Taking a Deaf Cruise

Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are no different from
anyone else except they cannot hear or hear well. Because
the deaf culture consists of mainly deaf people who hang around
each other simply because of communication, finding a cruise that
caters to the deaf is a true blessing. A deaf cruise provides deaf
people with an opportunity to enjoy the same things as a hearing person
but in an environment where they feel comfortable and safe. Many
times, you will discover deaf people appearing shy when in
fact they are merely protective over themselves and other
deaf people. Because a deaf cruise is designed
specifically for deaf people, there is a sense of security.

With a deaf cruise, many things are modified to
accommodate. For
example, there are certified interpreters onboard who can
guide the
passengers through the cruise, answering questions and
just being
there to provide service. In addition, the ships are equipped
with TDDs
or TTYs (telephone/computer systems used by the deaf),
flashing
doorbells and wakeup alarms, and so onread more

Deaf Wish

The Genie looked quite puzzled and asked me was I sure?
I told him that I’d dreamt of it for twenty years or more.
He shrugged his purple shoulders, saying, “Just as you desire!”
And then there came a roaring and the sound of rushing fire.

But when the smoke had cleared, I was looking down upon
A very, very small piano-playing Elton John,
And I looked up at the Genie with a countenance so vexed,
As Elton asked me, would I like to hear “Nikita” next?

The Genie said, “You asked for it!” and went on the defensive.
I’m afraid I used some language that was ribald and offensive.
“You stupid oaf! You big baboon! You nincompoop!” I hissed.
“Why on earth would I wish for a twelve inch pianist?”read more

Judge Spotlights Shortage of Interpreters for the Deaf

The prevailing custom in the New York courts is for sign language interpreters to work in tandem: one translates the rapid-fire arguments of courtroom life, while the other gets to rest weary hands.

There is, however, a shortage in the courts of sign language interpreters, so this buddy system does not always work, according to court officials. Yesterday, a judge in Queens took note of the shortage, writing a memorandum that explained why he had awarded an interpreter who was forced to work alone twice his daily rate of pay.

The judge, Justice Charles J. Markey of State Supreme Court, gave the higher rate to Gabriel Grayson, a certified American Sign Language interpreter. It was after Mr. Grayson had translated for a deaf plaintiff at a six-day civil trial in June involving a personal injury case. Mr. Grayson had told the judge and other court officials in Queens of the normal two-interpreter setup, but agreed to work alone, for a bit more money, after officials could not find another interpreter to relieve him. read more

Buffalo Bill was half deaf

Written By Bug



William F Cody as Buffalo Bill

William F Cody is known to most of us simply as Buffalo Bill. He was all the “heroes” of the American West Buffalo Bill. He worked on the wagon trains, he hearded cattle, he rode for the Pony Express, he trapped for behaver, he hunted buffalo, he prospected for gold, he hunted down horse thieves and, most importantly of all, he scouted for the army during the Indian wars.

Later in his life, he lost his hearing in left ear because of cold winter. That winter was terrible so Buffalo Bill suffered frostbite on one of his ears. The damage left him permanently partially deaf on that side. He also had grown his hair long as well as grown a moustaches and goatee.

Did Buffalo Bill know sign language? Nobody really know the answer. He wrote in a book saying that he went to the place in the very heart of Indian Country. He happened to sit and watched the meeting where the greatest Indian councils were held. It had became the most famous meeting-place of the plains. He wrote: ” I used to sit for hours and watch him and the others talk to the Indians in the sign language. Without a sound they would carry on long and interesting converstations, tell stories, inquire about game and trails, and discuss pretty much everything that men find worth discussing.”

Also it was said that Buffalo Bill’s knowledge of the tongues of the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow Indians and his marvelous proficiency in the universal sign language made him an extremely desirable acquistion to the service. Universal Sign Language? Actually, there is no “universal sign language” or real ” international sign language.” In Europe, Deaf people would called it as “international sign language” (ISL) if other Deaf visitors from other countries come together and try to communicate with each others so they use a lot of gestures, mimes, facial expression, some signed words, etc. It is not really a language, more a vocabulary of signs that they all agree to use at international meetings. I suspected that he knew some Indian Sign Language. read more

Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children: what's the future?

Merging Frank Barnes with Blanche Neville school for deaf children in Muswell Hill.

Frank Barnes school for Deaf Children on Harley Road in Swiss Cottage will be flattened to make way for a £30million secondary school, which is set to open in 2011.

Merging Frank Barnes with Blanche Neville school for deaf children in Muswell Hill.read more

Pioneer system allows the deaf and mute to raise the alarm

But what happens when the person needing help is deaf and mute? The Malaga Local Police and the city’s Deaf and Mute Federation have come up with a solution.
The users of the service will be able to key in a code number corresponding to their predicament as a text message on their mobile telephones. There are 12 four-digit code numbers to cover all types of emergency from fire, robbery, traffic or domestic accidents to kidnapping and even vehicles blocking a garage.

“All the citizen will have to do is key in the code and the word ‘casa’ and a patrol car will be on its way to their home”, explains Antonio Rojas of the Local Police. The emergency services will have a list of all the addresses of the participating citizens as well as their mobile telephone numbers. If the emergency is outside their home they must specify their location.

If necessary the emergency services will be able to call on a sign language interpreter 24 hours a day and the message service will even work if they have an emergency while travelling: the Malaga operators will pass the message onto their colleagues in the area in question.

The service will start as a pilot scheme involving a group of members of the Federation, and will later be opened up to the rest of the deaf and mute residents registered with the association in Malaga. “This is an important step forward for the future”, explained the Federation’s Chairman, Daniel Aguilar.



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Retiree stays cool at fair

Cook worked with DuPont for 26 years before he retired. He and his wife, Liz, both of Staunton, started up Botali's about two years ago after attending the American Youth Soccer Organization games at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind.

"They needed someone to supply refreshments for the games on Saturdays," he says.

Now he will be spending his first year at the fair serving smoothies, iced coffees, and of course, some deep-fried fair food read more

Prankster calls 911 to report fake shooting

Police said it appears that someone used the Internet to access a nationwide phone system for the deaf, which in turn made a 911 call at about 5:20 p.m. Officers, told that a wounded victim was in a yard and the shooter was in a home, sped to the scene with emergency lights and sirens. read more

'Becoming Jane' Austen hews closely to truth -- as far as it's known

Q. In the film, Jane is friendly with a deaf and dumb man from the village. Who was he?


A. Though it’s not clearly stated, that was George, Jane’s older brother. His situation illustrates the rather harsh family customs of Austen’s era.


Jane’s mother followed the common practice among the gentry of sending away one’s infants to be cared for by a local village family. All the Austen children lived with foster families until they were deemed to have “reached the age of reason” and could be expected to behave properly, at which point they were brought home.


George, however, didn’t develop normally, and thus never came home. Though his family sent money for his upkeep all his life, he never lived with them. Austen scholars guess that he was deaf and dumb, since Jane alluded in her letters to knowing sign language.

read more

Area soldier knows meaning of word 'sacrifice'

At Walter Reed, the hospital's Special Forces liaison suggested Wiggins attend the Horatio Alger Lifetime Achievement Awards.

At the event, Wiggins sat next to Delford M. Smith, owner of Evergreen International Aviation, a global aviation services company based in McMinnville, Ore. The two started talking, and Smith invited Wiggins on a day trip.

The outing involved a flight to former President George H.W. Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, with Bush himself, and an offer from Smith for Wiggins to move to Oregon to serve as executive director of the Evergreen Aviation Museum Campus, known for housing Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose. read more