And when I open up the new Reading Rainbow promo, and guess what library I see? Berkeley's own West Branch Library! @berkeleypubliclibrary.org, @mychal3ts.bsky.social I'm so excited!!!! youtu.be/X74MZfG9jXg?...

Hoooooooold the presses!!!

Waiting for our tree to start ripening...

At least a third of my book (in progress) is just me having fun explaining the humor in Frost’s astronomical poems, but this one is different. The tone goes from contentious to sad. Note, the “far star” is a galaxy. 🧪🔭

Growing up, my mom was a hospice aide who sometimes brought people home from nursing homes/hospitals to die in our house (story for another time). The TLDR being Huntingdon's is an evil motherfucker and this is incredible, awesome; fund mRNA research.

Yeah, it's absurd, too. Every three years, we've got to prove my son is deaf for his triennial evaluation so he can continue to go to the Deaf school and get services.

“This administration has not asked autistic people what we think of its policies that target our community, nor listened when we have spoken up publicly.” @colinkillick.bsky.social, at @usatoday.com: www.usatoday.com/story/opinio... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity

Oh man. As a hearing guy, just suggesting that Deaf folks should get to weigh in on "cures" triggers avalanches of bigotry.

Just got my comps of the STARDUST THE SUPER WIZARD anthology, featuring a story written by promising new writer Robin Farago and drawn by me.

Because sign language linguistics is a young field, many sign languages were undocumented for a long time, and still are. In fact, in Glottolog, the "sign language" category is in the top with regard to the increase in number of documented languages across version releases.

OK, in the spirit of @profmandersen.bsky.social 's post, name one Deaf org you support, or who you get support from. I'll start with @atomichands.bsky.social: they're an incredible hub for Deaf science education and collaboration: atomichands.com

And this ain't the end of it. Some of these hammers have dropped silently, as in the undermining of EHDI screening for #deafkids.

For those who don't know: the "rubella bulge" was a generation of deaf kids born in the '60s in the wake of a major rubella / German measles epidemic in the US. Tens of thousands of kids were born deaf (and thousands more had additional vision, heart and neurological problems.)

Trump is calling autism “out of control” No… Autism stigma is out of control Ableism is out of control Inaccessibility to basic healthcare and support is out of control

Inspired by @gettheorion.bsky.social's Deaf artist's posts, I wanted to share "Family Dog" by Susan Dupor. Not a happy painting by any means, but as the parent of a #deafkid, it's never lost its hold over me.

My immigrant family in San Francisco, in the early 70s. Parents arrived as refugees fleeing Russian forces that crushed '56 Hungarian Revolution, welcomed with open arms and empathy in the United States, to start a life anew. The America I will forever cherish and love. 🙏🏼🌍🕊️

Stands on rooftops: 📣 🗣️ 🗣️THERE IS NO LINK BTW ACETAMINOPHEN & AUTISM. IT HAS BEEN STUDIED FOR MANY YEARS IN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. 🗣️THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE TALKING ABT THIS IS THAT THEY DO NOT WANT AUTISTIC PEOPLE TO EXIST. 🗣️IT IS EUGENICS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. -EmilyPhD

Love John Bellairs, and agree that horror is a place where we can practice our bravery as children. Will have to find Pennies.

Celebrating #Deaf Awareness Month with artist Chuck Baird. 🖖🏻🤟🏻 "Chuck dedicated a great deal of his time to Deaf community events and was involved in the Deaf View Image Art (De’VIA) exhibits throughout the country." deaf-art.org/profiles/chu...

Deafblind artist, Arnaud Balard, in 2009, wrote a manifesto outlining his philosophy of Surdism, an artistic, philosophical, and cultural movement celebrating deaf culture and deaf arts including cinema, theater, literature, and visual arts. deaf-art.org/profiles/arn...

Deaf Awareness is more than just learning sign language, it's about the culture & art of deaf individuals. As a hearing person i dont consider my stuff as deaf art. There are some wonderful deaf artists out there. First up is Nancy Rourke. ar.europeanwriterstour.com/images-2023/...

"In the crescendo of orgasm I have sometimes been known to shout out the incumbent Pope's name" I have been back on the apps literally one minute. This is from the second profile I have looked at since reactivating. I am doomed

Hmmm... more women are choosing not to have children.

Boston people, I just saw Urban Jazz Dance at #BAIDDF in SF. They were amazing, and I wrote a bit about it in my newsletter. Highly, highly recommend checking this show out.

Love this drawing. Wonder what my son will think of it in 10-15 years.

If you haven't already, now is SUPER the time you to consider what supplies and community infrastructure you have to be able to distribute information offline. If the first amendment does not exist for the rich and/or the legacy media, it doesn't exist for us.

After the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program saw unprecedented cuts, two Democratic lawmakers are reintroducing legislation to fully fund the federal program — which awards four-year grants to about 260 colleges and universities to offer child care to low-income students.

If the Tikvah Fund becomes the main representative of academic Jewish Studies in the United States, which is clearly what the US government wants, we will be telling queer and trans scholars that they have no place in Jewish Studies. And it will be a loss to all of us in the field.

Jewish Studies colleagues: The US govt is canceling legitimate Jewish Studies grants in subjects like Yiddish and Ladino, to pour millions into creating a parallel infrastructure of Jewish Studies academia which will explicitly serve a Christian nationalist political agenda. We need to fight this.

Nobody liked my Sneakers post way back when, but I'm reviving it as a Redford tribute: bsky.app/profile/will...

Hi all! My dear friend, Rachel Kolb, just launched her book today. This is a deaf writer’s exploration of language, communication, and what it means to be articulate—and her journey to reclaim her voice. Can’t recommend it enough!! Link is below 🤟🏼♥️ www.harpercollins.com/products/art...

My favorite Redford: youtu.be/h1f1VJDe3ik?...

OK, the new newsletter is out, gushing about They All Saw the Cat by Brendan Wenzel, and the ways parents need to show up to help defend our #deafkids' community. Plus egg creams!

Same goes for LSL / oralism. It can utterly subsume all other learning and social experience for #deafkids, creating huge holes even when it doesn't result in language deprivation.

Same goes for #deafkids: look at how the interpreters, TODs, OTs and PTs are treated. Administrations that don't value their work don't value your kid.

Parents *shouldn't have to* lead the way in helping kids navigate AI risks and opportunities. Parents should be able to trust that developers and regulators are working to ensure that AI is safe and ethical, and that educators are trained to help kids navigate these tools responsibly. 1/

If you would like more info on the rapid escalation of eugenic rhetoric toward disabled people the past 30+ weeks (seen above reaching its logical conclusion--a call to murder), here's a weekly breakdown: bsky.app/profile/novi...

Just picked up Wild Things by @brucehandy.bsky.social; so far liking his view on the weirdness of Margret Wise Brown, although sad he doesn't seem to take on my fav, William Steig... www.simonandschuster.com/books/Wild-T...

governor abbott wants to ban all DEI policies, but also wants companies to commit to hiring more disabled workers. Disability hiring initiatives do not exist without the principles of DEI. gov.texas.gov/news/post/go...

New newsletter out next week. Thinking about Deaf dance (BAIDDF) and community, updates on the book, and a review of three incredible animal-based children's books for your #deafkid illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. Subscribe here: buttondown.com/will_fertman

Reading for pleasure HAS to be about fun. It has to be about children having access to all different books and texts, and having fun. Comics? Poetry? Non-fiction? Lists? Audio? Prose? We all enjoy different things. That applies to books and reading too. Let it be fun and not a chore. #kidlituk

Citing DEI concerns, the Trump administration has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. Their funding had previously been approved through Sept. 2028. “How low can you go?” one advocate asked. “How can you do this to children?”

YES. You've got to let kids choose the books and comics that they're interested in. Dav Pilkey cut that Gordian knot almost 30 years ago with Captain Underpants. When kids had their own money to spend at the Scholastic Bookfair, they went for the potty humor superhero.

NEW: The Trump administration is going after funding for students who are both deaf and blind. Said one advocate: "How low can you go?" Powerful reporting from the team of @jodiscohen.bsky.social and @jsmithrichards.bsky.social of @propublica.org. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

I'm watching my son's future burn. #deafkids

September is National Deaf Awareness Month! Learn how to say different slangs in Filipino Sign Language for more fun, casual communication with Deaf people. 🤟

If anyone needs a beacon of taste to get through this onslaught of really discombobulated media, I am right here! Please tell your friends and enemies about my work

We're looking at another rubella bulge.

If I had two oddball brothers we could have ruled the waterfront.