Meeting halfway....

I don't really get it when you have people who make the claim on how easy it is to set up an electronic face to face communication method such as using one or two laptops or tablets to communicate with a hearing person but do deaf people really take advantage of that technology? Instead I think many deaf people would rather opt out for a paper and pen situation in a family, social setting and make excuses for using such a method. From Deaf Echo one commenter gave an example of that of the pen and paper limitation.

I brought a bunch of notepads and pens to a family Thanksgiving dinner once and at the start of the evening, politely informed everyone that I didn't want to miss anything, so would they please write to me? I got two messages the entire night (both from the same distant cousin). One was "How is school?" and the other was some other statement I don't remember anymore. Very superficial. I responded in voice... was perfectly willing to meet everyone halfway... didn't happen. That was the last big family gathering like that that I ever attended. No bitterness or anger... I just stopped going. The burden of communication shouldn't be only on the deaf person. It should be shared by everyone, especially by those who profess to love that deaf person the most (his or her family). If that's not going to happen, especially if the deaf person in question directly ASKS for that, then there's no point in keeping up with pretenses. Just my view on it.

Using the paper and pen route isn't exactly an ideal way to communicate effectively, especially in this day and age of communication technology, with your family members and not have real conversations using one liners which makes the whole conversation a tedious and boring process.  Not a very engaging and interactive way of communicating.  For example, read what Richard Hurst, Clois James, and Ashleigh Smith had to say when they took advantage of an existing communication technology in social settings with their family members using a face to face communication device.

If a technology exist that makes face to face communication possible, regardless what that device is,  then why not take advantage of that technology instead of using the boring pen and paper method? Using such a technology can certainly help make conversations that much more engaging. Hearing people or non-sign language users would be much more apt to converse using a face to face communication technology than the old pen and paper method.

Just getting started

It's been 32 days since I turned off the news spigot save any weather-related news which I need to stay on top of as it's related to my work.  The news generated nowadays are the same old, same old news with some variants in between. Also turned off is the participation or reading any discussion forums which can become an easy way of trapping yourself into a vicious cycle that never ends when it comes to commenting that go nowhere but steal valuable time. It can become an insidious addiction problem if one isn't careful. But that spigot was decidedly turned off months ago for the better.

Looking back, posting on average 5 to 7 comments a day might seem innocuous enough but it's the amount of time on reading that can take up a lot of your time prior to posting comments. Let's take an average 6 posting a day and multiply that by 365 days which will equal to 2,198 posts in a year or almost 11,000 posted comments over a 5 year period. Posting a comment can be anywhere from one line long to 5 paragraphs long. Writing 35 lines of comments is enough to fill one page in a book. Assuming all comments are on average one line long for each posted comment, then over a 5 year period a person would've produced the equivalent of a 300+ page book!

I began in July 2006 in Alldeaf and ended my discussion forum days (so far) in July 2011 after seeing I had over 11,000 posts in 5 years did I realize how much postings I've done. And that comes out to an average of 6 postings per day since July 2006 leaving me with almost 12,000 posted comments. I call that an addictive behavior. Just when I thought 12,000 posts over a 5 year period was too much did I find other members such as Jiro (joined in 2007) and Jillio (joined in 2006) with over 45,000+ and 50,000+ posts, respectively, the last time I remembered before I left in July.   But with 50,000+ postings, that comes out to an average 30 postings per day if you do the math. If I thought posting 6 posts a day on average was too much, imagine posting 30 comments a day on average for 365 days a year. Heck, that's like writing one 300 page book a year!

It's an addiction problem whether one wants to admit it or not. You don't have to be a psychiatrist to figure that one out. Denying it will only make your problems worse.

It's like the realization on the amount of time you sleep on average when added up can become a humble awakening moment that you might be sleeping your life away even though I get my usual 6 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep over the last few decades. I just find the numbers intriguing as the reason for my blog posting. The same goes for realizing the amount of postings I did in a discussion forum but only this time I have the numbers to show for where I believe I exhibited an addictive behavior over at Alldeaf by posting too much over a period of time. But seeing somebody post over 50,000+ posted comments over a 5 year period makes mine look like nothing. Not to say I won't go back but like in life everything in moderation.

Some might become reticent and stubborn, and call their reason for such participation in a discussion forum as part of their socialization needs. The problem is that not everything posted is about socializing but about the psychological and emotional needs to post comments, regardless, and the deep seated need to respond to posted comments at every turn. That's when it becomes a problem. Though I'm not saying that participating in a discussion forum is bad. There's always a balance when it comes to those things, and which area you prefer to make use of your time with. Just be aware of the amount of time spent and realize that.

Long story short. I figure I make better use of my time for other projects and goals in my life.

The "Art of Solitude"

Exactly what is it? What's the difference for a deaf, hard of hearing and hearing person if one wants to practice the "Art of Solitude"? How can it be an "art"? The "Art of Solitude" sure sounds like a book title but it's certainly not something that you have to be a monk to enjoy it.  This is about being in a place without distraction with none of the clatter and noise (the noxious visual, auditory and smell). It's an opportunity to delve into yourself with greater introspection about the world around you. Solitude isn't dependent on having no sound at all such as having a hearing loss. Solitude could mean lying on a grassy bank, under a warm sun while next to a creek listening to the soothing, babbling noise of water flowing downstream. Or it could mean only the sound of nature be the soothing medium. Or it could mean complete and still silence. Solitude means different things to different people. Your solitude is not necessarily my kind of solitude.

First, let's get the definition of the word "solitude." It's defined as 1)The state or quality of being alone or remote from others; or 2) A secluded place.

So, having that solitude doesn't mean going out into the wilderness or forest alone. It can be anyplace where you can be able to shut yourself off and away from the outside world. But if you can get yourself some solitude outdoors then that's probably the best way to do it. I've many moments of solitude such as walking a sandy beach on an island for almost two hours with nary a soul basking under the summer sun. I've hiked the forested mountains alone and not meet anybody for miles but let nature be my companion that soothed my soul. I sat on a grassy knoll at 10,600 feet high after a few hours of hiking just to get that coveted spot and experience the vast openness with the world below me. Hiked the desert full of Chihuahuan shrubs such as creosote bush, mesquite, agave, ocotillo and the lechugilla while I enjoyed the full view of desert life. And swam in a swimming hole 200 feet below into the basalt canyon with no one around save some rattlesnakes, badgers and birds. There are times when solitude meant being by yourself to experience nature around you when you get the chance and opportunity.

Several months ago I watched a show "Flying Wild Alaska" where one guy and his wife lived in a cabin 25 miles inside the Arctic Circle in Alaska for over 25 years. The place is so remote the nearest road is 250 miles away and the only way to get there is by airplane. That couple is the only couple that live year round as a resident of his own home.  If anything, those couple mastered the art of solitude as they call it "home." If you can live there for over 25 years basically alone and not suffer cabin fever, heck, bow to that master of the Alaskan wilderness and solitude.


“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” ~Albert Einstein

Why no swear words in captioning?

I wrote an email to the National Captioning Institute asking the question on why swear words are bleeped out on captioned television shows when in the audio portion of the same show you can hear them clearly? The response I got may surprise you as well as raise questions about the not-so-logical reasoning for allowing bleeped out captions.

The policy for captioning swear words is set by each network, not by the various captioning companies. Our standard policy is to make all captions verbatim, so if a swear word is bleeped out, then it is also left out of the captioning. Some networks tell us to never caption a swear word and let them know if one gets left in the audio of prerecorded programs. For live programs, we just have to leave out swear words for these networks. Some networks tell us to caption all swear words. Other networks only allow us to caption certain swear words. I cannot explain why some networks feel that it is O.K. to have swear words in the audio but not in the captioning.

So, in other words, the shows you watch on a network that have a habit of bleeping out swear words when the audio is clearly heard, you'll have to write to that network asking them not to request from their captioning company to bleep out swear words if they allow audio version of it in a a television show. Write to your network and not to the captioning companies that permits the bleeping of captioned swear words.

Noelle's blog

Noelle produced a blog recently on calling out NAD for its association with a seemingly questionable organization who defaced a sign (although not permanently) by covering up the words on an AGBell plaque on the side of AGBell's building in D.C. last month.  Noelle is re-iterating or pointing out that the image of an organization would be perceived negatively or even militant for its approach even though she supports the use of sign language.

Instead of attacking and protesting a rival organization, they should be promoting ASL and the benefits of bilingualism at the local, state, and national level, and asking for it to be included in ALL communication modes in legislation.

Putting it into picture on what Noelle and many others are trying to say is this:

Whether it's SEE, ASL, PSE, or even cued speech, anything that helps with the visual aspect of communicating with a language is a pretty good start for kids with hearing loss. Of course, that probably depend on the amount of hearing loss if we're talking about those with mild versus severe/profound hearing loss.

Sleeping your life away....

Some interesting math for you all on how much of your life you sleep away.

Assume a human's average life span of 75 years. Let's start at age 20, a time when we are working or going to school, so that leaves us with 55 years to mess around with.

For every extra hour of sleep you get you will have slept away 2.3 years worth over 55 years.

1 hr x 365 days = 365 hours divided by 24 hr/day = 15.2 days lost in one year. 15.2 days/yr x 55 years = 836.5 days or 2.3 years.

Let's say people get 7 hours of sleep on average, if you slept 8 hours on average that would be 2.3 years lost through sleeping over the span of 55 years.

If you slept 9 hours on average that would be 4.6 years lost through sleeping over 55 years.

If you slept 10 hours on average that would be 7.9 years lost through sleeping over 55 years.

Little things add up over time and before you know it, you wondered where all that time went. Enjoy that early morning sunshine folks and make the best use of your time, including me for typing this little nonsense out.

Economic Power

Economic power is what gives you that freedom to do what you want to do. But with economic powers come with greater responsibilities not to yourself but to other people as well who helped. Not too long ago Ryan Commerson produced a video that was published on August 4, 2011 on asking salient questions on the lack of deaf-owned businesses, why economic power continues to be beyond their grasp, how some companies in the telecommunication industry continue to cater to and take advantage of the deaf and hard of people their money with little or no real representation or support on their behalf and noting the fact that there is only one deaf-owned VRS company out of many VRS companies (but certainly there are some deaf-run companies). At one minute and 40 seconds into the video Former executive director of TDI, Alfred Sonnenstrahl, was at a loss for words when asked a question by Ryan Commerson if there are any deaf-owned VRS companies.



Perhaps Mr. Sonnenstrahl wasn't thinking about ConvoRelay which is a deaf-owned and operated VRS company that was founded in March 2009. On the FCC website it lists telecommunication companies that offer VRS (although ConvoRelay isn't on the list).

The FCC over the last few years had to address the high cost of re-reimbursing VRS companies due to in many parts fraud and abuse by recommending a new per-minute rate compensation plan and reform the VRS industry in a July 28, 2011 notice to the public on the potential ruling. Some in the deaf community feared that such a newly proposed compensation rate plan will further diminish the VRS competition field (although Claude Stout, Executive Director of TDI doubt it would cause that as seen in the video). After Ryan Commerson asked Alfred Sonnenstrahl (formerly of TDI), Claude Stout (Executive Director of TDI), Shane Feldman (CEO of NAD), and Gregory Hlibok (Chief, Disability Rights Office) in his video on what they are going to do about the proposed FCC compensation rate and new rules did they all of sudden help write a letter on August 9, 2011 to the FCC which was electronically filed on August 11, 2011:

On August 9, 2011, Claude Stout, Executive Director, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. ("TDI"); Shane Feldman, Chief Operating Officer, National Association of the Deaf ("NAD"); Andrew S. Phillips, Policy Attorney, NAD; Sheri A. Farinha, Vice Chair, California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. ("CCASDHH"); and the undersigned met with Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau; Gregory Hlibok, Chief, Disability Rights Office; and Diane Mason, Disability Rights Office to discuss a likely
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") about the per-minute rate of compensation mechanism for Video Relay Service ("VRS") and potential alternative compensation mechanisms.


TDI, NAD, and CCASDHH urged the Commission to undertake a Notice of Inquiry ("NO!"), rather than a NPRM, if the Commission wishes to consider possible alternatives to the per-minute compensation mechanism, including a per-user compensation mechanism. They also discussed the Commission's intent to reform VRS services.

TDI, NAD, and CCASDHH emphasized the importance of a compensation mechanism that fulfills the original Congressional intent of functional equivalency as more fully described in the Consumer Groups' TRS Policy Statement - Functional Equivalency of Telecommunications Relay Services: Meeting the Mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act dated April 12,2011 (the "Policy Statement").' They expressed concerns that any reform should first take into consideration feedback from consumer representatives as well as providers to develop solutions to improve VRS. They also
expressed strong concerns regarding the idea of changing compensation from a per minute rate to a per-user rate. A per-user system would create incentives for providers to cut costs and avoid high volume customers and diminish the quality of VRS services and training, thus decreasing consumers' functionally equivalent use of the telephone system.

Further, providers may tweak the system to reduce number/length of calls from customers (i.e., longer answer times). The consumer representatives explained that the business model for the provision of services does not need to be identical to hearing consumers. In VRS, interpreter costs are generally paid by the hour and not a flat fee, whereas hearing consumers generally pay a flat fee for telephone services. The consumer representatives also raised questions about the per-user compensation approach, including what data would be used to calculate a per-user rate. They recommend that new ideas not be introduced in a NPRM, but rather urge the Commission to explore ideas with
consumers and providers through a NOI and workshops.

I can't help but wonder their action to pen a letter to the FCC was on their part and effort to save face after being confronted by Ryan Commerson and after releasing the video to the public last week for non-action.

It is great to voice concerns on how best to explore ideas with consumers and providers but the bottom line is that VRS companies are mostly hearing owned. Despite that I'm sure there are still room for competition to see more deaf-owned and operated VRS companies which will help shift more of the economic power and opportunity over to the deaf and hard of hearing communities. In fact, there are plenty of room to see more deaf-owned businesses that can cater to deaf, hard of hearing and hearing customers and clients. It all comes down to global microbranding your product and services. It's all about the hard work, the long hours, pounding the pavement and slowly build a network of clients and customers. Nobody said it'd be an easy thing.

Global microbrand.

Think about it. What does it mean to have a deaf-owned and operated business? What can a global microbranded product do for potential deaf, hard of hearing and hearing customers or clients? For a business it's not merely about having a product to sell but about believing in a product and what it can do for that potential customer. Believing in the power of transformation and what a product can do for people who can use it are powerful motivations that draw them to that product or service once they see the bigger picture of what success means. It's about making the customers and clients think that they are brilliant in choosing your product and services that keeps them coming back and recommending your product and company to other people, hence the whole global microbranding business.

But is it better to cater to a deaf-owned and operated business that know who their customers and clients really are or would it better to cater to a hearing company that pay lip service? That depends on which companies you feel the most comfortable with and the type of quality and services you get from that company. Just because it is deaf-owned doesn't mean it is the best one to go to.

Back in February 2007 at Gallaudet University's first ever blog/vlog conference I made the point to the internet audience and the people sitting in front of me that for deaf and hard of hearing people to move ahead and achieve success they would require to essentially bootstrap themselves and believe in their work and philosophy by relying more on themselves to get the job done rather than rely on hearing people for their particular products and services. Economic power is the key.

There's certainly a difference on the responsibilities of having that economic power when it comes to helping people attain greater freedom and independence versus wielding an economic power to push an ideology that reeks of office politics.  And grey areas do exist. Running a company for the sake of ideological AND political purposes will only limit your market and the customers you deal with. Keeping your nose clean of politics in a business can become a crucial business strategy in surviving and expanding your business.  The difference can be between having your company look like a feeding ground for militant zealots or not.

Economic power. Your choice, your motivation, your responsibility.

South Korea

Congrats to the Deaf Nation winners for a free trip to South Korea. One of the winners is a good friend of my wife and I was surprised when my wife told me who. I met her a few times when we visited her and her husband. I won't mention her name but I'm sure all of the winners deserved that trip to South Korea. Let's hope those who didn't make the pick were gracious enough to congratulate the winners instead of being bitter about it and target DN. If you ain't gracious about it, then you're bitter. Again, congrats to the winners.

Capitalizing on what works

There's this fixation over the word "fix" when it comes to certain people with hearing loss, especially of those with greater hearing loss.  The word "fix" doesn't necessarily mean a permanent solution but rather a way to utilize a solution that best improve a condition. It's more of a correction and supplement to an existing condition rather than a "fix" per se but I understand exactly where people are coming from when they say that. Just as glasses helps fix poor eyesight or people with a variety of vision loss. You take off your glasses, you still can't see well. You take off your hearing aid or cochlear implant you cannot hear very well or none at all. It's utilizing what senses you have left by capitalizing the power of technology. Each of us has a hearing loss that is different ranging from mild to profound, bilateral or unilateral hearing loss. It's a fix, it's a correction but there is nothing permanent about it when comes to those adjustments being made. The question becomes whether people with hearing loss will capitalize on that or not. Some do. Some don't. Some won't. What works for me, works for me and has nothing to do with you. All we can do is respect the diversity out there. Not everybody signs. Not everybody can hear like the next person. We're all different. It doesn't matter if a person prefers to speak and listen, and don't know sign language, what matters is that we understand that diversity exists and we must respect that and the communication and language options for all those deaf and hard of hearing people out there. What works for me doesn't mean it will work for other people with hearing loss, deaf or hard of hearing with bilateral or unilateral hearing loss. What works for you doesn't mean it'll work for other people as well. I simply capitalize on what works for me.

Fixed

Fixed...a captioned video on disability and super-ability.

Point of View

Let's get this straight. No one is saying that having different point of views is censorship. As in the case for Deafread, people have been and are trying to force the owner of Deafread through intimidation, protests, slandering, harassing, and conjuring up myths about the owner of Deafread, Tayler Mayer, in order to get him to acquiesce and run an aggregator site that accept only Deaf POV videos and institute a so-called better "R-List." Thus pushing the practice of censoring to the extreme.

What is "censor"?

cen·sor
noun
1. an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.

In fact, Tayler and his moderators do censor what's allowed in Deafread since there are certain requirements to be met in order for a blog or a link to be posted in Deafread. But the big irony is that because of Deafread there are loads of POVs from all kinds of people who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, culturally deaf, CODAs, cochlear implant wearers, signers and non-signers alike, those who prefer to speak and listen, and hearing parents of deaf/hh kids.

Tayler Mayer made it clear that he does not want to censor Deafread by restricting it even further and have it accept Deaf POVs only but rather have Deaf, deaf, hard of hearing and hearing POVs instead.

One central reason for developing DeafRead is that Jared and I wanted to empower the deaf community; we wanted to allow everyone a voice, a place where people could speak out.

What is censorship?

the actions or practices of censors; especially : censorial control exercised repressively

So what Don and others are advocating? More censorship and control through force and intimidation against the owner of Deafread, and get him to capitulate at all cost.

If Don and others want to create their own aggregator site that accepts only Deaf POVs they are more than welcomed to create an alternative aggregator site that reflect their own policies, rules and ideals. Deaf Village did the same thing by breaking away from Deafread to create its own blog aggregator site. A place to provide aggregated and filtered online content that reflects a spirit of inclusion, collaboration and partnership among the diverse members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.  They didn't whine and moan for 3 or 4 years when they disagreed with Deafread's actions or policies. They up and left and created their own blog aggregator site in a matter of months which is now in its 4th year.

There's a similar situation for vlogs as well. You have DVTV for signers which is an aggregator site for vlogs via YouTube. At one time people got upset with Tayler Mayer's (DVTV) policy regarding the ground rules on accepting vlogs and decided to create their own vlog aggregator site and the first one was ASLrocks. That attempt failed spectacularly and ASLrocks didn't even last for one year probably due to the rampant cyberbullying that went on.  Next came along Deafcube and it is still going.

Instead of complaining, go out create your own if you're not happy with Deafread. Using the strategy to try and bully Tayler Mayer into changing will not work. That tactic has obviously failed. It's better to hear from all sides than to be fed with only one viewpoint all the time.

Looking for a deaf farmer or rancher in the midwest

Are you a deaf farmer? A deaf rancher? Do you own a piece of land of at least 300 acres? Well, somebody I know is looking for deaf farmers or ranchers that own land out in the midwest such as Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois. I would like to speak to them and discuss a potential project on their land, especially if you own land in Missouri. Contact me and I'll direct you to a person who is looking for such a farmer or rancher people by emailing me for more information. This could turn out to be a rewarding experience!

To contact me email me at: mmcconnell2004(at)hotmail.com

Should comments be turned on?

I got a few grumblings from a few deaf people filtering in to me about wishing that my comment was turned on so people can respond here. I purposely turned it off so as to not have comments come in prior to approval of some idiot ruining my day/week/month/year by telling me the news of what's going on recently. I don't want to know!

WHY?

Here's why.

I decided to create a poll so at least people can at least respond in some manner and get their input but be forewarned, I am not likely to change my mind and will want to see myself through in this experiment of mine. If you want to respond, respond in Facebook. Of course, I'll hear from my friends of mine only rather than from a bunch of deaf hand wringers.




And a super YAY! that I made it through my first week on no news. No Drudge Report. No CNN. No Foxnews. No politics. Sports. And all that junk.

Deeeeeeeeeestruction!

10...
9....
8....
7....
6....
5....
4....
3....
2....
1....

*click*

*no noise*

Whaaa?

What's wrong?

A dud?

Bad wiring?

Nah.

Just a lot of grumbling from a bunch of people instead. And no destruction but rather about destructive behaviors through making assumptions, myth makings, by making things personal by contacting employers, making threats, doing the whole childish gossipy games in YouTube, being hypocritical, the name callings, doing the whole "subaltern" pseduo crap talk, getting heavy with the a-wordism and deficit thinkers on other deaf/hh people and so on and so forth, etc, etc and all that over the years on what I've witnessed on some occasions from those in the Deaf community while as a blogger (and vlogger). It just gets surreal. Let me take that back. It is and has been and continues to be surreal as I look back now.

Tis what it is. Tis so.

But if ya ask me I say you've entered the Twilight Zone!

*insert sound of T.Z. music*

Some tend to be the "head of the pack" type of people who think they are the epitome of leadership quality.  Yeeeehaw! Whooeee! And all that stuff. Bunch of mirage, I'd say!

*rolls head back and laughs*

Giddyap!

But isn't it odd that these "leaders" try so hard to raise money, act friendly but at the same time take the time and effort to vilify people in blogs and vlogs their rants? When people ask, I shrug and point to some examples of such behaviors. I nod my head and exclaim with a whisper, "Yeah...watch out." And recommend they keep a tight hold on their wallets. You know the word "facade" doesn't always mean the front of a building.

CommUNITY ain't possible. The facade crumbles. Naked and exposed.

Just yesterday I ran across several Deaf people near my town in a small town Mom and Pop take out place. I noticed them signing and approached them by introducing myself. I had a nice but a brief 5 to 10 minutes conversation with them. Never seen them before and was told they lived nearby in a small town. Conversations were cut short as I sat down with my daughters while we waited for our food. For a moment I quickly remembered a time recently when I came across a bunch of HLAA people when one wore a HLAA badge. I also made the initiative to approach them and had some great verbal conversations with them as we talked and listened to each other. It lasted maybe twenty minutes. Then it hit me as I sat at my table. I realized the stark differences between the two groups of people when it came to communicating with people with hearing loss.  I was able to connect with them both using their communication preferences. That's sounds awful lot like commUNITY to me. You see, signing isn't everything and the only thing here. The key is to connect people with their communication preferences and needs. And not on political ideology alone because that will surely fail.

"Hey...there's a bunch of deaf/hh people signing! I'm gonna go over there and introduce myself!"

"Hey...there's a bunch of deaf/hh people with hearing aids and cochlear implants talking! F*ck 'em. They're losers!"

Here's the deal.

We're deaf. We're hard of hearing. People see themselves as hearing impaired. Some simply say, "I have a hearing loss." Some will say "I'm deaf" or "I'm hard of hearing," while fewer still say "I'm Deaf" by signing. Some wear cochlear implants. Many wear hearing aids. Some do not at all. Each of them has an opinion and preference when it comes to their own hearing loss, deafness, communication and language options. I don't begrudge them for that but the problem is that many people still do out of sheer pettiness. And they haven't gotten past that yet. And that's the sad thing.

*Twilight Zone music*