Allen Rucker

BUY THIS BOOK

2009-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

A brand-new edition of probably the very best resource for anyone who is paralyzed, quasi-paralyzed, or just thinking about becoming paralyzed has just been published, and it's a beauty.

It's called SPINAL NETWORK: THE TOTAL WHEELCHAIR RESOURCE BOOK. If you are old enough to grok the reference, it is the WHOLE EARTH CATALOG of all things wheelchair and para-health related, from sex, travel, and sports to personal assistance services, insurance, and cure research. It's all there.

There are also many witty and provocative essays on life in a wheelchair by people who live it daily. For instance: in a section called "Our Labels, Ourselves," a writer named S.L. Rosen makes this eloquent observation:

"For me, and I imagine for most others like me,'survivor' is the real term that holds meaning. We are surviving indeed, to the embarrassment of a society that can't figure out what to do with us, ghastly successes of that medical skill of patching together shards of people who, some years ago, wouldn't have survived at all."

Even crips, patched-up shards that we are, tend to take life for granted.

Anyway, get the SPINAL NETWORK book by logging on to www.spinalnetwork.net or calling 888-850-0344 ext 209. It runs 400 pages and cost $34.95. It's worth every penny.

Mention my name and it won't save you a dime.

BUSTER AND THE PIG

2009-06-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Buster is not part of the Vegan Generation. He's a throwback to the Pigmeat Generation.

RAMP THAT

2009-05-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Another nightmare wheelchair scenario courtesy of writer and Philadelphia's favorite daughter, Karol Silverstein. Thanks, K.

see more pwn and owned pictures

WE GET LETTERS

2009-04-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the best I've ever gotten re "The Best Seat In The House." I just received circuitously via my agent in New York because my email service on this site messed up again. In any case, this note goes on top of a big stack. I will now shamelessly reproduce it as a way to thank the very thoughtful Judy Finelli.

"Mr Rucker, you wrote one hell of a book. I loved it! I am a 61 year old quad and you had me in tears, laughing and crying in recognition. As far as I am concerned, you did the impossible -- you found the humor in the horror. Not only did you tell your own story, your own personal truth, but you told all of our stories. That's the neatest trick of all.

Gratefully, Judy Finelli, San Francisco Clown Conservatory"

Thank you, thank you, Ms. Finelli.

I say, if you want to be a clown, go see Judy.

REAL NEWS

2009-04-22T09:09:00.001-07:00

If you didn't catch Tuesday's New York Time Health section, you probably missed this astounding story. I'll just give you my own headline.

THERE ARE A HELL OF A LOT MORE PARALYZED PEOPLE IN AMERICA THAN EVER IMAGINE!

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation commissioned a meticulously designed study to revisit the old guesses about this population and here's what they discovered:

* There are 5.6 MILLION people in the US paralyzed by a central nervous system disorder. That's almost 2% of the population.

* There are probably FIVE TIMES as many SCI paralytics out there as previously thought. The old number, seemingly writ in stone, was 250,000. The new number: 1.275 MILLION. Big dif.

* The number of people with paralysis due to MS -- where I more or less fit -- was estimated to be 939,000, which is TWICE the previous estimate of all people with the disease, period.

All of this leads me back to a question I have had since the day I became paralyzed. With all those paralyzed people, a majority of them in wheelchairs, I'd guess, how come I rarely see any of them in public? You go to IKEA on a Saturday, the place is filled because they're having a sale on cooking pots or something, and you'll see one or two wheelchair users, tops, and one of them is simply overweight. Strange. 2% of the population and it's virtually invisible.

Here's the Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/health/21para.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Paralysis%20study&st=cse

Back to you, Brian.

MEET BUSTER

2009-04-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

A recent addition to our extended family. This is Buster, a French bulldog or "Frenchie," as a pup. A few months later, he now weighs in at 25 beefy lbs. It's hard to be depressed when you're around Buster.

WAKE UP AND READ

2009-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Please check out -- if you are so inclined -- the April 09 issue of NEW MOBILITY MAGAZINE, either hard copy or on line.

http://www.newmobility.com

I wrote the cover story about Hollywood and the disabled, called THE NEW GIMP MEDIA REVOLUTION.

Also, I'm proud to say that I am now a Contributing Editor to NEW MOBILITY, a fine mag which has just been nominated for 2009 UTNE READER INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD in the category of Health/Wellness Coverage. Congratulations, Editor Tim Gilmer, Publisher Jeff Leonard, Editorial Director Jean Dobbs, Managing Editor Josie Byzek, and all other staff and writers.

NM celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and deserves your support.

Thanks for listening.

MAIL SNAFU

2009-03-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers and Writers: Because I'm a computer Bozo and let my mailbox at ar@allenrucker.com get overstuffed, much mail has been getting kicked back to senders lately. If this has happened to your mail, please resend. We here at allenrucker.com thrive on your spirited correspondence. Keep it coming, please.

Just back from three days in Palo Alto speaking at the new Stanford Med SCI Partnership with the Palo Alto VA and others. Created and run by the dynamic Dr. Graham Creasey, this program links SCI researchers and staff at Stanford with the vet population at the VA SCI unit and other facilities. I learned more about my own psychic situation talking for an hour to a roomful of severely disabled vets, young and old, than I have at a hundred medical conferences. Thanks, Dr. Creasey, for a memorable visit.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING

2009-03-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

If you are a published author -- and you know who you are -- consider joining THE AUTHORS GUILD(http://www.authorsguild.org/), a group looking out for all writers' best interests. The guild, currently headed by one of America's finest writers, ROY BLOUNT JR, recently settled a case for $145 million with GOOGLE to provide authors royalties on all books that Google plans to scan and offer free of charge. And Roy just wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times about Amazon's new and egregious practice of providing in-house audio versions of copyrighted books for free on KINDLE. I love my Kindle but this is thievery. And THE AUTHORS GUILD is out there fighting it.

This week I'll be at Stanford Medical Center and the Palo Alto VA on Thursday (19th) and at the CSUN Disability Tech Expo at the LA Renaissance Hotel at LAX on Saturday (21st). If you are interested in the Expo, a big one, go to http://www.csunconference.org.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

2009-02-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

ATTENTION K-MART SHOPPERS! Your favorite web destination -- ALLENRUCKER.COM - will soon come to you with a whole new look! It's a total face lift and tummy tuck. With all new features, like...HOW TO BUY AR BOOKS DIRECTLY! MORE VIDEO! GREAT NEW GRAPHICS! AND OTHER STUFF. Please stay tuned.

Secondly, AR would like to thank the wonderful people at the DAYLE MCINTOSH CENTER FOR THE DISABLED for inviting him down to speak at their big awards gala last Friday. It's a terrific organization. If you live in So Cal, check it out.

Thirdly, AR will be speaking next at the CSUN Conference on Technology and People with Disabilities on Saturday, March 21 at noon at the LAX Marriott, sponsored by FLEXICISER. Go to http://www.csunconference.org for more info.

Finally, see above -- the message of the day.

READERS OF THE WORLD

2009-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Check out this month's (FEB 09) issue of that fine mag, NEW MOBILITY. http://www.newmobility.com/ The cover story is called SEX, WHEELS, AND RELATIONSHIPS. You wouldn't want to miss that. When you cool off, read my story on the evolving jargon of DISABLE-SPEAK.

Then tell 100 of your closest friends to subscribe. It's a very classy publication, whether you are a wheelchair user or not.

Do it. Now. Chop-chop.

Thanks.

ANOTHER BEAUT

2008-12-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

Another entry to what my friend Karol -- conduit of this image -- calls The Cripple Sign Hall of Shame.

If you spot another entry, please let us know.

Happy Holidays,

The Management

JOY TO ALL

2008-12-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

There is nothing that says "Have a heck of a holiday" like these songbirds. Copy and paste, please. Enjoy and thanks for tuning in all year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg7uGL6Ku20&eurl=
http://www.omgblog.com/

AR

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-11-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

And another curious comment on something, courtesy of my friend, Karol Silverstein. Again, your explanation here.

see more

HELP ME OUT HERE

2008-11-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

What exactly was the game plan in this set-up? I'm completely baffled. Seriously.

MODERN SOLUTIONS

2008-11-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

Again, an image from failblog.org. Apparently the Amish are more adaptive than you might think.

IF YOU'RE IN THE AREA

2008-11-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Next Monday night (11/17) I will be in New Orleans to emcee the 4th Annual Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Jazz Concert, put on by the fine people at the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. New Hall of Fame inductees this year include that promising young comedian, Robin Williams, and famed disability activist Marc Buoniconti. And music by -- among others -- the Ellis Marsalis Quartet!

For more info, go to http://www.spinalcord.org/.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours, AR

IMAGE OF THE DAY

2008-11-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

This comes courtesy of failblog.org. They collect weird stuff like this. They also stamp "FAIL" on every image, but we love them anyway.

CASUALTIES OF WAR

2008-10-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Please check out the October issue of NEW MOBILITY Magazine for a cover story I wrote on severly disabled Iraq and Afghan war vets after they return home. The title is: "A New Generation of War Vets Comes Home."

If you don't subscribe to NM, think about doing so, or go to http://www.newmobility.com/ and read the piece on line. I spoke to vets all over the country -- all of them SCI's and/or amputees -- and they tell their extremely dramatic stories in their own words.

Given the nature of these wars, most of us don't know any vets. Here's a chance to meet a few.

Thanks

SPEAKING OF WHICH

2008-09-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

For those interested, I was just sent a link on Google Video to a keynote speech I made in July at the 3rd International Neuroimmune Disorders Symposium in Seattle. People with MS, TM, Lupus, ADEM, etc met the doctors from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere trying to cure these cruel disorders. It was a great gathering and a distinct honor to be asked to speak before this group. The link is:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3975072241537707584&ei=dt
PTSMLiJKfYqAPMtYiuAg&q=Allen+Rucker&hl=en

It's 36 action-packed minutes long.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

2008-09-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

This is from my friend MADONNA LONG, consumer advocate for Pride Mobility, and all-around free spirit. She apparently took some time off from her busy day to park by the Susquehanna River in Scranton PA and do a little deep reading. Hey, Madonna!

NSCIA EVENT...BE THERE!

2008-09-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

EXCITING NEWS (AT LEAST TO ME)

2008-08-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've just learned that I've been nominated for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association's annual Hall of Fame Award, given out this year at a big gala in New Orleans on Sept 25th, Hurricane Gustav permitting. I found this out after I was asked to emcee the ceremony, which was exciting enough in itself. In any case, the honorees are chosen by on line voting -- there are 17 categories of winners -- I'm in the Entertainment category. So...if you want to vote for all 17 Hall of Famers, go to www.spinalcord.org and scroll down to:

Member Voting is Open for 2008 SCI Hall of Fame™

You'll have to join the NSCIA to vote, but it's a) FREE, b) easy, and c) a great organization to be a member of.

To see the NSCIA poster for New Orleans, go to:

http://www.allenrucker.com/blog/NSCIA%2008%20POSTER.pdf

Now I gotta go watch the weather report.

BROUHAHA OF THE WEEK

2008-08-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

If anyone out there was wondering -- and I'm sure many of you were wringing your hands in wonderment -- where, in my new capacity as chairman of the WGA's Writers With Disabilities Committee, I stood on the burning question of the use of the word "retard" in the new Ben Stiller comedy, here's a statement that was not sanctioned by either the committee or the WGA, cuz they don't take sides between guild members:

"No one understands the power of words better than writers. When Tony Soprano peppers his language with f**k, it’s a form of intimidation. When someone says “nigger” or “kike” or “spic,” it’s a form of hate. The same applies to the word, “retard,” perhaps the most damaging reference to the disabled in current usage. When the writers of “Tropic Thunder” think it’s cute to use “retard” in their farce, it’s not funny. It’s mindless and offensive.

I personally join with the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society, and others in pointing out this egregious lapse of common decency and urging the public to find another movie to see this weekend."