April 19, 2016

Hi you guys. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

OK, so check this out. I was sitting in the car waiting for my mom to get a sandwich at the local deli. A guy and a woman start arguing right outside my window. Then, the woman slams her hand on the car. The guy reaches into the car and pulls out a big bag of ice and nails the woman right in the face with the bag of ice. She just drops to the ground. The police showed up. An ambulance showed up. It was crazy. And all in a few feet of me. The sandwich was good though. That was the start of my morning. It was a crazy day. We moved on to a fair where they had exhibits to help handicapped people. You know, I can't decide if it was a real bummer or a real upper. You see, there were a lot of people like me, all messed up. But there were also a lot of people I call "Angels," people who want to help other people. So I guess it was a cool thing to see. Then, I moved on to finding a restaurant and we ended up in a real bad area of town. there were like crack dealers on every corner. We got totally lost. I decided we should just go home and we did.

Oh yeah, I forgot. I wanted to dedicated this blog to a very very good gallery owner. He knows who he is, if he reads this. The reason why I want to dedicate this to him is because he put a huge smile on my father's face, and my sister's face. I won't go into details, but it was pretty cool. He's gonna have a big show for my father. Pretty cool.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was a good friend of mine is moving to LA. What's going on? Everyone's moving to California! At least, all of my friends. Pretty crazy. Anyway, it's a good move for my friend.

That's about it for this week. My social worker came and I worked out a few things with her. Oh yeah, my movie is coming up on the 29th of April. You know, the documentary I did with Adam and Erin Hall, as well as family and friends. Here's a link to get tickets. If you're gonna come, I recommend you get tickets now. It's limited seating. It's an easy train ride up from the city. No need for a car. I'm gonna show some work as well, right across the street. It would be cool to bring some food up, have a picnic by the river. See the documentary, then the show. My friend here told me there would be wine and cheese at the show. Bonus!

Have a good week and maybe I'll see you there. Love, B. Nice

April 5, 2016

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. You know, stuff going on in my life right now.

So if there's anybody out there that knows my daughter, perhaps you could read this following letter to her. I don't see her much. She lives in Texas, and I live in New York.

To my beautiful daughter,

You're amazing, smart, kind, generous, always helpful. A real do-er. You know, as you go through life, people will give you different names and labels. For example, amongst other names, I have a name and label of a disabled or handicapped person. But, you know what? It's kind of cool. I mix my talent as a photographer with my so called "disability." I'm able to show the world how I see. It's kind of like a super power. There's no one else that sees the way I do. I'm unique. Different.

You know what? Everyone's different, unique and special in their own way. Don't be scared of people that are different. Although, I know you're not scared. You're just curious. Curiosity is like a super power. Basically, you're amazing. Lots of people love you. And I love you.

Love,

Dad

P.S. Don't forget to brush your teeth.

~~~~~~

OK, so it's been a crazy week. It's almost like my state of consciousness has reached another level. It's hard to describe, but I'm more aware of my situation. And my situation sucks. But, you know what? You gotta keep working. It's almost like being an athlete. The more you train, the better you get. So basically, don't give up. It's kind of a cliche, but it's true. I'll talk to you guys next week. This is B. Nice signing off.

Oh yeah, here's the link to my other blog, and here's a link to our film we did that's showing on April 29th. Check it out.

March 29, 2016

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. Oh, by the way, Happy Easter to all you guys. I know it came and went, but it was a fun day.

You know what I've been doing lately? It's good for my memory. I've been cooking with my health assistant. We pick out a recipe and he does all the prep work, like cutting… Actually, he does most of everything while I have a martini. Just kidding about the martini, but he is a good sous-chef. I've been working with a lot of curries. Hey! That might be a job I could do! You could hire me out. I show up with my assistant and some food and I'll cook for you. Just feed me some water.

OK, so I gotta get this off of my chest. I'm a little annoyed with something. You see, when you have a brain injury and you're on medicare, you can get help from various agencies. Well, the help you get is … well … how can I say this? You get what you pay for. These helpers get paid nothing.. It's crazy! You make more money flipping burgers. Then on top of it, they're trying to take away housing subsidies from everyone. In other words, if it weren't for my parents or a nursing home, I'd be out on the street. And let me tell you, you don't want to be in a nursing home. Bottom line is, never get old and never get sick. And for god's sake, don't get old and sick. Then you're truly screwed. There is something out there called, "Consumer Direct," meaning, you're the consumer and you directly look for someone to be a helper. That's something I didn't know about. You'd have to look into it further, but it's something I just discovered. Good luck.

I'm gonna end it here. My friend here said, "You're gonna end it all?!" I said, no. I'm just having a pity party. You know, "Pity - Party of ONE." I'm gonna go back to looking at the fire. That's the highlight of my day. I think I've become a little zen. Have a good week and don't forget to come to the movie we all did. The movie when I went across the country. Filmmaker Adam Hall made it and Erin Hall did the production. I did the film also with my friends and family. Check it out. It's kind of cool and it brings awareness to brain injury. It's April Fool's Day coming up. Should I tell everyone I'm just bullshitting. I don't have a brain injury? Stay tuned.

Love, B. Nice

P.S. You guys, it's super easy to get to the movie. The movie is at the Depot in Garrison, NY. You just go to Grand Central Station, take metro north to Garrison. It's only about an hour trip. It's like going to the outer bronx. I's a nice ride up the Hudson River. You might want to make a date of it and bring a picnic. No need for a car.

March 15, 2016

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. I'm presently recovering from my little one's visit. She's a smart kid, but Oh Man! Talk about energy. When you have a traumatic brain injury, any stimulus out of the norm is gonna send you over the top. She just left and I feel like hell. But it was worth it. What a great visit.

You know, when you have a traumatic brain injury all sorts of weird things happen. For example, I've been having a strange feeling on the right side of my body. The whole right side is cold. Imagine drawing a line from the top of your head right down to your belly button. Now imagine the whole right side being cold. It's really bizarre. Circulation? Who knows? Just another wonderful bonus you get from a traumatic brain injury.

The other thing I'v been doing is going through my old material. You know, the stuff I did when I was shooting fashion photography. I've been going through my old tear sheets and filing them. Man! I worked a lot. I think I told you this before, but between 1984 and up until 2008, I worked a lot. I guess I never really realized it before. No wonder why my head exploded. But it is fun to go through all the old stuff. Some was really great. Some was terrible. Like my friend here says, I always had a good time and I guess that's what counts. Going back to the right side of my body feeling cold, when I exercise, it starts to feel normal. Overall, I feel better when I do a bit of stretching or exercising. It helps a lot.

I'll tell you, when you have a traumatic brain injury, you really have to rely on other people. It's a drag, but you can't do a lot of stuff on your own. No way. It does get tiring though, relying on other people. You just want to be independent. I'm getting a bit sick of it right now, but I guess after six years, you would get a bit tired of not being independent. I do see an overall improvement though. Like my eyesight, strength in the core. Stuff like that. I'll tell you though, it's very very slow. Not much else to tell you. I got a new Ducati motorcycle. Just kidding. That was a dream I had. I'll tell you about that later. That's all for this week. Here's my link to my other blog. Miss you guys. Talk to you soon, and oh, yeah, don't forget to go to my movie that I made with my friends at Team Hall along with my family. It's about a road trip across America. It was basically done to call attention to brain injury. Here's the link, and if you want to go, buy tickets because it might be sold out the day of the show.

March 8, 2016

This is pretty funny. I gotta tell you guys something. Someone I used to know said to me, "Get a job." And then I started thinking about it. I said, "Let's see, what could I do?" I have a girlfriend on a police drama TV show. I could get my SAG card and be the dead body. Or, I could be a human doorstop. Or , let's see, I could be Your Wingman at a bar. For example, if you wanted to meet some girl, I could just take off my breaks and drift into them. It's a good conversation starter. Or I could start a service where you could hire me to cruise down the street with a puppy in my lap. I mean, come one, who can resist a guy in a wheelchair with a puppy? Now, I have to warn you, I'm a little rude sometimes. For example, if some girl came up and said, "Could I pet your puppy?" I might say something like, "Sure, that'd be great! Let me move the dog." You get the idea. The point is, I can't really do much of anything right now. I can take pictures. It's pretty far out cause I try to photograph how I see. It's pretty wild. There aren't many options for a person with Traumatic Brain Injury. You basically do the best you can.

The cool thing is, my daughter is here. It's exhausting having a 9 1/2 year old, but it's amazing. My mother went all the way to Texas to get her. We went ice skating the minute she got here. Pretty cool to come all the way from Texas to go ice skating.

Not much else to really talk about right now. Just the same old stuff with therapy. It's slow, but you gotta keep moving forward. I'll leave you guys with a photo. And, oh yeah, let me tell you, I'm having a screening of a documentary I did with the filmmakers Adam and Erin Hall. I did a documentary with them and my friends and family. It's on April 29th, in Garrison, NY. At the Depot Theatre. After the screening which will be at 7:30, we can all walk across the street to the Garrison Art Center to see some work I did on the trip. It should be a lot of fun, and call attention to people with Traumatic Brain Injury. Do you know what this month is? It's the month of Traumatic Brain Injury. How Ironic is that. You know what today is? National Pancake Day. I didn't have pancakes this morning, but I did go to a maple syrup farm with my daughter. Pretty cool, but talk about a sugar high… Talk to you guys next week, and here's my other blog.

Love, B. Nice

And here's a link for tickets for the documentary. Hope to see you there. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2518366