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Understanding ADA Compliance vs. Accessibility
When people talk about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they often assume that “compliant” automatically means “accessible.” It doesn’t. In fact, the gap between those two ideas is where many disabled people run into the most frustrating and sometimes dangerous experiences. ADA compliance is about meeting the minimum legal requirements. It’s a checklist: Are there braille room signs? Are doorways wide enough? Is there a ramp? ADA accessibility, on the other hand, is about whether a space is actually usable in the real world by people with disabilities. It’s not just “Did you install the sign?”, it’s “Does this space work for someone navigating it independently?”. That distinction might…
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Monday Jaunts Through Norman: Coffee, Chaos, and the Senses That Guide Me
Mondays have become my favorite kind of reset. While the rest of the world seems to groan its way back into the workweek, I lace up my shoes and head out for a long, slow walk around Norman, Oklahoma. There’s something deeply comforting about the familiar rhythm of these days: the aroma of fresh coffee, the distant buzz of college students stressing over exams, and the constant percussion of construction echoing through the streets. This morning started, as so many good ones do, at Yellow Dog Coffee. I settled in with not one, but several cups, letting the rich, warm brew wake up my senses and my spirit. The place…
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How many Blind People have to be Hit before the Law is changed in Arizona?
A short story about our bill, HB2064, and how politicians, like Walt Blackman and Laurin Hendrix, let it die in the Arizona State House. How many blind people have to be hit by negligent drivers before something is done? How many blind people have to die before they listen?!
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Why I Chose the Fujifilm X-T4 for My Digital Photography
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about the rising cost of film photography, and unfortunately, the trend hasn’t slowed down. With global instability, tariffs, silver prices, and persistent inflation, film prices continue to climb. Film photography is drifting into the territory of a luxury hobby. That’s a difficult reality to accept, especially for those of us who have relied on it as a primary creative outlet. I don’t want photography, especially something as timeless and expressive as film, to become inaccessible. But practicality has a way of forcing decisions. For me, that meant looking for an alternative. Some of you may remember that I previously owned a Sony…
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Scream 7: A Blind Cinema Experience with Audio Assistance
Going to the movies isn’t something I do often. For years, I’ve skipped theaters altogether, sticking mostly to news on the radio or the occasional podcast. As someone who’s legally blind, the visual spectacle of film has felt out of reach for a while. But on a recent Thursday, my wife Deana and I decided to change that. We headed to our local AMC Theatre in Norman, Oklahoma, to catch Scream VII, and it turned out to be one of the most immersive movie experiences I’ve had in ages. Deana had been excited about Scream VI ever since it hit theaters back in March 2023. The film, the sixth installment…
