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jesse_the_kCassie Josephs’ excellent Tor.com essay, "Murderbot: An Autistic-Coded Robot Done Right" explores how Martha Well's series provides insight into autistic lives and rights.
( 330 word excerpt )
sasha_featherjesse_the_kI'm proud of how WisCon helped push/guide other SF cons into making fandom more accessible. I was sad to read this in a WisCon mailing:
We need to let you all know that we are having a volunteer emergency in terms of pre-con volunteer positions. We're still missing some significant roles with only eight weeks left until the con.
We're at the point now where if we don't get volunteers ASAP, we'll have to make cuts to what WisCon can offer in terms of accessibility, food, and events.
Access Lead (1-2 people, attending in person)
major tasks include
- Coordinate our efforts on Signage, Blue Tape, ASL/CART
- Set up Transport Plan to/from Thursday night reception at Madison Public Library (Central Branch)
- Ensure the Quiet Place & Introvert Corner have space & supplies
- Ensure Restroom basket supplies are ordered/purchased before con & restocked throughout the con
- Organize and staff the Access table at the Gathering
More volunteering details: contact personnel@sf3.org
We've documented why and what and how we do, and volunteering is a great way to turn theory into practice!
sasha_featherysabetwordsmith
jesse_the_kforwarding TheCJDS
Hey, so, the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies is doing something kinda fun in the new year.
We're seeking nominees for worst representation of disability in popular media.
Submissions due January 2nd 2022!
Check out the nomination form for more info:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0LVJ9cLe79fYZYrd-vSUrgLLO8Sn-5U9LCYkeTDBB8UOm9Q/viewform
Feel free to chat about it here, as well.
jesse_the_kIt's a hybrid one-day con, both online and in-person March 27, 2022, through the School of Art at Syracuse [New York] University. Free!
Submission deadline is 1 February 2022.
Check www.geekartconfluence.com for last year’s content.
sasha_featherjesse_the_kHosted by the Paul Longmore Institute at SF State University, Superfest 2021 is again online Friday October 16th through Sunday October 18th 2021. Donations accepted but not required.
Check out the blurbs for all 22 films:
https://www.superfestfilm.com/2021-films
Four titles particularly intrigued me
https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/join-email-list or SFSUDisability or
LongmoreInst
sasha_feathersasha_featherjesse_the_kThe Society for Disability Studies annual conference is fully online from 17 to 20 April 2021. It shares virtual space and expenses with the Ohio State University's Mulitple Perspectives on Inclusion conference: you get two cons for the price of one.
Wait ... for even less:
There are three no-cost member scholarships available. This offer expires at 4pm Central Standard Time (1300 UTC) on Monday 4 April. Drop me a direct message if you’re interested, or email me at jesse_the_k@dreamwidth.org
The conference theme:
DEEP SIGH: (Re)Centering Activism, Healing, Radical Love, Emotional Connection and Breathing Spaces in Intersectional Communities
Presenters and program items are being developed as I type, with details available by 1 April. I guarantee you’ll find something intriguing and educational.
( 2 days of SDS )
jesse_the_kPut your skills to work!
The Society for Community Research and Action is seeking a consultant with experience in assessing the accessibility of online conferences.
The responsibilities of the position are:
This contract is for $2,000, begins immediately upon finalization of the contract and runs through June 26th.
Interested individuals should send a resume or vita and cover letter outlining their experience to Susan Wolfe at Susan@susanwolfeandassociates.com by 5:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 21st.
jesse_the_kCurated by Harbourfront Center, a not-for-profit art center on Lake Ontario in Toronto.
https://harbourfront.live/festival/postcards/
Each first-person postcard combines video, still images, spoken word, captions. The artists address what life's like for them in the COVID-19 moment. Each artist’s page offers video links with and without audio description.
Gaelynn Lea improvises a dragon song on her fiddle (audio described)
https://harbourfront.live/event/gaelynn-lea/?enhance=yes
Dawn Jani Birley, a Deaf actor, describes flying from Canada to Finland while the world was locking down.
https://harbourfront.live/event/dawn-jani-birley/?enhance=yes
Brian Solomon, a non-symmetrical Indigenous dancer documents the family- and land-based art which is sustaining him during lockdown on his home land of Shebahonaning, Ontario "colonially known as Killarney."
jesse_the_kSuperfest Disability Film Festival is the longest running disability film festival in the world. For more than 30 years, Superfest has celebrated cutting-edge cinema that portrays disability through a diverse, complex, unabashed and engaging lens. Superfest is one of the few festivals worldwide that prioritizes access for disabled filmgoers of all kinds.
Visit http://www.superfestfilm.com/tickets for movie schedules, how the Zoom-based discussions will work, and sliding scale ($0 - $50) tickets for an entire weekend of programming: three film screenings and four panel discussions.
All movies are open-captioned and audio described; all live programming includes captions and ASL interpreters.
Friday, October 16, 5:30 - 8:30pm PT (0030 - 0330 UTC 17 Oct)
1 70-minute narrative film on Friday, followed by a panel: "Disability, Blackness, and Representation"
Saturday, October 17, 2 - 4:45pm PT (2100 - 2345 UTC)
6 short films totaling 52-minutes on Saturday followed by panel: "Representations of Disability with Superfest Filmmakers & Subjects"
Sunday, October 18, 2 - 4:45pm PT and 5-6pm PT (2100 - 2345 18 Oct and 0000 - 0100 19 Oct UTC)
8 short films totaling 74 minutes on Sunday followed by two panels:
"Emerging Disability Filmmakers" and "Jurors Tell All!"
Full details at http://www.superfestfilm.com/2020-films
jesse_the_kMerylKEvans is a Deaf digital marketing professional — she’s been online since 1993, and she’s been on countless video calls. Here’s her take on the best in automatic speech recognition-driven captions, as of 22 April 2020:
https://meryl.net/best-automatic-captioning-tool-for-video-calls
Sadly, there’s no handy tl;dr recommendation.
For one-on-one calls, Meryl — who speaks for herself and describes herself as a strong lipreader — had the best luck with Google Meet. She dives deep into the vexed question of how to get a meeting’s audio directed to the captioning software when you’ve plugged in your microphone to participate in the meeting.
For autocaptioning video events, there’s no clear winner as summarized at the end of Meryl’s article.
Meryl mentions this site spun up in response to the pandemic by two professionals who rely on captioning. They also declare no winner, while providing lots of links to more resources.
http://connect-hear.com/article-categories/captioning
Meryl’s made hundreds of YouTube videos, including this pungent 42-second opinion on whether autocaptions are better than none:
redbirdjesse_the_kIt’s a cool concept, hides clutter in your room. Also creates barriers.
Zoom virtual backgrounds combine you in the foreground with something nifty in the background. (Think the weather reporter on TV in front of a big US map.) In the past week I've seen the prow of a ship, inside of Tardis, comets, the Hamilton stage and more. Zoom itself says This feature works best with a green screen and uniform lighting, to allow Zoom to detect the difference between you and your background. -- which is not equipment most people have at home!
The Zoom software uses clever algorithms to isolate your outline from what your camera captures. But these algorithms often fail for delicate edges, like hair or hands. Outcome: every movement captured on camera includes Zoom struggling to adjust the edges, which can result in your head and hands sparkling, flashing, or disappearing altogether.
It’s distracting and unpleasant for me when even one user has the virtual background. For some of us with migraine, vestibular issues, brain injury or epilepsy it can be a complete barrier.
Even if the software works perfectly, some of the available backgrounds include so much detail that it overwhelms your image. I can’t read your facial expression, much less your lips. This results in no benefit to using video at all.
Do you have issues with this aspect of Zoom? Are there benefits to the backgrounds that I'm missing?
jesse_the_k4th Street Fantasy has been a single-track Minneapolis-based con in June for many years (unable to track down its founding date).
When they canceled this year due to pandemic, they swerved to a super-accessible alternative:
No need to wrangle with expensive video conferencing software -- simple MP3s and transcripts are available http://4thstreetfantasy.com/programming/2020-4th-street-programming-podcast-edition
I was also impressed by the language in their accessibility policy.
sasha_featherReady, set... sports movies.
jesse_the_k - Murderbot: An Autistic-Coded Robot Done Rightsasha_feather - Response to "Moon Knight"jesse_the_k - WisCon Needs In-Person Access Volunteers NOWsasha_feather - Article: The Problem With Disfigured Villains In Pop Cultureysabetwordsmith - Convention Survival Referencesjesse_the_k - Worst Disability Rep in Pop Mediajesse_the_k - Geek/Art CONfluence Seeks Disability-Themed Submissionssasha_feather - A couple of interesting articlesjesse_the_k - SuperFest 2021: Disability Film Festival 16-18th Octobersasha_feather - Article about disabled people in relationshipssasha_feather - Amos in the Expansejesse_the_k - Three Member Scholarships for SDS Conference 17- 20 April 2021jesse_the_k - Paid Access Consultant for an Online Psychology Conventionjesse_the_k - 21 virtual postcards from disabled artistsjesse_the_k - 16-18 October 2020 Superfest Disability Film Fest Onlinejesse_the_k - Expert User Opinions on "Automatic Captioning"redbird - survey for disabled studentsjesse_the_k - Zoom Virtual Backgrounds As Barriersjesse_the_k - 4th Street Fantasy Swerved to Podcasts with Transcriptssasha_feather - Vid Rec: Game On by bironic![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}