From the editor!
So many folks don't realize that our former humor column writer, Sharon Wachsler, has moved just next door to Breath and Shadow. We thought we'd remind you of that, give you a few different links to visit, and show you some of what Sharon's other projects are. Her postcards? Check them out too!
-Steve Hoad

Sharon Wachsler & Sick Humor Postcards
February 2007 News
www.SickHumorPostcards.com
Click Here: Check out "Sick Humor Postcards"

New Humor Column: The Humor Hotline™

This month my humor column is back, exploring brave new realms of humor technology. To learn how my service dog embarrassed me in therapy, press one. To learn what I spray up my nose, press two. To skip this paragraph and go directly to "The Humor Hotline™," please hold. (Sing quietly to yourself: "Oh Mandy, well, you came and you gave without taking, but I sent you away. Oh Mandy well, kissed me and stopped me from shaking. And I need you today. Oh Mandy.") OK, seriously, to read my humor column, go to http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/Jan07/wachsler.html or follow the link below. I encourage you to read the rest of this issue of Breath & Shadow, too. The theme this month is humor. There's some good stuff in it. Click Here: Check out "Breath & Shadow"

Other Recent Publications

• Kaleidoscope, "Dashing off Sick Humor" (Winter/Spring 2007, No. 54). The current issue of the journal, Kaleidoscope: Exploring the Experience of Disability through Literature and the Fine Arts, is on the theme of "Disability & Humor." I have the feature article, "Dashing Off Sick Humor," and three cartoons inside. It's quite lovely to be in Kaleidoscope because they've been around a long time, and they have published some excellent stuff, particularly, IMHO, the interviews and the poetry. It's a print (paper) publication with good production values, and the visual art is usually stunning. It's published twice a year, and each issue is $6.00. http://udsakron.org/kaleidoscope.htm or http://udsakron.org/what's_in_this_issue.htm

• Sick Humor — Live & On Tape/CD! In the summer of 2005, I took part in two readings alongside other Breath & Shadow contributors. Now you can hear me perform three of my most popular humor columns and one short story as part of a 2-CD (or 2-tape) set, all for a measly $10 donation to Breath & Shadow. (And most of your donation is tax-deductible, too!) This 2-CD or 2-cassette set contains over two hours of essays, stories, and poetry performed by Arden Hill, Paul Kahn, Debora Seidman, Cat Dvar, Peggy Munson, Dorothy Baker, Chaya Grossberg, and me. Breath & Shadow is offering the recordings as a gift to anyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to Breath & Shadow. To request the CDs or tapes, please email breathandshadow@aol.com.

Feeling Honored (and a bit guilty)

• In December, the Astraea 2006 Emerging Lesbian Writers Fund awarded me a small fiction grant. Woohoo! This was a big honor for me; some previous winners have gone on to become quite successful, so it gives me hope. It's particularly exciting because most of the writing sample I submitted is new work: an excerpt from what will someday hopefully be a science fiction novel, The Compostables. The protagonist is a middle-aged wheelchair user fighting for her life in a future where the need for environmental preservation has merged with the desire to decrease the disabled population. . . . Look for it on bookstore shelves, um, a few years from now.

• Mea Culpa. Mea been sicka. Some of you have written to me, and I have not responded. I'm sorry! I've moved to a new home, which is great, but it's been a process of many months (with no end in sight), and it has zapped my time and energy and caused an exacerbation in my illness. I've been unable to keep up with email (or anything else). So, please forgive me. I am not trying to ignore you. I really do appreciate your letters. Someday, some time, when you least expect it, I will write you back.

Cool Disability Culture Stuff

• Kathi Wolfe's column on poetry and writing for Scene4 (http://www.scene4.com/), an international monthly arts magazine. I've been an admirer of Kathi's poetry for several years. Recently I saw some of her work in Ragged Edge, and we got in touch. Currently, Kathi says, she is working on a chapbook of poems on Helen Keller that will show Keller not as an "inspirational icon," but as a three-dimensional person. Judging by the poems Helen-related poems Kathi's already published, I'm sure the chapbook will be outstanding. Keep an eye out for a future column on Scene4 about disability culture poetry and literature. Click Here: Check out "Scene4 Magazine - Arts and Media February 2007"

• Penzys One magazine: Volume 2, Issue 2, 2007. Penzys is a spice company that puts out a really groovy magazine called One that is very different from other food magazines. It's really focused on inclusivity and diversity and kindness. They are people-focused -- people of all ages, races, ethnicities, parts of the country or world, sexual orientation, etc., sharing their stories and recipes. They have tons of recipes in each issue with gorgeous pictures and super-high production values, yet there is not one iota of snobbery. Even though my food allergies make it all verboten for me, I've found each issue totally delightful and compelling. Their current issue has a feature called, "Recipes for Accessibility. Meet 5 people with disabilities who love to put dinner on the table and share their wonderful recipes." One of the featured people is Ina Mae Brooks (with great drawings and photos of her accessible kitchen), who wrote an essay for Breath & Shadow a while back, and another is moi. Everyone but me seems to have a strictly physical/mobility (wheelchair) disability, but there is diversity in terms of cause of disability, age, geography, and perspective on life/disability. There's a brief interview of me and some photos, but the really fun part is that they took some of my recipes and prepared them and photographed them to make them look totally glamorous! I'm not sure if the magazine is available in grocery stores or newsstands or if you have to buy it directly from the publisher, but it says "$4.95" on the cover. Their website is http://www.penzeysone.com/cgi-bin/one/index.html.

• Engaging Disability monthly e-newsletter. This snazzy e-newsletter comes from Studies in Policy and Practice (SPP), an interdisciplinary graduate program in the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria (BC, Canada). They have some very high mucky-mucks scheduled for their events! Looks fascinating. They say, "Welcome. In this inaugural newsletter we introduce ourselves, invite you to explore our new website, www.uvic.ca/disinst/, welcome you to attend our opening panel session, and highlight some speakers who will be joining us for Engaging Disability 2007. Engaging Disability 2007 is a disability institute for community members, community groups, students, government employees, nonprofit organizations and academics to explore, broaden and re-conceptualize dominant understandings of disability. Engaging Disability comprises an opening panel session, a Monday night lecture series, a summer institute for graduate students, senior undergraduates, and community members. The two week work compact course consists of sixteen different workshops and research seminars. In addition, Engaging Disability is organizing a film series, book club, and arts and artisan exhibitions beginning in March and running through December. In the Fall, there will be a second UVic graduate course on disability and illness. Participants in Engaging Disability are invited to discuss disability policy, the social construction of disability, contested illness, in/visibility of disability, gendered aspects of disability, participatory methods in disability research, discourse and policy analysis. If you would like to be added to this list, please email hkoren@uvic.ca with "add to ED list" in the title. For more information about Engaging Disability 2007, please contact Rachel Gold, project coordinator, at (250) 721-6297 or disinst@uvic.ca.

• Theatre Terrific (another Canadian resource!). "Theatre Terrific Society is Western Canada's oldest theatre company for people with disabilities. We envision a world where artists with disabilities are heard, seen, challenged and respected. Classes offer a respectful, forthright and challenging theatre skills opportunity. We welcome and encourage people of all abilities 16 years and over to come together to develop a theatre ensemble. As a unified group we explore adaptive movement, voice skills, improve, mask, clown work and much more." Classes are in Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Burnaby. To register, call 604 222-4020. See www.theatreterrific.ca.

• Society for Disability Arts and Culture (S4DAC), which is, of course, in Canada. Anyway, they do really cool stuff, across disciplines and disabilities, and showed some of my cartoons way back when I was young and tentative. A recent email from them says, "As part of S4DAC's current strategic planning process, we are asking our members and associates to help us identify our strengths and weaknesses. We are also inviting artists with disabilities, people offering arts experiences to people with disabilities, and anyone interested in disability culture to become members or get on our email list. We have prepared a brief survey that we invite you to fill out. Before going to the survey, please have a look at S4DAC's accomplishments at www.s4dac.org/accomplishments.htm. Then go to the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=408592683704. It should only take you a few minutes to complete the 8 questions, and by doing so, you will help us determine what we have done well, where we could improve, and any activities that you'd like to see us embark on. You may fill out the survey anonymously. However, if you would like to be added to our contact list, please fill out the contact section at the end of the survey. Please note that the survey will only be used to gather information until February 28th. Thank you! Geoff McMurchy, Artistic Director, 604.685.3368, http://www.s4dac.org.

Uncool Disability Culture News

• Unfortunately, not all is well for our neighbors in the North. Abilities, Canada's oldest cross-disability magazine, is in danger of closing due to lack of stable funding. For 20 years, Abilities has provided people with disabilities information, inspiration and opportunity, as well as a forum for other disability organizations to communicate about their projects and achievements. The closure of the magazine and its owner, the Canadian Abilities Foundation, would be a serious loss to the community. If you would like to help Abilities stay alive by making a donation, please contact publisher Ray Cohen at ray@abilities.ca. Thank you for your support!

Sick Humor Postcards:
What Washington & Lincoln Would Have Wanted to Receive on Their Birthdays

After all, those old dudes were always writing those lengthy onion-skin epistles. Imagine how much easier and pithier it would have been with Sick Humor Postcards:

"Dear Martha, Crossing the Delaware tonight. Dunno if this war was such a great idea -- my boots smell like dead squirrels, and the men are so bitchy. I hate getting my feet wet. Hugs and kisses, G."

Or,

"Mary -- I humored the little squirt, but I can't take the beard anymore. It collects crumbs and log-cabin sawdust like a Hoover (and they haven't even been invented yet!). I'm sorry, but I'm shaving after the play this weekend. XO, Linc."

So, here's my Presidents' Day Special: A purchase of 6 cards (only $4.95!) will get you another 12 cards free, including free shipping for the extra cards! (That's over a $10 value, free.)

Just email me at sickhumor2@aol.com to tell me which cards you want for your freebies. Offer is good only between February 12, 2007 and February 25, 2007. To take advantage of this special, either order by mail or use the online shopping cart at my website. Just order the items you'll be paying for, and I'll take care of the rest.

Click Here: Check out "Sick Humor Postcards Order Page" or go to https://www2.2checkout.com/2co/buyer/orderpage?TCOID=
f9a22bfc2915dfdec584a4f06a877f59&sid=48210

Spread the Love:  Feel Free to Forward

Please tell your friends, family, and colleagues about my Sick Humor e-Bulletins. If they want to be on my mailing list to receive sporadic posts on my latest humor columns or other writing, disability culture and humor, and Sick Humor Postcard specials, tell them to email me at sickhumor2@aol.com and put "subscribe SHP" in the subject line. Thanks!

Questions? Comments? Smart remarks? Email Sharon at sickhumor2@aol.com.

Peace,
Sharon Wachsler
Sickhumor2 (at) aol.com
http://www.sickhumorpostcards.com
http://www.sharonwachsler.com