Who Am I To Stop It

Listen to this post: This podcast episode is not about my grandma, but it is about a grandma with a grill. Sara M. Acevedo’s grandma who used to make wonderful food on the grill for Sara back h...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-48/

Listen to this post: Now in its 11th year, the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (EDFC) worked with Social Audio Description Collective to provide audio description for 15 of the 16 finalists...

https://whoamitostopit.com/edfc-2024-audio-description/

Listen to this post: Welcome to Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project’s 20th annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival: A Joyful Reunion. QWOCFF24 will premiere 44 films in 5 sc...

https://whoamitostopit.com/20th-queer-women-color-film-festival/

Listen to this post: Celebrate Dis/Rep Workshop’s fifth year of revolutionary access and Disability-led learning for us and by us. Experience access negotiations, shared readings, and group dis...

https://whoamitostopit.com/evolving-our-power-dis-rep/

Listen to this post: Getting out and about! On June 5th, 2024, I’ll be co-presenting an onsite workshop called Art and Practice in Creative Projects with Ariel Baska at the Portland Art Museum�...

https://whoamitostopit.com/access-art-practice-pam-cut/

Listen to this post: This new cookbook, Measuring Spoons, hasn’t even been published yet, but just thinking about it existing is making me excited to go in the scariest room in my house: the ki...

https://whoamitostopit.com/measuring-spoons-upcoming-cookbook-i-already-love/

Listen to this post: Thomas Reid, Nefertiti Matos Olivares, and I have been co-hosting a live conversation and panel series called Blind-Centered Audio Description Chats since December, 2022. We ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/bcad-watch-party/

Listen to this post: (Podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.) A few years ago, I went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Here’s a yellow boxfish I found there in a temporary display....

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-47-seahorse/

Listen to this post: Peacock Rebellion and Snarkzilla present: SF Snarkfest Encore! A Trans BIPOC Comedy Festival Tuesday, November 14th, 2023, 6:00 PM PST on YouTube Live. Prepare to be entertai...

https://whoamitostopit.com/sf-snarkfest-comedy/

Listen to this post: Once again, Superfest is offering a hybrid festival. You can watch the films onsite or online or both! Here’s the 2023 festival lineup. The online festival is October 19-22...

https://whoamitostopit.com/superfest-disability-film-2023/

Listen to this post. (The podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.) I love to eat and hate to cook. That about sums up my life. Oh, that and I went to New York last week, my first trip out of ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-46-tacos-something/

Listen to this post: I notice a bunch of big-name non-disability film festivals jumping on the accessibility bandwagon, offering captioned and audio described films, captioning and ASL interpreta...

https://whoamitostopit.com/19th-annual-queer-women-of-color-film-festival/

Listen to this post: Reframe & Refresh is a monthly webinar series for the education and filmmaking community to have refreshing conversations that reframe our perspectives. In my mind, it’s be...

https://whoamitostopit.com/new-day-films-reframe-refresh-disability-arts/

Listen to this post: Dis/Rep is back for another fully virtual series of interactive workshops called Dis/Rep 2023: Holding Us Together. Dis/Rep is a 6-week relaxed virtual meeting space on Zoom ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/register-for-dis-rep-2023-holding-us-together/

Listen to this post (podcast is at the bottom of the post): Did you ever meet that person where you’re like, oh, yes, you. Yep. You. The person where you have some important stuff in common or ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-45-nefertiti/

Listen to this post:   HopePunk: Persevering, Building Community, Chasing Hope Cool event announcement: Including Disability Global Summit! Online April 25-27, 2023 The theme for the 2023 Summit...

https://whoamitostopit.com/2023-including-disability-global-summit/

Listen to this post (the podcast is at the bottom): I found an old, scrappy video I made of Lavaun a decade ago. She was developing a project to do stories about colors. As an artist with low vis...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-44-red/

Listen to this post. (The podcast is at the bottom of the post.) I found a cute meme that has screenshots from a movie in which these two young white people are having a conversation on a sunny d...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-43-corn-bagels-captions/

Listen to this post: Please join me in supporting the Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC). I love this organization. Their mission is to empower cultural spaces to become more access...

https://whoamitostopit.com/conversation-rahnee-patrick-grace-tsao-year-of-the-tiger/

Listen to this post: (The podcast audio is at the bottom of the post.) Jenni Funk and I collaborated on Stinky Chicken Dog 2 in 2018. The film got an enthusiastic reception at our Portland premie...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-42-stinky-chicken-dog-2/

Listen to this post: Celebrate! If there’s anything I regret around Superfest it’s that I don’t blog about how much I love the festival all year long. This year’s the 36th festival, and a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/36th-superfest-disability-film/

Listen to this post (podcast is at the bottom of the post): It’s one thing to keep a secret when you feel like you’d be ashamed for anyone else to know this thing about you. But sometimes you...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-41-playful-apparitions/

Listen to this post: (podcast audio at the bottom of the page) A love letter to Portland singalong band The Low Bar Chorale and band leader Ben Landsverk. Took nearly a year to write. I’m not s...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-40-low-bar-chorale-home/

Listen to this post: I can’t name stuff! I think back with a big old cringe to some projects and films I’ve tried to name, and I’m so grateful to amazing people like my co-director Cynthia ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-39-disabled-podcasters/

Listen to this post: (podcast audio is at the bottom of the page.) Lately, there’s a growing push to make accessibility more creative, and I think it’s just rad! In fact, some of the major pl...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-38-may-be-image-cup/

Listen to this post: Audio Description is art. There. I said it! I’m in the camp of describers whose end goal is not legal compliance or the mythical, and frankly impossible, “accessible for ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/audio-description-in-the-making-at-aim-lab/

Listen to this post: Desire Paths Have you noticed or been on a desire path before? They beg to be used and used again. That’s the heart of what they are and how they come to be paths at all. T...

https://whoamitostopit.com/desire-path-dreaming-access-art-a-virtual-but-real-event/

Listen to this post: Built-in accessibility in mainstream software is amazing. It’s nice to not have to purchase new apps or software if you don’t think you’re going to be using the feature...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-37-when-cuss/

Listen to this post: I’m so excited to be invited back to speak on a panel hosted by Full Spectrum Features, All Senses Go, BACKBONES, and LaGrish! The 2020 panels on d/Deaf and disabled filmma...

https://whoamitostopit.com/access-reframed-expanding-access-with-captions/

Listen to this post: Today, a couple of audio described super short films I made in summer 2020 at Sunflower Farm. I’ve been volunteering there since shortly after the pandemic was declared. Al...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-36-sounds-farm/

Listen to this post: I’ve been to a few celebrations to honor the Americans with Disabilities Act anniversary over the years. I bet for people who’ve never been, they figure we sit around and...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ada31-lead-on-celebrize-celebrate-recognize-non-apparent-disabilities/

Listen to this post: I love doing the blast from the past encore episodes. My conversation with poet and musician Rick Hammond from nine years ago remains the most fun podcast recording I think I...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-35-rick-hammond-blind-versus-tbi/

Listen to this post: Following my 2019 episode about radio and disabled voices, today’s episode is about the way people describe synthesized voices. My guest, endever*, isn’t an audio descri...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-34-aac-voices-and-talking-about-audio-description/

Listen to this post: Cascadia’s annual Heart event illuminates the intersection of art and mental health with a focus on women. This annual event brings together a network of supporters, artist...

https://whoamitostopit.com/cascadia-behavioral-health-heart-who-am-i-to-stop-it/

Listen to this post: February, 2021. I can’t tell if it feels like it was yesterday or a year ago. Did we stop quipping that it’s still March 370th, 2020 yet? But just last month, I had the g...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-33-art-brain-injury-awareness/

Listen to this post: Since basically everything is happening virtually these days, no matter where you’re located, you’re invited to Millersville University’s free Disability Film Festival ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-millersville-university-disability-film/

Listen to this post (the podcast is at the bottom of the post): I really love re-airing pared down interviews from my early days of podcasting. This one was such a pleasure to listen to again aft...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-32-bittin-foster-duggan-growing-through-it/

Listen to this post: I’m beyond delighted to introduce you to another disabled-created and hosted podcast, AAC Town. AAC stands for alternative and augmentative communication, which they define...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-31-welcome-aac-town/

Listen to this post: It’s been a minute since I produced a new documentary film, and I’m so pleased to announce a virtual premiere of a new short film called “TBI & My Longest Ride” about...

https://whoamitostopit.com/documentary-film-screening-tbi-my-longest-ride-with-kajamo-moritz/

Listen to this post: Kinetic Light, a disability dance company like no other! rachel hickman describes the upcoming film premiere of Descent so beautifully. She says that Descent, “is an immers...

https://whoamitostopit.com/kinetic-lights-descent-online-premiere/

Listen to this post: Sometimes I do these interviews, and it feels like they’re so set in the moment that they won’t hold up down the road. But then you find one, like this 2015 conversation...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-30-aj-murray-on-disability-in-the-media-encore/

Listen to this post: Phew! My own podcast has taken a backseat for me in the past few months, which is probably obvious based on the sudden lack of new content. I hope to return to producing new ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-29-introducing-down-to-the-struts/

Listen to this post: I’m so excited to be invited to be on a panel alongside some real powerhouses in filmmaking and film distribution, including several of my beloved colleagues from New Day F...

https://whoamitostopit.com/access-reframed-panels/

Listen to this post: This month, an encore broadcast of part of my 2016 interview with Leslie Gregory, a primary care provider and Portland-area leader in racial justice. She runs Right To Health...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-28-leslie-gregory-racism-public-health-crisis-encore/

Listen to this post: The curb cut effect describes what happens when a technology or design that’s for access for deaf and disabled people works so great that everyone can and wants to use it. ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-27-we-always-loved-access-thomas-reid/

Listen to this post: Whether you identify with having a disability or impairment, a health condition, or are disabled, there are people wanting to collect your stories and document your process,...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-culture-crip-ally-care-exchange-pigeonhole/

Listen to this post: First off, I very sincerely acknowledge that COVID-19 has led to turmoil, grief, isolation, loss of income, great fear, and more for many. At a time when we’re told to stay...

https://whoamitostopit.com/superfest-showcase-online-because-disability-community-knows-whats-up/

Listen to this post: This isn’t how I ideally wanna share difficult and sad news. But, as death is inevitable, I feel value in discussing it. Over the weekend, Kathy Coleman, founder and Artis...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-25-dedicated-kathy-coleman/

Listen to this post: Back in 2013, I made a short documentary film about my dear friend and colleague Lavaun Benavidez-Heaster called “Paper Visions.” It wasn’t formally audio described ba...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-24-lavaun-heaster-and-paper-visions/

Listen to this post: Thomas Reid’s podcast, Reid My Mind Radio, is one of my faves, so it’s my huge honor and pleasure to have him on my show. Please also check out the Disability Visibility ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-23-thomas-reid-diy-podcast/

Listen to this post: I recently got a lot of artists’ and organizations’ year-end updates highlighting their amazing work. I wanted to start off 2020 sharing a roundup of the top three that f...

https://whoamitostopit.com/rounding-up-from-2019/

Listen to this post: Even though I’ve gotten out of the business of publishing long-form interviews, nearly all of the stories on the podcast still come out of long interviews. Sometimes I ask...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-22-extended-interview-jess-thom/

Listen to this post: I had the grand pleasure to interview Jess Thom over a year ago when she was in Portland to perform. If you’re not familiar with Jess’s work, pop over to Touretteshero.co...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-21-jess-thom-of-touretteshero/

Listen to this post: I had the great privilege of being able to fly to a conference recently to talk about the perils of non-disabled people interpreting disability through their own lens. Imagin...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ah-disabled-mundane/

Listen to this post: Meet Brandon and Chutney. Well, if you’ve been here before, you’ve met Brandon, star of “Who Am I To Stop It” and “Stinky Chicken Dog 2.” But you have to spend s...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-20-gold-eye-golden-dog/

Listen to this post: This is a rebroadcast of a 2017 episode exploring the ableism behind deciding which voices are good enough to be on radio and which aren’t. Chenjerai Kumanyika wrote a bea...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-19-alice-wong-good-radio-voices/

Listen to this post: Physical and sensory access alone is not my ideal end goal for universal design. I went someplace recently where there was some great physical access for disabled people, but...

https://whoamitostopit.com/some-accessibility-signs-in-england/

Listen to this post: Next week, the Disability Services and Students With Disabilities Club are sponsoring a screening of Who Am I To Stop It at Portland Community College Rock Creek! Here’s wh...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-pcc-rock-creek/

Listen to this post: New exhibition coming up in Portland! Here’s the text on the flyer: “From War to Home: The Impact of Invisible Injuries is a new exhibit of photos and stories from Vetera...

https://whoamitostopit.com/war-to-home-veterans-art/

Listen to this post: Today’s episode is a rebroadcast of an interview I did with Talila TL Lewis in 2017. TL takes a critical, much-needed look at issues around ableism, audism, sanism, and ra...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-18-deaf-disability-incarceration-talila-lewis/

Listen to this post: This is a PSA about non-disabled people referring to disabled people who hold a job as “overcoming their disabilities.” Please don’t. That’s really the whole PSA. But...

https://whoamitostopit.com/psa-overcoming/

Listen to this post: The Trauma Survivors Network community celebrates National Trauma Survivors Day on May 16th. One of the reasons this network got started was research that says it’s not ho...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-17-autoethnographic-poetry/

Listen to this post: I’m delighted to report that I’m talking to more and more filmmakers and podcasters interested in adding access to their work because it seems exciting, engaging, and equ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/access-in-media/

Listen to this post: Back in September, 2018, we had a housing justice and accessible housing panel at Independent Living Movie Night. This month’s podcast presents part of the panel discussion...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-16-housing-justice-panel/

Listen to this post: More exciting screening news! We’re really happy to be invited to the Pacific University campus to screen “Who Am I To Stop It” on March 4th. One thing that makes Pacif...

https://whoamitostopit.com/waitsi-pacific-university/

Listen to this post: A story of culture, chronic illness, disability, love, and rye bread. Nancy Sanchez gives a glimpse into the many layers of ableism in her life, from being called a faker as ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-15-disabled-caregiver/

Listen to this post: With National Brain Injury Awareness Month just around the corner, it’s a big time for organizations to share documentaries and personal narratives around TBI. Mostly, they...

https://whoamitostopit.com/housing-tbi-st-charles-church-portland/

Listen to this post: Let’s just start here, with this picture of Mia Mingus, Alice Wong, and Sandy Ho smiling, and with the idea that providing access is a way to demonstrate love. And then, le...

https://whoamitostopit.com/accessislove-campaign/

Listen to this post: A few years ago, my friend, Taylor, and I sat down to talk–and ultimately laugh–about what we might have in common as people with invisible disabilities that affect how w...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-14-add-fun/

Listen to this post: There’s some good critiques of the horrible stock photography online that’s supposed to show disability or disabled people. Do you know what I’m talking about? The thin...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disabled-and-here/

Listen to this post: This month’s episode is another documentary film in audio form including the Audio Description. In anticipation of the premiere of Jenni Funk’s “Stinky Chicken Dog 2”...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-13-stinky-chicken-dog/

Listen to this post: Anyone who’s followed my work for more than five minutes knows that every project I do is about disability culture or experiences, and that almost every film somehow manage...

https://whoamitostopit.com/stinky-chicken-dog-2/

Listen to this post: In 2010, Representative Sara Gelser wrote a guest column describing the history and horrors of Fairview Hospital and Training Center. Please note: her column contains graphic...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-12-after-fairview/

Listen to this post: I’m so happy to participate in this year’s Disability in Film Blogathon. The blogathon in a nutshell: A bunch of us who love to talk and write about disability representa...

https://whoamitostopit.com/2nd-annual-disability-in-film-blogathon/

Listen to this post: This is an encore presentation of a 2017 interview with Jane Vogel of Advance Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE) and filmmaker Gigi Williams. Advancing equity is not the same a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-11-gender-equity-arts/

Listen to this post: Oh, how I love a good pun and love working with great local organizations. Starting October 1st, both are all wrapped into one fun series of events called Doctober at NW Docu...

https://whoamitostopit.com/nw-documentary-doctober/

Listen to this post: When you think about accessible housing, what comes to mind first? For many people, it’s structural pieces like ramps in place of stairs, grab bars in the bathroom, lower ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-10-disability-accessibility-housing-justice/

Listen to this post. I am so very honored and excited to be partnering with Real Choice Initiative for Independent Living Movie Night! Info on the flyer: Independent Living Movie Night Saturday, ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/independent-living-movie/

Listen to this post: I’m headed down to San Antonio later today, in fact, to lead a storytelling workshop at the Texas Brain Injury Conference. And I’ve been exasperated lately with peop...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-9-nap-bird/

Listen to this post: Storytelling! In a few weeks, I’ll be leading a short storytelling workshop at the Texas Brain Injury Conference. Of course, I’m thrilled to be back home in Texas in Augu...

https://whoamitostopit.com/texas-tbi-conference-and-storytelling/

Listen to this post: Tatyana Fazlalizadeh created a campaign in 2012 called “Stop Telling Women to Smile” in response to street harassment. I love the campaign. It was relevant then and jus...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-lavaun-benavidez-heaster-not-smiling/

Listen to this post: On June 16th, 2018, history will be made as the Northwest Deaf Arts Festival (NWDAF) will bring together top national Deaf artists who share a passion for an inclusive and i...

https://whoamitostopit.com/nw-deaf-arts-festival-celebrates-deaf-cultural-diversity/

Listen to this post: Meet Colleen and her guide dog, Joplin, our first episode in a series of stories from people with their working dogs. Here they are, snuggling. Colleen runs the Blind Inspi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-7-colleen-guide-dog/

Listen to this post: Airports. Ugh. I’ll just leave it at that. Or I would have left it there until The Hollywood Theatre opened their microcinema at the PDX Airport here in Portland in Februar...

https://whoamitostopit.com/hollywood-theatre-pdx-airport-shorts/

Listen to this post: (Podcast audio is at the bottom of the post.) Happy May Day, everyone. Don’t forget: President Eisenhower attempted to turn this labor organizing day into a national “Loy...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-6-may-day-moon/

Listen to this post: I first heard about Jess Thom several years ago talking about Backstage in Biscuit Land. For that show, Jess delightfully warns audiences, “having Tourettes means I’m ne...

https://whoamitostopit.com/boom-arts-jess-thom-touretteshero/

Listen to this post: Thankfully, none of you readers or listeners has ever complained that technically, Who Am I To Stop It has never actually premiered out in the world. We’ve screened on coll...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-whitsell/

Listen to this post: Some people can really relate to flippant comments like, “Yeah, this place is accessible. It only has two stairs.” Or, “We could just get a sign language student to vo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-5-radio-transcripts/

Listen to this post: Check out the Real Choice Initiative Open House this Thursday, March 29th and get to know this great new non-profit. Real Choice Initiative is about housing justice focused o...

https://whoamitostopit.com/real-choice-initiative-open-house/

Listen to this post:  This workshop! All the info below is from Lewis and Clark’s description of an upcoming workshop led by Patty Berne with in-person facilitation by Nomy Lamm. We all have s...

https://whoamitostopit.com/asserting-new-vision-revolutionary-body-lewis-clark/

Listen to this post: Here’s an audio-only version of my short documentary “In My Home.” This was made for the Free Our People Film Contest and Festival in 2017, and it continues to be a re...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-4/

Listen to this post: What better way to honor National Brain Injury Awareness Month than by showing Who Am I To Stop It, I ask you. How about showing that film for free sponsored by the Brain Ins...

https://whoamitostopit.com/film-ohsu-brain-institute/

Listen to this post: Hopefully, all you Portland-area people got to come to some or all of the ReelAbilities screenings Disability Art and Culture Project did two years ago. DACP is back at it wi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/reelabilities-portland-2018/

Listen to this post: I admit it: I’ve never watched Drunk History on Comedy Central before. Not being a drinker myself, I wasn’t sure what the appeal might be for me. When I found out they we...

https://whoamitostopit.com/drunk-history-504-disability-rights/

Listen to this post: Even more exciting work coming from Portland’s disability art and social justice organization, DACP. “GET REAL”: An interactive work-in-progress forum theater about em...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-art-and-culture-project-get-real/

Listen to this post: Content Notice: This post is specifically about sexual violence against disabled people, but it won’t contain graphic information. Read or not, according to your needs. Fir...

https://whoamitostopit.com/rooted-in-rights-disability-visibility-project-metoo/

Listen to this post: Disability Art and Culture Project is the only disability and social justice arts organization in Portland, and every year, the work gets more involved and more exciting. Th...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeohole-immigrants-refugees-disabilities/

Listen to this post: We just had lots of women’s marches. And while they’re an important and valuable event, they’re not without their problems. Emily Ladau wrote on The Establishment last...

https://whoamitostopit.com/pigeonhole-podcast-episode-2-disabled-at-the-2018-womens-march/

Listen to this post: This is the latest and greatest upcoming Who Am I To Stop It event: A screening and full-day workshop about invisible disabilities and faith! Here’s the text on the flyer: ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/invisible-disabilities-christ-church-cathedral/

Listen to this post: Here we are! The new podcast is alive. It’s a Pigeonhole, and this is just a brief promo episode to say hi. Music in this episode: “Refraction” by Podington Bear. (Sou...

https://whoamitostopit.com/welcome-pigeonhole-podcast/

Listen to this post: I’m so very excited to introduce you to first-time filmmaker Jenni Funk and her short documentary, “Stinky Chicken Dog.” I gotta hand it to her for that name. It’s ju...

https://whoamitostopit.com/stinky-chicken-dog/

Listen to this post: I don’t often write about rehab programs. This blog has long been a space to center perspectives and ideas of people who typically end up in rehab, not the people who run r...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dear-everybody-canadians-disabilities/

Listen to this post: My Olmstead Rights movement and media On December 21st, this brief article appeared on the ADA.gov website. It’s a little cryptic, but it states that the Department of Just...

https://whoamitostopit.com/my-olmstead-rights-movement-and-media/

Listen to this post: Adding accessibility or using Universal Design doesn’t work if all we focus on is complying with laws. If you like the ideas around free markets and capitalism, you could f...

https://whoamitostopit.com/gutting-the-ada-doesnt-mean-accessibility-should-stop/

Listen to this post: Look at this work of brilliance from M.M. Anyone who knows me will understand that a row of smiling cats is gonna draw me in right away. If something could somehow be better ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/neurodivergent-solidarity-cats/

Listen to this post: Yay! A new disability representation test! I’ve done several presentations about disability representation in the media at disability studies conferences and in college cla...

https://whoamitostopit.com/fries-test-disability-representation/

Listen to this post: Here’s what you need to know. Last night, I took a bus to Portland Community College (PCC). The campus is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It’s the ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/iq-is-not-a-joke-or-a-threat/

Listen to this post: So, I’m talking to this white guy the other day. He’s at work, not an easy job, but steady income. He’s got a visible impairment. And although that tells me nothing abo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-gets-to-move-around/

Listen to this post: In the years since we started making “Who Am I To Stop It,” I’ve thought countless times about the title. That might be because I can’t count. But I also just find it...

https://whoamitostopit.com/stopping-and-moving/

Listen to this post: Remember a few months ago when I did that podcast episode with Alice Wong? We were talking about a big question: Why aren’t there more disabled voices hosting radio shows a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-visibility-podcast/

Listen to this post: Here’s a new website for disabled writers created by s.e. smith in partnership with Vilissa Thompson and Alice Wong. It’s called, wonderfully, DisabledWriters.com: From t...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disabled-writers-in-one-place/

Listen to this post: We have another disabled-led book publishing company!  Big cheers to Ibby Grace and Corbett OToole for launching Reclamation Press. My friends, colleagues, and I spend an in...

https://whoamitostopit.com/introducing-reclamation-press/

Listen to this post: Ann Millett-Gallant is no stranger to this blog. I’ve shared her work several times, especially her memoir Re-Membering, which explores her experiences with TBI and art. I ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ann-millett-gallants-art-and-writing/

Listen to this post: Here’s some Oakland and Bay Area news! Come celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Krip-Hop Nation and the Legacy of Oakland’s Joe Capers aka Blind Joe with a FREE Saturday af...

https://whoamitostopit.com/krip-hop-nation-10-legacy-joe-capers/

Listen to this post: I don’t really talk about rehab on this blog, but this popped into my mind today. There was a time when I couldn’t get places very well unless you gave me a car ride ther...

https://whoamitostopit.com/whats-a-little-loneliness/

Listen to this post: My website and email got hacked recently, and it’s been a hassle and time suck to try to get back in order. (If you got 10,000 spam emails from me, it wasn’t me. But I’...

https://whoamitostopit.com/art-by-human-beings/

Listen to this post: Are you in Rochester, NY? If you are, can I come and see you? Because I’m thrilled to say that I’ll be there August 7th for the Free Our People Film Festival put on by Ce...

https://whoamitostopit.com/free-our-people-film-contest-and-festival/

Listen to this post: If you know me well, you know I’m a leftist more than a liberal. I would much rather our current racist, classist systems be smashed up and turned into compost. To me, that...

https://whoamitostopit.com/facesofdisability/

Listen to this post: In just a couple weeks is an amazing looking conference in Berkeley called Tearing Down Walls, Building Bridges: The Disabled Latinx Movement. It’s put on by the National ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/national-coalition-latinxs-disabilities-2nd-conference/

Listen to this post: Hey, a Portland screening! We’re excited to be part of the Invisible No More project at Portland State University on May 2nd. Here’s a description of the project. “The ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-psu-invisiblenomorepsu/

Listen to this post: Trigger Warning: Murder and rape of disabled people and Peter Singer. I could have just put “Trigger Warning: Peter Singer.” If you have the fortitude, please read on and...

https://whoamitostopit.com/i-do-not-advocate-killing-disabled-people/

Listen to this post: I’m so excited to have the chance to present alongside some of my disability arts and media heroes at the DisArt International Symposium in April. Possibly the coolest par...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disart-symposium-live-stream/

Listen to this post: Here’s me with my buds! We are representing brain injury community and happily sporting our “Normal Is A Fantasy” t-shirts designed by Invisible Disability Project. Gue...

https://whoamitostopit.com/normal-fantasy/

Listen to this post: I love playing with language, especially things like people in disability community reclaiming “crip” or “krip” to describe themselves with pride. It’s definitely i...

https://whoamitostopit.com/contribute-nos-magazine-neurodiversity/

Listen to this post: Just the other night we had our first public screening of “Who Am I To Stop It.” Working part-time, it took two years to film. Working part-time and waiting for funding t...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brandons-update-on-faith/

Listen to this post: It’s time to wish Happy Birthday to Krip-Hop Nation! Read up on some great news from their press release below, and follow the link at the bottom for the new CD. And follow...

https://whoamitostopit.com/10-anniversary-krip-hop-nation-cd/

Listen to this post: This is an exciting time for the documentary Who Am I To Stop It. Since launching with educational distribution coop New Day Films, we’ve gotten sales from California to De...

https://whoamitostopit.com/educational-who-am-i-to-stop-it/

Listen to this post: If I had a dime for every time someone–liberal, progressive, conservative, or undecided–made comments about people with disabilities needing to be more productive, contr...

https://whoamitostopit.com/support-sara-willig-for-graduate-school-and-assistive-tech/

Listen to this post: I’m gonna come right out and say it:  I don’t like euphemisms. I love the words “can’t,” “hate,” and “no.” I’m a fan of throwing my hands over my ears an...

https://whoamitostopit.com/especially-good-reasons-not-special-needs/

Listen to this post: I talk and write a lot about accessibility and its part in social justice movements. Accessibility is also great for entertainment, news, and just generally being informed an...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-hollywood-theatre-disability-access/

Listen to this post: Three cheers for the Disability Visibility Project! Now you can cheer for the DVP and cheer them on every month by signing up for regular donations on Patreon. It could be as...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-visibility-project-patreon/

Listen to this post: No secrets here. I’m not in support of the white nationalism espoused by the people being picked to come into the next White House. I’ve been listening to and reading a l...

https://whoamitostopit.com/name-the-ableism-in-our-recent-election/

Listen to this post: Pretty soon, you’re going to hear a ton more about an amazing symposium put on by local non-profit Age & Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE). It’s called Unconscious Bias: ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/unconscious-bias-gender-equity/

Listen to this post: Can I just say how much I love my reliable access to the internet? It’s really a lot. I’m so grateful for my internet connection and for finding tons of material that’s...

https://whoamitostopit.com/not-my-first-rodeo-brain-injury-and-homelessness/

Listen to this post: It’s only mid-November, and articles are showing up in my social media feeds about growing expressions of violence and hate against individuals and groups. There’s mor...

https://whoamitostopit.com/americas-rainbow-film-festival/

Listen to this post:  I understand how common it is to get donation fatigue, especially this time of the year when every organization whose mailing list you’re on is sending end of the year fu...

https://whoamitostopit.com/carole-christie-youcaring/

Listen to this post:  When you’re new to social justice activism, you can get super energized about the work and then hit a couple early roadblocks. One is asking this: “Where do I go to ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-intersectionality-summit-scholarships/

Listen to this post: A marvelous thing about anger is we can use it for fuel to power social change. Of course, if you’re not angry, it’s easy to misinterpret someone else’s anger as unwa...

https://whoamitostopit.com/new-disability-microaggressions-survey/

Listen to this post: I’m excited about the upcoming Oregon Ehlers-Danlos Conference. It’s designed for people who have EDS, want to learn more about it, or are medical providers looking for ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/oregon-ehlers-danlos-conference/

Listen to this post:  Oral histories! So good! Everyone who’s interested, please go to this and report back to me how wonderful it is. I’m working that day and can’t make the screening. Bu...

https://whoamitostopit.com/vanport-oral-history-screening/

Listen to this post:  A little shameless self-promotion here for the film “Who Am I To Stop It.” I figure that’s pretty much OK to do here since this is the blog that goes with the film. O...

https://whoamitostopit.com/new-day-films-launch/

Listen to this post:  Trigger and content warning: I’m talking about times when police brutalize or kill people with known brain injuries. I’ve written on this blog about police causing brai...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-injury-police-brutality/

Listen to this post: Krip-Hop Nation is at it again! Well, to be fair, they never stop. But here comes a new and fantastic collaboration with Simon Manda and This Ability Newspaper and Krip-Hop N...

https://whoamitostopit.com/support-krip-hop-nations-south-africa-tour/

Listen to this post: Over the years, I’ve been in so many conversations (nah, that’s just being nice; they were arguments) about art. What is art? What is its purpose? Who gets to make it? Wh...

https://whoamitostopit.com/keep-up-with-amazing-art/

Listen to this post: Black Lives Matter. I read on this subject nearly every day. I watch videos on Facebook and read the comments and  arguments for and against. After all of this media consump...

https://whoamitostopit.com/black-lives-matter/

Listen to this post: First things first. Have you checked out the DIStopia podcast or checked out the DisArt Festival? I love their unapologetic embracing of the “dis” to celebrate disabili...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disart-symposium-disability-arts-submit/

Listen to this post: One thing I love about the Invisible Disability Project is their belief in the idea that each person and each community ought to be able to define themselves no matter thei...

https://whoamitostopit.com/this-is-me-invisible-disability-project/

Listen to this post: This isn’t the first time I’ve written on this blog about adaptive bicycles, how glorious they are, and what they represent. They represent adaptability and innovation. T...

https://whoamitostopit.com/biketown-sigh/

Listen to this post: If you already don’t like the idea of the new film “Me Before You” or you want to know reasons some disabled activists don’t like it, this is the post for you. Toda...

https://whoamitostopit.com/boo-to-watch-me-before-you/

Listen to this post: Shanna K. Kattari is doing some great research. She interviewed me and a bunch of other people recently so she could begin to design a survey around ableist microaggressions...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ableist-microagressions-scale/

Listen to this post: May is Stroke Awareness Month, and I have some of my favorite kind of awareness-raising to share! It’s my favorite because it’s not an anatomy lesson, it’s not discon...

https://whoamitostopit.com/toni-hickman-i-am-victorious-stroke-month/

Listen to this post: Today is a two-for-one! You get lots of info about the upcoming ReelAbilities Portland film festival, and you get to celebrate the annual, international Blogging Against Dis...

https://whoamitostopit.com/reelabilities-portland-film-festival-blogging-against-disablism/

Listen to this post: Do you know about CymaSpace? CymaSpace is a Portland non-profit technology incubator that focuses on making cultural events inclusive for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Wi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/cymaspace-arts-accessibility-gala/

Listen to this post: There is just nothing like combining a fantastic word play with an awesome cause. Portland artist and disability activist Arianna Warner has done just that. Between now and M...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ink-visible-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: If you like buying art, you have to know about ArtLifting! ArtLifting provides homeless and disabled artists the opportunity to earn their own income. The artists create work...

https://whoamitostopit.com/artlifting-homeless-disabled-artists/

Listen to this post: I am so glad I just watched the Netflix documentary “My Beautiful Broken Brain” about documentary film producer Lotje Sodderland from 2014. I typically have no patience f...

https://whoamitostopit.com/my-beautiful-broken-brain-review/

Listen to this post: Back in 2013, you got to meet longtime dancer, actress, model, and disability activist Zazel-Chavah O’Garra when she shared a guest blog about her experience becoming disab...

https://whoamitostopit.com/zco-dance-project-progression-dancing-beyond-disability/

Listen to this post: At the TBI and art NW NOGGIN event the other night, something truly amazing happened. Nothing like this has ever happened at one of my presentations. No, I’m not talking a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/truth-reconciliation-project-psychiatric-mental-health-services/

Listen to this post: If you like things that start with the letter b, here’s three I can offer to you in one night: brains, bikes, and beers. This week, I’m co-presenting with PSU speech-lang...

https://whoamitostopit.com/talking-nw-noggin-neuroscience-outreach/

Listen to this post: Nina G. recently came out with a TEDx talk called “Being an Everyday Ally.” This is so good and so needed! I know people who shy away from allyship with marginalized grou...

https://whoamitostopit.com/nina-g-comedian-tedx-captions/

Listen to this post: If I love anything, it’s cross disability art and activism. OK, cats too, and also I have a thing for chocolate. But when I’m away from both cats and chocolate, you can p...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dacp-10-year/

Listen to this post: Some people describe the brain as a computer: it takes in info, processes it, and spits out things like emotions, movement, language, or music. This isn’t the most thorough...

https://whoamitostopit.com/music-after-brain-injury-any-means/

Listen to this post: While Robin Coste Lewis’s new, award-winning book of poetry, “Voyage of the Sable Venus” is not about brain injury, it came about from brain injury. After her own injur...

https://whoamitostopit.com/robin-coste-lewis-brain-injury-to-poetry/

Listen to this post: I’m funny. You’re funny. We all have the best sense of humor, and we love to make other people laugh. Even if this were always true, it doesn’t make us above reproach....

https://whoamitostopit.com/problem-explaining-disability-jokes/

Listen to this post: The International Youth Silent Film Festival is taking submissions right now! Young people, take note! Make a movie without having to record or edit any audio. This festival ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/submit-international-youth-silent-film-festival/

Listen to this post: In the earlier days of this blog, I liked to do a Spotlight on Disability Film Festivals feature sometimes. My hope was that each year there might be new festivals to add to ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/reelabilities-portland-submit-your-short-film-now/

Listen to this post: Warning, this post describes and discusses hate speech against the Black community and discusses ableism. Please read or listen with discretion. If you will not be traumatize...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dont-confuse-hate-speech-with-dumb/

Listen to this post: Big warning. If you continue with this post, you will read about or listen to descriptions of violence and abuse against people with disabilities. Continue with discretion. A...

https://whoamitostopit.com/places-we-dont-care-for-disabled-people/

Listen to this post: A while back, I found out about a project where veterans can decorate and paint masks to artistically represent their experiences of TBI and/or PTSD. The images can be haunti...

https://whoamitostopit.com/unmasking-brain-injury-project/

Listen to this post: Hot news! We finished editing “Who Am I To Stop It.” Next steps: it’s off to Jason Wells at AUDIOWELLS to balance out the voices and music. Then, we head over to colo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-movie-is-done/

Listen to this post: Let me tell you about the Americans with Disabilities and the Arts panel held at the White House to celebrate Deaf and disabled artists and their achievements. It’s part of...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-arts-panel-at-the-white-house/

Listen to this post: This blog has decidedly too few mentions of “Marwencol.” So here we go. Watch that film. And if you’re like me, and you wish you could look at the images from the film...

https://whoamitostopit.com/welcome-to-marwencol-book/

Listen to this post: I’ve been reading about being an ally in Black and Brown communities and about asking for cookies. Asking for cookies is when a white person asks for public praise for do...

https://whoamitostopit.com/no-cookies-at-the-party-today/

Listen to this post: Stories! I’ve decided no more mucking around with the storytelling. I’ve been studying in some online courses about how to shape and tell stories for an audience. But y...

https://whoamitostopit.com/portland-story-theater-urban-tellers-show/

Listen to this post: Trigger warning: Abuse, neglect, and incarceration of people with mental illness. Read or listen to this blog post with discretion. Did you know there are more people with me...

https://whoamitostopit.com/avid-jail-project/

Listen to this post: Sometimes I just wish we could have kept filming for the documentary forever and ever. Thankfully, social media keeps me connected to the people in the film. And today I have...

https://whoamitostopit.com/bridge-performance-community-youth-services-olympia/

Listen to this post:  Caitlin Wood and I had the great pleasure of being guests on KBOO Community Radio’s Bread and Roses show just last night. What’s that show, you ask? “Bread and Roses ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-feminism-kboo-bread-and-roses/

Listen to this post: In the past few years I’ve encountered some discussions of disability models that feel weird. It usually takes some form kind of like this: Person 1: In the medical model...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-model/

Listen to this post: I want to tell you about an awesome camp in Southern Ontario and tell you how you can support them to get some community funding. Camp Dawn is

https://whoamitostopit.com/camp-dawn-adults-acquired-brain-injuries/

Listen to this post: Washington State brain injury community, you are busy and productive and creative! Here comes Take 2 of the “I Am the Face of Brain Injury” video project. This is for peo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/i-am-the-face-of-brain-injury-video-project-2/

Listen to this post: There’s some irony to posting this online because only people who are online will get it. But I think it’s a great start and a great way to leverage social media to hav...

https://whoamitostopit.com/day-of-access-equality/

Listen to this post: A note: Today’s post talks–not in graphic detail–about intimate partner violence (domestic violence) and brain injury. The topic is highly sensitive. Some of the links...

https://whoamitostopit.com/intimate-partner-violence-and-brain-injury/

Listen to this post: We’ve known for ages in this country that our justice system is not exactly just. Some people don’t want to face a critique of it because we do have a lot of freedoms c...

https://whoamitostopit.com/justice-on-trial-film-festival/

Listen to this post: Here is a wonderful counterpoint to the scare-tactic media that’s easy to find where people portray Autism as a terror, something that steals children away and breaks up fa...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-autistix-rock/

Listen to this post: There are so many movies in the world that I rarely watch any of them twice. I’m already so behind in watching films that have been on my list for years. But let me tell yo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/waking-the-green-sound-sance-film-for-trees-wobbly/

Listen to this post: In May, I reviewed the documentary “Becoming Bulletproof.” Great film! You gotta see it. That’s why I’m writing again: to make sure you see it. In fact, you can read ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/following-along-becoming-bulletproof/

Listen to this post: One of the dangers of awareness-raising campaigns is that once the rally, day, week, or month for a certain topic has passed, it can be forgotten. The backs on the pins break...

https://whoamitostopit.com/patient-no-more-longmore-institute/

Listen to this post: It was a few years ago. I was on location, shooting for the documentary. As usual, an interested bystander came up to ask what was going on. I gave my typical, quick answer: ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/what-do-you-say-to-someone-with-brain-injury/

Listen to this post: Now this is what I’ve been talking about! A paid training program with health and dental insurance and vacation time for aspiring filmmakers from marginalized and underrepr...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brave-new-films-fellows/

Listen to this post: I know that t-shirt campaigns as fundraisers are all the rage right now. And they’re great. You donate to an important cause, and then you get to wear a symbol of that caus...

https://whoamitostopit.com/i-heart-brains-swag/

Listen to this post: “Shameless: The ART of Disability” is a 2007 film you can watch on the site for the National Film Board of Canada. You can view this 70-minute documentary with Closed Cap...

https://whoamitostopit.com/documentary-review-shameless-the-art-of-disability/

Listen to this post: Are you Canadian or know someone who is? Please check out this call for acting training. It’s in Canada so while you’re there getting your training, they’re paying yo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/acting-filmmaking-react-studios/

Listen to this post: For anyone who would find a humorous, lighthearted, pun-filled discussion of brain cancer and brain surgery offensive, best turn back now. If you’re intrigued, keep reading...

https://whoamitostopit.com/laugh-about-brain-cancer/

Listen to this post: Yesterday gave us of lots of 25th anniversary of the ADA celebrations. It’s a big milestone. You can go online and find countless stories, blog posts, and articles that ce...

https://whoamitostopit.com/have-you-read-musings-of-an-angry-black-womyn-yet/

Listen to this post: Ever the critic that I am, I’m going to post a video here that I really enjoyed watching but start you off with critiques of it. BBC Three in the UK produced a lovely, sho...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dont-ask-disabled-people-these-questions-video/

Listen to this post: Short notice alert! This morning I just got a press release for a really cool looking event. I wanted to pass along the details. That’s not because most people I know can g...

https://whoamitostopit.com/lights-camera-access-2-0/

Listen to this post: I do go on about how everyone should make their own movies, blogs, and other media, don’t I? I’m remiss because not everyone has access to all the technology on a regula...

https://whoamitostopit.com/damaged-mentality-zine/

Listen to this post: A few years ago, when I still struggled with my eyes pointing in slightly different directions, with my brain scrambling what those eyes saw, with crashing into walls, laughi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/this-isnt-really-about-intelligence/

Listen to this post:  It’s been a fantastic, productive summer already. I’ve had the distinct honor to get to teach at VSA TX’s Side By Side Filmmakers internship program. We had 15 teen a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/side-by-side-filmmakers-vsa-tx/

Listen to this post: I have a camping joke in my short film, “Friending with Brain Injury!” which is about a fictional game show that three people with TBI are stuck on. The joke was that th...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-injury-camp-2015/

Listen:  Here is a call for participants with disabilities! “Sharing Our History, Dreaming Our Future” A Celebration for the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in...

https://whoamitostopit.com/sharing-our-history-dreaming-our-future-storytelling-ada-25/

Listen to this post: If you have a disability, are related to someone with a disability, or work with people with disabilities, you’re probably aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act anni...

https://whoamitostopit.com/cripfest-ada-25th-anniversary/

Listen to this post: I’ve blogged about captioning movies on this blog before. It’s really important to me that all my films are captioned, and I provide captioning services to other people w...

https://whoamitostopit.com/portland-turn-on-the-captions-now/

Listen to this post: I’ve written and podcasted about some of the innovative, peer-led brain injury support work coming out of Washington State many times. HeadStrong for Life in Seattle is a ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-energy-support-team-screening/

Listen to this post: Big hurrahs to a storytelling project out of London. Headway East London is a charity organization supporting peers with brain injury. It has a beautiful new website with st...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-are-you-now-headway-east-london/

Listen to this post: I want to share my big joy and delight about an email I just got from a good friend. He attached a video playing music and showing someone sign interpreting along with his...

https://whoamitostopit.com/cool-sign-language-music-video/

Listen to this post: I want to introduce you to Rodney Bentley, a charcoal and graphite artist from New York State who is both deeply spiritual and heavily engaged in community service. I’m t...

https://whoamitostopit.com/rodney-bentley-artist-peer-support/

Listen to this post: I take a firm stance against calling disabled people inspiring on this blog and especially in my work in Criptiques On Film. I bristle when a non-disabled person refers to ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/tbi-hope-and-inspiration-magazine/

Listen to this post: A couple years ago, I wrote on this blog about Amee Le’s wonderful art and mindfulness program at Community Head Injury Resource Services of Toronto. She recently worke...

https://whoamitostopit.com/art-exchange/

Listen to this post: “Becoming Bulletproof” is an award-winning documentary currently on the film festival circuit. It shows the making of an original short Western called “Bulletproof.�...

https://whoamitostopit.com/review-becoming-bulletproof/

Listen to this post: One thing that chaps my hide about “See my ability, not my disability” is that it puts all the focus on the individual and none of the focus on resources or society. Whil...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-injury-alliance-washington-scholarships/

Listen to this post: It doesn’t take checking out many of my blog posts or podcast episodes to come across my familiar refrain that disabled people don’t need non-disabled people to a.) tell ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-autonomous-press-revolution/

Listen to this post: I introduced you to Wolfgang Wolf, The Stroke Mentor on an earlier post on this blog. I wanted folks to have a chance to dig into his blog and website. And now it’s time to...

https://whoamitostopit.com/review-how-to-survive-after-a-stroke-wolfgang-wolf/

Listen to this post: If you noticed a break where no blog posts came out it’s because I was in San Francisco this week to record an interview with Lavaun Heaster for the StoryCorps Disability...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-visibility-project-storycorps-app/

Listen to this post: Later this spring, you’ll get a fantastic podcast episode with Jared Franz and Keith Scholz from OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. So I’m going to leave the longer descr...

https://whoamitostopit.com/honor-our-honored-citizens-on-public-transit/

Listen to this post: I introduced you to Brain Injury Voices from Maine and one of the members who’s an artist, Hilary Zayed, on this blog a while back. Now it’s time for a very exciting upda...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-injury-crafts-more-than-art/

Listen to this post: We got almost everyone on our team to writ e a guest blog post so you could meet them. The timing of this newest one is great because it’s been a long time since this blo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/meet-the-documentary-team-emily-von-w-gilbert-editor/

Listen to this post: Emmitt Thrower (Wabi Sabi Productions Inc) and Leroy Moore (Krip Hop Nation) started a documentary project on police brutality against people with disabilities in 2011. Then,...

https://whoamitostopit.com/where-is-hope-documentary-fundraiser/

Listen to this post: Hey now, we haven’t had a Disability Art and Culture Project (DACP) update on this blog in a long time. So here we go! Check out the current dancers in this integrated da...

https://whoamitostopit.com/inclusive-arts-vibe-dance-company-on-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: I recently met Carole. I want you to meet her too. Remember that story on this blog about the taxi driver who blurted out to me his deep, deep knowing that people with TBIs c...

https://whoamitostopit.com/guest-blogger-carole-christie-truth-tbi-art/

Listen to this post: Hurrah! A new film of mine in a film festival! I don’t even want to talk about my film. (I will tell you it’s called “Cat Lady” and is an extended, more experimental ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/tangled-art-disability-bodies-of-light-film-festival/

Listen to this post: From UnfinishedBusiness.net.au, this is a call for First Nation/Indigenous/Aboriginal artists with disabilities from around the world to contribute to an artistic project c...

https://whoamitostopit.com/call-for-first-nationindigenousaboriginal-artists-with-disabilities-for-unfinished-business/

Listen to this post: My cab driver this morning asked me what kind of work I do when I’m not busy hauling my cats to the vet, like I was this morning. When I explained what I do and what “Wh...

https://whoamitostopit.com/cripping-capitalism/

Listen to this post: Before the first minute of the film is up, Billy hits my favorite and snark-tastic line ever: “this ain’t exactly your inspirational cripple story.” Not two minutes lat...

https://whoamitostopit.com/when-billy-broke-his-head-other-tales-of-wonder/

Listen to this post: If you haven’t ever visited the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, you might still recognize their name from this blog. Hollywood Theatre is the fiscal sponsor for “...

https://whoamitostopit.com/legacy-short-film-festival-hollywood-theatre/

Listen to this post: Today I want to highlight a cool blog and website I found recently. It’s called “Beyond Injury,” and it’s run by Scott Friedman. First, let me give you Scott’s desc...

https://whoamitostopit.com/check-out-the-beyond-injury-blog/

Listen to this post: Stand-up comedian and disability trainer Nina G. has this great line about how if you have a disability, then suddenly everyone you meet has a PhD in the thing you have. Nin...

https://whoamitostopit.com/i-wouldnt-know-you-had-a-brain-injury-and-other-cultural-myths/

Listen to this post:  This family portrait: It would be interesting to ask people what they see when they look at this picture. I think I see

https://whoamitostopit.com/nogrouphome/

Listen to this post: I’ve heard things like, “She is one odd bird” to describe someone who’s different. But it doesn’t often come out in a positive way. Probably, it’s not meant to. S...

https://whoamitostopit.com/check-out-odd-bird-blog/

Listen to this post: Artist and activist Carole Zoom donated to our recent Kickstarter campaign and won what I thought was a very cool perk! Her perk was this: “Cheryl will write an original p...

https://whoamitostopit.com/reflecting-on-justice/

Listen to this post: I’m a big fans of community media in all its forms. I’m currently taking classes to become a Producer at Portland Community Media. We hope to film more Very Special Epis...

https://whoamitostopit.com/kboo-community-radio-interview/

Listen to this post: In keeping with tradition, I’m letting you know about a remarkable film festival after it’s already passed. But I do believe late is better than never. And I do also beli...

https://whoamitostopit.com/sit-down-shut-up-and-watch-film-and-new-media-festival/

Listen to this post: I heard someone say this once:  “I can’t do that anymore since my brain injury.” And the person she was talking to said:  “Don’t limit yourself. You can do absolu...

https://whoamitostopit.com/when-cant-is-about-power/

Listen to this post: I run into people who say something is accessible to people with disabilities when it so very much isn’t. For instance, a building might have ten stairs to the front door a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/james-depreist-my-country-documentary/

Listen to this post: Special! There’s a word I don’t like when it’s related to disability. It feels like such a consolation prize. Well, we only recently decided as a nation you should b...

https://whoamitostopit.com/very-special-episodes-from-criptiques-on-film/

Listen to this post: I’ve written about police brutality on this blog before. That post looked at some cases of folks who survived brutality but sustained traumatic brain injuries in the proces...

https://whoamitostopit.com/arresting-power-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: If there’s one thing disability communities do well, it’s helping people with similar diagnoses or experiences find each other. Once we’re together, we share countless ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/short-cuts-on-bbc-puts-our-stories-together/

Listen to this post: Dr. Seuss! Let’s just take a quick moment to say it again. All together now. Dr. Seuss! I don’t collect much of anything in my life. But I do have lots of cat stuff and l...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dr-seuss-and-disability/

Listen to this post: I’ve always quit a book if I don’t like it in the first few pages. I’ve been known to give up within paragraphs. This isn’t because I’m twitchy or antsy. It’s bec...

https://whoamitostopit.com/artist-joy-corcoran-reviews-neurocomic/

Listen to this post: I have a huge fondness for snark. Huge. And snarkily. I’m not a fan of being sarcastic to people just to prove I’m funny or in charge like saying, “Wow, your boyfriend ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/shit-people-say-to-service-dog-handlers-with-tbi/

Listen to this post: Have you heard a phrase that goes something like “Hope for the best, but prepare the worst”? I like that sort of realism. Sometimes you hear it with “expect the worst....

https://whoamitostopit.com/hope-for-the-best-but-dont-stop-there/

Listen to this post: I cannot even hold onto my horses right now. I’ve let them run free and wild. And that’s because T. Alika Hickman, Krip-Hop Nation artist, documentary filmmaker, author, ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/toni-hickmans-video-people-pleaser/

Listen to this post: Have you heard that at 12 months after a brain injury you’ve recovered about as much as you’re going to? I have. I’ve met a lot of people who were told that too. I do p...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-stroke-mentor-coaching-and-blogging-with-wolfgang-wolf/

Listen to this post: Storytelling again. I’ll never run out of space or interest in sharing about storytelling. This event is extra exciting because of its theme. It’s called “Intersect...

https://whoamitostopit.com/intersections-storytelling-event-at-portland-state-university/

Listen to this post: There’s a fabulous movie theater back in Austin that I miss a ton, The Alamo Drafthouse. Great movies, delicious food, and a courteous waitstaff that takes your orders and...

https://whoamitostopit.com/a-psa-about-dont-talking-and-being-an-ass/

Listen to this post: I’m not actually on the Portland Commission on Disability, but I do a bit of volunteering to help with outreach and event planning like for the past two years’ City ADA a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/portland-commission-on-disability-tagline-and-logo-contest/

Listen to this post: Not long ago–I can’t remember when because I’m enemies with calendars–Cynthia Lopez and I became models in Theresa Pridemore’s newest artistic creation, The Portlan...

https://whoamitostopit.com/chariot-and-fool/

Listen to this post: The weirdest thing happens when people trip near me. They laugh nervously and say, “And I don’t even have an excuse like you do!” Insert extra chuckle there for good me...

https://whoamitostopit.com/book-review-i-had-brain-surgery-whats-your-excuse/

Listen to this post: This fundraising business can start to feel super competitive. I want to all the reach potential backers on the planet first, hog the money for my project, and smile all the ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-genius-of-caring-alzheimers-documentary-on-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: How much would you love to have a sticker that looks just like this? (Or your very own 10-pack of them?) All you have to do is pop on over to www.kickstarter.com/projects/80...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-on-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: While I’m highlighting work that peers with brain injury do, let me tell you about a gem here in Portland: BIRRDsong (Brain-injury Information Referral and Resource Develo...

https://whoamitostopit.com/birrdsong-speakers-panel-bringing-story-to-public-schools/

Listen to this post: As you know, one reason we’re making “Who Am I To Stop It” is because people with brain injuries are so often isolated. The documentary gives more people a chance to g...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-brain-injury-peer-visitor-association/

Listen to this post: There’s some work coming out of Australia that I love and admire a lot. Comedian and activist Stella Young with her fine work and her eloquent challenge to finding disable...

https://whoamitostopit.com/who-am-i-to-stop-it-is-loud/

Listen to this post: I’ve written on this blog before many times about ableism, whether I used the word or not. You know, those overt and subtle ways that people and society devalue disability ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/audism-yes-thats-real/

Listen to this post: Just in time to catch the last five minutes of this year’s Brain Injury Alliance of Washington Annual Brain Injury Art Show! I’m very excited about this show, which is c...

https://whoamitostopit.com/brain-injury-alliance-of-washington-annual-brain-injury-art-show/

Listen to this post: This fall is totally story time! I want to let you know about a couple different things happening that are super different. What ties them together is story, the power of sto...

https://whoamitostopit.com/storytelling-telling-stories-and-stories-to-tell/

Listen to this post: I have some friends in the brain injury community who have mentioned how apolitical I am. I think those are folks who don’t read this blog! Cuz I’m pretty darn politica...

https://whoamitostopit.com/racism-ableism-and-police-brutality-brain-injury/

Listen to this post: A Simple Brain Injury Support Group is having a fundraiser on the GoFundMe website to assist them in their new transition to becoming a full 501(c)(3) non-profit organization...

https://whoamitostopit.com/a-simple-brain-injury-support-group/

Listen to this post: Excitement is in the air and on the airwaves. Wait, are they still considered airwaves when you download a podcast? Either way, here’s one you must check out if you’re in...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-tv-podcast-with-andrew-pulrang-is-a-must-hear/

Listen to this post: Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of being a guest on the vibrant, exciting podcast called Hash It Out With Jane, a podcast I’ve written about before on this blog. It w...

https://whoamitostopit.com/guest-appearance-on-hash-it-out-with-jane/

Listen to this post: I’ve been told countless times (or maybe not that often, but I can’t remember) that it’s a damn good thing I had my speech therapy degree before developing impairments�...

https://whoamitostopit.com/faiza-siddiqui-diary-of-a-headcase-community-wisdom/

Listen to this post: In September, 2013, PBS released “Best Kept Secret.” You can check out info around the film at www.pbs.org/pov/bestkeptsecret. The film is now streamable on some paid s...

https://whoamitostopit.com/critique-of-pbss-best-kept-secret-autism-documentary/

Listen to this post by Aimee Elber and Cheryl Green: As you might have seen or heard through all the disability-related blogs and newsletters recently, the Disability Visibility Project partnersh...

https://whoamitostopit.com/aimee-elber-on-disability-storytelling/

Listen to this post: Here’s a most fabulous blog! ChangedLivesNewJourneys.com. I like the title of it a lot because it doesn’t imply that any particular thing after a brain injury is inherent...

https://whoamitostopit.com/changed-lives-new-journeys-blog-on-life-after-brain-injury/

Listen to this post: I wanted to take a some time to sort of unpack this film for you. The meaning of the film and my own politics around disability have changed and grown in the two years we�...

https://whoamitostopit.com/isolation-art-and-transformation-after-brain-injury/

Listen to this post: Today Portland is celebrating the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities act. Of course, this is always a wonderful annual reason to come and have cake. But ther...

https://whoamitostopit.com/ada-what-does-it-stand-for/

Listen to this post: I spent some time with artist and gallerist Jennifer Pepin today. We met at her gallery, the cozy, modern, and distinct J. Pepin Art Gallery in the Pearl District. On the do...

https://whoamitostopit.com/transforming-stigma/

Listen to this post: “My Way to Olympia” is a documentary available streaming through PBS’s Point of View here: www.pbs.org/pov/olympia. I urge anyone interested in disability politics to ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/my-way-to-olympia-documentary-review/

Listen to this guest post read by Cheryl: I really love this new guest post below written by Thomas E. Hartmann, author of Broken Mind, Persistent Hope: A Memoir of Recovery from Brain Damage an...

https://whoamitostopit.com/guest-blogger-thomas-e-hartmann-on-gardeners-and-cowboys/

Listen to this post: We are so very proud and excited to announce the newest sponsor of “Who Am I To Stop It” is HeadStrong for Life! Check out the post on this blog from April 9, 2014 about ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/headstrong-for-life-is-our-newest-sponsor/

Listen to this post: A lot of people have asked about my business name. It’s StoryMinders. I like the play on words with minding a story and having a story about the mind. But, honestly, I get...

https://whoamitostopit.com/disability-visibility-project-storycorp/

Listen to this post: If there’s one “compliment” that irks me, it’s when extroverted disabled people or people with access and resources are called The Voice For The Voiceless when they t...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dumb-a-comic-about-a-voice-gone-missing/

Listen to this post: How do people actually find each other? I think this to myself every time I’m on an airplane, flying over a city and observing the seemingly endless expanse of buildings wi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/the-tangled-ones-a-20-something-living-with-avm-blog/

Listen to this post: High fives all around! I’ve managed to alert you to an upcoming film festival in plenty of time to both attend it and even submit your film to the 2015 competition! I know ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/spotlight-disability-film-festivals-picture-this-film-festival/

Listen to this post: If there’s one thing I consume more than documentary movies, it’s radio documentaries. My visual system sometimes gets overloaded, or I get distracted from listening whi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/an-injury-for-life-by-liam-obrien-on-rte/

Listen to this post: Jane Hash. There’s a name you shouldn’t ever forget. She’s amazing, and her name is so useful. For example, who else can name their blog and podcast “Hash It Out With...

https://whoamitostopit.com/plain-jane-shockumentary-jane-hash/

Listen to this post: I’m unsentimental to a fault. (Unless it’s about cats. Lots of sentimentality around cats! Sorry, Brandon.) So when someone donates to fund this film, it’s easy to as...

https://whoamitostopit.com/executive-producer-susan-pelzer-on-brain-injury-film/

Listen to this post: I found a fabulous video online for a workshop called Portugal Prints. They are a charitable organization in London. Here’s what they say on their website at www.portugal...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dolly-sen-asks-what-is-madness-at-portugal-prints/

Listen to this post: Community support time! Cynthia and I have been filling out applications and writing essays for grants and even for conferences where we could pitch our film idea to industry...

https://whoamitostopit.com/heres-where-we-get-the-sponsors-and-raise-the-cash/

Listen to this post: PC language. Sigh. For those of you who haven’t yet asked me, I do not like PC language. Even the term bothers me because it has “correct” in it. We’re talking about ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/gimplecapped-and-other-normal-things/

Listen to this post: I’ve never done the open letter thing. But today, I was suddenly super duper motivated. So here’s my very first ever open letter. If you can get behind this, please share...

https://whoamitostopit.com/dear-tedx-captions-please/

Listen to this post: If there’s one thing I love in a documentary film, it’s when the movie is made by someone from within the community shown or who deeply connects themselves to the people...

https://whoamitostopit.com/not-home-a-documentary-about-kids-living-in-nursing-facilities/

Listen to this post: Success! I am once again alerting you to an arts event before it happens! Remember my very sweet but often out of focus documentary on Lavaun Heaster from last fall called �...

https://whoamitostopit.com/experience-vibrant-art-with-lavaun-heaster/

Listen to this post: Ever felt like it’s wrong to tell stories about disability in a way that makes people laugh? Well, if it’s the disabled person themselves telling the story and getting th...

https://whoamitostopit.com/nina-mitchell-of-mindpop-on-the-moth-radio-hour/

Listen to this post: Today is annual Blogging Against Disableism Day! I’m not a fan of awareness days and awareness months because there’s something so passive sounding about awareness. Ther...

https://whoamitostopit.com/blogging-against-disableism-day-badd/

Listen to this post with poetry read by Louise Mathewson: Here’s another wonderful offering from poet and author Louise Mathewson. You first met her on this blog in a post from August 8, 2013...

https://whoamitostopit.com/poet-louise-mathewson-and-blessings-for-those-with-brain-injuries/

Listen to this post: Vince Diorio from The Creativity Expo did a brief interview on my show earlier this month. He talked about how and why he started up a professional arts exhibit for artists w...

https://whoamitostopit.com/submit-your-art-to-the-awesomest-brain-injury-art-show-the-creativity-expo-in-new-jersey/

Listen to this post: If you keep up with my occasional Spotlight on Disability Film Festival posts, you’ve had a nice huckle or two about how I rarely post about these festivals in time to eith...

https://whoamitostopit.com/spotlight-on-disability-film-festivals-the-disability-film-challenge-48-hour-film-race-is-on/

Listen to this post: This is a call for submissions! The media likes to tell us that having a disability is clearly a sad thing. Sure, there are sad parts and sad times, but who doesn’t have a...

https://whoamitostopit.com/i-know-you-want-to-crack-some-jokes-about-disability/

Listen to this post: I’ve been having some delightfully engaging conversations with two people deeply connected to disability. They have years upon years of direct lived experience around disab...

https://whoamitostopit.com/just-people-together/

Listen to this post: If you go to the HeadStrong for Life Facebook page, you’ll see some definitions of the word “headstrong.” Simple things like “directed by ungovernable will” and “...

https://whoamitostopit.com/headstrong-for-life-conference/

Listen to this post: It’s been quite a long time since I posted photos here from our film shoots. Here are a few from the last several months. You can always check out more pictures on the film...

https://whoamitostopit.com/behind-the-scenes-sneak-peek-4/

Listen to this post: I want to introduce to you an artist and thinker whom I met through the International Guild of Disabled Artists and Performers. His name is David Feingold. Before I give you ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/david-feingold-bipolar-impaired-self/

Listen to this post: Ok, we’re going to get really technical today! There are plenty of people who feel like our social media saturated world is very bad for human connection. I’ve heard folk...

https://whoamitostopit.com/join-the-conversation-for-change-on-social-media-accessibility/

Listen to this post: I haven’t posted anyone’s Kickstarter in a while. Now’s the perfect time to get to it. Some local artists are putting together a dance concert and documentary film. Bot...

https://whoamitostopit.com/soar-documentary-and-dance-project-on-kickstarter/

Listen to this post: Disability arts, arts and disability, art for people with disabilities, art by disabled people: no matter how you slice it or what you call it, there really is a vibrant, exc...

https://whoamitostopit.com/yes-to-disability-arts/

Listen to this post: Not everyone with a disability or impairment likes “crip” or wants to be called a crip or a krip. I deeply respect the reasons people give for why they want to be identif...

https://whoamitostopit.com/making-some-criptiques/

Listen to this post: If there’s one thing I love, it’s stories, performance and talking about brain injury honestly. And I want to introduce you to some folks who do roll all three into one. ...

https://whoamitostopit.com/lethan-candlish-and-who-am-i-again-performance-and-tbi-voices/

Listen to this post: BOSIFEST International Film Festival for and by persons with disabilities is the only one of its kind in Southeast Europe and is organized by the Hendi Center Koloseum in Ser...

https://whoamitostopit.com/spotlight-on-disability-film-festivals-bosifest-2014/

Listen to this post: I wrote here recently that we need to move on from Awareness Months and have Appreciation Months (or years or lifetimes). Lots of times people describe my films as “raisi...

https://whoamitostopit.com/from-brain-injury-awareness-to-pride/