Just a quick update for anyone(?) following our (ongoing) housing saga and my medical adventures to brighten the weekend.   Well I'm a third of the way thru' my photo-therapy treatment (well kind of, I finish up the end of April) and the staff have remarked as to how well it's going, no longer are my legs covered in 1/4 inch dragon scales and I've even got a healthy almost tan to boot. Yes it's itchy as f#ck and I smell of shea butter but at least I can walk with cracking, bleeding everywhere and I'm actually able to sleep!  And the staff at Gartnavel (in sunny Glasgow) have been absolutely fantastic so far and are well on their way to getting there own medical issue Autastic award .   An actual photo of me undergoing light therapy. Relax ladies, I'm not single. Even crazier than that tho' is that in the last few days things have started moving on the house repairs front....yup finally after nearly 6 years of collapsing floors, low water pressure, broken...

 

  Seeing as it's the annual Alasdair Gray 'Gray Day' I thought I'd repost my contribution.   His portrait Frances Gordon, Glasgow Teenager inspired my collaboration with Glasgow Open Museum and guests of Glasgow City Mission in creating 'portraits' focusing on their interests rather than in a traditional style.    You can find out more here plus you can read about the project from an autistic perspective here . Enjoy. Portrait of Frances Gordon. (c) Alasdair Gray, courtesy of Glasgow Museums collections.

 

For absolutely no reason whatsoever a short thread re: stims in public just to show how aware people actually are. You may think you know why I'm posting this right now but I couldn't possibly comment. And the secret word of the day is...     Cassidy - our youngest - has very limited speech and usually communicates thru single words and (very) loud shouty noises.   There are happy noises, frustrated noises, funny noises, the whole spectrum of noises for every emotion or situation and we as his parents have learned this because why wouldn't you learn the language of someone you care about and want to communicate with?   Being out with him (especially shopping) is very interesting - folk will clear the aisle when he goes past, tutting and staring as they go.   If Cass gets stressed or upset he has a tendency to grab your arms and shake you - there's no malice (and he doesn't do it to strangers) it's just pure frustration.   It could be something as major as a...

Well don't say I didn't warn you.    Been busy beavering away on a book version of Spectrum Sinema, the 'wee turn' (which I think is the professional term) I performed during he magnificent Paul Wady's Eccentrics Unite! Fringe show , for the last few months with the hope of getting the whole thing finished by the end of the year (college/hospital/house/usual real-life madness permitting). Anyway being a glutton for punishment I thought I'd share the introduction - and a sneak peek at some of chapter one -  here so folk have an idea of what I'm talking about. I might even share a few chapters along the way if anyone's interested. So without further ado may I present Spectrum Sinema. Enjoy. I hope.    “I know nothing of life except through the cinema.” - Jean-Luc Godard (The Obligatory Introduction Bit.)   Hi all, firstly thank you for buying this book (unless you’re just browsing at it on the shelf so in that case just hurry up and pay f...

A wee bit quiet on the normal (usually angry) Autistic front at the mo' as I'm busy beavering away on the artwork for Frightfest in Glasgow next month....All the film posters are completed (and being unveiled on t'interweb) so currently hard at work on the guest portraits. Anyway I thought I'd share an interview I did regarding the illustrations I create for this fine festival from way back in 2018. And there's even a copy added below for those of you who don't like links and/or pictures. Enjoy.

Can't believe that's a year since our wee film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF was made available online. Shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, the original footage captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. If you've never seen it watch it now, if you've seen it before feel free to watch again! And if you want to know more just click on the AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF label.  

  Woke up this morning and was reminded that it's 5 years since fright-fringed f#ckwit Sia released the cinematic aberration that was Music so to celebrate (and warn future generations) I thought I'd reshare the link to my review from the time. Enjoy.  If that's the right word.  

A nice celebratory post today seeing as it's 30 years(!) since Ro and myself first met (00:02 on Valentine's Day at The Garage in Glasgow for those interested).   And our first dance?     Just wanted to share!

   

  This is gonna turn out like that Twilight Zone episode 'To Serve Man' isn't it?  

Happy 94th birthday to John Williams, composer of THE greatest piece of film music ever - that just happens to accompany THE greatest movie scene of all time. Fact.  

Well two weeks into my photo-therapy treatment and it's going well, true I feel like I've got hellishly itchy - and really sore - sunburn all over my legs and have taken to having to wear big loose clown trousers around the house but already the results are pretty positive with a noticeable reduction in dragon scales with almost none around my ears and head. Plus I have a really healthy pink glow around my cheeks which is nice. The staff wait patiently to see what pants I'm wearing this week.   True there's a faint aroma of barbecue when you're in the machine and a slight fear that some kind of Final Destination style hi-jinks may occur at any moment but all in all it's a lot less scary/intrusive/embarrassing than I thought plus the staff have been absolutely brilliant and totally understanding of my slightly annoying Autistic need for information and chat regarding the treatment. Two weeks down with eight more to go....fingers crossed it works! 

Decided to pop the 1977 Lively Arts documentary Whose Doctor Who on today whilst working.     Obviously I've watched it loads of time before but it's usually something I have on in the background, only really paying attention to the clips - and to take the piss out of the contributors hair and fashions.  So you can imagine my surprise when I actually sat down and listened to 'expert' contributor John Miller, an educational psychologist who not only discussed the impact of the show's "scary bits" on children but came out with this little gem too....   Fucking Hell.