Sunday Roundup: Disability and TV/Movies. What I Left Out

I have a new piece up at Al Jazeera America today on disability and upcoming television shows that have, in the past, done a good job with disability issues. None are perfect shows, but it’s ok to admire the good even while criticizing the bad: Since the emergence of the newly renamed Bechdel-Wallace Test, which is … Continue ReadingSunday Roundup: Disability and TV/Movies. What I Left Out

Katrina and Disability – The Work of Claudia Gordon

One of the great pleasures of my summer was meeting and interviewing Claudia Gordon. She works for the labor department now, but ten years ago she was at the Office of Homeland Security, her attention focused on people with disabilities in the aftermath of Katrina. Her video, shared below, talks about her development in the … Continue ReadingKatrina and Disability – The Work of Claudia Gordon

Robots vs Zombies

I have a new piece on Vice about Westworld. It’s a new show coming from HBO and could be pretty awesome. Or, it could just re-tread the “robots become sentient” stuff from Battlestar Galactica and Humans and Ex Machina and whatever. Here’s my hope: Because Westworld is set in an amusement park, the movie deliberately invokes clichés. You might … Continue ReadingRobots vs Zombies

Brief Book Review: Reading The Martian during The Hugos

From Damien Walter at The Guardian on The Hugos: A snapshot of today’s sci-fi publishing industry – as opposed to the fandom that ultimately underwrites the industry’s business – does not show a diverse picture. Both bookshelves and cinema screens are currently dominated by the Matt Damon/Andy Weir vehicle The Martian and its archaically old-fashioned (and vastly … Continue ReadingBrief Book Review: Reading The Martian during The Hugos