People with disability deserve accessible support services
Andrew HiltonThe International Day of People with Disability was 3 December. Andrew Hilton writes how his life has been touched by courageous close family who lived with life-challenging conditions. Long and personal rant follows. Apologies in advance. A great day to celebrate success. But also a day to get angry. And make changes. I grew up …
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Proclivia and Phidias: A dialogue part 2
Charlene CatPrevious… By Charlene Cat with Dan Wild Phidias: I would love to go to space. The other night I had a strange dream. It was of a rocket with five astronauts, so they are called. But it failed on launch and returned to the ground and became a ball of fire. One astronaut survived. What …
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Proclivia and Phidias: A dialogue somewhat in the style of Plato
Charlene CatBy Charlene Cat with Dan Wild Phidias: My dear Proclivia, the state of the empire is not looking good. But we have only started our walk. Why am I already bringing up the decline and fall of the empire? Oh, and I hope you don’t mind me calling you Proclivia? Proclivia: You can call me …
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HMRC pour the Cup of Pain
Dan WildIt must have been a cold day, greyer than usual for the London bureaucrats who are trying to chase down an alleged tax debt I accrued before I left Olde Blighty. As if Centrelink didn’t provide enough angst for me last year. You’ll recall from a previous post that Centrelink (UK readers, this is Aust. …
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Sonnet 3 — After WS
Dan WildScatter my ashes in your vale of kings,Or by a pond secure from frosty wind;Or lake, perhaps, where yesterday’s tidingsBring repose and solace I might yet findFrom the harsh sun that burnt me brown as duskIn autumn. Winter is yet to come, I fear,When sheilas dress refined and smell of muskWhile silent Indian gurus are …
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Percy the Pianist: Canto 1, stanzas 51-69
Dan WildPrevious.. Invocatio: To its own substance; woven tracery ran Of light firm texture, ribbed and branching, o’er The solid rind, like a leaf’s veined fan— Of which Love scooped this boat—and with soft motion Piloted it round the circumfluous Ocean. –Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Witch of Atlas, XXXIII, 308 51The bath continued… The river Lethe …
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Percy the Pianist: Canto 1, stanzas 42-50
Dan WildPrevious… 42[This stanza has intentionally been left blank] 43He slunk into the bath after high tea,Bringing a wafer wiv ‘im. Today he’d sayGoodbye to innocence, as minstrelsyBeckoned – he hoped he’d be able to stayThe course of his dream, but what could allayThe fear? Failure was no longer an optionTo be contemplated at break of …
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My Pet Insects, or Life without Cats
Dan WildI grew up with cats. Don’t get me wrong, I like dogs too. But my family was a cat family and I guess that makes me a catman. Our first cat was Oscar. My Dad called him Oscar because … look at my last name! Then there was Lucy and Chloe, two very sociable cats. …
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Living with Hearing Loss, the Invisible Disability
Dan WildMy hearing loss has had a profound effect on my life. The vast majority rarely encounter people under the age of sixty who have this disability. Those who live with it face a daily struggle. Others do not notice the struggle. They might see a slightly vague person who they have to repeat things to: …
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Becoming a full-time composer
Dan WildA month has passed since I last posted. I’m still learning Chinese and pondering the deep well of life, so 2021 should see more TV shows reviewed and more random posts from the fringes of consciousness etched onto this virtual stone tablet that is my blog. Lately I’ve been occupied by music. I’ve never devoted …