Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
If you’ve ever celebrated Thanksgiving in America, you are likely to have heard this song:
Over the river and through the woods,
To grandmother’s house we go.
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Through the white and drifted snow, O!
All my life, I’ve been told that I’m related to the woman who wrote these words.
I’m a Wizard of Oz girl, through and through. I’ve seen the movie 15 times and been introducing myself as “Glenda the Good Witch” forever. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of where Glinda the Good Witch ends and I begin.
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“Wicked” turns all that I knew about Oz upside down. Elphaba is intrinsically good (despite being green) while Glinda is shallow, self-centered and blonde. The undercurrent of discrimination, rejection, intolerance and broken dreams resonated with my aching heart. Tears streamed down my face as Elphaba rose above it all, defying gravity.
I was just catching up on my blog reading and Ian’s interview with Andy Clarke on Accessify got me to thinking about “web accessibility snake oil salesmen”. As more and more people wake up to the concept of accessible web sites, is there a need for official accessibility certification?
I have high hopes that the browser wars on the desktop will soon be over (yes, I’m an optimist). The power of web standards is becoming so clear it is impossible to resist. Whew, now we can all focus on quality design based on web standards and be more productive. Right?
Castle drawbridge creaks open to reveal thousands of different mobile devices each running a different mobile browser.
I’ve always wondered what I would have done when faced with really tough decisions. Would I have been brave enough to step foot on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom? Would I have thought Jesus was the messiah, a prophet or dillusional if I had met him in person? Would I have opened my doors to a Jewish family seeking safe refuge during the holocaust? Would I have stood up for civil rights in the South by offering Rosa Parks a seat at the front of the bus?
Just last week, I had the honor of visiting the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) to discuss the future of technology in museums. This museum is boldly discovering ways to engage their visitors while opening the vault of curator knowledge for public access. From the XRoom to the handheld museum guide with wireless location sensing, I’m blown away by what they’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.
I love fall. Even though you can hardly tell it is fall in Texas by the weather, October is full of autumn reminders. Football, pumpkin carving, halloween, hot apple cider and cool crisp mornings. Without fail, this season coaxes me into the kitchen to whip up a few of my favorite recipes. (free drink to the first to guess the font used on the pumpkins)
Have you ever heard your mac make the windows start-up sound? I found it oddly unsettling, even though it was the solution to my challenge. The quest that lay before me this morning: Help a mac user get their paws on the MS Access database that underlies one of their dynamic web sites. Solution: Install… Continue reading Bittersweet Victory is Mine: Working with Microsoft Access on a Mac