Trouble Is Everywhere

Goodbye From FWD.

In one of those things that I find terribly funny (but other people may not), my final post on FWD is about Glee. It's a transcript of the WBAI program "The Largest Minority", in which various people discuss Glee and it's depictions of disability, and includes more details on that thing I mentioned where Ryan Murphy was invited to a major industry event about disability and accessibility hosted by the Screen Actors Guild and didn't show up: Glee and Disability in Pop Culture.

What I find funny about this is the reason FWD stopped posting anything about Glee was because I asked everyone not to. I still get a few emails a month from people telling me to kill myself over my posts on the topic at Bitch and on FWD, and at the time I was having panic attacks at even the idea of looking at another discussion of the show.

I updated my Bundle of RSS feeds for disability-focused blogs. Check out my awesome gReader bundle!. It does include parent-focused blogs and educator focused blogs. It doesn't include anyone from DW or LJ, sadly. I may update it in a few days to include those, I'm not sure. Feel free to use it in any way (or no way!) that you wish, and ping me to add someone if you think I should. I in no way think it's at all even a tiny tiny fraction of the disability-focused blogs out there.

I'm taking the next month or so (ish) off from the internet. If there's anything personal experience has taught me, it's that this is difficult for me, since about 90% of my friends are online, and a lot of them communicate primarily through blogs & LJ/DW. But, I will have email, so don't hesitate for one moment to email me should you wish. Be aware, though, that I'll be only checking my email once a day, because I need to focus on everything I need to get done in January if Don & I are going to blow the pop-stand of Halifax.

I hope you all have or had a wonderful Gregorian New Year's Eve, and many joyous returns of the day.

♥

emee and I apparently decided tonight was the night to play the IRL version of "freak the Twilight Noob" by recounting the worst relationships we'd ever been in, and how they all went horribly horribly wrong to poor Katie, who kept staring at us in shock. What was sad was that we both could recount "I stayed because I was worried about what would happen if I left" stories, but I don't think I know any women who can't tell me some version of that story. (Not that I think it's limited to women, but men tend to tell me different stories.)

There was much drinking, and I heckled White Collar (as I do) and we had some sort of strange conversation about US vs Canadian politics - note, please, that one of our major political fights right now is over whether or not the long-form census should be mandatory for 20% of Canadians or voluntary and sent to 30% of them. This is far more controversial than you might think.

I've been home for a bit now, I'm still waiting to sober up before I go to bed. (We started out talking about binge drinking, I think? And just general drinking culture? And then somehow got into politics, 24 hour news channels, Canadiana in the form of Heritage Moments & the opening bars of Hockey Night in Canada, and I think we detoured into Bon Cop Bad Cop. There was much laughing, but Katie & emee are really good for that.)

These are the things I knew about Alcatraz in 2008:

- It was a prison
- It is an island
- Either no one escaped from it, or some dude swam away
- It is in the U.S.

These are the things I learned about Alcatraz in 2009:

- From late 1969 to early 1971, Alcatraz was Occupied by Indians of All Tribes

These are the things I learned about Alcatraz two days ago, when I got a postcard from abby jean:

- Alcatraz is actually no where near the Statue of Liberty because
- Alcatraz is in California

My mental map of the US just shifted radically, and it is distressing.

I am incredibly busy in crunch thesis time right now, as my adviser and I developed a writing plan and due dates and if I want to get done I need to not be around, so I am not.