by Tiff -

Disability Featured on “Heroes”

NBC’s “Heroes” has revealed that the speedy Daphne has Cerebral Palsy. Quite unexpected! What are your thoughts on their portrayal of someone with this kind of disability? I haven’t watched the most recent episode yet, so I don’t feel I can give a qualified opinion.

I WILL say though that she looks REALLY akward in those crutches! (the AB actress that is)

If you are looking for an in-depth treatise on Daphne’s disability by someone more knowledgeable than me, click here for an interesting blog entry from ePlay.

– Tiff

by Tiff -

The Thanksgiving Show

Listen to my latest No Free Rides podcast for Xable.com. It’s our annual Thanksgiving show and this year, I interviewed a paraplegic woman by the name of Julia, who lives in the Texas panhandle, and has been cooking the entire Thanksgiving feast for 6 years (and she’s only 26!).

Julia is married and is your quintecessential Texan lady. So listen to me BS with her about all the recipes she makes, tricks and tips she has for wheelers out there, and even find out how her and her hubby met.

Have a tasty Thanksgiving dinner everyone! I know I will.

Listen now!

– Tiff

by Tiff -

“Body of War” Now on Netflix

And they’ve given it the awesome “Watch Now” feature, so you don’t have to wait for it to be mailed. Rock.

Check it out: “Body of War” on Netflix.

Since Obama won, this documentary about a paralyzed vet from the Iraq War (along with Phil Donahue, a co-director of the film) has been getting tons of buzz, especially when you compare it to the buzz it received initially (not a lot). After it premiered last April, sure it got some above-average reviews at Sundance, and was shown at conferences around the country, but that was the end of the “Body of War” hype. But now, with the possibility of the US pulling out of Iraq stronger than ever before, movies like this I’m assuming are going to continue to be catapulted to the forefront of the public eye. 

And is it just me, or does Tomas Young look a lot like Seth Green (except hotter, and with brown hair)?

Anyways, I know what I’m watching tonight!

-Tiff

by Tiff -

Shame on You, NBC

While last week’s Election night results were pretty awesome (except for Prop 8 and Michelle Bachmann winning. WTF Cali and Minnesota?!), NBC’s Election night coverage could’ve been better.

Now why do I say this? Well, check out this excellent blog about how they VERY poorly failed to recognize disability as anything but a liability (if you’re a politician that is).

Things like this must be brought to the pundits’ attention.

– Tiff

by Tiff -

Oh Noes! “China Girl” Hath Broke!

You know David Bowie is crying in a corner somewhere about this.

And yes, I realize I may be a bit late in posting this, but hell, it needed to be blogged about anyways. So listen to this SHIT:

“Liu Yan, who was part of the Silk Road dance (of the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremonies), fell more than three metres from a piece of scenery, landing on her head and back after a miscalculation by other performers who were supposed to catch her on a moving platform.”

And the shitty part? Well, the first part being the gov’t lied and said she just broke her leg, but damn:

“Sources inside the stadium told The Telegraph that Liu was left lying in agony on the set for more than 50 minutes before she was attended by paramedics because of the strict security cordon which had been thrown around the rehearsals.”

But hey, at least Zhang Yimou, the director of the entire opening ceremonies (the same guy who wanted 16,000 shirts to be yellow instead of blue two days before the ceremony, came to visit her in the hospital). “You paid such a great price for the Olympic Games and for our country. This made me very, very heart-broken. We are very grateful to you, and so is our country.”

She’s now a T11 para. One can only help wonder what kind of life, in any, lies ahead for Yan in the years ahead. It’s not like China is all over equal-treatment of people with disabilities. Poor thing.

View the full story here

– Tiff

by Tiff -

Body of War

Tomas Young is 28 years old, sexy, well-spoken, from Kansas City, MO, and unfortunately, a T4 paraplegic. 

In 2003, he was shot and paralyzed by enemy fire (“Instantly dropping my AK 47,” he describes, after getting shot) after only 5 days in Iraq. Body of War is an amazing documentary that EVERYONE should see. Co-directed by the legendary Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, this film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March and is currently touring the country.

To learn more about this anti-war film, visit the it’s site, BodyofWar.com. Make sure to watch the trailer and to peruse it’s screening schedule; it may be coming to a city near you. I’m hoping that SOON it’ll be available on Netflix (I have the 3-disc unlimited plan), and I REALLY need to see this film in it’s entirety, instead of through dozens of various YouTube clips.

I almost had the opportunity to see it the first weekend of June here in Minneapolis at the National Free Press Conference, but due to PCA scheduling issues and my own damn fault, I couldn’t see the screening (or go to the awesome Q&A session afterwards with Phil Donahue). I’m still kicking myself over that.

ANYWAYS, Eddie Vedder (lead singer of Pearl Jam) wrote/performed a song for the film called, “No More.” It’s beautiful, poignant, and it makes me very happy to see such a high-profile musician affiliated with such an important film.

But yes, this film is great. It shows how brutal life with a SCI really is, how the VA has let Tomas down in re: to proper benefits to fully rehabilitate a paraplegic. and more importantly, how Iraq was a terrible mistake.

– Tiff

by Tiff -

Britain’s Missing Top Model

Stylish, sassy, chic … disabled?

Britain is airing a brand new model search reality show in July, specifically looking for models with disabilities. On a awful creative note, it’ll be called Britain’s Missing Top Model. They get no w00t from me for that lame show name.

Here’s the show’s tagline:

Eight young disabled women discover what it takes to be a model – but which of them will win a photo shoot and appear in a top fashion magazine?

Is this a marketing ploy? Is it a serious competition? My Brit friends will have to share their opinion with me after it airs, because unfortunately it’s damn near impossible to get BBC Three in Minnesota, unless you’e Stanley Hubbard.

Oh, and there’s one American on the show too. Her name is Jenny and she’s 22!

– Tiff

PS. I do give the show props for shedding light on the disparity of able-bodied vs. disabled models in the media though. Ok, that deserves a w00t…..”w00t.”

by Tiff -

“30 Days” in a Wheelchair

From the guy who brought you the award-winning movie, Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock), comes the FX television show “30 Days.” It’s third season premieres June 3rd. And look what pertinent episode they have coming up!

“Ray played football for Baylor University from 1984-88 before his NFL draft in 1989. He won two Super Bowl rings in 1998 and 1999 as a starting member of the Denver Broncos. …In 1991, Ray was on the field with the Detroit Lions when his teammate and friend, Mike Utley, was involved in a play that left him paralyzed from the chest down.”

“For 30 Days, Ray will live in a wheelchair and will rely on his mental discipline to keep his legs immobile. His home and his car will be retrofitted to accommodate his needs. Coaching duties for his son’s football team will continue and Ray will join the Texas Stampede, the wheelchair rugby team featuring players made famous in the documentary film Murderball. He will attend a weekly support group for paraplegics at the Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation and meet with a physical therapist to monitor any potential side effects.

Throughout his 30 Days experience, Ray will be under the medical supervision of Dr. Robert Bruce in order to track any muscle loss, blood clots, pressure sores or other side effects that could occur while he is wheelchair-bound.”

How. awesome. is. that. Talk about a great thing for AB’s to witness.

Go Morgan Spurlock and Ray Crockett. You guys both get free swirly cones from my step-dad’s DQ!

For more info visit the show’s website @ 30 Days.

– Tiff

by Tiff -

“The Orphanage”

Guillermo Del Toro’s latest film “The Orphanage” (“El Orfanato”), is an amazing horror film that literally INVENTS a new genre of horror.

And the best part, it features characters with disabilities. A very interesting, relevant movie for me (and I’m sure for you too).

The reason I believe it invents a new genre within the genre of horror, is because you actually cry tears of joy for the “scary bad people” at the end of the film.

Talk about a mindfuck. I truly loved it!

It’s on DVD and Netflix’s “Play Now” feature, so check it out asap. If you’re a horror fan and don’t mind subtitles, and have a disability on top of all that, you’ll really like this film.

Your sorta-movie reviewer extrordinaire…

– Tiff