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I'm in this weird sudden space of renewed interest in fiction writing after over 5 years with zero interest. That sort of thing has happened before but typically not for quite so long a stretch (although this time there were "circumstances"). Some of my Interests are cyclical, not constant. 
Anyway I was poking through old stuff I'd written and came upon this ancient, unfinished project that I started like, no joke, 15 years ago. It's a collection of short, surreal stories on themes of transformation that take place on a parallel version of this island I used to live on. 
I don't really know if the stories are any good--I haven't reread any of them because I was more intent on re-familarizing myself with the cyberpunk world of Liminal (a project I actually did finish, and on re-read 5 years later still feel is pretty damn good). But I did create these curious pencil drawings to go along with the island stories. 
These drawings are pretty strange to me because they represent a super-precise hyper-realistic style that I've not really worked with since, oh, maybe '98 or so. All of my more recent work (back when I was able to do any of it) was all in the direction of the collage painting wackiness, some of it dangerously bordering on (shhh, don't tell!) abstraction. 
I look at these weird drawings and wonder if I'll ever do anything like them again. I could, but will I? Do I still have that in me, or has my own Muse moved on? 
Tags: lj, personal history
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I am posting this study information for a colleague. If you have been diagnosed with an ASD, and have not taken the survey yet, you may find it fun / interesting, click-y the link... (note you do not have to be a student to take the survey). Survey to Assess Needs for Improved Course DesignsAs colleges and universities offer more courses online, it is important that we consider how students with autism spectrum disorders approach online communities, especially online classes. My experiences as a diagnosed high-functioning autistic student and instructor have led me to question how online courses could be designed to better serve students with autism spectrum disorders. I am conducting a survey, seeking to determine if there are characteristics of some online communities ASD individuals prefer. I am also interested in learning what qualities of online communities might be disliked by individuals with ASDs. If you are an individual with an officially diagnosed autism spectrum disorder interested in offering opinions about online communities, I hope you will consider completing this brief online survey. You do not have to be a student. However, you should have some experiences with online communities so you can explain what design qualities are or are not appealing in various communities. This will be an anonymous survey. Only your answers to interview questions will be saved and referenced during the study. The survey is offered via a secure server and all data will be destroyed after analysis is complete. If you are interested in participating in these interviews, please visit the following survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6hUN2HISyDpNYnlwPpLkxQ_3d_3dClick Here to take survey Thank you, Christopher Scott Wyatt Doctoral Candidate Rhetoric; Scientific and Technical Communication Digital Literacy and Pedagogy Dept. of Writing Studies University of Minnesota wyatt050@umn.edu This study is referenced by University of Minnesota IRB Code Number 0909P72516. Tags: internet, lj, science
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Participate in the AASPIRE Gateway Project You are invited to participate in a continuing online research project called the AASPIRE Gateway Project. This online research project is conducted by the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE, http://aaspireproject.org) in collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Portland State University, and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. The AASPIRE Gateway Project is recruiting participants with and without disabilities, and participants on the autism spectrum, for a series of continuing online studies on topics such as health care, Internet use, online sense of community, identity, problem solving, and perspective taking. The goals of the online AASPIRE Gateway Project are (1) to collect the Gateway Survey data; (2) to use the Gateway Survey data to invite eligible participants to AASPIRE’s continuing online research studies; and (3) to use the Gateway Survey data in AASPIRE’s continuing online research studies. You may participate in the AASPIRE Gateway Project and contribute to continuing AASPIRE research studies if you are at least 18 years old, and you have access to the Internet. The first step in joining the AASPIRE Gateway Project is completing the online AASPIRE Gateway Survey. The AASPIRE Gateway Survey asks about (a) personal information, such as age, gender, disability, education, and employment status, (b) information about which hand you prefer to use when doing activities such as writing with a pen or pencil, and (c) information about your personal preferences regarding interests, habits, and social interactions. Completing the AASPIRE Gateway Survey will take approximately 20-40 minutes. In return, you may choose to be entered into a drawing for a 1 in 25 chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com or to receive 1 extra credit point in your introductory psychology class if you are a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Adults who identify as having a disability and adults who identify as being on the autistic spectrum are especially encouraged to participate in the AASPIRE Gateway Project. If you're interested in participating in the AASPIRE Gateway Project, or would like to learn more about AASPIRE or the study, here are three ways you can get started: 1) Go to the study’s website at www.aaspire.org/gateway. 2) Send an email to info@aaspireproject.org. 3) Make a telephone call to Christina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, at (503) 494-9602 or Morton Ann Gernsbacher, PhD, at (608) 262-6989. OHSU IRB # 3762; UW IRB# SE-2008-0749 Principal Investigators: Christina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, Oregon Health & Science University Morton Ann Gernsbacher, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Katherine McDonald, PhD, Portland State University Dora Raymaker, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network Tags: aaspire project, science
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I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to write about and process.
I'll start with the least interesting bitching about the airport / airline situation. My trip home was really horrible, and the only parts that went OK were because of a lucky meeting with a stranger who happened to be an extremely nice person.
I've actually traveled by airplane independently a lot. Especially after moving to Oregon, with my family on the opposite coast in Maine, I flew alone about twice a year for a while. I can navigate airports; I'm good with maps and there is a consistent System to air travel, a predictability. Or there was.
Unfortunately, it's become quite obvious that my days of independent air travel are quite over. Air travel is no longer accessible to me due to both the changes for "security" and the cluster fuck that is air scheduling these days. It's quite appalling how expensive air travel is in the US considering what a crappy service it is. A train ticket is a fraction of the price of an airplane, and has better service (and unfortunately takes too long to be practical at times).
( things that make me unable to do independent air travel now-a-days )
So my flight to DC I was with KMD and she handled quite a lot of situations for me, serving as Translator and advocate, which was sorely needed as the airline personnel were dreadful. Everything from arguing about the need to help me with security to not seating KMD and I together even though we'd explicitly asked, and her needing to trade seats with people at the last minute.
My flight home though was alone. KMD and Scott went with me to the airport, and we found that my flight was delayed, I'd miss my transfer, and of the options only one could be guaranteed. That one was of course much later. There was a huge mess getting through security, and then we waited. I got to spend more time with Scott while KMD tried to make the proper arrangements, like to get me pre-boarded. KMD met this woman in while waiting in line and got the woman to agree to help me out and got her ticket changed to sit by me. KMD and Scott have to go, and the woman is awesome at making sure I manged.
When we finally got to Chicago, there ended up being a nearly five hour wait in the airport. I was already pretty far gone from the conference and not functioning well at all, and well past the point of non-verbal (I'd been typing / writing since the DC airport). This wonderful woman stayed with me the whole time. She was amazing. She also ended up being really intelligent, interesting, and a marvelous companion. We got into some really wonderful conversation, which, um, almost caused me to miss my flight *grin*
I did get on the flight but missed the pre-boarding. At that point I was tilting back and forth over the edge of shutdown, and very little made sense. The stewardesses were doing things with my bags and it was confusing so I asked them (writing) to slow down, to tell me what was happening. They were then like, no, we'll do this other thing instead. Everything got super confusing and I missed big chunks. There were angry people on the plane and near me. The stewardess kept saying, "I put your bag there," but I didn't know what "there" meant, and I kept trying to get her to read my notebook where I'd written, "what is the number of bin where you put my bag" but she wouldn't read it, and kept angrily repeating, "there, I put it there!" It was so bad. "I was supposed to preboard but it got messed up," I remember saying, but that was unrelated to anything I needed to communicate. I got pushed around both verbally and physically, and my things were taken from me. I demanded I be able to take items out of my back pack first, and grabbed my pillow and computer.
I got in the seat and the horrible business men next to me started talking about how terrible it was they would have to sit by me. They started bartering over who would be in the seat directly next to me. "Well, at least we're on a flight to Portland," they consoled themselves.
I sat seething, wishing I had access to enough resources to let them know I was fully cognizant of what they were saying, and they should be extremely careful of their assumptions about other human beings. But I was too done for, motionless and mute.
Needless to say, the careful scripts KMD had given to me for asking my seat mate when to turn on my iPod, etc. remained unused and I just guessed for myself. There was no way I was going to engage with such pricks.
I finally got home at 11:30 PM Pacific time. I'd been traveling for 14 hours straight, without a break, in toxic environments. The fantastic woman who KMD found to stay with me is the only reason why I made it home.
The airlines are supposed to provide assistance for people who need it. This includes children traveling alone, and disabled passengers. In order to get that assistance, it seems one needs to have the negotiation, advocacy, and communication skills of a UN ambassador.
There is something very wrong with this. What if I'd been a 6 year old, or someone with Altzheimers? Would they have been completely abandoned by staff who can't wait to get as far away as possible? Who would have made sure they got on the plane on time? Who would have helped them make their connection? Would a 6 year old have been treated as I had been by the stewardesses?
I plan on doing a Full Investigation as soon as this last week of school is over. Because the experience I had was really unacceptable. Tags: human rights, life
Current Mood:  bitchy
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