Reflections: Sifting Realities

Denver, CO - House Representative Mark Larson, who wears a hearing aid, endorsed a bill regarding interpreting for the Deaf in courts, which was voted 9-0.

Deaf people usually have to wait hours and hours before finally getting an interpreter. With the bill passed, courts must provide interpreters, computer translators and listening devices for any parties or jurors in both civil and criminal proceedings.

The Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing would have to write up a detailed listing of rules on interpreting.

Since this article is really short, I assumed that the courts had a contract with an outside agency. I assumed that with the bill passed, the courts must have their own in-house interpreters. I'll need to get more infomation on this.

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Corpus Christi, TX - The Corpus Christi Area Council for the Deaf has been vandalized, the second time this month. The Council must come up with $1,000 to replace the 6 energy efficient windows, which were initially donated.

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Rochester, NY - A Deaf student, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Sorkin, becomes the first Deaf person to become the student body president of a predominantly hearing school. In this case, RIT. Supposedly, she's also the first in the country.

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Fayette County, PA - A Deaf woman, Carol McGavitt, left Wednesday morning for a walk at 9 and has yet returned.
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Imagine getting on a plane and flying to your destination, standing. That's what the Airbus is offering or rather, proposing to airlines. The "standing room only" will be in a padded section and each passenger will be held in a harness.

The idea has been created for short flights, at the moment. Lawdy, imagine standing up for a long flight, like from DC to California or Hawaii!

There are several reasons why "standing" flight is being tossed around, a couple of them are fuel costs and the complaints that seats are becoming narrower. Hmmm, seats are narrower or that people are becoming bigger? But, that's a whole other story.
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I read online for reviews of Silent Hill. They were mixed. Most of them gave the movie an A-. I thought that had to be pretty good.

So, Saturday, KT and I went to Silver Spring.

Oh, we had actually wanted to go to Alexandria, VA. The theatre there is actually closer to us than Silver Spring. However, Kingstowne Theatre kept hanging up on Relay. They hung up on us 8 times! I was so mad! I called the theatre in Silver Spring, since they're both under the same company, and told them to call Kingstowne that a Deaf person is calling through Relay and to stop hanging up on me.

I called back Kingstowne and finally got through. I asked to speak with the manager and explained the whole thing to him. He was very helpful and said he'd follow up with his employees. He'll be sending us a free pass for both of us. Yay!

Unfortunately, they weren't captioning Silent Hill, according to the infomation I got from DeafDC.com. Good thing I double-checked.

So, I called the theatre in Silver Spring to make sure that the caption disc had, indeed, arrived. There were a couple of times when KT and I went there for a captioned movie, only to discover that the caption disc hadn't arrived on time. They confirmed it had arrived.

So, we metro'd there instead of driving up as usual. Hey, gas is expensive these days! We got our tickets and display panel for the rear window captions. We're settled and waiting for the movie.

We were just excited because KT and I love to play the Silent Hill games. Ok, KT plays most of it, while I just scream my head off whenever something just suddenly appears on the screen. Hey, it's that scary!

Then, the movie started...and ended.

Hmm, we were both disappointed. I guess we had high expectations of the movie. I had read that the scare factor was really good. There was no scare factor. I had a mini-jump from one of the scenes but that was it.

Monsters were plenty in the video games. There were few in the movie and not a lot of fighting scenes against them. In the video game, Rose, the protagonist, searches everywhere for clues and finds all kinds of weapons and ammunitions to battle the monsters. However, in the movie, she's a mother looking for her adopted daughter, Sharon, but doesn't carry any weapons. There's a female cop in the movie that does the shooting.

So, what did I like about the movie? I liked the opening introduction into Silent Hill. I liked the various scenes in Silent Hill. KT and I would be telling each other, "yes, I remember this from the video game". I liked how they changed scenes of the alternate world from the real world. I thought that was creative. I liked how clues were strategically placed throughout the movie. I liked how home videos were used to show what happened in the past in Silent Hill, just like in the games.

The ending was interesting because it was different. Some viewers might find the ending scenes a bit gory for them.

The way the movie ended, you could tell they left it open for a possible sequel.

So, I'd give this movie a B/B-. It's still an enjoyable movie to watch. It did open as the top weekend movie with $20.2 million. I guess I just need to stop having high expectations for movies.
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Tonight is the monthly Deaf GLBT coffee social. So, come on over with your queer friends and hang out with a refreshing frappuccino in your hands.

Starbucks
P & 21 Streets, NW (Dupont Circle)
upstairs
7pm to 10pm
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Metro plans to extend the Yellow Line, from Mount Vernon Square/7th Street Convention Center to Fort Totten. The extension will overlap some Green Line stations: Shaw-Memorial University; U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo; Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue-Petworth. Riders, currently, reach Fort Totten via Red and Green Lines.

The extension will commence in January for 18 months as part of a pilot program. Of course, DC will cover the costs, $5.75 million.
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I stole this from Quiescent Voices.



Cochlear Corporation Introduces "KOALAS FOR KIDS"

Cochlear Corporation now provides a cuddly stuffed Koala bear, complete with a toy speech processor, to all Nucleus recipients, 18 years of age or younger. If home is where the heart is, then Cochlear's Australian Koalas will find a new home in the arms of these young cochlear implant recipients. Cochlear Koalas are shipped with orders for Nucleus® cochlear implants so that children may be given the gift the day of the surgery.

"We are pleased to introduce the 'Koalas for Kids' program. Cochlear Corporation wants to provide young Nucleus recipients with a companion that they can identify with. The Koalas serve as a gift of inspiration to children as they enter the hearing world and begin to decipher speech and sound," says Sara Harms, Vice President of Marketing.
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The Pentagon has finally released a list of the 558 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

You can view the list here: 558

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Today marks the 7th anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

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A student has been expelled from a private Baptist college for being gay. Now, there's a call to end the $10 million funding from the state to the college.

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Remember David Koresh? The Branch Davidians? Waco?

6 of the Branch Davidians will released from prison, 13 years after the whole cult drama.

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Thanks to Scott for correcting me the other day. Silent Hill will actually open this Friday. Plus, it'll be captioned this weekend as well, in McLean, VA. I'll probaby go there Saturday!

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ta ta...


Oh yeah, I came across this site for cheap gas in your location. You know that gas is getting expensive these days.

So, check out the link below. You enter your zip code and you'll get a listing of cheap gas in your area.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

Ok, ta ta...
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BITCH!

Now, let's get together soon so I can throw a cake in your face!

*mwah*
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What do I talk about?

What do I talk about?

Oh yeah, Gnarly has been making plans to go to Turkey. However, she has not been having luck with organizations to make donations for her interpreters. So, she's asking for donations from us. The interpreters are willing to go at a reduced rate from $24,000 to $5,000. If you want to donate, her blog has a "Make a Donation" button.

If anyone knows Patty Raswat, I believe she'll be the person that could help Gnarly for any resources in Turkey. Patty spent a considerable amount of time, researching on Deaf Turkish history. Her presentation was very interesting!

Unfortunately, I don't have her e-mail address. If anyone does, please connect her with Gnarly.

What else?

What else?

Oh yeah. Seriously, I cannot wait for the Gallaudet Presidential Search to be over. Yeah, a lot of people are bitching about Jane, Ron and Stephen. Seems Jane is a big no-no among the student body. Her husband, Jim, who teaches Communication Studies courses at Gallaudet, has defended Jane against the bickerings.
There's a split support for Ron and Stephen. I really do not know Ron Stern, except that I am familiar with 2 of his children, Louise and Shoshanna, who is that Deaf actress that currently appears on Weeds.
Stephen...I've seen him around on campus. I keep hearing that him and his brother, Fred, are like the smartest guys on campus and they have a plethora of contacts.

By the way, "apathy" is starting to be an overused word on campus. I'm sick of students trying to guilt-trip others and pointing them out to be apathetic. Perhaps we would all like to be involved. Perhaps there are other good and acceptable reasons why some students cannot get involved. Plus, timing is a factor with the semester coming to a close. Some of us are preparing for graduation and have to really finish our papers and projects so that we can march across the stage. Some of us have other duties that take priority over pep rallies or whatever related to the presidential search. So, stop trying to guilt-trip others because obviously it ain't working. If you wanna get involved and burn your bra or whatever you do to show support or protest, then get involved.

Ok, let's see, what else?

I saw Mean Creek.



Eh, it was ok. It's about a group of kids, going on a boat trip on a creek. These kids had a hidden agenda against a fat kid, who has taunted and bullied them. They planned to have him strip naked in the middle of the creek and make him run back home in his birthday suit. However, things go wrong and someone dies. The gang has to figure out what to do next. Report to the authorities and tell the truth or cover up and lie about it?

What else? What else?

I so cannot wait to see Silent Hill in May!!!!!!

Anything else to share? Hmmm...

Let's see...

I guess that's it for now. Ta ta!
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Imagine if you went to a movie theatre to see a film. Imagine if you saw a scene of a garden. Maybe a bit of lovemaking in the garden. Imagine if you could actually smell the flowers in the garden.

Well, that's what is going to happen in Japan later this month. Japanese will smell different odors that will accompany scenes for The New World, starring Colin Farrell, which was released in the U.S. this past December.

The U.S. has yet to do this in the theatres, but there have been similar technologies developed. However, will Americans savor this new development?

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Good for You!

A coach of a rowing team has booted 2 members, after they admitted to painting an anti-gay slur on a teammate's fence.

No more tolerance for homophobic remarks!

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ta ta...
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was pretty good. I thought it was a bit too long. There were some scenes that weren't necessary and could've been edited.

It's basically about a reporter from a NY magazine covering an elegant holiday party in Savannah, Georgia. The reporter was supposed to stay 3 days and then fly out. However, a murder occurred and the reporter stayed behind to cover it.

The reporter has a hard time getting anyone to say anything. He discovered clues and facts here and there, including one that the accused, a rich man, and the murder victim, a mechanic (Jude Law), employed by the rich man, were lovers.

Lies. Voodoo. A drag queen. Oh my!

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Garden State was an interesting movie. An introverted man, who is a struggling actor and a waiter for an Asian restaurant, returns home, after a long absence, for his mother's funeral.

This movie deals with many things that I think that many of us can relate in a similar way. Andrew comes home for the funeral. His relationship with his dad isn't all that great. He runs into friends and tries to re-connect with them, usually through partying. He meets Samantha at a hospital, who is a compulsive liar. He can't help it but like her. They develop a little thing of a relationship.

Throughout the movie, we start to see why Andrew was estranged from his family. His mother was a paraplegic. His father was psychiatrist. When Andrew was a kid, him and his mother had an argument that somehow landed his mother in an accident, which she became paralyzed. Of course, the blame is pointed to Andrew, who was 9 years old then. His father medicated him since. Eventually, they were able to lay their cards on the table and face the truth of it all.

I think this movie will appeal to those in their late 20's and in their 30's. It's something about estrangement and reconnecting, especially if you've moved away from it all. It's not only that but finding a little bit of love along the way.
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I've pretty much remained mum on this whole immigration thing. At this point, with school, work and internship, I'm just not in the mood to deal with drama that may ensue from this.

However, I have to applaud Mark Ledbetter's letter to the Washington Post Express in regards to the immigration measure:

The idea that illegal aliens, specifically Latinos, are a national security risk is just plain dumb, and least of all, racist. Most Latinos are fleeing insecurity. Also, most just want to work. Why would a Latino try to destabilize the U.S. if he or she is seeking both personal and economic security? Latinos are by far our best allies in the war against terrorism because they fully understand the ugly reality of the effect that economic, social and political instability has on one's personal life. Those against the illegals should speak the truth; they are against them because they are different. That is discrimination in heart, and racism towards a group that includes legals and illegals.

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Once again, for the third time, DeafDC.com's blog has appeared in the Blog Log of the Washington Post Express. This particular blog entry is about some Gallaudet students' lack of sportsmanship towards the visiting students of RIT/NTID during the recent BrickFest event.

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Lawdy!

$3 dollars a gallon for gas!

I'm gonna be talking like an old geezer:

"I remember when I was a teen, gas used to be under a dollar a gallon!"
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Brotherhood was an interesting book to read. It's a collection of true stories of gay men and their experiences with fraternities. Most of the stories were those where the gay men had to cover up their sexuality in order to join the fraternities. Afterwards, they would be surprised to discover that most of their brothers did not care about their homosexuality. Brothers accept brothers, no matter what.

However, that wasn't the case for the others. Some had rushed or pledged, only to be kicked out when their homosexuality was discovered. They usually went on to another fraternity that eventually accepted them. A couple of them didn't find their place until they've rushed a 3rd fraternity. Only one man wrote about his horrible experiences that ended up never joining one, leaving a bitter aversion to fraternities.

In other words, there was a variety of men, in the book, retelling their fraternity experiences. Most of these recollection were in the '80's. However, there were some in the 90's. I believe the most recent was in 1995. Fraternities were considered nothing but a heterosexual thing.

Shane Windmeyer wrote another book before Brotherhood, that was Out on Fraternity Row. In Out on Fraternity Row, you can read a gay man's experience with Kappa Gamma, a fraternity at Gallaudet University.

Shane Windmeyer and others has set up an organization, Lambda 10 Project, which is basically a national clearinghouse working with fraternities and sororities on GLBT issues.



My experience with a fraternity, Alpha Sigma Pi, was a positive one. I believe that it helped that there were already some gay brothers and alumni in the fraternity.

Before ASP, I really had no desire to join a fraternity. I remember when I first came to Gallaudet, the men who were new students orientation leaders were members of a particular fraternity. They were all stuck-up and were really more interested in talking with each other. Therefore, my impression of fraternities were low.

I went on and did my own things. I got involved in theatre (Any Number Can Die). I took up a couple of positions in Lambda Society of Gallaudet University (LSGU). I was also involved with Student Congress, which I truly enjoyed.

Gradually, I started to noticed some men approach me and have a small chat with me. I didn't know them from Adam. Then, I got invited to an informal gathering. When I arrived, these group of men come and welcomed me. I was like, o....k, what is going on? From there, I learned about ASP and who the brothers were.

It wasn't long afterwards that I was pledging for ASP. Initially, there were 12 of us in my pledge class, which 4 of us were gay. You would think that the 4 of us would have bonded together immediately. However, that wasn't the case. You see, 2 of them were ex-boyfriends. They had broken off the year before and the wound was still fresh. (It wasn't until when pledging was finished, they were able to patch things up and move on.) The 12th pledge, 4th gay, dropped out, due to a personal reason.

Even though the pledge class learned, bonded, trusted each other, Cliff and I were each other's support system. Pledging was an interesting experience and I think that's the same for everyone else.

Like I said before, ASP was truly a positive experience. I had some great memorable experiences with some of the brothers. The places we've gone to, the things we've done and the stuff we've said will be forever etched in my mind. I've never once felt threatened because of my sexuality. The men in ASP were real brothers that accepted brothers as they were.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the other fraternities. I've heard and met some of the former gay pledges that were kicked out or forced to drop out because of their homosexuality. I find that sad and disappointing because these former pledges will always have a downcast look on the Greek life.

Yeah, I know that ASP has been called a "gay fraternity". That's what some of the fraternities in the book were afraid of...the reputation. But you know what, go ahead and call us the gay fraternity. At least, that shows we're willing to face and accept diversity of the men on campus.

LLASP!
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Four Brothers was an interesting action-packed movie. However, it ran a bit too long, thus degrading it from being a "great" movie.

It's about four men, 2 whites and 2 blacks, that were fostered/adopted together. When their mother was brutally shot to death at the local convenience store, the four brothers banded together to avenge her death. While avenging their mother's death, the brothers discovered that 1 of them is hiding something from them. The trust in family is questioned.



Mark Walberg certainly does look older here. He no longer has that 'Marky Mark' youthful look.

ta ta for now... I'm off trying my damnest sending a stupid file attachment to someone who will sub for me tomorrow. KT and I are both sick. Waaah!
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On Tuesday, I heard about the animated tunnel advertisements that Metro riders could see.

I didn't see one until yesterday. Pretty neat!

It's the latest effort by the Metro to boost revenue. They expect to generate about $100,000 for this fiscal year, which ends in June. Next year, they hope to earn about $700K, which will increase in the years to come.

Metro's previous efforts, such as the train & bus wraps, have not been successful. It costed the advertiser $14,000 just to wrap a rail car.

The animated ads were developed by Submedia LLC. However, the Metro isn't the first transit system to use this technology. MARTA (Atlanta), PATH (NY & NJ) & CTA (Chicago) also have used the animated ads.

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Deafie on TV:
Usually, when a Deafie is expected to appear on TV, forwarded emails are spread like a wildfire. However, I've received nothing in regards to a Deafie appearing on NBC's Conviction, this coming Friday.

A brief summary of the episode, "Madness":

Desmond spends time working in a psychiatric ward. Peluso is pressured by his newly reunited girlfriend. Finn is loaned out to a cruel prosecutor. Cabot is pressured to hire an image consultant. Potter fills in for Desmond on a bail reduction case with terrible results. Rossi deals with a family battle concerning a deaf girl's boyfriend stabbing her father.

I just happened to know about this because I saw a preview of it, while watching Law & Order: SVU.

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MSNBC.com featured an article of a parents' praise of their son's cochlear implant.

Some of the comments in there...ugh, gag me with a spoon, please!

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Anticipating the arrival of the bird flu on American soil, the government has recommended to cook chicken, at least, at 165 degress. They say that 165 degrees is more than adequate to kill the bird flu.

Bird flu is expected to arrive in America later this year.

Meanwhile, cats are believed to somehow play a part in spreading bird flu. Therefore, it is suggested to keep cats indoors.

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ta ta for now...
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Yesterday, after work, KT and I metro'd to Naylor Station, where we parked our car. From there, we drove home. We parked, got out, collected our things and headed to our house.

I'm inserting the key to get in. KT tapped me on the shoulder to direct my attention to the little kitchen window. Half the window was gone. (It's 2 little windows, where you can slide one behind the other.) There were a few shards of glass lying on the front porch. Obviously, it had to be a really skinny person. Then, I noticed that a chair was moved. On the porch, we have 2 wooden chairs and a table. You can relax on the porch on a really nice day. Anyways, the chair was moved to the window. I'm guessing one got on the chair to help him/herself through the window.

We got in the house and made a beeline to the kitchen. The other half of the window is there, with glass shards everywhere, on the floor and on the window sill. We didn't see anything that was used to break the window, like a rock or anything.

Next, we decided to look around to see what was taken. First thing we noticed was that they took the laptop and the digital camera, which was in the dining room. The first thing we thought of was the pictures. We had about 3 or 4 years worth of pictures. KT and I had JUST talked about needing to burn them on CD's, in case something had happened to the computer. Well, that's all gone now.

We noticed, in the entertainment center in the living room, about half of our DVD movie collection were stolen. The individual movies were stolen, like Crash, Bear Cub, Beaches, etc. The DVD sets were not stolen, like Six Feet Under, Superman and Wonder Woman (whew!). It seemed that the theif (or theives) just took an armful and rushed out.

We went upstairs. Our bedroom was a mess. Our dresser and nightstands were ransacked. Our piggy banks were emptied. Now, despite of it all, you just gotta laugh. They stole pennies. Our mattress were moved. Obviously, they were looking for money. Thank goodness that we aren't those kind of people that hide money in socks or under mattresses.

Oh, they did steal more DVD's upstairs.

They also went through the dresser in the guest room.

We went downstairs to call the police, via VP. However, I noticed I couldn't get a signal. I assumed the modem was stolen. So, I called via AIM.

While waiting for the police, KT theorized that it had to be a teenager(s). Our laptop was stolen but didn't take the cord for it. Our digital camera and docket were stolen but didn't take the cord for it. They stole the cord for the modem but didn't still the modem. KT connected the laptop cord into the modem and got the VP to work.

We noticed that the burglar got out through the front window in the living room because the screen was moved up.

The police came, with a ride-a-long, who expressed an interest to join the force. Of course, there was no interpreter, even though we asked for one. So, we wrote notes back and forth. He basically wrote up a report and gave us a case/claim number.

I was like, is that all? Aren't you gonna go in and inspect? He nodded and came in. Took out his flashlight and looked at the broken window. He also inspected the areas where our things were stolen. He said there were no visible prints and that there was nothing else he could do. Off he went.

That's all?!? I had asked the police about the broken window. He just said to trash it and get a replacement asap.

We called Jon, who had previously owned our house. We were like, do do window? Go to Home Depot? He said our window is not of a standard size, which means that the replacement would have to be custom-ordered. The best thing we could do, at the moment, was to board it up. So, he came over and helped us board it up.

Jon noticed something that we didn't catch before. Our pillowcases were gone. So were the ones in the guest room. They were used to collect the stolen stuff.

Then, KT called the insurance and gave the claim number. They were really nice and told us the steps that we needed to do.

Overall, we were a mixture of emotions. We were pissed. We were worried. We were scared. We were everything else.

I'm just really suspicious of everyone in the neighborhood. The thief had the fucking balls to break in, in broad daylight!

We're ok. The cats are ok. They're alert and jumpy, especially Tigger. We're thankful that no one was hurt or anything. We're thankful that most of these things are replaceable...except for the photos.

The house is a mess. It'll prolly stay messy until the weekend.

We're trying to move on, even though this is the last thing we needed on our plates as we're nearing graduation. I told KT that I want black bars added to the windows. I definitely don't feel safe anymore. They say that once a house has been broken in, it usually doesn't get robbed again. That still doesn't consolate me. Right now, I'm thinking...are they breaking in again? Black bars are a must!

I wish we had a pitbull or two!

I wish we had hidden cameras!

I wish we had secret traps with spikes (think Indiana Jones) and electric windows!

I wish we had ninjas hidden in the house!

Ah well, it'll be some time before I can relax, if ever. I really am trying to move on. I'm still reeling with a mixture of emotions but cannot really vent it all out. My mind is still loaded with questions and "if only"'s.

Oh yeah, my cloves cigarettes and lighter were stolen too.
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Kampala, Uganda - Asger Bergmann, current president of the Danish Deaf Association, has asked the Ugandian government to set up a university for the Deaf. He has also requested that HIV/AIDS programs be made available for the Deaf.
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A teen has been accused of raping a Deaf woman, more than twice his age. However, he has denied doing such a thing.

Luckily, for the Deaf woman, she has saved all the notes they had written to communicate. The notes have indicated that she has expressed no interests in him.

Afterwards, she went on to bed. (They were at a friend's apartment.) He, later, went in and raped her. She reported the incident the next morning.

The Deaf woman will testify today at trial.
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Ziegfeld's and other gay bars/clubs and theatres closed yesterday in preparation for the new baseball stadium.

Drag queens strolled through memory lanes. They sung songs with grace. They wept with the patrons.

Owners are upset because no other neighborhoods wants those kinds of gay businesses in their areas. They've been told to go to Prince George's County (Maryland).

They promise to be back...somewhere...someday.

(You might need to register before you can view the article in the Washington Post.)
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Playboy has generally been a men's magazine. An adult magazine for straight men. However, due to sluggish sales, Playboy has been considering to expand their business to include gay men, just as they have previously extended to include women.

No date has been set when the expansion will take place.
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The Story of the Weeping Camel was a documentary that moved at a painfully slow pace.

Simple summary: It's about a Mongolian family in the Gobi desert with a herd of double hump-backed camels. All the pregnant camels have given birth to colts, except one. After a couple of days, she finally gave birth to a white colt. However, since it was her first pregnancy, the birth labor was difficult for her, prolonging the whole experience.

The difficult birth had a profound impact on the mother camel that she refused to bond with her baby. She even refused her colt access to milk. She simply did not want anything to do with the baby.

The family decides to call in a violinist for a ritual. The violinist arrives and plays a serenade, while a woman from the family sings to the mother camel. (One complaint I have about a sub-titled movie is that the caption doesn't appear for songs. However, the woman's voice is nerve-calming.) I guess the woman's voice must have been really soothing or whatever. Then, you see the camel shedding tears and finally allowed her baby to get milk from her.

Now, I usually don't mind slow-paced movies but this one was very slow. Heck, even a snail would get bored with this movie.
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I liked Tarnation. This documentary/movie/montage mixture was definitely visually stimulating. It's a chronicle of a gay man's, Jonathan, childhood and his mentally ill mother, Renee.

Jonathan, in his 30's, gets a call that his mother overdosed on lithium but survives.

From there, the movie goes back in time to when Renee was a child, who was small-time model and actress. Then, the movie jumps in time gaps to Jonathan's birth.

Jonathan was practically born with a video camera in his hands. Can you imagine the amount of tapes accumulated for a span of 30 years or more? Throughout this film, you'll see recordings of Renee, the grandparents and Jonathan, himself. You will see Jonathan doing short monologues, short films and confessionals, even while he was tripping on acid.

His family was definitely weird. However, Jonathan made the best of it, living both behind and in front of the camera. He eventually moved from Houston to NYC and became a small-time actor and eventually a director.

Tarnation is definitely worth watching!

I remember when I was a kid, really a teenager, I was the first one in our families to get a "mini" camcorder. Of course, it wasn't really a mini camcorder as they are today. It was more like half the size of those camcorders you had to mount on your shoulders.

My cousins and I were excited about this. Man, we did skits and some crazy stuff. We even created our own special effects. We would have our families gathered around and show them the tapes. We'd all be laughing. Then, we'd be off to make new recordings.

I wish I had kept up with the video recordings. That reminds me, I had asked my dad to mail me the camcorder and the tapes. I'll have to remind him.
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Old Testament was not a good movie. It's a Chinese gay movie that contains 3 small stories, a triptych.

The very first sign that told me and KT that the movie was gonna be bad was it was shot with a home video camera. Normally, I wouldn't have mind a video movie. However, I did not get the impression that it was a video movie, so my expectation was squashed from the beginning.

The next sign was that it was poorly shot. Scenes roamed past the camera as if a regular person was holding it. The "to and fro" shots between people can be dizzying. That should also tell you that the lighting was poor as well.

The worse signs of all was that there really no plot in each story. The dialogues were awful. Just as there were gaps in scenes, where you had to make mental connections, there were gaps in dialogues.

At the end of each story, there's a choir. The choir would sing like a epilogue, where one person ends up dying. Morbid, really.

Overall, it was a truly boring movie. We were surprised that we made it to the end. Of course, about 15 minutes into the movie, we were already alternating our attention to the movie and our pagers. Yep, that boring.
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