Thursday, August 31, 2006
Talk Talk
I was given an autographed copy of Talk Talk for my birthday. Talk Talk was a good book with an unexpected ending.
Dana Halter is Deaf and she teaches at San Roche School for the Deaf in California. One morning, she is late for a dental appointment. She runs a stop sign. She gets pulled over by a cop. It's the usual ritual of pulling out your license and registration. It's the usual duty for the cop to return to the car and contact some central information department, etc. Dana sits there waiting for the return of her license and paper and maybe a warning or a ticket. However, the cop pulls her out and arrests her. Dana has no idea why.
Once in jail, Dana discovers she's a victim of identity theft and is in debts, big time. With the help of her boyfriend, Bridger Martin, Dana is determined to track down the person who stole her identity.
Peck Wilson is the guy who stole her identity. He steals identities as if it was his God-given purpose on earth. He is living the high life. He's livid when he discovers that Dana has tracked him down...repeatedly.
Throughout the book, you'll see the relationship dynamics between Dana and Bridger and with other people. You'll see the lies that Peck has to spin to cover his tracks.
There are some parts in the book that, as a Deaf person, I could relate to. Frustration with communication. Hearing people's erroneous perceptions of Deaf people. Stuff like that...
Like I said, good book with an unexpected ending. The unexpected ending could make a reader like or hate this book.
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Last night, I came home from teaching in Virginia. I was tired yet glad to be home. I was telling KT about my day. I noticed a small package from Amazon.com for me. I was puzzled because I wasn't expecting anything from Amazon...at least, not yet.
I opened up the package. Awww...my twin sister, Kenny, had sent me 2 DVD's as gifts for my graduation and my birthday. Thanks, dude!
I just talked to him the other day. Seems that everytime we talk, we find more and more things similar, which is why we call each other twins.
2 down. 3,000 more items to get. LOL!
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News of the Day:
Deaf-Blind Man Still Fighting Eviction - Some time ago, I blogged about Patrick Ackerman, who was evicted from an apartment complex of an independent living facility. Ackerman and his attorney are waiting for the judge's ruling, which may take a week or more. The attorney said that he has tried looking for another apartment but has had no luck. He said that Ackerman gets $750 in SSI a month. Apartments are either too high in rent or unable to accomodate Ackerman.
Disowned Indian Prince to Adopt - Not too long ago, I blogged about India's Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil coming out publicly. He was immediately disowned by his family and stripped of his title. Gohil has expressed a desire to adopt a teenager.
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One more day of work and then it's the long weekend!!! I cannot wait. I think I'm gonna treat myself to a deep margarita or two. Maybe three.
ta ta...
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
DNA #80
Newest issue of DNA. Bleh! I like men with hair on their bodies. Besides, the cover guy reminds me of Christian Bale in American Psycho.
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Monday, August 28, 2006
Weekend None
My recent weekend was spent going to workshops all day Saturday and Sunday in Frederick.
So, this morning, I'm all like catching up on news, blogs and other such stuff.
News of the Day:
Interpreter Sentenced for Molestation
Allegheny County Jail Accomodates Deaf Inmates
A Review of 'The Quiet'. A Deaf actress in the movie or simply a Deaf character?
Alabama Disqualifies Its Gay Legislator
Sweden to Consider Replacing Civil Union with Full Marriage for Gays
Wal-Mart Partners with Gay Companies
Nepal's First Gay Marriage
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Classes commence today for Gallaudet students. It shall be an interesting semester.
It shall also be an interesting semester for me as well. I'll be juggling 3 jobs. I'm still working at the law firm. (Hey, I need health insurance and the benefits!) I'm also an adjunct instructor at Gallaudet (outside contracts) and at North Virginia Community College (NVCC) in Annandale, teaching ASL. One thing I do know is that these jobs will keep me busy. My weekends will be precious days for me.
Well, have a great day!
ta ta...
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So, this morning, I'm all like catching up on news, blogs and other such stuff.
News of the Day:
Interpreter Sentenced for Molestation
Allegheny County Jail Accomodates Deaf Inmates
A Review of 'The Quiet'. A Deaf actress in the movie or simply a Deaf character?
Alabama Disqualifies Its Gay Legislator
Sweden to Consider Replacing Civil Union with Full Marriage for Gays
Wal-Mart Partners with Gay Companies
Nepal's First Gay Marriage
**********
Classes commence today for Gallaudet students. It shall be an interesting semester.
It shall also be an interesting semester for me as well. I'll be juggling 3 jobs. I'm still working at the law firm. (Hey, I need health insurance and the benefits!) I'm also an adjunct instructor at Gallaudet (outside contracts) and at North Virginia Community College (NVCC) in Annandale, teaching ASL. One thing I do know is that these jobs will keep me busy. My weekends will be precious days for me.
Well, have a great day!
ta ta...
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Friday, August 25, 2006
To Toby
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Inside Man
Inside Man was ok, even though it was filled with stars such as Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer.
Dalton (Owen) and his team rob the Manhattan Bank and hold about 50 people hostage. Dalton believes that he will conduct the perfect bank robbery. He believes that he will walk out the bank through the front doors and not get caught.
Detective Frazier (Washington) and his partner are called to the scene as the negotiator, among a horde of policemen and snipers.
It becomes a contest of predicting each other's moves. Who will outwit whom?
Meanwhile, Madeline (Foster) is trying to protect a client's assets in a safe deposit box in the very same bank. When you see the client, you can pretty much guess what he's trying to protect before it's revealed. At the same time, Madeline makes a deal, individually, to Dalton and Det. Frazier that's too good to pass up.
Then, the question comes up again. Who outwitted whom?
The movie is good. My only problem is that I'm not a fan of movies that are primarily situated in one or two scenes. In this case, the bank and the transportable police communications van.
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Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Night Watch
Night Watch was an interesting Russian movie. This popular movie broke some cinematic records in Russia. It just had to be the special effects. I find it interesting that many people compare this movie to the Matrix when they're nothing similar.
This movie started off with an ancient battle of good and evil in the medival times. However, soldiers of both sides were equally dying. Both generals were aware of this and called a truce. The truce was that people had free will to choose whichever path they decided, whether it be light or dark, as long as there is peace and order. The Dark are called Day Watchers, monitoring people of the light. The Light are called Night Watchers, monitoring people of the dark. They specifically monitor the Others, who are shapeshifters, vampires, witches, wizards, seers and sorcerers.
The movie jumped to modern day Moscow. Anton approached a witch to kill an unborn baby of his girlfriend, whom he discovered is not his. In the midst of a spell which has been causing his girlfriend to writhe in pain in another place, the Night Watchers appeared and stopped the witch's spell and had her arrested. Meanwhile, Anton started to see the future. He discovered that he is a Seer.
Then, the movie jumped to 12 years later. That's where things start to get interesting. Anton is sent to protect a child. However, the Dark want him as well. Will Anton be able to protect the child from the Dark?
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Monday, August 21, 2006
She's the Man
She's the Man is somewhat a romantic comedy movie. Viola is a soccer player at her high school. However, before school starts, she finds out that the girls' soccer team has been cut, due to funding. So, the girls asked to try-out for the guys' soccer team. The coach declares that girls can't play as well as the guys.
Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, is a musician. He takes off to London for a musical gig. Viola's comes up with the idea to impersonate as her brother and try-out for the rival school's soccer team.
All seems to go well, except a few things. Viola's mother is trying to get Viola into a debutante ball. Viola, as Sebastian, is falling in love with her male roommate. Meanwhile, the roommate is infatuated with another girl. Sebastian's girlfriend is trying to have a face-to-face talk with Sebastian about their relationship. Additionally, another girl is infatuated with "Sebastian". What started off with one little lie grew into a web of lies and deception.
This was supposed to be a cute romantic comedy. However, Amanda Bynes, who played Viola and Sebastian, just couldn't act right. Her acting made the movie somewhat cheesy. It was a funny movie but could've been better.
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes is a remake of the 1977 version. The Hills is one of those movies similar to Wrong Turn, House of Wax, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Devil's Rejects. They all deal with facing and fighting with freakishly weird people with a habit for cannabalism. I have to agree with KT when he said something like there's just been too many movies of the same kind within a short span of time and it's just boring and predictable.
The Hills moves at a slow pace, almost to the point of boredom. There is a couple of scenes that might make you jump a little. Other than that, I would hardly call this a scary movie. There is a lot of gory and bloody scenes, where you might wanna close your eyes for a second.
So, if you don't ever watch this movie, you're not missing anything.
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Friday, August 18, 2006
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is one weird movie.
One night, a voice wakes Donnie up and instructs him to go outside. Donnie complies and meets a 6-foot bunny with a metallic skeletal face. For a moment, it makes you think that maybe this is some cheap-assed movie. The bunny, Frank, tells him that the world will come to an end in 28 days.
Meanwhile, his older sister comes home late. Immediately, the house shakes as if an earthquake had just occurred. However, it turns out that one of those circular engines, under the airplane's wings, crashed into Donnie's bedroom. Donnie wakes up and finds himself sleeping on a golf course.
So, for the next 28 days, Donnie goes through life, as a high school student, pondering about the end of the world as well as seeing Frank on a regular basis. Meanwhile, his parents and his therapist worry about Donnie becoming schizophrenic.
Throughout the movie, things don't make sense. However, towards the end, pieces start to connect that seem to make Frank's prophecy come true. Watch it to see what happens in the end.
Donnie Darko is filled with stars, such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze, Jena Malone and more. If you'll pay attention, you'll notice some allusions to E.T.
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Hopefully, next week, I'll be able to blog regularly. It's been crazy here at work.
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Tonight is the monthly Deaf GLBT Coffee Social.
Starbucks, Dupont Circle
P & 21st Sts, NW
7pm to 10pm
upstairs
Seecha!
ta ta...
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Monday, August 14, 2006
Birthday Thanks
Y'all,
Thanks for the birthday greetings and wishes via email, pager, AIM and other such modes of communication. I had a good time on my birthday!
I was on vacation from work last week. I was supposed to be on vacation but wasn't really on vacation. KT and I just took some time off from work and stayed home. Well, over the weekend, we worked on the house. Cleaned up the yard. Ripped the carpet off in the dining room. The hard floor underneath was just beautiful!
Monday, I spent the better parts of the day preparing my teaching portfolio and making lesson plans and all that stuff.
Tuesday, I was at Gallaudet preparing for my ASLTA certification. Right now, it's in the hands of a teacher awaiting review before I submit it to ASLTA.
Wednesday and Thursday, I subbed for a teacher at Gallaudet for CLC.
Thursday was the day that the police/security foiled the terrorists at Heathrow. There were news coverages on TV all day long. KT took me out for a surprise lunch with Manny and Kekua. Had a good time with the Itches.
Friday was my birthday. I basically vegged out since I had a busy week. KT took me out to Bethesda with an attempted surprise dinner at BD Mongolian BBQ, surrounded by CK, Alpo, Carrie, Nick, Beth, Danny, Jon and Krista.
It was a fabulous dinner with friends! I was so embarrassed when the staff came out with the cake, singing "Happy Birthday". It looked so much fun when that song is being sung upon other people. It's just embarrassing to serenade me with that song.
Then, they kicked us out. Ok, really, they asked us how long we'd be at the table since they had people waiting for tables. I was like...TFB for them, we were here first. Alas, I had to be nice on my birthday. So, we got up and left.
Earlier, KT had asked me if I wanted to go to Dupont Circle and go to a bar. I thought it was a good idea. However, it was a just a cover for another surprise. KT drove me to Dover, Delaware to go gambling.
We had a good time there! We got there around 11 or midnight. Checked into the hotel and then drove off to Dover Downs. Gambled for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel for our beauty sleep.
Got up the next morning and gambled the day away. Left in the late afternoon back home. Vegged out the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday.
Went back to work today. Had a big project waiting for me which kept me busy all day.
I'm ready for another vacation!
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Thanks for the birthday greetings and wishes via email, pager, AIM and other such modes of communication. I had a good time on my birthday!
I was on vacation from work last week. I was supposed to be on vacation but wasn't really on vacation. KT and I just took some time off from work and stayed home. Well, over the weekend, we worked on the house. Cleaned up the yard. Ripped the carpet off in the dining room. The hard floor underneath was just beautiful!
Monday, I spent the better parts of the day preparing my teaching portfolio and making lesson plans and all that stuff.
Tuesday, I was at Gallaudet preparing for my ASLTA certification. Right now, it's in the hands of a teacher awaiting review before I submit it to ASLTA.
Wednesday and Thursday, I subbed for a teacher at Gallaudet for CLC.
Thursday was the day that the police/security foiled the terrorists at Heathrow. There were news coverages on TV all day long. KT took me out for a surprise lunch with Manny and Kekua. Had a good time with the Itches.
Friday was my birthday. I basically vegged out since I had a busy week. KT took me out to Bethesda with an attempted surprise dinner at BD Mongolian BBQ, surrounded by CK, Alpo, Carrie, Nick, Beth, Danny, Jon and Krista.
It was a fabulous dinner with friends! I was so embarrassed when the staff came out with the cake, singing "Happy Birthday". It looked so much fun when that song is being sung upon other people. It's just embarrassing to serenade me with that song.
Then, they kicked us out. Ok, really, they asked us how long we'd be at the table since they had people waiting for tables. I was like...TFB for them, we were here first. Alas, I had to be nice on my birthday. So, we got up and left.
Earlier, KT had asked me if I wanted to go to Dupont Circle and go to a bar. I thought it was a good idea. However, it was a just a cover for another surprise. KT drove me to Dover, Delaware to go gambling.
We had a good time there! We got there around 11 or midnight. Checked into the hotel and then drove off to Dover Downs. Gambled for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel for our beauty sleep.
Got up the next morning and gambled the day away. Left in the late afternoon back home. Vegged out the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday.
Went back to work today. Had a big project waiting for me which kept me busy all day.
I'm ready for another vacation!
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Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Movies
2010 is the sequel to 2001. In 2001, we're lefting hanging with some unanswered questions. In 2010, a team of Russian and American scientists take off on a Mission to Jupiter to investigate what happened to the astronants in 2001 as well as Hal, the computer who was supposedly to be the best computer ever created.
Questions were answered in regards to Hal, who seemed to be a sinister computer sabotaging the mission in 2001. However, there were still questions left unanswered in regards to the monolinths.
Overall, this movie was so-so. You're not really missing anything if you don't watch it.
Uh.....no. Having Gale Harold, who played Brian in Queer as Folks, in this movie doesn't make it any better. Boring!
Monsterthursday is a Dutch film. In the beginning, it looked like it was gonna be an interesting movie. However, about 20 minutes later, things start to drag and become pointless. Uh.......no!
Jeremy recommended, some time ago, that I check out this movie. This was like one of the many classic movies that gays should have already seen. Recently, I finally had the chance to TiVo it.
OMG! I loved it! The retorts between Eve (Anne Baxter), Margo (Bette Davis) and Karen were fabulous and hilarious.
Margo is a famous actress of the theatre. Eve, through the help of Margo's best friend, Karen, was able to land a visit with Margo in her dressing room. When asked about her background, Eve tells her story, which is laden with misfortunes. Margo felt pity for her and asked her to move in with her.
Eve is graceful, courteous and hard-working. Margo's maid, Birdie, feels that Eve is a little too hard-working. Eve will run errands for Margo without being asked.
Little by little, Eve edges her way into the theatre, pushing Margo out of the picture. We finally get to see Eve for who she really is.
Despite it being a long movie, it is worth watching it. Marilyn Monroe also appears in this movie. See if you can spot her.
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Saturday, August 05, 2006
hmmm
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
2001: A Space Odessey
I TiVo'd this movie because I thought this was the movie that I had seen the ending. I remembered as a kid that this was this particular ending that I would always catch but never seen the whole movie. However, it turned out that this wasn't the correct movie.
First of all, I can appreciate the special effects in this movie that was made in 1968. That's about the only best thing in regards to 2001.
The story...well, there wasn't much of a story. Dialogue is sparse in this 2 1/2 hour movie. You'd be watching at least 30 minutes of the movie before anyone talks.
The bottom line in this movie is the question of whether technology will overtake humanity.
I have TiVo'd the sequel, 2010. So, hopefully, this movie will explain some things better.
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The Visit
Last weekend, KT's sister and nieces visited us. They drove down from Minnesota to see Grandma in North Carolina. They, they were gonna drive up to New Jersey for a wedding. They thought they'd stop by, see us and tour DC.
It was good to see them!
Friday night, we met for dinner. After dinner, we drove around DC. We parked and walked around to see the White House, the Monument and WWII Memorial. It was a warm night, yet tolerable to walk around.
Saturday, whooooo! It was hot outside. We were at the Mall, checking out museums. We went to the main museum at the Smithsonian, where one could sign up for membership or whatever. It was a cute little museum. In one part in one wing, there was a section on currencies of the past. It was interesting to see dollar coins. I was surprised to see that shells were used as dollars in the past in America.
Then, we went to the Hirshhorn Museum. Now, I've always like that museum. However, this time, I wasn't impressed with the displays.
Then, we went to the Air & Space Museum. Boring! Plus, it wasn't quite comfortable, temperature-wise, in there.
After that, we went to the Native American Museum. However, we got there about 30 minutes before closing. We definitely wanna go back and look at the rest.
Lastly, we went to the Natural History Museum. The girls were excited to see these giant animals and fossils. KT's sister treated us to see an IMAX movie, which was the safari in 3-D. We were being nice because we thought that we'd have to sit through a movie and not understand anything. We were actually surprised that it was RWD'd.
The captioning panel was different. In movie theatres, you usually just plop the panel in the cup holder. However, at the IMAX, the panels come with clamps.
By the time we were done, it was 7:30 at night and we were all hungry. So, we went to Chinatown for dinner. Now, KT and I haven't really dine in Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Billy took us to one...Full Kee or something like that. It was ok.
One time, I had to take my mentee out to lunch. I took him to this place, I believe it was Tony Cheng's. I discovered that it was one of those Mongolian BBQ places. Now, this isn't like the one in Bethesda (BD). This one had limited choices and was expensive.
We thought we'd try Tai Shan. It's a simple restaurant but boy, their food was delicious!!! FYI, if you ever go there, you might want to share a plate with another person. They give you a lot of food! KT and I had so much food leftover that it was a full dinner plate for each of us the next night. Oh, oh, if you like Hot & Sour Soup, you'll definitely like it there...so good and spicy!
Sunday was even a much hotter day. It didn't help that the a/c in KT's sister's van decided to act up. I thought I was gonna die!
So, we just drove to the White House and took a couple of pictures. We drove the girls around to WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial so they could get pictures taken during the day. Then, they were done.
After they left, we just came home and plopped our tired asses on the loveseat. We didn't really get a chance to rest up before the week started again. However, we both took comfort that our summer contracts will expire this week. We plan to work around the house this weekend. Heck, I wanna get it all done as much as possible that way we can enjoy our vacation from work next week.
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It was good to see them!
Friday night, we met for dinner. After dinner, we drove around DC. We parked and walked around to see the White House, the Monument and WWII Memorial. It was a warm night, yet tolerable to walk around.
Saturday, whooooo! It was hot outside. We were at the Mall, checking out museums. We went to the main museum at the Smithsonian, where one could sign up for membership or whatever. It was a cute little museum. In one part in one wing, there was a section on currencies of the past. It was interesting to see dollar coins. I was surprised to see that shells were used as dollars in the past in America.
Then, we went to the Hirshhorn Museum. Now, I've always like that museum. However, this time, I wasn't impressed with the displays.
Then, we went to the Air & Space Museum. Boring! Plus, it wasn't quite comfortable, temperature-wise, in there.
After that, we went to the Native American Museum. However, we got there about 30 minutes before closing. We definitely wanna go back and look at the rest.
Lastly, we went to the Natural History Museum. The girls were excited to see these giant animals and fossils. KT's sister treated us to see an IMAX movie, which was the safari in 3-D. We were being nice because we thought that we'd have to sit through a movie and not understand anything. We were actually surprised that it was RWD'd.
The captioning panel was different. In movie theatres, you usually just plop the panel in the cup holder. However, at the IMAX, the panels come with clamps.
By the time we were done, it was 7:30 at night and we were all hungry. So, we went to Chinatown for dinner. Now, KT and I haven't really dine in Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Billy took us to one...Full Kee or something like that. It was ok.
One time, I had to take my mentee out to lunch. I took him to this place, I believe it was Tony Cheng's. I discovered that it was one of those Mongolian BBQ places. Now, this isn't like the one in Bethesda (BD). This one had limited choices and was expensive.
We thought we'd try Tai Shan. It's a simple restaurant but boy, their food was delicious!!! FYI, if you ever go there, you might want to share a plate with another person. They give you a lot of food! KT and I had so much food leftover that it was a full dinner plate for each of us the next night. Oh, oh, if you like Hot & Sour Soup, you'll definitely like it there...so good and spicy!
Sunday was even a much hotter day. It didn't help that the a/c in KT's sister's van decided to act up. I thought I was gonna die!
So, we just drove to the White House and took a couple of pictures. We drove the girls around to WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial so they could get pictures taken during the day. Then, they were done.
After they left, we just came home and plopped our tired asses on the loveseat. We didn't really get a chance to rest up before the week started again. However, we both took comfort that our summer contracts will expire this week. We plan to work around the house this weekend. Heck, I wanna get it all done as much as possible that way we can enjoy our vacation from work next week.
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