A Catch the Next Bus Moment: Native American Media moments

RantWoman here offers two resources involving voices and recognition of the indigenous people from whose presence the Thanksgiving holiday draws.

RantWoman had in mind two rather different lists of to-dos and timing about Thanksgiving feast matters than occurred. One involved email. The other..dry sunny day..resonance with someone else's confrontational.... RantWoman got very involved in a latino USA segment about the 50th anniversary of the native American takeover of Alcatraz.
 Why a group of Native American activists laid Claim to Alcatraz Island 50 years ago.

RantWoman finally decided just to skip the email and other plans and catch the next bus straight to Thanksgiving dinner with the Fambly..

On the bus, RantWoman realized in similar vein she should remind readers of a documentary about the Kootenai nation of Idaho and their quest for recognition. The documentary is called Idaho's forgotten war.
Idahos Forgotten War site

Tactile turkey, blessed, forgiven? pardoned?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RantDad.

RantDad would be 85 today except he died just past 60, 3 days after RantWoman's birthday the next summer.

Before Sunday RantWoman had never before heard RantMom reminisce about her Meet the Parent thanksgiving journey with some other teachers to WY from MT to meet the Righteous Reverend future RantGrandad.  Checking calendar, that would have been 60 years ago this year. RantMom said the future RantGranddad at first just made some kind of a joke about her first name. Apparently the future RantGrandDad did have one career suggestion: RantDad should become an undertaker. RantWoman and rantMom agree, um, no!

RantWoman wonders what else there is to tell.


RantWoman could also try to probe about what if anything registered about the future Rant Granddad and the family eye conditions. RantMom says RantDad just barreled ahead anyway. This probably would be RantDad in charismatic engaging mode.


Digression about Turkey See When RantWoman gets too neurotic at the Friendly neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing sometimes she calms herself down by making topical tactile art (RantWoman has heard the word anxiety from multiple directions in this vein. RantWoman is working on that issue.). RantWoman had already found one turkey image she would not make tactile are from. RantWoman did not want a roasted turkey image. RantWoman wanted something that could at least explain unique turkey features. So here we are.


Back to RantDad. One of Quaker Honorary Auntie's gifts was just seeing and naming that, um, eye stuff things were a LOT more difficult on the vision front than anyone wanted to admit.

RantWoman is going to remember RantDad just by recycling a few blog posts.

Happy Fathers'Day 2018

Oh, hell. Put RantDad into the Search bar and choose your own dang slice of the material or just take your chances with the Srort by relevance button.

Or in honor of the horrible coincidence of RantDad's birthday and Blind Roommate's fatal bus accident, look for the points where they crossed paths because RantDat and Blind Roommate really hit it off over music.

RantWoman is still working off the need for various strands of therapy. RantWoman does NOT feel like lingering in that space for a birthday celebration except foragain and again blessing RantBrother for at least once dragging RantDad into therapy.

RantWoman still feels thrills over the Thanksgiving Day flight to MT 25 years ago. Congratulations by the way to Little Sister and brother in Law on 25 years together. Just the surprise on RantDad's face when RantWoman came in the door was worth the whole trip and Thanksgiving is actually not a terrible day to fly.

And finally one of these days RantWoman will summon the right level of coherent thought to expand on thoughts for forgiveness via a requiem mass, the Dies Irae (wrath of God) followed by all is magically forgiven. RantWoman thinks this approachcan be pretty cathartic, but it does not necessarily solve the communications problems where amends need to be made in human terms not just divine everything goes poof all better now. But enough for now.

In Light and Faithfulness.

RantWoman

Memorial: a non-credal religion

RantWoman humbly honors the life of Nina Sullivan, longtime Friend who passed away just shy of her 104th birthday in fall 2019. This brief post is about the memorial; the part about Nina specifically. Other Makes RantWoman's head explode moments get a separate post.

Nina lived in Sweden, Africa, England and the US. She is remembered by all--including RantWoman to the extent that RantWoman knew her at all, as a vibrant gifted engaged centered presence.

Of note about the memorial:
--The worship room was overheated when RantWoman arrived. Others were also concerned. Accessibility to the visually impaired is an iffy concept for most thermostats, though RantWoman prides herself on knowing what to tell sighted people to look for when she can. RantWoman found a needed phone number on her phone faster than anyone else. Caregtaker is unfailingly courteous to RantWoman and the thermostat got turned down.

--No Mic, but everyone who spoke had a voice that carried.

--Many memorials have some brave person who mentions the kind of annoying characteristic that people are afraid to mention; often when such traits emerge, people from other parts of the deceased's life feel free to mention the same trait. As far as RantWoman can tell, based only on this memorial, not one held on Vashon, Nina had no such characteristics.

She does sound like she would have been fun to have as a mom, except for the part about tennis, which would NOT be RantWoman's game.

Rest in Peace Nina and holding sons in the Light.

And the reception featured a Quaker ultra meet the parents comment that RantWoman is filing with multiple other Make RantWoman's head explode moments in a separate post.

Clerking: Conference Call considerations.

November 2019

Inspiration: Conference Calls

RantWoman has been inspired by Extremely Weighty Friends to meditate about Quaker conference calls. RantWoman’s light comes from being part of calls run by FCNL advocacy teams and from serving as Recording Clerk for Friends Committee on WA Public Policy / now Quaker Voice, webinars run by WesternFriend, as well as from conference calls related to blindness advocacy. RantWoman has also participated in many webinars.

The comments here need editing but are a good start. RantWoman tartly notes a recent clerking workshop with 52 people ateending. RantWoman also tartly notes that the experience would have been richer if it included actual Blind people in Meetings issues. That is only one reason RantWoman is clear to post these comments and suggestions.

RantWoman recognizes that her deep appreciation for conference calls is not necessarily shared by others, but here are a number of accessibility and ecological reasons RantWoman really appreciates conference calls.

1.    Conference calls are a godsend anytime travel is difficult whether from rural distance or urban congestion.  Conference calls save considerable travel time and cut carbon footprint dramatically.

2.    Look for blind people. It’s all like conference calls: everyone is on the same footing visually. This is not helpful for people with severe hearing impairment, but RantWoman is happy to suggest options for amplification or for automated speech to text captioning.

3.    There are currently a number of online options to support conference calls by phone, or by smartphone, or by other device with internet connection.. Accessibility, functionality with screen readers / accessibility tools varies a little but these tools come with call management options such as Muting so only one person can be heard at a time. People use the raised hand key sequence or app button to ask to be recognized.

4.    Techniques that work in person also work on conference calls. Callers can ask to be recognized by saying “Clerk please, this is ….” Even if more than one person talks at once, this gives the Clerk a chance to sort out voices and call on people.

5.    There is no substitute for technological tools that let a moderator mute or unmute individuals, allow individuals to Raise their hand to be recognized.

The process of the call:

1.    Choose a schedule and if needed set up the call in advance with the tool of your choice. Some tools also allow for automated audio archiving so people can listen to the call later.

2.    Prepare materials such as agendas and needed documents in advance so people can consider matters before the call.

3.    Start with Silent worship. This will definitely seem weird as callers join and say their name. Sometimes, what is wrong with weird? The silence helps everyone center.

4.    Respect everyone’s time and allow for a few minutes of closing worship.

The March of technology: conference call apps for Smartphones

This note from the past is one funky perspective about accessibility

https://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-rantwoman-is-one-who-needs-video.html

However, rereading this post, RantWoman realized that technology has marched forward quite a bit and RantWoman regularly participates in webinars on her Smartphone. The same techniques and recommendations as above apply. Typically the app can be installed on either a computer or a smartphone. Scheduling events generates both a link and a call-in audio-only option for people who do not have a smartphone. Often, the call can proceed and participants can follow along with any event Powerpoint.

RantWoman’s perspective: RantWoman has enough vision to appreciate the Powerpoint if there is screen enlargement but RantWoman has never tried any of the most common apps in screen reader only mode and cannot comment.

RantWoman notes that Western Friend uses an Adobe product for its webinars. For more detail check the Western Friend website.

RantWoman notes 3 teleconference apps usable on multiple platforms: Zoom, GoToMeeting, and BlueJeans. RantWoman has not checked the websites for documentation of their accessibility efforts, but RantWoman listed them in order of her experience with her needs. Zoom has been developed jointly with blind team members and currently is used by multiple blind consumer groups for their teleconference needs. RantWoman has decent experience with GoToMeeting except that last time she used it, the PC version kept shutting down automatically. RantWoman has less positive experience with BlueJeans. RantWoman is cross about this because a government entity uses Blue Jeans. RantWoman thinks whoever chose BlueJeans as a tool should have done better due diligence checking about accessibility issues. However, RantWoman sometimes when faced with accessibility issues, just gets simple with the audio only options anyway.

Such is RantWoman’s Light for the moment.

Faithfully,

RantWoman

Exploring Music as a Quaker Ministry

RantWoman loves this story of faith and performance. RantWoman also think sshe may have been one of the people who said to Anna some version of "...have a ministry..."

Clerking Workshop Announcement, as edited

RantWoman has been seasoning several matters related to an upcoming Clerkign Workshop:

--RantWoman has attended previously. This does not mean, by a long shot that RantWoman knows everything there is to know. Plus every group is different and part of the point of learning together is to hear what gifts there are in a room.

--Chasing RantWoman away from one Meeting without dealing with things that have been on RantWoman's mind since the last clerking workshop (thank you Gmail search bar and a distinctive search string) will not solve anyone else's problems about the same issues.

--Suppose RantWoman were to take the words "all are welcome" below as an opening what else would need to happen, besides thanks but no thanks for an offer for materials in alternate formats that would have taken a lot of time and not been RantWoman's preferred choices anyway

--Should RantWoman just decide she does not care about concerns roiling her soul and go spend time being an ally for a younger Friend with disabilities who consistently runs much more inclusive meetings with more centered discernment--even though the groups do not call it that) than is RantWoman's current disturbing experience in the nearest slices of nearby Quakerdom?

--Should RantWoman just editorialize all over the registration form about concerns, things she would do differently, and that all-around gift for affrontery that makes RantWoman such a joy to be around sometimes?

--What calls lie behind "True to RantWoman's  Light?"


In the meantime, RantWoman got all self-absorbed and attempted to edit the workshop Flyer.

Figure 1A shepard, with a staff on a lawn with a wooden fence and several cats

Clerking and Being Clerked:

The Spiritual and Pragmatic Practice of Herding Cats

All are welcome!

(Emphasis added, *see except..? for circumstances that cause RantWoman to promise to be faithful to her Light with no idea in advance what that will look like)

(Clerking experience is not required.)

Salmon Bay Monthly Meeting is hosting…

(Emphasis added)

What: A workshop on Clerking and Quaker Business Process

When: 10am – 4pm, on Saturday, November 23^rd, 2019

Where: University Friends Meetinghouse (4001 9th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA)

Facilitators:

Seriously Weighty Friends RantWoman has a lot of damn nerve trying (AGAIN) to elder about disability, inclusion, accessibility; stay tuned for Quaker testimonies and Cats! Simplicity is not doing so well, peace has to be lurking somewhere, but Integrity, Community, and Equality have been duking it out (um, oops, need Quakerese translation) muddled with word clouds about

ableism and privilege,

community, allyship, solidarity, spiritual accompaniment

physical and technological accessibility, alternate formats

reasonable (and unreasonable) accommodations, the ADA, a single standard of Truth, and dozens of other topics.

Suggested Donation: $25.00 (Feel free to ask your Meeting for support if needed)

Support? For right now a really good place to start, besides the “emphasis added “ points above: STOP expecting RantWoman to tolerate separate and VERY unequal access to worship with the rest of the community. By the way, RantWoman is SERIOUSLY CREEPED OUT that all a business meeting she was not at thought RantWoman might care about is attending memorials to talk about dead people. What about seeing people while they are still alive? What about figuring out Life???

Lunch and childcare are provided.

To Participate: (deadline is past, but) Please request a Registration form ….(Leave a comment and RantWoman will forward)

How to Clerk a Quaker Business Meeting

Lurking in RantWoman's drafts folder since 2016 and surfacing just in time for RantWoman to need to mumble about continuing revelation and workshop materials in accessible formats and other welcomign and inclusive practices.

Um, well, RantWoman could at least kindly distill her bloggery.

But INSTEAD, RantWoman is going to commit Quaker heresy, cite her other blog, and suggest that God shows up just as well (aind is just as needed) in meetings run under other terminology.

Facilitate This

Eureka?

RantWoman recently came across the following Suggestions about clerking a Meeting for Business. RantWoman probably could do a more exhaustive search for similar documents, especially if she is truly going to be all about alternate formats and electronic accessibility. RantWoman notes the STUNNING absence of very nuanced comments about anything to do with accessibility and reasonable accommodations.

Perhaps RantWoman has been missing a call to labor with .. about those exact topics, particularly since RantWoman at one point emailed and asked whether Arthur had ever been in meetings iwth Blind people. To his knowledge, no.

The Eureka moment?

Fasten seatbelts because it's going to be a ride.

Once upon a time many moons ago RantWoman remembers sitting in perhaps a North Pacific yearly Meeting Steering committee meeting. The discussion was about NPYM's annual practice of sending two people off to Philadelphia, also known as the Quaker mothership to attend a clerking workshop put on by Arthur Larrabee.

RantWoman's memory is that the thought formed simultaneously in several people's heads--including RantWoman's--that gee, airfare costs about the same round-trip if one person comes west as if 1 person goes east and gee, if one person came west maybe a whole bunch of people could have training. And lo, it was decided to hold exactly such a training before an NPYM Annual Session.

Arthur Larrabee



PS RantWoman confesses: she has a little bit of oldest child angst: RantWoman suggested... and did not get invited to the workshop. On the other hand if RantWoman needs to be liberated to think freely and clearly about matters of disability and inclusion....