Reflections: Sifting Realities

They should've stopped at Final Destination 2. The first one was good! I vividly remember Cliff and I watching it in our room in Benson Hall. We were roommates and we had borrowed the movie from someone. I remember we were lying in our own bed, chatting while the movie was playing. We were deep in our chats that was more interesting in the movie. However, we would steal glances at the movie and we'd rewind and watch the parts. Pretty soon, we were engrossed into the movie.

The second one was ok. There was nothing really exciting about it except the survivor from the first movie.

Part 3 was just watching a recycled movie. So, some people escape death, thanks to a preminition, yet death will come back for them. They all die a freakish death. *yawn*
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Oooo, la la! I definitely need to go to the nearest bookstore and buy a copy of this month's DNA. More hot eye candies if you go to the link!
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Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, was an interesting slow-paced book. Pi Patel is an Indian who is simultaneously a Christian, a Hindu and a Muslim, despite objections from a priet, an imam and a pandit.

Pi and his family own a zoo in India. However, due to Mrs. Ghandi and her political movements, the family decided to sell the zoo and move to Canada. The family board a ship, which will sink after 4 days in the sea. Pi was thrown overboard, which he found a little rowboat. He is joined by Richard Parker, who is a Bengal tiger, an orangutan, a hyena and a zebra. However, only Richard Parker and Pi survive the remainder of the "journey" at sea. They were stranded for 227 days.

The most interesting part, for me, was when Pi retells the story to 2 Japanese men. The story was retold because the Japanese men could not believe Pi's original story. They told him to retell it and he provided a watered down version.

Overall, I enjoyed this book although it was slow-paced, especially when they were lost at sea. Anything that deals with being lost at sea or stuck behind on an unknown island usually loses my attention. For example, Cast Away, with Tom Hanks. Ugh! However, what made this book enjoyable were Pi's explanations of animals and the their behavioral patterns. For example, all cats purr. However, only small cats can purr breathing in and out while big cats can only purr while exhaling.

So, check it out whenever you can...that is, if you like those lost-at-sea stories.
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Lance Bass Comes Out - Of course, those of us who have a working gaydar already knew this. We were just simply waiting for him to say it out loud. Plus, he says he is dating Reichen Lehmkuhl, a one-time winner of Amazing Race.

Reichen's former partner congratulates Lance for coming out.

I liked how one commenter in Tate's blog said that now we just have to wait for Clay Aiken to come out. Mm-hmm!

TSD vs. Strip Club - Residents of Austin are complaining that a ladies club filled with underwear-clad men, La Bare, is too close to the Texas School for the Deaf. A zoning code prohibits any adult-oriented businesses (AOB) from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or a public park. La Bare respond that they are not an AOB but rather adult-suggestive like Hooters. La Bare also respond that residents had a chance to raise this issue when they applied for an alcohol permit last Fall.

So, to court they go.

La Bare is Austin's only ladies club.

Washington upholds gay marriage ban - Is it just me or are we going back in time instead of going forward with progress?

Deafhood - Ridor has posted several blog entries in regards to Deafhood. This time, he pasted an entry from GallyNet, written by 'Deep Eyes'. In a sense, Deep Eyes tried to debunk the notion of Deafhood and its supporters. However, the main attraction to this particular entry was Carrie G.'s response. (I've only met her online. She's hilarious!) Here's an excerpt of her response:

Yes, the community is divided over Deafhood… because this is NEW and we are still learning and discussing it… hence the NEED for forums and home based chats and meetings and workshops on Deafhood. So we can all gather together and LEARN more about it. People still have questions… even personal ones… “Am I still Deaf when I embrace Deafhood? Do I stand to win/lose anything from it? Where do I fit in with Deafhood?” We still have questions… And that’s okay. I should think that not everyone may be ready to accept Deafhood, but again, this is a new concept and some deaf people need more time. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either. I agree wholeheartedly with Ridor when he said , “They have their own journey to reach that point.” We all have our own paths to walk… yes, even Deep Eyes.

This particular excerpt reminded me of a poem by Ella Mae Lentz, an ASL poetess. This particular poem is rarely seen by many as it was created in memory of Marie Philip's sudden and unexpected departure from this earth. In one particular part of Ella's poem was that some ideas in the Deaf communities were brought up and discussed. Of course, these ideas were heavily debated which caused divisions among the Deaf communities. However, after some introspection, the Deafies were able to reunite and progress.

If you knew about Marie Philip's background, you'd know that she was one of those few people who are able to stir the pot to get people thinking as well as making something become a reality.

So, I look at Deafhood as the same thing. It's being heavily discussed, which has caused some disagreements. In a sense, that is good because this an opportunity to listen to all views and do some introspection, which may lead us to revise our stance or remain the same. I believe that, over time, we will reunite once again, once we fully understand what Deafhood is, whether our comprehension or perception is the same or different from Paddy Ladd's.

Book Review:



Little Children, by Tom Perrotta, was an interesting book. It's a satirical novel about parents and their kids. The story starts off about 4 women taking their kids to the park for thier daily playtime. These four women spot a young father taking his son to the park as well. The 4 women challenge one woman, Sarah, to go up to the guy and get some information from him. Sarah takes the challenge and meets the guy, Todd. However, behind everyone's back, they start an on-going affair.

Meanwhile, Sarah's husband befriends a man, Larry, in the neighborhood. Larry is obsessed with a child molester living in the neighborhood and harasses him. The child molester feels that he has paid his time for the crime and just want to live in peace.

Overall, it was a good story with an unexpected ending. The ending had me going "whaaaaaa?" Looking at the bigger picture, you'll see that it the adults that are acting like little children.

I was surprised to find that this book will be made into a movie, which is currently in production.



I had heard so much positive stuff said about Audrey Niffenegger's first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife. I only heard one person said that she didn't like the book. So, I ordered it online.

Whenver the opportunity was there, I would read the book.

Hmmm. I cannot say that I love it but I cannot said that I didn't like it. The story was good. What bugged me the most was that there was too much time jumping.

The story is about Henry and Clare. Henry just simply has the genes to time travel to the past and to the future. However, it's much easier to travel to the past. Henry jumps in and out of Clare's life since she was six years old. He comes back in various ages. He could come back when Clare is like 11 and he's like 20 years old. He could come back at Clare's same age, being 40.

Some entries, when Henry jumps back into time, are like half a page long. Some are 1 page and some 2 pages. At the beginning it was like that and I thought, oh no, no way am I gonna be dealing with short entries before moving on to another episode. But then, a few pages later, the stories start to get a bit longer and enjoyable.

I think this would have been a great story with less time traveling. Other than that, it was a good book.

And, I was not surprised to discover that this book will also be made into a movie, also in production. Bradgelina (did I say that right?) bought the rights to this story.

I'm currently reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.

Movie Review:



Nanny McPhee is a cute movie. You just have to be in the mood to watch something like this.

Seven children, mother-less, have been horrible to nannies, which 17 of them have quit. Now, none of the nanny agencies will send out a nanny. However, the father, Cedric, was told that he needed Nanny McPhee.

Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) mysteriously appears at the house. From there, she was able to bring in order in the house as well as making the kids behave and respect people.

Meanwhile, Cedric has been threatened by Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) to remarry or else the cash flow will be cut, which means no more home and the kids would be wards of the state, British-style.

Like I said, it's a cute movie which you'll enjoy.

Well, ta ta for now...
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In DeafDC.com, Chris Kaftan wrote an interesting blog post, Lazy America, about his observation at his recent grocery shopping at Safeway.

He was in disbelief at some of the products sold in a grocery store. Such products are Cheese Crumbles, Ready Bacon, breakfast cereal bars, dinner-in-a-bag's, microwaveable noodles, no-fuss fajita kit, etc.

It is his stance that America has been become lazy. I don't disagree with him. Below is my comment to his post.

***

Yeah, we're guilty with some of the products you mentioned above.

Cheese Crumbles - nah. Ready Bacon - nah, prefer to cook turkey bacon my own way. Easy Cheese - only with Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, which is rare. Those chicken dinners - nah, I like the way I cook the chicken.

Patricia was right on the money when she mentioned corporations. Corporations have found been able to tailor our needs by providing "time-saving" products, even if they aren't nutritious or healthy. As a result, we're getting fatter.

I believe our redundant complaint is that we don't have time. We're now 2+ income households, working more than the standard 8 hour workdays. We get home around 6 or 7pm, probably in a pissy mood because of traffic jams or the stupid Metro. We barely get in 10 seconds to ourselves before your spouse/partner/boy- girlfriend wants your attention. Then your kids want attention. Then, your pets want attention. You're not surprised when they say, "I'm hungry! What are you gonna make?"

You didn't even get a chance to change clothes. You're probably not in the mood to cook but then it is your turn to cook. Dagnabit! You forgot to take something out to thaw, during the day. You go to the pantry and you spot a box that can produce a 3 course meal within 5 minutes in the microwave. You make the meal extra special by topping it with cheese crumbles. You've saved the day! You gobble up your meal within 15 minutes, if you even last that long. You sit on the couch, trying to watch tv to wind down from the day, despite people and animals wanting your attention. 2 hours later, you're in bed because you gotta get up in the morning before the rooster does.

Ok, that's just a scenario but my point is that corporations do recognize our desire for less time in the kitchen and more time to ourselves. As a result, we've lost our appreciation for cooking as well as choosing the right food. Corporations are getting fatter in their pockets. We’re getting fatter in our bodies.

We gotta step back and make appropriate changes in our dietary and cooking habits. My partner and I have made changes. We’re not perfect but we’re conscious of what we make and eat.

For me, I just miss those good ol’ homecooked meals my mom used to make. Of course, nobody makes it as good as our mothers do. So, this challenges me to cook and strife for the near perfection like the way my mom did. Plus, I love recipes. Thanks to my subscription to Southern Living, I’m collecting more recipes. However, there are some stuff in the recipes that I never heard nor seen before. So, my local Safeway becomes a site of a scavenger hunt game.

As for cutting corners, I believe that’s ok to do so occasionally. Once in a while, I’ll make homemade pizza. I don’t have time to make pizza crust from scratch. I’m gonna buy one of those pizza crust from Pillsbury. That’s ok, right?

***

Further thoughts:

- Could it be that these products are made available because the younger generations doesn't know how to cook, except via the microwave?

- Are these products available in other industrialized countries, such as Canada, England, France, Germany, etc.? If so, are they lazy as well?

- It is laziness or is it the evolution of food? We no longer go to butchers for meat or to fishermen for seafood. We no longer churn our own butter. Popcorn are rarely made over stovetops but microwaved. Bread and cakes are less frequently baked in our ovens but bought in stores.

Whoo, food for thoughts, eh?

Ta ta...

P.S. - Tonight is the monthly Deaf GLBT coffee social at Starbucks in Dupont Circle on P & 21st Streets from 7 to 10pm. See you there!
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Is cued speech making a "comeback", or rather gaining awareness? Read below.


Seattle Post Intelligencer

New Approach on Deaf Literacy Heartening
By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 20, 5:13 AM ET


WASHINGTON - Advocates are heartened that a system of teaching deaf children English is beginning to take hold, despite fears among many in the deaf community that it diminishes their culture.

Advocates say a phonetically based technique called cued speech can improve literacy rates among deaf students even if not used primarily for speaking. They point out that the average 18-year-old deaf high school graduate reads on a third- or fourth-grade level.

The system is gaining popularity with new research, a grass-roots movement and new funding aimed at improving reading scores under the federal No Child Left Behind Law. Advocates will mark the 40th anniversary of the system's creation at a conference beginning Thursday in Towson, Md.

American Sign Language has its own vocabulary and grammar, different from English. But cued speech, a phonetically based technique, uses eight hand shapes to make lip reading easier.

For deaf people who may not be able to differentiate between the sounds of the words "bed" and "pet," for instance, the corresponding visual cues help make the English language complete.

However, the idea of cued speech is sensitive in the deaf community, where many consider American Sign Language the central part of deaf culture. Protests erupted this spring at Gallaudet, the nation's only liberal arts college for the deaf, over the incoming president, partly because she had not learned to communicate with sign language until later in life.

"Often in the deaf community, it is thought that cuing is used only for speech purposes," said Amy Crumrine of Germantown, Md., who is among the first generation of deaf adults who grew up using cued speech. "This is not the main purpose of cuing — it's for literacy."

Research shows that learning about word sounds and how they fit into language are critical elements of learning to read and write, said Gallaudet professor Carol LaSasso.

Crumrine organizes cued speech clinics and family camps as a volunteer and is planning the five-day conference in Towson, which begins Thursday. It honors Dr. R. Orin Cornett, who created cued speech in 1966 while serving as vice president of Gallaudet.

The idea for the new way to teach English came when Cornett, who died in 2002, found few students were reading on campus, said Cornett's son, Robert, an astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. He wanted to provide the same elements of spoken and written English for deaf people.

But use of the communication system has faded at Gallaudet, and the clinics that taught Crumrine's parents and others about cuing are no longer regularly offered on campus.

"His feelings were very hurt by that," Cornett's son said. "This was the thing that he contributed most."

Many deaf people would prefer that deaf babies begin learning ASL from birth. But 95 to 97 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, who usually don't learn sign language quickly enough to be able to teach it to their children, LaSasso said.

"You just can't expect them to learn a new language, frankly," LaSasso said. "It's not reasonable."

Many parents can become fluent with cuing in about six months, LaSasso said.

Most cuers are concentrated on the East Coast, but the system is used in all 50 states and has been modified for 67 different languages, said Sarina Roffe, now president of the National Cued Speech Association.

Manually Coded English, which uses sign language to help translate English, has been more widely used over the last 40 years than cued speech, but LaSasso said it has failed to improve literacy rates. Translating the hundreds of thousands of words of English with about 6,000 signs leaves out many words.

"That means the kids are getting fragmented input," LaSasso said. "Compared to the signing of English, cuing more clearly and completely conveys English at the same level that speech does."

Her findings were published in an article with Gallaudet professor Melanie Metzger in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education in 1998. Last spring it was selected for a 100-year commemorative work by Oxford University Press.

___

On the Net:

National Cued Speech Association: http://www.cuedspeech.org/

Gallaudet University: http://www.gallaudet.edu/


**********

It bugs me to no end when people keep saying that Deaf people read at 3rd and 4th grade level. I am not denying that it is a fact among SOME Deaf people. However, it seems that people forget, whether conveniently or not, that there are other factors that may contribute to this. One factor to consider is that teachers often cannot sign fluently nor academically.
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I was talking to Rosey this morning on AIM. Somehow the topic of station wagons came up. I told her that I wouldn't mind getting a big-assed station wagon. I'd fix it up real nice and upgrade it with modern stuff, then voila!

Gawd, do you guys remember growing up with those old station wagons? My parents never had one. I grew up with VW Beetle Bugs and those long Cadillacs. However, my aunt and my grandmother both had station wagons. Those were fun! My cousins and I would ride in the back, surrounded by windows. We'd make funny faces to those behind us and passing by. Of course, we would get scolded by our mothers.

These old big-assed station wagons were good cars, even if they were gas-oholic! My grandmother was eccentric in her own ways. She loved to read while driving. I know, dangerous! She'd be driving and reading a book or whatever. Then, she'd hit a car in front of her. Well, the back of the car would be damaged or dented really bad. While the front of my grandmother's car would barely even have a scratch. And you know what? She'd kept on reading and driving. Lawdy! Whenever we rode with her, my mother would always say, "how about if I drive", and Grandma would let her. Whew.

Damn! I miss them station wagons!



  

  

  

  

  

  


ta ta for now...
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Friday night, KT and I had dinner with Alex at Lauriol Plaza. Alex teaches ASL in Seattle. During the summer, he teaches ASL at Gallaudet. Anyways, he's a good dear friend of ours and it was just wonderful to finally have dinner and catch up on news.

Saturday, Gallaudet hosted an ASL Fest. Students, of all ASL levels, attended workshops and participated in interactive situational settings. I worked in the "municipal building" setting, where students come in and dispute an utility bill or open up an account or whatever.

It was interesting. Earlier last week, I was asked to go to the municipal building and pick up some pamphlets for the booth. I had no idea where the nearest municipal building was in DC. I Googled it and found out that it was near U Street Metro. It was the building I would always see but never knew exactly what it was.

I get there and told Security my business and asked if I could pick up some brochures. They directed me to the Energy dept. on the third floor. On my way to the elevator, I saw a little room for the DC lottery claim. Aha! Now, I know where to go if I should ever win $1,000 or more from the lottery.

I get to the Energy dept. and got in line. I see that this is where people come to dispute their bills or need to speak to someone about payments or whatever. No wonder I didn't know about the municipal building or what one does there. My bills are paid online through my bank. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about being late or having to come in and dispute it or whatever.

I was given large volumes of pamphlets. They wanted to give me more and I was like, "no, this is way more than enough".

Anyways, it was an interesting afternoon.

After that, KT picked me up and went headed to Target, where we finally used our gift cards that we had received for our graduation. I got myself 3 books. KT got himself some clothes.

That night, we headed over to Cindy and Dane's for a game night. It's always fun to play games and catch up on news with them. We came home at a decent time. We usually end up leaving there around 3am or so. You know....Deaf thing.

Sunday was a relaxing day. Ever since we got that gasoline-powered saw last week, KT has been really loving this toy. He was up early and was sawing down pieces of the tree that we had cut previously. He wanted them smaller so he could take them to the dump, along with some other things. Then, he sawed down some other little trees. They were dead anyways. We finally water-proofed the flooring of the front porch. We had water-proofed the railings a long time ago but never got around to the flooring.

In between the house projects, chores and the rest of the day, I spent the day reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's about a teenager, Christopher, who discovered a neighbor's poodle stabbed to death. Christopher is determined to find out who did it.

I found this book to be interesting because Christopher is an interesting character. One, he's a math freak. Math has always been my weakest subject. Yet, Christopher explained some mathematical things in his mind in such a way that readers could understand. Two, he was odd. He disliked anything brown or yellow. He hates to be touched. So, his parents "hug" him by having their fingertips touch each other. Three, he loved Sherlock Holmes. He explained some myths and facts about Sherlock that I never knew. Of course, I was never really a fan of Sherlock.

The plots in this book are really simple. It's Christopher's thoughts and observations that get your attention. Check it out whenever you can.



Also, in the midst of my reading, we watched Hedwig and The Angry Itch. Before watching the movie, I has assumed that I probably wouldn't like it. I dunno why. However, I liked it!

Hedwig is a transsexual from East Berlin. His childhood was eccentric. One day, when he was a teen or a young adult, he meets a black American soldier, Luther. Luther wants to get married. Hedwig agrees. However, Luther tells him that he has to leave something behind because of an physical exam required before getting married. Hedwig goes for surgery but it was botched.

They arrive to America and live there for a time. Soon, Luther leaves him for another man. This is where Hedwig started his musical career. Hedwig also meets Tommy Speck, who later becomes Tommy Gnosis.

When Tommy becomes a star, he uses Hedwig's songs in his albums. Hedwig goes on a mission to "stalk" him because he wants Tommy to admit plagarism.

Anyways, you just gotta watch it. If you liked Evita, then you'll like Hedwig. Most of the stories are told in songs. Check it out!

Before going to sleep, I started reading Lucky, a memoir of Alice Sebold. This book is about Alice's brutal rape in New York and the aftermath. The memoir is titled Lucky because a police told her to consider herself lucky that she was only raped. There had been a murder at the exact location, where she was raped, that another girl was dismembered.

Well, that's all for now! Ta ta...
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Philip sent me an email, below, of the men of soccer. Enjoy the eye candies!

25 most gorgeous men in the football World Cup 2006


1. Fabio Cannavaro – Italy
...................................................................
Date of birth: 13 Sept 1973 Height: 175 cm
Weight: 72 kg Position: Defender



2. David Beckham – England
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Date of birth: 2 May 1975 Height: 182 cm
Weight: 74 kg Position: Midfielder



3. Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal
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Date of birth: 5 Feb 1985 Height: 184 cm
Weight: 75 kg Position: Forward



4. Andriy Shevchenko – Ukraine
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Date of birth: 29 Sept 1976 Height: 183 cm
Weight: 73 kg Position: Forward



5. Kaka – Brazil
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Date of birth: 22 April 1982 Height: 183 cm
Weight: 73 kg Position: Midfielder



6. Dejan Stankovic - Serbia and Montenegro
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Date of birth: 11 Sept 1978 Height: 181 cm
Weight: 75 kg Position: Midfielder



7. Landon Donovan – US
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Date of birth: 4 March 1982 Height: 173 cm
Weight: 67 kg Position: Midfielder



8. Luiz Figo: Portugal
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Date of birth: 4 Nov 1972 Height: 180 cm
Weight: 75 kg Position: Forward



9. Nelson Haedo Valdez– Paraguay
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Date of birth: 28 Nov 1983 Height: 178 cm
Weight: 71 kg Position: Forward



10. Michael Ballack – Germany
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Date of birth: 26 Sept 1976 Height: 189 cm
Weight: 80 kg Position: Midfielder



11. Kelvin Jack - Trinidad and Tobago
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Date of birth: 29 April 1976 Height: 193 cm
Weight: 91 kg Position: Goalkeeper



12. Gianluigi Buffon – Italy
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Date of birth: 28 January 1978 Height: 190 cm
Weight: 83 kg Position: Goalkeeper



13. Luca Toni – Italy
...................................................................
Date of birth: 26 May 1977 Height: 194 cm
Weight: 89 kg Position: Forward



14. Alessandro Del Piero – Italy
...................................................................
Date of birth: 9 Nov 1974 Height: 173 cm
Weight: 73 kg Position: Forward



15. Michael Owen – England
...................................................................
Date of birth: 14 Dec 1979 Height: 172 cm
Weight: 67 kg Position: Forward



16. Freddie Ljungberg - Sweden
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Date of birth: 16 April 1977 Height: 176 cm
Weight: 73 kg Position: Midfielder



17. Alberto Gilardino - Italy
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Date of birth: 5 July 1982 Height: 185 cm
Weight: 78 kg Position: Forward



18. Hidetoshi Nakata - Japan
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Date of birth: 22 January 1977 Height: 175 cm
Weight: 72 kg Position: Midfielder



19. Carlos Bocanegra - USA
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Date of birth: 25 May 1979 Height: 184 cm
Weight: 77 kg Position: Defender



20. Raul - Spain
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Date of birth: 27 June 1977 Height: 180 cm
Weight: 68 kg Position: Forward



21. Adriano - Brazil
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Date of birth: 17 February 1982 Height: 189 cm
Weight: 86 kg Position: Forward



22. Rafael van der Vaart - Netherlands
...................................................................
Date of birth: 11 February 1983 Height: 175 cm
Weight: 70 kg Position: Midfielder



23. Robin van Persie - Netherlands
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Date of birth: 6 August 1983 Height: 183 cm
Weight: 71 kg Position: Forward



24. David Odonkor - Germany
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Date of birth: 21 February 1984 Height: 174 cm
Weight: 74 kg Position: Midfielder



25. Frank Lampard - England
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Date of birth: 20 June 1978 Height: 177 cm
Weight: 78 kg Position: Midfielder


So, who do you think is hot?

Ta ta for now...
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