Dissing those who Choose

Jamie Berke has undertaken a major decision in her life and is now chronicling her story in the blog section of About.com:Deafness beginning with her first blog “Starting a New Phase of Life” that began one week ago. Of course, I believe many deaf and hard of hearing people are in support of her decision to have her cochlear implant done since she is, after all, an adult. She is capable of making her own decision. Apparently, there are the very few “sour-minds” out there who actually think what Jamie did amount to a traitorous action against those who are culturally deaf (or in this case the “Deaf community”) as seen in comment # 15.

You are definitely a real TRAITOR to the deaf community especially your deaf blog! I was totally RIGHT about you being a turncoat to the deaf community. Why in the world you get the CI? What for? Comment by *Gasp For Air* — February 20, 2008 @ 11:52 am.

Morons who behave like anonymous cowards they are by going after deaf and hard of hearing people by calling them “traitors” or “turncoats” are not representative of the deaf and hard of hearing community, much less the Deaf community (at least I hope not). Or make snarky remarks on what Jamie Berke is doing is helping “stimulate the economy and make money for a few companies/individuals” - which shows an obvious lack of support by those who think otherwise about cochlear implantation by deaf adults who choose to have them. Remarks like those simply paint an even darker picture about the Deaf community to be seen by the public as “unyielding,” “unsupportive,” “maligning,” “one dimensional in thinking,” or even “abusive.” It certainly doesn’t help the Deaf community whenever people go around screaming “ AGBAD! AGBAD! AGBAD! " instead of coming back down to earth a bit and address “AG Bell” as, what else, “AG Bell.” But it's sometimes even worse when the few use "AGBAD" disengeniously as an "innocent" use of the acronym (several times over) in a letter addressed to AG Bell (of which I have a copy of) in a disparaging manner hoping for a courteous reply from them in return. Ya think?

Blogs and vlogs have their pros and cons when it comes to informing the public but by being visible to them these bloggers/vloggers have certain responsibilities when it comes to representing their deaf and hard of hearing community. Or in this case, the Deaf community. Acting like a bunch of juveniles do not help the cause.

But sometimes these “sourpuss” mind types go a bit farther and claim that all deaf children or babies belong to them, that is, the Deaf community by terming these deaf babies as "our" deaf children. The fact is, deaf babies belong to no one community except to the parents of that deaf child. Aside from that, blatherings continue elsewhere about the true “evilness” of cochlear implants and so on. Quite disconcerting to see these things happen. Imagine the public who have no idea what the Deaf community is like and see these kinds of things for the first time and they have a deaf child. Do you think hearing parents would want their deaf child to be sucked into that kind of a group who think and act like that? I wouldn't. So, don't act so surprised.

Granted, these kinds of people who act or behave like that are in the extreme minority among those in the Deaf community, at least I hoping that is the case here. But you know what? Deaf and hard of hearing people can do anything, even hear. It's time to get rid of that old cliche' by I. King Jordan's famous quote, "Deaf people can do anything, except hear." Whether it is a hearing aid or a cochlear implant the gift of sound is not to be taken for granted. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to experience the beauty of sound and many people do not realize just how powerful sounds are to those who enjoy them. Like me and many others.

And so I end this blog piece that whenever people who act like a "sourpuss" or those who insist on having a "sour-like mind" enough for you to wince and pucker up seeing them behave like juveniles certainly deserve my "Sour Puss Stamp" of the day.



Jamie, don't worry about these "sour-mind" types of people. You are an adult. You made the decision and that Deaf people have no right to tell you how you should think and behave.

The Oppression Game

Speaking in a vlog along with embedded subtitles does not oppress deaf people any more than movies, news or tv shows that carry captions or subtitles oppress deaf people. They don't. Some are claiming on what I do in my vlogs by speaking and adding subtitles oppress Deaf people which goes against the grain of common logic here. But to use that logic then their cries of demands that movies and tv shows be captioned/subtitled are actually oppresssing themselves? It'd be ludicrous to even think that. Either you are in favor of videos (i.e. talking roles) that carry caption/subtitle for the audience with hearing loss or you do not. It'd be a safe bet that most deaf and hard of hearing people are in favor of seeing more captioning on tv shows, movies, news and such.

So, there's nothing ironic about the preference to speak in a vlog if a person knows ASL who happens to have a hearing loss. As long as subtitles in talking vlogs are met then people shouldn't complain about accessibility communication issues. Otherwise if they do complain then I find it to be highly ironic because they should also complain about tv shows and movies having captions or subtitles as well! As for someone stating that I *claim* to know ASL, it's not a claim but a fact. There's at least one video of me signing last year when someone asked me a question in ASL, and I responded. But as for making personal vlogs, I prefer to speak. Nothing oppressive about that at all. None. Just the fact that some people do not like to have their sensibilities challenged with that idea.

Now, the crux of my argument in my recent blogs/vlogs about adding subtitles to ASL vlogs has always been that if a person has the means to do it (ie. knows English very well and can do the ASL to English conversion without much problems - like Seek Geo or Phil Bravin's subtitled ASL vlog where Phil Bravin is a very well known figure in the Deaf community because of DPN - - ), has access to a subtitling software and the time to do it but ultimately refuse to do it on the grounds of "ASL purity." Even after realizing the Deaf-Blind issue on the subject of communication access and need to feel inclusive, then I'd find the whole thing quite ironic seeing that these are the same people who also demanded that all tv shows and movies ought to be captioned.

What I've discussed was not about that all vloggers ought to have their vlogs subtitled but about those who already know how and can do the subtitling easily that simply begs the question. But then people try and counter that argument by using their own blog argument saying that by the simple act of blogging people are also denying access to those with vision problems. Not really because there are multitudes of software out there, some available for free, that come with the ability magnify texts and such to make a blog or website's texts readable. Even the Microsoft Explorer browser that you have right now comes with a built in magnifier program. It also has the ability to change text size in your browser by clicking on the "View" tab and then click on "Text size" and you have your choice of "smallest" to "largest" text size to choose from. So using the blog argument pretty much falls flat in this case.

Speaking about vlogs there is an interesting poll result I'd like to share with you. So far in my latest poll result some 70% out of 105 who responded to my poll question would like to see subtitles in ASL vlogs.

Granted, ASL vloggers have their right to decide whether they want to add subtitles, a transcript or even a summary with their vlogs. Though I never made the personal statement in my blogs or vlogs that Deaf people oppress other Deaf people. In actuality, I asked it in the form of a question to the readers in one of my blog update, "Is this a case of some Deaf vloggers oppressing Deaf-Blind by refusing to add subtitles?" as seen in my update. It was a conditional statement of mine, not an outright one.

Again, as for my speaking, I choose to speak in my vlogs. Accept that. Move on. Stop with the crying game. I'm happy with my choice and certainly my voice isn't a deaf one for those who actually believe that's the case. But in the case that you do have a problem with my choice then learn not to get into using puerile remarks. Instead, I'd rather see that issues discussed and not see juvenile remarks.

Building Bridges....?

Cochlear implants and hearing aids really do act as "bridges" between two worlds from one end to the next. Meaning that such devices help connect people with hearing loss with that of the hearing world. And not that they are per se "bridge builders" sounding much like some goodwill peace building effort. They are not. And they are certainly not "quick fixes" in the immediate sense because connecting with the hearing world can be a gradual process allowing time for adaptation to take place. The range of hearing loss is varied from mild to profound and hearing loss can occur while in the womb, as a young child or as an adult dealing with high frequency hearing loss (mild hearing loss) requiring a hearing aid that will certainly help quickly fix the problem to a good degree and re-establish the connection with the hearing world.

There are major differences when talking about connecting or bridging with the hearing world and that would be access to communication only versus access to communication and sound. An ASL interpreter or CART transcriber can help bridge the communication gap between deaf and hearing people (and to some extent the hearing world). But for a hearing aid or cochlear implant (and other soon to be advanced technological hearing devices) user it helps connect with hearing people and the hearing world of environmental sounds, music, and the verbal communication with the ability to understand and enjoy the melodious quality of other people’s voices. Yes, a melodious quality. These things have intrinsic value for the most of us. Most people cherish them more than others while others may simply not care for them for whatever reasons.

Here below is a video of the famous Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse in 1940 in Washington state. This bridge could be seen as representative of a "bridge to the hearing world" during a time throughout the 1950s, 60s, 70s or even 80s when hearing aid technology and oral education were somtime seen as "failures" by the Deaf community. And thus they are constantly "traumatized" thinking the engineering constructs of the past they've experienced are the same as today but they are not.



But as time moves forward better technology (digital hearing aids with artificial intelligence, cochlear implants, auditory neural implants, NanoEAR cochlea replacement, auditory brainstem implant, internet, cell phones, video phone, etc) coupled with better educational understanding and improved social services (e.g. relay services, interpreters, translitorators, CART, cued speech, etc) you get better and stronger bridges with the hearing world as time goes by, especially by those who are immersed in the world of sound who take advantages of such hearing technologies. The pace of technology is speeding up and has become more and more reliant.

This bridge of today has become increasingly more solid, increasingly longer and increasingly dependable where we get to see more interaction with more people nowadays. Larger gaps that effectively separate people from each other they are effectively being bridged with longer and more dependable bridges. There is no telling where technology and services will take us in the next 10 or 20 years. Bridging that large gap is something like having the world's longest bridge that's over a mile long. A time when a gap that wide once that impossible to close.



But we are just beginning to get better at building better access. Pretty soon we'll be building a bridge that's 18 miles long and that the separation from other people would no longer be a problem. Technology moves fast. Ideas move even faster. Choose wisely.

Japanese Sign Language

I remember during the summer of 1989 during Deaf Way at Gallaudet University when I was staying in a dormitory I met a young Japanese man whose name I have long forgotten. Like all other foreigners who came to Deaf Way communicated mostly by means of gesturing. Between me and the young Japanese guy we gestured some, showed each other pictures and then he gave me his business card (how typical!) with his home address in Japan. But I have not bothered to contact him all this time nor do I have his business card. Though I do have a picture of him somewhere in my house. And because of that I Googled up some Japanese Sign Language videos to check on a few things first.

Here are two interesting videos of a Japanese woman signing in Japanese Sign Language (JSL).



Did you get it? Any of you? Did you understand what she was saying? Speaking and/or the signing part? I seriously doubt any of you did at least not context-wise on what she was saying aside from recognizing one or two signs like 'writing" and "cold". I'm sure she had something important to say to her viewers out there but since there were no subtitles in this one you wouldn't know, right? Felt a bit left out and wished you could understand her? Yeah, kind of like the people who watch vlogs in ASL wouldn't know either. Not knowing if ASL vloggers had something important to say or discuss, or maybe just a bunch of juvenile gibberish and hand waving.

The next video below is subtitled in both English and Japanese. But since most of you readers in here wouldn't know what she was saying and I'd say that the English subtitle along with JSL is a godsend rather than seen as "distracting." At least with the English subtitle you could gather what each of the Japanese signs may mean.

Arrigato!



Now, with subtitles people from other countries can learn sign language from other each other. Without subtitles embedded with sign language videos, how can people learn another language? Since vlogs from the United States are one of the most watched vlogs over the internet because English is an internationally used language, spoken or in print. Another reason to include subtitles in vlogs just like putting them in helps the Deaf-Blind people understand vlogs in ASL.

Access or no access, that is the question.

In terms of better access, would you like to see ASL vlogs be subtitled?
	Yes!
	No!
	I am not sure
pollcode.com free polls

See "No Subtitles for Patty" and "The Advantages of Subtitles on Vlogs."

Subtitled vlogs can be done in any written language format such as English, Spanish, French and so on. Depending on where you are and the audience you are targeting, the idea is about communication access for those who know little or no sign language. Sign language could be in ASL, BSL, Italian Sign Language, Swedish Sign Language, PSE, SEE and so on.

No Subtitles for Patty

References made in my video blog:

Patty - The DeafBlind's Musing and The Expatriate.
Seek Geo - a Deaf vlogger who signs and use subtitles for his videos.

"The Forest" by Jason Stewart

Here's a subtitled video of a "Lifelike Expressive Avatars" in a proof-of-concept experiment using computer animation.

Vcom3D and the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center of Gallaudet University are researching and developing a proof-of-concept system for creating and delivering animated stories using the full range of facial expression and body language of American Sign Language, as well as manual signs. Results from this Phase I proof-of-concept will provide the basis for developing an Authoring System and run-time software for creating these animated stories.

I suppose in 10 or 15 years from now we'll have computer animation so life like a human being wouldn't be able to tell from a real person or a computer animated one.

The Advantages of Subtitles on Vlogs

About my vloggings and subtitles (see here and here), my message was not about forcing anyone to add subtitles. I cannot force ASL vloggers to add subtitle any more than I can force  Jimmy Carter to give up peanut farming. What I have clearly suggested in my vlogs is that adding subtitles is an opportunity to reach more people. It is simple as that. Yes, it does take time to add subtitles but if you have ideas, concerns, questions, beliefs or whatever and you want to talk about and share them, what better way to spread that message of thought to more people rather than just to a limited number of ASL using people?

It's not about because "95% of the hearing people who vlog do not add subtitles" that justifies ASL using vloggers to not add subtitles just to "get back at them." That's a rather wrong approach on addressing communication access issues. It's about going above them and be an example of what subtitles are all about. It's really about making an example of those hearing vloggers who refuse to add subtitles. Just as Seek Geo prefers to sign, he takes the time to add subtitles. The same goes for me, I prefer to speak but I take the time to add subtitles. It's not about me not understanding ASL, I understand those ASL vlogs fine with or without subtitles. It's not about me...it's about THEM! The people out there who may (or may not) want to watch your video and see what YOU have to say. The power of words can be seen in subtitles. Adding subtitles gives you a bigger audience and potentially a bigger audience to side with you on issues like, perhaps, the AG Bell thing. Think more broadly about the potential on what subtitles can do for you and how you want to get your message out. Will it be a limited message, or a message that crosses more boundaries and reach more people?

If anything, you should consider adding subtitles as a tactical move on your part as your overall strategy to garner more and more support for your cause. Because of me, more people are starting to take the time to add subtitles to get their message across. Even Seek Geo, a Deaf ASL vlogger, is having an effect, too. Somebody had to do this first and that's why I take the time to add subtitles to my vlogs to reach out more people that way. It's working and I am smiling.

And lastly, I don't have eyes in the back of my head to read ALL the vlogs and blogs out there, deaf and hearing, including the umpteen number of websites I regular go to. Just because somebody posted a vlog does not means that I will get to see it and respond to it. My time is limited and I get on the internet when I can and catch up on things. I have things I do outside of the internet involving my family, kids, exercing and piano playing. So, don't get mad or upset just because I haven't responded. It could simply mean that I haven't seen your vlog or blog. If you are seeking a response from me then it would be best to get in contact with me via email and let me know. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

UPDATE: A Deaf-Blind reader/watcher responded on Kokonut Pundit about subtitles on vlogs and makes a very good point.

As a Deaf-Blind person, I truly appreciate subtitling in vlogs because I am legally blind now. It does help a lot to be still involved in the v/blogosphere with the subtitles. If there wasn't any, I wouldn't complain because I visit a lot of blogs.

And I can't help but wonder some of the leaders in the ASL vlogging, especially those already technically-savvy, refuse to add subtitles not realizing that there are Deaf-Blind people out there who could use the extra help on seeing both signing and subtitling at the same time. Is this a case of some Deaf vloggers oppressing Deaf-Blind by refusing to add subtitles? What an interesting perspectiving coming from one Deaf-Blind reader/watcher who really appreciates any subtitles to a vlog.

There are blurring of motions, including any signing; and the lack of video definition which is not the same as watching a high definition TV sometimes make it hard to follow any signing! I would suspect it'd be harder to follow for some Deaf-Blind readers/watchers of vlogs? But these video definition and speed are certainly improving over time as technology continues to improve for our benefits.

UPDATE II: Patty, "TheExpatriate," who is Deaf-Blind, (as well as many other Deaf-Blind people who are sometimes considered to be at the bottom of the Deaf-totem pole when it comes communication access) Ihave a question, how do you feel about Carl's decision not to add captions/subtitles in future vlogs? And I am now wondering how many Deaf vloggers actually share Carl's decision? It certainly does not sound like a good solution to do that. Just my take.

Below is what Patty feels about the Deaf community who do not think about people like Patty's on their need for communication access when it comes to vlogging.

Please keep in mind, the Deaf-Blind community is really at the bottom of the totem pole, struggling to be seen, heard and recognized. It does not really help that our peers, the Deaf community, responds in this manner whether they realise it or not.

Indeed. Quite ironic given how some Deaf vloggers refusal to put in subtitles when they have the ability and the means to do so. Please visit Patty's blogsite. I'm sure she'll have something to share for all to read whether it's deaf related or not.

FYI, I once had a deaf-blind roommate in Dorm-5 (Carlin Hall) I was at Gallaudet University that was shared with a smart roomie who had cerebral-palsy. Just learning about his world as a Deaf-Blind person opened a lot of different perspectives about life and struggling with that kind of a disability. It's not easy.

May The Schwartz Be With You!

I sometimes get a bit surprised or have an eyebrow raised whenever someone tries to use his or her professional stature to try and evoke an appeal using emotions by twisting certain things here and there. And at the same time take advantage of the human mind to try and invoke negative feelings subconsciously so. But isn’t that what lawyers do anyway? Ok, I’ll refrain from bad lawyer jokes here.

Right now I am trying to figure out this Schwartz letter.

Is this a personal letter or an official letter coming from a law professor whose letter has Syracuse University’s letterhead with the logo on it? Is this an approved use of the letterhead for external communications with PepsiCo, NAD and AGBell and that Prof. Schwartz is representing Syracuse University on their behalf his opinions about AGBell’s letter to PepsiCo? Or is this a personal letter only on his own behalf and not the university? What are the reasons for using a letter with Syracuse University’s logo on it as the letterhead in the first place?

My next question (and I’m just merely pointing them out here folks so don’t try and read too much into all this…again….just dissecting it) is the use of the acronym “AGBAD” in Schwartz’s letter. Why “AGBAD”? Is this an attempt to somehow place into the minds of PepsiCo officials, subconsciously so, that AGBell is really B.A.D.? Not once, but eight times in the letter with the acronym “AGBAD” in a not so easy-to-miss capital letters? Peppered visibly so throughout? If Schwartz had not noticed not too long ago, in fact yesterday, NAD produced a letter addressing to AG Bell as “AGBell” and certainly not “AGBAD” eight different times. Yet Schwartz’s letter was CC-ed to AGBell, NAD and PepsiCo which may make it even worse. I am sure that Schwartz will get a letter from AGBell apprising him on the correct use of acronym and not “AGBAD.” I suppose Schwartz might try and plead innocent or ignorance on the proper use of an acronym or abbreviation for the Alexander Graham Bell organization. But doing so would not be very professional-like or even believable coming from a Deaf university law professor.

So, I guess this letter of his is really more of an emotionally-laden filled letter type rather than a professional letter coming from a university professor while using the Syracuse University letterhead in his letter on Syracuse University’s behalf? Or is this really a personal letter that has nothing to do with Syracuse University? This needs to be explained to me and the readers.

Perhaps the letter would be more receptive and believable had Schwartz used “AGBell” or the full title “Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing” instead? The use “AGBADHH” might be okay to use but AGBell’s internet address is http://www.agbell.org/ and not http://www.agbad.org/ so I guess the proper use of the acronym is really “AGBell.”

Next is the invocation of the ever so famous use (but overly used) of a Nazi’s comparison in an argument known as “Godwin’s Law.” When it comes to demonizing an organization, a company or a person it’s best to insert a Nazi slant and somehow equivocate Hitler’s action of genocide against deaf and hard of hearing people of the past to that of, for example, AGBell’s philosophy and actions of today. And all this is coming from a Deaf university law professor? What else is new? Will Schwartz plead ignorance on that one, too? It really does beg the question here which is why I'm writing this.

And now we have Schwartz frowning about the myth-making comments when he did the same thing himself in his own letter, ironically so. There is no “millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans” who “see their deafness as a rich cultural phenomenon rooted in American Sign Language.” It’d be misleading and imprecise since how many millions are there in “millions” of deaf and hard of hearing American people that use ASL? Two? Five? Ten? Maybe it’s one hundred millions? That'd be nirvana for some people. Actually, it’d be more like less than a million according to my own 14 page research result that I did some 4 years ago questioning the number of culturally deaf people in the United States that use ASL. It is certainly not “millions” which can easily stretch the imaginations of anybody’s mind making it appear bigger when it’s not. Schwartz might want to come down to earth a little bit and at least use something that’s a bit more believably factual. Not doing so is kind of like hearing a famous misquote of Carl Sagan’s “Billions and billions of stars in the galaxy.” Exactly how many billions are there anyway in "billions and billions"? Exactly how many “millions” are there in millions just to be fair?

As far as I can tell, imho, this Schwartz letter was purposely made known for the Deaf community and public in the express purpose to continue with the aggrandizing, scape-goating, baiting and slamming of an organization that has a different philosophical belief. I may be wrong but please point them out for me if that is the case. This Schwartz letter does not at all help with any future fruitful dialogues between AGBell and the Deaf community where philosophies differ greatly. It just made things worse...probably.

What also doesn’t help in this situation is seeing an emotionally-laden letter coming from a Deaf law professor who uses a letter containing a letterhead of a university logo making a personal case either for himself or onSyracuse University’s behalf on the opinion about AGBell (tell me which one, Schwartz, so all this can be cleared up for my readers here). Again, does Syracuse University agree with Schwartz’s opinion in his letter since it is a letter with a letterhead of Syracuse University’s logo? But the question now is how would the public see this letter when compared with that of NAD’s letter now that they are made known public? Is it professionalism that the public sees or paranoia filled with hyperboles for the sake of stirring the pot even more?

This drama is certainly getting stranger by the minute. It may be “ballsy” but certainly not Spaceballs....yet.

May the Schwartz be with you!

My Decision on Signing

Here's my video blog about my decision on signing plus a few other things on my mind in regard to technology and subtitling your video blogs. If you like to talk and use your voice be sure to tune in and watch my video blog if you are thinking about producing your own video blog someday soon. Excuse the video since I am still fighting my cold for more than 12 days. Sigh..



References made in my video blog:


Recent survey poll about "Uncle Bob's House."

"Uncle Bob's House" video spoof.

Seek Geo.

Boycott the World!

Now people are thinking about boycotting HOVRS and i711 (GoAmerica) solely because of the connection they have with AG Bell whether it’s through sponsors or by merely attending AG Bell’s conference. They might as well boycott Sprint since Sprint Relay Wireless uses a technology by GoAmerica. And if you use the California Relay Service (CRS) you might want to boycott that one, too.

GoAmerica purchased MCI's TRS Business in January 2008. That includes its share in the California Relay Service and Speech to Speech Relay. So don't be surprised when you call 711 or MCI's dedicated number and you are welcomed to the call by a GoAmerica relay operator.

The sale was closed on January 10, 2008. Before the purchase, GoAmerica had to go through an elaborate approval process with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Department of General Services (DGS) to ensure that GoAmerica would be able to comply with all aspects of MCI's CRS contract. GoAmerica assures the relay users of its continuity in service, availability and customer support.

MCI’s Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS) opened their doors in 1996 in Riverside where they got their first taste of TRS. But MCI’s TRS was purchased by GoAmerica just last month.

Ok. Gonna boycott them, too? What about AT&T? They donated to AG Bell as well but not in the form of cash in this instance in 2005.

AT&T made an agreement with the AG Bell Association to donate hundreds of surplus TTYs. AG Bell had to sign an agreement about how they could be used, and there was no guarantee they would work.

Just when you thought you’ve seen everything, how about Sorenson? Yes, Sorenson was a proud sponsor of AG Bell, too.

Hmmm, maybe boycott Gallaudet University, too, since the Sorensen building has not been built yet?

And then we have DeafRead who carries the Sprint Relay advertisement. Better start boycotting DeafRead, too.

How about just boycott anything technology or relay related that deaf and hard of hearing people use today since somewhere along the line someone or some company participated somehow in the “enrichment” of AG Bell? It might be easier that way.

GoAmerica and AGBell....my musings.

Several “interesting” names came up on AG Bell's list of donors in 2005. Of course you have Gallaudet University and RIT/NTID who donated money to AGBell. But one thing that may be surprising to you (well, not to me since I knew about this for sometime) is that GoAmerica Communications also donated money to AGBell. Now, does that company ring a bell to you? How about i711.com? Who owns i711.com? Well, GoAmerica owns it!

But you might say that was nearly 2 years ago when GoAmerica donated money and you’re pretty sure that GoAmerica (“i711.com”) will not have anything to do with AGBell from now on? Right? But you'd most likely be dead wrong. GoAmerica was listed in the “Past Exhibitors” (2006) section of the 2008 Exhibitor Prospectus.

Yet, how many Deaf bloggers/vloggers do we have on i711.com who are getting paid by GoAmerica (though I see nothing wrong here folks) but do not know that GoAmerica attended at least one AGBell Convention with the likelihood they’ll show up for the 2008 AGBell Convention? And what would their justifications be for staying on i711.com once they find out about GoAmerica and AGBell? Or, if they already knew that GoAmerica attended the 2006 AGBell Convention, why have they accepted a paid writing/signing position for their articles (both video and written formats)?

The question is, will GoAmerica be seen in one of the many booths at the 2008 AG Bell Convention in Milwaukee? As for me, does it really matter?

Nah.

"Bob's House" Ranked Second in Latest Survey

With over 50,000 website hits at the Vote Superbowl Bowl Ad Ranking website to get their pollng results "Bob's House" was ranked at 2nd in the "Entertainment Score Rankings" category, and 4th in the Vanity Score Rankings. Although a few of my Kokonut Pundit fans found my latest video spoof, "Uncle Bob's House", was much more entertaining than the Pepsi commercial, "Bob's House." Yet the budget to produce my video was essentially nil in this case.

How Do You Rank Video Spoof, "Uncle Bob's House"?
	Excellent!
	Good!
	It was okay.
	Not very good.
	Horrible!
pollcode.com free polls

Pepsi Made Clear When Bob's House Will Come On

Now, people are yacking saying that Bob's House didn't come on during the Superbowl game. Of cource, that's because Pepsi made it clear in their release press seen just below the video listing. Didn't anybody bothered to click on Pepsi's press release in the first place? It was quite clear that the ad was to be shown BEFORE the game and not during. I was aware of this even in my own parody video Uncle Bob's House.

Uncle Bob's House - a video by Kokonut Pundit

Here it is ya'll. A video I produced especially made for this Superbowl XLII game with the Patriots against the Giants where I give my opinion about the Pepsi commercial called "Bob's House", a 60-second silent commercial with Deaf signing actors in it, where I give my opinion of it at the end. Enjoy!



Here's the Google video just in case YouTube goes down, plus the fonts were changed for the better here until I correct the YouTube version later.



UPDATE: Uploaded the video on YouTube with easier to read subtitle fonts.

Hearing Actors Play the Role of Deaf Characters

When it comes to artistic expression should hearing actors be given the opportunity to explore the use of sign language in plays portraying as deaf or hard of hearing characters? And why not? After all, shouldn't sign language be one of the forms of self expression in plays run by hearing actors?

Here's a play in Miami called "Fill Our Mouths."

It is a play about two women, one a lesbian who works at a famous Paris cafe and the other a writer with a husband, who fall in love. It is also a play about deaf and hard-of-hearing people, about the political and personal issues involved in communication.

These actors are all hearing and they all had to learn sign language to do the play. After all, if Keith Wann can pretend to be a Deaf character in the Pepsi's slapstick comedy "Clam Chowder," "Hot Dog," and "Perfect Season" why not other hearing actors who take the time to learn ASL in order to play the part of a deaf or hard of hearing character? Now, wouldn't it be safe to say that after reading this people will not go into an apoplectic fit about "Fill Our Mouths" play that they'll start emailing them complaining how dare they have hearing actors play the role of deaf characters? But not Keith Wann?

Mike's First Video Blog

Here's my first official video blog that's fully captioned. I'm still experimenting with my videos seeing which venue is best (i.e. YouTube, Google video, etc). This video is not as clear as I wanted but because I choose a lower quality video output in the first place. Just give me time to do this when I get around doing this video thing. The topic is about DeafRead, speaking and the Deaf and deaf communities. Enjoy.

What are DeafRead Plans for the Next Conference?

Now I'm wondering. Since there is slow (very!) rise on the number deaf/hh bloggers appearing on DeafRead's aggregator list who are either CI users, non-signers, cued speech users and/or oral-aural who prefer to speak and listen. Like I said, a slow rise but it could very well be gaining traction at this time. However, that may remain to be seen when Jared made a response on Tea Time.

This note is to let you know that DeafRead Team is keeping a close eye on comments among the bloggers and vloggers regarding the future of DeafRead.

I appreciate your calm tone and your message is well thought-out.

We hope to have more dialogue on this issue with the people who will be at the conference this weekend. DeafRead is a moving target and we can change with time.

And so I'm thinking, what will DeafRead list of bloggers look like at the end of this year? What will the make-up be like one year later? Two years later? Three? And suppose we get more deaf people who do not use ASL and are a part of DeafRead's aggregator v/blog list who may want to come to the next DeafRead blogger/vlogger conference? What if they get nominated and are the winner? Will they be refused communication access not knowing what is being said at the conference when everybody is signing? After all, isn't the number one issue among deaf and hard of hearing people is equal communication access? And suppose DeafRead host another conference and does not accomodate deaf non-ASL b/vlogger at the next conference supposing they are one of the nominated v/blogger? Will that make them hypocrites when it comes to equal communication access for all deaf and hard of hearing people? The majority of deaf and hard of hearing people are not Deaf.

It IS a myth that just because a person is deaf or hard of hearing they know how to sign. Most of them do not know sign language or ASL and prefer to speak and listen with the help of their hearing aids and cochlear implants.

The real question for DeafRead is whether they are "deaf-centric" involving every deaf and hard of hearing members (including Deaf members) who want to be a part of that aggregator list or "Deaf-centric" involving only a specific group of people and employ hypocrisy on equal communicaton access? But with the upcoming conference they seem to want to prefer the latter because it'd be a "Deaf dominated place" kind of thing. Let's hope not for the sake of real unity and acceptance for all kinds of deaf and hard of hearing people.

"VAX WARS"

Here's a start on a trip through memory lane. One was the "VAX WARS" at Gallaudet University which was posted in the bit.listserv.deaf-l section (it goes back to 1992) where many students participated in the VAX discussions to battle each other out with wits, stupidity, intelligence, ego, fear and vanity.

Here's a start as part of my analysis of the past newsgroup discussion (i.e. bit.listserv.deaf-l) on a paranoid topic that has come up even on DeafRead, "Deaf Community Dying?" (see alternative link here). And that was in 1992, and not 2008. But the difference there was that cochlear implant wasn't even a part of that discussion since the issue was sidetracked (no suprise there) over one opinion that left out a crucial word, "may" in post #8 out 216 that would've prevented all the uproar:

After all, despite our deafness and our pride, we all (may) have the deepest wish to be hearing. Period.

Many went apoplectic after reading that comment while some clamored for that person who made the comment ought to leave Gallaudet University. There are many familiar names such as Trudy Suggs, Neil McDevitt, Todd Elliott, Rob Underhill, Amy Kurtz, Stephen Hardy, Mike McConnell, Pat Robertson, R. Bondroff, and even Andrea Shettle. Did I miss anyone important? There are many more names that may be familiar to you but not to me. If you do find your comments in there, has your position changed since 1992 in that discussion?

May the VAX be with you.

Deaf Pianist Wins Presitigious Young Soloist Award

Cool! A deaf pianist, Yew Choong Cheong, won the 2007 International Young Soloist Award. He performed this amazing classical piano at the Kennedy Center last year about two months ago. I have never heard of him. Not much info about him but I will certainly keep an eye out for this guy.

Watch the video and listen to his amazing piano repertoire. You'll have to listen very hard at the beginning. He starts off quietly and builds into a crescendo and fades, and then some more.

UPDATE: More info.

Pianist Cheong Yew Choong though completely deaf in his right ear and has less than 50%hearing in his left ear, played Fireworks from Preludes Bk II from Claude Debussy and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by Franz List like a maestro. His technical mastery of both songs is testimony of his belief that, “If I have the passion (for music), nothing is impossible.”

And here is the rest seen here with chockfull of info about him. He's getting his doctorate at West University Virginia.

Cheong, who is pursuing a doctorate in musical arts in the WVU Division of Music in the College of Creative Arts, studies under the tutelage of Professor Peter Amstutz. He considers the selection -- the first for a WVU student -- a great honor.

“This award is by far the biggest achievement I’ve ever had in my life,” Cheong said. “Receiving this recognition certainly motivates me to keep doing the one thing I love the most, playing piano. I really wish to dedicate this award to everyone with disabilities. Nothing is impossible if they have the necessary passion and perseverance in pursuing their goals.”

Cheong is also a graduate assistant and teaches applied piano to others while assisting with tuning and maintaining the University’s piano inventory. At the Kennedy Center, Cheong will perform “Piano Variations” by Aaron Copland and Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6.”

“It’s a joy to see Yew Choong do so well,” Professor Amstutz said. “This is quite an accomplishment, and it’s especially amazing with his specific circumstances and the challenges he’s overcome. He’s a brilliant student -- both academically and at the piano, and I’m very happy for him.”

Cheong has a form of nerve deafness. He can read lips and carry on a spirited conversation, but his hearing impairment is so severe that he cannot use a telephone. He rents a room from Ed Keller, a professor emeritus in the University’s Department of Biology.

Read the rest at the link above.

Deaf Golfer Placed 1st at Hooters Golf Tour

The sweet smell of victory. I'm surprised this story hasn't made rounds where Kevin Hall, who lost his hearing at age 2, who is deaf won his first pro golf tournament.

Kevin Hall (Cincinnati, OH) carded a six-under par 66 in the final round of The Hooters Tour’s Bridgestone Winter Series over the 7113 yard, par 72 Forest Lake golf club to garner his first victory of the season.

Kevin Hall finished exceptionally well finishing first. But there's a double irony to all this. The media didn't report this plus the Deaf community, known for their rabid interest in Deaf sports (except this isn't about Deaf sports in the first place), failed to make this known about Kevin's first major golf victory.

Hall finished four strokes ahead of his nearest competitors in an event on the Hooters Pro Golf Tour, a proving ground for men who want to one day play on the PGA Tour, the major league of professional golf.

So far, Kevin Hall has earned $24,296 in the 2007 Hooters Winner Series Professional Tour earning him 2nd place as the money leader. Looks like Kevin is well on his way proving that he's of a pro golf caliber.

BTW, the picture at the top? It's a picture of Cristie Kerr who won the women's Longs Drugs Challenge golf tournament in April of 2002 where she is seen kissing her crystal glass golf award. Note the golf ball at the tip of the glass crystal award.

Marlee Matlin Loves Her iPod

Here is a great interview with Marlee Matlin in a tell all story that she is a gadget hound like the many of us. She "yowls" into her cell phone's speaker phone to communicate with her friends and loved ones. She listens to her songs on her trusty iPod to the words of Billy Joel's "My Life" and "Movin' Out" constantly. And she's dying to get her hands on a Bose noise cancelling headphones, the kind you'd see people have while sitting in their airplane seats. Why, you'd swear she's "audistic"! Oh woe!! Deaf culture in a state of collapse! How dare she! We certainly can't have Marlee Matlin do those things and let her get away with it, can we?

Read the rest of the interview where she goes on to talk about what she would like to see in a cell phone someday in the future. A nice read.

Would Beethoven Have Wanted a Cochlear Implant?

What do you think? Since Beethoven became deaf later in his adult life (late deafened) do you think he would’ve gone for a cochlear implant? Hmm…an interesting thought for today. But Ludwig van Beethoven is not what I am going to discuss today. I brought that up only because I came across a blog internet address with the words “Baby Beethoven.” As it turns out it is a blog about a hearing parent of a deaf baby girl who was fitted with two hearing aids at the age of 7 months. She is now 13 months old. The child’s name is Marielle and she has a 60 dB loss in both ears, I believe. Marielle's hearing loss is genetic. But the story here is that the parents have been learning ASL, cued speech along with intensive speech therapy at home and away for Marielle to learn and communicate with. But Marielle’s parents have made a decision about signing in ASL.

Barry and I will keep learning ASL for now at least. I am still very interested in the language and being able to communicate with Deaf adults and children. We will use with her for another year or so until her speaking capabilities improve. She is using it expressively so much at this point I am not going to cut her off. Receptively she is responding so well to our voices. I will say "Do you want to eat?" with no visual cues and she will immediately start signing "eat." She also signs elephant, help, dog...the list is getting too long. I am losing track! I guess technically we are in total communication mode at the moment. Anyway, we will encourage her to learn ASL when she is older but will not be using it in the school setting for reasons I will go into later!

It's interesting that Marielle seems to understand what her mother was saying and responded by signing "eat" since she is only 13 months old and her vocal cords and muscle control have yet to mature at this point. Visual communication makes sense here (now for those who haven't been following my blogs all these years and in other forums, I advocate visual communications for both hearing and deaf babies).

Though Marielle's parents seemed to have already made a decision on what they would do with her once she gets a little bit older.

Barry and I decided if we had to choose this second, we would send her to the cued speech school for the first few years as her speech is really developing and she is learning proper pronunciation. Then we would move her to the aural-oral school and maybe eventually mainstreamed into her neighborhood school.

Sounds reasonable? I would think so.

This was one of the scenarios I presented before in one my blogs and in other forums that a deaf baby need to be exposed to some kind of visual communication whether it’s baby signs, homemade signs, SEE, ASL or even cued speech. And the parents may in fact end or reduce their signing and slowly switch to a more heavily speech and listening oriented environment. If Marielle's parents felt that this would be the best course of action and approach for their deaf/hh child (i.e. an informed decision) then who are we to intervene and say that their approach is wrong? But be sure to visit to their blogsite when they get the chance to blog their reasons on why they will not want to allow ASL in a school setting.

Will the Deaf community scream in protest over this parents' decision not to allow ASL in a school setting? Will they call them "heartless" parents? Will some of them try and push their ASL agenda to the extreme? Or will they simply respect these parents' decision on how their deaf/hh child will be taught in a school setting?

Now, on speech and listening skills alone, I believe this kid will do extremely well considering she has a 60 dB hearing loss and had a much, much earlier intervention than I had when I was just a toddler. I have about a 70 dB loss in my right ear (my left ear is bye-bye). I was fitted with only one hearing aid and that was for my right ear at about 3 years old (btw, I was fitted in the wrong ear at around age 2…grrr). By the time I was 10 years old I was able to do well in regular school (no mainstreaming) there on out until I graduated from high school I did well because I was able to hear quite well and talk without any problems. People wouldn’t tell if I had a hearing loss if they talked to me over the cell phone. But with today’s accommodation needs (e.g. CART, cued speech transliterators, FM loop system, sign language interpreters, and so on) along with advanced digital hearing aids and cochlear implants and better parental (loving/dedicated) involvement of their deaf/hh child will certainly give Marielle an excellent shot at life and be successful in what she will do in her adult years in a world that she will have to deal with mostly hearing people. So, if I can do it successfully with only one ear and a hearing aid, Marielle can certainly do much better with two ears and two hearings!

Speak Up! And don’t be shy to use your listening and speech skills. After all, it could reap huge dividends down the road.

Who is This Weird Deaf Guy?

"Don't judge me! I'm just doing my thing!"

Can anyone name this outrageous character? He's is always like a greased up pig. Runs around almost nekkid and flails his arms around whenever he gets caught and say the strangest things. He even denies the obvious (like getting caught) and if I didn't know any better I'd say that people are trying to portray him as a total retard, yet he's everyone’s favorite hearing-impaired fella.

"Has been featured in several cameos since his first appearance in "The Thin White Line". He can speak well, but somewhat out of tone, accentuating his parody of the hearing-impaired. He asks only that people "Don't judge me, I'm just doing my thing!" He is always shown running, even when stopped he will continue to run in place and flail his arms."

But there is this game that people like to play with this weird deaf guy but there's a caveat when playing with him at a company picnic.

"....you have to chase and catch the greased up deaf guy, but watch out he’s slippery so be sure to tighten your grip on that guy or he’ll just slide away."

How gross. But I already know the answer. Do you?

UPDATE: One guy named the correct program but not the character's name. The quotes above were lifted from a website called "Stewies Playground. " You know, the character who looks like a baby but acts like an adult whose head is shaped like a football is enough to imagine how in the heck he was delivered when he was born? Though the character in question is named or known as the "Deaf Greased Up Guy" or DGUG.

Now, it was interesting that a few people were thinking of sombody else. Tsk tsk...ya'll got a dirty mind. Though that wasn't my intention anyway. Kind of ironic how it turned out to a few people.

I put this blog after I came across during one my "deaf" Google News search and came across entitled "OCD: Family Guy's Greased-Up Deaf Guy" that was posted 16 hours ago in the Google News section. I did some more quick search and came across "Stewies Playground" where I got more quotes and figured it'd be something for readers to do and guess the charcter who was, of course, deaf.

Poll: Are Deaf Clubs Dwindling? Are you a member of one?

Here's a poll for you guys about Deaf club memberships. Are you a member of a Deaf club?

Evidently some people are saying that Deaf clubs are dwindling across the United States for various reasons. Some say cost is an issue and it's expensive to hold a Deaf club in a rented or leased building. Some say that technology is the reason where you have the internet, video phone, Sidekicks, emails, discussion forums, and so on that may have shifted interest elsewhere. And some even have the mitigated gall to blame cochlear implant as a reason for the decline of Deaf clubs. Or that mainstreaming may be a part of the reason of the percieved decline. But I think others may very well agree it could be simple as a generational thing and that interests are placed elsewhere such as going with their Deaf friends at "Happy Hour" places to socialize and smooze virtually cost-free (except for alcohol and food related expenses). It'd be the place to go and get together to discuss everything under the sun from Deaf politics to panicky talks about how cochlear implant blogs are taking over DeafRead. Though I did state some of my reasons here on why there is this perception of less Deaf clubs. But first, we need to define on exactly what makes a Deaf club a "Deaf club."

Here's the poll question below. If you're Deaf, go ahead and answer the question. But if you are Deaf and not a member of a Deaf club, then please take the time to explain why you are not a member of a Deaf club in the Haloscan comment page.

Are you a member of a Deaf club?
	Yes, and I attend my Deaf club regularly.
	Yes, and I attend my Deaf club a few times
	Yes, and I rarely attend my Deaf club.
	Yes, but I don't attend my Deaf club.
	No, I am not a member of a Deaf club.
pollcode.com free polls

Rejecting DeafRead for Selfish Reasons?

After sitting back to take some time and read what others have said about CI and deaf children in blogs did I notice the continued deep mistrust, fear, hate or even suspicion by some people against some of the deaf, hard of hearing, culturally deaf and even hearing bloggers when they do not necessarily "toe the line" to the opinions of culturally deaf people/bloggers. And in return cry "foul" or "unfair" in so many words? This is not surprising since ignorance can breed ugliness rather than to agree to participate in various discourses or acknowledge that there are more than just one views that may be just as valid as the next one. Or that various solutions do in fact exist. But from what I've seen so far is the differences on perspective and understanding by those who never experienced the appreciation of sound and the ability to communicate (listening and hearing) within the larger society. And that the gift of hearing isn't seen as a gift but more like a "curse" for a lack of a better word.

But what is ironic is the cry of a supposed "sudden" swing of a pendulum towards CI-related topics that are dominated by, who else, culturally-deaf bloggers who respond to non culturally-deaf bloggers in a mostly not-so-veiled blog protest of sorts against those who are pro-CI, especially for deaf children. And then we have the irony of seeing bloggers who would "gently" remind DeafRead on who their subscriber base are while at the same time point out that they do not want to "boot anyone off." An odd way of playing "neutral" I'd say when it's more like a threat of some kind. Kind of like along the line that DeafRead editors should try and decide who these "deficit thinkers" are. And then we have bloggers who question DeafRead on what it want to be when it "grows up" and how DeafRead shouldn't go about their supposed "anything goes" aggregator website business. All of these things certainly do give an appearance of favoritism rather than open-mindedness preferring not to hear non-culturally deaf people's own opinions and experiences. Perhaps the growing pains isn't DeafRead but rather the Deaf community's instead?

Let's address the supposed "sudden surge" of CI blogs on DeafRead.

There are 6 blogs listed in DR's subscription with the obvious words "cochlear implant" or "CI" in the blog title with 4 being the most active.

"Cochlear Implant Online" - 7 blogs lilsted in DR since January 15.

"An American Mom in Tuscany: Jordan's Cochlear" - 19 blogs listed in DR since January 6, 2008
"Been Cochlearized!" - only one blog dated August 3, 2007

"Cochlear Implant Studies" - only one blog dated October 15, 2007.

"Cochlear Kids" - 9 blogs listed in DR since January 11, 2008

"Tales from a CI Gal" - 6 blogs listed in DR since January 11, 2008.

Then we have other "older" blogs that came on board during 2007 that have discussed CI from time to time or quite often such as "Hearing Exchange," "Bionic Ear," "Chronicles of a Bionic Woman," "Moot Thoughts and Musings" and probably a few more I may have missed. But it is patently obvious that the majority of blogs (539 blogs!) listed in DeafRead's subscription page are mostly culturally deaf blogger type and not of the deaf or hard of hearing blogger variety who may be pro-SEE, pro-cued speech, pro-CI, pro-oral/aural or a mix of those things when it comes to blogging topics in those areas.

And then we have 27 blogs listed in DeafReadwith the specific word/acronymn "ASL" included as part of the name of their blogsite. This is not to mention the overwhelming majority of bloggers listed in DeafRead blog list are mostly the culturally deaf variety anyway. Yet, we hear people bitchin' who say DeafRead is being "invaded" by cochlear implant blogs or that it is becoming more "CI-centric."

"Invaded"?

"CI-centric"?

I'd hardly call it that. A bit laughable considering the majority of such blogs are hardly in that area of supposed contention. I think the "growing pains" are more in line by those who are doing the most of the complaining and not about DeafRead's own "growing pains."

Besides bitchin' about the supposed invasion of CI blogs people are now "demanding" that DeafRead have an "even mixture of a variety of deaf issues." So what does that mean when for 18 months DeafRead main theme has been mostly culturally deaf-related? Does this mean we need to get more bloggers on the DeafRead list who are more supportive of CI, cued speech, oral/aural method, A-V method, SEE users and so on? Perspectives come from many sides and not just about any singular majority viewpoint. This is how we learn. I don't think DeafRead's list of blogs has even yet to "mature" and that it is still relatively new in the blog aggregator business on anything "deaf-centric" rather than only "Deaf-centric" blogs.

Now, I spent some time reviewing several videos that are aimed at parents on the benefits of having cochlear implant such as the Oral Deaf Education website supported by the Oberkotter Foundation. Listening to these kids speak and hear with the aid of their cochlear implant after several years of use is simply amazing to watch and listen. Yet a few/many Deaf people are suggesting the idea that this private organization ought to be sued. And for what? That they managed to improve educationally the kids that are on the same level as their hearing peers? Or that their "Deaf identity" forever damaged? Improving their options to speak and interact with the larger population? Visions and ideas exist on different planes of thought. And certainly technology has changed the landscape forever.

There are also many positive stories of children, teens and adults with hearing aids and cochlear implants, just as there are many positive stories of children, teens and adults who are Deaf and use ASL. But what is equally disturbing is when positive stories about kids with their hearing aids or even cochlear implants, people become dismissive and get into their lack of "deaf identity" (or in this case "Deaf identity") thing as their next line of defense to try and counter positive stories. Even daring to raise the idea that "true" success of "D"eafhood can only come in form of eventually accepting and using ASL (ie "natural language") thinking it's the one "commonality" that would bond us all. Not so. That's not embracing diversity but more like about demanding conformity instead. But the phrase "natural language" is a bit of voodoo expression used by many culturally deaf people despite the fact we live in an age of technology where "natural language" is increasingly the English language among deaf and hard of hearing children growing up with cochlear implants or hearing aids whose parents are hearing. This will evolve and grow along with the evolution of technology and, soon, biotechnology. The one "commonality" amongst us all is the issue of communication and the access of it, and not about ASL.

This is all about acceptance of others and not whether one needs to know ASL in order to "feel at home." It's about feeling at "home" in their own comfortable environment whether it's around deaf or hearing friends, co-workers, relatives and such. And use whatever mode of communication may it be oral/aural, cued speech, ASL, SEE, and so on to communicate effectively and efficiently with their hearing aid, cochlear implant, implantable hearing aid or none at all. That's true diversity.

Choosing not to be a part of Deaf culture is about preferences and even comfort zones, not always about rejection per se. Some may be misinformed about Deaf culture while others understand it very well but it doesn't suit them as a preferred lifestyle or upbringing. It's about embracing and choosing certain values important to him or her and it may not always be about Deaf culture. So, the idea of a "Deaf identity" is a bit over-rated depending on certain circumstances and the amount of hearing loss. A person's own "identity" evolve over time based on several factors and could very well not involve any sign language, ASL, or the the culture of such a community.

Now, all we need is more CI bloggers and cued speech bloggers in DeafRead. Even more oral/aural and SEE bloggers as well. This would truly represent a playing field of diversified list of bloggers in DeafRead along with culturally deaf bloggers so that all can share their ideas, concepts and experiences. By then DeafRead would have hopefully grown up as a place where hearing parents of deaf/hh children would see DeafRead as a one stop place to do their research on deaf-related issues. After all, isn't that what helps parents make an informed decision when it comes to their deaf/hh child? Wouldn't that be great?

MLK is a Republican

Tomorrow on January 15th is the date when Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. And yes, it’s true he was a Republican. A little known fact that many people tried to obscure it.

According to “The Black Republican” magazine, which debut in 2006, they did a 3-page article about MLK and the reasons why he was a Republican and not a Democrat. The article contains chockfull of interesting information to read. Even though Michelle Obama invoked MLK’s dream speech while at the same celebrating the Democratic party fully unaware, possibly so, of the Democratic party's 200 year of misdead and harm they have done against black people all the way up to the 1960s.

“Reparations March on Congress for a Formal Apology to African Americans” from the Democrat-controlled Congress. The group is demanding that the Democrats apologize for the Democratic Party’s 200-year history of racism and failed socialism that has trapped urban blacks in poverty.

..the book Back to Basics for the Republican Party by Michael Zak who provides a compelling, fact-based account of how it was Republicans, not Democrats, who championed civil rights for blacks from the 1860‘s to the 1960‘s. An additional reference is the book Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America by black Democrat Juan William who exposes, in detail, the Democratic Party’s failed socialist policies.

Colonel Rice noted that author Michael Scheurer stated succinctly that history shows that the Democratic Party is and always has been the party of “four S‘s“: Slavery, Secession, Segregation and now Socialism.

“We must not only demand that the Democrats apologize for the atrocities they committed against blacks”, said NBRA Vice Chairman Richard St. Paul who is also a lawyer, “but we must also hold the Democrats accountable for the deplorable conditions in black communities that have been run by Democrats for the past 40 years.

Indeed. And on a funny note, Hillary Clinton invoked MLK's dream as well. Perhaps she's trying to become the first "black woman president" of the United States?

Let's celebrate MLK, Jr knowing contently that he was a Republican who shared liked minded views. Wayne Perryman thinks so, too.

When Deaf People Attack - a daily grind?

Here is another story about how some Deaf people will do and say anything to put down a parent of a deaf child with a cochlear implant. Only this time this is about a deaf child who is an adopted child from China. It’s a story about two adopted Chinese children, Jasmine (“Jazzie”) and Tahlia, with Jazzie being the older sibling who is deaf and wears a cochlear implant since age 16 months. The mother of the blog, “The Daily Grind – Life with Jazzie & Tahlia”, chronicles mostly about the two girls asked a question in an earlier blog in the comment section after posting an ASL video,

Just curious, have any of the deaf blog readers explained why the deaf commmunity feels this way about cochlear implants? I would love to better understand their point of view too.

And then in her next recent blog, “Questions Answered,” the blogger talked about how Kyra answered her question but couldn’t help notice how some Deaf people continue to put her down simply because of the fact that she has a deaf child with a cochlear implant.

After my last post, Kyra asked why the deaf community feels negatively towards cochlear implants. I will not speak for all deaf people, but I will talk for the deaf people that I have had personal conversations with. I have been called a bad mother by a deaf woman, who thought I was denying Jazzie her identity; that I was trying to fix something that is not a problem. Another deaf person told me that parents who give children an implant, are creating robots. He also told me that it was wrong to have my daughter undergo such a serious surgery before she was able to have any say in that decision. Other people I have talked to told me that they are afraid that cochlear implants will mean the end of the deaf community. There used to be a lot of deaf clubs, but one person told me he thought those clubs will close down completely, if there are no new deaf people attending them. People are afraid their community and their culture will disappear because of cochlear implants. You have to understand that deaf people are extremely proud to be deaf and to belong to their community. I think they see it as an insult, when someone gets a cochlear implant and therefor tries to deny his or her very own community.

But just because a deaf child was outfitted with a cochlear implant doesn’t mean parents are not doing anything in regard to learning sign language and Deaf culture.

Back when Jazzie was still in our Early Intervention program, we had a deaf mentor, who came to our house twice a week to play with Jazzie, teach her and me sign language and teach us about deaf culture. Steve was the sweetest man and because of his work with young children, he had seen first hand how successful an implant can be. However, he was also of the generation where oral schools meant something terrible. He certainly did not have good memories of his teachers and his experience at school. I don't think that anybody ever convinced him, that oral deaf schools are different now. They are not the awful experience today, as they were back then. He always expressed some concern about Jazzie and her school. Not one visit went by without him asking if she was happy at school. He always wanted to make sure that she knew about the deaf community and deaf culture.

Though it would be nice just for once those Deaf people who insist on having the stupidity to attack and put down a hearing mother of a deaf child with a cochlear implant to simply knock it off with that attitude!

I admit that I used to be more conscientious about it back then, than I am today. It is hard to attend deaf events, when people there are looking down upon you for giving your child a cochlear implant.

Somebody need to step forward and apologize on behalf of those few Deaf boorish people who attacked her without thinking. The responses she receieved weren't justified.

It’s quite obvious in the “The Daily Grind” blog that this mother and father of the adopted Chinese children are doing everything possible to help their deaf child become more rounded with lots of love and attention. Kudos to “The Daily Grind,” a good blog to read.

Texting Kills....are you guilty?

In Virginia lawsmakers are considering a ban on texting while driving has shown to have serious consequences in auto accident deaths. And it's just not cars, either.

They are tackling the problem of drivers who send, read and write messages on cellphones, PDAs and BlackBerrys. It's a thoroughly modern distraction dubbed Driving While Texting or DWT.

The General Assembly, which began its 60-day session Wednesday, is considering a pair of bills that would ban texting while driving a car, bicycle, motorcycle, moped or even an electric wheelchair. Lawmakers in four other states, including Maryland, are considering similar proposals.

Texting while driving is lot more common than most people realize due to the rising popularity of cell phones.

A 2007 study by Nationwide Mutual Insurance estimated that 73 percent of drivers use phones while driving and 20 percent text while behind the wheel. The texting number goes up to 37 percent for drivers ages 18 to 27.

A national survey conducted by AAA and Seventeen magazine in July found that 61 percent of teens admit to risky driving habits. Of that number, 46 percent said they text while driving.

Though it would be interesting to see a survey or statistics on the number of deaf people that do text and drive as compared to a 2007 survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance. In fact, here's a short poll for you to answer for those who are deaf or hard of hearing who may drive and text and the same time.

If you are deaf or hh, do you Text and Drive?
	Yes (if you are under age 21)
	Yes (if you are between 22 and 30 years old)
	Yes (if you are bewteen 31 and 40 years old)
	Yes (if you are between 41 and 50 years old)
	Yes (if you are between 51 and 60 years old)
	Yes (if you are between 61 and 70 years old)
	Yes (if you are over 71 years old)
	No, I don't text and drive.
pollcode.com free polls

I wonder, would my impromptu survey show a higher statistical result among deaf/hh than hearing people? Even if a poll survey could be done correctly would it show a higher statistical result among deaf and hard of hearing who will text and driven than their hearing counterparts? And suppose a survey was done by an insurance company showing a high disproportionate number of deaf/hh drivers that would tend to text and drive than hearing people, will car insurance companies raise premium insurance costs on car owners?

Deaf Bunny on Fox News' Red Eye Show?

Deaf Bunny is certainly generating a lot of buzz lately in Wired and now on Fox News' late night Red Eye show that was captured on YouTube (discovered via Google blog search using "deaf") and I was able to add subtitles to it via BubblePLY.

There were a lot of jokes, laughter and innuendos about deaf people and the making of p8rn. The host of the show even facetiously questioned whether we should be "rejoicing that everyone deaf and non-deaf can now be corrupted by the poisonous influence that is p8rnography?"

Poll: Should DeafRead Allow Alternative Blogs (non-Deaf)?

Should DeafRead allow more "pro-cued speech," "pro-CI," and "pro-oral/aural" blogs as long as those bloggers meet DeafRead's submission criteria to be on DeafRead blog post list? I'm asking this question because I noticed that a few pro-cued speech blogs and pro-CI blogs are starting to hit the DeafRead list of acceptable blog links. So now I have this big question for ya'll in my poll. Be honest. There is only a "yes" or "no" answer. If you're not sure, don't answer until you are absolutely sure.

Enjoy.

Should DeafRead allow more "pro-cued speech," "pro-CI" and "pro-oral/aural" blogs as long as they meet DeafRead's criteria?
	Yes!
	No!
pollcode.com free polls

Wanna Earn an Easy $150?

Got the post-holiday bills haunting you? Need a little extra cash? I was asked to put this piece out by a market research company after they came across my blog and contacted me about the upcoming online study and need deaf people to answer some questions on deaf communication needs. This is where you can help provide valuable information that is a win-win situation. You get the money. They get the survey results. This is a legitimate request for deaf people to participate in this survey. Some of you techno-geeks were also contacted by a company rep.

Here's the advertisement below but hurry because the survey started yesterday and you have til Friday to complete the survey, and get your cool $150:


Goodmind, a market research company in NYC, is doing an online study with the deaf or hard of hearing for one of the major national relay providers. The whole purpose of the study is to find out more about deaf communication needs: relay (internet and video), instant messaging, text messaging, etc, and how these needs could be better addressed. Also, they want to find out what is important to the deaf in regards to wireless devices (ease of use, speed, features).

How it works is that Goodmind will send each person an individual login to their website. This will send you to an online “room” which will be open 24 hours a day for each day of the study. This is a 3-day study, however total time commitment is only 90 min to 2 hours spread over the 3 days. You are free to login whenever. This study started yesterday (1/8) but has been extended to Friday 1/11. There have already been two days of questions posted but you’ll have until Friday to finish all the questions.

After the end of the study, Goodmind will send out incentive checks for $150 for each person who completed all 3 days. It is turning out to be a really interesting study so please consider taking part! Contact Jacqueline.amyot@goodmind.net for more information or to participate.

UPDATE: The study is now full! Thank you for your co-operation. Goodmind is no longer accepting people to participate in the survey. If you have questions, you may contact Jacqueline Amyot.