Flight tracker on plane that shows Destination of London and plane flying over England
Accessibility (#A11y), travel

“Love these skies I’m under”

I love Mumford and Sons and there is a line in Hopeless Wanderer that is perfect for this post: “I will learn to love these skies I’m under.” This is a start of a quartet of posts about transportation in England and Ireland. This is the skies post. The next two posts will be related… Continue reading “Love these skies I’m under”

Musicians on stage at Eventim Apollo theater, blue lights
Accessibility (#A11y), Music, Sports, travel

Voyage on – what worked well on my England travels

This is brilliant! Caregiver tickets for free! Personal Care Assistants or caregiver tickets to everything we went to from concerts to AFC Wimbledon to museums were free. This was also the case when we went to Toronto about 5 years ago. So, England, Ireland, and Canada have this figured out! We do NOT have it… Continue reading Voyage on – what worked well on my England travels

Justin, young man, seated in wheelchair in front of adapted computer keyboard and joystick mouse, smiling at camera, Word document open on computer monitor, We are Wimbledon flag above monitor
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Accessibility Test of Brandon Sanderson’s 1st Secret Project

Back in March, I had just finished a Mistborn book and heard Brandon Sanderson was doing a kickstarter for four secret projects he was publishing this year. I was worried about that because I use Bookshare Web Reader to read and I sent his team an email expressing my worries about the books’ accessibility. They… Continue reading Accessibility Test of Brandon Sanderson’s 1st Secret Project

Justin, young man laughing, wearing red and black houndstooth plaid shirt, seated in power wheelchair, in front of One Minnesota 2023 Inaugural Celebration banner with yellow and blue pine trees
Accessibility (#A11y), Advocacy, travel, Writing

Hello 2023 – AWE

Welcome to 2023, everyone. Here’s my annual post about my 2023 goals. This year is going to be AWEsome as I Advocate, Write, and Explore. Advocate Affordable and accessible housing Watch the awesome video of the Minnesota Council on Disability Legislative Forum where I recently spoke with Minnesota State Representative Reyer about the dire need… Continue reading Hello 2023 – AWE

Justin, young man, seated in wheelchair in front of adapted computer keyboard and joystick mouse, smiling at camera, Word document open on computer monitor, We are Wimbledon flag above monitor
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Random updates: Housing, Football & Travels

Advocacy: MCD Legislative Forum Just filmed part of my presentation yesterday for the MN Council of Disability’s (MCD) Legislative Forum coming up on December 16, 2022. Honored to be presenting along with Representative Reyer, the Public Policy Director from the Arc MN, and MCD board member about accessible affordable housing legislation. You can learn more… Continue reading Random updates: Housing, Football & Travels

Quote by Ida B. Wells on wall: "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
Accessibility (#A11y), Music, travel

Part 3: Fun things I did in DC & Philadelphia

Finally, here’s part 3 of my road trip blog posts. The top five things I did when I was in DC and Philly are as follows: Ben’s Chili Bowl (DC): AWESOME!  This diner was a great spot to eat with my parents. The coolest part was Mister Keith. The tour group that was supposed to… Continue reading Part 3: Fun things I did in DC & Philadelphia

Justin, young man in wheelchair laughing, with mom smiling and holding beer, Love City Brewing mural on wall behind them
Accessibility (#A11y), travel

Road trip to DC, Baltimore & Philadelphia Part 1: RANT TIME

Hi everyone, we are going on a road trip! This is going to be a multi-part series about my driving trip from Minnesota to Washington DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Today I’m starting with some of the challenges that I encountered along the way. Come back for the follow-up blogs about things that were awesome and… Continue reading Road trip to DC, Baltimore & Philadelphia Part 1: RANT TIME

crowd at concert at the Armory, purple lighting
Accessibility (#A11y), Music, Reviews, Writing

Time for some music!

I went to three shows in 10 days in early/mid-June. Just haven’t had time to write up my Live Music Review until now. Two were at the Armory and one was in an outrageously hot bar. All three shows were awesome! The Armory Accessibility Report Update This is an update to my terrible experience at… Continue reading Time for some music!

Justin Smith and Mary Lucia smiling
Accessibility (#A11y), Advocacy, Writing

Independence Year Updates

Short blog today because I want to work on my other writing today. I’m continuing to make progress on putting the pieces together: Housing voucher is officially approved which means my apartment is officially affordable with my paying a percentage of my SSI income on rent. This is a huge thing – many people wait… Continue reading Independence Year Updates