I didn't manage to stay up to the wee small hours to watch the coverage of the Oscars ceremony last night, but a quick scan of the reveals that it's bursting with disability connections. Jamie Foxx scooped the Best Actor gong for his performance in Ray, the Ray Charles biopic, and Spanish movie The Sea Inside won Best Foreign Language Film. However, the big news of the night was undoubtedly the stack of golden statuettes won by Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby.
Now, of course, this particular film has already proved highly controversial amongst many disabled people for its portrayal of a female boxer begging to die after becoming quadraplegic in an accident. But there's worse. If you're blind or hearing impaired and were hoping to check out the movie in the UK - think again. According to the latest email update from - the listings site for accessible cinema - Million Dollar Baby has become one of the very few films to be released in UK cinemas without subtitles or audio description! That's yet another black mark against Dirty Harry's name, then.
Éù Ouch link: Read Access to the silver screen, in which we talk to the editor of yourlocalcinema.com about the huge improvements in access to movies in the UK (well, um, unless you want to see Million Dollar Baby).
Monkey reckons disabled people are about to become well popular. Apparently the Orchard Theatre in Dartford is being taken to court under the Disability Discrimination Act in June for refusing to give a free ticket to the carer of a disabled customer.
The Disability Rights Commission says offering a complimentary ticket to a carer is one way venues can make a "reasonable adjustment" under the law to someone who would otherwise be unable to go to a performance. Either that or offer a similar service themselves.
One can just imagine the queues of long-lost 'friends' offering assistance on free cinema trips, theatre visits, concerts.
No, it's not true that we've been desperately waiting to be able to gossip about Michael Jackson on Ouch, just hanging on in there to find the disability angle on his delayed trial. Vitiligo didn't seem to be the best of hooks, before anyone points this out to us.
According to several reports over the last few days, Stevie Wonder is to be on a long list of celebs who may be called as a witness for the defence in Jackson's trial.
It won't be the first time that the blind singing legend has stuck up for his beleaguered pal; he spoke out against Eminem after the rap star mocked Jacko about his (alleged) plastic surgery and child molestation charges in his video for the hit single Lose It.
It's hardly surprising that Michael Jackson collapsed on his way to court to see the ongoing jury selection process. The collapse which led to his hospitalisation was reportedly due to flu symptoms bound to have been made worse by the immense pressure he is under. With 10 charges of child molestation on his plate, Jackson faces 21 years in jail if convicted, meaning he could be locked up until he is 67.
See Hear, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's popular and long-running magazine series for deaf people, is looking to appoint a new Assistant Producer. If you think this could be the job for you, there are more details on the site.
If you're someone who uses a guide horse, a , or even an assistance pig, you'll want to read from The Scotsman newspaper. The US is demanding that the UK falls into line with their aviation laws, which allow any kind of animal to be taken on an aeroplane flight if a blind or disabled passenger says the animal is there to help them. But UK airlines and the Department for Transport remain opposed to these rules, arguing that the current laws which allow only visually impaired travellers with guide dogs on a flight are adequate.
Crippled Monkey says: equal rights for guide pigs now!
Crippled Monkey's US correspondent - well, OK, it's really just me reading - reveals that an NBC show called The Apprentice, billed as a "15-week job interview" with the prize of a job with one of the many business owned by property tycoon Donald Trump, is being sued by a disabled lawyer.
James Schottel Jr claims that the auditions for the reality TV show discriminate because they require would-be contestants to be in excellent physical and mental health. He's not seeking any financial reward from his lawsuit either, but rather to correct a possible violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; indeed, Schottel says that he's a fan of Donald Trump and doesn't believe that it's the man himself who is behind the discrimination, but that the fault lies more with the production company.
So, reality TV and disabled contestants, eh? Who fancies placing another bet on whether the next series of Big Brother might finally feature one of us? Anyone?
If you're an impoverished disabled scribbler, you could try making a living contributing to Ouch - but how about getting a proper job instead and using your talent in education or community work?
The National Association of Writers in Education is running a free one-day (including lunch) in King's Cross, London, for disabled writers interested in working in schools and in the community. E-mail paul@nawe.co.uk for a place, telling him about the writing you've done.
Talk to any blogger and they'll soon reveal that one of the proudest moments comes when they discover that their site is the number one referral for a particular search on Google.
Now, Crippled Monkey tries to rise above such popularity contests, but actually I'm no different - and that's why I was absolutely thrilled when I found that people have been flocking to one of this weblog's archive pages from way back in April 2004, simply because it's the top result for the search ! Isn't that just completely and utterly AMAZING?!
Here I am, giving you all these regularly updated tantalising titbits of disability news, gossip and info, and all people want are the juicy details of a 'Page 3 stunner' doing unmentionable things in a public convenience for disabled people!
So if you've arrived at these pages via a search from Google, and you're looking for that original weblog entry, you can find it here. Although why you'd want to read it, I really don't know.
It's time for another update from the wonderful world of the interwebnet, with some more disabled bloggers who have emailed us to tell us about their sites.
Éù features posts by - yes, you guessed it - The Goldfish, who tells us: "The novelty is that I'm not actually a goldfish, but a 24 year old wheelchair user with an old sense of humour". Coming at you from the heart of North Yorkshire, too.
Éù is the "platform for daily rants, dark humor, news updates and discussion" from Mumpy. It also features a number of Mumpy's characterful cartoons.
Éù is the AOL journal of jazzywheelsdawn, all about "living with a disability and going through the stuff to lead a 'normal' life".
Remember, if you're a disabled blogger out there on the web, drop us an email with the details of your site.
Disabled journalist and ex-Scope trustee Chris Davies wants to find out whether or not workplaces are meeting the requirements of people with high support needs.
Chris, a freelance journalist who has CP, says: "For the last four years I have been seeking full-time employment. Although nobody actually ever said as much, I am certain that, quite frequently, even jobs that are specifically only for disabled people are given to people who are significantly less impaired than myself."
If that sounds familiar and you fancy helping with the research, find out more on the website or email Chris for a copy of the questionnaire at: cpdavies45@yahoo.co.uk.
Is Channel Four finally going to put a disabled person into the Big Brother house? If you're a wheelie, the programme makers say you can queue-jump at this year's . A statement reads: "People who contact the helpline will be given an allotted time or brought to the front of the queue, depending on which is quicker."
It also assures: "It is our policy to assist people with whatever disability they have in order that they have equal access to the auditions. Whether that be bringing in a sign language interpreter or a personal assistant."
Of course, that must mean they're also happy to welcome interpreters and PAs into the house, right? We just want to know what happens if someone's interpreter gets voted off before they do ...
Call 0208 222 4995, leaving details of the assistance you require.
Oh, what a way to start the week. This morning, Crippled Monkey is feeling just a little bit guilty. Over the weekend, Sir Paul McCartney issued a in which he spoke out against those sections of the media who continue to publish critical stories about his wife, Heather. Ouch's immediate response was, of course, to give our very own Disability Bitch a one-way ticket and send her on a very long holiday.
The New York Times reckons the current fashion for films with disabled characters is great, because it will encourage loads of people to give to charity.
The paper says that Oscar nominee Jamie Foxx, as blind musician Ray Charles in Ray, joins a noble tradition of actors who have helped "shake the money tree" (and the Oscar tree) by playing disabled, from "the cerebral-palsied Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot", to "the retarded Tom Hanks in Forrest Gum".
According to one expert quoted, if a non-disabled actor plays a disabled character, it helps him to "personally identify, and then use his clout to go raise money".
So there you have it. They weren't nicking your part, they were trying to make you rich.
Read more: , New York Times (free registration required).
