It’s no secret that the Great Recession has forced states to make devastating cuts to health care and social services. As the Times points out, people with disabilities and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to cuts in home care and other community-based services. The people who depend on these services are now facing greater risk of hospitalization or institutionalization, which will be paid out of state coffers, thus undermining the state’s original intent to cut costs. And because of Medicaid institutional bias, states have a great deal of flexibility to cut “optional” services like home care while preserving nursing home funding.

Unfortunately, this trend of service cuts isn’t likely to improve any time soon. The recession’s lingering aftereffects are going to be a drag on state budgets for years to come. Additional federal funding for home and community-based services would certainly be welcome, but Washington’s current preoccupation with the deficit makes that scenario unlikely in the extreme. People with disabilities and their advocates will have to wage some savage political fights just to ensure a 2% cut instead of a 5% or 10% cut. That’s likely to be the case here in Minnesota, which is confronting a $5-$6 billion deficit over the next two years. The only thing that gives me any comfort is the knowledge that I would be worse off in almost any other state.

New Zealand engineers have developed a robotic exoskeleton that enables paraplegics to walk–albeit very slowly. Priced at over $150,000 each, these devices aren’t going to be commonplace anytime soon. I’m waiting for the model that comes with repulsor beams and a holographic heads-up display.

According to this site, my writing style most closely resembles that of Margaret Atwood. I’m going to mention that fact in all my future cover letters to literary agents. Maybe then they won’t be so quick to scoff at my sf/fantasy/historical/mystery/literary thriller (complete with maps and a few hundred footnotes). If some random website comparing me to such a respected author won’t convince them of my potential, then nothing will.

I’m guessing you had a better weekend than me. I came home from work Friday evening with a massive headache and a few hours later I was in the local emergency room with a scorching fever and a tweaked-out heart rate. Things were so bad that I seriously contemplated the possibility that I might spontaneously combust. I was admitted to the hospital and soon discovered I had pneumonia. After they pumped me full of antibiotics, I was sent home the next day (with even more antibiotics). I’m still not functioning at peak efficiency, but I’m happy to have avoided the discomfort and tedium of an extended hospital stay. In the meantime, the doctor has ordered plenty of fluids and sensual massages from women in fishnets. I intend to comply.

It was only a matter of time before the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In became fodder for an American remake. The trailer for Let Me In seems to be pretty faithful to the source material, although I doubt it will contain the sexual subtexts of the original. And if you don’t know to what I’m referring, do yourself a favor and see the original. It’s a superb movie, but certain elements probably wouldn’t play well in Peoria. The trailer for the American version is effective in that it piques my interest in seeing the film, but I remain skeptical that it will measure up to the original.

While I don’t have a problem with American remakes of foreign films, it’s unfortunate that American audiences remain generally oblivious to international titles (even after the remake is released). Nearly everyone on the planet has at least heard of Avatar, but only a tiny sliver of American moviegoers have heard of Let the Right One In or City of God or Oldboy or any number of great movies made in other countries. I keep hoping that our freeflowing digital culture might change that, but maybe our strong aversion to subtitles is just too much to overcome.