Just how far is far enough

Just how far is far enough?

The red circle represents the location of Park51

The building of Park51, the controversial mosque and community center two blocks from  Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, has raised furor over the last couple of months from two groups – these who don’t want to see a mosque built so close to the WTC site, and those who believe that every religious group has the right to practice their religion freely.

There are a lot of other factors involved in this, and I’m not going to repeat them all here. You can Google them yourself, but there is one simple point I want to make here.

Just how far is far enough to build a mosque in Manhattan?

Did you know that the center is being built by a private organization on land it legally owns. Twenty-nine out of 30 lower Manhattan community-board members voted to approve it. By every legal standard, the case for allowing Park51 to be built is, in the words of conservative UCLA constitutional-law professor Eugene Volokh, “open and shut.”

Did you know that the location is not even close to the 16-blocks that the WTC once occupied?

Did you know there is a mosque 12 blocks from the WTC site?

And, there is a mosque, Masjid Manhattan, three blocks from Ground Zero.

Tell me, how far is far enough?

This whole thing is ridiculous.

What do teachers make?

I got this from a colleague today and being an educator myself, I related with this experience about the noble profession of being a teacher. Please read this story and pass it on as you see fit.

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What Do Teachers Make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, ”What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?”

To stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie.  Be honest. What do you make?” 

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, “You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…)

“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time, when their parents can’t make them sit for 5, without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.”

“You want to know what I make?” (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

“I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.”

“I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English, while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.”

“Finally, I make them understand that, if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.” (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

“Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention, because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.”

“What do you make, Mr. CEO?” His jaw dropped, he went silent. 

Ten things I think…

With most of the Wamarva region buried in 30+ inches of snow in the past six days, here are ten things I think…

10. This upcoming weekend will see a boom in the restaurant and retail business, especially with Valentine’s Day and people screaming to get out of their snow-caves.

9. There’s a spike in movie rentals this week. Like, duh.

8. In the upcoming days and weeks, there will be spikes in appointments with chiropractors and masseuses.

7. People will actually finish things they have put off for so long. Like household projects or cleaning duties.

6. We will probably never see this again — 47 states have snow on the ground. Three guesses who the other three states are.

5. People will have become adept to driving in snow and ice…and some people remain idiots.

4. There will be a boom in child births in October.

3. The Weather Channel is the most watched channel. And people will learn what the blue spots on the radar mean.

2. In spite of idiotic drivers, there are some creative souls out there. People have found creative ways to remove snow. Dustpan. Cookie sheet. Mixing bowl. Brooms. A towel wrapped around someone’s arm (props to NP).

1. Hot chocolate tastes so good with Kahula.

2010 Super Bowl Commercials

A couple of years ago my ex and I wrote down every single commercial and noted whether it was captioned or not. We were surprised to see the rate close to 40% (captioned). With the Indy vs. Who Dat game and me home “snowed in” I had nothing better to do than list every single commercial and note if it was captioned or not.

Keep in mind there’s always a margin of error. I may not have caught every single commercial.

Here’s the list of commercials from the kickoff to right before the halftime analysis by CBS: (commercials NOT captioned will receive a “*”)

Bud Light House
Betty White Snickers
Tim Tebow
CBS Survivors
Hyundai musical
Boostmobile
Doritos dog
Robin Hood trailer*
Doritos – “Stay away from my momma”
Bud Light asteroid
CBS NCIS headslap
Coke Simpson’s Burns
GoDaddy.com masseuse
Undercover Boss*
Doritos dead guy
Bud Light singing men
Monster.com beavers*
Wolfman trailer
CBS Halftime Show – The Who
Bridgestone Tires – Killer Whale/Bachelor Party
Sketchers’ Shape Ups shoes*
Cars.com
CBS Network #1
Budweiser bridge’s out
Shutter Island trailer*
CBS Cares (heart attack prevention)
Letterman/Oprah/Leno*
CBS: Amazing Race
Careerbuilder.com Casual Friday
Dockers’ Free Pants
Hyundai presenting Brett Favre
Bud Light flight wreck (LOST)
Dove for Men
NFL Network Draft
CBS Bridgestone Halftime Show
Dodge Charger “I will do…”
Telefloral.com
Papa John’s
CBS CSI:Miami
Alice in Wonderland trailer
Dr. Pepper: KISS
Tru.tv Troy Pomalau/Groundhog Day*
CBS: 2 1/2 Men*
Universal Studios Harry Potter*
Flo.tv Jim Nance*
Intel Processors
Flo.tv The Who’s “Generation”*
CBS NCIS: Los Angeles
Local cable, “Topper Shutt’s real name”*
Carmax.com*
Acura*

Halftime statistics: 37/51 commercials captioned for 73%.

CBS, CSI:NY featuring Danica Patrick
CBS, Amazing Race
NFL Network
CBS, Undercover Boss
CBS, The Good Wife
CBS, March Madness*
CBS, Miami Medical
CBS, CBSNews
TV.com*
Backup Plan, trailer
CBS, The Mentalist
Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks*
Honda*
Freight Railroad*
Ford featuring Mike Rowe/Ford Focus*
Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks*
Prince of Persia, trailer
Motorola, featuring Megan Fox
Volkswagen, featuring Stevie Wonder
Denny’s free Grand Slam
CBS, How I Met Your Mother*
Michelob Ultra featuring Lance Armstrong
HomeAway.com featuring the Griswolds
Bridgestone Tires, Australian accent
KGB “Answer 542542″
Coke, sleepwalking safari
ETrade talking babies
CBS, How I Met Your Mother
CBS, Survivor
Census 2010
Google, France search
CBS, Late Show with David Letterman*
Kia Sorento
Round-Up Weed Killer
Budweiser Select 55
CBS, Monday nights*
NFL Network “Thank You”
CBS, Masters golf tournament
Defeatthedebt.com*
Comcast*
Defeatthedebt.com*
Vizio Internet Apps
Emerald Nuts/Pop Secret
NFL Draft
CBS, Undercover Boss
Dante’s Inferno video game
Budweiser, the longhorn*
? (missed that one, but daughter states it was not captioned)*
? (missed that one but daughter states it is captioned)
CBS, CSI:NY
CBS, NCIS: Los Angeles
CBS, Criminal Minds
Audi, the Green Police
Taco Bell featuring Charles Barkley
Doritos, “Tim loves Doritos”
Bud Light
Hyundai Sonata
Etrade, crying babies*
CBS, Amazing Race
Sketchers Shape Ups*
GoDaddy.com
Denny’s free Grand Slam (birthday)
CBS comedy night lineup
CBS, The Mentalist
ETrade, airplane ride
Chevy*
Chunky Campbell soup
Flo.tv, Jim Nance*
CBS, Amazing Race
Cars.com, monkey*
Ford, featuring Mike Rowe

I stopped at the last set of commercials before the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy.

During the second half, there were 71 commercials, and a lot more were not captioned. For the second half, 50 of 71 were captioned for a 71% rate.

For the entire Super Bowl, there were a total of 122 commercials and 87 of these were captioned for 71%. The biggest flops of the entire night went to Ford, Flo.tv, and Sketchers shape-ups (shoes).

Big props go to Doritos and Coke for captioning every single commercial they presented. I would have mentioned Budweiser here, but they did not caption the commercial with the Clydesdale and the longhorn.

Worst commercials? Denny’s, Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks, and defeatthedebt.com. And, c’mon CBS. I know you hosted the Super Bowl this year on your network, but you didn’t have to swamp us with constant reminders of why you are the number #1 network in America. Thankyouveddymuch.

Best commercials? Dodge Charger’s “I will…”, Google’s Paris search, Snickers featuring Betty White, and Jalen “stay away from my momma” Doritos.

The game? I barely remember it, but I know it’s WHO DAT!

Happy Holidays

To you, your loved ones, and to your friends…

Holiday Survival Tips for Deafies

If you’re like me, you might be headed to your relatives house for the holidays, and many of you might be going to homes where you are the minority. Gasp! You’re actually deaf in a hearing-dominated household.

Here are some tips you can actually consider to pass the time or make this much less of an ordeal.

1. Be prepared. No, this isn’t a Boy Scouts convention. It means to be prepared for everything and anything. You wouldn’t want to be caught off guard. I’ve learned the hard way. Great-grandmother’s coming and you didn’t know? Smile and go with the flow. There’s an impromptu event that no one shared with you? Just do it. Simply be prepared.

2. Have things to do. I think this year is different for me because I don’t have a companion to pass the time with. I’ve always had my ex-wife with me to keep me sane. This year, I’m already screaming for companionship. It does help to have my daughter with me, but when she’s playing with her new Nerf toy or fawning over her aunt, I’m all alone. I’ve resorted to reading one of the books I brought with me (this one being Brisingr), or spending time on the computer. Just last night I had an awesome Skype conversation with a friend.

3. Be patient. I’ve had dinner two nights in a row with my relatives, and unfortunately, both nights, these two relatives were talking the entire time at the dinner table and I had no idea what they were talking about, so I just ate my dinner in silence and made small talk with Leah. Tonight, I gave up and left the table after I ate. Sometimes it pays to be patient, but my patience is wearing thin, especially with two more nights to go before I go back home.

4. Being helpful can go a long way. Instead of brooding in silence in my bedroom, I could do something proactive and help out. Whether it’s helping decorate the house, helping prepare meals, or just making yourself available around the house, the relatives would appreciate it. Even if these moments may go entirely without one word uttered, you’d feel good.

5. Numb the pain. It can be painful to be left alone, to be ignored, to be told “oh, it’s nothing important” when you ask what everyone’s talking about. Believe me, I know. This is speaking from 20+ years of experience. It only got worse when my parents got divorced. This is why for the past few years my ex and I both made a joint-decision to celebrate the holidays in our own home, and make brief trips to visit our immediate families during the holidays. Your family loves you. So, just be there for them and hold onto the pain and find another way to release it later.

6. Be honest and open about your feelings. The same friend I mentioned above isn’t going home for the holidays for the first time ever. She made this decision based on feeling the same way I am feeling right now. It was hard for her to be home and feeling alone. So, what she did was she wrote an email to her family members to explain her reasons why she was not going home for the holidays this year. That email probably made some of her family members well-up with tears or feel guilty for years of pushing aside their deaf relative, but that was a heartfelt, genuine email. I’ve done this before, and none of my family members really liked hearing what I said, but I was honest and open about my feelings. If you are too, it will help the situation, at least on your end.

When all else fails…remember that you’re there for your relatives, and after all, it’s the holiday season!

Things I learned in high school

Now, instead of what I normally would do, which is bitch about how too many people in my profession buy into wholesome learning; bitch about how high school is slowly turning into an extension of middle school, where rigorous guidelines for … oh, I don’t know, handing in homework, are thrown completely out the door; and proclaim that middle school is the cause of the ills of the educational system, I’m going to have a little more fun.

I remembered that for half of my high school career I was a shy guy who tried to fit, then the last two years of high school I did a complete 180 and found myself in the middle of the fold. And that when I really thought about it, I could name quite a few things I remember from high school.

1. How to type correctly. Blame it on my AP European history course. I was expected to type Every. Single. Assignment. Now, this was way before I even had a laptop, much less a desktop. I had a Brother word processor with a fancy monitor. Call that a digital typewriter. In fact, my father has it now and he still uses it. I typed every single night. Because of this, it’s half the reason that by the end of my college career, I could pump out a 4-page paper in 90 minutes.

2. How to kiss. I remember my first kissing experience with a girl. I’m not talking about a “kissing dare” thing from a summer camp or anything like that. I am talking about a real, romantic kiss. We were on her bed. She had this really cool bedroom, and the lights were dimmed. It was romantic. We had our eyes locked on each other and I was trying to make sure I didn’t miss anything she said in the dimmed room. But what I really remembered is the kiss. It ended too quickly. Both the kiss and the girl. I went to a different high school months later. But what happened that night, I took with me. Oh, I forgot to add, it was already awkward because her mom was in the house too!

3. How to get a black eye. No, I didn’t get into a fight. I got a black eye playing pick-up football. I got myself stuck between the ball and a 6’4″ guy’s elbow. Me: 5’5″ and his elbow several inches above me. Bam. Now I have a misaligned eyebrow because of that black eye.

4. How to stand up for myself. When I was mainstreamed, I was subjected to taunting in the hallways. I would walk past groups of wannabe jocks who would make fun of me. Instead of becoming a gang banger and jumping on anyone who made fun of me, I took heed what my father always told me: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Instead, I learned that these little things in life aren’t worth wasting my breath on. I now know that I’ve made the best out of my experiences. Those guys who made fun of me? I’m pretty sure they’re still stuck at their parent’s house in Boiceville.

5. How cool teachers make your days better. I admit. I was a dork in the classrooms, but on the athletic fields, I removed that label. I made it a precise science to have cool teachers. In fact, I think that’s why I’m a teacher now. All of my cool teachers have been social studies teachers. Mr. Wildermuth and Mrs. McCarthy both made my long seven-classes-a-day worthwhile. I’ve always enjoyed those kind of teachers who nurture the soul. Mr. W and Mrs. McCarthy did that.

6. How to solve the Pythagorean Theorem. A squared plus B squared equals C squared. For some reason, this math phobic person really couldn’t follow algebra but for the life of me, I figured out geometry easily. Even to today, I still recall geometric formulas for areas and volumes in my head.

7. How universal themes exist throughout literature and culture. I don’t think I started to really appreciate literature until college, and even more so, appreciate it much more when I married a bibliophile. Some would gag when they hear which book resonates with me from high school, but A Thousand Acres from my AP English class is still fresh in my mind. Earlier this year, I had a long argument with a friend about why it’s important to read and my argument that so much of what we read and watch comes from the themes, motifs, etc. established in those works fell on the deaf ears (pun intended) of a Twilight fan. Anyway, this is where someone first made that point for me.

8. How NOT to be a dork while driving your first car. I’ll never forget the first day I brought my car to school — which happened to be the last day of school my sophomore year. My parents never knew this story, but I almost got into an accident with three other classmates. I was too excited about having my friends in my first car, and I didn’t properly measure the space between my car and the car stopped in front of me. In the blink of an eye, I smelled burnt rubber and my car had stopped so hard that it stalled. I meekly waved an apology to the woman in front of me and tried to adjust my heart from my stomach. I drove 30 MPH the rest of the way home.

So there you have it. You do learn things in high school.

And yes, I paid attention.

Week 11: Inside the Gridiron

Since 1990, 66% of teams that start the season 6-4 have made the playoffs.

With that statistic in mind, you can count on the chances of the following teams making the playoffs at 66%:

Indianapolis, Cincinnati, New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, Minnesota, Arizona, New York Giants, Philadelphia, and Green Bay.

Of the teams above, only a handful gave a worthy performance today. New England, San Diego, Minnesota, and Green Bay.

The rest either did not live up to their potential or did not deserve their night in the spotlight. Take the following things into mind.

Dallas continues to exhibit an offensive brain fart. I don’t know which coach is worse: Charlie Weis or Wade Phillips. How can you justify barely winning at home against a 3-7 team, scoring only one touchdown. As one of my old college co-workers stated on Twitter, the Mayor of Dallas should be giving a key to the city to Redskins kicker Shawn Suisham. Thanks to Suisham, Dallas narrowly defeated the Redskins, 7-6.

Grit wins games, as Indianapolis learned today. How can you justify going into an hostile environment today (M & T Bank Stadium) and winning by two? It was all about making the correct plays. Peyton Manning was outgunned by his younger brother today, but yet still led Indianapolis to its 19th straight win, two shy of the NFL record set by the Patriots several seasons ago.

Speaking of the Mannings, what a game Eli had today! Eli set career highs in passing yardage with 384 yards on 25 for 39, with three touchdowns and one interception. If not for Matt Stafford (read below) or Brett Favre, I’d call it the Offensive Performance of the Week. Eli willed the Jints to their sixth win of the season, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Boy did San Diego send a statement today. A win at Mile High over the reeling Broncos to claim first in the AFC West. Sure, Denver’s been off the last two games since Kyle Orton went down, but that’s not an excuse. Denver defeated Dallas, so they were legit. Something’s wrong with the Broncos, and something’s going right for the Chargers.

Detroit may have saved their season with that game today. Defeating the Browns with no time on the clock, and Matt Stafford throwing his fifth touchdown of the day? Amazing. Detroit has totaled their win-total from the past two seasons already this year. That’s good news for the Motor City.

Big Ben was knocked out, and the Steelers lost. Roethlisberger had 398 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INT on 32 for 42 passing. That is a good game if anything, but Kansas City won their first game at Arrowhead Stadium today behind an overtime field goal.

Is Favre Human? How can a 40-year old man have a passer rating of near-perfect? 141.8? in the 10 games this season, Favre has had only three games of sub-100 passer ratings. He has 21 touchdowns against three interceptions. The way the Vikes are playing, they will probably meet New Orleans in the NFC Championship game in January.

After the 4th and 2 dilemma last week, New England delivered today.The Pats scored on three straight drives in the end of the first and in the early minutes of the second quarter, to put the game out of reach of their divisional rivals.

Vince Young’s going back to the state of Texas, but he won’t win. This is Houston, This is Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. No way will they let the Titans win. The Texans will win. On Monday Night Football.

It’s not football, but…congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on his fourth straight Sprint Cup title.

Game of the week for next week that I can’t wait to see: New England at New Orleans. There’s also Pittsburgh at Baltimore on Sunday night and the Giants at Denver on Thanksgiving. My brother better have the NFL Network…or else.

 

Things I’ve learned about college football today

It’s November 21 and today was the first day I actually watched more than two games in the college football season. Blame the Deaflympics in Taiwan. Blame new commitments in life. Blame so many things happening. All of these had something to do with my not being able to watch a full day’s schedule of games. Heck, I have not even watched the New York Giants play a game since their victory in Arlington, TX (over the Dallas Cowboys).

After just completing the Oregon v. Arizona game, here’s what I’ve learned:

• Rich Rodriguez sucks. How can he go from being a good coach in West Virginia to a bust in Michigan? It’s all about the Conferences, babe.
• Florida gets their 21st straight win. I can’t wait for Florida v. Alabama, part two.
• Is Michigan really that bad? They’ve lost six straight against the Buckeyes. And even the Buckeyes weren’t that smooth today. They’re just lucky Iowa lost and they got into the Rose Bowl. I’d have preferred Penn State.
• Colt McCoy has my vote for Heisman this year, with Tim Tebow a close second. The conference championships in two weeks will tell me who deserves it outright.
• Both Boise State and TCU both should earn FBS bowl bids. No ifs, ands, or buts.
• I have praise for Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame. He goes out and throws for 329 yards and two touchdowns. It’s not him. It’s the ND defense.
• For all the fumbles Jeremiah Masoli has, he still electrifies. He gave Oregon the win over Arizona tonight.
• Who’s the bigger fool? Charlie Weis or Rodriguez? Right now my money’s on Weis, and it’s because he has the better talent than R-Rod.
• Les Miles, what were you thinking? You let nearly 14 seconds burn off the clock. That was bad clock management. What, are you trying to compete with Weis and R-Rod?
• That makes it the second year in a row the Ole Miss Rebels have knocked off a big SEC team. Last year being Florida.
• The Civil War this coming weekend will be outright nasty. And in a good way. I want Oregon. And it’s only because of Masoli.
• Alabama v. Auburn on Friday, FSU v. Florida on Saturday. It’ll be two 12-0 teams in the SEC championships.

 

The “Deaf” Globalization of Twittering

A year ago, I’d have laughed in your face if you told me I’d be using Twitter on a frequent basis.

Heck, I would have asked you “what is a twitter?”

Now it is a big part of my daily activities — from finding out what friends are up to or hearing about hot topics, it has become the tool that the developers intended it to be — a microblog.

When my mom ranted a couple of months ago about where I find all this time to do Facebook, blogging, and tweeting, I just didn’t bother answering. Part of me knew she wouldn’t understand what I would explain to her. The bottom line…it doesn’t take much time or effort.

I recently wrote a new column for my regular place at i711.com and this column will focus on how these multimedia tools have replaced several mainstays in the deaf community — particularly deaf periodicals. (When I get the URL of the article, I’ll post it.) In that column, I explained how tweeting and updating one’s status on Facebook has replaced the way we receive news.

Remember how when Michael Jackson died, he nearly brought the Internet with him. We, as society, crave instant results. Instant gratification. As a high school teacher, I see that all the time now. My students want to know their grades now, now and now.

Jared Evans recently presented at the DCARA vlog symposium and was gracious enough to allow his followers to view his PowerPoint presentation. One story from his presentation stood out for me.

Just how powerful Twitter can be in the Deaf community.

Remember the Netflix dilemma?

Jared illustrated that in the days after the furor started, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin joined the bandwagon with her Twitter following. Because of the ability to do searches in Twitter (#Netflix) and RT (retweeting), word of what Netflix said flew through space like the Millennium Falcon. In a week, Matlin doubled the number of followers from 5,000 to nearly 10,000. All because of RT’ing.

While we may have lost our ability to be patient and wait for news to come via TTY or from house visits from our deaf friends, we have gained a powerful tool that can be used to measure how news gets to us.

Heck, even now, I just got a tweet from a friend who’s at the National airport waiting for a flight to Oregon. *snickers*