RuthMadison, Author at Ruth Madison

Spying on Disablism

This post is part of the blogging carnival Blogging Against Disablism Day. Okay, that sounds like I’m blogging against there being a “disablism day.” It’s a day to blog against disablism, meaning prejudice against those who have disabilities. It is sponsored by Diary of a Goldfish. I am not disabled. As someone who is “disability-challenged” (that cracks me up, I love it!), but still caring about those who do have disabilities, I am in an unusual position to observe people’s response to disability when they are not trying to be sensitive. So here are some honest reactions from non-disabled people… *** I went on a date with a nice young man in a wheelchair. I was living in southern California at the time and...

Posted by RuthMadison on May 1, 2011 in Disability Rights | 6 comments

Glee- Born This Way

This was an amazing episode. It focused on accepting yourself with all the things that you think need fixing, the things you don’t like about yourself. It was based around Lady Gaga’s new song “Born This Way.” I highly recommend this one, even if you’re not a big Glee fan (and side note, Kurt’s number from Sunset Boulevard was possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard on the show, I had tears streaming down my face by the end of it). For the big number at the end, all the kids wore white t-shirts with black lettering spelling out the one thing they are most self-conscious about. It was powerful and moving. Artie’s t-shirt said “four-eyes.” He was not a focus on this episode, but even so, I...

Posted by RuthMadison on Apr 29, 2011 in Disability Rights, Movies, Sexuality | 8 comments

The Book Group

Thanks to a suggestion right here on the blog, I have been watching The Book Group. Here’s the description on IMDB: “American Clare Pettengill, newly arrived in Glasgow, starts up a book group in order to make some new friends. The group consists of three unhappy European football wives, a pretentious drug-addict student, a closet-homosexual football enthusiast, and a kind and gentle struggling author in a wheelchair. Each week they meet to read and discuss a new book, which always affects or influences each of the group’s lives in some way.” It’s available to watch on Hulu. Kenny is the paraplegic character and so far I’m finding him well done. It’s a nuanced performance with his disability playing not too large or too...

Posted by RuthMadison on Apr 26, 2011 in Disability Rights, Movies, Paraplegic Hero, Paraplegic Heroine | 5 comments

Kindle Version of (W)hole

I just wanted to make an announcement that the Kindle version of my debut novel is finally available. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XJCKSY

Posted by RuthMadison on Apr 23, 2011 in Updates on Ruth's Fiction | 0 comments

Breaking the Waves

This movie may have done me permanent psychological damage! It is incredibly disturbing on many levels. I’m sad that this is what gave the wonderful Emily Watson her break. She deserved better. I saw it when it first came out in 1996 and I am definitely not going to watch it again for the purpose of this blog (or for any other reason). Even people who don’t have a problem with the disability portrayal had trouble dealing with the weird pacing and style. Since I have blocked as much of it from my mind as I can, I will give you another reviewer’s take. This is DevoGirl’s assessment: Breaking the Waves Denmark 1996 no stars Directed by art-house darling Lars von Trier, so already you know it’s going to be more painful than...

Posted by RuthMadison on Apr 22, 2011 in Movies, Quadriplegic Hero | 6 comments