DeafNation in da House

My parents recently sent me an article from www.deafnation.com, the premiere source for the deaf 411. In case anyone does not know, it's a fun little fact that I grew up with deaf parents. DeafNation is currently roadtripping across the country meeting deaf people with interesting lives, and recently, they interviewed Jack Barr who was my dad's best friend at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. Jack operates Jack Barr Productions, a store in Madison that sells merchandise for the deaf like TTY's, flashing alarm clocks, and even stuffed animals that can sign. Jack also maintains a small museum devoted to deaf culture. I attended the grand opening and it's pretty neat.
In this interview, Jack shows DeafNation aspects of his store and museum. Although there is no sound, you can get an idea of how deaf people communicate with each other.
Bonus: Jack's new video, "Beyond Sex Signs" is out. I'd like to get my hands on this because my parents never taught me these signs!

Like a Letdown

Last Friday I watched the Madonna documentary on MTV and with all the buzz of her upcoming album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, I thought I'd go on Limewire and find her latest single. I listened to "Hung Up" and fell in love with it not only because it's catchy, but because she samples ABBA with it. According to my iTunes play count, I have listened to the song over 40 times since Friday night. To listen to the track, click here and the song will soon play. So I decided I needed to go to a place Saturday night where "Hung Up" would be played so I could get drunk, sweaty, and dance to it. Of course, the MisShapes party at Luke and Leroy's came to mind. So I called my friend Billy and it turns out he was already planning on going to MisShapes as was Jane and her friend Greg. Swell! Jane later found out that MisShapes would feature a celebrity guest DJ (they do this frequently) and that night's DJ would be (inhale) Madonna (exhale). We admitted we were a little hesitant that she would actually be there, but whatever. So I headed up to Billy's for a pre-drink. Meanwhile, Jane had arrived at MisShapes and was hanging out. Jane called at 10:15, "Madonna just walked into the room to do a sound check. She's going on at 12:30. GET HERE NOW." So we hurried ourselves and just as we left, a terrific downpour erupted. By the time we arrived soaked at 9th Ave, every taxi was taken. We waited for about 30 minutes before finally coming across the chance of a taxi. We smiled as a middle aged suit flicked us off. We didn't steal his cab; we just got it first. The rain slowed everything down and by the time we arrived at Luke and Leroy's, a queue had formed. We waited in line watching just about everyone being told to please leave the line. Time for reenforcements. I called my friend Roman who is a MisShapes regular. "Give me the names of people who work here!" I asked him. He provided the names Geordan and Leigh. It'd have to do. A mob of people ahead of us vacated the line having just been ordered by the bouncer to do so, and we found ourselves face to face with the man who would determine our destiny. "Are you on the guest list?" he asked us. "No, but we're friends with Leigh," I replied. "I'm sorry. You have to be on the guest list if you want to get in. You're more than welcome to come back in a few hours (after Madonna has left) and try again." At least he was nice. What a night of should've and could've. So October 22nd will be the day I almost partied with Madonna.

A New Bonjour Timo Feature!

I have created a photoblog called Bonjour Photo.

The first installment, "A Walk Across the Manhattan Bridge" is a bunch of photos I took back in July.

There is a link to Bonjour Photo to the right as well. Enjoy!

The Week in Review

This week marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, or as I like to call it, Yippee! No School Week! My school was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and seeing that I do not have classes on Thursdays or Fridays, this week's been a breeze. Next week I have Yom Kappur off too. Even the weather has been perfect. I wonder why they don't close everything down for the Jewish holidays in Wisconsin?
Monday, I went to Dave's new gig. He is the karaoke master of ceremonies at the Orchid Lounge (11th and A) and the night is called Wild Rice. Free shots when the gong is sounded! Does it get more fun than that? I don't think so. Check it out every Monday at 10:00.
Speaking of Asian themed karaoke fun, I went to the public library on Tuesday and checked out books about China and Southeast Asia. You see, I successfully called my friend Anne who moved to Shanghai with her boyfriend last month to teach English. Her first impressions? Complete culture shock. She's done a fair amount of roadtripping and backpacking around the U.S. and Europe, but she admits to being unprepared for China. She said it took awhile to get used to being the only white person in the neighborhood because this causes the local residents to stare at her in awe. Anne related one story in which she was eating in a restaurant and looked out the window. Three street cleaners had rested their chins on the top of their broomhandles and just smiled and gazed at her. Anne waved hello and they continued to maintain that position for twenty minutes until they left. The food is unique. No Great Wall of China Buffet here. She usually eats in the neighborhood, but none of the menus are written in English nor are there any pictures. She ate soup that she thought contained tofu, but learned later that it was actually solidified chicken blood. Hearing stories like that one now means I want to visit China! So (fingers crossed), I'll be heading over in January. Interesting: Anne cannot access my blog in China. While I realize most of my blog is engulfed in controversy, I doubt it's enough to dismantle the Chinese Communist Party! 86 the censorship already people! Anne is in the works to start a blog similar to mine so I will link it when it becomes available.
On Thursday, New Yorkers were greeted by a terrorist plot! And then they carried their day on like normal. I like how the people who don't live here–think Mississippi, Utah, Texas(not Austin)–are the ones who get all riled up the most.

Patty Wetterling is running for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota!; The Packers continue to suck. their new logo here; Look how corrupt the House of Representatives became today. This truly makes me sad.

Am I Oblivious to the Fact I'm a Dick?

Last night I went to my friend Billy's new apartment in Hells' Kitchen. He showed me the spot outside his building where he was mugged, then subsequently punched in the nose. Billy does PR for fashion firms and as a result, he missed Fashion Week which is probably the biggest tragedy in all this. Of course this was about ten minutes after I saw someone get the shit kicked out of him on the subway.
We went to Chelsea to Barracuda to meet his friend Tom. The guys in Chelsea are trashy, but hide that they're trashy. I prefer the East Village where the guys are also trashy, but they're not afraid to admit they're trashy. I impressed everyone around me with my knowledge of U.S. state capitals and naming the presidents in order.
The kid came up to me later in the night and said, "You are so adorable!" Wha?? Me? Get hit on? Well, we chatted for about ten minutes. He attends Columbia and is pre-med. We discussed the difference between attending a college town school (Madison) and a big city school (New York). I've been assured that Columbia has a great collegiate vibe, Fordem sort of does, and it's nonexistent at NYU. I pulled out the music question, what music do you like?
Then afterward talking about Franz Ferdinand, he said, "Well, I can tell you don't like me so I'll just leave." I was thinking "Gosh, what did I say? Did I sound completely disinterested? Did I look bored?
I said, "Why do you think I haven't enjoyed this conversation?" No specific examples were available.
"Well, this is kind of awkward," he said.
"Yeah, you're right." And I left for home where I watched The Karate Kid: Part II. Why is it that I thought that movie was so good when I was younger?
Well, if anything good came out of my conversation with ????? (forgot his name), it's that he thought I was 23!

Badgers won again; The new Friendster allows one to see who's viewed your profile! Since Friendster was created to stalk people online, this is a real damper in those efforts. Don't worry. You can change your user settings.