Dear Community, Dear Friends,  

As a parent of a child with a cognitive disability as well as a relative to another, I consider the word "retard" very offensive. As a child, my mother was quick to educate us on how offensive this is to our family and others.  

Today it is a word that is tossed around thoughtlessly, few people even understanding the true meaning of the word.  It is through education that we can stop this from happening.    

I'm forwarding information to you for you to share with everyone you know regarding a new movie called "Tropic Thunder" that belittles people with cognitive disabilities.   Please do your part to help put a stop to discrimination and abuse of people with disabilities. Boycotting this movie offers a great opportunity to share information about individuals that have developmental abilities and to put a stop to the "R" word

Christine Garton

FSN of the Sandhills

Program Coordinator

Mother of a child with a disability

910-246-8059 ext.25  

 --- On Thu, 8/14/08, Irene Zipper wrote:

From: Irene Zipper
Subject: Re: [fsn_programs] FW: The Arc of the United States calls for national boycott of film Tropic Thunder
To: "FSN Affiliated Programs Mailing List"
Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 8:49 AM

 

Parent to Parent USA is among the many groups that has been involved in discussions with Dreamworks, and FSN of NC staff have reviewed a draft of a letter that is to be published in the New York Times.  One major concern is that this film not only makes use of an offensive term, but denies the valuable contributions that individuals with disabilities make to our society.  One of the discussions has been about whether letters should be coming from advocacy organizations or from individuals with disabilities themselves.  I think they should come from both, and it is important to emphasize the valuable contributions that all individuals are able to make to the society.   This movie seems to undermine that message, unfortunately  

Irene Nathan Zipper, MSW, PhD
Director
Family Support Network of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
CB #7340
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7340
(919) 966-6395
http://www.fsnnc.org/

    -----Original Message-----
From: Sue Price [mailto:SuePrice@vnet.net]

Subject: The Arc of the United States calls for national boycott of film Tropic Thunder

Dear Friends,  

I am writing this in response to several phone calls and emails we received about the movie Tropic Thunder, which hits the theaters today. Here is some information we received from The Arc of the United States which describes the movie and it's impact on individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Background: Tropic Thunder is an action/adventure/comedy scheduled for nationwide release on August 13 and promises to be one of the blockbusters of the summer. DreamWorks is the film's producer and Paramount is its distributor. 

The film features popular actors Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as self-absorbed actors filming a big-budget war movie on location. Through a series of freak occurrences, they are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a fading action star who earlier failed in his bid for an Oscar as "Simple Jack," a man with an intellectual disability. "Simple Jack" is featured as a film-within-a-film, with Stiller sporting a classic institutional bowl haircut and bad teeth. The film within-a-film's slogan is "What he doesn't have in his head, he makes up for in his heart." A satirical plot synopsis quotes a critic as saying that Speedman's Jack was "one of the most retarded performances in cinema history."

Status: A small number of disability advocates was able to screen the film on Friday, August 8.  Their assessment of the film was that it was far worse than anything they could have anticipated.  According to David Tolleson, the Executive Director of the National Down Syndrome Congress who attended the screening, "it provides real ammunition for cruelty" especially for the film's target audience of adolescent males.  "Not only is the Simple Jack character highly central to the film's plot, it is portrayed in the most demeaning way," according to Tolleson.  In perhaps the single most offensive scene in the film, Matthew McConaughey, who plays a Hollywood agent, speaks to the film's main character who wants to adopt a child.  "Well, at least you still have a choice.  I'm stuck with mine," states McConaughey while pointing to a photograph of his teenage son who appears to have an intellectual disability. There has been mounting outrage from the disability community as the film's content is gradually becoming known.  For excellent coverage of the issue, see http://capwiz.com/thearc/utr/1/LLMRJBOBNK/JPDRJBQIYG/2272335441 and related posts. Hundreds of comments have been posted on the blog expressing outrage about the movie.

Representatives of a number of national disability organizations, including The Arc's Executive Director Peter V. Berns attended a screening of the movie and state that it is even worse than they imagined. As a result, Arcs across the country, in collaboration with other disability groups, are calling for a national boycott of the file.

What can you do? Join us in boycotting this offensive film. Forward this email to your colleagues, friends and family asking for their support. All of us have friends and relatives spread out across this country. Our voice will be more powerful if we join together. Consider sending a letter to Dream Works expressing your outrage at the hurtful language used in the movie. (I have attached a sample letter to use if you wish)  Please consider that this is also a great opportunity for us to educate our community about People First Language! As educators, families and professional in the field, we all how damaging and hurtful this derogatory language is. Now is our chance to speak about this important issues to our children, friends and neighbors. We have an opportunity to make a real difference here, and I hope we can count on you to do whatever you can to help. Thanks so much.  

Sue Price
Executive Director
The Arc of Cabarrus County, Inc.
P. O. Box 1367
Concord, NC 28026-1367
704-788-1616  

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead, Cultural Anthropologist and Author

• Read More »

As a Realtor in the area, I routinely show properties to families. They always want to know about our schools, and I always say we have great ones.

Recently, however, a family came in that had done some research online. Using http://www.schooldigger.com/, they found our schools to be in line or just behind several schools in Cumberland County. I was not impressed with SchoolDigger, but I wasn't able to give any other recommendations either. In particular, Southern Middle School did not look very good, compared to other schools.

My girls attend Sandhills Classical Christian School, so I don't really have a way to evaluate the area schools personally. That's where you come in. I need your help.

It would be very helpful to me, and perhaps many others, if you would respond to this blog with your comments on our area schools. If you have a negative comment, please try not to grind the axe to hard. :)

 When Dan isn't drinking coffee at Panera, he sells real estate with Fore Properties.

• Read More »

Crescent State Bank has a campaign running until June 13th, 2008 to support the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. If you can help, please drop of any of the requested items at your local Crescent State Bank branch. See their web site for locations. Requested Items: Canned meals - stews, soups, tuna, ravioli, etc. Pop top cans a plus! Peanut butter Cereal Canned fruits & vegetables Rice Hygiene items - toothpaste, feminine products, shaving items, soap Infant products - diapers, wipes, formula, infant cereal (no loose glass or plastic jars of baby food as they have to be discarded due to health regulations) Paper products - toilet paper, paper towels Please make donations before June 13th For locations and contact information: www.crescentstatebank.com

Just because you are still enamored with your extensive Barbie collection, don't assume that everyone else is as well. As a full-time Realtor for the past 10 years, I have seen some great houses that wouldn't sell, simply because the owners couldn't get their own personalities out of the way. Below is a list of things you can do to help sell your house, and most of them cost little or no money.

Decorations

I wasn't kidding about the Barbie collection. My buyer clients and I walked into a house that was decent enough and met their basic criteria. Then we walked into the master bedroom. It was a shrine to Barbie. Literally dozens of Barbie's, still in their boxes, took their place of prominence on every horizontal surface in the room. In a bachelor's house. It's sort of that feeling you get when you walk in on your parents. Even though the house met my clents' basic criteria, they took it off the list, because they couldn't see past the Barbie display. You might think my buyers were immature, but you must understand that they are in control of whether they buy your house, not you. Sometimes buyers make big decisions using little details to guide them. While you might love your Barbie collection, others probably don't, so get out your "It's Moving Day" Barbie and store those collectibles away. Leave room in your house for the buyer to mentally move in their own things. Quite often I see military families make this mistake as well. While I am quite proud and supportive of our troops, I don't recommend displaying pictures or plaques that remind people of some disturbing scenes. Home is a sanctuary. Keep it quiet for the buyers by removing anything that might disturb their peace.

Clutter

Recently, I came into a house as a potential listing agent to interview for the listing. Long ago, I made the commitment to speak my mind, politely but firmly, about what issues I find. I have no desire to list a house I can't sell. This particular home was beautifully redone, from top to bottom, and sat in a very good section of town. It had been on the market, however, for two years. Obviously something was wrong. Besides being overpriced, the house was absolutely packed with furniture. The couple had married and combined furniture, so literally there were two houses of furniture in one space. Even though they were all very nice pieces, it made the house look llike a furniture showroom, instead of a home. Buyers need to be able to place their own furniture into a room, without tripping over yours. It is far cheaper to rent a mini-storage and pack away a few of your things, than to let your house sit on the market for two years. After the sellers moved out some of their stuff, the house went under contract in 28 days, and we got a backup offer as well.

Age Spots

My house is full of carpet stains. We manage to hide most of them, and if you don't like the rest of them, don't come over or clean 'em yourself. That's a fine attitude for us, because we aren't planning to sell. If you have pets, if you smoke, if you have kids (or husbands) who like to run with peanut butter and jelly, this will be a hard area for you to fix. It is SO important though. Getting those spots cleaned up will keep your potential buyers from forming a negative opinion of your home. It shows a pride of ownership, which puts the buyer's mind at ease about the rest of the house and the parts she can't see.

Messy rooms

There is nothing worse than coming into a bedroom and seeing dirty underwear. Clean underwear isn't much better. If you are really serious about selling your house, pick up everything, everyday. Clean and put away the dishes. Put toys in the right place. Your dog's favorite bone needs to be tucked away. The litter box should be clean. The toilets should be spotless. Selling your house is a pain. You are under the microscope 24/7, and you never know when a Realtor will drive up unannounced with a car full of buyers and want to see your house with little or no notice. Although we try not to let that happen, sometimes circumstances don't work out that way. If a buyer can't get in right then, quite often they will take the home off the list. I know that's not fair, but buyers are not always fair. Buying a home can be just as stressful and overwhelming as selling one.

Bad paint

Just the other day, I walked into a house with some buyers, and I nearly threw up. Somebody got the "I'm an HGTV star" complex and starting painting and changing the carpet. I kid you not, when I say the room was a combination of mauve carpet and pink walls. It looked like a collision of Pepto and Grape Nehi, and we got the indigestion. While you live in the house, paint the whole thing purple, if you want to. But when you decide to sell it, you need to begin to move yourself out of the house. That includes your tacky paint colors. Spec builders use beige for a reason. It sells. That also brings to mind a real pet peeve I have with homeowners. Just because Lowe's says you can "Do-It-Yourself" doesn't make it so. If you don't know how to keep wall paint off the ceililng, if you don't know how to properly caulk nail holes, if you don't know how to cut a straight line, this is for you: "STEP AWAY FROM THE PAINT BRUSH!!!!" Your bad paint job will cost you thousands of dollars, much more than the cost of a professional painter. When people see what a bad job you have done, they will price in a new paint job, even if they like the colors you picked.

Smelly house

Sometimes we have 20-30 houses to look at over the course of only one or two days. Imagine trying to remember all those houses. The last thing you want the buyer to associate with your wonderful home is how smelly it was. Your cigarettes must be completely undetectable, and you won't be able to discern that. Only a non-smoker who is not acquainted with your house will be able to tell. The litter box must be clean. Cat pee is a sure-fire way to ruin a first impression. Scented candles in every room is almost worse than the cats. The scent is overpowering and makes people think you're trying to hide something. One house had so many candles burning, we had to leave the front door open for ventilation. That house got crossed off the list. It's a little unfair, but the buyer is the one who makes that decision. Don't give her a reason to walk away with her nose in the air, firmly pinched between two fingers.

Dogs and cats

Here's where I get in trouble. I know you love your pet. I know he's precious. I know he's just being affectionate. I also know that the buyers don't want to be bothered with Fido and Sparkles. Barking dogs will turn away a buyer, even if that buyer has pets of his own. If there's any way to get your pets out of the picture, it would be a bonus. If not in a kennel, then in the garage or outside. If you have a large or somewhat aggressive dog, this is especially important. Do you want the buyers to remember your house as the one with the mean guard dog or as the one with the beautiful hardwood floors?

Price

Maybe you've noticed by now that I haven't mentioned price. It's the elephant in the room. We all know price is important, but it's not the only factor. In fact, it's one of the few things on the list over which you have little control. The market dictates price, not your mortgage amount or your bills that are piling up or your upcoming world cruise. This is a harsh reality, but you must respect the market. Quite often people will stubbornly stick to an unreasonable price for their houses and miss real opportuniites to sell. For every month you overprice the market, you are making yet another interest payment. Add those up and pretty soon, you've spent a great deal more money than you would have spent, if you had lowered the price to a reasonable level in the first place. Get an objective opinion of value. Your 1970s Brady Bunch era ranch with orange shag carpet and harvest gold appliances might really trip your trigger, but don't expect anyone to pay top dollar for it. Just because you don't mind a tiny bathroom with a pink tub, don't expect everyone to feel the same way. And just because you took out a huge line of credit to pay for that new bass boat with cruise control and XM radio, don't expect anyone to be willing to pay for it through an inflated house price.

Selling a house is like a going on a blind date. You never know if this buyer is "the one", so make your house ready every time. An attractive, well-priced house will sell, regardles of the market conditions.

When Dan isn't out selling real estate with Fore Properties, he likes to hang out at Panera. You can find him there or via email: Dan@DanAskins.com.

• Read More »

 

I have usually been able to joke about some of the things that a child with Autism gets himself into. Read some of my other blogs for more stories. I say that humor is what gets us through each situation. However this morning humor does not apply.

We woke up at 6am to prepare for our trip to my mother's house. As I finished my last cup of coffee, I walked into the kitchen to put my mug in the sink I noticed an odd smell. "Brian, I smell something burning." "Me to it smells like plastic" he said. We checked all over the kitchen and did not find anything. "SCOTT!"

We have been using our fireplace to help cut back on our heating bill. It has by at least half. It heats the house up very nicely, and I love the smell of the fire and hearing the crackling of the wood burning. We roast marshmallows and sometimes even enjoy a hotdog every now and then. Love it!

The fireplace heats every room except for Scott's. Because of his autism, we have to keep his door locked during the night. Scott wakes up much earlier than we do (between 4 and 5 am), so to keep him safe we keep his door locked from the outside. If we did not he would wander all over the house and even attempt to get outside. Keeping his door locked is imperative! Since the heat from the fireplace is not able to reach his room, we installed a small space heater. I say installed because that is what I had to do. I could not just put it in his room and tell him "do not touch." I wish! To keep Scott from messing with it required lots of bolts and screws, as well as a crate covering it to keep him from playing with it. That was a month ago. It has been doing a great job keeping his room toasty.

So as I ran down the hall to open his door, the smell was more intense. I opened Scott's door and yelled for Brian. The smoke was thick and I could barely see Scott on the floor in front of the space heater. Scott looks up at me and says "I fire." After the few seconds it took for the smoke to fill the hallway and clear up his room, I could see that indeed the space heater had caught on fire. The unit was melted and scorched and burn marks now scar his hardwood floor.

Indeed "Our Christmas Miracle"- Scott is fine, not a burn mark on him. The only damage done was to his floor and the headaches we all had from the smell.

I wish I could say that it was due to a faulty unit. But I am comfortable saying that Scott was the cause. I believe that when he woke up at 5am he got bored. He started to play with the space heater and then saw the small vents. Vents spaced enough to fit something in. This is what I believed caused the fire.

Unfortunately I know that this will not be last of our Autism Adventures. As Scott keeps getting older and stronger, he is also growing smarter and quicker. He is thinking about things that I hope I will be able to think of and head him off on.

So keep checking Sandhills Kids for more about our Autism Adventures.

-Christine

• Read More »

I eat a lot. It's something I'm really good at. The best part about it is the fact that I have a very high metabolism, so it doesn't show. Below is a list of some of my favorite eating spots in Moore County. They are in no particular order.

Please feel free to add to the list.

Breakfast

• Panera Bread. When I tell people I'm at the office, they know I mean Panera. I don't buy coffee there; I rent space. Free wireless, nice staff and lots of potential clients walking around. Oh yeah, they also have great lattes and those cinammon crunch bagels with honey-walnut cream cheese.
• May St Market. Morris Pennington, the owner, will sit down and chat when he has a free second. I take my girls there on some Tuesdays before school as a reward for getting up and getting ready in time. I can eat a great breakfast, go over homework and still make it to school on time.
• Mac's Broad St. My other hangout with the girls. I can't go in without seeing 10 people I know. I feel like a breakfast potentate.
• Sizzlin' Steak or Egg. This is what Mac's used to be. The classic diner. Their link sausage is the bomb, and their grits is the real Southern stuff. No, you don't put syrup on it...

Lunch and Dinner in subsequent blogs.

When Dan Askins is not stuffing his face, he sells real estate in the Moore County area.

• Read More »

The Sandhills Rotary Club has teamed up with the Town of Southern Pines to Stop Hunger Now. On Saturday, March 8, at the Douglass Community Center, we plan to package over 20,000 meals for hungry people all over the world.

The Town of Southern Pines is a co-sponsor and will be promoting the event in their literature. For details, please contact Dan Askins.

910-528-7003

Dan@DanAskins.com

 When Dan Askins is not out saving the world, he is a Realtor with Fore Properties.

The Sandhills Rotary Club, of which I am a member, will be coordinating an event to help alleviate worldwide hunger. Using a nutrient-rich mixture of dry goods, we plan to pack 20,000 meals in one day for hungry people around the world. Our club is part of a regional effort to pack 1,000,000 meals.

On Packing Day, scheduled for Saturday, March 8, 2008, we will need many volunteers-parents, teachers, even children-to help with a variety of tasks, from bagging to labeling to loading the truck.

The meals will cost about 20 cents each. Our club is raising the money to pay for all the meals. If you would like to support us with your donations, please make a check payable to Sandhills Rotary Club. We are a qualified charity and will be happy to give a tax receipt.

The  mailing address is:

P.O. Box 807

Southern Pines, 28388

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Dan@DanAskins.com or by phone 910-528-7003.

Thanks,

Dan.

• Read More »