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VIDEO: Philip Patston’s truly jive live poetry!

Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Filed under: Regular ContributorsPhilip PatstonThemesCerebral BallsyWheelchairman of the Board, Irked Videos

By now, most of you already know the indomitable, the unsinkable, the mind-bogglingly entrepreneurial Mr. Philip Patston.

Here’s an October 20th video clip of Philip onstage at The Thirsty Dog, in Auckland, New Zealand reciting poetry (with Tony Lewis on blues harp):

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Check out Philip’s awesome work @ philippatston.com

Then…

Read Irked posts tagged “poetry”

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A revealing interview with Ladyhawke

Friday, October 30th, 2009
Filed under: ThemesAuties & AspiesInterviews

Ladyhawke_Modular_Recordings_art

Ladyhawke—aka Pip Brown (whose debut album “Ladyhawke,” produced by Modular Recordings, is out now)—sat down with pedestrian.tv recently and opened up about many things, including her Asperger’s, allergies, anxiety, awkwardness, adrenaline, audiences, and…erysipeloid.

Here are the highlights:

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“I have this thing called Asperger’s syndrome. When I found out, it explained my whole childhood. I told my mum and she said: ‘That’s why you used to sit on the floor doing puzzles for hours.’ It was the reason I was so solitary. I’d say completely inappropriate things. The other kids thought I was a weirdo.”

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“I’m allergic to everything. I was lactose intolerant from the minute I was born; I couldn’t be breast-fed. On planes, if I order a non-dairy meal, they always give you a vegan eggplant thing – and I’m allergic to aubergine. When I was 10, I got this weird random disease [erysipeloid] that no-one had seen in New Zealand for 20 years. It’s common in seagulls, but is rarely transmitted to humans. Somewhere in New Zealand there’s a photo of my face in a medical journal. It crept up to my brain. They caught it hours before I was about to slip into a coma. So they put me on penicillin and I had an allergic reaction to that! I nearly died.”

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“I wish I didn’t have such bad anxiety and wasn’t so shy. I’ve always been a nervous person, very awkward. I can’t walk without looking awkward – it’s my middle name. I find live performances hard. I can’t look anyone in the eye. I’m so conscious of everyone staring at me. I start to think I’m terrible or I’m singing out of tune. I sometimes get sickly-nervous before I play. I throw up and start shaking and sweating. The second I get on stage it disappears and the adrenaline kicks in. But I try not to look at anyone in the audience or it will freak me out.”

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More at ladyhawkemusic.com >>

Then…

Read Irked posts tagged “music”

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BC singer-songwriter Dan Mangan sings his hauntingly-beautiful ballad “Basket” live on Q with Jian Ghomeshi

Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Filed under: Irked Audio

Singer-songwriter Dan Mangan, speaking to Q radio host Jian Ghomeshi about the song Basket:

It’s a bit of an ode to my grandfather. After he passed away, I kind of came up with this idea that your life is a basket, and throughout your life you’re putting greeting cards and letters and notes into this basket. And every story, every  experience that you’ve ever shared gets fueled into this basket that becomes you. And you are shaped by everything that’s ever happened to you or around you. He started to lose his memories, he started to mix things up, he started to call me his own brother’s name, and he’d confuse my brother and I. And I thought, y’know, that’s really tragic, and what do you do when the basket starts falling apart, and all those letters and stories fall to the ground? So the song is about getting old and pissed off, but then at the same time it’s about the redemption, it’s about holding on to those memories.

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Listen to Dan Mangan’s overwhelmingly-moving live performance of his song Basket off the new album “Nice, Nice, Very Nice” (Then go buy Dan’s music on iTunes!):

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Learn more at DanManganMusic.com

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Donna Williams’ One-Woman Rock Musical, Footsteps of a Nobody, goes to the USA in 2010!

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Filed under: Regular ContributorsDonna WilliamsThemesAuties & Aspies

Donna_Williams_performing

Quoting the Footsteps of a Nobody promotional flyer:

[Footsteps of a Nobody is] a powerful one woman rock-musical both written and performed by Donna Williams, author of the international best seller, Nobody Nowhere: Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. This is a unique opportunity to witness the author herself perform a story that has changed the lives of millions. Through vibrant song, characterisations, gestural signing, evocative spoken word, and musically supported by the band, The Aspinauts, Donna takes us on a journey from a seemingly deaf, psychotic, ‘feral’ child to life on the streets and ultimately on to her fight for equality among others.

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Quoting Donna Williams:

I’m really buzzed at the news that I’ll get to perform my one-woman-musical, Footsteps of a Nobody, in the US in Jan 2010. With musical support from a wonderful accomplished pianist, David Moscoe, it looks like I’ll be able to bring the show to Long Beach, LA and then I’ll fly on to New Jersey to perform it with the support of a second pianist. Whilst not musically supported by The Aspinauts this time around, it will be a great chance to bring the show to hundreds of people who’d otherwise not get to see it. I know the first performance will be on January 10th 2010 in Long Beach as part of a whole day conference hosted by Rita Rubin, the mother of Sue Rubin whose groundbreaking documentary, Autism Is A World, made it to the Oscars and broke down many myths about Facilitated and Augmented Communication used by people without functional verbal speech.

WHEN: Saturday and Sunday January 9-10, 2010

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TOPICS: “A Glimpse Into the Autistic Mind” – (People with autism describing their experiences & researchers explaining how & why these occur.)

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WHERE: Long Beach Memorial Medical Center 2801 Atlanatic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806

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TIMES: 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

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ORGANISER: Greater Long Beach/ San Gabriel Valley Chapter Autism Society of America

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FOR MORE INFO: brubin698@earthlink.net or ca-longbeach@autismsocietyofamerica.org; 562 943-3335 or 1-877-AUTISM9; www.greaterlongbeach-asa.org

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PLEASE NOTE: There will also be a theatre show in LA on the 12th and 13th of Jan 2010 and a show at a conference in New Jersey which I think will be on the 16th Jan.

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Read all Irked posts by Donna

And…

Learn more at donnawilliams.net

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EXTREMELY GOOD CAUSE: The Lewis Schofield Benefit Concert and Silent Auction

Monday, September 7th, 2009
Filed under: Regular ContributorsLewis SchofieldThemesAuties & AspiesQuIrked Kids, Campaign Watch

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

Market Hall Performing Arts Centre

336 George Street North in Peterborough, Ontario

Doors Open: 6:30 p.m.

Show Starts: 7:00 p.m.

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Anna Quon Book News (and bonus concert footage!)

Monday, August 31st, 2009
Filed under: Books & Book Reviews

Migration_Songs_by_Anna_Quon_book_cover_and_synopsis - SYNOPSIS: “Joan is on the brink. Cough drop addict, school bus driver, mixed race daughter of a Maoist English father and Chinese-Canadian mother, Joan struggles for meaning after a friend’s death reveals a secret life. Migration Songs is a lyrical journey in search of identity and belonging, and a witness to the power of kindness.”

Details about Anna’s book tour…after the jump!

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“Total Access” Product Promotion: Irked spotlights the Trekker Breeze

Friday, August 28th, 2009
Filed under: ThemesBlind VisionariesIrked Videos

Trekker_Breeze_closeup_of_device

The Trekker Breeze, designed and manufactured by the company HumanWare, is a handheld talking GPS for people who are blind/visually impaired that “can be controlled by one hand” and is ”as simple as your TV remote.” It costs $895USD, and here’s what it can do: It verbally announces names of streets, intersections and landmarks (including stores, public services, etc) as you walk. No need to stop passersby to know where you are… simply press a button and Breeze tells you your location on the spot. When you are in a vehicle, Breeze announces all intersections, allowing you to exit when you want. If you get lost, you can easily retrace your steps—simply push a button. You can record the routes when you learn them with sighted people so that you can use them later without assistance, and also save landmarks for later use (i.e. favourite restaurant, friend’s house, bank, park bench, etc).

Two awesome videos…after the jump!

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A Deaf Youth Orchestra!

Friday, August 28th, 2009
Filed under: Themes, Deaf JamIrked VideosCampaign Watch

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Music and the Deaf was started 2 decades ago by a remarkable man named Dr. Paul Whittaker. Paul, who has a music degree from Oxford University, has been deaf since birth and profoundly deaf since the age of two. In 2007, he became an Officer of the British Empire. Oh yeah, and he trains choirs in his spare time.

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Meet blind-since-birth classical pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii

Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: ThemesBlind VisionariesIrked VideosIrked Audio

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Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, a college student who has been blind since birth, has become the latest superstar on the classical music scene after winning one of the world’s most prestigious awards…

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Meet Austin, Texas-based Barbie Parker and her über-hip network of American Sign Language live performance interpreters

Monday, June 15th, 2009
Filed under: ThemesDeaf JamIrked Videos

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