by Tiff -

Custom Battlebot wheelchairs OMG

What’s a engineer with mad skills supposed to do after his stint on Robot Wars ends (and the rest of the year when he’s not working on his insane fire sculptures for Burning Man)?
 

I know! CREATE BATTLEBOT WHEELCHAIRS. And that’s exactly what Lance “aka Blaster” Greathouse did, from making a fire-spurting gun wheelchair to designing a beautiful gothic chair. His wheelchairs make being unable to walk look cool.
 
 
And I gotta say, no lie, this is the most amazing line of fantastical wheelchairs I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been writing about custom wheelchairs for years (years!). Here’s a taste of some of the Battlebot-esque wheelchairs from the MIND of Lance Greathouse: 
  

 

  • Fighter F-4 Jet ejection chair
  • NASCAR chair
  • Dr. Evil chair with rear video and stereo system (OMG!)
  • Lord Humongous most powerful chair with flamethrower
  • B-52 Bomber chair, w/ spinning turret and simulated working 50 Cal machine guns
  • Chairs with tank tracks
  • And in the works: A Queens Throne chair and Barbie chair (double WANT!)

Lance is obviously making the most out of his workspace down in Phoenix. <3 And now, the BEST part: He’s ready to not only share his designs with the world, he’s offering up his services & is ready to create the wheelchair of YOUR dreams.

Whether you are a person with a disability (or just a lazy millionaire), Lance will work with you. And he can even use your pre-existing chair and add to it. I don’t know about you, but I’m craving chrome add-ons and some sweet spinning rims for my chair like a crack-fiend!

Visit Lance’s official site: Greathouse Labs 

by Tiff -

Can you hide disability with tight jeans and makeup? She did

 “If everybody’s not a beauty, then nobody is.” – Andy Warhol.
 
 When Laura Maffei was diagnosed with progressive Muscular Dystrophy as a young teen (the nerve disease that the Jerry Lewis telethon supports), she was told by her parents to hide her new condition, to mask the growing-in-strength symptoms – the encumbered gait, the inability to hold in her gut – for as long as she could because discrimination based on disability is one of the worst kinds of discrimination you can experience. And it is.

I can tell you from my own experience, from going from a healthy 14 year old blonde white girl to a very disabled-looking individual, you really see two vastly different life perspectives; and it’s heart-breaking. Some people will never like someone with a disability no matter how hard you try. It just won’t happen.

So when Laura Maffei, author of her just-finished memoir, How I Tried to Hide Muscular Dystrophy with Tight Jeans and Makeup (also known as Girl with a Secret. She’s currently looking for representation), was instructed by her parents to hide her condition (using control-top pantyhose, makeup, and a bag of excuses), I can’t actually say it was completely bad parenting. There were protecting her from negative life experiences for as long as they could. I can’t say I blame them. But Maffei knew there were other reasons her parents wanted her to hide it, the main reason chiefly being: Their over-concern with physical appearances.

“My mom always told us to hold in our stomachs and, from when we were 13, to wear makeup outside the house.” (And after being diagnosed) “I‘d even not eat or drink anything on days I was going to the beach with friends, to lying to my gym teachers about how many situps I did, to refusing to tell even close friends why I was walking with a labored gait in college.” “All that hiding is exhausting,” she says. “And even though my story is a specific one, I think women of all physical abilities feel compelled to hide or change things about their physical selves, things of which they needn’t be ashamed, but they are because our culture tells us to be.”

Laura eventually came “out” of the disability closet, and now gives speeches on her journey of self-discovery, in addition to writing memoir. Also, stop by her blog, Everybody’s a Beauty, where she’s compiling a collection of user-submitted experiences on disability and beauty, and the struggle that can come with that, which needless to say has become a topic close to her heart. Add yours here! 

 
by Tiff -

LOL @ every guy reading this

(a bit of real-life reality on this blog for once)


To all my exes, stalkers, haters, and so on: It’s easy to love/hate me (I’m like Obama). If you did me wrong, no worries, I forgive you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll like you. Life is beautiful, and your hurt has made me better than I ever was. And while it makes me sad to think how you scared me, disrepected me, or treated me with disregard….I’ve been through much worse. Being dead for four minutes dead kinda does that to a person <off podium>.



– The mouthy girl in the wheelchair

by Tiff -

Jeggings: The most slimming jean you’ll ever buy

Well folks, I’ve been enlightened by the fashion Gods as of late. It all started with celeb photos on Perez Hilton, with me coveting the skinny ass stars in their glove-tight skinny ass jeans, and then it dawned on me: THEY ARE NOT WEARING SKINNY JEANS. It was a trick. What these trendy gals were wearing were in fact Jeggings, the latest greatest garment to hit the clothing world since the Miracle Bra.

Jeggings debuted last summer and are leggings masquerading as jeans. They have a jean print, come in several washes and colors, and some even have faux pockets and a real button-fly. BUT DON’T BE FOOLED. They are leggings through and through and will be the most comfortable pair of jeans (if you want to call them that) you’ll ever buy, and they look great on plus-sizes too. They are incredibly slimming and since they’re stretchy as hell, they hit every curve of whatever body they’re put on, whether you have too-skinny legs….or the opposite.

As a woman who uses a wheelchair, finding truly fabulous jeans that look good (read: do not make me look fat or make it look like I have a penis by fabric bunching in the crotch-area while I’m sitting) has been so hard, and such a waste of money. I had actually given up on finding a decent pair of jeans years ago, and instead usually just wear black leggings or a skirt. All of my friends can attest to Tiff never wearing jeans. But that all changed in the past week.

After discovering the existence of Jeggings 10 days ago, I started my search online to procure a pair. I checked out the Express, who were asking $50 for a pair of Jeggings. FAIL. Instead, I found two awesome pairs of denim leggings (one is cropped, one pair is ankle length with a cool ‘80s acid wash) at Herberger’s at $9.99/pair. Do your shopping homework, people. Always look online first before wasting gas driving anywhere.

Jeggings are the future of jeans. And remember – wear a long top/short dress with your Jeggings (never anything shorter), as Jeggings tend to be tighter in the crotch area than a regular pair of jeans. 

by Tiff -

3 disability etiquette rules you probably don’t know about

Everyone knows it’s rude to stare (one would hope so). And if you attended school at some point in the last 20 years, you were probably taught the other rude no-no’s regarding disability etiquette, like to never make someone‘s wheelchair your footrest, or never help someone with a disability without asking first. These are the basics of disability etiquette and I hope for your sake and mine, that you know them. Or else you’re causing me unneeded stress 😉

I have a problem however with the standard disability etiquette proffered at schools and corporations throughout America. It’s simply not enough, and the basic ten rules leave a lot of important, less-obvious, things out. Important things you should really know if being a non-douchebag to people with disabilities is important to you (and I hope it is!). And while my word isn’t the end all and be all, I’m an observant gimp. Let my last 17 years of paralysis serve you well. Here are 3 important disability etiquette rules that will take you from amateur land to the land of the super evolved.

3. Inviting us to your party? Everyone loves the token disabled person at a rockin‘ shindig (jk). If you’ve invited people with mobility disabilities (wheelchair, walker, cane) to your get-together, remember that you also need to let them know about the accessibility part of the equation, either in the invite or in a separate email, just to let them know how you plan on getting them into the party. One never assumes. And while the disabled invitee could ask, proper etiquette deems that the host makes it their responsibility all guests are cared for.

2. Think before you try to be funny: While most people’s intentions are usually pure of heart, throwing out random ass comments to people in wheelchairs as they fly by is no way to make them feel good. While it may make YOU feel good to say, “Hey slow down or you may get a speeding ticket!” it’s something we’ve all heard before, and btw, IT IS NOT FUNNY. Really, not funny at all. No laugh.

1. Stop complimenting us for doing simple things: Everyone loves a compliment (especially me), but being complimented for going to Target? Ummm…not so much. I didn’t go to physical rehab for months on end to have strangers give me two thumbs up for successfully making my daily errands. Condescending? I don’t even know where to begin.