I was just reading a book and to take some break from being on a computer 24/7. Then it occurred to me that it doesn’t matter what I do, I’m constantly reading—be it on signs, closed captioning, my pager, bytes on computer displays, fine print in magazines, instructions on food packages, everywhere.

I remember one conversation I once had with a girl. We were talking about how much we like to read that it was almost a must. Especially a must for people like us who couldn’t hear a word and where else could we get information? Reading, of course.

We would get so bored if we don’t have something to read. Like one time she explained to me that while she was waiting in a car, she and her mind got so bored that she was just dying to read something, anything. Guess what she ended up reading? the car owner’s manual that she found in the glove box. She also told me that each time she went to a grocery store with his mom, she would always take a magazine and read it while pushing a cart around and being engrossed in it with her elbows resting on top of handles and didn’t care what was being thrown into the cart. She would make sure that the shopping took long enough or she would pace it down so she could finish the whole magazine and put it back into the stands where she got it and quickly went back to the aisle to help her not-too-pleasant mom to load food items onto the belt. On every Sunday, she would steal her dad’s favorite newspapers subscription, the New York Times. Needless to say, she’s one helluva of a smart girl. All of those reading paid off for her.

I always thought that was a cool story and I did the exact same thing too. My dad liked the coffee at Starbucks so each time we went to Barnes and Noble, I would go straight to the bestseller aisle or new paperbacks to see what’s new. Ofc, I love magazines too and would take a few and bring to the table where my dad is enjoying his coffee. Even though my dad isn’t big of a reader himself, he was always willing to buy them for me and I would be happily reading in the car on way to home.

Whenever I’m going out with friends on some kind of a trip, I like to sit in the back, not in the shotgun seat, so I would have less distractions reading a book. One of the things about myself is that I kinda have this habit that I cannot go to a bathroom without something to read. Luckily I have a blackberry now so in case I couldn’t find anything to take with me, I can browse on my blackberry. So I make sure my bathroom has some variety of magazines and books, ha.

Now, it seems that I spend a lot of reading on the Internet. I guess it’s more convenient, free, and doesn’t take up any space but from time to time, I like to take a book and sit in a comfy chair and just read.

Ok, time for me to get back to my book. :-)

I’ve added Flickr images section to the Deafpulse.com. They all are automatically taken from Flickr that are tagged with ‘Deaf’.

I’ve also fixed Google News to show bubble tooltips and replaced MSNBC News with Technorati since there was something funny with MSNBC’s news feed.

After working on the website for about a week and receiving emails/comments from all of you, I decided that the emphasis will be on the news services such as Google, BBC, and Yahoo. I realize there is too many Deaf blogs out there now and I don’t feel right to decide what should be on the page or shouldn’t. So, there will be some changes to DeafPulse.com.

Something BIG is coming soon that is going to knock your eyes out.

Stay tuned!!

And apparently, this is my first ASL vlog, hehe. I also talked about why I made DeafPulse.com

Teri Sentelle’s vlog on DeafPulse.com

I just did something today that I have never done before. That was to attend a movie screening. Thanks to a cool girl I met recently, her name is Ally Burguieres. She works as a movie critic for her school newspaper at Georgetown University, so she gets to go to movie screenings and for free! Guess where the movie screenings were at? None other than the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) building in Washington DC, the sorry organization I’ve been leeching off from on my Linux server. The irony was that it was free too but in a different sense. The only difference was that I cannot put the movie on pause for my bathroom breaks.

Out of all movies that are out there, the movie turns to be “The Namesake” about an Indian boy who has an identity crisis with his name that is not even Indian.

Before I even start, I have this firm belief that if you are deaf and unable to hear what characters are saying and that there are no subtitles, there is absolutely no reason to go to movie theaters. You’d be clueless as to what the movie is talking about and you can slowly feel your ten dollars being drained away unless you think cool special effects justify the ticket purchase, which some of my friends did with Star Wars movies. It’s almost as same as buying a glossy hard-covered book with blank pages. When you finally do get out, your understanding of the movie isn’t that much better than you step into the theater before. “Light saber fights were so awesome!” “Um, why did Anakin turn into Darth Vader?” “Uh, no idea.”

But she gently informed me that this movie, the Namesake, might have some subtitles since it follows an immigrant family from India, settling into the city that is the most diverse city in America and home to millions of immigrants, New York City. In spite of that, the family moved during the 1970s and they were among the first group to migrate from India so the husband and the wife only had each other to support, then they had a son which they named Gogol. They spoke Hindu, thus, some English subtitles were shown.

The name, Gogol, is a Russian name taken from a short story author, Nikolai Gogol. It is his book that has miraculously stayed in the father’s bloody hands after he survived a devastating train accident which left him in a full cast and unable to move for a few weeks. After having recovered, they left India to live in New York City with his wife and soon thereafter, they have a first-born son and they decide to name him Gogol after the Russian author, to remind how lucky and blessed their life are and to be holding a healthy baby. Obviously they did not think about the social effects that the name may bring to the boy and his life.

Sloppily dressed in a navy baseball shirt with a number 83 on his chest, Gogol, acted by Kal Penn who was made famous from the movie, “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.”, shows what it takes to be an American. He dates a white girl, plays loud metal songs, rebels against his parents, smokes a joint and of course, hates his own name. Even his sister is equally American, spraying colors in her hair, sporting both bright and dark lip colors, and wearing fishnets on her legs. Later in the movie, it would have to take someone’s death in the family to finally realize what does it mean to be an Indian and sheds a baseball shirt with a white saree.

Kal Penn tries his best to portray as an Indian-American but his limpy body prevents him from looking like an All-American guy and resembles nothing like those model bodies in Abercrombie & Fitch cover magazines. Even in a few nude scenes, his body actually reminds me of Gandhi’s. Sad to say, Kal Penn’s fate, to me, may be already and forever sealed as a slacking college Indian whiz who smoke marijuana joints.

The movie takes us through different phases of life that we all may have experienced at some point of our life. It is a movie that reminds us that we aren’t the only ones experiencing life’s struggles and that all the immigrants who came to America, from the pilgrims to Englishmen to Germans to Italians to Irishes to Chineses to Purples and lately, Indians all experienced same things when they arrive at a new land with little of what they have. The movie moves mostly in a chronological order with a few flashbacks linking to the name of Gogol and ends with a feeling that is touching and that life shall go on.

Although the movie title says “the Namesake”, it doesn’t necessarily revolve around the name but we can see how the story is developed behind the name and how they resolve together to overcome obstacles they face in life—unknowns, hardship, death, infidelity, and family/cultural values.

If you found yourself covered in blood, barely able to move but you see this book that spells “Gogol” that stares directly into your eyes, you cannot help but bound to feel that you are meant to survive, to live and with that, you damn better live your life with a purpose. That’s exactly what the father did and in the end, the son finally understands and was able to accept his name, Gogol, for the reminder of what it is.

When she and I got out of the theater, I thought to myself, hey, that wasn’t too bad, with its limited subtitles and my lack of ability to hear but I could understand the movie and managed to make some reflections of my own.

What’s so cool is that I get to see a movie that hasn’t been released in theaters nationwide and free too!

I got so inspired by watching “Through Deaf Eyes” on the PBS channel that I decided to come straight home from a friend’s place to finish working on the addition of YouTube ASL videos. There was a big bug to be worked out with Internet Explorer browser to make those video thumbnails to be rendered ok.

The link: DeafPulse.com

One new feature is the “bubble tooltip” that will appear when you move your mouse over the news title item. It’ll give a short description of the news so you don’t have to click through to read it. Just FYI, not each of them has one, like Google News so I am working on that now.

Someone suggested adding more news feeds, so I’ve made three more news feed. They are BBC news, MSNBC news, and ASL from Google News. Let me know if you find them useful. Thanks, CK!

The documentary about “Through Deaf Eyes” got me really inspired that I’ve never been more proud to be Deaf. I value our language, ASL—-I cannot imagine not using the language—-and know that we can do much anything but hear. President King Jordan made a point that there are different ways to be deaf and no matter what the technological advances there may be, deaf people will always continue to exist. Marlee Matlin also made a good point that since she can speak pretty well, why cannot she use it? it is a skill as much as she can act well. She never meant to offend the deaf community or to show that she thinks she’s better than us. She does have a beautiful ASL with strong expressions that I was a little surprised she can speak well too. For example, while King Jordan likes to speak for himself, his ASL isn’t really that smooth or fluent. His style is more SEE so it wasn’t a big surprise that he can still speak well.

I’ll be waiting for this PBS documentary to be out on torrents so I can download and save it forever. Gotta love Vital Signs too. Loved his ASL storytelling. It is art. Someone ought give them an award.

Potter star refuses to sign up for final films.

Haha, is she playing hard to get or what? how typical of girls. Well, I don’t blame her. Ever since I saw her on the screen for the first time as a young precocious girl, I knew she was gonna be hot, in the same sense that Natalie Portman is now.

I did it!

I’ve created a Deaf news aggregator website showing different feeds from popular news search sites and Deaf blogs. It’s called Deafpulse.com!

It’s such a relief to finally get it to be released, though it’s somewhat still raw and in beta. I’m quite satisfied with the design. I might make another CSS file for those who prefer whitespace over dark. I’ll be open to suggestions that you think should be on the feed. And If you like it, spread the word! Thanks.

Also, I’m already working on the next version to include ASL videos, images, and most popular posts, so it should be pretty dynamic and useful.

Ok, time for me to go to bed. I’m exhausted but weirdly happy. I’ll come back later to check the progress/status of this new website, whether you find it useful or not. I’m excited!

Just want to put this on the record and to give myself extra motivation to finish working on the new Deaf RSS website. It’s gonna be great! If you are looking for cleaning service websites, visit www.weblaunchlocal.com for more info.

I’m burning midnight candles as of this moment.

Stay tuned!!

Jason Kottke’s blog just turned 9 years old. His first post was on March 14, 1998, so that is quite a long time! He’s like my blog idol and when I saw his first post, it’s exactly why I started this blog and to develop my web development skills too.

Why

I decided I needed to start writing things down. Because I forget. Because I think better and feel better when I write. I used to write often but got away from it. So here it is again. But you ask: “Jason, why not keep a private diary?” Because I’d never keep up a private diary…I need to force myself to write this. So, I made it into content. Since it’s content, I feel obligated to keep it up-to-date.

See these games I have to play with myself?

posted a link about how Deaf people prefer to be called deaf or hard of hearing, not deaf-mutes or hearing-impaired. He also mentioned about how Deaf people are using YouTube to communicate with their first language, ASL.

It’s true. I do feel better when I write. Gotta keep blogging!

Saw this really terrific post by Joshua Porter. I like his website design. I’ve been thinking about my blog like how to make it better. What he said struck a chord.

I’m gonna add a popular/notable blog posts module on the front page. He said “For every person who posts a comment on your blog, you have 10 (or 100) readers who won’t. Always remember that! Even if you don’t get the 100 comments that you were hoping for doesn’t mean that people didn’t like the post or that they didn’t consider it…it just means that they didn’t have anything to initially say or couldn’t at the time.” True.

He also has an excellent post on “Five principles to Design by.” Hmm, he and I seem to think alike. Cool.

Learn how to make an oragimi CD paper holder.

Cool, I just learned how to make an origami CD paper holder. I’m making something to give to someone special. I hope she’ll be impressed! Girls dig origamis. :-)

Haha this is so funny!

This list was voted as the best blog essay in 2004. I thought this was a great list and inspiration for people who blog. Whenever I get stuck or in a grudge, I would just look at this list and naturally, my thoughts begin to bubble up in my mind. Cool. :-)

———————————————-

how to blog by tony pierce, 110

1. write every day.

2. if you think you’re a good writer, write twice a day.

3. don’t be afraid to do anything. infact if youre afraid of something, do it. then do it again. and again.

4. cuss like a sailor.

5. dont tell your mom, your work, your friends, the people you want to date, or the people you want to work for about your blog. if they find out and you’d rather they didnt read it, ask them nicely to grant you your privacy.

6. have comments. don’t be upset if no one writes in your comments for a long time. eventually they’ll write in there. if people start acting mean in your comments, ask them to stop, they probably will.

7. have an email address clearly displayed on your blog. sometimes people want to tell you that you rock in private.

8. don’t worry very much about the design of your blog. image is a fakeout.

9. use Blogger. it’s easy, it’s free; and because they are owned by Google, your blog will get spidered better, you will show up in more search results, and more people will end up at your blog. besides, all the other blogging software & alternatives pretty much suck.

10. use spellcheck unless youre completely totally keeping it real. but even then you might want to use it if you think you wrote something really good.

11. say exactly what you want to say no matter what it looks like on the screen. then say something else. then keep going. and when youre done, re-read it, and edit it and hit publish and forget about it.

12. link like crazy. link anyone who links you, link your favorites, link your friends. dont be a prude. linking is what seperates bloggers from apes. and especially link if you’re trying to prove a point and someone else said it first. it lends credibility even if youre full of shit.

13. if you havent written about sex, religion, and politics in a week youre probably playing it too safe, which means you probably fucked up on #5, in which case start a second blog and keep your big mouth shut about it this time.

14. remember: nobody cares which N*Sync member you are, what State you are, which Party of Five kid you are, or which Weezer song you are. the second you put one of those things on your blog you need to delete your blog and try out for the marching band. similarilly, nobody gives a shit what the weather is like in your town, nobody wants you to change their cursor into a butterfly, nobody wants to vote on whether your blog is hot or not, and nobody gives a rat ass what song youre listening to. write something Real for you, about you, every day.

15. dont be afraid if you think something has been said before. it has. and better. big whoop. say it anyway using your own words as honestly as you can. just let it out.

16. get Site Meter and make it available for everyone to see. if you’re embarrassed that not a lot of people are clicking over to your page, dont be embarrassed by the number, be embarrassed that you actually give a crap about hits to your gay blog. it really is just a blog. and hits really dont mean anything. you want Site Meter, though, to see who is linking you so you can thank them and so you can link them back. similarilly, use Technorati, but dont obsess. write.

17. people like pictures. use them. save them to your own server. or use Blogger’s free service. if you dont know how to do it, learn. also get a Buzznet account. several things will happen once you start blogging, one of them is you will learn new things. thats a good thing.

18. before you hit Save as Draft or Publish Post, select all and copy your masterpiece. you are using a computer and the internet, shit can happen. no need to lose a good post.

19. push the envelope in what youre writing about and how youre saying it. be more and more honest. get to the root of things. start at the root of things and get deeper. dig. think out loud. keep typing. keep going. eventually you’ll find a little treasure chest. every time you blog this can happen if you let it.

20. change your style. mimic people. write beautiful lies. dream in public. kiss and tell. finger and tell. cry scream fight sing fuck and dont be afraid to be funny. the easiest thing to do is whine when you write. dont be lazy. audblog at least once a week.

21. write open letters. make lists. call people out on their bullshit. lead by example. invent and reinvent yourself. start by writing about what happened to you today. for example today i told a hot girl how wonderfully hot she is.

22. when in doubt review something. theres not enough reviews on blogs. review a movie you just saw, a tv show, a cd, a kiss you just got, a restaurant, a hike you just took, anything.

23. constantly write about the town that you live in.

24. out yourself. tell your secrets. you can always delete them later.

25. dont use your real name. dont write about your work unless you dont care about getting fired.

26. dont be afraid to come across as an asswipe. own your asswipeness.

27. nobody likes poems. dont put your poems on your blog. not even if theyre incredible. especially if theyre incredible. odds are theyre not incredible. bad poems are funny sometimes though, so fine, put your dumb poems on there. whatever.

28. tell us about your friends.

29. dont apologize about not blogging. nobody cares. just start blogging again.

30. read tons of blogs and leave nice comments.

David Fincher, the director of Se7en and Fight Club, made this commercial video when he was 22. Very ingenious and talented at movie-making. I loved his movie, The Game, with Kirk Douglas Jr. His newest movie, Zodiac, came out recently last weekend.

I’m noticing there are more hearing people dating deaf people largely because they are learning ASL and think we’re cool people. Here’s the list below.

1. You need to know ASL (duh) and be darned good at it or have a passion for it. It takes a long time to develop “deaf eyes”. How do you know if you have them? You don’t find yourself saying “what’s that sign or what did s/he just say?” anymore and able to talk with our Deaf friends at ease without looking at us for help.

2. If you don’t know what’s that sign or what we’re talking about, ask. Please don’t pretend.

3. Don’t over-patronize. If we want to order food on our own, let us.

4. Don’t ever feel bad for our inability to hear. It’s irrelevant like we don’t feel bad that you can hear.

5. You are not an interpreter but there will be times you will need to interpret. If it becomes annoying, you should have second thoughts about dating one.

6. If you happen to know or meet a hearing friend who knows ASL, talk in ASL. Save your voice for your non-signing friends.

7. Respect each other’s culture. We don’t mind hanging out with your speaking-only friends but not all the time and you don’t have to hang out with us all the time. Balance is nice. Example: if you want to go to a movie theater with your friends and it doesn’t have subtitles or captions, don’t feel bad. Remember #4.

8. If you really want to date a deaf person, watch “Children of Lesser God” first to get some idea.

9. It’s impolite not to tell us who you got off the phone with.

10. We like loud music. Deal with it.

Hope these help. Happy dating!