Outlook On Radio Western

16/08/2024

You’re not only “allowed”, I would say it’s a fundamental part of disability culture and survival.

Our accomplishments are often going to look insignificant to abled people. Their view of it doesn’t change the fact that living and surviving in an ableist and inaccessible world is nearly impossible sometimes.

I am so proud of you for whatever it is that you accomplish, no matter how small. You just being here is worth our celebration. Feel that pride in yourself too, it will help carry you through.

ID: post by borderlinereminders
You're allowed to be proud of yourself. It doesn't matter how "much" progress you've made.

You're allowed to be proud of yourself for even trying. And honestly, I hope you are proud of yourself.

14/08/2024

📢 Discover Goalball: A Unique Paralympic Sport for the Visually Impaired!

Did you know that Goalball is one of only two Paralympic sports without an Olympic counterpart? Goalball was specially designed for the visually impaired and blind, originally created in 1946 for World War II veterans who lost their sight.

🤾‍♂️ In Goalball, two teams of three players each compete on a court the size of a volleyball court (18 meters long and 9 meters wide). The objective? Score by rolling a ball containing internal bells at speed along the floor toward the opponent's goal. The goal stretches across the entire width of the court, making defense a true challenge!

🔊 Silence is golden! Spectators must remain quiet during play so athletes can hear the ball. Players engage their entire bodies in this intense sport, alternating between attack and defense, with each game divided into two 12-minute halves.

🎯 All players wear eyeshades to ensure fair competition, making this a truly inclusive sport for those with visual impairments

14/08/2024

Who else is eagerly anticipating Paris?! We're so excited about the inclusion of braille on the Paralympic medals! These unique medals that celebrate the birthplace of braille even contain a piece of scrap iron from the Eiffel Tower, shaped like a hexagon and engraved with the Paris 2024 emblem. The front showcases a view of the Eiffel Tower from below, along with braille inscriptions and tactile line patterns for easy identification.
Image Credit:

12/08/2024

With Blind Girl Chat, it was cool to stumble on another podcast with a laid back conversational vibe, one we’ve been going for since we started, and they record out of the studios at Perkins which we visited during July’s travels to the States.

It’s still summer and they are off, not recording new episodes at this moment, but lucky us we’ve got them coming on Outlook with us today.

This morning we’re chatting with the two girls, Lina and Juna, about how they know each other, what led to them starting Blind Girl Chat, along with all the questions we have for them on all the various subjects they’ve covered on their podcast so far, coming from the ways in which we can relate to their blind chat experiences.

So tune in for a chat which will incapsulate all the intersectionalities they share, as we’re back live in studio after being away since last month. Check out our Blind Girl/Outlook chat this morning on 94.9 FM Radio Western at 11 AM EST in southwestern Ontario or online at the following link (podcast will be posted shortly if you can’t catch it live):

12/08/2024

A loon on a serene lake and six blind people are hearing its call from a boat in the middle of said lake, as the sound reverberates the way only sound can on open water.

Fans cheer for their favourite baseball team and the sounds of their excitement echos within one of the Major League’s most famous ball parks.

Co-host Kerry wins the award for the best sound leaping into the lake.

And a night full of crickets are in the audio foreground as a loon once again calls out, but from the lake out there in the background.

On last week we were talking and (where we were for a week last month) and we were sharing a bit about our time away as we discussed the week together in an old inn in Maine, just what we did all week, and some about those whom we were there with.

We also discussed the city of Boston’s duck tours, fresh sea food, and visiting Perkins School for the Blind during our 48 hours in Boston as we shared (using some soundscape clips to break up the talking over one another because it was just such a meaningful experience).

Many so-called “coincidences” happened to us all while away. (Stay tuned for a deeper dive, like the one you could make off the side of a boat, into the creative and collaborative work we did in Maine with our further look-back at our Drama Club Camp, still ahead to air in the coming weeks.)

This episode, dedicated to Toad and his recovery. So glad he’s doing well. So pleased for Scott, Shannon (our hosts for the week),, and Toad’s brother Frog:

‎Show Outlook on Radio Western, Ep Outlook 2024-08-05 - Memorable Maine & Bustling Boston, Our 2024 Transformative Travels - Aug 11, 2024

05/08/2024

Missing the lake and the loons and the friends we met there. We’re back after our trip to Maine and Boston and we’re telling all.

It’s a so we’re unable to be and it’s our guest host’s last show with us for a while, but he will be back.

So we three are looking back today on on the at an old inn by a lake, a perfect place to and on those we met, work and lived with for the week.

We went from the peace of the Main countryside to the busy Boston streets and we’re sharing our strongest memories of the week and some details of what led us to this opportunity/experience in the first place.

So check us out this morning on 94.9 FM Radio Western at 11 AM EST. (Link to the podcast will be posted shortly.

05/08/2024

Missing the lake and the loons and the friends we met there. We’re back after our trip to Maine and Boston and we’re telling all.

It’s a so we’re unable to be and it’s our guest host’s last show with us for a while, but he will be back.

So we three are looking back today on on the at an old inn by a lake, a perfect place to and on those we met, work and lived with for the week.

We went from the peace of the Main countryside to the busy Boston streets and we’re sharing our strongest memories of the week and some details of what led us to this opportunity/experience in the first place.

So check us out this morning on 94.9 FM Radio Western at 11 AM EST. (Link to the podcast will be posted shortly.):

04/08/2024

Right before our end-of-the-month group trip to Maine and Boston we wanted to meet and speak with Nefertiti Matos Olivares, who describes herself as using her “voice” in the creation and narration of culturally competent audio description.

Last week on we talked with Nefertiti (audio describer and member of The Social Audio Description Collective), whom we met for this recording and then in person soon after, about her work with Descriptive Video Works (Canadian company and North American leader in audio description) and about her independent work in the field..

We talk waiting lists and second times around with transplant as we discuss our similarities and differences in chronic illness conditions and experiences including something known as “sleepy kidney”, as we hear about Nef’s own transplant story.

Nefertiti tells us about low expectations within the crisscross of her specific intersectionalities, medical trauma and career change (scars and The Oscars), and having someone impartial in her life for some of these things along the way.

The episode, recorded on July 15th, happened to be Brian’s transplant anniversary so we figured this could be a place of connection with this particular guest from which to begin the conversation, as Outlook isn’t all about blindness but about the intersections between disability, chronic illness, and everything else:

‎Show Outlook on Radio Western, Ep Outlook 2024-07-15 - Scars & The Oscars, the “Voice” of Nefertiti Matos Olivares - Aug 3, 2024

03/08/2024

I'm a huge fan of work done by dr. Kent Ratajeski making geoscience more accessible to blind people. I only recently stumbled across his work, and we need more educators like him in the world.

When a blind student took one of his geology classes, he would spend hours creating tactile models out of clay and other art supplies so that she could feel them and fully participate in class. He also created tactile diagrams using the printer in the disability resource centre at the university where he worked.

After that semester finished he applied for and was awarded a grant, so that he could turn his work into an online database. That's how I found it. A searchable website containing a number of geoscience related images, specifically designed to be used by blind students. Although I'm not a student, it's so rare that I get access to anything like this. Being able to print one of these off and run it through the tactile printing machine I have is such a great feeling. These are complex concepts, so the time he's taken to adapt them into a format that can be felt and understood by blind people can't be underestimated.

Here's a link to his work for those of you who are interested: https://tactileimages.theiagd.org/

Image description, written here rather than in the alt text because I think sighted people will also benefit: Tactile representation of the focus and epicentre of an earthquake.

At the centre, there's a circular target-like symbol. The innermost circle represents the focus (or hypocentre) of the earthquake, which is the point within the Earth where the earthquake originates. A dashed line extends vertically from the focus to a point on the Earth's surface, which is marked by another dot. This point on the surface is the epicentre of the earthquake, directly above the focus.
The surrounding lines and shapes represent fault lines, and there is a small line extending upwards, pointing to the earth's surface.

Braille labels are placed around the diagram, identifying each area.

29/07/2024

We are still away from the studio, in Boston, but we’re hanging with the friend featured on the show today.
Check out for an recorded a couple weeks back.
Updates to come, but check out the show - 94.9 FM Radio Western live at 11 AM Eastern. (Link to the podcast will be posted shortly.):

22/07/2024

We three are in Maine for the week, drama club camp, with a bunch of other blind artists.

We’re meeting people in person we’ve only known virtually for the last few years. One of them is H and this morning we are replaying our episode with them From three years ago.

Check it out, on 94.9 FM Radio Western this morning at 11 AM Eastern:

15/07/2024

It’s the middle of and it turns out we are not back live in studio this week.

In the meantime, check out the show from last week with the three of us and Oyster while we record an upcoming episode of with a new friend.

The first show of 2024 is now up as a podcast. Check it out and we will be back with you live at the end of the month to share all our adventures:

‎Show Outlook on Radio Western, Ep Outlook 2024-07-08 - On The Road For Disability Pride Month, An Early July Mixed Bag Monday - Jul 14, 2024

12/07/2024

CIRCLE O reimagines a (dance) world where Black Disabled, and other multiply marginalized creatives are central, and every-body is worthy of care. Circle O centers…

08/07/2024

July is Disability Pride Month and we're back!

Our guest for this week unfortunately had to delay their visit, but we're back for another with us three and Oyster.

This week on we're talking pride, name changes, and cane travel for our upcoming visit to the States.

So check out our conversation on live on 94.9 FM Radio Western at 11 AM EST. ′Link to the podcast will be posted shortly.🙂

04/07/2024

It's disability pride month! But what does pride mean within the disability community?

Disability pride means "honoring each person's uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity".

People with disabilities are often swept under the rug, ignored, othered, encouraged to stay silent and invisible. We refuse to do that.

“There is a tremendous need to create a counter-culture that teaches new values and beliefs, and acknowledges the dignity and worth of all human beings. Disability pride is a direct response to this need.” – Sarah Triano, National Disabled Students Union.

Part of disability pride means being proudly visible. We refuse to be silenced and disregarded. Tell us how you plan to celebrate disability pride this month, or all year long. How are you being proudly visible, proudly yourself, uniquely you.

Image ID:
Yellow background, text says "Disability Pride" in white.
Overlayed over the word pride is an image for each letter.
"P" has an infinity symbol for autistic pride
"R" has braile for the letter R
"I" has a forearm crutch
"D" has a wheelchair
"E" has the American Sign Language sign forbthe letter E

27/06/2024

26/06/2024

Question - climate change and Rubik's Cubes. What do these two things have in common?

Answer - this episode of to be precise.

Last week we welcomed first-time guest Paul Martz on with us and he told us about the he co-edited and read a short about a river and co-host Kerry is a sucker for all things rivers.

He is working to make the Rubik's Cube for blind problem solvers who like a - and let's face it, blind people are naturally and needed problem solvers in many areas of life already.

So check out what he has to say about all of this and more:

‎Show Outlook on Radio Western, Ep Outlook 2024-06-17 - Climate Themed Anthology & Rubik's Cubes With Author & Editor Paul Martz - Jun 22, 2024

24/06/2024

Is it a bus or is it a boat? You can find in the most unexpected places. And no, we at still don’t have Instagram.

Final week of and is next.

It’s another show and the three of us are back, four including Oyster (the guide dog), to discuss a recent trip to (as Canada Day approaches next week) and plans for our summer.

So check us out this morning on 94.9 FM Radio Western at 11 AM Eastern. (Image descriptions for photos in comments for this post and a link to the podcast will be posted shortly.):

https://949fm.ca/RadioWestern

24/06/2024

Visually impaired. Low vision. It goes by many names, but we say it.

I AM BLIND

In this episode of we spoke with our friend Doris Belusic. We met Doris through Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB) and co-host Kerry worked with her on magazine. She’s an accomplished editor, university grad (mature student), and now children’s book author with the title: “I Am Blind” put out by /Saunders Books here in Ontario

Check it out on this one:

‎Show Outlook on Radio Western, Ep Outlook 2024-06-10 - Chat With Author of the Children's Book "I Am Blind" Doris Belusic - Jun 21, 2024