and generally much laziness to be had. Visits to the comic book store, Sebastien Joe's, and perhaps the lakes will also be in order. And, of course, blogging will continue as usual.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 12:49 PM | Comments (1)

August 01, 2008

Rebuilding

Today marks the first anniversary of the 35W bridge collapse. Construction on the new bridge began soon thereafter and should be complete sometime in the next couple months. We have adjusted quite well to the bridge's absence and it will be strange to have it back in operation soon. I would like to see the extra lanes added to Interstate 94 made permanent. They do help with the flow of traffic, especially in the bottleneck approaching downtown Minneapolis.

Posted by wintermute2_0 at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)