jesse_the_k | Entries tagged with obit

Cheryl Marie Wade blew my mind back in the 1980s: she was fat, she was obviously disabled, she had really snazzy red shoes on, and she was slamming some great poetry. Such as I Am Not One of The:

begin quote I am not one of the physically challenged-
I'm a sock in the eye with gnarled fist
I'm a French kiss with cleft tongue
I'm orthopedic shoes sewn on a last of your fears
I am not one of the differently abled-
I'm an epitaph for a million imperfect babies left untreated
I'm an ikon carved from bones in a mass grave at Tiergarten, Germany
I'm withered legs hidden with a blanket
I am not one of the able disabled-
I'm a black panther with green eyes and scars like a picket fence
I'm pink lace panties teasing a stub of milk white thigh
I'm the Evil Eye
I'm the first cell divided
I'm mud that talks
I'm Eve I'm Kali
I'm The Mountain That Never Moves
I've been forever I'll be here forever
I'm the Gimp
I'm the Cripple
I'm the Crazy Lady
I'm The Woman With Juice quote ends

From a curriculum of "education in gender equity":
a photo and a brief background

A 1997 essay "Thoughts on the 'Right to Die with Dignity' archived at the (still awesome!) Ragged Edge Online

begin quote I have to admit I feel inadequate to express in a rational, reasoned way what I understand in the deepest cell of my marrow to be a movement toward genocide. But no matter how awkward or inarticulate we feel, no matter how difficult it is to peel away the layers to get deep inside the truth of this movement, we must do it. It is our obligation as the ancestors of this country's future victims of the right to die. quote ends

Forwarding the following from Corbett O'Toole on the SDS discussion list:

Cheryl Marie Wade, the ultimate "gnarly" performer, died this week. A groundbreaking writer and performer, Cheryl pushed literary, political, sexual and performance limits at a time when there were no role models.

Here are links to some of the work she left behind:

Cheryl's narration holds "Disability Culture Rap" together
http://youtu.be/j75aRfLsH2Y
open captions

Cheryl's Disability History video:
http://disabilityhistorywiki.com/leadership/presentationpage.asp?presentation=9
no captions

Cheryl's oral history
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/drilm/collection/items/wade.html
uses frames (wow); scroll down for CMW's contribution. no caption on video

ETA: Better link to Disability Culture Rap, thanks to

wild_irises

( an obituary over the weekend introduces me to a writer worth finding )

begin quote When filling out a form for the Ministry of Justice that asked [the deceased woman] to report any losses inflicted by her husband’s arrest and execution, Ms. Kovaly drew up a list that included “loss of honor,” “loss of health” and “loss of faith in the Party and in justice.” Only at the end of her 10-item list did she write “loss of property.”

“I carry the past inside me like an accordion, like a book of picture postcards that people bring home as souvenirs from foreign cities, small and neat,” she wrote in her memoir. “But all it takes is to lift one corner of the top card for an endless snake to escape, zigzag joined to zigzag, the sign of the viper, and instantly all the pictures line up before my eyes.” quote ends

Hida Kovaly was a Czech woman of letters, who translated the "great men" of the 20th century from English and German into her native tongue. She lived through her country's occupation and destruction by two totalitatian regimes, and died there free.

A unauthorized scanned reproduction of a CPJ rave review essay by a U.S. think-tanker meditates on the importance of understanding the delicious appeal and the ultimate weakness of totalitarianisms, which we may think we already understand. But could it hurt to learn more? Significant portions of that same article are in text in this blog post. There's a typically detailed and footnoted review from the wonders that is the H- lists (in this case founding mama H-NET)

While I want to steer a course away from an unthinking elder-worship, most people who have survived that long have learned many things worth learning. (While having had an exceptionally strong body & mind as well access to food and travel at crucial times.) There are literally uncountable millions of 90-yr-olds whose wisdom we'll never hear from the short and brutal 20th Century.

Current Mood: melancholy

My very first Canadian fandom was Radio Canada International. When I first got ill, I spent almost a year horizontal, and my shortwave radio brought sanity and variety to my bedside.

The CBC often presents intriguing weirdnesses on the radio in the summer. This year it's "The Late Show," where Gordon Pinsent hosts long-form documentary obituaries on CBC Radio One.

In a perfect 6 degree mashup, last week's (repeated this Sunday) show explores a hard-headed outdoorsman named Peter Brock.
http://www.cbc.ca/radiosummer/thelateshow/
I can't link directly to the player, but you can hear the show from that page.

Peter Brock was many things in life. A writer, a film-maker, a teacher, a pilot, a pianist. And a modern day explorer. He was preoccupied with one goal — a goal both treacherous and exhilarating. And that was to sail his boat — a boat he built — through the almost impenetrable ice of the Northwest Passage. Follow Peter Brock's journey…to its tragic end.

Sorry, but most of these links will probably be dead by 1-Sept-08

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Location: way north

Bold move from the director of a North Carolina lab: he was willing to be fired rather than fly the NC flag to honor Jesse Helms.

All Things Considered, July 10, 2008: North Carolina lowered flags this week to honor the late Sen. Jesse Helms. But L.F. Eason -- director of the state Standards Laboratory -- chose to retire rather than comply with the directive. Eason explains his objections.

BTW, web sites tend to hide their low-bandwidth versions (probably because they serve fewer ads). With no graphics and no javascripts, they load really quickly. All the content is there, just way faster:
http://thin.npr.org

Current Mood: respectful

Thanks to

kestrell's recommendation, I rewatched the movie SNEAKERS recently. A lovely film, with sound design as virtuoso as its cinematography, lots of fun geek jokes, and a thrilling plot constructed as elegantly as a 19th century watch.

One of the ethical wacky hacker ensemble is Whistler, a blind technowhiz, played by David Straitharn.

Here's the Boston Globe obituary for Joybubble, a real-life phone phreaker with the mad skills the movie's Whistler demonstrates.

Current Mood: grateful

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Entries tagged with obit

rip Cheryl Marie Wade: Disability Performance Artist & Activist

R.I.P. Heda Margolius Kovály

Northwest Passage

Taking A Stand Against Racism

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