Monday, January 16, 2006

1.16.06 Tidbits

Mayor Ray Nagin Loses His Marbles: Mayor Ray Nagin said that he felt that God wanted New Orleans to be "chocolate" New Orleans. Then he said that God punished America with natural disasters. And he said he had an imaginary conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King about the African Americans' place in this country. Perhaps, he is burn out and is starting to spew things that does not make any sense. After all, the city of New Orleans needed a sane leader, perhaps it is time to change the guards?

Brokeback Mountain Wins 4 Golden Globe Awards: Brokeback Mountain won 4 Golden Globe Awards in Best Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Song. And Brokeback Mountain, is not still captioned after 41 days (and still counting!). Shameful. And we are stuck with InSightCinema.org's domination of OC movies across the nation -- how great is that?!

Jesus Christ The Musical! This is hilarious! If you laugh at this movie, you may go to Hell! Hearing readers, I'd appreciate if you can say what it was being said. I thought this was great!

Bush Supporter's Son Dead But Could Not Get Answers: But at least, Bush told her that he will look in this matter -- later, Bush had his campaign to contact the mother of dead soldier to be participate in a commercial to support him. Disgrace.

Virginia Basketball: 2-0 Versus Virginia Tech! Good riddance! Today, Lyndra Littles led the Cavaliers WB team to a 78-59 triumph over No. 18 Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg. Up next is ... No. 6 Maryland Terrapins! Darlene and Sandy, I'll videophone you when Virginia savagely trashed your Twerps.

CSD's SIGNews: I was informed by Grant that the issue of SIGNews has been out and I was mentioned in that article as well. You may read the scanned articles on Grant's blog. If you want to read the complete article which I did mention last night, you may check this link.

And Last, As for Bitch Session's ShoutBox: It is taken out because many readers complained that they had a difficult time reading my blog via the sidekick and others. Plus, I kept on getting lots of emails asking me to resume once-a-month bitchin' n' brawlin' sessions. Mainly, my concern, first and foremost of all, is the access for readers to read without any struggles. The readership has steadily grow from less than hundred a day into near 500 per day. The expectations! The expectations!

Cheers,

R-

MPD's Finest Surfing Down The 'Hood

Last night, I got an email from Jason Lamberton regarding the pictures. Jason wrote on the email that reads: "omg! Luckily I had my camera in my pocket when I saw the darned cop cars whiz by with sirens blazin, delinquent cop sittin' on the hood laughin'."

In fact, this is not the first time I saw this happen in the District. It was about 5 or 6 years ago near Gallaudet when I saw a similar situation where a cop rode on the hood of a patrol car whooshing me and my friends.

But this time, Jason has the pictures to prove it. Last night at 4:58 PM, he snapped four pictures that showed two patrol cars racing down the I Street NE at about 30 MPH. Jason was surprised to see the police officer riding on the hood of patrol car #162, laughing as it ran past the stop sign on I Street and 8th Street NE along with 3 cars following them by. All of the cars had the sirens on.

"It was VERY inappropriate of them to do that. My good friend, Darrell Ritter, did this once and nearly died. He was not the same person after that incident," Jason said. Darrell had cracked his skull -- he developed amnesia and seizures from that incident.

Upon calling the First District Station of DC's Metropolitan Police Department via the videophone, I got in touch with Sargeant Kevin Graham who asked me to send him the pictures of the cops surfing on the hood of the city-owned cars. I asked him what the official policy of MPD when it comes to things like that. Sgt. Graham said, "The officers are not permitted to ride on the hood of police cars. Mainly because of safety reasons. Other than that, I needed to get in touch with the person who took the pictures to find out who it was."

Not only that, Jason Lamberton measured the speed limit in these pictures and came to conclusion that the cops also violated the speed limit as well, going over the residential speed limit in that neighborhood.

Lamberton said in exasperation, "What if this cop got injured, guess who got billed with thousands of dollars in medical bills? The taxpayers of DC!! Not only that, and what if he [the cop] died? Darrell ALMOST died. Now we are talking about millions in life insurance, compensatory costs, bevearement, funeral, court costs! what about the cop's family? he got wife and kids?! Smashing ur skull against the hard asphalt and granite curb (DC has granite and marble curbsides) will require massive amounts of MRI and CAT scans to track the brain's injuries and healing -- it costs thousands PER scan! Now, if the skull cracks and the brain hemorrhages, it will require emergency brain surgery and some follow-ups -- brain surgery, that's another like 100 - 500,000 dollars!"

"I ain't paying for some cop car-surfing thru taxes. DC has like 600,000 people so that tangibly impacts the people, especially poor people if they have to pay like $5 in taxes for some stupid cop's actions! Ahhhh how that really reflects the true character and color of DC -- lousy, corrupt cops -- lousy, corrupt citizens! If a catastrophe hit DC, we'll witness New Orleans all over again. I'm frustrated, I tell you!"

Click on All Images To Enlarge

Note: All images are owned by Jason Lamberton.

Stay tuned for further information on First District Station whether if they will do something about it. Or bury it as usual?

Cheers,

R-

P.S. This entry is my 1,500th in less than 3 years. Thank you, readers!

Sunday, January 15, 2006

MLK Weekend Tidbits

War of the Worlds: I finally got to see it today. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the film! It was different viewpoint, really. Steven Spielberg spent $132 million to produce this film and it made a modest profit but many reviews jeered at the film. I think it was Tom Cruise's fault. His repeated comments about the Church of Scientology prior to the release of the film really harmed the film. What makes this film enjoyable and appealling to me is that many films would take us to know what our government leaders do in this crisis, there is none of this in this particular film. In fact, the society simply disintegrated. Nobody had the time to find out if DC existed or not. They relied on rumors, innuendos and all that speculations. As of now, Mom is watching it as I type ...

Few Comments About Jack Abramoff Scandal: Check this entry done by Deaf blogger whom I agreed. Too bad many Conservative pigs and Republican fools are trying to make it "bipartisan". Well said, Magatsu!

Bar Scene In Richmond: I really hated the bar scene in Richmond. It is saturated with smokers. I barely can breathe. My shirts stink! Few days ago, one guy attempted to talk to me in a bar that does not have good lightning system. I could not barely understand what he said. He snapped and wrote on the napkin, "You need to go back to school to work on lipreading and speech." I told him to get lost. He backed off and said, "I was joking." I said to him that it does not matter, just get lost. Can't wait to get out of town in few days. On a bright side, the American Lung Association is proposing a bill to the City Council to ban smoking in bars, restaurants and in public places. Expect this to lose the votes since Richmond is the Capital of Tobacco World. But at least, it is only the start ... maybe persistence by submitting the proposal at every council meetings for years and do the right thing.

Oh, yeah, last night, observed 10 different men in tuxedos mingling at Barcode. Apparently, they were part of Inaugural Ball which is held few blocks from the bar. Umm.

Two Florida Teenagers Arrested: Few days ago, I was startled to see a segment of brutal beatings on homeless guy by two teenagers who seemed to think it was fun. One homeless person died in three attacks. Two teenagers were arrested and I bet you that people will say that they were teenagers and go easy on them. Please. They should be punished as accord to the law. It was premeditated murder. Why? They planned to whack people with baseball bats, that object is very dangerous. They knew it but did it anyway.

Drandma Would Be 86 By Now: Last Wednesday, after doing some errands, I realized that I was in the vicinity where Drandparents were laid to rest. So I hastened to a nearby floral shop and went to Westhampton Cemetary. More than 100 Canadian geese roamed around the cemetary which is quite a sight to behold. In fact, ducks and geese are beautiful animals. When I approached the burial site, it rained lightly. I hadn't been to the site in many years. Let's say that I was glad I visited. Ahh, it was also fitting to check in because Drandma's birthday was two weeks ago.

A Suicidal Teenager Dies Again: What again? It is sort of a pattern among many police departments throughout the United States. In Florida, this troubled teenager 15 years old boy was bullied at school decided to paint the toy gun black and brandished at himself, other students, teachers and last, the cops. The cops shot him in the head, then he was brain dead -- the cops said the gun looked real enough. Now this article came out that several people told the cops repeatedly that the gun is fake, including the father and the victim who felt the gun. No police officer listened.

I have two lingering questions: 1. Why shoot him in the head? Why not legs? Why not pelvis? Why not something else other than the head? 2. Why did not they listen to the others that the gun was fake?

Don't tell me that this situation was unique. In fact, it happened in Detroit, where a low functional deaf man argued with his mother and he signed wildly (like many Deaf people do when they are pissed off), the neighbors and family members shouted at the cops that he was deaf. They did not listen and shot him dead. In Denver, similar situation happened to a deaf man after people shouted that he's deaf, cops did not listen.

See the pattern? Even in automobile accidents that involved Deaf drivers, passengers or witnesses, the police officers always told Deaf people to wait while they interviewed everyone else who can hear and speak then turned to Deaf people and dismissed them or even in some situations, gave the tickets to Deaf people based on what others said without taking Deaf persons' comments as well!

This is why I am always cautious, irritated and wary of these pigs in action.

Cheers,

R-

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Friday the 13th Was Yesterday?

Thanks, defBef! When I was in New York for the memorial service of Sarah Pack, I spent the time with Beth which I detailed not a long time ago. I did not mention that Beth chose me to be the next person to carry the particular book titled, The Pornographer's Poem, by Michael Turner. Beth said that she was trying to figure out who would appreciate the novel -- she knew I'd appreciate and liked it as well. Turns out she was right as usual. IN fact, its opening was bit confusing and it seems to be easy just to put the book down ... but if you continue reading up to 60 pages in a row, that's when you'll start to enjoy the book. I finally read it last night and was done with it in few hours (269 pages in all). All I can say about the book is that life is bitch just like that.

Tornado Warning: In the last 4 days, the weather has been very balmy and warmer. I knew that the cold front would push down eventually but if it does, it often caused thunderstorms. Last night, I was startled by four TV sets at a local bar flashing bright red with white words that warned the viewers that tornado warning is in effect. I went back to the house to tell everyone else in the house to put the shoes on until the effect is over. Common sense, remember that? Sure enough, tornadoes touched down in the Carolinas.

What About Mark Warner? If the Democrats really wanted to get a moderate Democrat to run for the US President instead of Hillary Clinton, they should try Mark Warner of Virginia. Today, in Richmond Times-Dispatch, there was a full-page message for Mark Warner by several corporations, thanked him for his great work in 4 years. Mark Warner departed his position with the 75% approval rate from all Virginians. That is remarkably high. If not Hillary, Mark would be a good candidate.

As for Johnathan Katz! It turns out that this professor at Washington University (Missouri) is well-known for his anti-gay comments, anti-disabled comments and many others. One reader alerted me that she received an email from Johnathan Katz who dismissed her comments about the deaf lifeguard being recognized in Galveston, Texas for saving hundreds of lives. She forwarded me the emails -- it was nasty, folks.

Movies To Watch Tonite: Since the weather is shitty outside, I'm going to watch two DVD flicks: War of the Worlds and Madagascar. Should be fun and entertaining.

About Brokeback Mountain: 39 days (more than 5 weeks) has passed since the release of Brokeback Mountain in the United States. And I just checked InsightCinema as of today, no movie theater in the United States has an open caption for that film. I'm still waiting while the fucking hearing people are enjoying themselves. *sigh*

About Zawhiri: Yes, I am liberal but I believe that the termination of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawhiri is beneficial to the world community. By removing the head of the snake, everything will fall apart. But why do I want him dead since I do not believe in death penalty? Well, I do not approve the death penalty at all. But these two figures will not reason nor compromise -- in fact, they killed and boasted about it and said they will continue to do so.

Yes, I personally think the Bush Administration's handling of terrorism are appalling at its best. It is disgrace. We could not locate a 6'5 saudi on kidney dialysis living in Afghanistan, for God's sake! Where is the one-eye Mullah Omar?! Kidnap and transport the accused terrorists without giving them the due process is inhumane, period. But Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawhiri are unique -- they are guilty of their crimes upon humanity. They boasted about it -- it is better to kill them.

But I just learned today that the CIA bombed a village in Pakistan was based on erroneous information. 18 people were killed. Ahh. The search continues.

Cheers,

R-

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Why I Loved the LSH?

In 1991, when I first entered Gallaudet as a freshman, never did I meet a loyal fan for Legion of Super-Heroes, affectionately known to the fans as LSH. I was aware of its loyal fan base for the futuristic books set in 30th Century -- but I was never a particular fan of futuristic books because the future they often portrayed is clean, beautiful and all that. But these LSH fans (I distinctly remembered them: Clyde, Elliott and DeNisco) insisted that it is not what it is all about. Years later, when I realized my favorite characters were portrayed in LSH more frequently, I had to buy and read these back issues. They were simply great.

The 30th Century (between 2974 to 2995) saw that the countries on Earth has unified as one world government known as EarthGov, also allied to the United Planets scattered throughout the universe. Sounds like a perfect utopia?

But not with LSH's vol. 4 (Issued from 1 to 65, check the timeline if you want to), written by Tom & Mary Bierbaum and Keith Giffen. IN fact, they made this particular series very dark and tragic before the DC Comics decided to wipe the future timeline off with its stupid Zero Hour storyline.

I was impressed with the storyline -- the dialogues were pretty real and funny. For instance, when Ayla Ranzz met a younger clone of herself, Ayla Ranzz, she said, "I can't believe I was so beautiful!" The younger clone smiled and hugged her back, "I can't believe I will be so beautiful!"

There are issues that simply shocked you to no end. IN fact, some of the issues did not prepare you for shocking revelations like Shvaughn Erin. For many years, many LSH fans knew that there was this Science Police Officer Shvaughn Erin had an infatuation with LSH member's Element Lad, known as Jan Arrah.

In one particular issue where the Dominators infilitrated the EarthGov and started to attack its people across the world -- the Dominators triggered the sudden destruction of Luna which killed millions of people on the planet in LSH #18, prompted its citizens to revolt against the Dominators once and for all. Shvaughn Erin needed the medications to conceal her secret but since the world was in chaos, she could not obtain the pills called ProFem.

What is it? It is sex-change pill. C'mon, don't be so shocked. In 30th Century, anything is possible -- you might not need the surgery to do the trick.

Shvaughn Erin was transformed back to Sean Erin, which pissed off many LSH readers. But that did not stop them both at all.

About a month after Earth announced its victory over the Dominators as they fled back to its homeworld, Elia, the city of Tokyo suddenly collapsed into the ground. Thousands of people died. People wondered why. The scientists discovered that the high unstable substance known as proton jelly, a toxic chemical that were used in the 24th Century -- about 500 years before. Earth often dumped the proton jelly in the space before the United Planets passed a decree that banned the space debris. So in 2300s, someone decided to bury the proton jellys beneath our planet.

Image hosted by Photobucket.comSlowly, that toxic substance caused a mineralogical virus which overwhelmed everywhere else in the planet. 4 billions of Earthlings were evacuated in the sky. 94 cities were able to save itself and flow up in the space, others failed and crashed. People could not believe that a month after its victorious over the Dominators, Earth is going to go off no matter what. Some people chose to stay. Some people could not bear to leave Earth. It was not 30th Century's fault but someone else in the 2300s that did this to them. But what can they do about it?

As you can see the picture on this entry, these people left on Earth stood and waited, all in unity regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, for their final moments on the planet. Then it was done deal. Earth exploded into nothingness as 94 domed cities floated by. By then, 2 billion of people has perished when Earth ceased to exist.

However, I loved the LSH vol. 4 series because it attempts to be realistic as much as can be. And it was fun riding it out with Keith Giffen and the Bierbaums. However, in that pivotal issue where Earth ceased to exist, a character named Devlin wrote a subtle message for all.

What he wrote applied to us all as of today, like it or not.
It isn't fair. After all we've gone through. After all we've triumphed over. It just isn't fair.

But then, life isn't fair, is it?

Well, no. In fact, life is fair, really. It sets out some clearly defined rules and challenges humankind to fashion its heaven within those rules. And in those rare moments when we realize heaven is all around us and always has been, we've got a chance. But when we decided we've got a better idea -- that we can cajole, threaten, sneer, resent, whine and hate life into being something different from what it is -- that's when the battle is lost.

That's when life stops being fair.
Tom & Mary Bierbaum were right on this account. Treat this Planet with kindness or it will not do you right. Simply as that.

Cheers,

R-

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

1.12.06 Tidbits

IN the last two weeks, I received lots of emails regarding different issues throughout the world and on my blogsite as well. It is time to follow up on this.

Bitch Session? I got lots of emails complaining that they preferred me to resume the Bitch Session once a month to save its flavor and excitement. Any suggestions? 24/7 Bitch Session or Once-A-Month Bitch Session?

Jonathan Katz Is An Idiot! This fella, Jonathan Katz, should stick with Physics. He argued that two Deaf lifeguards who were dismissed at YMCA because they cannot hear the victim screaming for help.
Most of our self-deception occurs in softer fields, where its consequences are less immediate and less obviously catastrophic, and where the ideological pressures to enshrine fantasy as reality are stronger. For example, two deaf people sued YMCAs for enormous sums of money after losing jobs as lifeguards on account of their deafness. We all wish the disabled could do everything other people can do, but they cannot. That is why they are called disabled. The deaf cannot hear a call "HELP!''. Should people drown to maintain the lie that deaf people can do a lifeguard's job?

Nothing is far from the truth. Even I have First Aid and CPR certification and I personally knew many Deaf lifeguards -- it is all about visual image of one being in distress. Oh, by the way, I'd love to meet a guy who drowns without making a scene but resort only to shouts for help. Pathetic figure. Oh, by the way, you can harass him at katz@wuphys.wustl.edu. Hat tip to Shannon.

Dick Cheney Flip-flopper? I got this from a friend of mine who verified the source. Believe it or not, Dick Cheney spoke of this:
"I think the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe we would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we'd have had to hunt him down. And once we'd done that and we'd gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we'd have had to put another government in its place. What kind of government? Should it be the Sunni government or the Shi'i government or a kuridsh government or Ba'athis regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalist? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once the U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable? I think it is vitally important for a president to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it's my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."
-Dick Cheney. The Washington Institute's Soref Symposium, April 29, 1991.
Wow. A true flip-flopper. Hat tip to McFly.

Another Fabulous UK Deaf Website: Another email urged me to check this website out and I did. I like it. Especially the ones in that category, Stories: The Truth. It reflects the reality of hearing society upon us all. Shameful. Hat tip to Carrie.

NYSD Finished: New York Society for the Deaf, founded in early 1900s has been merged with the FEGS organization in New York primarily because the NYSD Board (mostly hearing people) and Kathleen Cox, herself a hearing person who cannot sign worth a shit -- drove the organization into the grounds to a point where the offer by FEGS to take over was something that they cannot resist. So NYSD was virtually swallowed by the FEGS -- don't believe it? Check www.nysd.org. Oh, by the way, Kathleen Cox was finally phased out of its NYSD workforce -- now guess who runs the agency? Hearing people, of course.

Sarah Pack Would Love This: For a long time, she asked me to link something that might make her *ahem* horny. Since I'm gay and she was lesbian, I really did not care about posing women. But this one deserved the attention. I wonder if our cheerleaders in this country should start something like this? Will the attendance improve? You decide. Hat tip to Anonymous who feared that he'd be bashed by his girlfriend.

Speaking of Sarah Pack: There will be another memorial service for Sarah Pack, this time it will be facilitated by DIRC (Deaf-Interpreter Relations Committee) in New York. Check this link for further information. Sarah frequently attended this meetings and took me to the meeting when I was really, really antisocial at a particular time. I ended up enjoying the event. However, this event, I wish I could be there but cannot make it. Anyone that plans to go, please let me know about the outcomes of this nice gesture by the DIRC for Sarah Pack. Hat tip to Svetlana.

Who Is Jesse Conrad? I stumbled upon his blogsite. When I first saw him at Gallaudet, he was so effeminate. I mean, any gay person who is blind can identify him, period. He was a freshman from North Carolina. But he hung out with Adrean Clark and his Christian friends. He was quite homophobic and made it clear that he is not gay. Then one day, he vanished for about a couple of years. Then he re-surfaced back in Washington, DC area ... as a gay man.

Few years ago, I saw him at Paramount Kings Dominion one time and attempted to say hi out of a nice gesture, this fool acted like he does not know who I am! And I told him that I distinctly remembered him being Xian homophobe -- he insisted that it was not him, but someone else. I asked if he was Jesse, he nodded. Then it was him all along. And he claimed that he was always gay, even at Gallaudet as a freshman.

C'mon and admit it up, Jesse, repent your sins. You used to hang out with Mark Wood's group or that Campus for Christian Crusade (or something like that!) at Gallaudet. Please do not bother to deny this because the damages you did to gay brethren was duly noted back then!

A Word from Yawar of iCandy Lounge: I was surprised to get an email from the public relations of iCandy Lounge, the new gay bar in West Hollywood, California. Last week, I wrote a tidbit about the TV series that I saw about the development of iCandy Lounge. Among the stars on the show was Yawar. He wrote:
I wanted to address your observations. I CANDY prides itself on including everyone. Our crowd ranges from 21+ over to 65 and over! Our customers are every shape, size and color, so I would encourage you to come in and check it out for yourself! Our staff is fun, professional and friendly, so I hope you will give us a chance.
Perhaps I will check this out eventually. Thanks for the email, Yawar.

Mrs. Alito, Thanks for the Show! Good try but no cigar. You're merely doing an act. Typical.

Is This For Real? According to Marty Nemko, the best jobs in 2006 also included Audiologist and Speech Therapist! I know the baby boomers and the excessive use of iPods may lead to hearing loss and all that. But if you step outside of the box itself, you will see that the hearing people are merely exploiting the system on our expenses. Hat tip to Carrie.

And This Is Good Example: A certain Deaf fellow in Philadelphia recenty took 4-months old Deaf son to her pediatricist for a typical check-up, her Pediatricist was relentless in pressuring the mother to implant the cochlear implant on her son. She felt it was abrasive and rude of her pediatricist to insist and repeat the whole thing again, again and again. In fact, the Pediatricist said that if her Deaf son would be implanted, it'd develop his brain better.

What the fuck? Naturally, the mother felt offended by that comment.

I do recall reading an article that the Pediatricists, in some states, have a certain point at children's development to test their hearing. And if the child is Deaf, it was the doctors' duty to inform them of options -- but many doctors are purely uninformed when it comes to deafness. They would say things like one that was being said to the mother of Deaf 4-months old son.

Alfred Mann, the guy behind the so-called "near-miraculous" device now known as the Cochlear Implant, is No. 203 on Forbes' List, his net worth is at $1.4 billion dollars. How nice is that? At our expense. And he is not going to stop at that. He founded his foundation to lobby, pressure the local, state and federal government to Medicaid, Medicare and other healthcare insurances as well as exploring the means to pass the laws, perhaps someday, to require all Deaf children to have the option of being BORGized? This will prompt Alfred to climb much higher in the future, like it or not.

Alfred Mann has made personal contributions to Senators and Representatives in 2002, 2004 and 2006. See? For an ordinary Deaf person, that is pretty a lot, I guess. Maybe the Deaf Community needs to stop fighting each other and start to do something proactive like contributing or something else. This is more of Sonny Wasilowski's line than I do!

On second thought, I attempted, along with few, to see if Dr. Irving K. Jordan has made any contributions -- so far, I could not find anything. A friend of mine found Dr. I. King Jordan's wife, Linda Jordan, donating a measly fifty dollars to Senator Tom Harkins (D-IA). And Linda is not even Deaf.

Then a colleague looked through the OpenSecrets.org and found this list. Only *one* Gallaudet student has donated $ to Congressmen -- guess who it is? Remember Nick Beck from Illinois? That's him. He is the lone figure that did this! AS much as he may annoy many, he did something that not many of us would have done as Gallaudet student. Only 12 associated with Gallaudet Community donated. 547 associated Georgetown University Community donated. I checked RIT's list -- it appears that Dr. Robert Davila donated $250 to Republican National Committee in 2002 -- what a dickwad.

James Sorenson did not surprise me at all -- the Head Honcho of so-called Sorenson Video Relay Services has donated $5,000 to the Republican State Committee of Massachusetts, probably trying to stop gay marriage in that state. Let's try for Benjamin Soukup! Ahh, Benjamin Soukup smooched more than $750,000 per year and donated nothing.

Anyway, I personally do not care if you want to be BORGized or not. But to provide the inaccurate information to the parents of Deaf children is something that I cannot really ignore. Like, telling the mother of deaf child that having an implant will improve its brain. Nothing is far from the truth.

Check this link -- this website is more of advocate for the use of Cochlear Implants. Be sure to check its Hall of Shame. It may surprise you of its choices. Ahh.

Next Entry: Why I Loved The LSH?

Cheers,

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Optimistic Views

Today at the gym doing a workout, I was approached by the owner of the gym whom I hadn't seen in a week. He said that he noticed that I'm getting smaller and that my arms are getting bigger. I smiled and thanked him. It's been nearly 2 months. It is work in progress, really.

I agreed with him. in fact, my shirts are bigger. And the best part, I can feel my arms being solid. I can see my trapezius muscle getting bigger. I can feel pectoralis major slowly turning solid. My guts has a long way to go but I'm getting there. One at a time. One at a time.

I got in touch with an old friend who asked me whether if I want to get out of the United States for five days in few months? Naturally I expressed an interest. Only time will tell whether if we plan to do that.

Did anyone else notice that the moderator of Deafreedom.com, Dale Patterson, which I coined as Whale Fatterson seemed to be very bitter and angry man? He has nothing positive to say at all. He seems to use my blog just to attack me from time to time. It is pitiful. He's about 400-lb guy. Probably crushed his wife in a trailer home. Probably had the remote control stuck somewhere in his rolls. At least, I blocked him permanently.

Oh, yeah, after I am done with this entry, it will be the 1,495th entry in two and half years. I did not expect this at all, really. Sometimes it is fun to entertain readers, sometimes it is tiresome to entertain some. I now averaged 440 visitors per day. That is nice. I'm curious to see whether if I'll have 1,000 visitors per day. Of course, I'm still better than that McWeenie who attempted to call himself as "premier blogsite". That boy can do nothing but to make me chuckle at times.

Ahh. For now, I shall retire to relax a bit -- after all, I had a good workout. I love to feel the throbbing of my muscles. Can't wait ... to look good.

Just To Make You Smile: This boy is lucky to drink it. But not at his age!

Want To Read A Theory? I forgot to share this a while ago -- Joseph Rainmound gave the link to me and it made me wonder if he was nuts or ... not. Check The Chappelle Theory!

Who Is James Frey? I did not know who he is until I saw the segment on NBCNEWS recently about this author who wrote "A Million Little Lies" -- apparently, the author fabricated the non-fiction novel that won the acclaims by Oprah Winfrey. Guess she's human after all. Anyway, TheSmokingGun.com was trying to find his mugshots after seeing James Frey appearing on Oprah Winfrey's Show -- they had a difficult time in finding the exact information that James Frey wrote. Suffice to say, so far, I'm on page 3 and I'm intrigued. Check the link if you want to.

Cheers,

R-

I Hate This When ...

I had another flare with Mom today. Her incessant of using this particular sign is rephrensive. She knew it'd piss me off when she used her middle finger to stick out while leaving her other fingers back and rubbed the middle finger on her nose repeatedly to identify a particular group in order to degrade them in the process.

God knows how many times I told her to stop uttering that racist sign. Dad attempted to rebuke me that I should "respect" mother. I just cannot respect a person who has so much hate in her blood. Each time she used that sign, my stomach churns to no end. I ended up calling them "white trash" in retaliation.

This started after I read the article about Richmond Mayor Douglas Wilder mapping out the 5-year plan for the city, which I liked his ideas. Bob Daniels once said to me that Richmond is the town that has not changed since the Civil War. He is right. This particular town is pitiful. It was the largest city in the South before the Civil War. In fact, it was bigger than New Orleans, Charlotte, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, Jacksonville, Orlando. Today, these cities soared past Richmond.

Atlanta already hosted the Summer Olympics. Let's be serious, Atlanta and many cities has accomplished so many that Richmond has not done. What did Richmond has to accomplish? Dad said, "History!" I mentioned that history can take us so far, but that is it. We gotta stop rely on history too much and start to focus on the growth of Richmond -- how? To enhance Richmond, one must restrict the history's influences to an extent.

Dad said, "Richmond has White House of Confederacy!"

Oh, I chortled that it is shameful that Richmond has attempted to preserve what should have been done in the first place -- destroy them. Do you preserve Adolf Hitler's homes? Do you preserve Josepf Stalin's homes? Do you attempt to admire the swastika flags and erect them in your neighborhoods? Same idea, honey. You simply do not subscribe to that shit, I said.

The fact remains the same: the North won the Civil War, people in the South has to shut up and move on. Let the Confederacy die. Let it burn. Let it be a tool to find in the historical books. It is bit amusing and sickening to see idiots trying to re-enact the Civil War battlefields for what? Do you see people re-enacting the D-Day?! Why don't we have the US Armed Forces dropping two Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki each year as a way to re-enact and remember our conquest of Japan during the World War II.

The truth hurts -- the truth is that the Southerners are bunch of idiots, especially the ones in Richmond.

All Hell broke loose as Mom kept on using her middle finger to rub on her nose and whined about the NAACP subjugating the whites and all that shit. It was ridiculous. That was not even the whole point. But what do you expect these people with the flawed educational background?

Man, I'm telling you -- it is tough dealing with these folks. How do you deal with these people, my friends? Do share your opinions about this racist sign.

Cheers,

R-

Monday, January 09, 2006

About Bitch Sessions

Two major changes regarding the Bitch Sessions.

1. Bitch Session will not be done once a month. It can be done anytime, 24-7. It is going to be unmoderated. And the best of all, I do not have to copy and paste from your emails.

2. From now on, Bitch Sessions will not be done via emails through my entries. It shall be done on ShoutBox on the right side of the blog. Why? It is time for a change, really. It is annoying that I kept on getting angry emails from people accusing me of writing these flaming comments despite the fact that I posted the disclaimer on every emails.

Start Bitchin'!

UPDATE: Much to my chagrin -- this fuckin' ShoutBox does not permit cuss words. You can bet I'm looking for a new one.

UPDATE II: I changed the host and this is much better. You can cuss, you can take pop it up off from my blog. How cool is that?! But I had to abandon some comments that were said on the first host. My apologies for that -- now do it all over again!

Marcus Vick ... AGAIN! Last night, Marcus Vick got arrested once again for brandishing a gun at McDonalds Restaurant in Suffolk, Virginia.

MCI Center No More! Now it is Verizon Center.

Three Books To Purchase ... ! I am going to buy three books. They are Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, The DaVinci Code, and last, Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection-- the last one is about Geno Auriemma -- the Women's Basketball Head Coach of Connecticut Huskies. He used to assist Coach Ryan at Virginia. When I first saw him as a kid, I was enamored with him. And today, I still do think he's sexy. Geno, despite the fact that I do not approve of him coaching at UConn, is a winner that serves a huge thorn in Tennessee's backs. Good for him.

Off to the gym for a heavy workout. I need that.

Cheers,

R-

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Brendan Stern, Desperate Housewives & Times Dispatch

What About Brendan Stern? He is talented writer who has the knacks of making readers smile and laugh. I never had a chance to loiter with him in person at all. He's pretty selective or that he heard the horror stories about me to a point where he did not want to say "hey" to me, I guess. But reading his articles in The Buff and Blue, Buck Naked Bison are certainly something that I enjoyed the most. He has the way of saying words that makes me chuckle. I'd love for him to guestblog at least once in a while. Perhaps ... I can try.

Anyway, I stumbled upon the 2005 Fall issue of Gallaudet Today last night. I cringed upon seeing the image of Ben Lewis and his love-affair with foreign countries in that issue. Did anyone notice that Gallaudet President I. King Jordan has 5 pictures in 3 pages (page 4, 6 and 7) -- what a case of infatuation the magazine has for him! Then I read the brief appearance of Ty Giordano as well. Ty is correct when he mentioned that "it was absolutely thrilling to be a part of history (about being part of Broadway play as Deaf actor)" and I'm happy that he mentioned Bruce Hlibok as well.

However, I found the article where Brendan Stern penned about his backpacking adventures in Europe and Africa. It was great stuff to read -- hell, you will learn something new out of that as well. Check his stuff. Thanks for sharing this with us all, Brendan!

Did Anyone Sees Desperate Housewives Tonight? Priceless. Any thoughts?

My Letter in Richmond Times-Dispatch: Last week, the Times Dispatch mentioned about the need to build or renovate the baseball stadium for Richmond Braves, the AAA team. The current stadium, The Diamond, sits far away from Downtown Richmond. In fact, it sits in middle of nothing except for the adult bookstore, Greyhound bus station and Bill's Barbecue restaurant with its vast ground for parking.

It was time for a new stadium -- the trend among many cities are to position one in or near Downtown. The city officials offered a space in Shockoe Bottom, a trendy community like Georgetown or Camden Yards. It was perfect location, really. Within a reach of Interstate 95, the stadium can view the skyline of Richmond and James River. There are tons of restaurants, clubs and things to do after going to the ballpark such as the Canal Walk (patterned after San Antonio's canal, I believe). The newly renovated Main Street station is accessible with the city buses and trains as well.

But some folks complained about the lack of parking and that it is prone to flooding. As usual, the city dropped it and suggested the nearby Fulton GasWorks with spacious parking as well, a bit far away from Downtown. I'm for Shockoe Bottom -- this is the perfect location. Apparently, the city officials do not learn from Charlotte, Baltimore, Atlanta on how to make the city entertaining -- by putting stadiums within Downtown.

The Times-Dispatch popped a question to the readers whether if one likes the proposed Fulton GasWorks. Needless to say, I chimed in my opinion as well. You can find my letter at the bottom of this website.

Oh, by the way, I've decided to change the format of Bitch Sessions. Will cover on this subject tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Cheers,

R-

1.8.06 Tidbits

Xian Extremists Censors Bareback Mountain: Of course it has to be in Salt Lake City.

The Harvey Murders: The drama continues today as the police department announced the arrest of two men in Philadelphia who murdered the Harvey family along with another family (WTF?) -- reason? They said it appears to be robbery. But I am skeptical about that. I found out that Kathryn Harvey, the deceased mother of 2, who made a gesture to the family friend that something is wrong earlier before getting killed. Kathryn is the half-sister of actor Steve Culp, you may know him as Dr. Rex Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives who died last year. You probably knew his wife, Bree Van De Kamp.

Brokeback Mountain Captioned? Last Friday, I learned that the film debuts in Richmond's Regal Westhampton Theater -- this is bad news. Only Regal Short Pump Theater provides open captions -- the Regal Short Pump Theater sits in the western part of Henrico County, roughly about 17 miles outside of Downtown Richmond. Thus, about 37 miles northwest of where I am. So far, I complained that it was too far away from many Deaf Richmonders who lived scattered around in and around Richmond to the Regal Offices, they claimed that it was InSightCinema.org that chose the place! I emailed the InSightCinema.org about it. So far, no response.

Either way, I called the Regal Westhampton Theater and pressured them to get the captioned film. They kept on saying to call the corporation office, I insisted that they do it! I plan to do it, too. I bet you that the corporation will say that it was InSightCinema's decision to put where the open captioned films in whichever the theaters are.

Amusing Observation: Last night, I went to Richmond's gay bar, Barcode, with a friend of mine. Perhaps it was because of its small population, the guys' preferences were clear and set. I met many caucasians who made it clear that they wanted African American males. I met many African Americans men who wanted caucasians. I'm flexible, I have my own preferences but I try to keep open mind with anyone else. I mean, it may turn out very good than I expected -- you just never knew. But not in this town, gay men are set. They either wanted one race or nothing. One caucasian guy told me he refused to date caucasians, I chortled, "So limited."

He said, "What did you say?"

I said nothing. I miss New York where everyone is treated as an individual, pretty much.

See Why the Bush Administration Is Bad for Americans: Read this. To Bush supporters, entertain us with your so-called beliefs that the Bush Administration is not coddling with the corporations, is not ignoring the safety needs of others, is doing positive to improve the lives of others. Just fucking PROVE it.

Interesting Information about Cats: Where did the cats come from? Of course it is not Antarctica.

Muslims & Gays: As much as I loathed GW Bush's flawed policies in Middle East, I keep in mind that Muslims would love to see gays killed, period. Do not tell me that they do not discriminate. They certainly do. I want to elaborate three different things.

1. Arabs are not always Muslims. Many Arabs belonged to different faiths other than Islam.

2. Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, can be misinterpreted by many and used for wrong reasons. And they did so many times that I cannot count the exact numbers on all three religions.

3. Muslims seemed to embrace the poor, uneducated and frustrated masses of the Middle East. Naturally, they submitted their wisdom to the Imams who spewed such hatred rhetorics on many issues.

These three has to be understood in order to combat the Islamic Extremists and break the cycles of poverty by providing health care, education and better jobs. This will break the Imams' stronghold on the masses as they will eventually separate the government from Islam, like we did in our country.

Right now, name one country in the Middle East that has gay protection, gay rights, gay and lesbian community center, gay bars, hosted gay parades et al. Name one. It is Israel. None of Islamic countries has that. In fact, many gay Muslims sneaked to Israel or other countries so that they can be themselves for a weekend. Yes, there are gay Muslims out there but they are afraid of their governments and its own people.

I agreed with one blogger that it is irritating when I heard of a gay Muslim complaining about the United States. It did happen to me in New York when I met this gay Muslim who kept on criticizing us, I quickly penned on the notepad daring him to open his own gay bar in his country. He grimaced and left. He knew the answer because he would be decapitated so fast.

In these countries, being gay is good reason to get yourself hanged up, toppled by a falling wall, or decapitated. I do not think freeing Iraq from the Saddam's regime will provide a path for GLBT rights in that country at all. In fact, the powers-to-be vaccuumed into Baghdad are many, but there are many Muslim extremists in that country, primarily from many families in poverty due to the UN & US Embargos for many years. These group of poor but Muslim extremists outnumbers the educated Moderates. They eventually will create laws that continue to attack gays and lesbians. If the extremists won the majority, expect the Shari'a laws to pop up in different parts of Iraq whether you like it or not. After all, it is democracy being instituted in that country. People will decide to vote for these discriminatory laws based on their misguided information.

Meanwhile, what can we do about it in our country and Europe where these Muslims extremists wanted to enact the Shari'a laws in our backyards? We gotta stand up for ourselves and tell them to fuck off. No, it is not racist to blast the Muslims off on their beliefs. I'm sure many Muslims, in their private homes, are fuming about the "denigration of cultures" and wanted the Shari'a laws to enact, just like the Xians wanted the pro-Xian laws to enact. But unfortunately, in today's society, the spotlight is on Muslims' treatment of others who do not agree with their beliefs. It is OK for them to resort to violence against us, but it is racist for us to blast them on their beliefs? I think not.

That is the boundary line I stop -- nobody, not even you, will stop me from criticizing a Muslim fellow when they complained about our way of life. Especially in our homes or gay bars.

Of course, my comments are not meant to advocate what GW Bush did -- Hell, GW Bush's policies were largely flawed that will continue to jumble the goals of many -- I only speak of morals when it comes between me and Muslim Extremists. I reserve the right to disparage Muslims when they made a derogatory comment about my country. Hell, my country is not perfect -- that's why we are trying to fix it ourselves. At least, we are better than many.

Cheers,

R-

Saturday, January 07, 2006

1.7.06 Tidbits

Religious Extremists, Y'all Deserved To Die! Few days ago, I mentioned about Rev. Pat Robertson and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talking about Ariel Sharon's massive stroke as an act of God's punishment. Then I got amused after reading an entry by that pea-brained blogger who wondered if God (Allah) willed the building in Mecca to collapse and killed 76 people? Actually, it was sort of a tradition that someone has to die in Mecca annually but I digress. I'd have to say that God willed this building to burn down as well!

Good Riddance, Tom DeLay! Republican Conservative pig Tom DeLay resigned from his position as the House Majority Leader in the wake of Jack Abramoff's scandal. It appears that with the guilty plea by Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay is doomed, for sure.

How Nice Is He? This Republican conservative pig Jack Abramoff got the funds from Louisiana tribe for the purpose to lobbying and help the tribe to protect its casino. But Jack Abramoff pretty much robbed them and distributed the monies to many Republicans and Conservative-related SIGs. Abramoff did not really help the tribe when it comes to lobbying. Is that all? No, it was revealed that the emails from so-called compassion conservative pig Jack Abramoff has portrayed the Louisiana tribe as "monkeys", "morons" and "troglodytes". I rather to be Liberal where I can be honest with my feelings and say it out for the world to read, hear and see rather than to be a conservative where they manipulated and lied their way around to get what they wanted.

The Harveys: This is big news these days in Richmond other than the debacle of Marcus Vick's career. The Harvey family with two daughters were killed in their homes on New Year's Day. What startled the Richmond folks is that the Harveys were supposed to have a cookout at 2 PM with friends. Someone dropped the daughter off and met the mother in the morning. The mother was nervous, very pale and seemed to be jittery and gestured a sign to indicate that it's crazy here. The family friend assumed that the mother was talking about the illness she had few days prior to that. But apparently, the mother was trying to say that someone is holding them in the basement. Then few hours later, they were slaughtered in a brutal fashion that shocked the police officers. I'm curious about this -- My feeling is that it was someone else they knew who. Probably a friend or a relative. Only time will tell.

Who killed George Allen Smith IV? My bet is on this three men. And Royal Carribean Cruise Line should be indicted for negligence. I saw on ABC's PrimeTime which one PR director said it was "common" that each year, 10 people disappeared from the cruise lines without a reason. My first reaction was, "WTF?"

Connecticut versus Tennessee: Today, I watched the women's basketball game between Connecticut and Tennessee. Tennessee Lady Vols won 89-80. After that, I was bit bored and surfed on www.utladyvols.com -- I stumbled upon this interesting piece of information.

It appeared that Tennessee Lady Volunteers once played Tennessee School for the Deaf Lady Vikings on January 16, 1909 in Knoxville. Of course, that means what? 96 years ago. Unless if you want to be technical about it, it will be 96 years ago in two weeks. It baffled me to know that a college basketball team played a high school team, let alone a deaf team. But TSD managed to tie the game at 12 at UT. Yeah, TSD can claim that its lifetime versus Tennessee Lady Vols is 0-0-1. Don't believe me? Check this and look for Tennessee School for the Deaf.

Cool, is it?

Cheers,

R-

Bitch Session XVI

Disclaimer: The comments were written by many readers. I simply copied and pasted the comments on the entry. You may defend your turf by firing back. As always, names and email addresses will be removed. Only comments will be posted. Enjoy! You can compliment or offend anything or anyone else. Confidentiality is assured 100%.

I'm a frequent visitor to your blogsite- I have attached a picture of Alex- he think he's all that just because he looks good. My ass, wait until you see this picture!!!

Alexander Naro Abenchucan is KG wannabe. ;)

The Radfords are well-known for talking cheap. Thank God they aren't part of Gallaudet's Administration!

Where is the fucking etiquette manual for fucking leeches who throw themselves at someone else s boyfriend, especially when they know full well they just broke up less than a month ago? Where is the goddamn RESPECT???

Duva Boy. We all know that you beat Matt. We may be deaf but we aren't blind.

I hope your holidays went very well. Mine did not.

Awww, Marby. You always hurt and make fun of other people, but that's okay if you need to boost your own ego and self-esteem. After all, you're Poz!

Wait! You English not understand?

Fine, fine! Me explain simple:

Pity Marby. You insult hurt put-down people. You make self feel good.
Permitted, allowed. Why? You Poz! Now, you fucking understand?

Jason Gervase is the hottest man alive. One of those days I'm going to get into your pants.

What happened to the picture on the DeafDC.com website where Tamara Suiter showed off her fake boobs at December’s DPHH event? It was there but now it is gone!

I *hate* it when someone flirts with you and you think everything is coming along smoothly and BAM! They stop all communication and won t even tell you what went wrong. I actually feel kind of used like that. Ugh! Be fucking sincere, people! I am just so glad nothing happened...

Rob Voreck, you still alive these days? Amazing.

Angela Trahan is a cunt!

May 2006 brings the best out of y'all!

Steven Gagnon! You have lost a lot of weight and you look so SEXY. I want to fuck you so bad!! where are you, Steve???!!!

Of course! What did we all learn and expect after Katrina?! Land development IS hazardous to our livelihoods, health and homes!

Laurie Miskovosky: You should know that Jane Jonas has been telling the world that you guys are an item. If that is true, congratulations. If not ... oops!

It s so pathetic when deaf weirdos IM me and try to squeeze information about Rickums without identifying themselves. Get. A. Fucking. Life.

No, Paul Glaser, pranks are reserved for April 1st! Make sure you try
to do it the right time, not 3 months early!

It amused me that Tim Rarus would not mind if his kid is being implanted with CI. Whatever happened to his so-called Deaf identity that he boasted during his college years?

I wish people would acknowledge everything that is genuine within our community, instead of flabbergasting over the scandalous. By the way, buy your 'Know Thy Enemy' shirt today!

Whatever happened to CMRA? You guys should listen to Ridor in the first place.

Do NOT tell me shit like, "Let's get together for coffee!" if you re not gonna bother to show up or follow through on plans. Hate flakes like that.

Larry bitchin' about his feet hurting after walking all over NYC. If he lose those weight, he wouldn't be bitchin' about it. Get a grip!

R
ebecca: SHAME ON YOU for fucking Joey. Jasmine was only your best friend?

W
hy is it that we always find out who our true friends are when we hit rock bottom? At least they pull us up back on our feet...

Buck, Buck, your attitude is what got you out in the first place. Now, next time, try to be nicer than normal. After all, you are not pretty one as you used to be.

The foreign language dept. at gallaudet has a huge loss of letting go Buck Rogers! One big mistake. Almost all foreign professors are hearing! What's up with that? What happened to 50/50 percent of hearing and Deaf fac and staff? Unspeakable language going on!!!

I dislike drunk guys who do not have any manners towards women! Valeriy from California, you are disgusting!

Sarah Pack, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. You'll be missed by many.

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You, My Mona
Happy Birthday to You!
Now you're 27 years old!!!!!!!!
For ever your marsboer!:)

Katie Roberts: You really suck. Don't think what you say about one person and then act like there's nothing wrong when you talk to that person. Word gets around. You can't do this with new and old friends. And don't practice what you preach. None of it is true.

Also, since we all know how you're supposedly smarter than the entire lot of us. Fine, with your witty intelligence and how no one can be really better than you. We get it. You're smart, you've got brains. You exceed most of the people in the entire deaf community. No one can do a better job than you. Then, how come your blog is at the 7th grade level?

It bothers me to learn that Gallaudet's Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures only has 1 Deaf out of 11 members after the dismissal of Buck Rogers. Wake up, Gallaudet students! Hearing people still dominated Gallaudet faculty -- do something about it!

Congratulations, Jade on recognition of your Amos Kendall Award! You deserved it!
Well, that is it for the day. Seems to me that the Holidays brought the worst out of each other. Hope the dull month of January will bring more positive comments for the next Bitch Session on February 3, 2006.

Cheers,

R-

Friday, January 06, 2006

Marcus Vick, You're Pathetic!

I am not a fan of Virginia Tech Hokies. I am a fan of Virginia Cavaliers. Naturally, the Cavaliers were quick to define Hokie as an emasculated Hokie. Which means what? A castrated turkey, really.

Virginia Tech Hokies' football team seemed to hit the chord with its fans, media and school this week after its 35-24 triumph of Louisville Cardinals. In fact, the Virginia Governor-elect Tom Kaine said, "It made my heart sank," after seeing Virginia Tech's Quarterback Marcus Vick stomped his right feet on the left knee of Louisville's All-American Elvis Dumervil. The VT fans overwhelmed the local media in Roanoke, Richmond, Norfolk and its Hokies websites, demanding that Marcus Vick be reprimanded. (See the video of Marcus Vick stomping on Louisville Cardinal's Elvis Dumervil via the link!)

It was not the first time that Marcus Vick did something like that. In fact, I was surprised to learn that the VT fans seemed to be fed up with its players' behaviors, especially with Marcus Vick. The repeated calls to reprimand the players that deemed to behave like "thugs". In fact, the referee for 2005 Gator Bowl said that the behavior of VT players were pretty "out of control".

The image of VT football team is at stake, really. Consider this:
Sept. 2, 2003: Suspended for one game by coach Frank Beamer for undisclosed reason.
Feb. 17, 2004: Arrested without incident and charged with four misdemeanors -- three for allegedly allowing underage girls to have alcohol and one for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old at a January party. Released on $2,500 bond.
May 14, 2004: Convicted of three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $2,250. Found not guilty of having sex with the 15-year-old.
July 3, 2004: Charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana after a traffic stop about 25 miles east of Richmond, Va. at 2:30 a.m. Police said he was clocked at 86 mph, 21 mph above the speed limit, and that the vehicle smelled of marijuana.
July 6, 2004: Indefinitely suspended from football team for off-field problems.
Aug. 3, 2004: Suspended from the university for the 2004 season on same day he pleads guilty to reckless driving and no contest to marijuana possession in New Kent, Va. Is fined $300, has driver's license suspended for 60 days and is placed in a first offender program on the marijuana charge, requiring that he perform 24 hours of community service, undergo drug counseling and random drug tests, and give up his driver's license for six months.
Sept. 13, 2004: In plea deal, pleads no contest to one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Receives 30-day suspended jail sentence, is fined $100, ordered to perform 24 hours of community service and stay away from the teenage girls.
Jan. 17, 2005: Cleared to rejoin football team and re-enroll at Virginia Tech.
Oct. 1, 2005: Leads No. 3 Hokies to 34-20 victory at West Virginia, and makes obscene gesture to fans who have been calling him names related to past problems throughout the game. He apologized a day later.
Dec. 17, 2005: Pulled over by police in Hampton, Va. for driving 38 mph in a 25 mph zone and driving with a suspended license.
Jan. 2, 2006: Leads Virginia Tech to a 35-24 win over Louisville in Gator Bowl. In the game, he stomped on the left calf of Cardinals All-American defensive end Elvis Dumervil, the NCAA sacks leader. Claims the incident was accidental and that he apologized to Dumervil, who denies ever receiving apology.
Source: The Associated Press
One VT fan snapped, "I rather for the football team to go 4-8 and have some dignity than this!"

Boom! Virginia Tech President Charles Steger has announced that the football team dismissed Marcus Vick today after the series of inappropriate behaviors. Marcus Vick shrugged and said, that it is no big deal. He's turning professional, anyway.

Either way, I compliment the school to kick Marcus Vick off the team ... permanently. People needs to know that people like Marcus Vick has no place in collegiate football to play as a thug. If you wanted to be a thug, go to The Bronx or East Los Angeles!

Cheers,

R-

Book of Daniel


The new comedy-drama series on NBC-TV called The Book of Daniel ignited a silly controversy by the American Family Association which piqued my curiosity to check the series out. Matt Drudge picked up the article about two NBC affilitates boycotting the series in Little Rock, Arkansas and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The American Family Association claimed that the TV series were making fun of Christianity.

Thanks to the brutal cold weather outside, I came home from the gymnasium and was in time for its brand-new series at 9 PM for its two-hour special show. I thought I'd watch the first 20 minutes to see what it is all about. The first 20 minutes hooked me up. In fact, the debut of that series probably made the AFA look like fools.

I came off being very impressed with The Book of Daniel. Once again, this show was created by a gay man, Jack Kenny. The popular show, Desperate Housewives, also was created by a gay man, Marc Cherry.

The series started off with a great cast of characters that has their worst tendencies: The Episcopalian Priest, Rev. Daniel Webster has an imaginary friend, and it is none other than Jesus Christ himself! Not only that, he has an addiction to vicodine, he kept on popping it all day long. The dialogues between Jesus Christ and Rev. Daniel Webster was great. I grinned when Rev. Daniel Webster joked with Jesus Christ, "I'm OK, but you're divine!" Jesus chuckled and slapped on Daniel's back and said, "Oh, I liked that!"

Reverend Daniel Webster's wife, Judith, is addicted to Martinis when problems arose, she always ran to get her fix of Martinis. Together, they have three children -- all are teenagers: Adam, Peter and Grace.

Again, this is interesting. Adam is Chinese who was adopted by the family -- that boy loves to chase after women and is now infatuated with a 15-years old girl. Peter is gay conservative (a future Log Cabin Republican, really!) whom the family seemed to enjoy teasing him about it. Grace inhaled weed and sells it as well. She was recently arrested for possession of marijuana.

Confusing? Actually, there is more to this, Judith's sister is lesbian. Daniel's mother has Alzheimers disease, Daniel's father, out of frustration that his wife do not recognize who he is, is having an affair with Daniel's boss at the Episcopalian Church! Daniel, as of now, is not aware that his father is humping his boss.

Oh, yeah, their housekeeper smokes weed outside of the house.

Actually, this show already spinned more subplots in less than 2 hours that can be addressed for a long time. Suddenly, two hours of shows are done. I wanted one more hour of that show.

You can bet that The Book of Daniel is going to be on my list each week along with Desperate Housewives and The Family Guy.

The Book of Daniel being on Friday night is not good idea -- but heck, you never know. It may surprise many. Or not.

Cheers,

R-

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Sago Mine

For the last few days, I was not comfortable in talking about the Sago Mine Disaster which killed 12 coal miners and maimed 1 miner in Tallmansville, West Virginia. There was an explosion that ended up trapped 13 miners in the Appalachian mountains, the prospects of them surviving was slim because the levels of carbon monoxide was three times high, good enough to put people to sleep and die.

Then two days ago, my father told me that all miners were alive. I was surprised. Then the next morning, I woke up to learn that no, all miners except for one is dead. Why? Don't be so surprised, my friends.

This is the way of life for coal miners. In fact, the corporations that employs these miners enjoyed one huge advantage: good pay and subjugation. I know because I am part of that culture, whether you like it or not.

You see, my great grandfather was crushed to death in a coal mine not far from Norton, Virginia -- then few weeks later, my great grandmother killed herself because the property that my great-grandfather worked hard to provide a shelter for his family was merely owned by the company. The heartless company evicted my great-grandmother since the house is owned by the company. She had nowhere to go. It was pretty hard life. Totally unnecessary but that is what the corporations enjoyed the most: subjugate the lower class in the Appalachian mountains in the last 100 years.

Not only that, my father's father was also a coal miner and became the victim of Black Lung. He succumbed to that man-made disease at 67. One guy spoke on ABC's PrimeTime that it is sort of a culture for coal miners to stick together when bad things happen. He is right. Even I do not work in coal mines, a part of me cringed and groaned when I heard of people being trapped under the tons of Appalachian mountains. It is not right but that is part of coal miners' lifestyle, really.

It was disgusting to learn that the owner of Sage Mine has homes in Manhattan, Palm Beach and the Hamptons. And that he just issued his company to provide only $2 million to the victims and is hoping that people will donate money to help the families. Never mind that the owner of International Coal Group, billionaire Wilbur Ross, has not donated a cent to the families devastated by the disaster in West Virginia. But I was not surprised at all. That is what capitalism is all about. Subjugate others to enrich yourelf.

Not only that, the Bush Administration is responsible for what happened to coal miners in West Virginia, since the Bush Administration forbade the inspectors to be assertive and close the mines if needed. The Bush Administration has been cozy with the mine industry to relax the rules. And the result is what? We have this disaster that can be prevented in the first place.

Jack Spadaro, a retired employee of the Mining Health and Safety Administration, complained about the Bush Administration's negligence, "The inspectors have been forbidden from being as aggressive as they need to be, they can't go ahead and close the mine and use the authority that they have to do the job that they've been charged to do."

Was I ever surprised? No, not at all. When I heard that GW Bush expressed his sorrow about the deaths of 12 miners, I chuckled. That man is lying through his teeth. I'm curious to know whether if GW Bush is going to donate $ to the Sago Mine Disaster. Or will Wilbur Ross?

Or just ignore the coal miners in the next few weeks, like they always do for the last 100 years?

These men worked hard than Wilbur Ross or GW Bush did in their lifetime -- GW Bush spent 2 hours of his lunch breaks running up and down the park in Maryland. These men in coal mines are not allowed to work out for two hours during their lunch breaks.

Goes on to say how much wonderful this country can be.

Of course, it disgusted me to my core. And you should be.

R-

See Why I Hate Extremists?

In Virginia Beach, Virginia: The Xian nut Rev. Pat Robertson claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recent massive stroke may be the sign of God's punishment for giving up the lands to Palestinians. Check this link for further information.

In Qom, Iran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the radical Islamic extremist, hoped that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dies as well.

See any difference between two nutty religions? Not so much, to me.

Which is why I do not like religions at all. Their job is to defame each other as much as can be in order to prove which one is the best of all. Pathetic, is it?

On another hand, Jose Padilla finally made his first court appearance in three years (1,095 days) regarding his alleged participation with Al-Qaeda. Whatever happened to the Amendment VI for Jose Padilla?

According to the Amendment VI, it stands for:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
It is nice to know that the Bush Administration attempts to circumvent our very own constitution to subjugate the accused ones without providing them the right to have a speedy trial by any means.

Don't tell me that they are evil and they would not do that to us if given an opportunity -- but let's face the reality, we (our government) are supposed to be better than them. Therefore the government needs to put up with them and do the right thing. So far, we are no better than them. In fact, the Al-Qaeda got what they wanted us all along -- to be stuck in quagmire where they can say, "See! They are doing it to us!"

In order to be better than anyone else, we have to rise above the rest with dignity and pride. To deny Jose Padilla of his speedy trial, we simply shamed ourselves as Americans.

R-

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

2006 Seems To Be Cool So Far

1. I got in touch with a long-lost friend of mine, Will Sharpe.

2. Jack Abramoff's Scandal with Republicans. Democrats may have gotten $$ from Abramoff's associates but not from himself. Republicans did get money directly from Jack Abramoff.

3. My workouts are going well. I look forward to that magical number sooner than you think.

4. The anti-gay pastor from South Tulsa Baptist Church, Lonnie Latham, from Tulsa, Oklahoma was arrested for propositioning to a male undercover officer with oral sex at Habana Inn. You see, Lonnie Latham serves on the Executive Committee of Southern Baptist Convention and he criticized the gay people as "destructive lifestyle". Well, well, he was arrested at Habana Inn. Know what Habana Inn is? Check this link. I love it when I heard people like Lonnie get arrested. Such a hypocrite figure, but that is very common amongst the Xians, trust me.

5. No. 1 Southern Cal Trojans lost to No. 2 Texas Longhorns, 41-38 after they condescendingly led 38-26 with 6 and half minutes left. After that, it was all Vince Young as Texas pulled the red carpet from its floor. I'm so glad that USC Quarterback Matt Leinart was denied of picking up another trophy. And I look forward to read a blogger named BoiFromTroy whine about his so-called great team losing to Texas Longhorns. Congratulations to Texas Longhorns for doing something that not many teams did, beating Southern Cal in Los Angeles.

Cheers,

R-

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Abramoff and Republicans

Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist, made a plea bargain with the Department of Justice about his contributions to the political corruption in White House and the Capitol Hill. It is interesting to note that Jack Abramoff donated $261,918 to Republicans and special interests. And no dime was spared for Democrats.

In time, with the agreements of plea bargain, Jack Abramoff will identify the list of who's who that he contributed -- that will make Republicans squirm in their seats. Good.

It goes on to prove that Republicans are greedy and liars and will do anything to win the elections and votes -- if it takes money to do that, they will do it. For years, the Republicans accused the Democrats of many things and denied that they were equally bad. It is interesting to note that the majority of Republicans that were involved are Conservative pigs. When Abramoff's willingness to identify the participants -- we shall know whether if the Republicans were really patriotic or just greed who is in to enrich themselves with profits.

Did they vote for American's interests or just for themselves? My bet is that the majority of Republicans are doing it for themselves.

In that case if you want to read who's who that Jack Abramoff contributed, check this link.

UPDATE: Washington Post has the graphic that mentioned the list of Democrats being involved with the Jack Abramoff Scandal. But the majority of corrupted Congressmen are Republicans, though. They all have to go, but the problem is that the average American (in one poll, 71%) believed that it is typcal cultural of political corruption in Washington. Which indicated one thing: Will the Congressmen leave? Or will they fight to stay?

Stay tuned.

Cheers,

R-

Monday, January 02, 2006

Few Tidbits for 1.3.06

MICA Runway 2006: Ann Marie "Jade" Bryan launched the website of MICA Runway 2006 and she also announced the new scholarship in honor of Sarah Marie Pack. The MICA Runway 2006 will be held in New York on June 17, 2006. Check the link and be sure to read the press release and donate some to support Sarah Marie Pack's scholarship.

'Memoirs of Geisha' Criticized: Some hearing people are amused that Deaf people complained about hearing actors trying to portray as Deaf characters in many films. We try our best to educate or bash them that it is inappropriate to use hearing people to act as Deaf persons in the films and television shows. Some hearing people insisted that there are not enough Deaf actors to portray one. Excuses, excuses and excuses!

Well, this particular film called Memoirs of Geisha, there is an uproar about using Chinese actors to portray Japanese characters. Many people were offended that Chinese Director chose Chinese actors because they claimed that there are not "good" Japanese actors to fill the roles! If you try to google the title of that film and add controversy on the search engine, you'll see many blogs talking about it. But among one critic is Deaf himself, check this link for further information.

Sycamore Street? There was an article featuring about Sycamore Street in Staunton, Virginia. That particular street sits right behind the campus of Mary Baldwin College. It is unique neighborhood. A good friend of mine, Kevin, still lives on that street along with his family. Must be dull day for Staunton News Leader to mention about Sycamore Street!

Vote for Ronda Jo Miller! To some of you who do not know who Ronda Jo Miller is, she was the best basketball player (male of female) in Gallaudet University's history. She averaged 24.4 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game. I had the pleasure of watching her play for four years at Gallaudet, including the most dominant game I ever had witnessed, Miller's 38 points and 13 rebounds against No. 2 College of New Jersey in the second round of the NCAA Tournament which Gallaudet shocked TCNJ by 10, 81-71 in Ewing, NJ.

Today, Ronda Jo Miller is still No. 1 in NCAA Division III in career rebounding leader and No. 3 in career scoring leader. And the NCAA is now conducting the votes to select the players to be part of NCAA Division III Women's Basketball 25th Anniversary Team. Ronda Jo Miller deserved this spot. She was one incredible player ever to play for Gallaudet's hardwood floor. Please pick Ronda Jo Miller in this link. Hat tip to Christian.

Confidential to Tim Kettering: Still bitter at me just because I offended your prick friends many years ago, pizzaface? Get a spine and move on.

Cheers,

R-

Two Deaf Schools Boycott Barry Strassler

California School for the Deaf-Riverside's Athletic Department has joined Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf's Athletic Department in protesting the owner of DeafSportZine by declining to share the reports and game highlights and to "opt out of the national sports rating system", according to DeafWeekly News' January 12 2005 edition. The owner of DeafSportZine is none other than Barry Strassler.

Citing the lack of professionalism, Barry has engaged in threatening and degrading behavior towards CSDR's Athletic Director, Len Gonzales. He mentioned, "What disturbs us the most, is that this is a one-man show and that you are incapable of being unbiased, fair and nonjudgmental."

I have to applaud Len Gonzales and Randy Shank for standing up to Barry Strassler. It is an open secret in the Deaf Community that Barry Strassler tends to behave inappropriately towards people that disagreed or even attempted to discuss over a simple thing.

In fact, one person in California has termed Barry Strassler "Strassholer". That is how bad it was/is for many.

I once had a spat with Barry Strassler when I suggested that he picks ten Athletic Directors of deaf schools to do the polls, you could see his face turning red as he bombarded me with insults instead of thanking me for making a simple suggestion. Later, I learned from different people who underwent similar experiences of dealing with Barry's malice.

This is the reason why CSD-R did not win the National Championship this year after its 10-1 run. So DeafSportZine's pick of Maryland to win it all is not really credible, to say the least.

I'm sure there are many readers who complained of Barry Strassler's tendencies. If you want to share your experiences with Barry Strassler, you may do so in the comment section.

Cheers,

R-

Sunday, January 01, 2006

2006 Starts With A Bang!

It appears that 2006 is off to a good start, at least for me.

A long-lost friend of mine -- since 2000 -- has resurfaced and got in touch with me last night. You do not know how excited I am to get an email from Will Sharpe. Suffice to say, we have to catch up with everything else in our lives.

Last night, I went to the NYE party. It was alright as can be. Except that Richmonders tend to smoke. They think it is cool to smoke. It is not. They pulled their pack of cigarettes and pulled the cigarette as if it was the coolest thing to do. Fuck it. It sucks. We need to change that attitude. I rather for you to snort cocaine than to inhale these shit because snorting cocaine does not affect my air that I breathe! Leaving the party en route to Hopewell was surreal. I never saw a cop -- normally, the NYE parties tend to have roadblocks where the cops employ the sobriety tests around the country.

Speaking of that, few weeks ago, I freaked out when I left the bar -- I was not drunk but I drank enough. The road that I drove on was one-way and it led us into the sobriety test roadblock. I quickly took the mint candy and inserted in my mouth. And waited for the cops to come to my car window. I told them that I'm Deaf. They told me to go ahead and leave -- apparently, they did not want to handle Deaf drivers or that they might think Deaf people do not drink at all? So ... either way, whew!

Another good news is that ... the Insight Cinema has announced that they will show the open captioned film of ... Brokeback Mountain. But when and where? It will be determined at a later date. I'm still waiting for it. They better do it soon, I do not want to wait for months. Hat tip to Deaf258.

I got this funny email from McFly regarding this link (be sure to scroll down to find "Just Criminal"). It makes you wonder about Carl Wayne Denney, really. They did not include that infamous John Wayne Bobbitt who got his dick chopped off by Lorena Bobbitt in Manassas, Virginia some years ago as well. By the way, Carl, Happy New Year! Hat tip to McFly.

I checked www.deaf.com few days ago when someone told me about it -- guess who the author is? Matthew S. Moore. I was irritated that this person included the religion on its website but chose not to mention about Deaf GLBT community at all ... despite the fact that everyone knew that the author himself is gay. Is he ashamed? Or what?

I'm hoping that my conservative Libertarian friend, DowntownLad, will not quit blogging. I'm quite addicted to his blogsite. Even though he is conservative in many areas, I have enormous respect for this guy. I really enjoyed his snappy comments from time to time. He feels that being occupied with blogging has consumed his time with dating life. I could not blame him, really. DowntownLad, I would suggest you to limit your time with your blog instead of quitting. I think I'll miss DL's presence if he just stop it all together.

Any comments, positive or negative, for Bitch Session XVI is due on Friday, January 6, 2006. E-mail me at Ridor9th@gmail.com -- of course, confidentiality is assured at all times.

I want Sonny Wasilowski to read this: Virginia Cavaliers 34, Minnesota Golden Gophers 31. I emailed him of this score, so far, no response from this Minnesota guy. Maybe he is a loser? ;-)

As for 2005 Deaf Blog Awards, it was no secret that my blogsite won three categories in Best Eavesdropping Entertainment, Best Politics and Best Deaf Blog. I kinda knew that my blog would dominate two of three categories. And I have come to this decision -- that the next 2006 Deaf Blog Awards, I will continue to moderate the contests but will not participate in that as well. I firmly wanted the Deaf Blog Awards to be neutral as well as pick up some sponsorships to legitimize the contests once and for all. I plan to include several people to be part of the contest team who can contribute to the development of this concept for the Deaf Communities across the world.

I appreciate the last-minute support to set up the 2005 Deaf Blog Awards. It is successful, pretty much. Thanks so much.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I dearly hope that Southern Cal loses to Texas in Rose Bowl, I'm tired of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Nick Lachey and Pete Carroll's attitudes -- they think they own everything else. I want the Longhorns to shatter their spirits. It would be so delicious to see Matt Leinart fucked his last collegiate game ever. And I'd smirk at that BoiFromTroy for talking incessantly about USC's successes. When you are at the top all the time, there is nothing to go but down. And that is where I wanted to see USC -- go down.

Cheers,

R-