tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777304482655005542024-02-08T09:56:09.154-08:00Just Extra StuffMartinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-29127829114995237922016-03-14T10:47:00.002-07:002016-03-14T10:47:15.044-07:00By Midnight Tomorrow , I Need To:1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Find gynecologist, eye doctor, orthopedist, dentist and PT<br />
2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Buy juice, toothpaste, and new electric toothbrush<br />
3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Get receipts from CVS<br />
4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Put more $ on RIDE account<br />
5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Call Olivia for an update<br />
6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rewatch the debate and finish the first trump article<br />
7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Start the Trump and activism<br />
8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Do research and behind World of Tomorrow review<br />
9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Write fiction<br />
10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Call mom<br />
11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Call housing authorities<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-35251730821512155282016-01-30T08:56:00.002-08:002016-01-30T08:56:07.259-08:00WTF?I am not feeling well and was none to happy to drag myself from my nice warm bed this morning and deal with the hotelier where I’m staying while my housing clusterf$$k gets resolved. But the man yesterday told me I need to go to the front desk every day. This is news to me.<br />
<br />
But I go anyway, because I don't want to make trouble for myself. I am there for about 2 minutes, literally. The nice lady who is there says that it’s fine. She does what I ask and even makes sure tomorrow is dealt with so I don’t have anymore issues.<br />
<br />
I go back to my room and tell my PCA (personal care assistant) what happened and how I’m totally confused and a little bit pissed off (as I am still not feeling well). I would much rather have stayed in my aforementioned cozy bed instead of getting dressed and going down to deal with what turned out to be nothing.<br />
<br />
PCA’s response, “Maybe he has a very sad internal life.”<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-28879244152738916252016-01-25T21:01:00.002-08:002016-01-27T20:29:43.574-08:00Heartache Those moments that occur when your born into one of these bodies. The moment able-bodied people don't get; although the good ones empathize. It can happen over e-mail, social media, or the telephone. Sometimes even the television Is how you find out another someone is gone; although that's worst case scenario.<br />
<br />
If they’re not among your close cohort you exhale, Thank God, and feel guilty.<br />
<br />
You may have known them, but you knew of them. Worked the same campaigns. Attended the same meetings. Used the same service provider. No one in the gimp world is that isolated from anyone else. That’s just how it works.<br />
<br />
You friend people on social networks who you’ve never met because they’re your friend’s friend. Never mind that you may have met the first friend in person. Someday, of course, you plan to at a conference, a con, or an action. However, your schedules are so packed, your health so variable, and your money so scant you can never seem to coordinate it. You decide to house them because you understand what it's like to need somewhere to sleep and pee while you try to change the world.<br />
<br />
Too often, it's the people around that bear the ire that's always under the surface. The anger seeps out when someone’s hospitalized, sick, or worst yet deceased. The people most likely to endure the outrage have learned not take it personally. They’re not the reason. They understand that if they're smart enough to still be in my life.<br />
<br />
Tonight is another one of those worry nights. I'm not even 40. No one my age ought to know death as intimately as many within the disability community are forced to deal with it on an ongoing basis.<br />
<br />
Now I know what some readers are thinking. I would have less grief in my life if I had fewer friends with disabilities. That's as may be, but I would also be much less sane. Even the most awesome non-disabled person is only so capable of understanding what any person with a disability (PWD) copes with on a daily basis. I need my PWD friends. That need just means I spend more time fretting than most people do.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-31602932025179231072016-01-04T23:37:00.000-08:002016-01-05T00:21:04.324-08:00Kick Start Your Creativity- Day 4Assumptions... As a person who works in social justice l shouldn't be
and I hate when dominant culture people exhibit the behavior towards
marginalized individuals. However, I do it all the time I don't mean
towards like obvious bigots, actual gay bashers, or the kind of asshole
who stops me in the street and says, "If I were like you I'd kill
myself." This really happened on the street. I'm not even talking about
the Holocaust denier that my friend accidentally found herself<span class="text_exposed_show">
on a coffee date with. Those people are pretty clear that they have
something wrong in their wiring or at least a definite lack of social
skills.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
I'm discussing the
person who truly thinks that they would stop having a life if they
needed someone to help them pee. They wouldn't. But are we, the people
with the knowledge, making it a point to be publicly visible at movie
theaters and in classrooms? Do we put ourselves out there as candidates
for those local offices that are frequently unfulfilled?<br />
<br />
Are we the
first people to risk ourselves by reaching out to a new person who is
where we were a month/six months/a year ago? When all we wanted was
someone with some answers to give us a hug and tell us that whatever new
identity we found ourselves suddenly inhabiting. An identity that many
of us were wrongly taught was the ticket to a fate worse than death.
Whatever marginalized community we are now a part of chances are we've
learned. Learned that being our authentic selves beats our best day of
passing by such a profound degree that it isn't even a competition.
Learned that while being true to ourselves may have cost us some
relationships most of the people who truly matter are still here even if
our choice made them examine somethings they always thought were true.
We have also met new people, who may share our new identity or may not,
but at least they met our real selves. Isn't that worth every tear we've
shed and every time we doubted? Why aren't we shouting our new wisdom
from every rooftop?<br />
<br />
Why aren't we deciding to be there for the next
person in line? Why aren't we reaching back for them when they're to
scared to reach for us? We owe that to the person who was there for us.
If no one was I am sorry and there should have been. But because your
needs were unmet doesn't excuse you from your duties. Be there; don't
treat someone like you were. Repeating what was done to you doesn't
erase your pain. It inflicts it on someone else. No one gains accept the
people who spent your life trying to teach you that you were
unworthy/incorrect. Don't give them evidence. They already control the
airwaves.<br />
<br />
Live your life as well and as publicly as you can and then
live it more publicly than you are comfortable with. Be the counter
example. Be visible. Be loud. Kick assumption in the cojones! You deserve that life and, perhaps more importantly, whoever is watching you, their authentic self barely daring to peek out behind those false eyes you remember having, but wish you could forget, requires you to make that sacrifice and risk being visible. </div>
Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-69384521402715825482016-01-03T22:27:00.001-08:002016-01-03T22:30:21.385-08:00Kick start your Creativity- Day 3 The Power of Associational Thinking<br />
<br />
Today's Prompt: What would be a radical thing to do? <br />
<br />
Love whoever and use the feeling as a resource (with their permission of course, once bitten). I want to audit an interior or furniture design class and use the concepts learned to write new stories. Use friends and surroundings more as material. Actually plan to smell the flowers with Harriet. Use the Internet to explore things and experiences that are hard for me to access. Find a way to fly again, just to get over my terrible Utah memory. Be sick and use it as material, not just sit and wallow. But pay attention to the actual feelings of a runny nose, scratchy throat, whatever.<br />
<br />
Non-fiction writing: How cheese steaks send me home, how my allergy sometimes causes me to make bad dietary choices, what's first at the buffet (Michael Pollan). Also, the fact that Mexico is taking on big soda and the Australians are confronting anti-vaxers and we are doing neither. Work on the wheelchair bed pan and write about how it changes (or doesn't change) my life.I would like to volunteer with parrots? Travel writing: Take a trip to Utah and write about it, ride the MBTA from end to end and get out at each stop to explore/eat/play. Meet Paige!<br />
<br />
Listen to gaming sessions and mine for story possibilities or phrases- must explore snake oil (game within Robyn's game). Just found out its a real game for sale on Amazon- $19.99 (it's so mine the next time Robyn gets an Amazon order. Best creative tax deduction ever. <br />
<br />
Use movies, books, other media as a way to create original material. Like the Terminator that led me to wonder, "How would you parent a kid effectively if you knew they might need to save humanity one day, but you had manipulated things so that the big disaster didn't happen for now. How do you make sure their ready in case the worst happens, but still make sure they grow up without psychological issues, because you want to prepare them to be a leader in whatever world. Make sure to pay attention to this in Star Wars.<br />
<br />
<br />Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-24213318753149508932016-01-02T20:56:00.002-08:002016-01-03T22:29:52.845-08:00Kick start your Creativity- Day 2 First off, I want to let people know that this overall topic of creative blocks and the reason for them is hard
for me to discuss because some people won't be happy with what I say,
especially as I am choosing to put this on one of my blogs. However, I
am trying to walk in truth here and that always makes certain people
uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
The List:<br />
1. Other people's opinions are #1<br />
<br />
I worry too much about how others
will react to what I write. If they will be offended or whatever. I use
people and situations from life, but often people portrayed don't view
their behavior as fictionalized or several events rolled into one.<br />
<br />
I
also worry that when I write about legitimate concerns in a social
justice movement that I'm part of (for example, lack of accessibility at
a progressive event) the "other camp" will use that as a reason to
undermine the broader movement that I agree with. I don't want that to
happen so I may not raise those concerns. I need to remember that the
most harm comes not from raising issues, but from not raising them.<br />
<br />
2. My perfectionism.<br />
<br />
Many is the time when I would have something
already to go and then decide it just wasn't perfect enough. If I really
respect the person or publication I'm sending it to, so much the worse.
Being part of this project and having made a commitment to get
something up every day, however rough a state it's in, is a big step for
me. Also I am looking into joining an online group so I can get support
from other people who are dealing with the same thing. It would be
ideal if the other members were also artists, as we have a particular
set of issues that I feel are unique. However, as I have made a serious
commitment to confronting and conquering this in 2016, any
"perfectionist anonymous" will do.<br />
<br />
3. People who assume they know more about what I need than I do<br />
<br />
Before I
go into this, I want to clarify that my relatives are quite good people,
but as happens frequently they just don't understand how my life works
on a daily basis. For example, I was running a Gofundme and not a one of
them gave so much as a cent or even shared my post. I know what it's
like to be poor, but you can at least share.Isn't that why we are members of social networks in the first place? I'm more than slightly
bitter about this.<br />
<br />
Also they expect me to have the life and opinions
that they do. Not going to happen. We live in very different worlds.
This is not to say they don't empathize with me. They do, but empathy is
not the same as lived experience. I keep trying to explain this. I hope
the last attempt worked. Frequently, I find it easier to talk things
out/get support from other people with disabilities or even strangers
became they are more likely to get it and I also won't be as emotionally
invested if they don't.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, like every other person, I may not
know about a piece of assistive technology that will greatly improve my
life, function, or output. Yes, I know more but keeping up with every
single new app or program is unrealistic. And sometimes it may be
unfortunate that I got a piece of kit that informed me of a major
upgrade after I bought something else. I know this is annoying and money
doesn't just appear because I want a new shiny thing.<br />
<br />
However, I wonder
if the people who are lecturing me about that actually realize how
frustrating it is for me to discover that there was something which
could have eliminated or mitigated a
major problem in my life, which might have made work as an anything
more doable for me or how much I struggle because I know I'm capable of
doing higher level tasks, but always need to balance my creative
desires with the practical side of what it will cost me in terms of
function to do something, I realize that they don't know this and half
the time It's my fault because I decide not to mention whatever is
happening and risk being hurt again when they don't get it.<br />
<br />
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_3">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_5688c5a286d899e69567101">
Also, <span class="text_exposed_show">anyone
who actually bothers to know me would realize that I am not one of
those women who needs to have the latest whatever. I have pants from the
ninth grade that I still wear. Also, I put quite a bit of stock into
being an earth guardian. One does not run for office under the
Green-Rainbow Party or spend years in love with a tree hugging
environmentalist without acquiring somewhat of a commitment to our
planet and, by extension, the concept of reuse.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
4. Society<br />
<br />
On the whole, we are taught not to value artists or pay them well,
especially before they have prove our economic worth. Like that matters!
And we wonder why the world is in such a state. Old Navy even briefly
ran a campaign telling young people that an artist wasn't a good thing
to aspire to be! <br />
<br />
Of course, I know that I won't be able to
change society's opinion on my own. My new goal is just going to be not
to let what other people think I should be doing effect me so much!</div>
</div>
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Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-57267534446565798012016-01-01T21:59:00.003-08:002016-01-01T23:23:10.155-08:00Kick Start Your Creativity- Day 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Note: <i>I'm doing a 30 day 'Kick start your Creativity' online workshop. Publishing a post every day will also allow me to confront my perfectionism devil because nothing posted in one day can be perfect and I know that.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
Success would look like having
begun a few of my long planned stories, especially my Sam novel, which has been
running about in my head forever. Sam deserves to have a life outside my brain
where she has lived for decades. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
God, I treat her like she’s a real
person. I guess that’s because to me she always has been. I just had an
inspiration. Suppose one’s characters could communicate with them (subtly and
with a lot of effort on the characters’ part). In the fictional world, writers are
called flesh people</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
I need to finish my Matthew
Shepard\Laura Hershey chapbook. I began writing it in 2010 when I attended fellow
disability rights activist and poet Laura Hershey’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>memorial celebration and then visited the site
of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>martyr Matthew Shepard’s murder in Wyoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s mostly finished. I just need to write a
few more poems. I want to have a book launch party on October 12, 2018 (the 20<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of Shepard’s death).</div>
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In 30 days, I want to be writing
daily. I want to have secured an iPhone/iPad predictive typing program because
my fingers and vocal cords are more important than money. Typing and using
voice recognition are stressful on my fingers and vocal cords because of my
cerebral palsy.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll have completed the rough draft of one of
the ‘A <span class="tgc">Netherlander Responds’ essays. I’ve been planning a
disability-centric response to the hallowed “Welcome to Holland” essay by </span><span class="st">Emily Perl Kingsley, published in 1987. </span><span class="tgc">Netherlander
is the official term for someone from Holland, according to Wikipedia. That's the
second new creative inspiration type thing/knowledge drop <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that has happened in this 30 day project so
far., Not bad for day one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="st">This famous essay
is designed to provide new parents of PWD hope and knowledge that they are
capable of thriving iduring the (often) unexpected task of helping their child
with a disability grow, accomplish, and become.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only issue is that this wonderful essay doesn’t provide parents any
insight into the lived disability experience. I feel this is a problem because
it doesn’t include any advice on how to make sure their kid understands disability
history, is self-empowered, and has adult role models with disabilities (to
name a few key points I’m<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>going to
highlight). In addition to completing a rough draft of one of the essays I want
to outline the whole project. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 229.5pt;">
<span class="st">As far as my emotional
state in 30 days, I hope to have <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rediscovered
my writer mojo. I’d be earning $100 per month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I find the fun in writing again. I lost the art when it became about the
economics. I need to find a balance. Hopefully, the right predictive typing
software will allow me to do longer projects and not focus on paid to post
shorter pieces that pay low and make you live hand to mouth. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="st">The last thing participants are supposed to consider is this quote. "Every day is a new opportunity to make a new happy ending" anonymous author. This speaks to me because I've had a hard couple months. However, as long as I'm dead, I have abother chance to redeem myself. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-90338440217842625582012-09-25T10:06:00.000-07:002012-09-25T10:10:03.775-07:00On Saying Good Bye...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The note I wrote to accompany Shelia, my old
wheelchair, as she began her new life as a loaner in the durable medical
equipment recycling program.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is Shelia, named after a ninety eight year old
friend who refused to enter a nursing home after being hospitalized with the
flu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s been through hell and back
with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t climb hills or do
non-macadam sidewalks well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have someone
behind you on these surfaces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most ramps
are okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her average battery charge is
20 minutes to half an hour, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">so always,
always carry the charger with you.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Restaurants and malls are good about letting you charge up in my
experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you don’t appreciate the stickers, simply get a
piece of cloth and drape it over them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drive one is my indoor gear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drive 2 is faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please keep in mind that the average chair
life span is 5 years and she’s 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think that’s a pretty good run.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have problems, feel free to call<b>.</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<br />Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-41433341821996771302012-09-18T18:31:00.001-07:002012-09-18T18:31:08.569-07:00An imaginary adolescent's essay<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Author’s Note</b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This a class essay written by my short story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Magic?</i> ‘s main character who’s 13.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
colleagues in at the online science fiction and fantasy workshop send
this passage was extraneous, but I liked it too much to delete it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, I’m posting it here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to read more, let me know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have some more scenes, but the story is nowhere near completed <br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can’t imagine life without Stasi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve known her since the womb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were born on the same day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even have the same name, Anastasia Eliza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both hate math, although Stasi hates the subject and I just hate Mr. Kirkland. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re both night owls who love cheesy science fiction movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both keep journals, even though I’m more serious about it than Stasi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re both more likely to buy outfits at second-hand store than the mall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve both been volunteering since forever. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess it’s genetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As kids, we’d sorted can goods at a homeless shelter and collected medical supplies to send to Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I spend Sundays at the animal shelter taking care of abandoned pets and Stasi answers the phone at the Disability Law Center on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
mom sometimes teases us that we’re a matching set, but anyone who’s
known us for more than 15 minutes can see we’re not clones. She’s short,
plump, and loves to be the center of attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
more reserved and my dad calls me willowy, but I’m really just tall and
skinny. My skin is the color of a chocolate bar and my waist length
long black hair is usually loose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stasi
has Nordic skin accented by flaxen hair that gets chopped off the
moment it touches her shoulders that she always braids or puts in a
ponytail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stasi would eat candy for breakfast if her parents let her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a salad fan, although I like ice cream as much as anybody. I hate the outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stasi
goes camping every chance she gets and rides her handcycle (a special
bike for people in wheelchairs) on the bike path whenever it’s warm
enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s even on a wheelchair orienteering team!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, of course, there’s the wheelchair thing but I don’t usually even think about that.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I guess it fate that we’re best friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
mothers were assigned to share a room their freshman year at Bard and
have been inseparable ever since. They shared an apartment in Boston while my mom went to law school at Boston College and Lana went to the Massachusetts College of Art to get her MFA in three dimensional art.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stasi’s dad was in my mom’s labor law class second year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a crush on him so she invited him over for dinner one night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Five minutes after Rich and Lana met, my poor mom knew she didn’t have a chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucky
for her, Rich felt bad so he invited her and Lana out to dinner and
bought my dad along, who’d been his best friend since kindergarten or
something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a high school
English teacher in Roxbury, who was doing activism with universal health
care movement and writing a novel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
mom always says it’s lucky that Rich didn’t like her, because she would
have hated to break his heart and dump him for his best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess it was lucky for me and Stasi, too.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Two years later, they had a double wedding and spent their honeymoon building an elementary school in Honduras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
they moved to Rembrandt because the rent was cheap. Lana could have a
studio while my mom and Rich opened a law firm “that put people’s needs
ahead of profit margins” without everyone ending up homeless.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While
mom and Rich were busy righting wrongs, my dad and Lana got teaching
jobs at the local alternative high school to keep the lights on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The four of them lived in a small two bedroom apartment and became vegetarians because it saved money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then my mom got pregnant with me and everything changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where would I sleep?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could they afford clothes, car seats, and all the other things I would need?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could my mom work 80-hour weeks and take care of me? And if she couldn’t, who would?</i></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the end, the shelves were removed from a fortunately large hallway closet and my crib was moved in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At her baby shower, all of my mom’s friends painted a picture to hang on the walls of the tiny room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mom remembers Lana saying, “With all the attention you’re getting, I almost want to a kid.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone must have been listening because 8 weeks later my mom was planning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her</i> baby shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My mom’s water broke on January 4<sup>th</sup> at 2:33 AM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though Stasi wasn’t due for almost three months, Lana’s followed 45 minutes later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lana always says it was because Stasi didn’t want to be stuck inside her stomach while I was having so much fun outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stasi’s
doctors said that being born early is what caused her Cerebral Palsy, I
used to feel bad that Stasi had to be in a wheelchair just because she
wanted to follow me, like maybe I should have waited for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My mom said Stasi was just making up her own mind about when to enter the world and who was I to tell her any different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess she’s right; it was none of my business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, once Stasi makes up her mind about something, you’re better off just getting out of the way no matter what you think. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once Stacy came home from the hospital, about a month after I did, she moved into the crib with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first four weeks Stasi was home, Lana had maternity leave and took care of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
that, my dad took us to work with him in the morning, so Lana could
work in her studio until she had to teach in the afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
went to the learning laboratory day care, when students helped
childcare workers take care of kids, until he was done teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he would pick us up and take care of us until he handed us off to Lana at around 5:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he would correct papers and write while Lana watched us until around 8:30 when my mom came home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom and Rich did most of the weekend childcare to give dad and Lana a break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They took us to the playground and to watch little league games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The four of them had a rotating schedule of who would get up with us at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our parents like to joke that their first year of parenting was a group project.</div>
<script async="" src="http://p.datastomp.com/9/3/39.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-44206498373924658492012-02-16T21:21:00.000-08:002012-02-16T21:21:14.492-08:00Fool Moon (Book 11 out of 150)I finally got the second book in the Dresden Files. After a lot of problems with Overdrive Media, I listened to the whole tale in two days. Harry is not doing so well as the book opens. His main source of income working as a consultant for the Chicago police, Special Investigations Division, has been cut off due to his unfortunate fight with Karen Murphy, its director. Further problems arise when he refuses to help a sometimes student of his named Kim.<br />
</p><p>Kim's a lot like Harry, meaning that she's headstrong and not one to quit, even if she knows she's in over her head. Kim gets herself killed and Harry is on the track of what killed her along with four other people, at Murphy's request. But just when it looks like Harry's life is kind of looking up, he realizes the problem might be werewolves.<br />
</p><p>Apparently, warewolves are not as rare as one would think. There are three groups of them- a good group, a bad group, and FBI agents. Yes, you read that right.<br />
</p><p>This book is a fun read. I really liked the return of Harry, his girlfriend Susan, and Murphy. I was saddened by the fact that a lot of good people died in this book, but I won't tell you who order that would spoil the story. One thing I did not like was that this story seemed much less realistic than the other that I read the series.<br />
</p><p>Before you ask me yes I know it's a wizard story so that much realism is not to be expected, but I like what I can at least follow a story from point A to point B without getting lost along the way. For all its faults, I felt the story had a lot of adventure and it was hard to put down. I rate it a 6.5 out of 10.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-40995574359268385562012-01-10T18:10:00.000-08:002013-12-22T18:33:59.692-08:00Mira grant responds!The following is the e-mail response I got from<span style="font-style: italic;"> Newsflesh</span> trilogy author Mira Grant. You may remember the <a href="http://justextrastuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/thank-you-letter.html">letter</a> I wrote her on December 21st praising her work at smashing stereotypes. This is her response, arrived today in my e-mail.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Martina;<br />
<br />
Thank you so much. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you, thank you, thank you.<br />
<br />
And you're right about Maggie and Buffy. It comes up a bit more in book three, but again, it's just "this is what was, this is where we are now," not some huge dramatic brick to the head.<br />
<br />
You really made my day.<br />
<br />
All the best,<br />
Mira.</span><br />
<br />
I feel happy and appreciated right now.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-1401451051069233672012-01-09T21:16:00.000-08:002012-01-09T21:19:41.262-08:00Abduction (Book 5 of 150)I've never read a Robin Cook book before. In fact I've been warned away from him by a friend of mine who knows I have serious issues with the medical industrial complex. Therefore, I downloaded <span style="font-style:italic;">Abduction</span> with the knowledge that might trouble me and also the knowledge that I was empowered to turn it off if I were so inclined.<br />
<br />
Imagine my surprise, when what was being read aloud to me was, in fact, a fantasy story of this ocean mining crew and what happens when they get sucked into what is perceived as paradise to most people, especially most heterosexual male people, and yes I mean that the way it sounded.<br />
<br />
But all this free love and passivism has a price. When it meant you couldn't go home again? What if it meant the end of family structures as you understood them? What if it meant tolerating things that you were not sure should be tolerated, such as a weird combination of slaves made out of a combining of Neanderthal and machine that still reproduces?<br />
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What would you say? What would you do? How far would you go? And what would your hosts do when you stopped playing nice.<br />
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I read this book an 8 out 10. It makes you think. It disturbs you. But not as badly as I was expecting. As I am at the end of every good book, I find myself wondering what happened next. I see more Robin Cook in my future.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-19638784036819811592012-01-08T14:15:00.000-08:002012-01-08T14:17:18.422-08:00The Eagle Heist ( Book 4 of 150)I like a good mystery every once in a while, even if I'm not the biggest fan of the genre. So I optimistically read <span style="font-style:italic;">The Eagle Heist</span> by Raymond Austin, only to discover that it was one of those books that made this largely unpublished writer angry. If Austin can get a publishing deal why can't I?<br /><br />The plot involves a diamond heist and 3 unsolved murders. As no one can figure out what happened, one of the victims mother’s hires a private investigator to help get things on the right foot again. Ex-cop Sloan is who is recommended.<br /><br />The only good joke in the book, which I thought wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a mystery or a book about the relationship status of a widower, is that the main character looks like Wilford Brimley. The first time this joke was made it was funny. The eighth and after was just old.<br /><br />If I were writing or editing this book, I would have truncated the first 6 chapters. It made almost no sense. I had no clue about the ending and I’m usually pretty good at solving it. But there were no clues to even grasp.<br /><br />I ordered the second book in the series, only because I hope it gets better. It can’t get much worse. I rate this book a 2 out of 10. I hope this is the worst book I read in 2012.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-89061977475828972062012-01-05T21:03:00.000-08:002012-01-05T21:07:31.920-08:00Freedom's Landing (book 3 of 150)As many books by men as I've been reading in the early goings on of this 2012 reading challenge, it was a nice change to read Anne McCaffrey's <i>Freedom's Landing</i>, which had a female protagonist who wasn't at all pathetic or damsel in distress oriented. I'm going to order the next four books in the series.<br />
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One of the reasons I like science fiction, and have since I was a kid, is that women are not always pathetic as is true in so much popular fiction. Kristen Bjornsen, Kris to everyone, starts off as a typical American college student forced into the situation of becoming an escaped slave when Earth is taken over by the Catteni and she is transported to another planet, with no idea what happened to the people she loved.<br />
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But, like me, whatever situations may due to Kris, she can stop being a good Samaritan. In fact, she gets herself recaptured by helping a Catteni, who she had first thinks is another escaped slave, escape from his country men's vengeance. Then she ends up on a spaceship to a supposedly uninhabited world that turns out to be not so uninhabited, along with the Catteni she rescued.<br />
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They, and the rest of their shipmates, must learn to get along and deal with the trials and tribulations of interspecies communication, self-government, and post slave mentality. The fact that McCaffrey just doesn't gloss over these details in pursuit of a great adventure story is what makes in my somewhat sexist opinion, but as a writer I feel like it has some merits, the difference clear between the way men and the way women tell stories. Women, in my opinion, want to delve into the relationships, the details, the mess… Men not so much!<br />
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I rate the story and eight out of 10 and must say that I liked the ending very much and I'm off to download the next book now. That should tell you how eager I am to continue this series.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-72441222420143741592012-01-05T20:46:00.001-08:002012-01-05T20:56:26.503-08:00Storm Front (Book 2 of 150)Storm Front is the first book in the Dresden Files Series. Harry Dresden is a freelance wizard and consultant. He is in trouble with the White Council, the wizarding governing body and a physic freelancer (although he is not really physic, I think) with the Chicago PD.This is not Harry Potter.
This book is not a juvenile novel. Please don’t let people who are under 13 read it. But I loved the story, the battles, and even the sensuality (for the most part). Also at times it was grotesque and just a bit much.As much as I complained about how Stuff to Die For ended quickly. This book had about 45 minutes of a too long, explicit ending. If you a grownup who still likes wizards, I recommend this series.
If this Harry was born before the child Harry, I’d wonder if that’s were J.K got the name. Since the opposite is true, I must wonder the same about Jim Butcher. I can’t be the only one who noticed the too famous literary wizards have the same name.I like the story and rate it an 8.5 out of 10. Really looking forward to the rest of the series!Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-44560689993000629962012-01-05T20:42:00.000-08:002012-01-05T20:45:06.168-08:00Stuff to Die For (book 1 of 150)Stuff to Die For isn’t the sort of book I usually read. It's author is male. It's two main characters are male and it has nothing to do with social change. But it was available in the audio book library, so I read it.<br /><br />And to my surprise found Skip and James so endearing I ordered the rest of the series. Skip Moore and James Lessor have been best friends since third grade. James is more of the leader and Skip more of the follower. Always following one get-rich-quick scheme with another is how they end up owning a moving truck and moving some cheating husband’s belongings out of his wife's house. What they didn't expect was to find a finger (yes, an actual human finger) amid the belongings. Furthermore they didn't expect this unexpected finger to belong to someone they knew. But, it did (or at least so they thought).<br /><br />So began this adventure. It's complete with torture, terrorism, and international intrigue. All very male , very not me, novel plots. But as I said, James and Skip grew on me. In the next book I hope these frequently ne'er-do-well best friends grow up a little and become the men I know they can be. After all they're only 24 in this book.<br /><br />I rate this book a 7/10. The ending didn't make much sense and came, in my opinion, way too quickly. However, the narrator's voice was charming and you really got to care about the characters. A good read during the flu or on the beach. Not something that makes you think a lot.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-19053510742035751482011-12-21T21:54:00.000-08:002011-12-21T22:03:57.239-08:00Thank You Letter<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span>Note to readers: I wrote a thank you letter to Mira Grant, author of the Newflesh trilogy. We always yell at the people who describe our lives incorrectly. I say it's time to praise the people who got it right! So here's to the awesome, stereotype smashing Mira Grant. Buy her books</span>! <br /><br />Dear Ms. Grant,<br /><br />I’m a writer, too, and would like to congratulate you on the amazing <span style="font-style:italic;">Newsflesh</span> Trilogy. First off, please be aware that I don’t normally read zombie tales. I am lucky enough to have found <span style="font-style:italic;">Feed </span>during a search of my library’s audiobook section. I must admit I only picked it up because it was the only thing that looked interesting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span>Five minutes after listening to the spunky Georgia, however, I was hooked. I listened to the entire 15 hour, 10 minute book over the course of 3 days. I think I plowed through <span style="font-style:italic;">Deadline</span> just as quickly. I read <span style="font-style:italic;">Countdown</span>, in its entirety, the same day I downloaded it from Audible.com. I will buy <span style="font-style:italic;">Blackout</span> the day it hits bookstores. <br /><br />I found the story line original and well-written (not typical of either zombie novels or post-apocalyptic fiction I’ve found). That is not why I’ve chosen to write you today. Being a bisexual, woman of color in a wheelchair, I must complement you on your characterizations of people of color (POC), women, people with disabilities (PWD), and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. <br /><br />In modern fiction, POC are frequently cast as terrorists or lazy deadbeats. Not journalists like Mahir, Alaric, and Maggie. Not successful business people like the Gracias. Certainly not heroes like Dr. Kiran Patel.<br /><br />In today’s books, women are too frequently damsels in distress or simply vapid. Not independent, self-sufficient, or strong. Not like Georgia, Maggie, or Rebecca. Not that your characters make no mistakes. Indeed they do, but they apologize and try to correct them. Look at Buffy and Kelly. They made huge errors and died because they tried to fix them. But your women are also not unfeeling, which is another stereotype. Georgia loves people. Not a lot of people, but definitely Sean and Buffy. Rebecca obviously loves Sean, even if he doesn’t get it for the longest time. Maggie loves tons of people.<br /><br />When PWD appear at all in reading material today, which is infrequent at best, they are all too often portrayed as pathetic and helpless. Georgia, who uses the Americans with Disabilities Act to get accommodations for her visual impairment, is as far from pitiful as one can get. Dr. Kiran Patel is a full on hero who uses the devices designed to handle his impairment to literally save the human race from annihilation.<br /><br />In current literature, LGBT people are perverts, pedophiles, or liars. In the world of <span style="font-style:italic;">Newsflesh</span>, however, they are just like everyone else. I suspect that Buffy and Maggie had a love affair at some point because Maggie says, “You know, it seems like every time I wind up with a real tragic love story to tell, I can’t post it. It wouldn’t have been fair to Buffy, and now it wouldn’t be fair to Dave.” John and Alexander Kellis were so cute and normal it was touching. They acted like every other married couple I know. Their sexual orientation is simply an aside.<br /><br />In closing, I would like to thank you for writing a series of books that attack so many stereotypes. I would especially like to think you for doing it while still managing to tell a good story. In the future, I hope many other authors will follow suit.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-48524552366537520882011-08-31T23:08:00.000-07:002011-09-01T21:31:10.092-07:00Martina and the terrible, horrible, very bad dayEverybody has those horrible Murphy's Law days. Today was just such a day for me. First, PayPal didn't come through. It'll probably be here tomorrow but what good would that have done me? My doctor's appointment and the last writing group before Naugatuck River Review submissions was tonight. In desperation I called someone I loaned money to a while ago. They, of course, were nowhere to be found. Then I called my friend from The Florence Poets’ Society. She came and bought me $10. She gave me $20 even though I asked for $10.
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<br />I really needed $20 so I could eat, but like a lot of people with disabilities and without I have trouble sometimes accepting help just for myself. Marianne is a good friend and knows I have this tendency. So she gave me $20.
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<br />After that, the agency that pays my assistants called me to say that something was wrong with someone's timesheet. As I waited on hold for an hour and a half and I have phone records to prove this. We finally got it all figured out. This was after I had talked to them 5 times and my assistant talked to them twice, because they didn't understand me. I'm sorry, but don't they work with people with speech impairments daily? They are an independent living center after all.
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<br />In the end, I am so grateful that I had elected to take Marianne's extra money when offered. It meant I got to eat lunch between my writing group and my doctor's appointment. I could have done without eating but it's really bad for me to do so because my sugar levels get out of whack and then I tend to fall down. Such is life when you have cerebral palsy, wonky blood sugar levels, and occasionally no money.
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<br />After having my ears cleaned, I went to a local pizzeria near where my writing group meets. I ordered a burger and onion rings and headed to the library. Unbeknownst to me, someone had waxed the floor. My PA (personal assistant) was having trouble not slipping on it. Let alone me with my poor balance issues. All I could think about was falling on my knee again, spending another six weeks in bed and missing the next ADAPT action. After three attempts, I was finally seated well enough to do my business.
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<br />But alas, my troubles didn't end there. Somehow, and I'm not even sure how, my backpack got stuck on the toilet and my entire purse fell out of my backpack and into the water, which, thankfully, had been flushed. All my cards, my phone, my wallet, and my bag were now soaked. Could this day get any worse?
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<br />It did. When I got home I called my mom because my phone was still not working right. Instead of being sympathetic towards my really sucky day she got mad at me for being irresponsible. I thought that in order to be irresponsible you had to know something was going to happen and not prepare for it. For example, it would've been very irresponsible of me to not charge my backup chair knowing that we were going to have a hurricane but my backpack had never gotten caught on a toilet before. How was I to know that was even possible?
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<br />Now, unless my phone starts working, I have to pay a $50 deductible. My mother says it will teach me to be more responsible. I may be a bit behind other thirtysomethings but I am not 11. I would fully accept my part if this had happened before, but it never did. I really can't afford to give her $50 and I'm not going to. I will find a phone on freecycle and I will tell my activist friends that if they are looking to give away their phones to upgrade I’ll take them. Where there's a will there's a way and $50 just ain't the way this week.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-23851144107719562852011-08-26T17:31:00.000-07:002011-08-26T18:46:21.385-07:00Transformers: Dark Side of the MoonI treated my personal care assistant and myself to this movie. As much as I am a big pacifist in life I have a weakness for action, shoot-'em-up , Hollywood style mega movies. It's my dirty little secret. We saw the 3-D version because otherwise what's the point of going to the big theater?
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<br />I forked over the rather ridiculous ticket price of $8.75 each and we went in. The first thing I noticed was that Sam Witwicky's (played by Shia LaBeouf) taste in women had gone down considerably. No longer was he attached to the irrepressible, and actually interesting, Mikaela Banes (played by Megan Fox). When she had ditched him, apparently Sam had decided that independent women just weren't his thing, because the next girl he dated, Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), reminded me more of Malibu Barbie than Lois Lane.
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<br />I know the story is fictional, but I ask you, how is that whiny, superficial woman ever going to be the permanent love interest of someone who periodically gets called to go save the world with his robot friends?
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<br />The first time he did, she nearly had a heart attack. Boy, did she ever throw a tantrum! She even took back the bunny she'd won for Sam. Sorry, girl, but your man isn't going to be home for dinner every night. He's too busy saving the world. Suck it up and deal!
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<br />While we're still on thesubject of Carly, am I the only person who finds it disturbing that Sam's new love interest looks a lot like the Desepticon who impersonated a cute girl in order to get Sam to reveal secrets. I'm sorry, but if I were a superhero the last thing I would want to do is sleep next to a woman who resembled the robot who had tried to sexually assault me!
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<br />As you can tell, I was one pissed off feminist during the movie. I realize that Michael Bay and Megan Fox might have had significant creative differences, but that doesn't excuse the replacing a strong woman with a Barbie doll. If they had to find Sam a new girlfriend couldn't she at least have been a little less codependent?
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<br />Aside from the Carly issue, this movie didn't make a lot of sense. I had trouble following the plot. Although I did enjoy the action scenes, especially the 3-D parts. But then again perhaps it's my fault for expecting good writing in action movies, which never seems to happen.
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<br />The Internet Movie Database rates the film a six. I find even that a bit high. I would go more towards 5.5. If you want plot, this is not your movie. Even with that caveat, I know I'll probably go back and see the next installment of Transformers. Once a fan, always a fan, whatever Hollywood might do to a beloved franchise!
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<br />Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-51798319835712031002011-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:22:28.292-07:00On thinking of movingAmherst/Noho<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Pro</span><br />1. No change of PCA services required<br />2. Still keep the same people<br />3. Already know bus schedules and systems<br /><br />Boston<br />1. Already in service system<br />2. Can keep Robyn & Beth (or at least Beth, as I don't know Robyn's plans)<br />3. Already have paratransit<br />4. Have gimp community <br />5. can go to Worchester for poetry<br /><br />In all cases easier to get new chair if change states<br /><br />Chicago<br />1. Chicago ADAPT<br />2. Columbia College/UIC<br />3. Tons of cool crip stuff happens there<br />4. Dancing is possible<br />5. Close enough to Cairo to see what's happening if anything<br /><br />Denver/Bolder<br />1. Volunteer at Atlantis and Bolder<br />2. Naropa Institute<br />3. ADAPT chapters<br />4. Friends<br />5. No more having to feel isolated<br />6. Chill time with Shannon, Tatum, and Brody<br />7. Ian knows the Medicaid pca program guy<br /><br />Yonkers<br />1. They have an an apartment<br />2. Can keep Robyn & Beth (or at least Beth, as I don't know Robyn's plans)<br />3. Friends<br />4. Dancing with Kitty Lund!!!!<br />5. Helping Julie with Big Apple ADAPT<br />6. Seeing lots of Lainey<br />7. Writing opportunities<br /><br />Maryland<br />1. Close to DC<br />2. I like their waiver system<br />3. Help MD ADAPT<br />4. Cool folks<br />5. Access to DC<br /><br /><br />CONS- Western Mass<br />1. Feel like I need somewhere to stretch my wings<br />Boston<br />1. Chair issues<br /><br />Chicago <br />1. Must fly to DC<br />2. Illinois Gov is corrupt<br />3. Far for holidays<br /><br />Denver <br />1. Far for holidays<br /><br />Yonkers<br />1. No real cons<br /><br />Maryland<br />1. No real consMartinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-62722216632918059762011-02-15T08:12:00.000-08:002011-02-15T08:21:36.550-08:00Reminders of Luminescence"My name is Malcolm. I'm 7 years old. I'm sending you this money because I don't think it's fair that gay people are not treated equally." According to an e-mail from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in this morning the note we received recently with a donation from Malcolm after his grandmother gave him $20 for each year of his life to donate to charity. If a 7 year old can help other people, why can't we all put aside a little money for that purpose. I don't know who you have Malcom, but you made me smile and made my day, You made me believe in our humanity as a civilization; something that recent governmental actions (such as President Obama's not signing onto MiCASSA after he promised the disability community that he would do so- and we voted for him due to said promises).<br /><br />I say into you, Sir Malcom, who is wise far beyond his seven years, thank you more than you can know. Too often, we are convinced that the world is awful (even those of us who are naturally optimistic).Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-19106848575883633932011-02-14T17:44:00.000-08:002011-02-14T17:45:32.112-08:00Book Review: The Paris Option (book 20 of 150)Dr. Martin 'Marty' Joseph Zellerbach again returns as a main character in this book. He is the victim of an explosion that also targets fellow computer genius Emile Chambord. Like before, he is very functional accept for the coma he begins the book in, despite his severe autism.<br /><br />We also see Peter Howl and Randi Russell again. This is a thankful change of pace from the bioterrorism angle and for that I'm grateful. But I'm not much of a computer person (and certainly don't understand what on Earth a DNA computer is) and the book doesn't really do that good of a job of explaining actually what it was. I hate when technology novels do that. I'm a writer and know that such exposition takes up precious pages, but it is necessary to make one's readers happy.<br /><br />This book has lots of twists and turns and I liked it in a somewhat confused way. It's a 6.5!Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-27655719859476833762011-02-11T20:01:00.001-08:002011-02-14T17:44:16.763-08:00Book Review: The Cassandra Coompact (book 19 of 150)The second book in the Covert One Series is called The Cassandra Compact. It featured John Smith, Peter Howell, and Randi Russell (although Randi and Peter have tiny parts). The plot was a little too similar to The Hades Factor for me, but in this case the bio-terrorist nut is an American patriot in the military. He wants to reengineer small pox as a bio-weapon for use against American enemies. And we thought Bush II was crazy?! I really hope that all this novels in the series are not about bio terrorism; you can only read so many novels about that without getting bored, no matter how neat the characters are.<br /><br />I rate this book a 7. Mostly because the characters were neat. I like like Megan, the astronaut, and Sasha, the teenage hacker. I hope that both will have other appearances in the series. It's worth a read, although you might find it a bit boring after you read The Hades Factor, as I was, but it was fun to revisit those characters that I'd met and enjoyed.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-16332117345024785862011-02-08T22:10:00.000-08:002011-02-08T22:11:52.770-08:00Book Review: Wired (book 18 of 150)Wired is the last book in the Skinned trilogy. Skinned is the story of former rich bitch Lia Kahn and her adventures at becoming a cybernetic organism. In this final story (and I'm so sad for that), Lia must save her people the mechs (other cybernetic people, often with disabilities that are incurable. That's why they download into new, immortal bodies, from a horrible plot to kill them all, by normal humans.<br /><br />This book was very fast paced. It had twists and turns that kept me not sure which way was up. There were sad moments, happy moments, and downright shocking moments (the whole Zoe thing; Oh, my God). The ending was very dissatisfying. I hope that the predicted ending is true, but I'm not so sure. The Quinn and Ani thing was kind of resolved in a positive direction, but again because the end was so unclear, I can't sure about that.<br /><br />I rate this book an 8.5 out 10. Would've earned a 9.75 had Ms. Wasserman (and her editor) come up with a better ending for Lia. I'm sad, because I really loved this character. She deserved better than this!Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177730448265500554.post-29588441417043218332011-02-07T20:13:00.000-08:002011-02-07T20:14:32.336-08:00Book Review: Earth Abides (Book 17 out of 150)East Abides is a post-Apocalyptic, illness induced novel. I believe over 95% of the world’s population has died over some unknown illness. Isherwood (Ish) Williams is a grad student and scholar who survives because (he thinks) of a rattle snake bite.<br /><br />Ish discovers that is not alone in the world. He meets Em who he marries, and has kids. They form a “tribe” with Ezra and George that is what remains of San Francisco humanity . The language was really pretty and the end of civilization is pretty big topic.<br /><br />Things that made me sad. Certain things were of the old world. Romantic love (because there were not enough people to choose from and we needed to breed) and intellect (because there was no one to teach and only Ish valued intellect) were among them.<br /><br />It was also weird to see a post-Apocalyptic novel set in 1949. Terminator, the Postman and other novels/movies of that kind of all set in the modern era. It’s weird to think of a world with no civil tights movement, gay rights movement, and so on.<br /><br />As a person with a disability, I was kind of horrified that they kept denying the sex-rights of Evie, the developmentally disabled woman whose impairments may have been the result of childhood trauma of “the big disaster” or may have been inborn. They were also very nice to the old Ish. Part of me wonders how they would treat a mentally aware person with a disability, like me.<br /><br />I rate the book a 7.5. Maybe I’d like it better if I was more into post-Apocalyptic fiction, but I’m not.Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18159127252464590743noreply@blogger.com0