When I was home sick a couple weeks ago, i found an interesting photographic exhibit on the web that I meant to discuss, but then promptly forgot in my feverish daze. The exhibit is titled Intimate Encounters and it features photos exploring disability and sexuality. CAUTION: Many of the pictures feature nudity and are definitely NSFW, so click with care. The photos are frank in their depiction of the erotic lives of people with disabilities and several of them are quite lovely. I admire the people who were willing to pose for these images (most of whom seem to be Brits and Aussies). I’m not sure I’d have the chutzpah to bare my crippled ass for the whole Internet to see. I wonder what kind of reaction these photos get from audiences. And I wonder if the photographer has any plans to shoot in America.

The Star Tribune has a brief column on Cheri Blauwet, a wheelchair marathoner who competed in this weekend’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. She finished second in the women’s wheelchair category.
I’m getting tons of trackback spam and my efforts to reduce it have so far been unsuccessful. I’m about ready to permanently de-activate trackback on all future entries, but I don’t think that would solve the problem. Any suggestions?

The topic of Medicaid continues to preoccupy the minds of our nation’s governors. Yesterday, the National Governors Association presented its recommendations on Medicaid reform to a Congressional panel. There was a lot of consternation surrounding proposed co-payments for Medicaid enrollees. In Minnesota, most Medicaid enrollees already are required to pay co-payments for things like prescription drugs and clinic visits. I also pay a pretty hefty monthly premium for my Medcaid coverage (but that’s because I’m employed). In theory, I’m not opposed to the idea of co-payments. Health care is one of those things in which people should feel invested, even if it’s at a very basic level. A small co-payment for things like ER visits might encourage people to seek treatment sooner, before a crisis develops. I think co-payments could be structured in such a way so as to protect even the poorest beneficiaries, perhaps through a federal cap that limits co-payments to a certain percentage of income.
As I keep saying, Medicaid needs reform to remain sustainable and this is one option of many worth considering. I get frustrated with lawmakers, many of them fellow Democrats, who seem unwitting to look at even modest changes to Medicaid. I’m totally with them on ensuing access to quality care for as many people as possible, but I think that goal doesn’t necessarily clash with making the system a little more participatory as well. Don’t tell anyone, but I think Medicaid could serve as the precursor to some kind of national health insurance. And if we’re serious about making national health insurance a reality, we need to start by addressing the problems and inefficiencies in the current model.

I’m trying to get my strength back after getting my butt kicked by this virus. Not quite back to normal yet, but I’m getting there. In the meantime, I’ve been looking at a lot of movie trailers. The trailer for Murderball, a documentary about wheelchair rugby, looks promising. I’ll gladly shell out eight bucks to watch some badass gimps in souped-up wheelchair go all gladiator on each other.
Yeah, I’ve probably commented on this film before, but it looks really cool. It makes me want to go out and buy a Murderball T-shirt. I like how the trailer seems to emphasize that having a physical disability doesn’t necessarily mean one isn’t physical anymore. Like everyone else, gimps just want to smash shit up sometimes.

Just realized I need to get a new passport. I have a passport that’s about twenty-five years old, but I’ve changed a bit since then. I hope getting a passport photo is easier than getting a Minnesota ID photo. When I needed a picture for my new ID, I had to cram myself into a little booth. And when I was finally situated, the county clerk discovered that her fancy automated camera wouldn’t swivel down far enough to see my face. My nurse had to lift me out of my chair for the camera to see me, which explains my slightly peevish look in the finished product.
If anyone knows of a medical supply company in the UK or France where I could rent a suction machine like this one, drop me a line. The one I have won’t run on 220v electricity, but I’m thinking there has to be a similar European model.