Search Results for ‘wheelchair’
Values and whatnot
A couple of days ago I put a question out to two folks on Twitter asking them to ask me questions I could blog about. This is part two.
Marina responded with a bunch ‘o questions:
Marinaisgo @noarmsjames ohoh!! Uummmm! The value of education, food, your cat, dead michael jackson, dancing, fucking, perfume, grandmas, cookies. GO!!
Holy shit…
Education: Have you seen the kids today? They’re fucking retarded, so I would say education in it’s current state is shit, and it’s only getting worse. It’s a shame.
These days schools just try to jam facts down the kids throats so they can pass tests to make the school look good. If schools taught skills like critical thinking and common sense education would be great again, but as it stands now it’s rubbish.
Food: I honestly am not a huge fan of it. I eat so I don’t die, that’s about it. I wish we didn’t have to eat.
My cat: As I type this he’s making a shit ton of noise and running around like a mad man. He has destroyed all my furniture, will only shit when I’m in the bathroom showering or brushing my teeth. He covers his shit poorly so I am forced to smell it too. He does this on purpose. I live in constant fear of the next time he will attack my foot and not let go until blood is drawn, he won’t let anyone pet him, and sheds more than Farrah Fawcett after a chemo treatment (too soon?). Basically, he’s an asshole. However when I get into bed and he cuddles up next to me, nuzzling his head in between my neck and shoulder and purs me to sleep I remember why I love him so much and wouldn’t trade him for anything.
Dead Michael Jackson: Honestly, I could care less. I don’t care how talented he was, I find the worship of him after his death obscene. Good riddance.
Dancing: Have you ever seen a person in a wheelchair on the dance floor? It looks ridiculous. I don’t care for it one bit. I support the Footloose town elders.
Fucking: I haven’t had sex in a long time, too long. I love sex. Sex is amazing, and it’s so versatile. You can have dirty kinky sex with a total stranger and never see them again with no regrets, or you can make love to someone you love and feel connected to them in ways not possible without it. It’s great.
I also love the word fucking; it’s equally as versatile.
Perfume: Who cares? Go fuck yourself.
Grandmas: Depends. I miss my paternal grandma a ton. She was the best. She was always there for me. Interesting fact about her. She was married four times; she married three different guys all named Joe, and they all died. Then she married an older guy named Cliff who had health problems and he outlived her.
My other grandma….Just read this and draw your own conclusions.
Cookies: Although I don’t love food, I have a soft spot for peanut butter cookies…omnomnom!
I hope you feel closer to me now.
Technorati Tags: twitter, farrah, fawcett, michael, jackson, grandmas, thanksgiving, cookies, education, retards, wheelchair, dancing, values, food, cats, perfume, fuck, fucking, sex
Site Search Tags: twitter, farrah, fawcett, michael, jackson, grandmas, thanksgiving, cookies, education, retards, wheelchair, dancing, values, food, cats, perfume, fuck, fucking, sex
3 comments July 11, 2009
New York
So I’ve neglected this blog for a long time. Oops. I literally get 5’s of people wanting me to update it more often, but I just haven’t been feeling creative. There have been two people who have been especially persistent about it; lovely kiwi Bebe and the also lovely and always masturbating Marina. These two are always pushing me to update.
So last night I sent a tweet to the both of them:
@bebe33 @Marinaisgo You must each pick one topic for me to blog about. Aaaaand go!
Bebe responded first with
@noarmsjames Something about your experience of NYC
And what Bebe wants, Bebe gets.
April 15th is a very important day, it’s my birthday! It’s also the birthday of the host of a little podcast known as Keith and The Girl. Like 5 people listen to it so you probably haven’t heard of it. So anyways, Keith (the host) is a huge fan of mine; I’m probably his favorite person in the world. So Keith learns about my birthday and decides that they should throw a huge party in my honor in NYC. Being modest I at first declined, but he is very persistent.
Now when I say huge party I mean huge! Two venues, 3 stand-up comics and a band. Somehow Keith got his 5 listeners to get a huge group of people to come to NYC for the party. It was huge!
I’m not going to go through a play-by-play of the whole night, but I’ll share some observations.
I’ve been to NYC many times. It has a special feel to it, one I can’t describe, but it’s unique to NYC; no other city big or small has that feeling.
Being a very old city, NYC is extremely wheelchair inaccessible. Everywhere we went that night had stairs, big flights of them. Thanks to extremely helpful KATG fan (and a good friend to boot) Kale and my best friend Bean we managed to navigate the stairs with minimal difficulty. Usually a non-accessible place doesn’t bug me, but with almost everywhere in the city being that way you can’t help but feel a little unwelcome.
NYC is also the only place I’ve been where people will literally stop in the middle of the sidewalk just to stare at me. They don’t care how blatant they are about it.
Pat Dixon is the worst comedian in the world. FUCK PAT DIXON!
KATG fans on the other hand are amazing. I’ve never felt so welcomed by a community. Everyone I met and talked to were great, and I can’t wait to hang out with everyone again.
All in all it was a great trip and a great way to spend my birthday. I wish I had one really great stand-out story from the trip, but the whole thing was amazing, and it went too fast.
Technorati Tags: music, podcast, NYC, KATG, comedy, stand-up, staring, wheelchair, accessibility, fans, twitter, birthday, April,
Site Search Tags: music, podcast, NYC, KATG, comedy, stand-up, staring, wheelchair, accessibility, fans, twitter, birthday, April,
7 comments July 9, 2009
Thanksgiving 08
I don’t really like Thanksgiving. I’m not a big turkey fan, and it’s just too close to Christmas. We don’t need two major holidays in one month. I try to make the most of it though, and be a team player since I know lots of people do like Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving like most, I spent with my mother. My mother lives in the same city as me, and we live pretty close to each other. Even though we live so close, I usually go stay with her for a night or two on holidays that we’re in the same city for. This Thanksgiving was no different. It’s usually just me, her roommate, and her. This year however, were joined by my grandmother from New York, and her sister, my second aunt. I love them all, and I usually like spending time with them. The only thing I don’t like about it is that when I’m at her house, I have no access to a computer, Internet, or TV shows that I want to watch. I feel cut off from my world. It usually doesn’t bother me that much because I enjoy the time I’m spending with my family and my favorite bar is right down the street from her house.
This year was a little different…
As usual, I left my apartment in the afternoon the day before Thanksgiving and hopped a bus to get to her side of town. It had been raining on and off all day but thankfully stopped long enough for me to get there. As soon as I arrived I could feel the tension in the air, but everyone had their happy face on so I tried to ignore it. I said my hellos, got my obligatory hugs and kisses from grandma and settled in, still not knowing where the tension was coming from. I figured it out very quickly though. Every time I mother’s roommate was out of earshot, my grandmother started badmouthing her. I found her criticisms to be quite silly; for instance, she was upset the roommate had decided to bake her delicious homemade bread at around 4 PM, as this was supposedly dinnertime (we eat much later). This went on all evening, friendly in front of her, talking shit when she walked away. I ignored it, ate some dinner, and headed out my favorite bar. I haven’t been there in quite some time, and ran into quite a few people I haven’t seen in a while. It was great. I haven’t had alcohol in months, so I only had 4 pints but was quite drunk by the time I left. I got back to my mother’s place at about 1 AM and she was still awake which is very rare for her. So we sat outside and talked for a little while. She told me what I had already known, my grandmother hates her roommate. But there was more. Apparently my grandmother had been quite negative the entire trip (she’s already been in town for almost a month). She was talking shit about everyone, getting in the way, making messes (she somehow broke my mother’s coffeepot while I was there) etc. and she was driving my mother crazy. There was nothing I could do, so I laid my drunk ass down and went to sleep, knowing that tomorrow I would not be going to the bar and would have to deal with all this sober.
I woke up about 10:30 AM Thanksgiving day. Thankfully I was not hung over, and with the sweet smell of turkey roasting in the oven I thought maybe it would be a better day. Seriously, how can you be in a bad mood with all that good smelling food in the air? That tension was still in the air though, and did not get any better throughout the day. Thanksgiving dinner came and went without any real issues, it was quite delicious. My mother hasn’t done a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in a while since she and I and her roommate are not huge fans of turkey, but as I said it was quite good. After dinner my mother informed me that she was going to be driving my aunt home, I guess she had enough as well. My mother asked her roommate to go with her to help her stay awake on the way home. When my grandmother found this out she was infuriated and talked shit the entire time they were gone. As soon as my aunt got dropped off, she called my grandmother, and my grandmother bitched for about half an hour until my mother got home. When she got home my grandmother just exploded on them. She was letting obscenities fly, called the roommate a bitch and told my mother she was going to be going home early. My mother tried to defend herself but looked pretty stunned and started crying after a minute. This broke my heart; she had worked so hard to have a good Thanksgiving dinner with her mother and instead got stress and tears. She recovered pretty quickly and seemed fine for the rest of the night but didn’t talk about the fight with me at all. I have to give her roommate credit, because she could’ve just ignored my grandmother for the rest of the trip, or just in civil to her when necessary but she still tried to make conversation was quite friendly with her, which is more than I would have done in her position.
Today (Friday) was calmer, but that tension still hung in the air. I was grateful to come home. After I got home, mother and her mother had to stop by and drop off a few things that I couldn’t carry with me on my wheelchair and my grandmother was still making snide remarks under breath. Apparently she’s going to return the rental car she paid for tomorrow, and use that money to buy an early plane ticket home. I know it’s tough for my mom to see the trip and this way, but I have no doubt she’s quite relieved. She’s had enough; you could see it in her eyes and her face, and you could hear in her voice. Before I left she asked me if I would be joining her for Christmas, and made it quite clear that grandmother would not be there 
On Thanksgiving three years ago I made my mother cry and I still feel terrible about it to this day. Although I was quite sad to see her crying last night, the selfish part of me thinks “at least it wasn’t me this time”… I’m a good son
Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving, turkey, grandmother, mother, roommate, bar, drunk, pints, dinner, aunt, trip, family
Site Search Tags: Thanksgiving, turkey, grandmother, mother, roommate, bar, drunk, pints, dinner, aunt, trip, family
3 comments November 29, 2008
Devotees, Fetishists, Wannabe’s and Fakers
Man this blog is all over the place, but it’s my blog so deal with it.
I’m going to talk a little bit about Devotees, Fetishists, Wannabe’s and Fakers as they pertain to disability culture; and more specifically the amputee culture. I realize that I’m not technically an amputee, but with my missing limbs it’s the group I identify best with.
First, a little background on each (as I see them):
Devotee: Sometimes known as a “devo”. Amputee devotees are usually male, though there are females as well. A devo is someone who feels a strong initial attraction to amputees. In my eyes it’s not all that different from someone liking blonde’s over brunettes, Asians over Caucasians, etc…
Fetishist: A fetishist is like a devo, but they view the person as an object. They will lie, pretend to be someone else, pretend to be interested in an amputee to get close to them, get what they want, regardless of the effect this has on the other person. It’s purely an attraction to the amputation for them.
Wannabe: A wannabe is someone who quite simply wants to be disabled
Faker: A faker is someone who wants to be disabled, so they pretend they are. They use crutches, wheelchairs, bind their limbs to look like an amputee, etc…
In my eyes devotees are ok. Ii like the idea of someone actually liking my disability, as opposed to just being ok with it. Devo’s actually care about the person they are with, not just the disability.
It’s the other three I’m not too fond of.
Fetishists are just creepy. They literally prey on the disabled. Just about any cripple online, including me has stories about these scum. Sometimes they come on directly, sending an IM or message telling you how beautiful you are then asking for pics with your shirt off, etc… The more sinister of them will pretend to be someone else, and try to lure you in. Once, shortly after I began being open about my disability online, I started communicating with “Zana”, a lovely young lady from Atlanta who claimed to be a devotee. We exchanged emails, “she” started asking a lot of questions about how I do what I do, etc…Pretty normal stuff. We got close. Shortly after “she” started asking for pics of me in my boxers and nothing else, close-ups of my shoulders, my foot, you get the idea. As soon as I said no, “she” disappeared. I found “her” once on a site that was exposing fetishists. It was a male fetishist who was doing this to a bunch of amputees. Creepy
Wannabes and fakers kind of creep me out too, but for different reasons. I cannot wrap my head around the concept of being able-bodied and not wanting to be. I realize that it’s similar to people who wish to be a different sex, and I get it intellectually, but not emotionally. People who wish to be a different sex don’t bother me at all, but wannabes and fakers do. I guess it’s because I’m in a way, what they desire to become, while I would do just about anything not to be like this.
I saw a documentary once on wannabes/fakers. There was a man who so desired to be an amputee. Doctors refused to amputate a healthy leg, so he took a shotgun and shot his leg off. I was so disturbed and angered by this that I was nauseous. I couldn’t watch the rest of the film.
Well, now you know a little tiny bit about dis culture, you’re welcome.
If you like this then please click here to subscribe or use the button in the right column.
Technorati Tags: devotee, fetishist, wannabe, faker, disability, culture, amputee, limbs, devo, objectify, lie, pretend, attraction, cripple, amputation, crutches, wheelchairs, bind, limbs, creepy, beautiful, documentary
Site Search Tags: devotee, fetishist, wannabe, faker, disability, culture, amputee, limbs, devo, objectify, lie, pretend, attraction, cripple, amputation, crutches, wheelchairs, bind, limbs, creepy, beautiful, documentary
7 comments September 10, 2008
I think too much
I told myself when I started this blog I wasn’t going to write about really personal stuff. I don’t want it to get all emo, but I got things on my mind, so feel free to skip this.
I was watching this documentary on gimp life and I was thinking on how although it’s an absolutely amazing documentary I felt it didn’t touch on a few things I thought it should.
It didn’t touch on how most of us cripples live below the poverty line, and how hard that is.
It made me think I should go right out and get a job. Then I remembered that while I could get a job that would pay the rent and feed me pretty easily, I would lose my insurance, not only does that insurance cover health, it covers my wheelchair ($14,000), and it covers my attendants ($10.50/hour, 40 hours a week). I couldn’t afford either one of those things on my own, and insurance that would pay for them would be way out of my range. So I guess I stay broke for now.
That made me think I need to go back to school, but even if I go get my bachelors degree, will I get a job that pays well enough to cover those expenses? I don’t know. I may end up being poor forever.
That makes me think I could be single forever. No girl wants to be with a guy who’s completely broke. Out of my three best friends 2 are married, one is engaged, one has a child and another one on the way, one has his first on the way. Meanwhile I’m not even dating. I’m pushing 30 and I’m way behind. It’s lonely, and I’m afraid it may be my reality for a while.
I hate nights like this, when I over think things. Hopefully when I wake up I’ll be over it.
Technorati Tags: cripple, gimp, poor, lonely, insurance, documentary, wheelchair, single, kids, marriage, think, emo
Site Search Tags: cripple, gimp, poor, lonely, insurance, documentary, wheelchair, single, kids, marriage, think, emo
5 comments July 29, 2008
