Archive for August, 2008

Vector Arena’s bizarre lift signage

Red August 31st, 2008 1 Comment

Firstly, apologies for the shoddy image quality, but my god, what is this lift signage trying to say?! I actually cracked up when I saw it. I’m not quite sure how I never noticed it before. I’ll leave it up to your interpretation, but it sure is um, interesting…

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Meet the NZ Paralympic team!

Red August 31st, 2008 5 Comments

Well, not personally, but surely on the telly is just as good?! TVNZ’s Attitude programme is bringing you an in-depth look at the team travelling to Beijing for the 2008 Paralympic games, screening tonight (Sunday 31st August) at 11:30pm on TV One, so for all you night owls, make sure you tune in and check it out! And for those of you particularly interested in wheelchair rugby, TV One are also showing The Power of Attitude: The Journey of the

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Oh snap!

Red August 29th, 2008 2 Comments

In response to Philip’s jibe below, here’s the evidence in all its embarrassment… Having said that, though, like George said below, is it not okay for a black man to call himself – and other black men – niggers? It certainly seems to be… So can the same rule not be applied to disabled people? Hmmm. Friday afternoon ramblings…

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Is the word ‘retard’ up there with ‘nigger’?

Red August 27th, 2008 7 Comments

In today’s politically correct world, using the right word to describe minority groups is becoming increasingly important. No longer are black people described as ‘black’. No longer are gay people described as ‘faggots’. So why, then, is it deemed appropriate for disabled people to be called ‘retards’? The latest Hollywood blockbuster ‘Tropic Thunder’, produced by movie studio Dreamworks, features an intellectually disabled character named Simple Jack, played by Ben Stiller. Throughout the film, he is repeatedly referred to as a

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Disabled aliens in Beijing? Or just a funky loo sign?

Red August 17th, 2008 4 Comments

Well, the bloggers over at TVNZ’s Olympic site are kicking up a stink about the disabled bathroom signage through the National Stadium in Beijing. As you can see in the picture on the left, rather than your traditional white-on-blue ‘wheelchair’ sign, the Chinese have adapted it somewhat and made it a funky black-on-red logo, in what I believe is a really fresh spin on a rather tired image! But no – TVNZ’s Michael Burgess says: Just what are they trying

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And the winner is…

Red August 13th, 2008 3 Comments

The winner of our Auckland SkyWalk double pass is Caz! Caz told me about her fantastic experience aboard the Gondolas in Rotorua and Queenstown – definitely sounds like they’re worth checking out! Congratulations Caz – I’ll be in touch soon

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Disabled kids are “a potential danger”?

Red August 5th, 2008 5 Comments

Some things really baffle me. One of those things is when a teenager with Down’s Syndrome is prevented from participating in a mainstream schooling environment because he isn’t allocated sufficient support funding, and, by mere virtue of the fact that he’s disabled, is seen as “a potential danger to themselves and others”. I’ve just been reading about Wellington 16-year-old Edward Watkins, who is only attends 14 out of his 25 weekly classes in a mainstream environment – the other time

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One week left to win a SkyWalk double pass!

Red August 4th, 2008 1 Comment

Don’t forget about our latest competition for all those wishing to try out Auckland’s SkyWalk for free – it’s easy to enter and you’ve got a great chance of winning! Click here to enter, and entries close August 10th so get in quick!

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Open letter to The Edge re: disabled seating at The Civic

Red August 2nd, 2008 11 Comments

I very rarely get upset. But today, when trying to book tickets for Phantom of the Opera at Auckland’s Civic Theatre, the disabled seating “policy” employed by The Edge pushed me to my limit, and I decided to pen this letter to try and get them to change what is an offensive, discriminatory, and utterly incomprehensible disabled seating arrangement. I’ve spoken about this before, but this time I’m going to do something about it. Read on, and leave your thoughts

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