Encarna Conde, a Spanish woman with a disability, wrote a porn producer to complain about the lack of actors with disabilities in his productions.  According to this Guardian article, the producer invited her to appear in a film entitled “Breaking Barriers”.  The article is rather vague about the details of her appearance, although I don’t get the impression that Ms. Conde actually performed.  As others have noted, the press doesn’t seem too interested in using this story as a springboard for a deeper exploration of issues surrounding disability and sexuality.  Instead, it’s merely back-page fluff, a convenient excuse for putting the words “wheelchair” and “porn” in a single headline that might induce the reader’s eyes to linger on the page to notice the ad for Tesco’s below the fold.

 

Thanks to Wheelchair Dancer for pointing me to this story.  This is the first time I’ve visited her blog, but the quality of the writing is good enough to warrant regular reading. 

In preparation for Bryan Singer’s Superman film, I re-watched the 1978 version starring Christopher Reeve.  I  remember enjoying this film as a kid and I thought it might be interesting to see how it held up.  Yeesh.  The first half hour is okay, mostly because we get to watch Jor-El and General Zod glower at each other, but afterwards the movie descends quickly into uninspired camp.  Lex Luthor in a wig?  And what is up with that god-awful inner monologue (“Can you read my mind?”) delivered by Margot Kidder?  Her character is supposed to be a crackerjack reporter and she’s reciting dialog that sounds like it was written by a teenage girl with a crush on the guy who sits in front of her in geometry class.  Oh, and I’m pretty sure time doesn’t run backwards simply because Superman reverses the Earth’s orbit. 

 

I want those two hours of my life back. 

I took a trip in the Wayback Machine when I watched this clip of Stevie Wonder laying down the funk on Sesame Street with an extended rendition of “Superstition”.  I’m pretty sure I remember seeing this performance when I was a mere tyke.  Actually, I owe Sesame Street a sizable debt for setting me on a road to academic achievement and professional success.  My parents and Sesame Street were probably the two biggest influences on my budding intellect.  Ernie was the character I wanted to hang out with the most, while Cookie Monster struck me as something of a simpleton.  As I got older, I became a devotee of The Electric Company (“Hey, you guyyyys!”) and 3-2-1 Contact, thus ensuring that I would be a lifelong acolyte of the Public Broadcasting Service. 

Since May, we’ve had a legal intern at work to help us with some tasks related to the implementation of the Demonstration.  He’s a smart guy and eager to help, but I often have to remind myself to ask for his assistance.  Most state employees don’t have much in the way of administrative support, which means I usually end up doing my own copying and mailing, not to mention my own proofreading and research.  It’s great to have the help, but it requires a slight shift in my work habits. 

 

I’m also reminded that my first legal internship was ten years ago this summer.  I worked at the Minnesota Disability Law Center and I remember being in a constant state of mild unease because I was never completely sure I knew what I was doing.  Most people don’t understand this, but the core law school curriculum doesn’t teach you much about the practical aspects of working in a legal setting.  Law school teaches you to think like an attorney, but you’re on your own when it comes to figuring out how to do day-to-day tasks like writing a letter to a client or drafting a policy white paper.