Saturday, February 22, 2014

I suspect that the book is better

In 1972, SOUNDER came out. It probably comes as little surprise to find out that I did not see it in the theater. ;-) Even back then, I made it a point to see movies at least once every seven years or so.

Anyhow, I saw it a few years later. Some of it is incredibly powerful and emotionally rich. Still, I was a little disappointed. It felt like something was missing.

SOUNDER was on TCM this afternoon. I decided to tape it and watch it again. After all, the first time I saw the movie, commercials were embedded.

Besides, I was young and shallow back then. It was entirely possible that the things that everyone else saw in the movie would mean more to me now.

I am still not as impressed as I want to be with it. I suspect that the book is better. There are jumps in the movie that just don't make sense. Pieces are missing. Peoples' motivations aren't there. We just don't see a three dimensional universe.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

My head hurts

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to flip the display on my monitor go upside down and backwards. While it is POSSIBLE to read a computer screen that way, it gives me a headache. It is particularly difficult to figure out the difference between "b" and "d" and "g" and "p" and "q"…

I tried everything I thought of. I asked a few friends. Nobody knew what to do… Until I called my favorite computer repair dudes. The answer was quite simple [alt] [ctrl] [up arrow].

It's quite nice not having to use the computer standing on my head!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Who knew? ReelAbilities Film Festival

My occupational therapist at the Methodist Hospital, Judi Joseph, happened to mention something that is starting this weekend. To be specific: February 9-13 is Houston's ReelAbilities Disabilities Film Festival for 2014. I had never heard about this! It looks intriguing, maybe even beautiful.

Here is Monday's listing:

How to Train Your Dragon Rated: PG
Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION
Registration not required

My Spectacular Theater Rated: PG-13
*Special appearance by Christine Ha, winner of MasterChef Season 3!*
Chinese Community Center, 5:30 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION
Register online here

Getting Up
Rated: PG-13
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 7:00 p.m.
In collaboration with Houston Cinema Arts Society
$10/Non-MFAH & HCAS Members, $8/MFAH & HCAS Members
Tickets available for purchase soon!

Of course, when it came out, I thought that "How to Train Your Dragon" was about learning to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. ;-) People still say that hearing from me is sort of like receiving messages from the Oracle at Delphi. It's a matter of interpreting…

"Getting Up" is another one that looks terribly intriguing. TEMPTONE is a graffiti artist (OK, not exactly the center of my art tastes, but…) with Lou Gehrig's disease.

I think I want to see this

This story was familiar to me. Tempt1 was my introduction to KickStarter. I heard about his desire to keep his artistic efforts alive in 2010.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/571943958/tempt1-and-eyewriter-art-by-eyes

It's funny how things sometimes cycle back…

Friday, February 7, 2014

NOT keeping up with my New Year's Resolutions…

My goal was to post here for days per week. I think I have met that goal twice this year.

And it's already Friday this week!

Updates on my Tobii PCEye…
From Channel 11

Feb 4, 2014

Disabled woman: ‘I have always known that Houston is a city with a lot of heart’

Donations are coming in for a disabled woman we profiled last week in Spring named Lisa Stapp. She has Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA, a disease that breaks down muscles. Lisa spent most of her waking hours on a computer, but that computer crashed.

http://www.khou.com/community/Disabled-woman-I-have-always-known-that-Houston-is-a-city-with-a-lot-of-heart-243621981.html

So many people are emailing and calling with words of encouragement. It's delightful and awesome. I decided that there would be a better way to keep this information together than simply blogging, although I am continuing to do that.

I created a page to let everyone know where things stand: "Funding my Tobii PCEye Go"- http://joyfullyrollingalong.blogspot.com/p/funding-tobii-pceye.html

 

I guess this is CROWD-FUNDING. I've heard of it, but didn't know anything about it. It kind of reminds me of KickStarter

Monday, February 3, 2014

A wild week worth remembering!

Happy Monday! This has been an interesting week!

My computer went "the way of all flesh," and is now resting in pieces at a e-cycle place. I mentioned it in an offhand way to my occupational therapist, Judi Joseph at Methodist. We had been trying to figure out a new mouse to use, since I'm getting weaker and almost can't use my thumb.  I figured that dreaming about Tobii PCEye was something of a dream… But I tested it and it works for me. It's just that, like many people with disabilities, funding excellent technologies like this is sometimes difficult. I assumed that it was beyond my reach and that the computer would probably be, too.

Of course, everyone knows when I go into mourning over losing a computer. While it isn't quite as bad as when Queen Victoria lost her beloved Albert, I'm not subtle.

Channel 11, a local TV station, heard about my frustration and did this story

They suggested that I make a way for people to donate… AND keep them updated. Paypal can do that.