Showing posts with label Housekeeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Housekeeping. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
Moving
I have claimed several times that I would be moving this blog to another platform, and never carried through. This time, I’m serious. Really.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll re-open the Disability Thinking blog as the Disability Thinking website. It will include a Blog (with all the past posts intact), the Podcast (I may or may not transfer past episodes, still debating that), and a Links page meant to be my personal “must visit” collection of disability websites to share with visitors. I am hoping to have a new site address, too … something like www.disabilitythinking.com.
Stay tuned!
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Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Holiday Break
I’ve just finished a last piece of pre-holiday work. I’ll go back to daily blogging on Saturday, December 26. Happy Holidays to all!
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Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Blogging Break
I won't be blogging this week, as I work on a couple of deadlines I will be paid to meet. I will return next Monday with the usual Weekly Reading List.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Blogging Break
I’m taking a blogging break until next Wednesday, November 4, 2015. In the meantime, check out some past goodies from Disability Thinking:
Also, if you haven’t done so already, why not take the Visitor Survey?
I will be back Wednesday!
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Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Blog Topics Update
I’m feeling poorly today … to quote Dr. Seuss, I’ve got “crummies in my tummy,” so I’m just going to run down a few of the blog posts I’m working on for the next few days:
Sex and Disability: Is It Really A Taboo?
I’ve seen quite a few blog posts and news stories lately with this theme, and while I certainly agree most peoples’ nations about disability and sex are either screwed up or naive, I’ve never quite agreed with calling it a “taboo.” I’ll explore this and try to figure out more precisely what we’re dealing with.
Logical Fallacies
One of my favorite podcasts focused recently on logical and rhetorical fallacies, and from there I found a really cool website with a listing of the main ways we weaken our arguments and suffer failures in critical thinking. I hope to identify some of the fallacies that crop up most frequently in discussions about disability.
DIY Disability Policy
If you could design a three-point national disability policy agenda, from the ground up, what would you include? Think practical, but think big, too!
Defining Inspiration Porn
I hope to finish this thing by the end of next week. It’s worth doing, but exhausting and, truth be told, a bit depressing.
Also, look for another Disability Blogger Link-Up this Friday, October 23.
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Friday, September 4, 2015
Brainstorming
I keep a running list of potential blogging topics. At least once a week, I go through and add new topics, and erase or rewrite topics I’ve changed my mind about. Here is what’s on my topic list today:
- Disability policy questions for election candidates.
- Tips for being a disability advocate without being an asshole.
- How I really feel about my disabilities.
- A preference for passion or policy?
- The difference between advocacy and activism.
- Notes for people who think ableism isn't a problem.
- My take on "Political Correctness."
- Which is worse, opposition or ignorance?
- Discredited ideas about disability.
- Intentions don't matter, except that they sort of do.
- How disability issues differ from other kinds of policy issues.
- Exploring pessimism and optimism in disability culture.
- "Educating" people is a profession and a calling, not an obligation.
- Is there a "Disability Agenda?"
- Exploring the different neighborhoods within the “disability community."
- Inspirational disability stories that don't make me want to throw up.
- I wish I could talk to my parents about how they dealt with my disabilities.
- Checking my privilege, disability edition.
- The disability version of “respectability politics."
- My take on “Intersectionality."
- The evolving arguments for disability rights.
- My most embarrassing disability-related moment.
- What do disabled people fear most?
What should I write about over the next few weeks? I would also like to learn about how other disability bloggers decide what to write. Please add your thoughts below!
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Thursday, August 27, 2015
... And, We're Back!
Monday, August 17, 2015
Death Throes
My MacBook Air is dying, fast and ugly.
On Friday, between Tweets about the Disability Blogger Link-Up, I did some comparison shopping and decided to order a new 21.5 inch screen iMac. I think it’s been over 15 years since I bought myself a desktop computer. While I am annoyed at the inconvenience, and a little anxious because I hadn’t planned on a big purchase like this, I am excited to switch to a different kind of computer, with a much bigger screen and a lot more storage.
Until the iMac arrives later this week, I still have my iPad Mini to work with. Unfortunately, it’s cumbersome for blogging, and podcasting work is out of the question. So, it’s going to be a very think week here at Disability Thinking. I will aim to get back to a regular posting schedule next Monday, and finish Part Two of my Disability.TV podcast on Seinfeld by then.
Meanwhile, feel free to browse the Archives (over on the right, scroll down), and the past Disability Blogger Link-Ups.
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Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Blogging Day Off
Over 19 million views in less than a week. This video is everywhere. It also has nothing to do with disability. But I’m taking a day off from blogging, and it is the happiest YouTube video I have ever seen. So, enjoy:
For the record, the second happiest video I have ever seen is one of the first YouTube videos I ever saw:
Friday, July 24, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
Podcast Update
No Seinfeld for you! Not today anyway.
I originally planned to post a Disability.TV Podcast episode on Seinfeld today. Instead, I found myself rethinking how to do the podcast going forward. The upshot is that I am making a couple of adjustments based on feedback received so far in the Visitor Survey. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, please do. It will stay open indefinitely.
I originally planned to post a Disability.TV Podcast episode on Seinfeld today. Instead, I found myself rethinking how to do the podcast going forward. The upshot is that I am making a couple of adjustments based on feedback received so far in the Visitor Survey. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, please do. It will stay open indefinitely.
1. Shorter Episodes
Starting Monday, August 3, podcasts will come out on the first and third Monday of each month. Each episode will be about half an hour long, sometimes a standalone episode, sometimes half a two-part installment on a single TV show or topic. In addition to cutting longer episodes in half and posting them two weeks apart, I will also work on being more concise overall.
2. Transcripts
Every episode will include a complete written transcript. It takes about a week to get transcripts done, so I will record and each month's episodes first, order the transcripts, and post the episodes later when the transcripts are done. Transcripts are essential to make podcasts accessible to deaf and hearing impaired people, and may also be helpful for others as well.
Here is the tentative schedule for the next few months:
August, 2015
Aug 3 - Part One
Aug 17 - Part Two
September, 2015
Sep 21 - Part Two
October, 2015
Oct 5 - Part One
Oct 19 - Part Two
November, 2015
Nov 2 - Part One
Nov 16 - Part Two
December, 2015
Dec 7 - Autistic Characters
Dec 21 - Disability Tropes
January, 2016
Jan 18 - Part Two
If you would like to be a guest for any of these topics, please let me know. Send me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. You can also contact me through Twitter: @AndrewPulrang or Facebook. I could also use some help paying for transcripts and other technical improvements. Check out the Support page to see how you can contribute.
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Thursday, June 18, 2015
Throwback Thursday
Two years ago in Disability Thinking: Site Work ….
Right. So. The big, full-service website thing didn’t really work out. Basically, in addition to being difficult and expensive to pull off, it was probably unnecessary. An old-style forum or message board would certainly be antiquated and pointless. I can't see one ever filling up with comments from dozens of regulars.
I still hope at some point to have a real “home page” with matching links to take visitors to the Blog or the Podcast, but for now, the Blog will do for a landing point, and I will rely on menu tabs and things for better navigation.
I still hope at some point to have a real “home page” with matching links to take visitors to the Blog or the Podcast, but for now, the Blog will do for a landing point, and I will rely on menu tabs and things for better navigation.
I welcome suggestions though!
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
A Short Break
Blogging will be paused for the next few days. I have grant writing work to do. One of these days, I should blog about writing grants for disability-related programs and organizations.
If you want to do stuff here, I recommend:
Listening to the Disability.TV podcast on Red Band Society with Amputee OT, creator of the Lego Leg video.
Browsing the "favorite disability websites" contributed on last weekend's Disability Blogger Linkup.
Taking the Visitor Survey.
Supporting my blogging and podcasting by making a Patreon contribution, shopping at Amazon, or signing up for a free trial of Audible.com ... links to both found halfway down the right side of the blog.
I'll probably be back with new blogging later in the week.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Podcast Updates
I am having an extra busy week, so I am pushing the next Disability.TV Podcast episode to next Monday, June 8, 2015. As I have mentioned, my guest will be Christina Stephens, known on YouTube as Amputee OT, and creator of the Lego Leg video. We will discuss the disabled characters and disability themes in last fall’s Fox show, Red Band Society.
Here are some tentative topics for other upcoming episodes:
- The Jessa & Beedie Story On Girls
- Series Review: Seinfeld
- The Weird Prevalence of Disability in Don’t Trust The B … In Apartment 23
- Episode Review: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
- Disabled Characters On Police / Investigation Shows
If anyone is interested in being my guest on any of these episodes, send me an email, or message me in Facebook or Twitter.
And don’t forget, you can get all the episodes of the Disability.TV Podcast by visiting the Disability.TV Website, or by subscribing with iTunes or your favorite podcast application. Subscribing is free, and each new episode is downloaded automatically to your computer or mobile device.
And don’t forget, you can get all the episodes of the Disability.TV Podcast by visiting the Disability.TV Website, or by subscribing with iTunes or your favorite podcast application. Subscribing is free, and each new episode is downloaded automatically to your computer or mobile device.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Music For A Monday Evening
Somehow, the day got away from me, and the plans I had to post something of substance fell through. Maybe tomorrow. Also, look for a new episode of the Disability.TV Podcast on Wednesday. My guest will be Christina Stephens, a.k.a. AmputeeOT, who spoke with me about last fall’s Fox TV show, Red Band Society.
Meanwhile, check out this Beatles video. I watched the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last night, and one of the highlights was inductee Ringo Starr performing “Boys” with fellow inductees, Green Day. It was pretty great.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Housekeeping
It’s time for some updates on the website and podcast ...
Looking Ahead
Monday, May 18
Downton Abbey, with guests Kelly Anneken and Tom Schneider of the Up Yours, Downstairs Podcast.
Friday, May 29 - Sunday, May 31
Disability Blogger Link-Up.
Monday, June 1
Disability.TV Podcast
Red Band Society, with guest Christina Stephens, YouTube vlogger AmputeeOT.
Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14
Disability Blogger Link-Up.
Monday, June 15
Disability.TV
Beedie & Jessa, examining a short storyline in Girls.
Feedback
There are several ways you can comment on the blog and podcast. Most readers use the Disqus comment feature, where you can comment on any blog post by clicking the “Click here to comment” or pencil icon link at the bottom of each item, just to the right of the post date and time. This feature also allows you to interact with other commenters, and you can comment as a guest, even if you’re not registered with Disqus.
If you prefer to communicate with me directly, you can use my email address: apulrang@icloud.com.
Finally, I would greatly appreciate your general feedback through the survey embedded below, which asks for your opinions and ideas for both the Disability Thinking Blog and the Disability.TV Podcast. The survey is completely anonymous, with no personal data coming to me or collected by SurveyMonkey. I hope to have enough responses to get a good idea of what people like and what they’d like to see here.
Support
Aside from commenting and completing the survey, there are three main ways you can help support this site:
Subscribe to the Disability.TV Podcast and leave an iTunes review. Reviews help introduce the podcast to potential listeners, and subscriptions raise the podcast in the iTunes rankings.
Contribute through Patreon. It’s a simple way to make a small but important financial contribution towards maintaining and improving the blog and podcast. Believe me, a little help on this is going to go a long way.
You can also help by buying Amazon products through the Amazon Affiliate search widget on the upper right hand side of the blog. If you’re going to buy something anyway, doing it from here will generate a little money for the blog and podcast, while costing you nothing extra.
Thanks to all the readers and listeners. Your return visits and comments make this all a blast to do.
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
Bloggy, Podcasty Stats
I decided to take a look at some statistics for the Disability Thinking Blog and the Disability.TV Podcast.
First the blog:
At some point today, the total page views will reach 106,500. Over the history of the blog, it has received an average of 132 page views per day, 3,974 page views per month. However, readership has grown fairly steadily, and the blog has been getting more like 200 to 250 page views per day for the last few months.
64% of visitors used desktop computers
26% of visitors used mobile phones
10% of visitors used tablets.
Top 10 Countries
(Visitors from 132 countries in all)
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
India
France
Philippines
Ireland
New Zealand
Netherlands
Italy
Brazil
Sweden
Japan
Indonesia
Spain
Turkey
Finland
Russia
Top 10 U.S. States
(Visitors from 50 states in all)
California
New York
Texas
Massachusetts
Illinois
Pennsylvania
Florida
Virginia
Washington
New Jersey
Ohio
Maryland
Michigan
Georgia
North Carolina
Minnesota
Oregon
District of Columbia
Wisconsin
Colorado
Top 10 Most Viewed Posts
Now a look at the podcast:
22 episodes, 8,793 total plays.
Top 10 Episodes
Top 10 Countries
(Listeners from 55 countries in all)
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Argentina
Australia
Portugal
Austria
Taiwan
New Zealand
India
It's nice to know people are reading and listening. However, I have to say that the routines of blogging and podcasting are satisfying all by themselves ... far more fulfilling that I imagined they would be when I started.
It's nice to know people are reading and listening. However, I have to say that the routines of blogging and podcasting are satisfying all by themselves ... far more fulfilling that I imagined they would be when I started.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Blogging Break For Spring Cleaning
I am going on a blogging break this week, while I look into the possibility of moving the whole kit and caboodle over to a new Squarespace site. Does anyone have any feedback on Squarespace? How is it with accessibility?
Friday, March 13, 2015
Housekeeping
I’m not working today. The weather is decent. It’s not that cold. My winter bronchitis is 98% done. It’s time I spent a day outside my apartment, enjoying some fresh, unheated air. So, I’m going to post a few housekeeping notes and and leave it at that:
- After several weeks posting Disability Blogger Link-Ups every Friday, I’ve decided to switch to every other Friday. That should allow enough time for people to collect more of their favorite disability-related posts and articles. So, the next Link-Up will be next Friday, March 20.
- I've set up a date and time to talk with Emily Ladau about disability on “reality TV shows”, for the Disability.TV Podcast. I’m also working on getting co-hosts for episodes on “Downton Abbey” and “The Red Band Society.” If you haven’t done so yet, have a listen to the latest Disability.TV episode, where I try to work out a star-rating system for disability on television.
- It’s been awhile since I posted anything biographical, but I’ve been prompted by a couple of great “letters to my younger self” pieces to write one myself. So, I’m working on that, too.
Enjoy the day!
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