Blogs of Interest
Saturday May 17, 2008
By reader request, here are the blogs that I found to be interesting, entertaining, or informative this past week (May 11 to May 17), in chronological order. There were many others that I read/watched but decided not to include in this list. I tried to select the ones that I felt would be most worthwhile of About.com readers' limited time:
- A deafblindness hazard - Coco tells a tale that illustrates one of the hazards of deafblindness. Can't say more.
- Myron Ulhlberg - Sharon writes about Myron Uhlberg, an adult child of deaf parents who writes children's books related to deafness.
- Issue of the Past Two Weeks: Matt Hamill's Choice of a hearing actor to play him in a movie, instead of a deaf actor. Plus, the cancellation of auditions earlier by Gallaudet and NTID the previous week. Several bloggers commented. I misunderstood some of the blogs, corrected below.
- Ben -supports
- Amy Cohen - opposed
- Candy - supports
- Ricky - opposed
- Mishka Zena - opposed (correction), though on first read-through I thought she was neutral.
- Moi - opposed (correction), though on first read-through I thought it was supporting because of this statement: "Hamill is a member of the Deaf community and does not deserve to be vilified for this decision," and this: "We need to support Hamill as an individual and as a community member, even if we do not support his actions."
- ASL Saves Rafters - Jeffrey posts a tale about how sign language helped two groups of rafters.
- Lindsey's story - A teen writes about her experiences growing up deaf, with a CI. One point that stood out for me was how she said when she was a student at a deaf high school, peer pressure caused her to stop using her CI. I don't understand it. Peer pressure to stop using a CI but what about hearing aids? Do deaf teens pressure each other not to use hearing aids too?
- UK Disability Discrimination Case - Grumpy Old Deafies has a tale of an employment discrimination case that was won. What stands out about this one is the fact the company had the audacity to say openly that they would not invite the person for an interview because of hearing loss. In the United States, they are usually a bit more subtle with discrimination because of more awareness of the law.
- Denied at the Last Minute - Sam Spritzer tells of a deaf man who was denied a cochlear implant by insurance related issues two days prior to surgery.
- Frustrated Deafblind Mother - I read this one during my commute on the Metro. She writes of her frustrations trying to find a job. If it is hard for deaf people, it is even harder for deafblind people.
- Captions on Airline Movies - Karen tackles an issue that we are all familiar with, the lack of captions on airline movies. See also her follow-up post.
- IT and Opportunities for Deaf - Jojo writes about how information technology has opened doors for deaf people in the Philippines. See also his other blog post, a video about a deaf man trying to find a job.
- Google Doodle - Nathan alerts us to a Google doodle in ASL. Vote.
- EMG on the Milan 1880 - Adam brings us Edward Miner Gallaudet's writeup of the 1880 Milan convention that resulted in a shift to oralism.
- Bill for captions on web video - David alerts us to a Congressional bill for web video captions.
- My 93 Year Old Grandma's Sorrow - Barb interviews her grandmother about sign language and speech. This is a captioned vlog.
- Office Conversation - Steve tells people in his office that he has a hearing loss. I included this one because sometimes, people who are hard of hearing don't want people to know that they have a hearing loss.
- GenDeaf Project - Karina inteviews Vanessa in part about her work with the GenDeaf project. I wish this blog had had more information on the GenDeaf project, such as does it still exist? The impression I got was that it does not, but I could be wrong.
- Deaf World - Why? - Geo looks at the use of the term "world" as in "deaf world."
Comments
I like it. It gives me a chance to checkover posts that I might not have seen, or thought notable when I first saw them. Thanks!
Hello,
Clarification is needed. I do NOT support Hamill’s decision, and that is clearly shown in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph shown here: “While I can empathize completely with them and their goals, I’m still lying here on my sofa, typing these words, “I don’t care. It’s still WRONG for a hearing person to play a deaf person on so many levels.”
Thank you for including my blog in your listing.
Please change your entry to show that I do not support this decision.
Thank you – I appreciate your understanding.
moi ..
Still trying to force conformity, I see.
Hamill earned the right to make his movie any way he sees fit – you have NO right to tell ANYONE how to make a movie.
If you’re so inclined, go make your own movie.
Paotie
No where did Mishkazena imply in her blog Is Hamill Right or Wrong? that she was being neutral. She clearly and repeatedly opposed an oral deaf person to play Matt Hamill. I will herein read some passages to you as follows:
Mishkazena blogs: “Only an oral deaf person who later learned sign language can identify with my experiences.”
#47. Jean Boutcher Says: “My discernment from the last line (infra supra) is that the blogger [Mishkazena] and Matt Hamill have been in the same boat. They understand one another.”
#54: Mishka Zena Says:
May 13th, 2008 at 11:11 am
“Jean, if it’s me, I would select a deaf or hoh person with an oral background. I would feel it’ll be more authentic.”
#56. Mishka Zena Says:
May 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am
“Since his decision is unorthodox, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it has caused deep controversy within an oppressed minority. ”
In conclusion, the aforementioned passages clearly indicate that Mishazena OPPOSED, neither neutral nor supported.
Paotie, I’m just correcting an error in this About.com entry. I’m entitled to express my opinion. I’m not insisting that everyone agree with me – not here nor in my entry.
In my second line (infra supra), I mean that she opposed a HEARING person. She
preferred an oral deaf person to play
Matt Hamill.
wow…I missed maybe 1/2 of these posts despite looking at DeafRead….thanks especially for Nathan’s blog about Google Doodle…I voted! I will tell others.
Hope you can continue this.
Thanks for including my blog… Myron Uhlberg was fascinating! I could have sat there for hours. Michele Gennaoui of the St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf in NY did a great job as SIG Chair setting up the presentation.
Thanks again,
Sharon
Jamie,
Thank you for the correction. I’d like to point out, though, that supporting an individual and supporting one’s actions are two completely separate things, and that was the point of my post.