What is beauty?

Good Morning,

Throughout the month of July, the BBC is broadcasting a new reality TV show-Britain's Missing Top Model. The synopsis reads: 8 young women with disabilities (ranging from missing limbs to hearing impaired) strut or roll their stuff down the catwalk for the chance to win a photo shoot with one of Britain's top fashion magazines.

Maybe it's because I've seen one too many commercials where even the patriotic woman in the wheelchair makes it to the voters station on election day (shame on you able-bodied lazy citizen!) but i like to think the British are perhaps a little more cultured or advanced than us Americans...

somehow whatever they suggest sounds good to me

I receive an on-line newsletter from a disability podcast called the BBC Ouch! Podcast.

(podcast-think radio program you can download and take with you to listen to wherever, whenever you want)

Anyway, as one of the newsletter items there was a call out for disabled people to send in video clips of themselves introducing a BBC TV “programme” (I think that means program).

The rules were simple the lead-in must be 15 sec. or less and you must pick from among the following 5 shows.

Family Guy- the cartoon; a typical American family…apart from the fact that the dog talks and the baby is an evil genius.

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps- a sitcom which follows the sex-fuelled lives of five early twentysomethings in the northern town of Runcorn, Manchester...vulgar language is also used, except that the word 'fuck' is uttered only once in each series, always in the final episode. (interesting)

Ideal- Ideal stars Johnny Vegas as Moz, a small-time, hash only, drug dealer in Manchester. Each episode is set within the confines of the flat, which he rarely steps out of, he shares with his girlfriend Nicki.

Scallywagga- It's streetwise, urban and a little bit schoolyard!...

Sooo,

This I thought you might enjoy seeing my entry.

What do you win? the selected clips will be shown on BBC TV for a glorified 15 sec. of fame and I believe posted on the Britain's Missing Top Model website.

This clip also includes my response to "What are your thoughts on the whole idea of beauty?" (this was option #2- there was nooooo way I could do this one justice in 15 seconds…or less. I’m a little afraid of meeting the person who could).



(video text)

What is beauty?

According to magazines it's...long hair, dazzling smile, flawless skin,

I think there's also inner beauty: being kind, compassionate, having grace under pressure

it's a subjective quality but often used as something external and placed upon a person…especially in comparison to others

Beauty is in the simplicity of a design

In a dance movement as the rhythms of music flow through the body and are felt in the heart of the observer

it's where you care to rest your eyes and linger

Moments of connection and intimacy

Beauty is the language of nature…the voice of warning when it’s gone. Look at body of water, an expanse of land, see dead fish or strip malls...they don’t say back beautiful you get the sense or feel that something’s wrong

Beauty is vast, expansive, timeless; seamlessly connected to something bigger

Perfection in the moment; it comes with the understanding that while the past provided this moment it is no longer here and future will not sustain it. all of life is change.

happy monday.

keepin' it real

Good Morning,

I was going to give a quick update on my Team Reeve training but then I realized the only thing more boring than running on an elliptical machine is reading about someone running on an elliptical machine
: ).

So...I'm cheating this morning and posting something I wrote last week on my Team Reeve blog. hope it's interesting.



Friday July 11

...i'm still enjoying my book

"People with paralysis are generally not particularly interested in supporting pure, curiosity-driven research; scientists, on the other hand, don't like being told what to do..." (Luba Vikhanski,The Lost Cord)

true! and...
true!

I am still enjoying my book on spinal cord regeneration.

I feel I have a foot in both worlds and have had to look into the heart of this issue.

The issue: it's political. how should people in power fund sci research when there are only so many dollars to go around and competing interests at stake?

People with paralysis can be said to be strongly in favor of applied research (give me my freedom NOW) while the scientist, must listen to the muses of science and sacrifice the gains of a few to uncover the underlying principle that will save us all! (this is called basic research to some very boring research to many).

Funding applied research is popular and fun. What better way to entertain yourself than with promises of getting to watch people dangling from harnesses over treadmills and then thanking you.(the paralyzed are an emotional lot and rightly so...we loove to write letters of our stories and inspiration. see how loud we clap at the one-armed soldier at the next State of the Union!!!) I can see why the decision-makers would want to put their dollars here. The outcomes are based on real people living right NOW with cures and medications that will benefit people in this lifetime.

I can also see why we'd want to funnel the resources toward basic research. To me basic research is applied research that just hasn't happened yet. While it rankles my feathers a little bit to read "several research teams demonstrated that new neurons can be born in the brains of rodents, tree shrews, and marmosets"(...now how in the hell is that going to help me?), I know Science is a discipline that proceeds in baby steps. You need to provide the...the underbelly from which the breakthroughs will spring! As the mystery is revealed, the entire course of human history will change-like the DNA double helix! The benefits are in the experiences of our lives AND in the generations to come.

Upshot:

for the politician or board members sitting in a committee meeting with one vote i believe deciding which research gets the grant is not easy.

Vote:

Those in favor of applied research?

Now have to answer...

"Applied!? It's not that easy!" There are still the difficult questions of how to distribute a cure? to who? These treatments also hold promise for improvements in lives of the newly injured. There remains the question then-"why not equal funds for quality of life/psychological needs of the chronically injured (read self)?"

Those in favor of basic research?

Perhaps still have the most intellectual freedom. I believe they have the opportunity to provide us with the "think outside the box" solutions.

For this I cannot rely on my science but on my uh Buddhism?

I say the days of lone renegades and rangers are gone. Reasoning "i don't like to be told what to do!" (in my lab!!!) is maybe smart but not wise. What those folks/research scientists need to do is cultivate wisdom (instead of publications) and understand that there are people and places where they can thrive (see book The Lost Cord for participating labs). Watson &
Crick (??) are characters in a movie you do NOT need to walk underneath the Hollywood lights...just pool your resources, communicate, and get er done!

Go Team Rah Rah Ending:

i believe there is probably just this one life. so as the buddhist saying goes practice NOW practice because uh, your lab is on fire! ...no, no, no, practice like your hair's on fire!

okay still working on that ending...

Happy Monday,

Amanda

more disability dancing

Good Morning,

If you've checked my Team Reeve blog you may have read of my hip injury. I slept wrong the other night and morning weight bearing attempts proved difficult...

No worries. i've taken all the high kicks out of my Barracuda routine... (thanks Fergie!)...no, no, no, after proper stretching i was/am able to return to my training.

update: $850.75 (thanks to YOU all alone)
team goal: $2,500

So...thank you for helping me make my team members look bad...NO NO NO, I am completely kidding!!!! It's hard to overlook the fact that I have a "hook." (*family: yes i guess as Bing says even little Judy's gotta have an angle : ).

i am truly humbled and appreciate the response so far.

truth be told one of my biggest pet peeves/least favorite things is "hype." sorry for being so scattered this morning but i just finished reading an article "How Far would you go for a Cure?"

(excerpt from SELF magazine)

"Ricci Kilgore swings her hips to the right, throws
her leg into the air and lands her boot with a thud on
the fresh snow. She swings her hips to the left,
crunches her left boot down and then swings back
again. she struts 10 feet on the snowy concrete like
this, ambling side to side like a caricature of a
cowboy. Then she climbs a flight of stairs and comes
back down again, dancing a little as she plops in her
wheelchair, her bright smile practically melting the
snow around her..."

you may find me crawling around over ice and snow to get to the car, but i'm NOT smiling. that's not me!

i'm the type of person who smiles when i say

"If you want to excite your children, all you
need to do is mutter the words Kings Island!!!! (in
your part of the country this could also be Disneyland, Six
Flags or Disney World) For those who can afford it
and maaaaany who can't it's only one good minivan
drive or over-packed church van ride away...etc. etc."

what really makes me smile is sharing things with friends and family...okay, so, there's been a request for more disability dancing.

so...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XyKz5L9Sog

Happy Monday,

Amanda aka A-lo
*i've only got 10min. to get to work!

June Gloom

Good Morning,

While out in Southern California I learned about this funny thing they call "June gloom." From the best I could tell this just meant that there's a slight haze in the morning that burns off 10-20 min. after daybreak.

As we deplaned in Columbus, a quick check out the window revealed...dark skies to the west and wind blowing the few remaining strands of hair sideways on the grounds crew man. In my best Lucy (of the Peanuts) voice I had to fight off the urge to yell THAT'S JUNE GLOOM!

...or at least in my head what it truly looks like.

But, JULY is almost here! This morning I will choose to stay focused on the positive. When
struggling with post-vacation blues perhaps the best thing you can do is not to try to relive the vacation but rather to focus on what you've learned.
So...

10 Things I've Learned in Southern California (L.A., Orange County)

1. In SoCal they do not have weather but they do have traffic.

(...as you approach L.A. the beautiful sun brings out the smog layer and the urge to ask for wet wipes)

2. If you want to see famous people you don’t need to drive around looking for them in an expensive tour bus…just take out your contacts and go walk the pier at Hunington Beach. I saw Kelly Slater (a surfer), a few members of the AVP tour (Karch Kari), and the entire cast of the OC or Laguna Beach. (w/o contacts : )

3. When hugged by a smelly homeless person at the beach it stinks but really doesn't hurt to listen...

4. The next tsunami is coming in August. It is going to wipe out California from S.F. to L.A. with one giant tsunami…(courtesy of God via the homeless man)

5. There ARE mountains in California!!! …unless they just flash them up on a big green screen for tourists. In addition to ocean, sun, blue skies, you will also see breath-taking views of the Santa Ana Mountains off in the distance...and the throngs of cyclists out to conquer them!

*p.s. "Dear God, this is far too much gifting to do to one state..."

6. I'm not sure why but I always get my best hairdos when sleeping in hotels. (see photo)

7. At least among the trendy, hip teens in popular eateries, wheelchairs are IN! In general, the "Ashleys" and "Chips" of SoCal pretty much ignore you. However, at the "Urth Cafe" I was surprised to find two girls looking at me insecurely seeming to wonder if they too should get this new casual mode of transportation…

*#'s 8-10 Taken from my "10 Things Learned When Clubbin'" list...

8. Don’t arrive before 10pm unless you work there...

9. You MUST have a posse – although you are in Hollywood you mustn’t fall for it. Sitting at a table awkwardly sipping a drink, does NOT magically produce someone just as awkward...looking to trade baseball cards...as a favorite song starts playing on the juke box

10. Good news. If you don’t know how to dance these places will provide someone giving free lessons…she stands up there on a stage, in front of a screen, with very little clothes on so you can see the correct anatomical formation of each move and how to clench and relax your muscles (you may find yourself lying on your side doing a complete 180 trying to figure out the correct balance and position of the movements origin).

Alright, time to boogie.

Happy Monday,

Amanda