ooh / ah.

- ooh! Tennis champ Esther Vergeer poses nude, embracing her tennis racquet, in her wheelchair on the cover of ESPN magazine. Commentary here:

While we're hard-pressed to celebrate the reveal of a bunch of hard-bodied women like it's a major coup for femininity, a spokesperson for the magazine said: "ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue is a celebration and exploration of the athletic form, honoring athletes of diverse shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and race."

...

the paraplegic has made kicking ass her business since childhood. She recently won her 396th straight U.S. Open match in her chair.

- ah. Last week on This American Life, there was a segment on people with disabilities suing businesses for being out of compliance. It was on a show titled "Crybabies," but I would say that, on balance, it approached the issue pretty well. It edged into questioning whether suing small businesses for seemingly small instances of noncompliance (coat hangers or mirrors too high for wheelchair users, e.g.) is fair or even effective, but ultimately pointed out that this is basically the only way that the ADA can get enforced after the building permit phase is over. One business owner complains that he would have changed the height of the coat hook had someone just asked him, rather than suing, but the counterargument is implied as a woman tells the story of repeatedly asking her hair salon to provide wheelchair parking (they do initially, then repaint the lines to make two standard spots) to no avail.
Click here for full episode (story starts at about 33 min).

personal histories of design

the design historian in me loooooves this history of chairs that has nothing to do with big names or evolution of styles:



A few quick things I take away:
- chairs are necessarily both visual and haptic things. No matter how high-design, hoity-toity a chair is, we seem almost always to ask under our breath, "is it comfortable?"
- the answer to that question is often as much about personal history as bodily experience
- it's surprising to me that he doesn't include wheelchairs

It got me thinking about personal histories of design.. artworks or writings that highlight how important particular tools are to how we express ourselves and live everyday. Here are some..

A fictional video-story of a fashionable woman and her walker, via Missability

Wheelchair Dancer discusses the importance of complete alignment in her wheelchair, making clear that the chair is not at all marginal to the dance.

disability and creativity sites of interest

The Missability Radio Show A WGBR-Boston radio show about disability and creativity. I love the whimsical and crafty aesthetic on this website and need to catch up on some radio shows on it ASAP. So many creative projects worth mentioning after just a few minutes on the site.. a Walking Stick Cosy Competition, an Etsy store, and much more... the use of old-time radio/entertainment aesthetic is apt for radio stuff, of course, but also seems to subvert the freak show history of early 20th century pop culture.
(image from Missability.com is of a handpainted cardboard sculpture of an old-time radio with red stripes atop a table covered with a handmade quilt that reads "Missability")

Also via Missability: Pimp My Guide, 2 videos on YouTube about customizing guide dog harnesses.

Access Hacks. I first saw this link-filled, fact-packed post from Liz Henry's blog somewhere out in cyberspace, and since have followed her links to a bunch of other places, including...

Gearability, a blog by woman named Marty, who writes about caring for her stepfather as well as having her own health concerns. The blog discusses everything from electronic calendar use in a nursing home to wheelchair cupholders. As an avid reader of sites like Ikea Hacker, I really dig how she seems to see every product, material, gadget out there as fodder for redesign and customization.

On a non-DIY note, fans of Wallace & Gromit must check out these Creature Discomforts PSA spots from British TV.