Long last JKF has been asked to step down. Woke up to an email from Baba letting me know that the BOT has finally come to their senses! Wheeeeee!!! Washington Post
Saturday I spent mostly at home, I seem to have some kind of sinuses probably due to stress and weather changes. I didnt get much done and spent the day on the computer yesterday (sunday) doing lesson plans and paperwork. I am done with one of my syllabus and have 1 more half way done.
Got to see the girls (King, Blondie and Szymanski) on saturday for a few hours, kinda hard to focus with my head ringing. My Sweetie came by last night, I made him crab meat raviolli with vodka sauce, YUM!
Had to axs my plan to PA next weekend for the Greek Bazar, I just have too much on my plate to be going out of town so soon again. It wouldnt be enjoyable because I would be thinking about all the things I have to do when I return.
Am about to leave 1 job and head over to another-later
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
running at full throttle
Sorry for the lack of posts for the past 2 weeks, due to cruise and work kicking in full mode, I haven't had much time to blog.
I need a firewire to use for my digital camera before I can post them up. Figured id wait for the pixs before putting you all to sleep with my vacation stories *grins*
I've started teaching this past week. I really like my students, some are deaf, some are hearing learning ASL. This is the best age group, 20 years old or above!
Got to see Handler tonight briefly. Haven't seen his ass since AADB (American Assoc for the DeafBlind) camp I spp for last summer. I will meet him Sunday for lunch before meeting my webdesigner later that afternoon.
My Sweetie and I got to see each other tues and wed. Funny I thought I see more of him on the weekend then the week day but the opposite is what has happened. Between my meeting tmw and sundays meeting, as well as seeing Handler and my db friend Boston Paul. And he has his car stuff to do, and business related activities. We agreed sunday night would be best. I look forward to then.
Today I caught up on sleep and going out tonight to see friends always makes me happy. We all decided to make it an early night due to the rain and everyone had a long week. That was fine by me.
Did some cleaning, my room looks like it exploded because I never finished unpacking, there s clean laundry that needs to be put away. I need to tidy my room and work on paperwork stuff for my classes next week.
All in all, life keeps me busy :) btw several movies I saw over the last 2 weeks. One was 'Lord of War' with Nic Cage which of course I loved him from 'Face Off' and 'The Rock!' I also watched 'TransAmerica' with Felcity Hoffman (sp?). Interesting, I'm not sure how well it was recived by general society but it was well done. My only complaint was it got truly depressing at times. During the cruise the only movie that was captioned was the movie 'Dr Dolittle 3' as always movies about animals always rock! Yeah the sugar factor at a maxium high (typical of disey) but not enough you feel like brushing your teeth afterwards. Last night I watched 'Fun With Dick and Jane.' Very fun to watch, much better than I expected.
Next weekend I get to see the folks back home, I'm so looking forward to it. It will be a short visit but Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
I need a firewire to use for my digital camera before I can post them up. Figured id wait for the pixs before putting you all to sleep with my vacation stories *grins*
I've started teaching this past week. I really like my students, some are deaf, some are hearing learning ASL. This is the best age group, 20 years old or above!
Got to see Handler tonight briefly. Haven't seen his ass since AADB (American Assoc for the DeafBlind) camp I spp for last summer. I will meet him Sunday for lunch before meeting my webdesigner later that afternoon.
My Sweetie and I got to see each other tues and wed. Funny I thought I see more of him on the weekend then the week day but the opposite is what has happened. Between my meeting tmw and sundays meeting, as well as seeing Handler and my db friend Boston Paul. And he has his car stuff to do, and business related activities. We agreed sunday night would be best. I look forward to then.
Today I caught up on sleep and going out tonight to see friends always makes me happy. We all decided to make it an early night due to the rain and everyone had a long week. That was fine by me.
Did some cleaning, my room looks like it exploded because I never finished unpacking, there s clean laundry that needs to be put away. I need to tidy my room and work on paperwork stuff for my classes next week.
All in all, life keeps me busy :) btw several movies I saw over the last 2 weeks. One was 'Lord of War' with Nic Cage which of course I loved him from 'Face Off' and 'The Rock!' I also watched 'TransAmerica' with Felcity Hoffman (sp?). Interesting, I'm not sure how well it was recived by general society but it was well done. My only complaint was it got truly depressing at times. During the cruise the only movie that was captioned was the movie 'Dr Dolittle 3' as always movies about animals always rock! Yeah the sugar factor at a maxium high (typical of disey) but not enough you feel like brushing your teeth afterwards. Last night I watched 'Fun With Dick and Jane.' Very fun to watch, much better than I expected.
Next weekend I get to see the folks back home, I'm so looking forward to it. It will be a short visit but Thanksgiving is right around the corner!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Good 2 be back in NYC!!
Got home Saturday around dinner time, the Tin Man picked me up from LaGaurdia ariport and whisked me back to my apt right below Harlem. It was great to see him, I was exhausted from only getting a few hours of sleep the night before and also traveling in all three transportation modes (ship, plane and car) was tiring as well.
Yesterday I was a LAZeeeeee bum. Woke up super late to my Sweetie who went and brought me a blueberry muffin :) I did some unpacking and a lot of snoozing. I will write about my trip in details later on when I get the photos on my computer (not sure how to do that yet.) Overall the vacation was a great experience. There were only 2 complaints I had about the cruise,
1- not many deafies (a total of 31 in all.. not like the 400 they originally said) so while those who went were nice, I was disappointed by the lack of deafies in all.
2-the cruise itself (ship activities) were very limitied in terms of things to do. For example most of the activities require additional money such as bingo, gambling, drinks *sodas and alcoholic*, spa, etc etc. I enjoyed going to the Islands and sight seeing more than the activities on the ship itself.
The other thing about going on a cruise is you do get cabin fever big time by the 4th day there. When you first board the ship, it seems so overwhelming like a small city but once you get around, you see how small it really is. Cruises are for people who like to eat!!! I was astonished at the amount of roly poly sized American's onboard. I felt skinny on the ship, unlike NYC where I am average. I got annoyed when people would ride the elevator for one stinking floor! Hello, the stairs are not that long or hard to walk and I often would walk anywhere from 2 to 7 flights of stairs because they were very easy to do. I've decided in the future if I go on another cruise it would have to be 4-5 days max. I want to try a different cruise line than Carnival, to see if the others have better activities??
My favorite island was Jamica! And the Cayman Island the least *too touristy and expensive*, Cozumel, Mexico was my more historical visit (seeing the Mayan Ruins). The whole week was full of sunshine and I did get burned once but after that I made sure to slather on the sunblock lotion and stay in the shade. The water was magnificant, I have never seen such clear, blue waters before. I tried snorkeling for the first time and got to touch Sting Rays at the Grand Caymnan Island.
I didnt touch a computer for a week, except during the Grand Cayman visit where I logged on for 15 mins to check emails. It was good to be "unplugged" and I realize the break served to clear my head up. I hadnt realized how stressed I was till the end of the cruise and how much more carefree and optomistic I felt. Knowing I didnt feel that way on Friday the 13th, worrying about this and that before leaving for Miami proves to me how much I did in fact need a vacation.
My Mom's friend Rich sent me the joke below which I thought was pretty funny;
Football FINALLY makes sense..........
A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents."
Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of
the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!
Cute huh?
Also from my Sweetie's blog, I copied and pasted for your enjoyment on hearies perspectives on deafies *grins*
Seen but not heard...
So I woke up this morning and decided to go to the drug store since My Girl had not yet awakened. Before I left, I decided to remove her hearing aid battery and obtain a new one since it had been dying all last night. When I got to the store I went to the seperate hearing-aid battery section (which is usually right next to the pharmacy) and all they had were batteries half the size. A little 30-something year old white guy came up to me and said in a pleasant voice "May I help you?". I noted the fact that he got right in my face, but couldn't make out why just yet. I told him that I was looking for a larger battery and immediately he jumped back and said "You don't wear a hearing aid..." I replied that I didn't and never actually said that I did. The way he looked at the battery in my hand was as if I had robbed it from a deaf person and it was a piece of forensic evidence. He curtly stated that he didn't know where the proper battery was located and walked away. I realized that he had wanted to play the hero to some poor deaf guy and when he realized that he wouldn't have that opportunity, he couldn't care less.
One thing I've noticed about some "hearing" people is that they take a paternalistic attitude toward deaf people. They get some kind of silly sense of heroism and self-approval from doing so. Some of them will explain to me how they are trusted and known in the (capital D) Deaf world. And how they have "mastered signing" - which usually means they know less than me over my few months of picking it up at random. They explain how deaf individuals inspire them and how they are so wonderful. It actually reminds me of how people talk about their cats and dogs because they refer to all of the tricks and neat things that signing has within it. "They're so lucky that they can talk in loud environments! - It must be great to sleep during a thunderstorm - Wow, it's cool how they can turn their hearing on and off with the flick of a switch - Watch them sign, even though you can't understand doesn't it look lovely?!" This is the point where I just sit there nodding my head until they realize that I don't really give a damn about anyone's trust or approval, whether they are deaf, hearing, short, tall, black, white, have wings or can shoot laser beams from their eyes. I could really see myself a couple of years in the future and knowing how to sign in a basic capacity. Also have more knowledge of deaf people and be asked by one of these "hearing trustees" how I've "come so far in this wonderful world". I'd then make up a statement; perhaps that I met a deaf girl and wanted to get in good with her and then "kept it up with the deaf bullshit". Anything to get a do-gooder's jaw to drop on the floor ;) I thought this was HILARIOUS!!!
Yesterday I was a LAZeeeeee bum. Woke up super late to my Sweetie who went and brought me a blueberry muffin :) I did some unpacking and a lot of snoozing. I will write about my trip in details later on when I get the photos on my computer (not sure how to do that yet.) Overall the vacation was a great experience. There were only 2 complaints I had about the cruise,
1- not many deafies (a total of 31 in all.. not like the 400 they originally said) so while those who went were nice, I was disappointed by the lack of deafies in all.
2-the cruise itself (ship activities) were very limitied in terms of things to do. For example most of the activities require additional money such as bingo, gambling, drinks *sodas and alcoholic*, spa, etc etc. I enjoyed going to the Islands and sight seeing more than the activities on the ship itself.
The other thing about going on a cruise is you do get cabin fever big time by the 4th day there. When you first board the ship, it seems so overwhelming like a small city but once you get around, you see how small it really is. Cruises are for people who like to eat!!! I was astonished at the amount of roly poly sized American's onboard. I felt skinny on the ship, unlike NYC where I am average. I got annoyed when people would ride the elevator for one stinking floor! Hello, the stairs are not that long or hard to walk and I often would walk anywhere from 2 to 7 flights of stairs because they were very easy to do. I've decided in the future if I go on another cruise it would have to be 4-5 days max. I want to try a different cruise line than Carnival, to see if the others have better activities??
My favorite island was Jamica! And the Cayman Island the least *too touristy and expensive*, Cozumel, Mexico was my more historical visit (seeing the Mayan Ruins). The whole week was full of sunshine and I did get burned once but after that I made sure to slather on the sunblock lotion and stay in the shade. The water was magnificant, I have never seen such clear, blue waters before. I tried snorkeling for the first time and got to touch Sting Rays at the Grand Caymnan Island.
I didnt touch a computer for a week, except during the Grand Cayman visit where I logged on for 15 mins to check emails. It was good to be "unplugged" and I realize the break served to clear my head up. I hadnt realized how stressed I was till the end of the cruise and how much more carefree and optomistic I felt. Knowing I didnt feel that way on Friday the 13th, worrying about this and that before leaving for Miami proves to me how much I did in fact need a vacation.
My Mom's friend Rich sent me the joke below which I thought was pretty funny;
Football FINALLY makes sense..........
A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents."
Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of
the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!!
Cute huh?
Also from my Sweetie's blog, I copied and pasted for your enjoyment on hearies perspectives on deafies *grins*
Seen but not heard...
So I woke up this morning and decided to go to the drug store since My Girl had not yet awakened. Before I left, I decided to remove her hearing aid battery and obtain a new one since it had been dying all last night. When I got to the store I went to the seperate hearing-aid battery section (which is usually right next to the pharmacy) and all they had were batteries half the size. A little 30-something year old white guy came up to me and said in a pleasant voice "May I help you?". I noted the fact that he got right in my face, but couldn't make out why just yet. I told him that I was looking for a larger battery and immediately he jumped back and said "You don't wear a hearing aid..." I replied that I didn't and never actually said that I did. The way he looked at the battery in my hand was as if I had robbed it from a deaf person and it was a piece of forensic evidence. He curtly stated that he didn't know where the proper battery was located and walked away. I realized that he had wanted to play the hero to some poor deaf guy and when he realized that he wouldn't have that opportunity, he couldn't care less.
One thing I've noticed about some "hearing" people is that they take a paternalistic attitude toward deaf people. They get some kind of silly sense of heroism and self-approval from doing so. Some of them will explain to me how they are trusted and known in the (capital D) Deaf world. And how they have "mastered signing" - which usually means they know less than me over my few months of picking it up at random. They explain how deaf individuals inspire them and how they are so wonderful. It actually reminds me of how people talk about their cats and dogs because they refer to all of the tricks and neat things that signing has within it. "They're so lucky that they can talk in loud environments! - It must be great to sleep during a thunderstorm - Wow, it's cool how they can turn their hearing on and off with the flick of a switch - Watch them sign, even though you can't understand doesn't it look lovely?!" This is the point where I just sit there nodding my head until they realize that I don't really give a damn about anyone's trust or approval, whether they are deaf, hearing, short, tall, black, white, have wings or can shoot laser beams from their eyes. I could really see myself a couple of years in the future and knowing how to sign in a basic capacity. Also have more knowledge of deaf people and be asked by one of these "hearing trustees" how I've "come so far in this wonderful world". I'd then make up a statement; perhaps that I met a deaf girl and wanted to get in good with her and then "kept it up with the deaf bullshit". Anything to get a do-gooder's jaw to drop on the floor ;) I thought this was HILARIOUS!!!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
The art of ASKING
Well me and 3 other ladies are prepping for an event in NOV, and I have been emailing various companies asking for samples or discounts to use at this event. After all the worse thing they can say is "no." So far I have gotten 4 companies and I am sure more will reply in the next few days.
Its interesting to see their replies, whether its yes or no. Most of the time it is no because this event is not for non-profit, but rather social/educational. The larger companies flat out say no but you know what? I am gonna try some of these larger companies stores in person here in NYC, ask for a manager and explain the event. Hopefully they have some leeway as to what they can give us compared to the parent company.
I am sooo excited to be leaving for Miami this Friday, the cruise leaves the port Saturday afternoon. I will be sharing a hotel room with my friend Karen friday nite, I am hoping to get a chance to see a little of Miami night life, as I hear dancing is the main attraction.
Been preparing syllabus for my 2 classes I will begin teaching upon my return. A lot of paperwork but luckily for me my work is allowing me to borrow one of their PC laptops for the trip :) this will save me money from not having to pay roaming charges from my pager or internet cafe fees on the ship.
Tmw nite my Sweetie will come by to help me with any last min preperation and to drive me to the airport Friday late morning. I sure am gonna miss him a bunch but hes been very busy working on his business so I know he wont be bored while I am gone.
Things at Gally are not looking any better :( Ive been saying it for 6 months now, JKF sucks! STEP DOWN JFK!
Hmm what else, been editing and real progress is being made for the website, heck it might even be done before the end of October!
Its interesting to see their replies, whether its yes or no. Most of the time it is no because this event is not for non-profit, but rather social/educational. The larger companies flat out say no but you know what? I am gonna try some of these larger companies stores in person here in NYC, ask for a manager and explain the event. Hopefully they have some leeway as to what they can give us compared to the parent company.
I am sooo excited to be leaving for Miami this Friday, the cruise leaves the port Saturday afternoon. I will be sharing a hotel room with my friend Karen friday nite, I am hoping to get a chance to see a little of Miami night life, as I hear dancing is the main attraction.
Been preparing syllabus for my 2 classes I will begin teaching upon my return. A lot of paperwork but luckily for me my work is allowing me to borrow one of their PC laptops for the trip :) this will save me money from not having to pay roaming charges from my pager or internet cafe fees on the ship.
Tmw nite my Sweetie will come by to help me with any last min preperation and to drive me to the airport Friday late morning. I sure am gonna miss him a bunch but hes been very busy working on his business so I know he wont be bored while I am gone.
Things at Gally are not looking any better :( Ive been saying it for 6 months now, JKF sucks! STEP DOWN JFK!
Hmm what else, been editing and real progress is being made for the website, heck it might even be done before the end of October!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Outrageous!
I couldnt believe one of the insurance quotes I got for individual health ins. They wanted between $600-$750 a MONTH!! Hello, thats a little less than I spent on the school's health ins which was approx $900 per 6 months. I have decided that my best plan of action is to keep a list of free clinics I can go to on as need to basis and just pay for the rxs myself as its cheaper than the actual insurance! You better believe I will be taking my multi-vitamins this year! I have never had consistent health insurance anyways, the only time I was given ins was when I was a student attending ungrad and grad school and for 1 1/2 years of my 3 years employment at MSD. So living without health ins is not new. If I could find a low-cost rxs plan, that would be ideal to help lessen the prices for my prescriptions. The Tin Man is looking into that for me today.
This weekend I went to 2 different workshops with King. We met up at 7 30am on a saturday morning, both bleary eyed and dragging our arses to the workshops. I really liked the guest speaker, who is from Long Island. I would love for her to come to my school and give a lecture for the TC ASL Club (Hint hint, Rusty-).
Got the most adorable pictures from Ronnie and her cutie pie Averi! I think Averi looks more like Hoswer than Ronnie. I sure do miss that gal!!
Saturday night when I got home. I realized after frantically searching for my apt keys that I didnt have them! In my morning rush to get out in time to meet King, I mustve forgotten them. Worse yet my roomie was out on a job (flying the friendly skies of what airline, unknown) and only Blondie/Cain as well as the Tin Man have the spare keys. Luckily for me my Sweetie came by from working on his cars and let me in. We hung for a bit but I went to bed at 7pm. I was behind in my sleep all week! I only woke up for 2 hrs on Sat nite and then slept in till 930am yesterday morning. Spent the morning cleaning before the Tin Man came by. We went out for Sushi and walked around a little. Basically we just watched some movies and worked on our own projects, mine was logging footage, his was setting up his wireless business.
I wanted to post the replies I ve gotten so far in regards to the Gally Protest. Here's the automatic reply from Senator Clinton;
Thank you for your e-mail. It is very important to me to know the issues
that are of concern to you. A growing number of my constituents are now
choosing to communicate with me via e-mail. I hope you will understand
that, because of the volume and range of e-mails I receive, it can take
some time to send a response that specifically addresses the subject
raised in your message. I do, however, want to let you know immediately
that your message has been received. Hearing from you and others through
e-mail helps me to quickly learn the views and interests of New Yorkers
and others, which is very helpful to me in my work in the United States
Senate. I hope you will continue to monitor my work through my website
at http://clinton.senate.gov, and I welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Now does that mean anything, who knows? This one is from Schumer
Thank you for your e-mail. Each and every piece of correspondence I receive
is important because it allows me to better understand the New Yorkers I
serve in the United States Senate.
As you can imagine, my office receives a great number of messages
every day regarding a variety of issues – this is particularly true of
e-mails. It makes me proud to know that my constituents take an active role
in our government by corresponding with me, and I look forward to
responding to your concerns in greater detail. In the meantime, I just
wanted to let you know that your e-mail has been received, and to ask for
your patience until I send you a more detailed response.
Again, thank you for writing. Please feel free to visit my website
http://schumer.senate.gov to follow my work in the Senate and to learn more
about the services my office can provide to you.
Warmest regards
Hmm, like my Sweetie says, if Gally's Protest makes the NY Times, then I King and JKF are truly up the "shit creek!"
One last thing before I go, the term Tent City usually refers to a location of homeless people such as it was back in the day in NYC Central Park, called Hooverville. According to Virtual NYC Hooverville is as followed;
Hooverville is a term describing a series of villages that appeared following the Great Depression in the United States from 1929 through the 1930s and 1940s. These villages were often formed in desolate areas or unpleasant neighborhoods and consisted of dozens or hundreds of shacks and tents that were temporary residences of those left unemployed and homeless by the Depression. The government did not officially recognize these Hoovervilles and occasionally removed the occupants for technically trespassing on private lands.
The word "Hooverville" is a spin on the last name of the 31st President of the United States during the beginning of the Depression, Herbert Hoover. Some of the men who were forced to live in these conditions possessed building skills and were able to build their houses out of stone. Most people, however, resorted to building their residences out of box wood, cardboard, and any scraps of metal they could find. Some individuals even lived in watermains.
According to Wikipedia, Tent City means;
The term tent city has been used for temporary settlements made of tents, such as the beginning of Anchorage, Alaska. As a proper noun, it now is also used for series of organized encampments of homeless people in the greater Seattle, Washington, USA area.
Now whether or not GUFSSA protestors were aware of this or if they intentionally chose the name "Tent City" is questionable. In one respect, I could see why they would choose it as most Deaf people do not earn a lot of money and are often not in a position of power so not unlike the homeless people. Or the fact that "no one cares" in the real world is also a possibility of this term being used at Gally. In a way this whole protest does leave many deafies feeling without a home base which was Gallaudet, but now we can't even rely on Gallaudet to represent us fairly. I am proud of all the deafies standing their grounds! JKF has to GO!
This weekend I went to 2 different workshops with King. We met up at 7 30am on a saturday morning, both bleary eyed and dragging our arses to the workshops. I really liked the guest speaker, who is from Long Island. I would love for her to come to my school and give a lecture for the TC ASL Club (Hint hint, Rusty-).
Got the most adorable pictures from Ronnie and her cutie pie Averi! I think Averi looks more like Hoswer than Ronnie. I sure do miss that gal!!
Saturday night when I got home. I realized after frantically searching for my apt keys that I didnt have them! In my morning rush to get out in time to meet King, I mustve forgotten them. Worse yet my roomie was out on a job (flying the friendly skies of what airline, unknown) and only Blondie/Cain as well as the Tin Man have the spare keys. Luckily for me my Sweetie came by from working on his cars and let me in. We hung for a bit but I went to bed at 7pm. I was behind in my sleep all week! I only woke up for 2 hrs on Sat nite and then slept in till 930am yesterday morning. Spent the morning cleaning before the Tin Man came by. We went out for Sushi and walked around a little. Basically we just watched some movies and worked on our own projects, mine was logging footage, his was setting up his wireless business.
I wanted to post the replies I ve gotten so far in regards to the Gally Protest. Here's the automatic reply from Senator Clinton;
Thank you for your e-mail. It is very important to me to know the issues
that are of concern to you. A growing number of my constituents are now
choosing to communicate with me via e-mail. I hope you will understand
that, because of the volume and range of e-mails I receive, it can take
some time to send a response that specifically addresses the subject
raised in your message. I do, however, want to let you know immediately
that your message has been received. Hearing from you and others through
e-mail helps me to quickly learn the views and interests of New Yorkers
and others, which is very helpful to me in my work in the United States
Senate. I hope you will continue to monitor my work through my website
at http://clinton.senate.gov, and I welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Now does that mean anything, who knows? This one is from Schumer
Thank you for your e-mail. Each and every piece of correspondence I receive
is important because it allows me to better understand the New Yorkers I
serve in the United States Senate.
As you can imagine, my office receives a great number of messages
every day regarding a variety of issues – this is particularly true of
e-mails. It makes me proud to know that my constituents take an active role
in our government by corresponding with me, and I look forward to
responding to your concerns in greater detail. In the meantime, I just
wanted to let you know that your e-mail has been received, and to ask for
your patience until I send you a more detailed response.
Again, thank you for writing. Please feel free to visit my website
http://schumer.senate.gov to follow my work in the Senate and to learn more
about the services my office can provide to you.
Warmest regards
Hmm, like my Sweetie says, if Gally's Protest makes the NY Times, then I King and JKF are truly up the "shit creek!"
One last thing before I go, the term Tent City usually refers to a location of homeless people such as it was back in the day in NYC Central Park, called Hooverville. According to Virtual NYC Hooverville is as followed;
Hooverville is a term describing a series of villages that appeared following the Great Depression in the United States from 1929 through the 1930s and 1940s. These villages were often formed in desolate areas or unpleasant neighborhoods and consisted of dozens or hundreds of shacks and tents that were temporary residences of those left unemployed and homeless by the Depression. The government did not officially recognize these Hoovervilles and occasionally removed the occupants for technically trespassing on private lands.
The word "Hooverville" is a spin on the last name of the 31st President of the United States during the beginning of the Depression, Herbert Hoover. Some of the men who were forced to live in these conditions possessed building skills and were able to build their houses out of stone. Most people, however, resorted to building their residences out of box wood, cardboard, and any scraps of metal they could find. Some individuals even lived in watermains.
According to Wikipedia, Tent City means;
The term tent city has been used for temporary settlements made of tents, such as the beginning of Anchorage, Alaska. As a proper noun, it now is also used for series of organized encampments of homeless people in the greater Seattle, Washington, USA area.
Now whether or not GUFSSA protestors were aware of this or if they intentionally chose the name "Tent City" is questionable. In one respect, I could see why they would choose it as most Deaf people do not earn a lot of money and are often not in a position of power so not unlike the homeless people. Or the fact that "no one cares" in the real world is also a possibility of this term being used at Gally. In a way this whole protest does leave many deafies feeling without a home base which was Gallaudet, but now we can't even rely on Gallaudet to represent us fairly. I am proud of all the deafies standing their grounds! JKF has to GO!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Day 4 of Tent City II
[Update; a copy of the letter(s) I emailed to Senator Schumer (NY), Senator Clinton (NY), Rep. Rengal (NY), Rep. Barlett (MD), Rep.Cardin (MD)]
Dear Senator Schumer;
My name is XXX and I am deaf resident here in NYC. (or in the case where I wrote to MD reps I put; "I am a former deaf resident here in MD where I lived in Prince George County from 1995-2004") I am a former alumni of Gallaudet University in Washington DC and currently there is a major crisis happening there.
Jane Fernadez (JKF) was elected as the new President of Gallaudet University last May which prompted a Tent City I protest. The search process for a new president was seriously flawed and bias. There were several more qualified canidates or interested persons for the job but due to questionable standards and selection process, we were given JKF as our new Gallaudet University President.
This decision by the Board of Trustees (BOT) was not well recieved by Gallaudet U campus nor the nationwide deaf communities.
JKF has not proven herself to be a worthy leader. Her record at Model Secondary School for the Deaf was at best atrocious! She manage to cut many programs that hurt the overall school and lowered the enrollment numbers and education level. She has never been about the deaf students or the Deaf community. She has been mainly about self-glorification and recieving a hefty paycheck. I am dismayed and quite upset as many other deafies are by the BOTs unwillinginess to look into this matter seriously and respectively.
I am writing this to ask you to please look into this matter and if possible to discuss it with other senators about their thoughts and views on the situation at Gallaudet U.
Any advice and or help would be much appreciated by myself and on behalf of Deaf Community at large.
Thank you for your time,
-Deafening Chameleon
Current updates and videos on Tent City II. First thing first, KING JORDAN suspended the SBG!!!!Read more at Mishka Zena's site (thanks Joe Joy 4 posting it).
Also Tent City II made the news on the West Coast, San Francisco Gate. Thank you California deafies!!! You can also go to Joey Baer's site and watch this video;
there was also a flyer posted and handed out on campus at FSSA with the following statements;
The flyer below was passed around to all members of the Board of Trustees and shared with the Gallaudet community.
Gallaudet University Board of Trustees
IT’S TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!
· Have you independently verified the situation at Gallaudet?
· Do our own Gallaudet Administrators really support the selection?
· Where is the support from the external leaders in deaf education?
· Do you know how many alumni and others have said they will not contribute to Gallaudet or to a Gallaudet controlled GUAA?
· Do you know that more than 80% of Gallaudet’s deaf faculty oppose this selection?
· Where is the evidence that we are coming together to follow the President Designee’s leadership?
· What will happen in 2007 if the majority of this community either actively oppose the new President or just simply “give up?” Can Gallaudet succeed? Elizabeth Zinser said “no President can succeed without the faculty!” Has the BOT not learned this lesson?
Please talk off the record to these people and find out what is really happening and what key people are thinking. You NEED to know this!
Talk off the record to:
· former Board members / Chairs
· Deans, Directors and Department Chairs
· Administrators in College Hall, Chapel Hall and in EMG
· NAD leadership
· leaders of deaf businesses, schools, universities and organizations
Also there's a video clip on Noah Beckman who is Gally's SBG prez, I met him briefly last spring during the Tent City I protest. If you noticed at the beginning of the video we see JKF sitting there with a sour look on her face *you know why? cuz she knows she's f*cked*
Then there's also this clip on Roy Ricci who I met thru my friend Coleslaw a few times over the years. I also saw him at the Tent City I protest last May and we hung a little. He got to watch my SDI trailer and seemed to like it. Here he's talking about an artwork he did based on the events from Tent City I thats for sale and 30% of the proceeds will go to FSSA funds.
The last clip I want to post is from Monday morning when Tent City II resumed.
Ryan Commerson is ironically I think wearing the same jacket from our picture last May when he was still PNG. I believe all 3 of these videos (Noah Beckman, Roy Ricci and Tent City II) were done by Ryan Commerson. In the Tent City II clip, you can see Jesse Thomas puttering around in the background. I sure wish I was there but work and life keeps me in NYC! At least Gally knows I am there in spirit!!! 
According to Elisa's site there will be following (which should be happening right now as I type)
[Make sure to scroll down to "tent City relocated" post. There are 2 Tent City II video clips you can watch]
* Noon - the naming of the buildings ceremony. Student leader Tara Holcomb said that the alumni are very upset about the new names, that they do not agree. The alumni had recommended for the arts building to be named in honor of Debbie Sonnenstrahl, who did a LOT for the arts department at Gallauduet. A walk-out is planned for 10:15 AM and then everybody will meet at Tent City to prepare for the protesting of the naming ceremony. "There will not be a celebration, there will be a funeral here," said Holcomb.
* Then the protestors will show support for the faculty members who will talk to the BOT members at 2 PM. The faculty members have already sent a letter to the BOT - read it at http://gufssa.org/.
* The BOT is expected to meet with select students at the cateferia from 4 to 5 PM. Holcomb urged every student to go, to be sure it is not limited to only selected students.
* At 7 PM, there will be a retirement gala for Jordan hosted by Jordan. "We will go. We will show them that there is nothing to celebrate about," said Holcomb.
After all this is finished, the protestors will meet again to discuss plans for Friday.
Holcomb also said that a laywer is actually spending the night at Tent City to make sure that everybody will be protected. Then the protestors spread out, some discussing the events that has happened and will happen, some writing down art and quotes and statements on the sidewalks with chalk, and others tucking into their sleeping bags in their cozy tents.
Well thats pretty much all the news I can gather for now; Man how I wish I had a DV Camera, I would so make a short video for FSSA to show NYC deafies support, Joe Joy you up for the task???
Dear Senator Schumer;
My name is XXX and I am deaf resident here in NYC. (or in the case where I wrote to MD reps I put; "I am a former deaf resident here in MD where I lived in Prince George County from 1995-2004") I am a former alumni of Gallaudet University in Washington DC and currently there is a major crisis happening there.
Jane Fernadez (JKF) was elected as the new President of Gallaudet University last May which prompted a Tent City I protest. The search process for a new president was seriously flawed and bias. There were several more qualified canidates or interested persons for the job but due to questionable standards and selection process, we were given JKF as our new Gallaudet University President.
This decision by the Board of Trustees (BOT) was not well recieved by Gallaudet U campus nor the nationwide deaf communities.
JKF has not proven herself to be a worthy leader. Her record at Model Secondary School for the Deaf was at best atrocious! She manage to cut many programs that hurt the overall school and lowered the enrollment numbers and education level. She has never been about the deaf students or the Deaf community. She has been mainly about self-glorification and recieving a hefty paycheck. I am dismayed and quite upset as many other deafies are by the BOTs unwillinginess to look into this matter seriously and respectively.
I am writing this to ask you to please look into this matter and if possible to discuss it with other senators about their thoughts and views on the situation at Gallaudet U.
Any advice and or help would be much appreciated by myself and on behalf of Deaf Community at large.
Thank you for your time,
-Deafening Chameleon
Current updates and videos on Tent City II. First thing first, KING JORDAN suspended the SBG!!!!Read more at Mishka Zena's site (thanks Joe Joy 4 posting it).
Also Tent City II made the news on the West Coast, San Francisco Gate. Thank you California deafies!!! You can also go to Joey Baer's site and watch this video;there was also a flyer posted and handed out on campus at FSSA with the following statements;
The flyer below was passed around to all members of the Board of Trustees and shared with the Gallaudet community.
Gallaudet University Board of Trustees
IT’S TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK!
· Have you independently verified the situation at Gallaudet?
· Do our own Gallaudet Administrators really support the selection?
· Where is the support from the external leaders in deaf education?
· Do you know how many alumni and others have said they will not contribute to Gallaudet or to a Gallaudet controlled GUAA?
· Do you know that more than 80% of Gallaudet’s deaf faculty oppose this selection?
· Where is the evidence that we are coming together to follow the President Designee’s leadership?
· What will happen in 2007 if the majority of this community either actively oppose the new President or just simply “give up?” Can Gallaudet succeed? Elizabeth Zinser said “no President can succeed without the faculty!” Has the BOT not learned this lesson?
Please talk off the record to these people and find out what is really happening and what key people are thinking. You NEED to know this!
Talk off the record to:
· former Board members / Chairs
· Deans, Directors and Department Chairs
· Administrators in College Hall, Chapel Hall and in EMG
· NAD leadership
· leaders of deaf businesses, schools, universities and organizations
Also there's a video clip on Noah Beckman who is Gally's SBG prez, I met him briefly last spring during the Tent City I protest. If you noticed at the beginning of the video we see JKF sitting there with a sour look on her face *you know why? cuz she knows she's f*cked*
Then there's also this clip on Roy Ricci who I met thru my friend Coleslaw a few times over the years. I also saw him at the Tent City I protest last May and we hung a little. He got to watch my SDI trailer and seemed to like it. Here he's talking about an artwork he did based on the events from Tent City I thats for sale and 30% of the proceeds will go to FSSA funds.
The last clip I want to post is from Monday morning when Tent City II resumed.
Ryan Commerson is ironically I think wearing the same jacket from our picture last May when he was still PNG. I believe all 3 of these videos (Noah Beckman, Roy Ricci and Tent City II) were done by Ryan Commerson. In the Tent City II clip, you can see Jesse Thomas puttering around in the background. I sure wish I was there but work and life keeps me in NYC! At least Gally knows I am there in spirit!!! 
According to Elisa's site there will be following (which should be happening right now as I type)
[Make sure to scroll down to "tent City relocated" post. There are 2 Tent City II video clips you can watch]
* Noon - the naming of the buildings ceremony. Student leader Tara Holcomb said that the alumni are very upset about the new names, that they do not agree. The alumni had recommended for the arts building to be named in honor of Debbie Sonnenstrahl, who did a LOT for the arts department at Gallauduet. A walk-out is planned for 10:15 AM and then everybody will meet at Tent City to prepare for the protesting of the naming ceremony. "There will not be a celebration, there will be a funeral here," said Holcomb.
* Then the protestors will show support for the faculty members who will talk to the BOT members at 2 PM. The faculty members have already sent a letter to the BOT - read it at http://gufssa.org/.
* The BOT is expected to meet with select students at the cateferia from 4 to 5 PM. Holcomb urged every student to go, to be sure it is not limited to only selected students.
* At 7 PM, there will be a retirement gala for Jordan hosted by Jordan. "We will go. We will show them that there is nothing to celebrate about," said Holcomb.
After all this is finished, the protestors will meet again to discuss plans for Friday.
Holcomb also said that a laywer is actually spending the night at Tent City to make sure that everybody will be protected. Then the protestors spread out, some discussing the events that has happened and will happen, some writing down art and quotes and statements on the sidewalks with chalk, and others tucking into their sleeping bags in their cozy tents.
Well thats pretty much all the news I can gather for now; Man how I wish I had a DV Camera, I would so make a short video for FSSA to show NYC deafies support, Joe Joy you up for the task???
"BC/AD who's he?"
The title of todays post is a line from a stand up rountine Dressed to Kill by Eddie Izzard who is one of my all times favorite comedian. I like his views and topics he uses in his routinies which often include world history and religion.
Back to the point, it used to be known that BC stood for "Before Christ" and AD stood for either "After Death" (which is stupid because Christ was born in 4 A.D.) or as an abbreviation for "Anno Domini" in Latin or "the year of the Lord" in English. This came up during a conversation with the Tin Man last night. We disagreed with whether or not the term/abbreviations are still being used or changed. As we both truly think we're always right and the other wrong. I knew BC/AD was an outdated term usages but I couldn't remember what had replaced AD, only BCE was all I could think of. So I had to check online today when I arrived at work, to confirm whether or not I was right? And apparently I am. It seems that recently historians and theologists are expecting the terms to be changed from BC to BCE (before the common area) and AD to CE (common era). I liked this excerpt below that goes on to explain why they encourage the newer terminology. Religious Tolerance
The Ethic of Reciprocity (the Golden Rule) suggests that one should not intentionally cause unnecessary pain to other humans. We should treat others as we would wish to be treated. Since only one out of every three humans on earth is a Christian, some theologians and other authors felt that non-religious, neutral terms like CE and BCE would be less offensive to the non-Christian majority. Forcing a Hindu, for example, to use AD and BC might be seen by some as coercing them to acknowledge the supremacy of the Christian God and of Jesus Christ.
Consider an analogous situation: the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The most recent version of this pledge includes the phrase: "Under God." Imagine what a Wiccan (who believes in a God and a Goddess), or many Buddhists and strong Atheists ( who do not believe in the existence of God) feel when having to recite those words. Consider how a Christian would feel if the pledge read "Under Buddha" or "Under Allah."
Although CE and BCE were originally used mainly within theological writings, the terms are gradually receiving greater usage in secular writing, the media, and in the culture generally.
I like this idea because it encourages more neutrality than the old abbreviations. The world is a big place, better to make it so everyone is a part of it. There was another quote I came across while at Religious Tolerance website by the Dalai Lama that sums up my views on all religions. "Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." Its the fanatics or those in power who abuse religion ideology to fit their own personal goals/agendas. A few rotten apples does ruin the barrel.
Got to visit Eddie last night, he's hanging in there. You see he had to have his knee caps replaced and the 2nd one got infected, thats why he has to have the surgery again. But only after the doctors are secured that the infection is completely gone!
I had a wonderful time with my Sweetie. We ended up talking up late and it was just nice being with him. We plan to go to this winery fall festival on Sunday afternoon in NJ.
BTW, last night's ASL class went very well. My student was pleased we played a "game" that King recommended to me in regards to fingerspelling. We also worked on classifiers and descriptions.
Today I'm at work, trying to keep my eyes open. No amount of diet coke or chocolate can save me today. Maybe I'll get my second wind in a bit?
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Important Updates for Deafies!
Tent City II resumed officially Monday Oct 2nd!
You can go to Washington Post to read todays article, Protesters Renew Fight Over Choice Of President
Here's an excerpt;
Many said that they are fed up with the board, that trustees have been unresponsive. And they have complained that new rules limiting on-campus protests are stifling their rights.
Others complained that it's time to move on, that they are happy with the selection of Fernandes, see increased efforts by the board to listen to concerns or are dismayed by the divisions they see widening at the school.
A faculty report submitted to the board began by expressing dismay at what it said was a dismissive attitude from trustees.
And tents once again colored the lawn in front the main gates yesterday, with such signs as "We won't move on 'til our 2 demands are met."
According to Ridor's blog
Ricky writes,
"...that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officers has started to get the identification of Tent City residents in an attempt to do something at this hour.
Carl Pramuk, the Dean of Student Affairs, has indicated that if the residents of Tent City remains after 11 PM, the ties between the SBG with the Business Office will be terminated. Oooh, I’m not afraid of threats, Carl Pramuk."
Plus even some of Gally's teachers are on board according to Ridor's site;
"Yes, Five Different Professors Taught at Tent City: Several classes were conducted at Tent City. I was informed that five professors did this. Bravo! Let’s hope that more professors will follow their example in search of our social justice at Gallaudet. Students, faculty and staff members, it is time to muster your courage and stand up for what is right — after all, it is your principle that may be jeopardized by others."
Thank you Ricky for the above and posting Thomas's blog link below;
From Jesse Thomas' blog I love what he wrote about Gally's adminstration placing MANURE *ugh* on the front lawn to prevent Tent City II from happening last monday;
"Enough is enough. The rules of protest? Manure. Jane even being the Provost in the first place, without having distingushed herself at MSSD AND with a qualified Deaf woman already in the Provost's office (but, alas, refused to be King's lap dog)? Manure. The presidental search process? Manure. The results of the search? Manure. Saying they support, then doing nothing about the Audism Mandates? Manure. The culture of distrust and fear the current administration (including King and Jane) has created among the faculty and staff? Manure."
Seems Gally students staged a walk out yesterday and today there will be FSSA meeting for supporters. Tmw is the dedication ceremony to I King Jordan and his wife Linda. Gally will be renaming the student union, formerly known as the ely center in honor of their names *excuse me while I go barf*! Plus the BOT will be meeting tmw and Friday. Great more expenses go on Gally's tab as they feast and dine and discuss how they won't budge from their decision and continue to milk Gally out of their funds.. grr BOT make a decision and stick with it, but for god sakes stop pretending you guys care. We already know you don't!
Update on Closed Captioning Cuts by FCC, according to Joe Joy's blog;
This is the problem with "deregulation": it puts lives at risks. TV programs are one thing, although God knows we are paying customers too and entertainment should make sure they can reach as many people as possible (you can BET they're not going to take off spanish-language options.) Now they're putting the safety of thousands of Deaf people at risk. Or maybe we should say MORE at risk.
More can be read at VA Young Democrats Senator Allen is Silent as FCC Undermines Captioning Rules For the Deaf With Damaging Policy Changes
on September 12, 2006, the FCC suddenly undermined closed captioning rules that had been established in 1998 based on the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The rules required closed captioning to be phased in gradually over 8 years, with a requirement effective January 2006 that 100% of all new TV programs must be captioned unless captioning would be “an undue burden” (due to difficulty or expense.) Between 1999 and 2005, the FCC approved 3 of 67 requests for waivers – and each of the waivers was limited in duration to 1 to 3 years. On September 12, the FCC unexpectedly announced that it was for the first time ever granting permanent waivers to two TV programs and announced that it was “inclined favorably” to granting similar requests by a new category of TV programs. The FCC then granted nearly 300 additional requests, which made it clear that the FCC had essentially changed the rules without admitting that this was what they were doing. Advocates have filed for a notice of review and stay of both FCC decisions.
Thank you Joe Joy!
You can go to Washington Post to read todays article, Protesters Renew Fight Over Choice Of President
Here's an excerpt;
Many said that they are fed up with the board, that trustees have been unresponsive. And they have complained that new rules limiting on-campus protests are stifling their rights.
Others complained that it's time to move on, that they are happy with the selection of Fernandes, see increased efforts by the board to listen to concerns or are dismayed by the divisions they see widening at the school.
A faculty report submitted to the board began by expressing dismay at what it said was a dismissive attitude from trustees.
And tents once again colored the lawn in front the main gates yesterday, with such signs as "We won't move on 'til our 2 demands are met."
According to Ridor's blog
Ricky writes,
"...that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officers has started to get the identification of Tent City residents in an attempt to do something at this hour.
Carl Pramuk, the Dean of Student Affairs, has indicated that if the residents of Tent City remains after 11 PM, the ties between the SBG with the Business Office will be terminated. Oooh, I’m not afraid of threats, Carl Pramuk."
Plus even some of Gally's teachers are on board according to Ridor's site;
"Yes, Five Different Professors Taught at Tent City: Several classes were conducted at Tent City. I was informed that five professors did this. Bravo! Let’s hope that more professors will follow their example in search of our social justice at Gallaudet. Students, faculty and staff members, it is time to muster your courage and stand up for what is right — after all, it is your principle that may be jeopardized by others."
Thank you Ricky for the above and posting Thomas's blog link below;
From Jesse Thomas' blog I love what he wrote about Gally's adminstration placing MANURE *ugh* on the front lawn to prevent Tent City II from happening last monday;
"Enough is enough. The rules of protest? Manure. Jane even being the Provost in the first place, without having distingushed herself at MSSD AND with a qualified Deaf woman already in the Provost's office (but, alas, refused to be King's lap dog)? Manure. The presidental search process? Manure. The results of the search? Manure. Saying they support, then doing nothing about the Audism Mandates? Manure. The culture of distrust and fear the current administration (including King and Jane) has created among the faculty and staff? Manure."
Seems Gally students staged a walk out yesterday and today there will be FSSA meeting for supporters. Tmw is the dedication ceremony to I King Jordan and his wife Linda. Gally will be renaming the student union, formerly known as the ely center in honor of their names *excuse me while I go barf*! Plus the BOT will be meeting tmw and Friday. Great more expenses go on Gally's tab as they feast and dine and discuss how they won't budge from their decision and continue to milk Gally out of their funds.. grr BOT make a decision and stick with it, but for god sakes stop pretending you guys care. We already know you don't!
Update on Closed Captioning Cuts by FCC, according to Joe Joy's blog;
This is the problem with "deregulation": it puts lives at risks. TV programs are one thing, although God knows we are paying customers too and entertainment should make sure they can reach as many people as possible (you can BET they're not going to take off spanish-language options.) Now they're putting the safety of thousands of Deaf people at risk. Or maybe we should say MORE at risk.
More can be read at VA Young Democrats Senator Allen is Silent as FCC Undermines Captioning Rules For the Deaf With Damaging Policy Changes
on September 12, 2006, the FCC suddenly undermined closed captioning rules that had been established in 1998 based on the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The rules required closed captioning to be phased in gradually over 8 years, with a requirement effective January 2006 that 100% of all new TV programs must be captioned unless captioning would be “an undue burden” (due to difficulty or expense.) Between 1999 and 2005, the FCC approved 3 of 67 requests for waivers – and each of the waivers was limited in duration to 1 to 3 years. On September 12, the FCC unexpectedly announced that it was for the first time ever granting permanent waivers to two TV programs and announced that it was “inclined favorably” to granting similar requests by a new category of TV programs. The FCC then granted nearly 300 additional requests, which made it clear that the FCC had essentially changed the rules without admitting that this was what they were doing. Advocates have filed for a notice of review and stay of both FCC decisions.
Thank you Joe Joy!
Amish, snipers, interracial dating, "Oh my"
Well I lost my original post so starting over again. As many of you know there was a shooting 2 days ago in my home town. My grandmother was attending Temple on Monday when she saw the helicopter land on the emergency pad on top of the nearby Hospital with one of the victims from the Amish School Shooting. 5 girls died, 5 more are in critical condition due to being shot in the heads :( Today's paper in Lancaster, according to Baba, has the information for the funeral services for the 5 Amish girls killed. Plus there is a fund being established for the others in the hospital to help cover the hospital bills. Of course Baba being the humanitarian that she is, wrote a check to donate and her Temple is meeting soon to discuss what they can do to help.
I don't know why its become popular with disgruntled people going into schools and opening fire. Its even harder to deter because how can we punish them? Most of them commit suicide. Whats the answer? I don't know other than to ban firearms among civilians. But of course the NRA (National Rifle Association) would have a fit to be tied. They are one of the biggest lobbyist when it comes to political campaign contributions and backing their puppet-like politicians. This has been hard on my family back home, having something like this happen nearby. I went thru a similar experience when the DC sniper hit the area a few years ago. It was soooo scary, you couldn't even go to the gas station without worrying. The word was when walking outside, was not to walk in a straight line but in a zig zag like fashion so that you as a "target" could not be as easily spotted or lined up with a gun.
Anyhoo on a different note, I realized last night while having insomnia that ironically the Tin Man is not the first person "of color" that I've dated but the 1st one that I've dated seriously. So in my boredom I googled "interracial couples" and a few interesting things came up.
Excerpt from the Washington Post, Dec 1998 Interracial Marriages Eroding Barriers
In much of Latin America, for example, marrying a person of lighter skin color is considered a move up the social ladder. Some Latinos invoke the phrase, mejorando la raza, improving the race, to signal their approval.
"There is a bit of colorism in the [Latino] community," says Greta Gilbertson, a Fordham University professor. "It is often times perceived as prestigious to marry outside of the group. And if that person happens to be white, so much the better."
another excerpt from the same article;
When it comes to housing, blacks are the most segregated of the nation's racial minorities, "by orders of magnitude," says Rebecca M. Blank, a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, which recently compiled a report documenting the nation's racial dynamics. On average, blacks live in neighborhoods that are 60 percent black, while Hispanics and Asian Americans tend to live in far more diverse neighborhoods.
"When you are talking about Asian or Hispanic middle classes moving into neighborhoods, you don't see the same tripping mechanism causing whites to move out that you see with blacks," Harrison said. "These things suggest that the black-white color line is still with us and that the integration of blacks is going to be a different story than the assimilation of Asians and Hispanics."
An excerpt from Usa Today, Dec. 2005 Love is no longer color-coded on TV
Racism is often reflected on television through hate crimes and other violent stories, Nagra says. "We know racism exists. Let's show people getting on. Let's be positive about it."
Mixed-race romances on television have never been plentiful, as the mass medium has been fearful of alienating viewers and advertisers.
In 1957, on Alan Freed's weekly rock 'n' roll show, black singer Frankie Lymon was seen dancing with a white woman. ABC promptly canceled the show.
On Star Trek, when Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk kissed (against their will) in 1968, it was heralded as the first interracial smooch on television.
And when Norman Lear featured a black woman and a white man as married neighbors to 1975's The Jeffersons, it was considered groundbreaking.
In real life, the gap slowly is narrowing. According to the most recent Census, interracial marriages grew from less than 1% in 1970 to nearly 6% in 2000. And as more of the world becomes a melting pot, interracial relationships have popped up more frequently on TV as well, though often tangentially. Some examples:
• Debra Messing's Grace dated guest star Gregory Hines on Will & Grace in 2000.
• David Schwimmer's Ross character fell for Aisha Tyler's Charlie on Friends in 2003.
• Gary Dourdan's Warrick has a history with Marg Helgenberger's Catherine on CSI.
So as the TV landscape has evolved, the issue now is less of whether mixed couples are featured on top shows, but when, how and if the writers will make their race part of the story line.
Hmm gives me food for thoughts. So far I have experienced mostly dirty looks, especially on the Upper West Side where the facial expressions range from disgust to "how could you?!" looks. As well as one time at Ikea, there was a Black woman working as a customer service rep and she was all smiles for the Tin Man but wouldn't even look at me and when she did, her face dropped into a look of disgust. I guess the thought running through her mind was "oh another White girl, butting in on my dating pool."
Work is going well, my schedule is now full all week and I am very happy. I am also glad to report that after sitting down with paper and pen and calculating roughly how much I would earn from all of my jobs, net not gross with taxs taken out, I will actually earn enough to live and pay my bills *whew!* I wont be raking in the dough but I won't go hungry either.
Been working on my lesson plans for tonights class. And tutoring plans for my tutor students in math and reading/writing. And since we're on the topic of tutors, my FCP tutor, Dj Tikki Marlsa came by and we got a lot covered last night. On my next day off, I plan to edit till the cows come home!
Tonight I will visit my friend Eddie who is still at home due to complications with his knee surgery. He's been majorly depressed and I don't blame me. How many days can a person stay inside and deal with the boredom? He's spent most of 2006 at home! Hopefully time will pass quickly enough for him.
Gonna see my Sweetie tonight at Eddies, looking forward to giving him a big old hug and kisses!
I don't know why its become popular with disgruntled people going into schools and opening fire. Its even harder to deter because how can we punish them? Most of them commit suicide. Whats the answer? I don't know other than to ban firearms among civilians. But of course the NRA (National Rifle Association) would have a fit to be tied. They are one of the biggest lobbyist when it comes to political campaign contributions and backing their puppet-like politicians. This has been hard on my family back home, having something like this happen nearby. I went thru a similar experience when the DC sniper hit the area a few years ago. It was soooo scary, you couldn't even go to the gas station without worrying. The word was when walking outside, was not to walk in a straight line but in a zig zag like fashion so that you as a "target" could not be as easily spotted or lined up with a gun.
Anyhoo on a different note, I realized last night while having insomnia that ironically the Tin Man is not the first person "of color" that I've dated but the 1st one that I've dated seriously. So in my boredom I googled "interracial couples" and a few interesting things came up.
Excerpt from the Washington Post, Dec 1998 Interracial Marriages Eroding Barriers
In much of Latin America, for example, marrying a person of lighter skin color is considered a move up the social ladder. Some Latinos invoke the phrase, mejorando la raza, improving the race, to signal their approval.
"There is a bit of colorism in the [Latino] community," says Greta Gilbertson, a Fordham University professor. "It is often times perceived as prestigious to marry outside of the group. And if that person happens to be white, so much the better."
another excerpt from the same article;
When it comes to housing, blacks are the most segregated of the nation's racial minorities, "by orders of magnitude," says Rebecca M. Blank, a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, which recently compiled a report documenting the nation's racial dynamics. On average, blacks live in neighborhoods that are 60 percent black, while Hispanics and Asian Americans tend to live in far more diverse neighborhoods.
"When you are talking about Asian or Hispanic middle classes moving into neighborhoods, you don't see the same tripping mechanism causing whites to move out that you see with blacks," Harrison said. "These things suggest that the black-white color line is still with us and that the integration of blacks is going to be a different story than the assimilation of Asians and Hispanics."
An excerpt from Usa Today, Dec. 2005 Love is no longer color-coded on TV
Racism is often reflected on television through hate crimes and other violent stories, Nagra says. "We know racism exists. Let's show people getting on. Let's be positive about it."
Mixed-race romances on television have never been plentiful, as the mass medium has been fearful of alienating viewers and advertisers.
In 1957, on Alan Freed's weekly rock 'n' roll show, black singer Frankie Lymon was seen dancing with a white woman. ABC promptly canceled the show.
On Star Trek, when Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk kissed (against their will) in 1968, it was heralded as the first interracial smooch on television.
And when Norman Lear featured a black woman and a white man as married neighbors to 1975's The Jeffersons, it was considered groundbreaking.
In real life, the gap slowly is narrowing. According to the most recent Census, interracial marriages grew from less than 1% in 1970 to nearly 6% in 2000. And as more of the world becomes a melting pot, interracial relationships have popped up more frequently on TV as well, though often tangentially. Some examples:
• Debra Messing's Grace dated guest star Gregory Hines on Will & Grace in 2000.
• David Schwimmer's Ross character fell for Aisha Tyler's Charlie on Friends in 2003.
• Gary Dourdan's Warrick has a history with Marg Helgenberger's Catherine on CSI.
So as the TV landscape has evolved, the issue now is less of whether mixed couples are featured on top shows, but when, how and if the writers will make their race part of the story line.
Hmm gives me food for thoughts. So far I have experienced mostly dirty looks, especially on the Upper West Side where the facial expressions range from disgust to "how could you?!" looks. As well as one time at Ikea, there was a Black woman working as a customer service rep and she was all smiles for the Tin Man but wouldn't even look at me and when she did, her face dropped into a look of disgust. I guess the thought running through her mind was "oh another White girl, butting in on my dating pool."
Work is going well, my schedule is now full all week and I am very happy. I am also glad to report that after sitting down with paper and pen and calculating roughly how much I would earn from all of my jobs, net not gross with taxs taken out, I will actually earn enough to live and pay my bills *whew!* I wont be raking in the dough but I won't go hungry either.
Been working on my lesson plans for tonights class. And tutoring plans for my tutor students in math and reading/writing. And since we're on the topic of tutors, my FCP tutor, Dj Tikki Marlsa came by and we got a lot covered last night. On my next day off, I plan to edit till the cows come home!
Tonight I will visit my friend Eddie who is still at home due to complications with his knee surgery. He's been majorly depressed and I don't blame me. How many days can a person stay inside and deal with the boredom? He's spent most of 2006 at home! Hopefully time will pass quickly enough for him.
Gonna see my Sweetie tonight at Eddies, looking forward to giving him a big old hug and kisses!
Monday, October 02, 2006
"Love Sees No Color"
or in this case, Love sees no specie, only Love. Last week Baba sent me this cute email that I just had to post. But after you see the photos, keep on reading. This is a prime example of how facts can become rumors or in this case, an urban legend. The info below was obtained from About
In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.
The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.
After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.
Would they become cubs or pork chops? Take a look........ you won't believe your eyes!!!!
Comments: The photos are genuine, but there's more to this story than meets the eye.
To begin with, the snapshots were taken at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand (near Bangkok), not some nameless zoo in California. Moreover, it would appear that the sad tale of the tigress falling into a deep depression after losing a litter of cubs was fabricated, as was the claim that the piglets were substituted for the deceased cubs by zookeepers in order to console the "mourning mother."
As it happens, this sort of intermingling of species is not at all unusual at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, where "creating successful relationships with animals of different species" is something of a guiding principle. The facility, more accurately described as part zoo and part circus, boasts offbeat attractions like basketball-playing elephants, "lady crocodile wrestlers," and a petting zoo where customers can bottle-feed baby tigers with their own bare hands. Visitors have reported seeing tigers, pigs, and dogs all housed together within the same enclosure, with sows nursing tiger cubs and tigresses nursing piglets "adorned in tiger-print costumes."
The costumes are strictly for show, by the way. The mother tiger pictured above, who has been photographed on other occasions suckling piglets au naturel, was herself nursed by a pig in infancy and apparently regards the other species as family, not prey.
In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.
The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.
After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.
Would they become cubs or pork chops? Take a look........ you won't believe your eyes!!!!
Comments: The photos are genuine, but there's more to this story than meets the eye.
To begin with, the snapshots were taken at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand (near Bangkok), not some nameless zoo in California. Moreover, it would appear that the sad tale of the tigress falling into a deep depression after losing a litter of cubs was fabricated, as was the claim that the piglets were substituted for the deceased cubs by zookeepers in order to console the "mourning mother."
As it happens, this sort of intermingling of species is not at all unusual at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, where "creating successful relationships with animals of different species" is something of a guiding principle. The facility, more accurately described as part zoo and part circus, boasts offbeat attractions like basketball-playing elephants, "lady crocodile wrestlers," and a petting zoo where customers can bottle-feed baby tigers with their own bare hands. Visitors have reported seeing tigers, pigs, and dogs all housed together within the same enclosure, with sows nursing tiger cubs and tigresses nursing piglets "adorned in tiger-print costumes."
The costumes are strictly for show, by the way. The mother tiger pictured above, who has been photographed on other occasions suckling piglets au naturel, was herself nursed by a pig in infancy and apparently regards the other species as family, not prey.
Mother Teresa was right;
“Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” Mother Teresa was quoted saying in 1979 when she won the Nobel Peace Prize. How appropriate for today which is Yom Kippur (it began at Sunset last night). The Day of Atonement which could be measured not only in acts of regret and wrong doings but to also reflect why it is important to do acts of kindness and try to send out positive energy rather than negativity. As it is, the world is already quite negative these days.
Interestingly enough the most recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize went to 2 Americans,Andrew Fire and Craig Mello for their contributions in science. Basically as reported on CNN; "for discovering a powerful way to turn off the effect of specific genes, opening a new avenue for disease treatment." My grandmother is a genetic junkie, she reads everything she can get her hands on when it comes to gene research and Mitochondrial DNA which is basically the life force if you will. From Wikipedia "mitochondria have their own DNA and are assumed to have evolved separately."
I am sure today both Baba and Uncle David are at the Synagogue back in PA, observing Yom Kippur which is the holiest day of the year. "...In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work ... For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD." -Leviticus 16:29-30 I'll admit being a reform Jew, I don't always follow the High Holidays rules and regulations. For example this holiday you are to make amends against other people you have wronged during the year prior to this day (Yom Kippur) and then you make ammends for wrong doings against G-d today. I personally use this day to reflect on the past year on my mistakes or inappropriate behavior I may have acted against others and I then make the effort to rectify my mistakes. Whether its in a form of apology or just making a note not to repeat the same mistake twice, everyone has something to owe up in one form or another. I believe in G-d in a sense of it representing life's ability to exist but not in a way where I contribute human qualities to G-d such as judgements or G-d being a paternalistic being. I think the way to disrespect G-d would be to not take care of the planet, to destroy things (organic in nature) etc etc.. Almost like Native American view's in how we treat nature shows our respect of lack of to G-d.
Also I do not fast during the high holidays. The only time I am willing to fast is in political protest or fund raising $$ for countries that have extremely low food productions or where starving is the norm. I did that once in college at Gallaudet where we had people sponsor us by donating $$ to us for this organization and we agreed to fast for 36 hours to get a sense of what it is like to go hungry. I remember there was approximately 20 of us, we had sleeping bags and stayed at the Gally Field House. It was so hard to sleep on those wooden floors (the same one used for basketball games) and I also recall being cranky and having headaches by the 15th, 20th hour. Then at the end we all got to eat together but it was a bittersweet experience for me. Knowing what real hunger feels like isnt fun. Sadly tho its not limited to our poor international neighbors. It exist in our own backyard because so many Americans face hunger everyday.
Saturday was a miserable rainy day. I went to orientation for one of my jobs that afternoon. Later on Joe Joy stopped by so we could catch up and make plans for PA trip next month. The Tin Man and I basically just hung out that day, the energy level in general was very low and most people I talked with that day, had either napped or plan to.
Yesterday the Tin Man and I went to the UWS to eat brunch and walk around. There's a small flea market off of Columbus Ave and approx 75th st. The weather was gorgeous and I picked up some fresh peaches.
We also watched Cinderella Man, based on a true story of Jim Braddock as a boxer during the depression here in NYC. I enjoyed the movie immensely. He was one of the few men to beat the famed Max Baer 
who critics disagree with his portrayal in the movie Cinderella Man. Some argue he was this horrible, snobbish Jew who literally killed his opponnets in the ring by beating them to death. Others say he wasn't even a Jew because his mother was Catholic and his father a non-practicing Jew and Max was raised in the Catholic faith. But by the time he became a boxer, he had announced he was a Jew and even during one fight in 1933, he wore boxer shorts with the star of David symbol on it as he fought his opponent who was of German background. I have to be somewhat skeptical and wonder if he didn't use the "Jew Card" to promote his own status during his career? Knowing how the Americans felt about the Nazis, it wasn't a bad time to be a "Jew." I don't think we will ever know truly whether or not Max Baer was a Jew or whether he was as malicious as portrayed in Ron Howards' movie.
Today at work in between tasks, I gotta do lesson plans for tonights and wednesday's class. Plus for tmw's tutoring session. I realize I enjoy teaching quite a lot. There's such a sense of accomplishment seeing your students progress from point A to point B and then onto point C, D....
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