Disabled Riders: Jatran & City Discriminates Against Us

I've spent the last week working on a "Who's Accountable" report about a federal lawsuit some disabled riders filed against the city of Jackson and the Jatran system.

This was actually a "dangerous" story to shoot because I spent a few minutes seeing what Jackson residents in wheelchairs face when they try to get around.
There are a number of areas with no sidewalks or curb ramps, so they often have no other choice but to ride their wheelchairs in the street with cars. I couldn't believe how unsafe it was until I saw it myself.
Dr. Scott Crawford showed us what it takes to get to the closest Jatran stop from his home and the city of Jackson responded to the lawsuit in my "Who's Accountable" report:

http://www.wapt.com/video/17853525/

LOST FANS......Unite!

I'm counting down to early 2009 when my favorite TV show - LOST - returns to ABC.

You won't really understand my devotion if terms like:
the others
the hatch
the oceanic 6
the Dharma initiative
Locke vs. Jack.....

don't mean anything to you.

But for LOST devotees, they mean everything. We've been watching since 2004 and will never forget the day Oceanic Flight 815 crashed into the ocean and the "survivors" came into our lives.

While the twists, turns, questions and queries about LOST are numerous, the Emmy-award winning show has a huge following. LOST devotees are a special breed who have to get used to the crazy ABC schedule and the show "going missing" for months at a time.

For instance, it won't return now until early 2009. Here's a bit of a preview:





Here are some vital websites related to LOST:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=index
http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page


And one of my favorite characters on the show is Sayid who's played by Naveen Andrews (http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=bios#t=character&d=39847). His character is a bad @ss Iraqi soldier - who like the other mysteriously landed on the Island and his skills were extremely useful there. I've met several celebrities in my 35 years on the Earth and I'd love to add him to the list!

Eat Pray Love!

Aside from the crappy “W” movie, my week wasn’t a total bust artistically. I just started reading a new book: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htm) while I was in the doctor’s office Friday morning. I’m still in the early stages of reading this and already I’m in love with the theme and the author.

First I have to admit I’m a little behind. I remember catching a glimpse of a promo when the author appeared on Oprah. I never saw the episode.

Then in August my sister gave me a copy of the book and raved about it. In all my busy-ness I put it off until I had a few minutes to sit still and read it. That happened when I wasn’t feeling well Friday so I brought it with me to the doctor’s office.

What clinched it for me was when I identified with a passage in the book. The author, Liz, was in an unhappy marriage. She was in the bathroom crying night after night. Her husband didn’t know. And Liz found herself crying and finally praying to God. That’s when she heard what she described as an “omniscient interior voice” that told her to go back to bed. Of course, she was looking for a direct action from God on what she should do next. But I knew exactly what she felt.

I had a particularly upsetting Saturday night with someone I dated back in 1999. I had been disrespected and embarrassed, nothing physical, just emotionally bruised. It upset me so badly I had an upset stomach and problems sleeping. The next morning I went to church - still upset and emotionally suffering. A church sister must have noticed it on my face. She took me in a separate room to sit down, gather my thoughts, and brought me a glass of water. Once I was ready to go into the sanctuary, I sat there for awhile and then I heard something from God, my “omniscient interior voice.”

It said: “I gave you what you wanted to show you it wasn’t what you needed.”

Let that sink in for a moment…..

“I gave you what you wanted to show you it wasn’t what you needed.”

I knew immediately what God meant and how it applied to this person I was dating. He wasn’t what I needed but he was my attempt to fulfill the loneliness I felt at the time. And as I’ve grown and developed since that time eight years ago, I’ve realized that in many situations it still applies.

Get the book. Listen to your own “omniscient interior voice.”

MOVIE REVIEW: "W"

Add Oliver Stone’s “W” to the list of bad movies I’ve seen in a row this year. (Hancock, The Happening, and The Women were previously mentioned in this blog.)

In fact, it was so long and disappointing TMIL (that’s my acronym: The Man I Love) said he won’t let me pick another movie for us to see. I agree with his description that “W” was like an extended SNL skit. It was an exaggeration of the President, his family, and his cabinet. I found myself squirming in my seat about 40 minutes into the movie. I didn’t like the way Stone flashed back and forward into time. I’m not saying a movie has to be told sequentially to be effective. But Stone’s storytelling was all over the place for the first hour or more. Most annoying - too many scenes where the president eats and speaks at the same time. Stone wanted him to look silly. That’s one mission he accomplished along with giving me a stomach ache as I watched sandwich after sandwich get gobbled by actor, Josh Brolin, while bits and pieces of food fell out of his mouth.

In my opinion, Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11” made a better argument about the president’s mis-steps, than “W.” Oliver Stone’s biopic traced George W. Bush’s poor decision making skills to drinking and womanizing in his younger years, Daddy-issues, a “calling” from God to run for president and being manipulated by Dick Cheney (and others) into the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq in order to control oil in the mideast.

Colin Powell, played by Jeffery Wright, was the only intelligent and honest person in the whole film. He stood by his opposition to the wars in grand, credible style.

But if Condoleeza Rice ever crosses paths with Thandie Newton – watch out! Condi will likely smack the taste out of Thandie’s mouth. Thandie portrayed the secretary of state as a nasal, annoying, unattractive, “yes-woman.”

I’ll save you the $6 -$9 depending on how much movies cost where you live. All you need to know/see is in this trailer OR read the reviews below it:

W movie Waste

Jeb Bush dismisses Oliver Stone film W as 'hooey'

Movie review: 'W.'

"Welfare for the Rich"...

that's what Wanda Sykes called the massive bank bailout plan when she last appeared on Jay Leno.

I don't know about you. But I'm cutting back on spending and trying to pay off debt. I've cleaned out tons of clothes/shoes/purses in my closet and sold them at a recent garage sale or took them to The Orange Peel consigmnent shop in Fondren (http://www.jackpedia.com/index.php/wiki/The_Orange_Peel/). We're all doing creative financing and trying to be more responsible.

Wanda wants to know why the banks can't do the same: