I’m for this because I’ve been watching shows online since they began appearing on the Internet. I rarely watch TV because I’m always on the computer, plus it’s easier to watch shows in sequel online because places like Hulu organize them into episodes. Although iTunes, Hulu and Google have been working to provide captioned videos on their web sites, it’s still inadequate because it’s purely voluntary. There is no requirement legally binding companies to provide their videos with captioning included, online. Show your support today and have your voice counted!

Why have captioning? Nowadays, televisions are mandated by the Telecommunications Act in 1996 to have closed captioning available. This needs to also be passed into shows and movies on the Internet. Please support the 21st Century Communications and Video accessibility Act of 2009.

Post from: Say What?

Post from: Say What?

Full story is under this jump.

I became deaf at 14 months old from spinal meningitis. I am profoundly deaf with nerve deafness. My family chose to use sign language with me to communicate and put in me a fledging program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Lincrest Elementary School. I had my first mainstreamed class experience at third grade with an interpreter who knew ASL from America River Community College’s new interpreting program back then (I’m in my early 30s). I became fully mainstreamed at 7th grade and went through junior high at Gray Avenue (before it became Intermediate School) and graduated from Yuba City High School in 1993.

I’m the eldest of three girls. I don’t have brothers. My entire family signs, although my younger sisters sign fairly. My mother is the most skilled at ASL — she used to be an education interpreter.

I told the ASL I class about my experience in mainstreamed school as “a not nice experience” because kids teased me for being deaf. However, on Facebook recently, old classmates found me and told me that they remembered me and were inspired to learn ASL because of their experiences with me. I was surprised and touched that some of my former classmates remembered me after all those years, and humbled by my small influence on them as a deaf kid teaching a few signs.

College life was when my world opened up through meeting and socializing with many other Deaf people and learning about my identity as an Deaf person in a hearing world. I took a break from college and went to live in New York, where my husband’s family is, and had my first real job experience there. After September 11 happened, we moved back here and I applied for my job here at the Appeal-Democrat shortly afterwards, and have been here since December 13, 2001.

I married my high school sweetheart whom I met in drawing class at Yuba City High, in Lake Tahoe. He is fluent in ASL. We don’t have children but five cats — Molly, Happy, Jack Tunney, Houdini, and Sammy. The class seemed taken back by the names Jack Tunney except for some of the men who immediately recognized the name. Others drew a blank on the name Houdini. I named one of my cats Houdini, after the famous magician and escapist artist Houdini, because he kept disappearing from the large box I was keeping him in with his brother Jack Tunney to help them become used to us! I’d go away, come back and find Jack Tunney dozing in the box minus his brother Houdini.

In 2007, Appeal-Democrat formed the Internet Department. As the webmaster, I am responsible for implementing the directives Courtney Lopez, the Internet Operations Director gives me. I work with Steve Nelson and Robert LaHue with related Internet content along with other department managers, the Publisher, and our Freedom Communications Corporation which we are under. Courtney is the primary person in charge of the web sites we operate. I am the one who codes the web pages and makes it all work  with Freedom Interactive’s policies/procedures on webmastering. Steve Nelson oversees the content posted online — articles, photos, slideshows, videos submitted by staff and users, forums and comments on articles. We communicate in the office primarily through Instant Messaging (Bonjour).

Someone asked about why I am in this particular industry. I answered that I love computers and technology is moving rapidly towards a virtual New Media, where a printed newspaper may be a bygone product or a rare product. I believe it is the newspaper industry’s responsibility to keep up with the technology and learn how it can evolve with new trends and expectations. It will not be 20 years later, but actually sooner. Europe already uses electronic editions with special readers similar to Amazon’s Kindle. Cari Carter had her Kindle, and showed it to the class. I do a similar thing with my 2nd Generation iPod Touch — I buy and download some books to my iPod for reading in the bed.

The technology to create virtual newspapers is already in process of being refined for mass production. Right now we are taking advantage of the social network medias and feeding short blurbs of our news to those sites for those who practically live on social networks like Facebook.

Discussing Facebook and MySpace brought up another topic: these two sites are Deaf-Friendly sites. Many, many Deaf people are on Facebook or MySpace. Deaf people can message, chat, post videos, join groups with other like-minded Deaf people and friends and carry on lively discussions.

With that note on social media, there is a link in my sidebar for quick access to join Deaf Californians on Facebook. Also, there’s an excellent video on “Trouble with Twitter” that Bill Creswell captioned. Robert LaHue shared the non-captioned version the other day, I’m sharing the captioned version here.

Enjoy!

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Post from: Say What?

I just have this need to click on videos, so I clicked.

And it’s not captioned.

I should be used to this — videos online aren’t always captioned. I have no idea if what Christopher Paolini said was interesting or not.

Why do I bother clicking? Curiosity. I love books and if an author wants to talk about his/her book, I want to hear it. It’s the same as my need to click on the Extra Features on DVDs. I want to know what possessed the director to take on the insane task of turning an idea into a film. I watched the commentary on the Final Fantasy Advent Children DVD in subtitled English three times — all because I could hear the thoughts from the director and others that worked on the computer generated animation project and it was fascinating.

Anyway, back to online videos. I keep clicking ‘play’ on videos even though I know they’re not captioned — like our videos on the appeal-democrat.com. (I’m sure I’m not the only one that clicks on the videos there and wishes they were captioned.) After clicking on Christopher Paolini’s video and losing interest within the first few seconds of its play time, I wondered for the umpteenth time why I keep clicking. I’m not an idiot. I already know they’re not captioned. I guess I keep clicking because I hope to see something interesting.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Gemini. Curious and somewhat flighty — bouncing from one thing to another thing. Much like one of my cats, Tiny. He’s always in everything. Literally. He bounces from one curious thing to another and is frequently underfoot.

So, anyone know what Christopher Paolini said???

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This is for all Deaf Community Members, Educators, Families, Friends, Students, anyone interested in the education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the state of California.

ARE YOU FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR

DEAF EDUCATION EXPERIENCE?

IF SO… CLICK HERE:

NorCal Center Deaf Education Reform Call

This is about a push for reform in Deaf Education, to pull up the standards and provide better education to the future generations of Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The link above, will show a video with subtitles and signed testimonies by Deaf/Hard of Hearing people along with contact information for you to send in your story. The call is out now for your personal testimonies of your experience in the California’s education system for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This will be brought to our State Legislators and Governor’s attention.

Why is this important?

Because the education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is still substandard. For example, if a student is mainstreamed, he/she is not guaranteed an interpreter that is skilled, and this has impact on the student’s education. Lack of a standardized education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has a life-long impact on the individual, affecting every aspect of daily living.

Watch the video and send in your story either in a letter, e-mail, or a video!

* A note: the video can be viewed on either Safari or Internet Explorer.

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Fear not. You can find them captioned on billcreswell, one of the blogs that I visit. Bill Creswell is ideal because he works for a theatre that provides Closed Captioning for those who are deaf and hard of hearing, and Descriptive Audio for those who are blind and low-sighted. I know there are captioned trailers on Google and other places, but you kind of have to dig for them.

I kept seeing this trailer for “One Missed Call” and wondered what the heck the main female character was hearing on the cell phones. So I hopped online and checked out billcreswell’s blog. There it was. She was hearing the sounds people made before they died. Now I’m satisfied with the knowledge.

Little things like this leave a big mystery to me and I just have to know what it is.

I thought I’d pass on the information!

Post from: Say What?

It’s interesting to see the sign. Check it out: The Gratitude Campaign.

I think it’s admirable to come up with a way of thanking the people in the service but I do not want people to be confused by this sign as the way Deaf people sign “Thank You.”

The American Sign Language for “Thank You” is displayed here.

What do you think?

Post from: Say What?