April 22,
The other day we took my mom and her hubby out for her Birthday! Of course, the COVID-19 Vaccine topic came up. They said, when they got the shot, the staff told them to keep moving their arms for a few minutes afterwards. This would help prevent soreness from receiving their shot.
I said, finally a benefit of having CP!!! It is too bad us CPers did not copy right arms movements/gestures, think about all the royalties we could have gotten from that Anime stuff.
April 20,
Last night as I watched people gathering in Minnesota to have their voices heard, I notice that there were people signing while some people were speaking. This gives me hope that all these protests are about basic Civil Rights, that is what will bring us all together as one voice to make change happen. No matter what “sub-culture” you may identify with, you know that any discrimination is a cancer on our society.
Tuesday, I went to get my COVID-19 Vaccine from the Baltimore County “Special Needs Clinic”. I was really hoping to get the J & J one and done deal, but it was put on pause 10 minutes before the clinic started. As soon as the Fed. people knew they could not administer the J & J doses, they packed up and took off, leaving the county worker stranded. In times like these we all should work together since this whole operation is about saving lives.
The County workers really did a great job regrouping and coming up with a new plan, once they got the Pfizer Vaccine on site it went so smoothly. I felt like Dena and I got the red-carpet treatment, they were so helpful getting re-register for the Pfizer shot. In addition, they let Dena get her shot too since she is my “’PCA”.
While we were sitting in timeout to see if we had any reactions, they helped us scheduled our second doses. For me, it was just like getting a flu shot with a sore arm for a couple of days. I was impressed with the staff working there that day, because they were super attentive and made sure the process was %100 completed.
Sadly, I woke up to the news of another human life taken in a Police shooting in MN during a traffic stop. Although we do not have all the facts yet, society needs to realize that our ways of thinking are outdated and are failing us! I do not know why anyone would even consider a career in law enforcement anymore, they are in a no-win situation with the public and within their own ranks. Of course, people should be outraged and want the voices heard but in a productive manner. The cycle of senseless violence needs to be broken by law enforcement and protestors. The age of due process and peaceful protests is over.
What can we do as the public to make change happen, during the past year I see that protesting does more harm than good, people get kill, local businesses suffer, the community is devastated as a whole and nothing gets resolved? Myself, I have never been the protesting type since I spend too much time trying to get people to hear me. I do let people know what I think about certain topics, but I try to deliver my message in a way that people will listen to my voice and know the source. I am the quiet whisper that will not go away, that is what seems to make people angry the most since there is no way to stop free speech.
The only thing I can do is keep expressing my opinion in a way that the right people will notice it. We all need to be mosquitoes, because one mosquito bite can drive someone nuts!
dan keplinger, subject and writer of the academy award® winning documentary king gimp, is going on tour and he is ready to speak at your business. listen to dan’s story firsthand. learn how the arts, and the world as we know it, has inherent obstacles that can be overachieved with perseverance, patience, determination and a winning, fighting spirit.
screen the movie king gimp beforehand and then participate in an interactive question and answer ceremony about the movie, dan’s personal life, and dan’s career as a successful fine artist, via an online platform. live and learn like a king.
about dan “king gimp” keplinger
known throughout the world as “king gimp”, dan is an artist who overcomes a daily battle with cerebral palsy to live a “normal” life. dan took the name gimp, which means “fighting, sprinted individual” as name to represent himself from an early age. he is an accomplished master painter, award winning fine artist, and an inspiration to children and adults alike.
First Georgia passed new laws to took basic Voting Rights from its residents, now Arkansas passed laws to allow some Doctors to refuse treatment to the LGBTQ Community!
What is up with States as Arkansas and Georgia, they are passing bills/laws that only promote hatred and discrimination. When you exclude one minority where does it stop, that is how Hitler started and there was no end to his madness. I have faced discrimination for almost 50 years, that is why I am so passionate to speak up against it. Hatred is hatred, no matter what and it has a choke hold on our country.
I find myself wondering how Frida Kahlo became such an icon. After all, not everyone can claim they are disabled, bisexual female artists of Mexican descent who attempt to live their truth. But I can. Her talent and willingness in displaying her personal pain on canvas has garnered her worldwide appreciation.
The beloved Muppet tweeted on Saturday that he had gotten the shot, which is newly available for Americans between the ages of 5 and 11. Big Bird has been a fixture of children's television since 1969 but is officially 6 years old
“Mental health is health” has become a common phrase as the COVID-19 pandemic’s toll on mental health becomes clear. Now more than ever, people care about mental health. The pandemic has been good for mental health care in some ways. Policies that once made it challenging to get mental health care by phone or video fell away out of necessity, as we all sheltered in place. Therapists who previously distrusted telehealth as a way to deliver care were forced to use it and learn its benefits firsthand. As a result, the pandemic dramatically increased the reach and accessibility of mental health services.
I spend a lot of my time talking about the state of disability representation in media. It’s never been a good time to be disabled, and movies and television have only perpetuated the belief that our lives are sad, broken, and fodder for able-bodied inspiration. I’ve prefaced my answer to the question, “What’s the best disabled movie?” with “Well, nothing’s perfect but….” for years.
That all changed when I watched Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham’s “Crip Camp.” There are two competing storylines within the Netflix documentary. The first is about Camp Jened, a summer camp in the Catskills. Full disclosure: I never got the opportunity to go to summer camp and I’ve been bummed ever since. My parents knew nothing about summer camps for the disabled when I was growing up, and even if they had, as first-time parents of a disabled child they lacked the confidence to send me out on such a voyage to the unknown..
April 18,
Singer-songwriter Lachi documents journey to total vision loss on YouTube series Off Beat
Growing up, she hid her sight loss from the world. Now award nominated recording artist, film director and motivational speaker Lachi says she is open and super proud of her difference and is sharing her journey with the world on a YouTube series called OffBeat.
“I once hid my sight loss from the public while pursuing my music but now that I’m open, and super proud of my difference, I’m here to shout it from the roof”, said Lachi in an interview to Newz Hook. “A recent diagnosis sent me on a path from low vision to no vision, and the series OffBeat chronicles my journey learning the things I’ll need to learn and achieving my bucket-list goals before I completely lose my sight”.
The first episode of Off Beat featured Molly Burke, a motivational speaker and blind Youtuber with over 2 million subscribers, while the second was on the gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama, who recently received a life-time achievement award at the GRAMMYs. “The series has everything from makeup, skydiving and ballroom dancing to interviewing public figures in the disability, LGBTQ, BIPOC and other offbeat communities”, adds Lachi.
In an effort to better support people with disabilities, one state is offering motorists the chance to emblazon their cars with phrases like “BONG,” “GANJA,” “HASH” and “HEMP.”
Colorado is auctioning 14 official state license plates with cannabis-themed phrases.
Money raised will go to the Colorado Disability Funding Committee and “will be used to fund disability application assistance as well as new and innovative programs increasing quality of life and independence of Colorado’s disability community,” according to Gov. Jared Polis’ office.
April 9, Top 6 Influencers with Disabilities You Should Follow on Instagram
In the world of fashion and beauty influencers, rarely do you see someone with disabilities represented on TV or on social media. People who are different tend to be few and far between. Our society has created a “normal” set of ideals for what someone should look, act and feel like. Sadly, this vision does not usually include people with disabilities.
However due to the rise of Instagram and social media as a whole, many people can be represented and have their voices heard. Fashion houses and beauty empires are now embracing these differences and they are starting to be celebrated and seen more frequently in advertising.
Instagram is a helpful platform for those with disabilities because it is a mouthpiece for voices that haven’t been heard yet. Advocates of disability rights and beauty bloggers have joined forces to show that people with disabilities are beautiful inside and out. Their videos and posts are going viral for their showstopping looks and personal stories. Even better is that with Instagram’s younger audience, these influencers make an impact with their relatability.
It’s Women’s History Month, which makes it an excellent time to talk about the fact that women’s history and disability history overlap significantly; notable women from Harriet Tubman to Helen Keller have been disabled trailblazers for social justice, including women’s rights. To do so, however, they had to fight not just sexism and racism, but disablism: Their disabilities were used against them to dismiss their activism, including by historians talking about their work. Using disability status to suppress women and their work is an ancient trend. This includes not just physical disabilities but also psychiatric ones — mental illness has been weaponized to institutionalize outspoken women, undermine women’s fight for equality, and justify the mistreatment of women across cultures and eras.
March 25, Increasing diversity in the workplace: the call for accessible applications
I am someone who has bad executive dysfunction due to my neurodivergence and mental health. I get tired super easily and even though I got through three years of a degree, and I am highly capable, all I could see was the struggle. So when asked to regularly fill out forms it was quite taxing. Especially when the process itself is extremely repetitive, draining the small amount of energy I had.
Every day I woke up with the looming feeling that what I was doing was not enough, and my decisions were all wrong. I still managed to submit applications, but when depression and dysfunction take over there is not a lot I can do. This dysfunction and fatigue have a way of spilling into your personal life. I was not doing the things I would need to do to support functioning on a basic level, which made trying to find work even harder.
A documentary about the emergence of the disability rights movement produced by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama is up for an Academy Award.
“Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” was nominated Monday for best documentary feature.
The film follows a group of teenagers with disabilities who came together in the early 1970s at a summer camp near Woodstock, N.Y. who ultimately helped bring about civil rights protections for themselves and others like them.
