Reading in the dark
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Kestrell" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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10:43 am
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Books read in April
1. The Memory of Whiteness by Kim Stanley Robinson (1985) [scanned myself]
One of my favorite science fiction novels, in which music meets physics to create a synesthetic experience of space and time. Poetic prose, trippy images, and Machiavellian plots--what's not to like? Also, and oddly I had forgotten this, the protagonist is a blind musician. While he does have artificial eyes, a cool feature is that they are not perfect in that way that science fiction likes to render all prosthetics, but instead only give the musician a limited degree of low vision.
In the world of Kim Robinson's Mars trilogy, Memory of Whiteness is set after the Mars trilogy although Robinson wrote this right before he began the trilogy.
2. Mad Bad and Sad: Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi (2008) [scanned myself]
Discusses the history of madness in women from the early nineteenth century through the present, with a focus on exploring how tied up the mind doctors were in not only diagnosing but transforming these patients into "star patients" who helped to make these doctors famous. I use the phrase "star patients" because not only, as the author points out, is there some transference from the doctor to the patient regarding what he desires in his ideal patient, but because many of the female patients discussed were themselves famous, from Mary Lamb to Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath (a slight disappointment was the lack of any mention of Caroline Lamb, who seemed referenced in the title, as she described Byron as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know," although the same could have been said, perhaps, of herself).
One of the truly disturbing threads is how male doctors linked creativity, or any mental exercise at all, particularly reading, with mental instability in women. These women were often given enforced "rest cures" --not to mention, often highly addictive drugs-- in order to prevent them from doing anything, period. Lots of fascinating information about the connections between women's writing and madness, such as the real-life doctor portrayed in the story "The Yellow Wallpaper."
Very readable prose, good starting place for the subject.
3. "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" from _Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences_ by Ursula K. Le Guin (1987) [Bookshare.org]
I Read about this story in _Coyote At Large_ and really can't believe I've managed to miss it all these years. A young girl is stranded in the desert after being in a plane crash and is temporarily adopted by Coyote. Fun feminist myth plus wacky eyeball humor--highly recommended.
4. Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies (2006)
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) alexx_kay read this one to me--it was a Christmas present from him--and it is just a really fun book with lots of very witty rhymes and pictures portraying some fun-loving bats. The author does a lot with the pictures, including the fact that he includes different types of bats.
You can hear Daniel Pinkwater and one of the NPR hosts reading this book and describing the pictures here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5507234
--stick around through the end and you'll hear a few verses of Jimmy Durante singing "The Day I Read a Book."
5. _The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature_ by S.T. Joshi, editor (2000) ]scanned myself]
6. _The Modern Weird Tale: A Critique of Horror Fiction_ by S.T. Joshi (2001) [scanned myself]
I admit, I only heard about S. T. Joshi from mssrcrankypants at the 2007 Readercon http://www.readercon.org ,
since it is difficult for me to hear about small and/or indie press books, as they tend to not get a lot of publicity. Better late than never, though, and I was really excited to have an annotated edition of Lovecraft's _Supernatural Horror in Literature_, as it is one of the best books on horror, made even more valuable by Joshi's footnotes and bibliography.
As for Joshi's _Modern Weird Fiction_, it put into words some of my niggling sense of annoyance with a lot of contemporary horror, mostly in the fact that much of it seems to be mainstream fiction dressed up in cliched dimestore Halloween costumes. Don't read this unless you want your critical appreciation of horror heightened.
( scarecrows, space opera, a bit of snark and more below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: bookish
Current Music: birds twittering
Tags: books, reviews
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06:09 pm
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Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi interviews
Neil Gaiman at Google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmfCGy_ZLg
and for those in the Boston area, Neil will be the speaker for the first julius Schwartz Memorial Lecture happening on May 23, 7-10 p.m., Kresge Auditorium at MIT.
http://cms.mit.edu/events/specialevents.php#052308
John Scalzi and Cory Doctorow talk about their new young adult books, George Orwell fan fic, and new ways to mentally torture your dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEGpbnp1tM
Also of potential interest is Cory's article in The Guardian about his top tips for sorting email
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/29/email.filter
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood:  cold
Current Music: www.wumb.org
Tags: books, events, mit, writing
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01:17 pm
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Free remixable audiobook of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Here's the announcement from Cory, and you can read my review of the book in the post previous to this one:
block quote start
My next novel, Little Brother, officially goes on sale today! In
addition to the US print edition, there's a DRM-free audio edition
(there's also forthcoming editions in the UK, Greece, Russia, France and
Norway, with others pending) from Random House Audio. My deal with
Random House is that they're absolutely not allowed to sell the book
with DRM on it, which, sadly, means that Audible (the largest audiobook
store in the world) won't carry it -- they insist on selling books with
DRM, even when authors and publishers don't want it.
Instead, you can buy the audiobook from Zipidee, a retailer that Random
House uses -- they have the spiffy embeddable Flash sales-object you can
find on Craphound.com (feel free to paste it into your own blog or
whatnot), and there's also a static URL for those of you who can't use
Flash.
The audiobook comes with my own sampling license: once you own it,
you're free to take up to 30 minutes' worth of material from it and
remix and then redistribute it as much as you like, provided that you do
so on a noncommercial basis, make sure that it's clear that this is a
remix and not the original, and make sure that you tell people where to
find the original. This is in addition to all the fair use remixing that
you're allowed to do without my permission (of course!).
I'll also be releasing (as always!) a free, Creative Commons-licensed
version of the text of Little Brother, just as soon as I get back to
London (I'm presently in Toronto, visiting my family with my newborn
daughter). It'll likely be Monday or so -- there's a bunch of little
clean-uppy things I need to do with the Little Brother distribution site
that I need to be in my office with uninterrupted time to accomplish.
Random House's page for Little Brother:
http://www.randomhouse.com/littlebrotheraudiobook
Buy Little Brother audio:
http://www.zipidee.com/zipidAudioPreview.aspx?aid=c5a8e946-fd2c-4b9e-a748-f297bba17de8
Buy Little Brother:
http://us.macmillan.com/Retailer.aspx?isbn=9780765319852
block quote end
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood:  excited
Tags: audiobooks, books, coryd, ebooks, science fiction
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04:39 pm
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Free download of Mothers and Other Monsters by Maureen McHugh
Small Beer Press is offering a
free ebook download of Maureen McHugh's _Mothers and Other Monsters_
http://lcrw.net/mchugh/index.htm ;
if interested, here is a review I did of this book for Green Man Review
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_va_fictionquartet.html
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: books, ebooks, science fiction
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02:10 pm
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Book review: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
block quote start
I'm a senior at Cesar Chavez high in San Francisco's sunny Mission district, and that makes
me one of the most surveilled people in the world. My name is Marcus Yallow, but back when
this story starts, I was going by w1n5t0n. Pronounced "Winston."
block quote end
As is obvious from the very first paragraph of _Little Brother_, Cory Doctorow's new book
begins with a bang and pretty much keeps up the pace straight through to the very end of the
story.
Marcus and his friends are typical teenagers in a not-too-distant future. They worry about
dating, getting into college, and how to skip class and not get caught. Then one day they
are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when a 9/11-style terrorist attack occurs in
San Francisco and they, along with many others, get picked up in a Homeland Security sweep.
Marcus soon finds himself under constnat suspicion and surveillance by his own government,
even as he begins to ask himself and others, including the adults around him, why he is
being forced to conform to a culture of fear or risk being labeled unAmerican.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: radical
Current Music: 1776 soundtrack
Tags: books, coryd, media studies, politics, reviews
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11:11 am
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Kestrell gets a Catscan, a followup to migrains post
During December and January I had a lot of migraines, so my GP gave me a referral to a neurologist. The neurologist asked a lot of questions, especially as one symptom of fibromyalgia, which I have, is very bad headaches, complete with sensitivity to sounds and smells, so it is more complicated distinguishing these from migraines. Aside from quintupling the amitriptilin I was already taking for my fibro, the neurologist ordered some bloodwork and a Catscan. (It would have been an MRI, but I was unable to say for certain whether I had any pieces of metal in my head since, despite my asking questions from my various eye surgeons, they were unable to answer this question. One more reason for demanding that doctors give you any and all information on surgical procedures.)
Anyway, the catscan itself was kind of fun, in a very science fiction kind of way, so I thought I would share the details.
( Read more... )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood:  tired
Current Music: www.wumb.org
Tags: health, medical, migraines
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08:02 pm
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Online talk on accessible chess
Kes: Anna Dresner produces some of the most knowledgeable and useful discussions on accessible media, so I highly recommend this event to anyone interested in the subject.
Anyone For A Game of Chess? | Accessible World
Date: Monday, April 21, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m. Pacific, 6:00 p.m. Mountain, 7:00 p.m. Central, 8:00 p.m. Eastern and elsewhere in the world Tuesday 0:00 GMT.
Where: Tek Talk Conference Room at:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rsc9613dc89eb2
or
http://www.accessibleworld.org
The Accessible News Wire April 13, 2008, Indianapolis, Indiana USA
http://accessibleworld.org/content/anyone-game-chess
Chess has been defined many ways but most will agree that it is not merely an idle amusement but essentially in its essence it is a game, in its form an
art, and in its execution a science. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened
by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century
after evolving from similar, much older games of Indian and Persian Origin dating back somewhere before 600 A.D.. Today, while chess is one of the world's
most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in clubs, online, by correspondence, in tournaments and informally, only a limited number believe
that it can be played and enjoyed by individuals who are blind. Anna Dresner and Alan Dicey will demonstrate to the Tek Talk audience that Whether you're
new to chess or a seasoned player, blindness does not have to stop you from playing, and playing well. It really is a game that can be played effectively
and enjoyed by those who are totally blind.
IN their presentation, they will describe adaptive chess sets, discuss playing as a blind person, tell you where to get free lessons, and suggest lots of
ways to meet other players - sighted and blind, from the U.S. and elsewhere - and develop your skills via e-mail, voice chat, and computer chess programs.
So listen in, then grab a board and join the fun!
( contact info and online conference room info below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, games
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07:06 pm
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Looking for Linux scanning program
Anyone have any recommendations?
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: ocr, scanning
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10:56 am
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Username Faust review
Yesterday alexx_kay, juliad and I attended "username: faust," currently playing at the New College Theater. I found it both enjoyable and thought-provoking; my ultimate judgement is that creatively, it is a fabulous play, but politically, I completely disagree with its theme.
Here is the story (note I think I am conflating the character name with the actors' names, due tot he way the program presented this information). Alice, a wheelchair user who works from home at a data entry job, becomes drawn into the Internet, posting to LiveJournal and later, under the influence of Sophie, creating YouTube videos. Soon she finds herself withdrawing from her real-life friend and neighbor, Wendy, in order to cultivate the adoration of her online fans. All of this comes about through a literal Faustian bargain, with Lucifer being played by a sort of "remixed Old Nick," who sings all his parts through pieces from various Faust operas.
The acting was impressive (although I wish the female lead had projected a bit more), and the opera was wonderful.
My main issues with the play are that it takes the easy route in some of it's narrative, including a pat "technology is evil" moral stance. To be specific, the action of the play presents the idea that the Net robs you of "real" experience and substitutes superficial meaningless virtual experience. It is to be noted, as
this other review
http://galen-reviews.livejournal.com/12688.html
points out, that this is a Harvard student's senior thesis, but still, I feel a more complex unpacking of the pros and cons of technology is, at this point in the 21st century, to be expected.
As a disability and technology advocate, I have to strongly object to this theme.
( my argument against the technology is evil theme )
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.wumb.org
Tags: media studies, technology, theatre
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11:38 am
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Reader's block
I have read a couple of posts on this subject lately and, as I experienced this at the end of last year, I thought I would write about what I did to recover from this insidious and distressing condition.
During November and December of last year I found myself really struggling with a feeling of reader's ennui. I had never in my life as far as I could remember experienced a lack of interest in reading, not even when I had serious eye problems. I was griping about it at a party one night and someone said, "Well, maybe you're just not in a mood to read anything; I feel like that sometimes." I didn't reply verbally to this idea, but I'm positive my expression conveyed my thoughts of "Do I know you? or more to the point, do you know me?"
What I finally did was take a long look at what I had been reading and try to determine, much as if I was considering my nutritional intake, if I was getting what I needed out of my reading choices. My new habit of posting what I read over the past month and the source of those books is one of the things I am trying to do in order to more proactively think about what I am reading. I'm also conscious of the fact that I seem to have entered a phase as a reader where I am much more critical regarding not wanting to read a story that seems to be like a hundred or even a dozen other books I have read before.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: accomplished
Tags: books, readng
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09:31 am
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Book reviews: new books by Elizabeth Hand, Walter Jon Williams, and more
There is a new edition of Green Man Review online
http://www.greenmanreview.com/whats_new.html
and I have four reviews in it:
_Charles Williams: Alchemy and Integration_
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_ashenden_charleswilliams.html ,
Elizabeth Hand's _Bride of Frankenstein_
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_hand_brideoffrankenstein.html ,
_The New Weird_, which made me question what the purpose is of all those extras editors are so fond of stuffing into anthologies nowadays
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_vandanmeers_thenewweird.html
and
_Implied Spaces_ by Walter Jon Williams, which made me a new convert to Williams's writing
http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_williams_impliedspaces.html
Current Location: aerye
Tags: books, reviews
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01:12 pm
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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!: theatre
alexx_kay and I will be attending the 3 o'clock performance of
username: faust
http://kestrell.livejournal.com/423183.html#cutid1
since this performance will be providing a descriptive track for visually-impaired attendees.
Also of note for Sunday performances is
William Shakespeare Vampire, Hunter
http://community.livejournal.com/bard_in_boston/63160.html
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: faust, shakespeare, theatre
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09:39 am
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Books read in March +"science fiction melodrama"
1. "Fountain of Age" Nancy Kress (2007) [Fictionwise]
Along with the short story "Memory Dog" mentioned next, I have generated a subgenre which I call "science fiction melodrama." It tends to have really unsympathetic characters who I am supposed to want to see redeemed, except I don't believe it because a short story is too short a period for people like this to suddenly turn around and become someone else. Also, the tech in these stories tends to be just a MacGuffin used to instigate and/or resolve the story. All this aside, even as I forced myself to finish these stories, I found myself thinking "I just know these stories are going to win awards." Maybe I'm just not girl enough to like "relationship" stories.
2. "Memory Dog" by Kathleen Ann Goonan from Asimov's April/May 2008 [Fictionwise]
3. Midnight Premiere edited by Tom Piccirilli (2007) [scanned myself]
I had been lusting for this anthology of horror stories about horror movies since I first read about it last summer and when I saw a used copy on Amazon for under $25, I jumped on it. It wasn't a disappointment, and the stories range from the subtley weird to the complete gross-out. Standout stories for me were the first and last stories in the book:
Gary Braunbeck's story"Onlookers," which exploits the uncanniness of film itself and reminded me a bit of Ramsey Campbell's _The Grin of the Dark_ in its focus on early silent film, and Ed Gorman's "Scream Queen," which is the perfect endnote as it highlights the difference between movie horror and real-life horror. "Between the Storms" by Gerard Houarner was another excellent story which used an eerie setting to really deliver the shivers.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: books, horror, science fiction
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12:30 pm
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American newspapers, then and now
Kes: More on the death of the American newspaper, but this one includes a bit of history (excerpt included below).
The News Business
Out of Print
The death and life of the American newspaper.
by
Eric Alterman
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_alterman
March 31, 2008
block quote start
Arianna Huffington questions newspapers’“veneer of unassailable trustworthiness.”
The American newspaper has been around for approximately three hundred years. Benjamin Harris’s spirited
Publick Occurrences, Both Forreign and Domestick managed just one issue, in 1690, before the Massachusetts authorities closed it down. Harris had suggested
a politically incorrect hard line on Indian removal and shocked local sensibilities by reporting that the King of France had been taking liberties with
the Prince’s wife.
It really was not until 1721, when the printer James Franklin launched the New England Courant, that any of Britain’s North American colonies saw what we
might recognize today as a real newspaper. Franklin, Benjamin’s older brother, refused to adhere to customary licensing arrangements and constantly attacked
the ruling powers of New England, thereby achieving both editorial independence and commercial success. He filled his paper with crusades (on everything
from pirates to the power of Cotton and Increase Mather), literary essays by Addison and Steele, character sketches, and assorted philosophical ruminations.
Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, it no longer requires a dystopic imagination to wonder who will have the dubious distinction
of publishing America’s last genuine newspaper. Few believe that newspapers in their current printed form will survive. Newspaper companies are losing
advertisers, readers, market value, and, in some cases, their sense of mission at a pace that would have been barely imaginable just four years ago. Bill
Keller, the executive editor of the Times, said recently in a speech in London, “At places where editors and publishers gather, the mood these days is
funereal. Editors ask one another, ‘How are you?,’ in that sober tone one employs with friends who have just emerged from rehab or a messy divorce.” Keller’s
speech appeared on the Web site of its sponsor, the
Guardian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”
block quote end
Current Location: aerye
Tags: print media
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11:42 am
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Free award-nominated stories offered by Night Shade Books
Whenever I start to feel that genre fiction is getting stale, I pop over to Night Shade Books and get an attitude adjustment. I'm currently writing a review for Walter Jon Williams's new book _Implied Spaces_, to be released by Night Shade Books in April, and noticed that NSB is offering some free downloads at their downloads page
http://www.nightshadebooks.com/downloads/
Andy Duncan's Nebula-nominated short story"Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse"
Garth Nix’s Ditmar-nominated story “Bad Luck, Trouble, Death, and Vampire Sex”:
Richard Kadrey’s novel _Butcher Bird_ (formerly titled _Blind Shrike_, it features a yes! blind swordswoman)
Jon Armstrong’s "shocking high-fashion dystopian" novel _Grey_, nominated for the John W. Campbell Award
You can also order other great new SF from Night Shade Books like Walter Jon Williams's _Implied Spaces and
_The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 2_, featuring stories by Stephen Baxter, Peter S. Beagle, Holly Black, Ted Chiang, Greg Egan, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Susan Palwick, Bruce
Sterling, Charles Stross, Michael Swanwick, and many others.
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: books, science fiction
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10:10 am
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Faust play featuring actors with disabilities at Harvard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
username: faust
taking accessible theatre into the digital age
(CAMBRIDGE, MA) - Tickets are on sale for username: FAUST, an original
multimedia production featuring an ensemble of local performers with a
variety of disabilities. Performances will be held April 9-13, 2008 at
Harvard's New College Theatre, 12 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, MA.
Directed by Harvard senior Charlie I. Miller, this adaptation of the Faust
legend is a collaborative work, created in partnership with the cast. Miller
assembled a group of artists with disabilities ranging from blindness to
bipolar disorder, and began working with them last fall. What began as
improvised workshops, scenes, and video projects has become a cutting-edge
performance unlike any other theatrical or cinematic event.
While complicated in its technical execution, username: FAUST is at its core
accessible theatre. Miller designed the show to be a stimulating
multi-sensory experience that can be enjoyed by a diverse audience.
Additionally, the venue at Harvard's New College Theatre is completely
accessible to patrons with disabilities, and the production will offer open
captioning and audio description. ASL interpreters are available upon
request.
( continued below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, disability, theatre
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03:36 pm
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It's good when you can laugh
One reason I listen to http://www.937mikefm.com
is that they play these really amusing little soundbites. The one which just played was
News flash! Boston Mayor Menino wants to outlaw violent video games.
...News flash: Mayor Menino knows what video games are.
It seems, according to this story
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1080874&srvc=home&position=rated
that the mayor is blaming teenage street violence on video games. I've always been curious about this arguement: if kids are home playing video games, how can they be out shooting people? Also, is it an election year for the mayor?
Current Music: Crazy
Tags: games, politics
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02:07 pm
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Bookshare.org Partners with Don Johnston to Provide Free Text Reader for Print-Disabled Students
From the Daisy Talking Book mailing list
Bookshare.org Partners with Don Johnston to Provide Free Text Reader for Print Disabled Students
Special education publisher (Don Johnston) partners with non-profit online library (Bookshare.org) to provide free assistive technology software for students with print disabilities.
Palo Alto, CA and Volo, IL
) March 13, 2008 -- Bookshare.org and Don Johnston have announced a partnership to provide qualified print disabled students with a free text reader to access electronic books from the Bookshare.org library.
This technology access partnership announced at the 2008 CSUN conference in Los Angeles, CA, will serve an estimated 1-3% of the total K-12 student population, specifically those who receive special education services and qualify under the 1996 Chafee Amendment.
We chose Read:OutLoud because of its strong support tools for students with reading disabilities and its ability to read DAISY files that have the richness that comes from the NIMAS publisher files. Benetech and the team at Don Johnston are working closely together to create more equality for students with learning disabilities and special needs.
Beginning at the start of the 2008-09 school year, qualified students will have the opportunity to use Don Johnston's Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition text reader (Windows Version) to access more than 36,000 books, magazines and newspapers in the Bookshare.org library.
The Read:OutLoud Bookshare.org Edition text reader offers embedded reading comprehension strategies and instructional supports that align with state educational standards. The text reader software includes audio feedback, electronic highlighting and note-taking features that allow students to effectively capture ideas. A Mac version will follow in 2009.
( continued below cut, links at bottom )
Current Location: aerye
Tags: accessibility, bookshare, ebooks, education
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12:02 pm
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New interface translates thoughts into speech
Kes: Another device where PWD get to be the early adopters, but no doubt all the able-bodied kids will want one too, 'cause hey, we've seen it in the science fiction movies, although I'm particularly thinking of Connie Willis's short story, "Spice Pogrom."
from the Technology Review blog
Speechless Conversations
A new device translates your thoughts into speech so that you can have a cell-phone conversation without uttering a word.
Friday, March 14, 2008By Brittany Sauser
Ambient Corporation
, a company based in Champaign, IL, that develops communications technologies for people with speaking disabilities, is calling its latest system "voiceless
communication" with good reason. The company has engineered a neckband that translates a wearer's thoughts into speech so that, without saying a word,
he or she can have a cell-phone conversation or query search engines in public.
Don't fret: the device, called Audeo, can't read minds, so it won't capture your secret thoughts. It picks up the neurological signals from the brain that
are being sent to the vocal cords--a person must specifically think about voicing words--and then wirelessly transmits them to a computer, which translates
them into synthesized speech. At the moment, the device has a limited vocabulary: 150 words and phrases.
The video below shows Michael Callahan, a cofounder of Ambient and a developer of the device, demonstrating the technology at the
Texas Instruments Developers Conference, which was held in Dallas from March 3 through 5. In his speech, he says that by the end of the year, the device will be ready for use by people with Lou
Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that can cause sufferers to become completely paralyzed. He also says that in the future, if
a person is walking down the street thinking about where a bus station is located, the device will automatically wirelessly query a search engine to find
Go to original story to watch video
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/22037/?nlid=942
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: www.937mikefm.com
Tags: disabilitytech, technology
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04:49 pm
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Finalists for 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced
Kes: The complete list other than the SF finalists is below the cut.
Q: I was thinking it would be great to try to organize a group of blind SF fans so that we could each pick one book and scan it, then contribute the group of books to Bookshare. Anyone interested in participating in a blind queer SF fan distributed effort?
LGBT SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR
* Wicked Gentlemen, Ginn Hale (Blind Eye Books)
* A Companion to Wolves, Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear (Tor Books)
* Spaceman Blues: A Love Song, Brian Francis Slattery (Tor Books)
* The Dust of Wonderland, Lee Thomas (Alyson Books)
* Ha'penny, Jo Walton (Tor Books)
( list below cut )
Current Location: aerye
Current Mood: tired
Tags: books, queer, science fiction
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