Outlook on Radio Western

“Tempus fugit” - Latin proverb meaning “time’s a wasting” or “time flies” as we on Outlook discuss disability and endless other things. Our third co-host Barry (and guide dog Oyster) are back with us today. Times flying for Barry here in Canada, but this week we hear more from him about his life after blindness, in Ireland, and as he broadened out and began to travel on his own. How he learned to be blind? "It can be done." We'll hear more about adventures with Barry and Oyster, her adventures in discovering for herself, as we talk guide dog vs white cane and other tools in our tool kits. Why don't you have another guide dog? We discuss Kerry and Barry ice skating and its similarity to tandem cycling, dealing with continued inaccessibility with our electronic braille devices and Bluetooth on our iPhones, and we finish off discussing a recent FB post from a blind person which had some in the blindness community talking. Thanks to Connor Scott-Gardner for their thoughtful words. You can find their Facebook page with so many insightful posts including the one we covered on this show here: https://www.facebook.com/p/Connor-Scott-Gardner-100082294361791/

“Top of the morning to ya,” says friend and boyfriend of co-hosts and siblings Brian and Kerry. We’re here on Outlook this week with visiting guest hosts Barry and his guide dog Oyster, fresh from their journey all the way from Ireland. From acquiring a pet passport to a fit-to-fly letter, Barry shares with us the process for travel with a guide dog and both of them are with us for the next few months on air. Alongside talk of travel with a guide dog, we touch on last week’s Canadian federal budget announcement about the proposed Canada Disability Benefit, long promised by the Liberal government, but now the news is out that what they are offering is far less than was expected and what would put people with disabilities above the poverty line. So now Canadians with disabilities are not happy and not having it, speaking up where possible and we here are joining the chorus of voices, in a marginalised group often overlooked. In the second part of the show, we speak with Rebecca Singh of Superior Description Services, who we’ve had on the show last year to learn about what Superior Description does and since then what co-host Kerry has been working on as accessibility consultant. This time Rebecca is back to share with us all about next month’s Junior Festival, for children five to twelve, on the campus of the Harbour Front Centre in Toronto. Junior is an arts and creativity festival for young people, running during the weekend of May 18th to the 20th. Sunday, May 19th is set aside as Enhanced Accessibility Day for children with disabilities, blindness and all kinds. There will be offerings such as touch tours, sighted guides if needed, and plenty of audio description available on site and online at the Harbourfront Centre website, described by Rebecca and reviewed by Kerry as consultant. Singh also shares with us another upcoming arts and creativity event she’s working on, including podcasts as supplements to the in-person events, this June in the GTA and around Toronto, known as Luminato. So if you’re in the area in the coming months, for either one, check out the festivals and events on offer by going to their websites, contacting them by phone, or by email at the links, number, or email address below: harbourfrontcentre.com/junior 416-973-4600 info@harbourfrontcentre.com https://www.luminatofestival.com https://superiordescription.com Listen to Rebecca Singh’s previous Outlook appearance: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2023-03-06-international-womens-day-with/id1527876739?i=1000603364184

“Every time I look at you, I go blind.” Solar eclipse, 2024 and the big topic around it all was eye protection. Thus the above lyrics from the Canadian band 54-40 song to start off the show. It’s another Kerry Connection this week on Outlook as we look back on last week’s eclipse with Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen, Associate Professor of linguistics at Bowling Green State University. As the 2023 Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/LOC Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation, we wanted to get her thoughts on, and her experience with the eclipse. We also talked being blind and her philosophy with it, being a kid, and being curious about science, and being steered away from the sciences as a blind student. Co-host Kerry, as a young girl, watched Bill Nye the Science Guy and was fascinated by and drawn in by outer space. Sheri now works to make it more accessible for people of all abilities in space with her featured story on the Radiolab podcast, experiencing zero gravity and recording the findings of that experiment. Going from not wanting to make a fuss to advocating, for the next generation - we talk possibility, perspective, and wonder, as we agree, it would be fun to be able to fly, but with all the things, that’s what space can provide. Check out Sheri’s official website: http://sheriwellsjensen.com Find the Radiolab episode “The Right Stuff” featuring Sheri here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpe6azxvQpM And give a listen to the quartet Grande Royale Ükulelists of the Black Swamp she plays with and their covers on this YouTube playlist relating to the recent eclipse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UksPZJJ9JY&list=PL_FJ_lKHsX5ENvB3uCIKZ1kPeAuJ7eBDf

Temperature change. Animals acting out of the ordinary. These are some non visual signs of an eclipse. It's the day of the total solar eclipse, April 8th, 2024. We're here, on Outlook today with our Eclipse Soundscapes app with its rumble map, to discuss how we plan to join this giant party, an astronomical event we can and should all be able to share in. We talk an accessible eclipse experience, co-host Kerry plays a little Be My AI game of "what's the same in these two pics?" and April 7th was Green Shirt Day and co-host Brian reflects on what would have been his 25-year kidney transplant anniversary this month. From nephrology to ophthalmology and with themes of darkness and light, as the moon starts to obscure the sun's light and the threat of looking and damaging one's sight - all of this is our bread and butter on this show and we'll have a follow-up episode to follow this one where we discuss all of this with someone who definitely knows the subject. To check out the accessible app, search for “Eclipse Soundscapes” on the app store or learn more on the official website: https://eclipsesoundscapes.org Check out more information on Green Shirt Day: https://greenshirtday.ca/about/ And listen to the ophthalmologist we both grew up seeing, Dr. Phil Hooper, on the CBC speaking about the dangers of staring at a solar eclipse without proper eyewear: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-158-london-morning/clip/16053698-staring-solar-eclipse-without-proper-eyewear-damage-eyes

WAKE UP AMERICA! As we wrap up Women's History Month, co-host Kerry shares about a recent panel put on by the Paul Longmore Institute On Disability Studies featuring black and brown disabled women and co-host Brian shares about March also being Epilepsy Awareness Month, started by a young girl right here in Canada. And, of course, don't forget about the upcoming solar eclipse in April. This week on Outlook it's story time and we're reading March's featured spotlight on a deaf-blind woman in history, someone we can spotlight to tell the stories of more than just Helen Keller. Thanks to Peggy Chong, The Blind History Lady, for letting us know about Helen May Martin. Believe it or not. For more fascinating stories like this one delivered directly to your inbox, email Peggy Chong: theblindhistorylady@gmail.com Check out her official website: https://theblindhistorylady.com And listen to The Blind History Lady when she joined us on Outlook back in 2020: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/outlook-2020-08-10-interview-with-the-blind-history-lady/id1527876739?i=1000488226679

CAUDES stands for Certified Audio Description Specialist. This week on Outlook we’re speaking with Lolly Lijewski and Kim Charlson about recently released draft certification guidelines and criteria open for public comments until March 31st. Kim is Chair of the Academy for Certification of Visual Rehabilitation & Education Professionals/Subject Matter Experts Committee and Lolly and co-host Kerry met originally when taking some AD training and have since gone on to form a group of blind and sighted members who practice the art of crafting audio description together because we believe the collective collaborative team makes for a more authentic and representational finished product. Now we have some thoughts and some questions about these proposed and drafted certification guidelines and Kim is with us to lay it all out. Everyone involved only wants the best quality product in the end for blind consumers and we’re happy to have this discussion as we look ahead to next steps in audio description’s evolution. You can download and read the CAUDES Draft Certification Criteria by clicking this link: https://www.acvrep.org/resource/docs/DRAFT%20Certified%20Audio%20Description%20Specialist%20certification%20criteria%201-2024.docx Please consider sending any questions or comments on the criteria to comments@acvrep.org (include CAUDES in the subject line) If you’d like the document sent directly to your inbox, you can email Kim at kimcharlson@acb.org And find the Audio Description Project here: https://adp.acb.org

Co-host Kerry wears her (diversity includes disability) Aille Design braille T-shirt to remind us of the roles of disabled women throughout history. This week on Outlook it’s another mixed bag, as we celebrate World Kidney Day on March 14th. Co-host Brian shares a recent healthcare scare he experienced, we run into someone who understands in a hospital waiting room, and we discuss a particular inclusive art exhibit from Vancouver to Ottawa. We are (drawing on our history) for the remainder of Women’s History Month. If you’re interested in a braille t-shirt for yourself or a friend, check out Aille Design: https://ailledesign.com/en-ca/products/braille-t-shirt And find the VocalEye Almost Live event “Drawing on Our History” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh2TLAgcCBI

Spring is on its way and an April eclipse is coming. Greater inclusion being the order of the day on Outlook this week. In honour of March’s International Women’s Day, co-host/sister Kerry is back in studio to share more stories from the rest of her time in Ireland this last visit to celebrate her 40th, with brother/co-host Brian with a Monday Mixed Bag alongside a shout-out to some of our regular listeners and some other women to mention. Stay tuned for another mixed bag Monday next time, part two of our IWD 2024 series, hopefully with a more inclusive eclipse on the horizon. Find the VocalEye event with Leona Godin “Sighted People Suck!” that we discussed on this show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVcjeD3bQJs

Co-host Kerry met Anne through a public speaking workshop and then at a telling our mother’s story workshop. This week on Outlook we speak with Mok about her purpose and her view on life as an Asian woman who is blind and living with Chronic Daily Headache. Growing up on the Canadian West Coast, she struggled to fit in and in school. Since then, she’s been working and raising a family, while living with the chronic illness and disability, and has found her voice in her purpose and in her view, which is what this show is all about. Learn more about Anne Mok and find a link to her excellent TEDX TALK on her official website: https://purposeinview.com Check out her Instagram for examples of some excellent image descriptions: https://www.instagram.com/purposeinview/ And check out the VocalEye event “My Mother’s Story” featuring Anne Mok, co-host Kerry, and loyal listener Nancy Gill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m8qdoM0CM4

Co-host Kerry met Jen Violi at a writing workshop in Mexico back in 2017 and has gone on to take many of Jen‘s classes ever since. With the option of online, they can live across the continent from each other and still get so much from getting to know each other better through writing. Jen Violi is an author, mentor, elemental writing facilitator, and editor. This week on Outlook we talk about her experience with loss, grief, and chronic illness because everyone has one or knows someone and has been through such things. We also discuss the elemental writing classes Violi teaches over Zoom that Kerry has been apart of over the past few years. If you’d like to sign up for her Elemental Writing mailing list, click the following link: http://eepurl.com/iv4ZA6 And for more, check out her website: https://www.jenvioli.com

It’s never easy to lose someone we love. This week we’re celebrating best friend and drummer Andrew McIntyre. On this first Mixed Bag Outlook episode of February, Kerry’s back in Ireland and Barry joins the co-hosts from Ireland too. We’re together, the three of us, for another one where we’re reflecting on what Andrew meant to us, along with discussing some of the accessibility obstacles Kerry and Barry have encountered together while Kerry’s visiting Ireland this time. Barry’s also starting to learn braille and Braille Lego is assisting in the learning process, visiting Braille Town for a multi-sensory experience. We on Outlook will never forget. Gone too soon but forever in our hearts. We’re dedicating this one to our dear friend Andrew: https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/30531234/andrew-james-mcintyre Listen to some of Andrew's drumming on the Riker EP from 2020: https://rikermusic.bandcamp.com/album/descending

Benchmarks along the way on the journey to the end of sight with author of “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir At the End of Sight” Andrew Leland. Andrew joins us on Outlook this week to discuss feeling like a tourist in this particular country and a little about the H. G. Wells short story his title is based on, on eye contact as a visual communicator, and he even has some dating advice to pass along to one of us as we discuss his “Male Gaze” chapter. Leland’s journalistic approach to this work of nonfiction, along with the right mixture of his personal story as he goes from sighted to blind make this memoir crackle with life. And Andrew’s laidback vibe makes his foray into, what’s for him and most people the unknowns of stepping into this particular country, well it makes his perspective one we wanted to share. We highly recommend you read his memoir available as an eBook, audiobook, or Hardcover. To learn more about Leland and to purchase his memoir, check out his official website: https://www.andrewleland.org

“This is the first time in history we’ve had authentic representation,” says “All the Light We Cannot See” lead actress Aria Mia Loberti, standing with her guide dog at The Golden Globes. “It was my honour to represent my community and my culture; it’s never been done before.” We kick off this week’s episode of Outlook sharing this clip, mid way through Braille Literacy Month (2024) teasing about an interview we recently prerecorded which follows this week’s Outlook On Radio Western, the last live in studio with us both until next month. It’s another Mixed Bag show, our second MBM (on Martin Luther King Jr. Day) on this Monday, the third Monday of January. We preview some of the topics we'll touch on with “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight” author Andrew Leland, including some of what he’s written about learning braille later in life. We then go on to tie this topic, this month where braille is featured, in and along with Andrew’s inclusion of the discussion on the sort of economical and familial situation people with disabilities will be born into, economical marginalization and the struggles of the unhoused population which often incapsulates elements of disability in the mix. And so around here locally, it’s the first cold weather alert of the season and we’re recognizing the privileges we have and this platform we have on Radio Western. We’re talking about advocacy for increases to social assistance in London, Ontario and across the country, along with the winter weather Canada often deals with this time of year, finishing off the show with talk of upcoming travel for us both.

B R A I L L E There are a few topics co-host Kerry finds are so important, she will bring them up over and over (no matter the day or month), as often as she can. Braille is one of those. This week on Outlook though we start by paying our respects to the loved ones, and Western University students, lost on Flight PS752 which took place in January, 2020, in recognition of the families still searching for justice. We discuss co-host Brian’s accessibility trouble choosing a seat when ordering a concert ticket online, nephew Max getting a soundboard like his Uncle Brian for Christmas, and we’re talking Braille Lego - all while returning to a bunch about braille and its mythology and history to celebrate January 4th being World Braille Day. We hint at an upcoming guest and their new memoir with the author’s descriptions of learning braille in middle age. as we are back, live in studio for the first time in 2024 and ready to celebrate the legacy Braille left. Happy Braille Literacy Month and check out Braille Literacy Canada for more on braille in Canada: https://www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/en And treat the lego lover in your life to some LEGO® Braille Bricks: https://www.lego.com/en-ca/braille-bricks

Woody, warm, and smoky - this could very well describe our now yearly Ketchup On Pancakes (our pre-?Outlook podcast project) which we now produce around this time of year for our “By The fireside) annual series. This year it was back to our roots with “family, creativity, and humour” in a sad way as we dedicate our 2023 look-back to our Uncle Mike who we unexpectedly lost in April. Uncle Mike embodied all three of these things all rolled into one man and we discuss his death (a low) along with some of the highs of the year that just was including longtime goals achieved and the question of travel (after our “By The Fireside 2022” episode predictions on whether we’d travel again post pandemic or not. All this, along with a special find, a related clip with some facts about firewood and Canadian fireplaces to also go along with our themes around this time of year. As featured on this episode, find “The Jo Firecast: A Yule Log Jamz Watch-Along with Jo Firestone” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4gHfw_Ag2A Travel back to 2018 and revisit episode 11 “The Earth Tongue Wiggled (feat. Liam & Crystal of Wildlife Gardening)”: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ketchup-on-pancakes-e11-the-earth-tongue-wiggled-feat/id1527876739?i=1000633132769

“Tis the season to be jolly/tis the season to be brother” Outlets and outlooks. We’re ringing in the new year (goodbye 2023 and hello 2024), here on Outlook, from down in sister and co-host Kerry’s basement. We’re discussing trends that made an impression in 2023, for blind people, including things like Be My AI in the “Be My Eyes” app, the celebrating of our 200th show and 5th year in 2023, and sharing on the losses experienced in the disability activist community over the last twelve months. Co-host Brian is back with some stats on our year and we examine the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa and its themes we on this podcast also try to highlight. So Happy Kwanzaa as we continue to broaden all our outlooks in the months ahead. Be sure to check out co-host Kerry's recent appearance on the CBC podcast Now or Never sharing her love for the winter solstice: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/how-to-brighten-up-the-longest-night-of-the-year/id1169422760?i=1000639359566

Sheila’s three questions in problem solving and in life: Where am I? Where am I going? And how am I going to get there? Sheila Dinnin is an Orientation & Mobility specialist (O&M) with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada. How did she learn about the job she now has and what did it take to get into this type of work in the first place? This week on Outlook we’re speaking with brother/co-host Brian’s long-time instructor Sheila about just exactly what O&M is for those who do not know and the kinds of canes there are, her thoughts on levels of acceptance about needing one as a tool, and about all the different hats Dinnin wears in her job. She works to offer low vision and blind people whatever resources, services, or techniques they might need to orient themselves and to be as mobile as possible and she is one of only three live, in-studio guests with us this year. Image description taken after show: Three people standing side by side, smiling towards the camera. They are indoors, with a wall behind them featuring various posters and signs. From left to right: - - Kerry, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, a dark cap, a black hoodie, and blue jeans is holding a white cane in her left hand. - Brian, the man in the middle has short brown hair, is wearing a dark green jacket over a grey shirt and light grey pants, and is holding a white cane in his right hand - Sheila, the woman on the right has long brown hair, is wearing a maroon jacket over a light blue top and black pants. They are standing in front of a door with a sign that reads "JUST COME ON IN." Above them, there are signs that include the words "MEDIA HUB" and "RADIO WESTERN. The words "RADIO WESTERN" are part of a larger sign that says "RADIO WESTERN @ THE SPOKE LIVE ON AIR," which is partially visible in the background.

John, AKA Mac The Movieguy, has a degree in Cinema Studies and has been critiquing movies since the 90s and before he went blind - his YouTube channel has over 1000 videos all about movies and audio description in film. This week on Outlook we’re speaking with John Stark and getting his movie critic expertise on audio description (AD) in film, including how watching a movie with sighted people is made better by a more accessible movie going experience for all. John, as someone who was sighted and then went blind, is able to offer his perspective from both sides of the issue. Speaking of multiple sides of things, John shares about his placement and history working at the cinema (as most movie theatre employees unfortunately know very little about AD), more about his first experiences and memories learning what audio description is and how it works, and the struggle to be taken seriously as a film critic who’s blind, but his specialty focusing on AD only makes his videos all the more well rounded and interesting. What does John look for in a film as far as good quality audio description goes? He answers this question and much more, along with giving examples of shows and films he’s found with it because he’s done the work and knows the lay of the land, putting his thoughts on his Mac The Movieguy Youtube Channel. Plus, he shares his pics for the best paired films with their AD of 2023. We discuss audio description all the time on this show, as a way of getting listeners familiar with what it is and why it’s important. So check out more on AD and on Stark by visiting his website, YouTube channel, and The Audio Description Project: https://macthemovieguy.com https://www.youtube.com/@macthemovieguy https://adp.acb.org/

Stories from a scientific life, on a snowy Ottawa morning. The International Day of Disabled Persons (IDPD) promotes people with disabilities being a part of life in all areas, including in science, which is everything all around us and involves everyone. This week on Outlook we hear from Lawrence Gunther, a storyteller with a love of being by or on the water. He got a degree in Environmental Studies and his perspective as a blind person means he’s had to adapt the activities he’s done ever since, with guide dog by his side and without. we’re speaking with Lawrence Gunther of the podcast Outdoors With Lawrence Gunther and hearing dispatches from his outdoors accessible life on everything from an early childhood out in and exposed to nature, converting boats and navigation, and his perspective on the tactility of fishing which means sight ceases to be a requirement. He offers tips to blind people on how to find others with similar interests (not necessarily blindness) to spend time outside with and how we have just as much to bring to the experience as anyone else. Gunther offers lessons, through example, on how there are so many non visual ways to explore, work and play, in the outdoors so hopefully on another international day for disability in the future, scientists with disabilities won’t be such a needed and longed for visible minority. Lawrence does work to promote the natural world and the environment through multiple forms of media, all of which he provides in a laid back, easy to digest way. Check out some of that, including his podcast, and read more on his website below: https://lawrencegunther.com

With “The Politics of Blindness” he’s looking to plant the seeds. This week on Outlook we speak with Graeme McCreath whom we met through The Canadian Federation of the Blind about his book and about his dual British and Canadian perspective. We hear about his early years in England and the unique opportunity he got to study physiotherapy there, his coming over to Canada and Victoria, British Columbia specifically, and what led him to write “The Politics of Blindness” more than a decade into the 2000s. Why aren’t blind people getting the opportunities they deserve to find a place in public life? How can blind people in this country take a greater control back of our own lives? Graeme shares some of the experiential lessons he’s accumulated, how blind people are regarded in the broader society, all after more than 100 years with the control and wide audience the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) has impacted us - how it has held onto blind people in Canada and on how sighted Canadians think of us in cultural, economic, and social life. McCreath has been a leader in the CFB and in putting together a piece of the historical record of blindness in Canada and hasn’t given up on the work it takes to obtain equivalent human rights which any other Canadian has. So check out more about the book here which we highly recommend you read because this story is the broader story of autonomy and human rights in Canada and beyond for more people as more of us speak our truths as Graeme McCreath does in “The Politics of Blindness”.: https://thepoliticsofblindness.com