This article about a blue plaque in #Manchester for #SisterRosettaTharpe has sent me down a rabbit hole: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg4q2vkylyo

This video has more of the performers than just Sister Rosetta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yds77TQFfdE

Wilbraham Road station was on what's now the #FallowfieldLoop cycle path, between the Alexandra Road South bridge and Athol Road. I'm tempted to go down there among the trees and foliage where the station stood, and listen to it where it was performed in 1964. Maybe in the rain for verisimilitude...

#BluesMusic #Chorlton #WhalleyRange #MuddyWaters

This was gripping. Moving. Entertaining. Good insights into masculinity, both the toxic and normal kind. And into precarity, rootlessness and the Troubles. And into the relationship between generations who've lived through different events in the same place in a short space of time. And the dialogue is pure joy. Trainspottingly good. You think you know all the regional swear words in Ireland, then you read this and find your vocabulary enriched and improved.

#Books
#Fredagsbog
#Bookstodon

I’m finally getting around to reading Sally Huband’s beautiful book Sea Bean, 2023, about her move to Shetland… gorgeous nature writing about island life, the simple yet special act of beach combing, her journey with chronic illness after having children, and our changing climate #bookstodon #reading #Disability #audiobook

All #braille readers and others who work with braille: I urge you to take the Global Survey on Braille: Literacy, Access, and Innovation! The survey seeks to gather information about global trends in braille literacy, access to braille, and familiarity / usage of tools and technologies that support braille. Feel free to spread this far and wide, also. Read more and take the survey by going to https://tiny.cc/braillesurvey #BrailleLiteracy #TouchReader #Accessibility

Title: Morning Waves (1956)

Artist: Kasamatsu Shiro

https://www.obayashi.co.jp/en/kikan_obayashi/detail/kikan_63_column01_2.html #ShinHanga #SosakuHanga #Art #NoAi #Showa #KasamatsuShiro #Japan

What can art teach us about accessibility and inclusion?

Next week, a11yTalks welcomes Enrico Bisenzi for Inclusive Arts Gallery, a journey through artists and ideas that have expanded how we think about expression, communication, disability, and social inclusion.

Come explore accessibility from a different perspective.

Wednesday, August 26 at 12 PM EDT

https://a11ytalks.com/posts/2026-aug
#A11yTalks #Accessibility

My family have all gone out to watch the partial solar eclipse so I’m settling down to some reading then will be watching the European athletics coverage later 😆

Here are a few thoughts on The Last September by Elisabeth Bowen, 1929, my first by this author, it’s full of rich descriptions and a great portrait of a teenage girl #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #Braille @bookstodon
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9e9ed1a7-3a48-4140-9f2d-c74752b27d69

@bookstodon

Hot Chocolate on Thursday
by
Michiko Aoyama (tr. by E. Madison Shimoda)

The Marble Cafe in Tokyo is a small cafe where this charming book starts, owned by the Maestro. Each chapter hops to a different character who tells us about their life. They are all connected to each other as family, friends or by chance encounter. They all have some influence on each other's lives, sometimes without even knowing it. For many of them, the Cafe and the Maestro play some important role.

I really loved this heartwarming book of intertwined stories.

Here are a few thoughts on The Last September by Elisabeth Bowen, 1929, my first by this author, it’s full of rich descriptions and a great portrait of a teenage girl #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #Braille @bookstodon
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9e9ed1a7-3a48-4140-9f2d-c74752b27d69

This new biography of George Michael by Sathnam Sanghera is a great read, it is written from the perspective of a genuine fan, highly recommended! #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #audiobooks @bookstodon
Tonight the Music Seems so Loud - https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/146ecf23-a0b1-451b-a0b2-ca4495d0fcce

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/146ecf23-a0b1-451b-a0b2-ca4495d0fcce

Any trombone, trumpet, and other brass players here on mastodon?
I recently got back into playing trumpet and trombone again, after having been away from them for many years.
#blind #music #trombone #trumpet #brass #flugelhorn #euphonium #cornet #tuba #frenchhorn #horn #brasstodon

This new biography of George Michael by Sathnam Sanghera is a great read, it is written from the perspective of a genuine fan, highly recommended! #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #audiobooks @bookstodon
Tonight the Music Seems so Loud - https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/146ecf23-a0b1-451b-a0b2-ca4495d0fcce

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/146ecf23-a0b1-451b-a0b2-ca4495d0fcce

Seeking book recommendations

A family member (US Boomer) has been dealing with a chronic condition with symptoms that come and go, and they're having a hard time adjusting to the unpredictability of their health. They're an avid reader and I thought maybe a book or two on disability/chronic illness from a disabled author might help them grieve their able-bodied-ness and unpack some of the ableism they're carrying around. Alice Wong came to mind, but I've read only essays. Any suggestions?

"Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses Fake Promises and My Escape from Big Tech – A Biting Memoir of Twelve Years Inside Google" by Claire Stapleton. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Published August 4, 2026.

Book description: A timely memoir about one worker’s 12 years at Google and her journey from buying in to buying out, and being radicalized in a sea of false promises, fake work, and bad bosses. This book is a candid look at what it means to find a sense of identity and power beyond our jobs, in a culture that tells us our career is who we are.

I read this book hoping to find at least some redemption and the world of big tech. It is a great read, and, if you read it, perhaps you will find qualities in big tech that I haven't.

#nonfiction #memoir #technology #AI #Google #books @bookstodon

Like a Cat Loves a Bird by James Bailey, 2026, is an excellent biography of Muriel Spark and has made me excited to read more of her work this year! #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #audiobooks @bookstodon
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4d1179d5-1ce4-46b4-887b-d845b0b880df?redirect=true

How fortunate I am to exist in a world where such immense beauty appears in the sky for millions of people to see.

#gratitude #sunset

My story: I rescued a giant green grasshopper from my kitchen and released it back outside. It flew to the next tree!
The grasshopper's story probably: this giant human wanted to eat me and caught me, but I managed to escape and fly away!

Like a Cat Loves a Bird by James Bailey, 2026, is an excellent biography of Muriel Spark and has made me excited to read more of her work this year! #bookstodon #BookReview #reading #Storygraph #audiobooks @bookstodon
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4d1179d5-1ce4-46b4-887b-d845b0b880df?redirect=true