Monday, October 31, 2011

Outloud Myst Ponderings

Poast of mine over on the Myst Online forum, thought it should have a wider audience. Cause I'm an arrogant twit that way. :)

Natales said (in discussing bringing in new people to Uru)
Another big problem is there is not a lot of exciting news to draw people in. New ages in an old game is a bit Ho-Hum. Until we start to get new user interface features and social networking tools people expect now, getting word out is a steep uphill effort.


Some of this stems from the occasional misconception that No New Uru=Nothing To Do. In the first place, there are *always* people for whom Uru is New. Letting a BTDT jaded feeling be what newcomers experience makes for a bummer of a first impression.

Beyond that, Mysterium and other real life gatherings happen on a regular basis, as well as the many related and tangental projects people have worked on- Wouldn't it be nice if someone breathed life into the Guild of Cartographers and got some of those Myst 5 ages mapped? What about the trickling off of the D'ni Language project RAWA was agreeable to? Wouldn't more D'ni words be snazzerific? How about a new influx of people to finally finish Ages of Ilathid?
And there is so much beautiful artwork, crafts, stories, and whatnot out there to be inspired by, there's tons people could do that aren't Uru based. Let Uru be the gateway drug Wink

Look at it this way- did Middle Earth fandom end because there were no more books, or the movies wrapped up? How many hundreds of people were wearing Star Wars costumes for years before Lucas returned to *ahem* finish the story? Just because there's no shiny new (to us) Uru to play in, doesn't mean we're stuck twiddling our thumbs. Bahro pellets to that.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

SpeakOut/GeekOut Day 2- Lazy Geek Is Lazy

I should be writing something Deep and Thoughtful for you all to read, but my brain is kinda mushy today- so I've been slogging through Guild Wars, instead.

There's some things I want you all to see, though:

OMG Snazzy Art & Jewelry
http://hylianjean.deviantart.com/

Did you know you can read ALL of the ElfQuest comics EVER online for FREE?? Do it, do it now!
http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics3.html

Zakelro! Not only full of good stuff, but home to one of the most awesome mustaches in existence.
http://zakelro.com/

Will post more later, I swear.

Monday, September 12, 2011

SpeakOut/GeekOut Day 1- Meet the Geek

Hi, I'm Eleri. I'm 38 years old (First Annual 39th Birthday next month!), I have 3 kids, 9 cats, 7 budgies and one husband. And I'm a Geek.

I should prob'ly start with my personal definition of 'geek', so you can, vaguely, get where I am coming from:
GEEK (noun):
1. Someone with a level of knowledge/skill in a focused area, who's knowledge/skill is best shared with others having the same knowledge/skill; people without the knowledge/skill may feel left out of or confused by conversations in the topic.

Now, in general, people see geeky as covering the computer/gamer/costume/ "those weird people" categories. I think you can be GEEKY! about anything.

Do you love the subject whole-heartedly? Does participating in the subject make your world go SQUEE? Is sharing with others in-the-know one of your favoritest things ever? Does your enthusiasm show? Can people look at you when you're talking out it and think "Wow, they are really into this!", even if their eyes are glazing over because they have no idea WTF you're talking about?

Congrats, you're a Geek. Maybe you're a math geek, or am art trading card geek, or a urban chickens geek, but you've got geekdom down to a science. According to me, at least.

So, without more ado, here's my Topics of Personal Geekdom:

Myst
Best selling computer game of the 20th century. (It held on into the 21st, until the Sims came along) Myst and the follow ups; Riven, Exile, Revelations, Uru, & End of Ages hold a deep and abiding place in my heart. Just as some people can see themselves living in Middle Earth without batting an eye, the Ages of the D'ni are my second home.

Games
My dad had the original D&D Red Box. Family Game Night was always a reality at my house. I've LARPED, I've RPGD, I've done MMOs. I love puzzle games and escape the rooms and things that make your brain go hmmmmmm. And, just within the last few years, I've started writing and creating.

Labyrinths
Unicursal winding path, found in almost every culture out there. I've always loved the symbolism, and in the past few years they've become a serious topic of study and exploration for me.

Birth
Yes, birth. As in Women Having Babies. This is both my profession and my vocation, and prob'ly the only thing I love talking about more than Myst ;)

Other things that might come up are Storytelling, Smith-Magenis Syndrome, Arts and Crafts, Polyamory, Neo-Paganism and whatever else wanders through my brain this week.

So there's my geekitude, waving like a banner for all to see. A-frakking-men.

Friday, September 02, 2011

Speak Out With Your Geek Out

From Blogger Monica Valentinelli:
SPEAK OUT WITH YOUR GEEK OUT

Sometime during the week of Monday, September 12th to Friday, September 16th post about what geeky hobby you love. Then, tell us why we should try it, too. Leave your fears (and edition wars) at the door. Forget about your latest rant. Tap into that well of positive energy and share in the excitement of all things geek.

Let us invite those who would stereotype us to sit at our table and share our interests. Let us combat being used as pawns for internet gaffes with the reasons why we’re awesome, why we love what we love, and why it’s good to be a geek.

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190025581068159

Twitter Hashtag: #speakgeek

Tumblr: http://speakoutwithyourgeekout.tumblr.com/


During this week I'll be talking about the things that I'm geeky-passionate about: Myst, games, books, art/crafts, birth. (Yes, you can be geeky passionate about birth.)

Stay tuned! :)

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Reality in Disabled Parenting

In which Eleri rambles long about rose-coloured glasses, and how our society has failed parents.

On a usual day, I avoid articles about disabled kids, because they tend to irritate the heck outta me. Why? Because 79% (not a scientific measure) of them follow the same format:
LOOK! Parents of disabled kids! That must SUCK! See how they have perfectly structured their lives! See how they are always upbeat and positive! See how they are Fantastic Parents, event though their job is SO MUCH harder than yours! OMG THEY ARE SO AMAZING!!!

Yeah, frak that. Even the stuff that parents of the disabled pass around can be so sugar coated it causes insulin shock. Ever seen that bit "Welcome to Holland"? Evidently having a disabled kid means you have to be OK with not going to Italy, you've ended up in Holland instead, and aren't the tulips beautiful? Uh, no. How about thought I was going to land in Rome, and ended up in the Gaza Strip instead?

So seeing this article in a mag while I was watching Blade get his hair hacked off, I was planning on passing it up, and for some reason I didn't. It ended up being the first time in mainstream media that I saw any glimmer of realism- the parents stress. The mom admits to yelling not nice things at her kids. It touches on the fact that society does crap for these families. Outside family members admit to not wanting to deal with it. It hints at the lack of social interaction, the isolation, the sheer weight of it all.

Is it a deep, dark expose? Nope, but people don't want to read that sort of thing. They want positive, upbeat stories. And you know what? Parenting a kid with disabilities DOES HAVE positive, upbeat, heart swelling-joy making-Lifetime Original Movie-Hallmark Card moments.

But it also doesn't. And that gets shoved under the rug until you hear of some crazy person who beheads their disabled son.

Even books that are meant for disabled families, that are collections of personal stories, the writers are quick to qualify any feelings of despair, any moment they failed to be a loving, joyful parent. The main message is "it doesn't matter, you have to focus on the good stuff."

You know what? Focusing on the good stuff is a Damn Good Idea. It isn't all gloom and doom out there in Disabled Kidland. But it is a draining job- emotionally, physically, spiritually.

By drumming the 'Must Be Positive!" message, by saying things like "God never gives you more than you can handle", we are invalidating half of the experience of being the parent of a disabled child. We don't give parents an outlet for "what if I'm not handling it?" We don't give them permission to honestly say "I really just wanted to put a pillow over their face", and have it be met with empathy and support, rather than horror and disgust.

When someone says "I don't know how you do it!" or "I could never handle it!" We're supposed to nod, look demure, even self-depreciate "Oh, you just do what you have to". Sometimes the answer to "I don't know how you do it!" is "I'm not. I spend every night crying. I haven't had a real shower in a week. My body is literally breaking down from the constant stress. I have to work to feel love for my child." People don't want to hear that. They don't want to know that someone they know is suffering, especially when there's nothing they can (or will) do to help.

We, as a society, don't give these families the right to stumble, fall, break. There's no place we can go and say "Please, I just need someone else to be in charge." There's few options for respite, little to no in home support, no resources for picking up slack anywhere. There's no "Parent Protective Services" anywhere for if your kid beats up on you, or has worn you down to less than nothing.

Every book on parenting a disabled child out there says it, ask any doctor, psych, therapist etc- and they'll say it:
The ONE thing that every special needs parent out there NEEDS to have is regular respite. They need a break.

It boggles my mind just how a simple thing like providing trained respite care, just giving the parents a break they know they can count on, can plan for will make life better and easier. And it doesn't exist.

Go Google respite, and you'll find 101 articles on the need for respite for caregivers of the elderly, the risks of caregiver burnout. Hundreds of links for agencies and companies galore that have tapped into the concept 'taking care of another human being with high needs is hard work' and made it an industry- but only if that person with high needs is elderly (or, sometimes, a disabled adult).

Parents are left out of that equation. It's our job to be the primary caregivers, not like someone who's caring for an elder parent out of the goodness of their heart. We're obligated as parents to keep going, and going and going like the Energizer Bunny- and it does not matter if it kills you, because that's what a parent does, right? Suggest needing a time out, and people will invariably say "but you're the parent!

Something has to change. It needs parents to stop sugar-coating their lives. Stop always wearing the mask of "hanging in there", and tell your stories about the valleys, as well as the mountains. Start making a loud noise about how much money is being spent every year on stress-related illnesses. Talk about how the deaths of disabled kids at the hands of caregivers could be prevented by lifting the burden every so often. Talk about how even the best, the most loving parent in the world, can (and will) break under the constant strain.

Maybe, when we aren't so worn. When we all aren't trying to be superhuman parents. Maybe then we'll be able to grab the bullhorn and start advocating. Or maybe, just maybe, other people will perk up, and be our voices.

Sunday, August 07, 2011

MYSTERIUM 2012

If you haven't been paying close attention, you probably missed that there was, indeed, a Mysterium this year**. The well attended and superfun gathering just wrapped up today with the announcement that Mysterium 2012 will be next summer in Seattle, WA; and that Mysterium itself is will now be under the umbrella of the Falling Man Group not-for-profit organization.
Snazzy stuff!



**long story, not worth rehashing, all props to the Boston crowd for pulling this together.