Bodysurfing is good for you.

…and good for me, I know.

In recent years, there has been a push from scientists around the world to understand the positive affect exposure to nature plays on the human psyche. In his best-selling book Blue Mind, marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols makes the case that being in and around water has therapeutic benefits that can make humans happier, healthier, and more connected.

via The Inertia

bodysurfing health

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The Art of Wave Riding sounds terrific

Via The Inertia:

One has only to watch a swarm of bathers at any crowded beach in order to see that thousands of people are interested in the sport. Whenever a good wave for riding comes in, about half the people make an attempt to ride it, and only about one-tenth of one percent of them even get started on it. It is this pitiful sight of thousands of swimmers, young and old, men and women, always trying and never succeeding, that has urged me to put into print a few hints that I hope will be of some help in teaching the enthusiastic beach-goers the art of body surfing, and thus increase a thousandfold the pleasure derived from ocean bathing.

Seems like it’s mostly in college libraries.

bodysurfing surfing swimming

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from Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CQtW4EKjrso/ via IFTTT

New Bot Day! SpotBot™ comes from around 1988 and was made by Tomy, Japanese maker of many cool toys. He has a battery, and when turned on spins around and “barks” cutely. A robot to brighten your desk!

IFTTT robots via-instagram

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Video & Resources: Adapting Comics for Blind & Low Vision Readers

In May I attended a fascinating presentation on adapting comics for blind and low vision readers. At one time I was quite attentive to a11y issues and since I’ve made a handful of comics it was of interest. I am nowhere near to attacking this need. But the resources they emailed I felt would be useful to share widely, so here they are.

Thank you again for attending our March program, “Adapting Comics for Blind & Low Vision Readers”!

If you want to watch again or share the program, you can do so here: Adapting Comics Panel Video.

~~If you can spare two minutes to share your experience and hopes for where this topic might go in the future, it will greatly assist our efforts! Take the event survey here.~~

To learn more about the event organizers:

For more information about digital multimedia accessibility, follow the SF State VI Program on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube: @VIProgramSFSU

To learn more about Comics studies at SFSU, visit: https://twitter.com/StudiesComics

To subscribe to more events hosted by the Longmore Institute on Disability, join the Longmore newsletter here or follow us on Twitter/Instagram @LongmoreInst or on Facebook.

The compiled list of resources our attendees offered during the webinar:

Co-designing choice: objectivity, aesthetics and agency in audio-description

American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project

Center for the Study of Public Domain

Shape Reader

Alt Text as Poetry

Catalonia in Venice: Blind-wiki

LongmoreInstitute YouTube Channel

Graphic Audio

Webcomic: TLC

LibriVox Volunteers

Hit Record

Daisy Consortium

CELA Library

National Network for Equitable Library Service

Screen Readable Comics

“Cripping” the Comic Con

“It’s Complicated”: Negotiating Accessibility and (Mis)Representation in Image Descriptions of Race, Gender, and Disability

Tall Print Braille

Audio Comics Company

NPR: NYC Mayor LaGuardia’s Legendary Radio Readings

Summary of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled

Wolverine Podcast

Comic Weekly Man

Bendis’s scripts

Citizen White Cane

ComicsML – XML for digital comics