WHY ME?
THE NEW NORMAL 2
Sometimes i hear the Why Me? whine from newbies and sometimes,but rarely, i hear it from old hands.
on my nastier Hvy Pain days i want to retort WHY NOT YOU?
being crip doesn't make you 'everyone wins a ribbon'special.
like Gays we are fighting for EQUAL RIGHTS not SPECIAL RIGHTS.
so let me say this again, the Kubler Ross 5 Stages of Grief (Wikipedia et al)
1.DENIAL i feel fine.
2.ANGER why me? it's not fair. (listen up DEATH IS FAIR,EVERYBODY GETS TO PLAY.)
3.BARGAINING i'll be good God just let me.... again!
4.DEPRESION i'm SAD, i give up.(this one is so good sometimes it never goes away.)
5.ACCEPTANCE i.e. THE NEW NORMAL
that all clear now?
in other news,
yes i have been remiss in adding the Tagboard feature.mea culpa.
adjusting to a new symptom of increasingly intense hand tremors.
permanent or transient,too soon to tell.
HEALING IS A FULL TIME JOB.
namaste
mega
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
CREATIVELY MALADJUSTED
"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted." MLK jr
happy birthday Martin (it's actually on the 15th).
THE NEW NORMAL
i give up.
as of this year i can no longer waddle around my house in just my usual heavy knee braces, now i must add an Indoor Cane just like when i venture outside with my Outdoor Canes.
this is The New Normal as applied to crip-ness.
i first ran across this term in Berkeley when i attended the Ed Roberts Memorial held at UC in the mid 90s.many of you have probably never heard of Ed Roberts,after he died me and my soul mate found pictures of him we'd taken at various activist functions.who knew?
ever hear of CIL? Ed established the first ILC (Independent Living Center) in Berkeley while he was at UC.Ed was a quad in a power chair with an unquenchable spirit,just listening to what he had accomplished and even the things he attempted and failed at-got me out of my near-death funk in the 90s and out into crip activist circles.
even now,wracked with chronic pain,diabetes,firbromyalgia,Lyme,bad knees,eyes and everything else...i think of Ed Roberts when i haul my tired ass out of bed to meetings or to the keyboard.yeah, ED was a mensch!
in other news,
there is a picture of Mt.Rushmore on the front page of one of the local papers with the implied assumption that there is still room for Obama next to Lincoln.not even Jesus could live up to these expectations.
the country is broken, the economy flushed away and outsourced,threatened cuts to crips,frail elderly and children loom on the fractured horizon.
"The road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions." Dante
we shall see.
namaste mega
happy birthday Martin (it's actually on the 15th).
THE NEW NORMAL
i give up.
as of this year i can no longer waddle around my house in just my usual heavy knee braces, now i must add an Indoor Cane just like when i venture outside with my Outdoor Canes.
this is The New Normal as applied to crip-ness.
i first ran across this term in Berkeley when i attended the Ed Roberts Memorial held at UC in the mid 90s.many of you have probably never heard of Ed Roberts,after he died me and my soul mate found pictures of him we'd taken at various activist functions.who knew?
ever hear of CIL? Ed established the first ILC (Independent Living Center) in Berkeley while he was at UC.Ed was a quad in a power chair with an unquenchable spirit,just listening to what he had accomplished and even the things he attempted and failed at-got me out of my near-death funk in the 90s and out into crip activist circles.
even now,wracked with chronic pain,diabetes,firbromyalgia,Lyme,bad knees,eyes and everything else...i think of Ed Roberts when i haul my tired ass out of bed to meetings or to the keyboard.yeah, ED was a mensch!
in other news,
there is a picture of Mt.Rushmore on the front page of one of the local papers with the implied assumption that there is still room for Obama next to Lincoln.not even Jesus could live up to these expectations.
the country is broken, the economy flushed away and outsourced,threatened cuts to crips,frail elderly and children loom on the fractured horizon.
"The road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions." Dante
we shall see.
namaste mega
Sunday, January 11, 2009
COMMENTS
okay,
the Comments problem appears to be solved.
am looking into Tagboards and guestbooks for True Interactivity (sic).
backgound info:
this blog is a spin off from Santa Cruz County OUTREACH EFFORTS but,as usual, i am totally responsilbe for any screw ups and the County disavows all knowldge of my activities yada yada yada.
so feel free to speak freely we are officially a 'rogue op' as Jack Bauer would say.
in other news
the 'Senile' (our local rag/business shill) promises us Glorious Weather all weeek so i'm getting off my ass now to go enjoy some of it.
write now.
later.
namaste
mega
the Comments problem appears to be solved.
am looking into Tagboards and guestbooks for True Interactivity (sic).
backgound info:
this blog is a spin off from Santa Cruz County OUTREACH EFFORTS but,as usual, i am totally responsilbe for any screw ups and the County disavows all knowldge of my activities yada yada yada.
so feel free to speak freely we are officially a 'rogue op' as Jack Bauer would say.
in other news
the 'Senile' (our local rag/business shill) promises us Glorious Weather all weeek so i'm getting off my ass now to go enjoy some of it.
write now.
later.
namaste
mega
Saturday, January 10, 2009
AVOID STRESS?
yeah right.
i am a Big Fan of WebMD and being a crip, i naturally read more medical journals & jargon then is probably good for me.
Everything says AVOID STRESS but nobody tells you how?
just look around you at the world, the politicians,the governements, the lack of a California state budget, the failing econmy,war and strife and starvation everywhere.
if you are not stressed then you are not paying attention.
i am on painkillers and antidepressants and i am still stressed.
first of all, there are Two forms of stress;
DIS STRESS (bad) you go lame,your dog dies, your mother in law moves in,your son almost dies etc etc.
EU STRESS (good) you fall in love,get a better job, your team wins something or other,your pig out on your favorite junk food,a beautiful sunset or orgasm etc etc.
get the picture? the complete picture.
THERE IS NO WAY TO "AVOID STRESS"!
so don't feel guilty about the unavoidable.
in other news,
local news report that diabetics (like me) even when well controlled suffer a minor amount of brain damage, they sugar coat it a bit but that's what it is.
so be warned,if something i write doesn't make a whole lotta sense to you-maybe it's not you,okay?
this is my Good News blog.
much love
mega
i am a Big Fan of WebMD and being a crip, i naturally read more medical journals & jargon then is probably good for me.
Everything says AVOID STRESS but nobody tells you how?
just look around you at the world, the politicians,the governements, the lack of a California state budget, the failing econmy,war and strife and starvation everywhere.
if you are not stressed then you are not paying attention.
i am on painkillers and antidepressants and i am still stressed.
first of all, there are Two forms of stress;
DIS STRESS (bad) you go lame,your dog dies, your mother in law moves in,your son almost dies etc etc.
EU STRESS (good) you fall in love,get a better job, your team wins something or other,your pig out on your favorite junk food,a beautiful sunset or orgasm etc etc.
get the picture? the complete picture.
THERE IS NO WAY TO "AVOID STRESS"!
so don't feel guilty about the unavoidable.
in other news,
local news report that diabetics (like me) even when well controlled suffer a minor amount of brain damage, they sugar coat it a bit but that's what it is.
so be warned,if something i write doesn't make a whole lotta sense to you-maybe it's not you,okay?
this is my Good News blog.
much love
mega
Thursday, January 8, 2009
2009 BEGINS
HAPPY (?) NEW YEAR.
i had the best Thanksgiving EVER last year.
my oldest son was riding with a drunk driver,on a wet slick road near Crescent City, when the SUV decided to become airborne scrap metal...my son almost died.the driver broke a few ribs.
a nurse i talked to said his brain looked like Shaken Baby Syndrome (sic).
it took awhile but my son got out of ICU on Thanksgiving, with a steel plate in his broken neck,it will probably take almost two years of physical therapy to re-learn how to use his right arm (sure cuts down on his video game playing).
just an objection lesson that any one-at any time-can join the Crip Community.i am not sure if this is still true but the leading cause of disability among men used to be accidents and among women-MEN (domestic or dating violence).
think about that.
in other news,
i am not yet ready to design statues for St.Obama on horseback yet,lets wait until he actually moves into 1600 and gets his hands dirty first.
the Other Bush made a sustained effort to dismantle the ADA as did all the judges he appointed to the Supreme Court,despite his Daddy's efforts to set it up (Oedipus much?).
let's hope the future is better,although the locals here have already cut deeply into my SSDI increase (sigh) i forgot just when i took a VOW OF POVERTY becoming disabled.
must've been in the Fine Print i signed when mis-medicated,right?
RIDDLE ME THIS? when did we,as a society, decide that yacht tax exemptions were more important than education and human lives???
did i miss that memo?
much love
mega
i had the best Thanksgiving EVER last year.
my oldest son was riding with a drunk driver,on a wet slick road near Crescent City, when the SUV decided to become airborne scrap metal...my son almost died.the driver broke a few ribs.
a nurse i talked to said his brain looked like Shaken Baby Syndrome (sic).
it took awhile but my son got out of ICU on Thanksgiving, with a steel plate in his broken neck,it will probably take almost two years of physical therapy to re-learn how to use his right arm (sure cuts down on his video game playing).
just an objection lesson that any one-at any time-can join the Crip Community.i am not sure if this is still true but the leading cause of disability among men used to be accidents and among women-MEN (domestic or dating violence).
think about that.
in other news,
i am not yet ready to design statues for St.Obama on horseback yet,lets wait until he actually moves into 1600 and gets his hands dirty first.
the Other Bush made a sustained effort to dismantle the ADA as did all the judges he appointed to the Supreme Court,despite his Daddy's efforts to set it up (Oedipus much?).
let's hope the future is better,although the locals here have already cut deeply into my SSDI increase (sigh) i forgot just when i took a VOW OF POVERTY becoming disabled.
must've been in the Fine Print i signed when mis-medicated,right?
RIDDLE ME THIS? when did we,as a society, decide that yacht tax exemptions were more important than education and human lives???
did i miss that memo?
much love
mega
Friday, December 19, 2008
XMAS GRIPES
Aloha,
This is a personal gripe.
When I lived in Bezerkeley,I had a few freinds who were quads and they HATED Jerry Lewisand his telethons,They talked about PITY PARTY FUNDRASING and TOKEN CUTE CRIPS.I was new to being permanently disabled at the time and thought their reactions rather extreme.
Not now.
Every Xmas the SF Chronicle and local TV stations runs all this SEASON OF SHARING feel good BS.
HULLO! WE ARE HERE ALL YEAR LONG!!!
We are poor,frail elderly,disalbed,homeless,jobless etc 365 days 24/7.
Now that the Economy is in the toilet all this is news-for Xmas.ARRRGHHH!
Gotta stop now,am grinding my teeth in frustration and I don't have that many left.
MERYY X OR WHATEVER.
mega
This is a personal gripe.
When I lived in Bezerkeley,I had a few freinds who were quads and they HATED Jerry Lewisand his telethons,They talked about PITY PARTY FUNDRASING and TOKEN CUTE CRIPS.I was new to being permanently disabled at the time and thought their reactions rather extreme.
Not now.
Every Xmas the SF Chronicle and local TV stations runs all this SEASON OF SHARING feel good BS.
HULLO! WE ARE HERE ALL YEAR LONG!!!
We are poor,frail elderly,disalbed,homeless,jobless etc 365 days 24/7.
Now that the Economy is in the toilet all this is news-for Xmas.ARRRGHHH!
Gotta stop now,am grinding my teeth in frustration and I don't have that many left.
MERYY X OR WHATEVER.
mega
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Web Accessibility In Santa Cruz County
At the Commission's monthly meeting in March 2008, a member of the disabled community registered a complaint that the Commission's web site was not accessible to people with a variety of impairments, particularly visual. A sub-committee was formed to investigate the complaint and, in a subsequent meeting with this individual, it was decided that the Commission's web site should be re-designed using established guidelines for accessibility. That effort has now been completed. The newly designed web site can be viewed at:
www.scccod.net
In the process of testing the new web site, several online validation and evaluation tools were used to measure the level of accessibility. In addition, the Commission requested an independent review from The Vista Center for the Blind. As a comparison, the Santa Cruz County's home page was also evaluated. A review of the test results clearly shows that the County’s home page has a poor level of accessibility.
Advances in assistive technologies such as the JAWS and WebAnywhere screen readers now make it possible for those with a variety of impairments to access the resources available on the Web. To be effective, however, many of these technologies require that individual web sites adhere to common design standards and guidelines. Guidelines for accessibility have been developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through their Web Accessibility Initiative (www.w3.org/WAI/). Their recommendations include a number of relatively simple procedures to use when developing a web page. A summary of those procedures includes:
-Comply with W3C HTML coding standards
-Use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for page formatting
=A logical organization of page elements so that the page can be read as a document with titles, headings and content
-Appropriate tags and titles for images and tables
-Appropriate use of contrasting colors to accommodate those with color blindness
Currently, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require government web sites to provide access assistance analogous to designated parking places or wheelchair ramps to public buildings. However, the ADA Administration encourages State and local governments to voluntarily incorporate these guidelines in to their web site development. Their recommendations, which reference the W3C/WAI guidelines, can be viewed at:
www.ada.gov/websites2_scrn.pdf
The Commission on Disabilities believes that County should "get ahead of the curve" and incorporate these guidelines into future implementations of the County's web site. There are potentially hundreds of people in Santa Cruz County who are currently denied access to this important public resource.
www.scccod.net
In the process of testing the new web site, several online validation and evaluation tools were used to measure the level of accessibility. In addition, the Commission requested an independent review from The Vista Center for the Blind. As a comparison, the Santa Cruz County's home page was also evaluated. A review of the test results clearly shows that the County’s home page has a poor level of accessibility.
Advances in assistive technologies such as the JAWS and WebAnywhere screen readers now make it possible for those with a variety of impairments to access the resources available on the Web. To be effective, however, many of these technologies require that individual web sites adhere to common design standards and guidelines. Guidelines for accessibility have been developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) through their Web Accessibility Initiative (www.w3.org/WAI/). Their recommendations include a number of relatively simple procedures to use when developing a web page. A summary of those procedures includes:
-Comply with W3C HTML coding standards
-Use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for page formatting
=A logical organization of page elements so that the page can be read as a document with titles, headings and content
-Appropriate tags and titles for images and tables
-Appropriate use of contrasting colors to accommodate those with color blindness
Currently, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require government web sites to provide access assistance analogous to designated parking places or wheelchair ramps to public buildings. However, the ADA Administration encourages State and local governments to voluntarily incorporate these guidelines in to their web site development. Their recommendations, which reference the W3C/WAI guidelines, can be viewed at:
www.ada.gov/websites2_scrn.pdf
The Commission on Disabilities believes that County should "get ahead of the curve" and incorporate these guidelines into future implementations of the County's web site. There are potentially hundreds of people in Santa Cruz County who are currently denied access to this important public resource.
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