Chaoseatsthedark - No Idea

having a quiet life is so.. underrated. i don’t mean it in the sense that people who’re open and loud and busy aren’t important, but when our culture has significantly put so much emphasis on the definition of success as fame, extraordinary accomplishments, greatness and importance and excessive wealth, i think there is so much power to be found in our own anonymity. in the silence of life. in not being constantly perceived, analyzed and performing for the world. in being able to take a walk, smile at strangers and just notice the world without all that noise. taking the biggest pleasure out of the smallest joys, like a cup of coffee or blowing out birthday candles. knowing that our lives don’t have to be a grand spectacle for others in order to have worth and cause a good impact.

My cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books

I’m actually crying over KB’s storyline in the newest episode of Skeleton Crew.

As someone who was the kid with disabilities, it sucked. You were always the one being left behind, the one working twice as hard just to keep up. You feel guilty for making your friends change how they do things to accommodate you but also a little angry because they should want to make things easier for you, because they’re your friends!! And sometimes people decide your friendship isn’t worth giving up their way of doing things, and that friendship fades into nothing.

KB pointed out that Fern not acknowledging her disability and treating her “like everyone else” was actually the opposite of her being a good friend. But Wim also pointed out that KB never expressed that to Fern due to her own fears that Fern won’t be her friend anymore (probably due to losing the rest of her friends post-accident).

I just think is SUCH an important message to show kids - that sometimes being treated equally isn’t actually equal treatment. Sometimes you have to have compassion and understanding for your friends who aren’t as able-bodied as you, and that it’s okay for disabled kids to speak up about their needs.

In case anyone finds it helpful because mobility aids are horrifically expensive and inaccessible…

And for those people who have access to mobility devices but might benefit from a second chair they can abuse without risking expensive damage…

Erik Kondo has made a website, Open Source Innovations, that details plans for DIY wheelchairs. These wheelchairs can be made from common materials like wood, plastic, and pvc. They are lightweight and can be custom fit to the user allowing from the same degree of movement you would get from a custom chair. And they are durable and easily repairable. (he has been stress testing his latest design by dropping it down stairs, dropping it out of a car, launching it across a driveway, and throwing it off a deck). Its 12lbs and I think he said its was in the $200 ish range for parts.

He also is working on cheap, open source, accessible designs for beach chairs, off road chairs, motorized attachments (think smart drive), and so on. Plus he skateboards in his wheelchair. Cool dude, helpful info, pass it on.

one time a professor asked me if i’d ever wanted to write anything “more important” than romance. and i said no. i was put on this earth to write about sad people kissing. and if another writer ever came up to me and said they wanted to write 400 pages containing nothing but a character baking a single loaf of bread each day, then i would tell them to do that. people don't write something because it's important. they write about something and that is what makes it important

Devil on my shoulder: We have work in eight hours if we go to sleep right now we'll be reasonably rested in time to do labor

Angel on my shoulder: We need to see more of this canned fish reviewer guy's youtube channel. He's got something special going on.