Sasha's Dreams

Winter Nomads
French? with English subtitles. Seen at WI film festival. (I had a free ticket.)

I loved this film about shepherds who wander the countryside for 4 months to let the herd graze on leftover grass over the winter. It's a "fly on the wall" documentary with no explanations given. Pascal, a man perhaps in his fifties, travels with Carole, a young woman. They have 3 donkeys, four border collies, and about 800 sheep. They travel in beautiful countryside and through towns. They sleep on tarps and skins and eat food over a fire. It's an old way of life in a modern time. It was gorgeous and interesting.

The Sessions

This was a pretty solid movie about Mark O'Brien, a writer with post-polio syndrome, who hires a sex therapist. This film had a great cast and used a lot of Mark's words. It showed some of the realities of his life, was funny and as far as I could tell, realistic.

You can read his orginal essay in the Sun here.

What I disliked about the movie was its uncritical heteronormativity. That is to say; PIV intercourse was presented as being very important, even necessary!, to sex. Kink was not discussed. Adaptive devices weren't discussed in any real way.

Still I recommend this movie because there aren't that many films about disability and sex. And the cast is quite good.

Fastening One Heart to Every Falling Thing (51519 words) by thefourthvine
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hockey RPF
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin, Evgeni Malkin/Alexander Ovechkin
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulbond, Trope Subversion/Inversion, Spacetoaster
Summary:

Geno can't. Sidney won't.

This isn't my fandom and I know nothing about hockey. That said, I loved this story a lot. It's a great tale about neuro-diversity, and a wonderful subversion of the soul bonding trope.

The world of the fic is one where everyone is psychic to a degree, and everyone soul bonds with their mate. People are warned as teens to be careful about soul bonding too early through touch and sex. Geno is born without the ability to soul bond, thus is able to have casual sex. He's seen as a resource for this purpose; but this of course also leaves him lonely.

Sidney is born super-psychic and isn't taught to control his abilities. He is sensitive, doesn't like to touch, and adamantly does not want to soul bond, despite the nearly universal expectation that he should.

Sidney is told explicitly that he's not broken, but in fact he's significantly impaired by his abilities and must make accommodations daily. He resists therapy, and indeed his therapist is annoying, but therapy is ultimately what he needs. Geno is told that he is broken, but to my eye his problem is all social stigma: people assume that he can't have a partner, and therefore doesn't want one. He's internalized the stigma to a certain degree.

These two men play hockey on the same team and end up being really good for each other.

This fic is really brilliant and I highly recommend it!

3 Links I found really interesting!

James Sheldon: Intelligence as a Compliment, Stupid as an Insult: Rethinking Normal, Rethinking Attraction, Rethinking Society.

The question, though, that I have for geeks is … can you give up your need to have been right, the self-righteousness that comes with putting down those who were putting you down all those years for being geeky? And what are the consequences that come with attempting to judge others’ intelligence. Many people process information differently or have different perceptions than you do. And there’s a long history in our society of those people being marginalized and oppressed for being that way.

Ta-Nehisi Coates at the Atlantic: Through the Lens of Disability

But here is what I think: so much social justice writing is about what society owes those who we perceive as getting the short of end of the stick. It's called social justice for a reason. But what I like about this post is that it isn't simply about what the world should do about physical disability, but how a physical disability shaped a person's life, regardless of societal responsibility.

Tim Chevalier at Geek Feminism: Being a Better Ally to Trans People

Sometimes claims that trans people are “unnatural” are really claims that trans people are some sort of modern creation of medical technology, as if we didn’t exist before medical interventions that sometimes make our lives easier existed.

One cool thing I learned from disability activism (and jesse_the_k) is the idea of scarcity vs. abundance. This helps me make sense of my daily life.

For instance, when I go to get groceries I often bring my own bags. The store gives 5 cents credit for each bag and it's better for the planet, etc. The problem is, the cashiers seem to shift from an abundance mentality (limitless plastic bags) to a scarcity mentality (only 3 bags that I brought). And even though I say to them, use plastic for whatever doesn't fit, they seem to take pride in saying, "Oh, I think I can make it all fit into your bags!" So then they load up my tote bags and make them super heavy and difficult to carry. I haven't yet figured out a solution to this, except bringing a huge amount of bags with my every time (even though I'm not sure how much I will buy), or teaching/training the baggers little by little not to over load my bags. This store is not designed in a way that would let me bag the groceries myself. I'm sure I look able bodied to them, like someone who would have no trouble lifting really heavy bags.

In terms of disability, abundance does us much better than scarcity: let's believe that there can be enough elevators, enough pain medication, enough time to get where we need to go (and to rest), enough access to medical care, enough support from our friends and loved ones. More than enough.

I believe in abundance.

One of the reasons it can be hard to Get Things Done is because we don't always realize how many steps are involved in a task. For instance, on my to-do list for a while has been: get photos framed for art show.

This is what the task really breaks down to:

1. Contact art show person (done by email)
2. Select photos (done)
3. Print photos at Walgreens (done)
3.5 Ask neighbor how he gets his photos framed (done)
4. Go to craft store and get frames with wiring on back (done yesterday)
5. Carry frames in from car (I haaate carrying things in from the car)
6. Frame photos
7. Contact art show person again to see where/when to drop them off, inquire about how to price them, etc.
8. Transport them (carefully) to the library for the show.

Today I broke one of the 4 frames while it was in the car, so I will either simply submit 3 photos instead of 4 (easier), or I will go back to the craft store for another frame. While running errands yesterday I also apparently left a different package at a store because I was hungry/tired. I am undecided about whether to go back for it-- it was just some postcards.

I don't really remember what things were like before I was disabled by illness, but I know things weren't this hard to accomplish. It's good to have several days off in a row right now.

Do y'all have any recommendations for canes?

I can't sleep so here are some things!

I saw Brave and mostly I liked it, with some reservations.

( spoilers )

I maintain that Monsters, Inc is the best Pixar film. I'm not that excited about the sequel, though.

We saw previews for The Hobbit and a couple of animated monster films. The one about Hotel Transylvania, while it looked cute at first-- a male vampire raising a baby!-- quickly went into squick territory because it became about a father trying to control his teenage daughter's sexuality. laceblade looked at each other and snarked.

On Sunday I watched a few episodes of "Push Girls" on a friend's DVR. This is a reality show about women in L.A. who are wheelchair users. Three of them are paraplegic and one is quadraplegic. They are all attractive, middle class, femme women. I found it kind of boring mostly because I am easily bored by reality shows: I like unreality in my entertainment. The main annoyance is that they repeat content in a "Dateline NBC" style, where they show a scene as a teaser, and then show it again a few minutes later as part of the narrative. UGH. The target audience for this show is not, I suspect, radical disability activists like myself, because I already think disability is normal and that people who use wheelchairs can be beautiful, etc.

Autie was my favorite person on the show. She is 42, married, and a dancer. She is funny and says that she comes from a rough background. Her relationship with her husband is super cute. Angela and Tiphany live together. Angela seems like the most emotionally intelligent person of the four, and is trying to restart her modeling career while going through a separation from her husband. Tiphany is bisexual (also she refuses labels) and I don't remember what her job is. Mia has an office job of some kind. I like that some of them are people of color and that Tiphany's relationship with a woman is completely normalized.

In an early episode, Angela hires a photographer to do some head shots or something. This guy is clueless and heinous about disability and says something to the camera like, "She's like an armless man who wants to be a pitcher." My friends and I totally snarked this, saying "Oh, because she's a vampire and her picture won't show on your film!". But Angela was pretty gentle with him and didn't fire him. She patiently explained things to him.

In one episode, Mia's mother visits. Mia's mom is terrible and awful and says all kinds of ableist bullshit. But Mia is brave and patient! Mia confronts her mom about her alcoholism and ableist attitudes. She introduces her to the other push girls. Mom starts to come around a little and see that Mia has things figured out pretty well and that Mia's life really isn't that bad.

I don't think I'll watch any more of this show, mostly because it's boring to me. I don't find it that interesting to watch something where the entire premise is: it's so WEIRD and INTERESTING that conventionally pretty women use wheelchairs and have pretty normal lives!!!

I was interviewed for this great article by s.e. smith at xojane.com:

Where are all the disabled scientists?

Second Sight - 1999, starring Clive Owen

A British TV film about a detective investigating a murder. He finds out that he is losing his eyesight and hides this fact in order to keep his job. This movie was really slow and boring, and not what I expected. It was dreary and strange. Not recommended.

Tipping the Velvet

HIGHLY recommended. were_duck and I watched this one night without realizing how long it is; it's three episodes that are about an hour each. Nan Astley, an oyster girl in 1890s England, is swept up into a love affair with a cross-dressing woman performer. She embarks on an adventure to London and fortune takes her high and low. I loved it!

Patrik, Age 1.5

I loved this Swedish film about two gay men who want to adopt a baby. They are at first turned down, but later get a letter saying that Patrik, age 1.5, needs a home. They accept, only to find out later that a there was a typo, and a 15 year old boy shows up at their door. This movie was exceptional at showing, rather than telling, the story. The main actor has a wonderfully expressive and compassionate face. There are small moments of homophobia in the neighborhood, and small moments of connection and love. A great film.

Soldier's Girl, starring Lee Pace

I liked this film a lot; it has great acting and a good story. If only it didn't have a horribly sad ending! Lee Pace is almost unrecognizable as Calpernia, a trans woman performer who falls in love with a soldier, Barry Winchell. This is based on a true story. The romance is captivating and yet ordinary; there is great chemistry between the characters. In many ways the couple is normal; the film emphasizes this. I only recommend this movie if you know you can stomach the ending (which is known in the beginning of the film).

Get Your Stuff (streaming)

This film attempts to be what "Patrik" is: a film about a gay couple fostering troubled kids. But it is amateurish and strains credibility--for instance, why would a recovering alcoholic have a liquor cabinet in his house? The film tries for both light-hearted and serious when it should have gone one way or the other. There was a cloying, over-the-top montage at the end. Also the aspect ratio kept changing while I watched which was annoying. Not recommended.

Rory O'Shea was Here, starring James McAvoy (streaming)

Rory O'Shea, young and rebellious, moves into a residential home for disabled people, there befriending Michael Connolly, who few people can understand. The two eventually move out and get their own apartment, hiring an aide to help take care of them. I loved this movie! Funny, sad, sarcastic, complex-- it is the rare movie that puts disabled people at the center of the narrative and deals realistically with their lives. The only problem is that the actors are able-bodied. Very much recommended.

Please let me know if you have any additions or corrections.

120: Vids with Something to Say
Alexis, Skud, Gretchen

Probably my favorite panel! I arrived a few minutes late, but in time to speak about LC's "Me and My 424" vid. I posted about this vid here; what I said was something along the lines of how technology plays a huge role in these people's lives. Logan is a person with a disability, and for PWD, tech can be life or death, movement or no movement. The vid shows him as a geek that likes to fiddle, that likes to be wired in. So, tech is great, but it is also subject to failure and damage, and to being outdated, as the lyrics remind us. What happens if no one makes the parts for your wheelchair anymore? "Nude descending a staircase" was a painting that came about because of a leap in technology: photography. In the vid, we see moments of Logan and Max reaching towards each other, and moving away again, picking up their phones and putting them down. Max herself is a product of technology-- a genetically engineered super-soldier, and she too has this flaw; the seizures that come about because of an amino acid deficiency. Gretchen said that this vid is about Logan's frustrations and hardships, but he is also very independent in it; it's a great character study. I was surprised that very few people in the room were familiar with the fandom.

There was a lively discussion about Gianduja Kiss' "Shock the Monkey", a Hawaii 5-0 vid. Skud talked about how this show was rec'd to her as "light viewing" and she had to quit watching because of the police brutality/torture in the show. Someone in the audience talked about viewer expectations: there was laughter in the audience at the vid show during the prat falls, and you never know what provokes such laughter, it could be discomfort, but it was strange. Raanve said that the song is one she thought was silly nonsense until she watched the music vid and found it distressing. Someone said that the origin of the song is a scientific experiment where baby monkeys are put with two mama dolls: one is wire and has food, one is snuggly but shocks the baby, and the baby will go to the snuggly one. There was a pause. Gretchen said, "It's about being attached to things that hurt you, but you keep coming back anyway." Then there was a moan of understanding and dismay from the audience. I mentioned at some point that I read a racial critique from this vid too; since it is two white guys as the protags, and the bad guys are Asians and native Hawaiian islanders.

The panel also talked about "How Much is that Geisha in the Window", specifically about how the erasure of Asians from Firefly echoes the erasure of Asians from American history narratives.

There was also a bit of talk about literalism of metaphors and song choices.

Someone asked where to find meta; the Journal of Transformative Works and Cultures was mentioned. Also metafandom.