I’ve been struggling to read fiction lately — just too much other stuff in my head to keep my focus on the narrative. But the last few days I’ve been thinking about how much I miss it, and how I need to find a good book to get back into the rhythm.
Today, I got a perfectly-timed gift from my past self: Woodworking, by Emily St. James. I am so excited for this book, and so grateful that I had the forethought to preorder it months ago.
In reply to: Double Tap Podcast: Braille on Android & The Politics of Accessibility
I had the pleasure of chatting with Steven Scott for the podcast Double Tap recently about my blog post on the politics of accessibility. Steven is a much better interviewer than I am an interviewee, but I do encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to our conversation!
In reply to: The spineless cowardice of the NCAA's anti-trans swerve
Rodger Sherman is arguably the best sports writer in the country right now, and I’m grateful to see him take such a strong position on this.
There’s a lot of good commentary here on sports and gender identity, but this seems to be the key observation for understanding what’s happening with the NCAA:
It’s easy to explain the flip-flop: The NCAA has lost court case after court case about their core business model, the premise that colleges should be allowed to profit from athletics without paying the athletes. They’re hoping for Trump and Congress to bail them out through legislation stating that college athletes are not employees. If Republicans hand the NCAA legislative wins, it could save an organization on the brink. Baker has apparently decided not to mess that chance up over a couple of trans kids.
There’s a certain kind of activist and a certain kind of commentator who perceives “social issues” and “identity politics” as a distraction to economic issues. I think this is a good example of how it’s not easy — or desirable — to separate identity from economics. The people who want to stop you from unionizing will discriminate against you in a heartbeat, and the people who want to discriminate against you definitely want to stop you from gaining bargaining power.
This moment, like all others, is a time for solidarity.
I kind of fell off the microblogging wagon for a couple of weeks — but in my defense it’s been a remarkably difficult couple of weeks, for both personal and professional reasons.
But without commenting on why it’s been difficult, I do want to express some gratitude into the void for some of the people who have made these weeks a little more manageable. In both my personal and professional life, I have people who can make me laugh and people who can say things so devastatingly kind and thoughtful that I struggle to hold back tears.
I am so incredibly fortunate to have these people in my life, and I hope I give a little bit back to them as well.
In reply to: Heather Burns’ response to the WordPress drama
I doubt Heather remembers the one-and-a-half conversations we had six or seven years ago, back when I was knee-deep in WordPress world. She’s a really impressive person, and people would benefit from paying attention to what she has to say.
The fact that Matt Mullenweg seems to view her as a key player in an imagined conspiracy to undermine his authority over the WordPress project, and has banned her from participating in a community she left years ago, speaks volumes about Matt, his character, and his fitness to lead an open source project.
Two articles published yesterday, from both sides of the US-Canadian border:
Two ledes:
The federal government is often failing to meet its own requirements for digital accessibility, according to a new, congressionally-mandated report released late last month.
The report notes that in the “26 years since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended to include Section 508, governmentwide Section 508 conformance remains low.”
… and…
When Ontario crossed into 2025, it was supposed to do so as an accessible province. Instead, advocates say it’s missed its own deadline.
In 2005, a unanimous vote carried in Queen’s Park to make the province accessible to people with disabilities within two decades.
Two more excerpts:
Lawmakers should update the law itself to clearly define who needs to follow Section 508, bring it up to date with the current technological landscape and strengthen enforcement.
The report also calls for increased funding, as resourcing and staffing remain challenges. About half of the agencies surveyed don’t have the resources to even test their most viewed content.
… and…
Implementation of the act has been reviewed four times over the years, most recently by Rich Donovan. His 2023 report found the legislation wasn’t being enforced and the state of accessibility in the province was in “crisis.”
“The reality is you can create all the standards you want in the world. If companies don’t adopt them and use them, they’re totally ineffective,” he said in a recent interview with CBC Toronto.
Section 508 and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are not really directly comparable. But reading these side-by-side is, uh, interesting.
I know I’m late to the discourse but: Conclave is a flawed but ultimately beautiful film. I’m glad it exists, I’m glad it ends exactly the way it does, and I hope more people watch it.
In reply to: Mo Willems “Because” and Musette Strings at CPL Independence Branch
You know what’s always, consistently wonderful? Public libraries, and especially children’s programming at public libraries.
The kiddo has been becoming a lot more musically aware, and asks some really interesting questions about songs we listen to. He’s also becoming curious about what I do, and about disabilities more broadly. So last night we brought both of those together, talking about Beethoven, what it’s like to write music, and what it was like for him specifically to write his later works.
And with perfect timing, a branch of the Chicago Public Library had an event today where a string quartet accompanied a reading of the Mo Willems book Because. Beethoven kicks off that book, and Beethoven’s music was very much in the mix alongside some other pieces played by the quartet.
I am just so grateful to the Musette Strings musicians, the Independence Branch children’s librarian, and CPL in general for putting together programming like this.
Every time I try to type “serious eats” on my phone to find a recipe, I end up typing “serious rats.”
There’s gotta be some kind of usability lesson in that.
In reply to: The Advocate: History-making Sarah McBride sworn in as first out transgender member of Congress
I’ve been following the career of Congresswoman McBride for a number of years. She’s a remarkable person, and I think someone who will be a positive force in DC. I highly recommend her book, which is so much more than a conventional political memoir.
The coming months will show us all, once again, the extraordinary pressure put on trailblazers. McBride’s election is a huge milestone for trans rights in the middle of a vicious backlash against trans people. She’s a talented legislator with goals and ambitions to help her constituents, she’ll have good ideas and she’ll make mistakes, like anyone else. But everything she says and does will be viewed through the lens of “the first trans member of Congress.” It’s unfair.
But tomorrow will be different.