Give 1, Get 1.

I've blogged about XO laptops a month ago. This is Negroponte's project to boost education in the poorest countries.

You might have heard of "zero-cost computing" and "$100 laptops". This is _that_ project.

Now, and for only 2 weeks, Canadians and Americans are able to give one laptop... as well as getting one laptop for themselves. $400 total (well, add $35 for shipping, as I've found out), or $200 per laptop.

A bit at a higher price for a "zero-cost computing", but a $200 laptop, by *our* standards... this is still nothing. Elsewhere, this is _a lot_.

So what a $200 laptop buys?

On the Internet, I've found this review from the New York Times. Do play the video, it's literally an eye-opener!

The laptop is running Linux, and making use of open-source software. It is WiFi-enabled (both in traditional "infrastructure" and "peer-to-peer"), it comes with a web browser. It has also an integrated webcam, there are also drawing programs, games, etc.

The laptop has no moving parts. No hard disks nor a DVD drive. It runs entirely on a 1Gig Flash memory.

The keyboard is waterproof (on the video, water is poured on the laptop!), you can drop the laptop on rocks, let it tumbled in the sand... do things wouldn't even think to do with a laptop... and the XO laptop will continue to work.

Oh, it draws only a meager 2 watts of power. It can run continuously... for 26 hours. Wouldn't you dream of having such a laptop? :)

As an IT guy, I can think of many usages of such equipments beside education. Such as in emergency situation, which power is almost always an issue, and the environment maybe quite hostile to a laptop.

If you have tried to keep a laptop running strictly on its batteries, you know that time will run out very soon.

I was watching the video, I can say that the design is sound. No moving part, a waterproof membrane keyboard, a hard shell, being extremely lightweight (2 pounds!) and being small. It's also extremely low power and using batteries that will last 2000 charges (instead of the usual 500-700 charges), so those laptops have a reasonable chance to last long... despite the rather hostile environment.

The video shows some of the programs that are bundled with the XO laptops. I like that.

The choice of some hardwares, like a webcam may raise eyebrows. On the other hand, and this is the photographer speaking, there's nothing more rewarding for a child to take pictures, -by himself-... of himself and of his friends!

Even more rewarding to share those photos (over that Wi-Fi connection) to friends.

Also, a keyboard is intimidating. As a visual person, a webcam makes sense. Keep it visual!

So I believe in educational values of a webcam.

With a few colleagues at the workplace, we went to the "Give 1 Get 1" website , and we all shelled $400 (actually $435, factoring the shipping costs to Québec).

I expect to get my XO laptop by Christmas... and to get news about the other XO laptop my money will help to buy and to be given to a child.

When the XO laptop arrives at my doorstep, I will report in this blog. :)

While I'm skeptical that western-style solutions to education needs can be exported to Africa... This is an experiment that is still worth supporting.

As an IT person, there's a professional interest in these little computers.

There's also a personal interest. Mhhh... make it plural, actually.

True, I'm always supportive of NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations). But there's a more important reason. The very reason why I study computer programming some 20 years ago.

Computers can do many things. It's how we program them that make the difference. I believe that computers can *help* humans in many ways...

Such as education.

Cheers,

-E

Overlooking the obvious?

Sometimes, I wonder.

I spotted this story from AP: Devices help deaf, hearing communicate. It's about the staff of an auto repair shop who told the owner that they have deaf clients... and it would be nice if there's anything to ease the language barrier.

*For months*, they looked for *electronic gizmos*. You'll read the rest of the story. :)

Somehow... it's a classic example of being "railroaded". Something that we, -as computer programmers-, are sometimes guilty.

When resolving a problem, you have to be open-minded. You have to figure out from which angle to view a problem, in order to visualize a solution. From there, you write a computer program that will solve the said problem.

To some extents, we're always railroaded in our thinking. The solution must be a computer solution. You're a computer programmer, right? Right.

The problem is... not all problems can be solved efficiently with a computer program.

I think this is a similar case. They wanted electronic gizmos, so they looked for... electronic gizmos, and nothing else.

Oh don't get me wrong! As a guy who is paid to play with technology, heh... gadgets will continue to fascinate me, and I will report them here (ie: IBM develops virtual deaf interpreter)

Somehow... if you have time and money to invest, like this auto repair shop...

How about... ASL classes for the staff?

I'm also thinking... of the humble piece of paper and a pen, and having those in ample supply. It certainly beats costly, fragile and intimidating electronic gizmos... for face-to-face communications, don't you think?

Don't worry, deaf people are used to the language barrier. It's part of their daily life, trust me! We live in a hearing world and there are so many frustrating reminders of that fact, therefore they are fully aware of the kind of world we all live in! ;)

So, they'll be the first to offer you a pen and paper... to break the language barrier!

They'll immensely appreciate if you have made the effort of learning Sign Language. It's not harder (and I might say, it may be even easier) than learning another "verbal" language, such as Spanish, the de-facto second language in the US.

Sometimes, technology isn't a solution.

Not yet. :)

Cheers!

-E

Busted ! Linguistic giggles on the road...

Maybe it has happened to you... maybe you are even the guilty party when you're travelling.

That false sense of... security when the locals do not speak your language, so with the people who are travelling with you, you can dare to say things which you wouldn't dare to say at home?

However, if you're a local, but you use a language that is little "spoken"... Mhhh...

A few days ago during my lunch break, I went to Air France's bureaus in downtown Montréal (just a few stops away, with the subway).

On my way back, I was at the Peel subway station, and there was a woman in her 50s and a woman in ther mid 20s. (Mom and daughter? Probably)

Dang, they are signing!

In deaf culture like in our hearing culture, it's not polite to eavesdrop. :)

However, at a subway station, waiting for the metro to arrive... it's difficult... to not look. On the other... hand (pun not intended!!!), since I'm learning ASL... there's an academic value to observe a conversation in ASL going on, right? Hehehe....

I'm not fluent enough to understand everything being signed, but I get the gist of the conversation. About Canadian politics, and it is also my understanding that they don't like the Conservatives. :)

Then about H-A-R-P-E-R (dang, fingerspelling)... with my limited ASL... I suddenly see before my eyes: "He's a dick".

It just dings in my head, and gone was my poker face. I couldn't stop giggling!!

Oh well... :)

(I'm skeptical whether this is proper ASL. The daughter signed "HE" followed by the sign of _that_ male attribute.

Maybe she's the hearing person, and her mom the deaf person? Often, I speak French in English (it's often reciprocal, by the way!) , using French idioms in English and vice in the versa. Can English idioms translate that way in ASL? Feel free to comment. :) ).

So I got busted... The two ladies were surprise at first, and then realizing what has just been signed, they too began to giggle.

At this point, if ASL was a spoken language, the conversation would have stopped there. The metro was arriving in station and the infernal LOUD noise that it makes would just make conversation, any conversation impossible.

Except in ASL, of course. Deaf people can't notice that, but as a hearing person, I do!

So we had some little extra time, enough to wave a friendly hello, and for me to sign "I HEARING, I LEARNING A-S-L.

And to get from both ladies, signs for GOOD/EXCELLENT ! They were all smiles.

And off we go, back to our respective path...

You know what? There are those little unexpected things happening... that lighten a day. Ok, not so little, Hey, I'm a man, after all!

If you've been wondering... I'm sure you are curious... about _those_ words. N'est-ce pas? :)

Here's a link to ASLPro video dictionary. From there, click on the letter P, and then complete the word... with the letter "enis". You'll see one of the signs for a certain male attribute. :)

As a man, I find the latter part of that sign, a bit... humiliating!!

As a sidenote: When learning a new language, it's interesting to see how things are perceived and understood by native "speakers" (signers, in this case!).

Some signs are really... well, amazing! Clever, really clever!

Don't take my word (sign?) that this is proper ASL for signing... how you feel about a person (ie, he's a d...ck), even if I have seen it being signed. I think the sign is just the clinical description of an intimate part of a male body.

Personally, I would fingerspell every letter, first to make sure that I'm understood, and second... to really _insist_ (therefore spelling it), how I feel about a certain person!

That being said... this is not a political statement about our beloved Prime Minister, by the name of mhhh... H-A-R-P-E-R. Nawww. :)

Cheers!

-E

100 words: Sea...

<--- Le banc des soupirs". Sunkenmeadows Beach, North Eastham MA (Cape Cod)

Sea...
Like the sun, she's like a clock, regulating life.
Twice a day, the low and high tides.

Enjoying long walks at low tide.

At high tide,
whether bathing, swimming,
whether sailing,

Sea...

It is feeding me,

physically, the fish I catch for my own survival,

spiritually, it's inspiring me, helping me in finding my balance.

The sea that meets the sky.

Have you ever dreamed of reaching the elusive horizon? I do. Many times...

Being at sea under a starlit sky..
In a heartbeat, I'd return.

I've also felt its fierce fury,
and why she deserves my full respect.

The sea.

-E

________

I was thinking of a song... "Je voudrais voir la mer" (literally: I want to see the sea :) ), which Michel Rivard sang beautifully. You close your eyes... and bingo, you're at sea.

I was thinking of that song, when this week's 100 words was about the sea...

Since I'm not at FC... I can write in French, heh!

Je voudrais voir la mer, Et ses plages d'argent, Et ses falaises blanches, Fières dans le vent! Je voudrais voir la mer, Et ses oiseaux de lune, Et ses chevaux de brume, Et ses poissons volants!	I want to see the sea, And her silver beaches, And her white crests, so proud in the wind! I want to see the sea, And its moon birds, And its wooly fogs, And its flying fishes!
Je voudrais voir la mer, Quand elle est un miroir, Où passent sans se voir, Des nuages de laine. Et les soirs de tempête, Dans la colère du ciel, Entendre une baleine Appeler son amour! {Refrain:} Je voudrais voir la mer, Et danser avec elle...	I want to see the sea, When she's calm like a mirror, Where without seeing each other, Some wooly clouds. And on stormy nights, In the sky's fury, To hear a whale calling her love! {Refrain:} I want to see the sea, to dance with her...

Since you can find anything at YouTube... Here's a great diaporama... and of course the song "Je voudrais voir la mer". Sweet dreams! -E

A sinking Ark...

It isn't making much noise in English-speaking media, but if you have at least some working knowledge of French, by all means, check the French media and keep an eye on the Arche de Zoé (a word play on Arche de Noé, Noah's Ark).

If you are/have been an aid worker (I wish so, but I didn't have the health to do so), or have been supporting non-governmental organizations (donating time in my younger years, now just financially, due to... lack of time), this story will make you sick.

What is scary, as the story unfolds, it seems that anyone can start up a bogus organization and get plenty of credentials...

... and as always, the victims are... the very victims they were supposedly helping. Children. In this case, 110 children.

Ootch.

And the fallout... all NGOs will get the blame...

For one bogus organization, there are others... If you can't trust an NGO that they are who they are... many doors will get closed on them. Or at least, doors will get much harder to open... (as if it was easy, to begin with)

Of course, add on top of that a French president who is as savvy as a George Bush on steroids (and no wonder why Sarkozy seems to get along with Bush), and a country like Chad who isn't all that happy to see France barging in with its big feet and a president who is utterly rude...

How to thoroughly mess up an already messed up situation... leave it to the politicians. It's difficult to do worse. :)

It isn't much different than other bad guys like those that dare to flood the mailbox of my parents everyday. Flooding is the word here. (Sometimes I want to scream...). People who pretend to do good... while in fact they are doing considrable harm. Of course, $$$ is what motivate them... it's always the case, of course...

But it hits hard, because... it hits your ideals. The very fundamental beliefs that motivate you. A dream of a better world, the unconditional urge to help a fellow human, and so on and on...

Also... it seems that I remember seeing somehwere that "All humans are born free and equal in dignity and in rights". Oh yeah, human rights... I believe in that. :)

The good thing, there aren't many of those bad guys... and they are being caught, one after the other... that's the positive outfall of that big mess.

Somehow... it makes you pondering about the human nature... and how some people could be this... evil in their mind. Mhhhh...

Cheers!

-E

Pensive...

(<---A sunset peaking through the clouds, over Vancouver's English Bay Beach, on a cold windy day of December 2006...)

I had to stay late in the office. In French, we say it's a baroud d'honneur. You give your best, as if it's a big fight, decisive... while you know it's just for the honour (baroud=fight, honneur=honour).

I'm tight lip about the things going on, but suffice to say that for me and for a lot of people, at the end of the year, it's going to be the end of the road. At first, it was something so far away... it wasn't worrisome at all.

And bingo, we're less than 6 weeks away from the end...

So I took a break, and I was watching the sunset over the Mount Royal...

(<--- Photo of Stanley Park, at sunset)
Last year, almost on this time of the year, I was on the west coast... on days a bit like today. Raw, cold and windy, and a sun valiantly attempting to peek through the clouds...

In some cultures, the sunset marks a passage. The end of a day... the promise that there will be another day tomorrow... which will almost certainly be different than today.

There's a bit of that happening with my professional career...

If this was up to me, this would be the ideal time to set sails and to say bye-bye Montréal!

Vancouver? The Gulf Coast Islands? Victoria? You betcha...

But I can't.

(<--- Photos of some of these islands, between Vancouver and Victoria)

I never thought, even in my worst nightmares that I'd be stamped as a caregiver... and the prime beneficiaries... would be my parents. In a country supposedly known for its safety net... where is that net when the time has come? I wonder...

There's something not right... At age 43, I should have kids of my own to care for. I shouldn't have to care for my parents as if they were my children. Things are completely in reverse, here.

And the weight of being single. At other times, it would be a blessing... especially with this powerful desire to set sails... since I have just myself and my cats to take care.

But on these days, on top of everything else... It's tough. The house is terribly empty, having just myself and my cats to talk to when I do breakfast, for instance.

Nor that I'm easily "marketable". Someone who wants to marry me... will marry the family, as they say. So, any nurse or would-be nurse around? Along with a serious dose of psychology in order to weather the storm, one after the other? Ootch... I scare everyone miles away, I know that.

I'm pensive...

Those are impossible questions which tomorrow will nonetheless have to bring answers. It's a sure thing. So this is going to be interesting...

But I wish there's a fast-forward button... I'm a little bit tired of waiting... and I wish that tomorrow is... _that_ tomorrow.

Since there are major changes just ahead... maybe this is the tomorrow I'm waiting for... albeit I've no idea of where, what nor how it's going to be.

Ok, time to go to bed. :)

Cheers,

-E

New Sidekick... Canada is still late in the game...

I saw the news this morning about the new Sidekick (for T-Mobile customers). As a Canadian, it reminded me of the frustration when I was in Seattle last July and I test drive the new Apple's iPhone. If only I could smuggle such a device back to Canada!

(As you may know, the new iPhone is *not* available in Canada. This has little to do with Apple's attitude nor of a lack of supply. It is for the same reason that my cellphone provider (Fido) has *STOPPED* selling the Sidekick in Canada (called the Hiptop here)).

Why? Canadians are just as net savvy as our fellow Americans... So why Apple are ignoring Canada, and why the Sidekick which is extremely popular in the US... has entirely disappeared from the Canadian market?

The reason is this: NONE of the Canadian cellphone providers offers a plan like T-Mobile's *UNLIMITED* internet access for $29.95 . (Other US cellphone carriers have similar plans, albeit at a somewhat higher rate than T-Mobile).

$30/month is reasonable. It is within the price range of a regular internet subscription.

However, mobile internet is utterly EXPENSIVE in Canada. That's why few of us can afford these devices! Here's the rates from my cellphone operator, Fido: $12... for 1 Megabyte... PER MONTH.

To add insult to injury, if you dare to bust your 1Meg allocation for the entire month, they will hit you with a $22 surcharge for each and every megabyte exceeding your limit.

Hello ?!?

The closest thing to "unlimited internet access", is a whopping $100/month for only 200 Megabytes... and they have the nerve to charge you $5 for each Megabyte afterwards.

Other Canadian cellphone operators have similar plans. Now you understand why you won't see the iPhone in Canada anytime soon at these obscene rates... and why the cool Sidekick has disappeared completely from the Canadian market. These devices naturally lend themselves for *heavy* internet use.

(Which also means that the deaf community in Canada doesn't enjoy what fellow deaf Americans are taking for granted with their cellphones. It is still the dark age here. So, hearing and deaf Canadians are in the same boat: We would *love* to have those devices, but they are just *too expensive* to use!)

By the way, if you are in disbelief that there is a demand for mobile internet, here is a personal tale: In August I was back on the US East Coast, enjoying the beaches of Cape Cod. Later in that month, a blogger reunion was organized, but it meant for me a looooong trip from Cape Cod to NYC and then to NJ.

Anyhow, I went to the "Blogajamig" as it was called and I had a chance to see in person a lot of fellow bloggers. That was well worth the trip.

On the bus ride from Hyannis (Cape Cod) to the Port Authority in NYC, I was looking at my fellow passengers all around me. Some passengers were playing with their "Crackberry" (the nickname for the Blackberry). I also saw plenty of Sidekicks in action, whether people were chatting on IM, sending/receiving e-mails, and even surfing the web.

(I guess the iPhone was too new, I haven't seen one during that bus trip).

It isn't an exageration to say that at least *half* of the bus were on the internet at one time or another during that ride to NYC.

Witout traffic jams, it is *in theory* a 6-hour bus ride. So you have plenty of time to kill. :)

So, I was looking at my old cellphone...

Hey my friend, what's wrong with you?

We have extremely greedy cellphone operators in Canada... That's the problem.

And a CRTC (the equivalent of the US' FCC) under heavy pressure from a right-wing government (Stephen Harper) to deregulate the phone service (both land and wireless). So, it's not surprising that nothing is moving and... fees are sky rocketing.

Sometimes, I wish that I live in the US when I see that...

-E

Douce France...

"... Cher pays de mon enfance,
Bercée de temps d'insouciance,
je t'ai gardée dans mon coeur!"
-Charles Trenet.

It appears that I'm going to France after all. First half of January 2008. I got the tickets today, eh! :)

My uncle is finally out of danger, which is finally what matters the most. So I will take time to visit him, and the rest of my family on the Euro side. :)

Barring any labour strike (if you know France, this is almost as a sure thing as fog over London. :) ) this plan should hold on nonetheless (knocking on wood). This is also a trip done in much much much happier circumstances!

There are certain songs... that are almost like a second national anthem. "J'irai revoir ma Normandie" (literally: "I'll see again my Normandy") and also... Douce France. Very sweet to me. Very sweet. :)

I've been humming "Douce France" this evening.
So, this is another experiment with YouTube. Hope this works!
(That being said, it's incredible what you find on YouTube!)

So, here is a young Charles Trenet... and "Douce France". There are also subtitles, so you can read along. :)

A bientôt!

-E

Noisy night, windy thoughts...

I have those windows which, when you open them just by a crack... and it's windy outside... those windows "sing". VERY loudly. Veeeeewwwwwwwww !

I woke up at 3AM... mhhh... no wonder why. :)

Of course, once I close my windows, I couldn't find sleep.

A glance at the digital thermometer... 0.0°C (32°F) . Winter is coming...

I was observing the weather, and I was thinking...

Where I work, near the Gay Village... (east end of downtown Montréal)... there's a lot of homeless people... I see them everyday...

Shelters? This is Canada, and you think we have that fantastic safety net? Forget it. For this year in Québec, the government will give only $1 million out of the $3.7 millions the Montréal shelters need.

Minister Couillard brags about his savvy way to manage public money. Sheesh...

I keep reminding myself that there is a lot of luck that I'm here, in a nice warm and cozy home, which my only worry is how to find sleep at 3AM...

And not being "out there"... and they too they are wondering how to find sleep at 3AM... among other worries...

Cheers,

-E

I wonder...

It's coming from several sources at once, mhhh... I'll do my duty and mentioning it here.

It's about the war in Iraq, about the almost certain war against Iran...

Since I don't have much success in embedding videos, I'll pass this as a link: Students: A challenge for you. It's a YouTube video.

My initial reaction was... Heh heh... too easy as a messenger to fingerpoint *at others*... The many things he said that could boomerang at him...

Nonetheless, his points are valid. My thinking is there's a *collective* failure, at all levels and all ages. Not just students. Many grown ups as well. They too have re-elected Bush in 2004. They too are silent. Everyone is at fault, here... Everyone... and that's the sickening point...

When you think that as early as 2004... via the 9/11 commission, it was proven without a shadow of a doubt that *all* the reasons invoked to go on a war in Iraq were FALSE... all of them, ALL...

How come Bush got re-elected in November of the same year? How come there's no impeachment since then? Heck, over 3000 soldiers dead, many wounded, and that's not factoring the civilian toll... on a war that was justified by lies...

... and nothing happens? Even more so that he's clearly showing his intent to attack Iran...

And this is the guy, as president, who is also the commander in chief of the army. What does it take to impeach him? Since 2004, I've been wondering...

It's easy to blame the Democrats. Indeed, they have no spine, no balls. It's painful to see that...

But they are also a mirror of the population. There should be massive protests everywhere, and yet... nada. It's too easy to blame the Democrats... when it's so glaring obvious that the population isn't backing them. Silence speaks loudly, here.

So I'm wondering...

If Nixon was still alive, gee whiz I think he would ask Bush how he did it. The Watergate seems sooo futile, and yet... this has cost him his presidency.

It's also... in the many small details. If you've been reading my blog at FC, you know that this year, I have resumed travels in the US , after a looooong hiatus. A few times for work, and at other times, for leisure. Visiting friends, and enjoying the mountains as well as the beaches.

I have forgotten how painful the many frustrations that are now routine in the States, whether at the border, whether in US airports, etc... and the many things which, before 9/11, would have made people screaming.

And when you return to Canada... how delightful is that overwhelming feeling of... relief!

In the not so old days, my fellow Americans used to cherish civil liberties... Where are they today? I wonder...

Now, it's all down the drain... in favor of more "security"? When you're justified to be worried for your own safety by a guy that has a gun and a badge... and not by that odd-looking traveler next to your seat, something is indeed dead wrong... and yet, I observe my fellow Americans... and they all quietly accept that...

A work colleague of mine uses this tag line for all his e-mail:

"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will receive either".
-Benjamin Franklin.

Bingo... I think this era will be long studied in school.

That being said, I hesitate to fingerpoint... because who we are to blame others... Mhhh...

Here in Canada, Harper isn't better... A disgrace to the country, and we have elected him. *WE*. It's too easy to say like my fellow Americans: Oh, he's not my President (here: Prime Minister), I didn't vote for him. I've heard that phrase many times!

True, I didn't vote for Harper, but I'm not an hypocrite. He's *my* Prime Minister... and to *all* Canadians, whether we like him or not.

And I would fingerpoint my fellow Americans? No...

Even here in my own province, we have elected (and re-elected many times) Maurice Duplessis. An elected and many times re-elected dictator, and I am *not* exaggerating.

In English Canada, it was easy to fingerpoint Quebecers... Yet they conveniently forget that they aren't better than we are... Collectively, we have some severe lapses... Harper being a powerful reminder of that...

I believe in the swing of the pendulum... and those errors of judgement will self-correct at some points in time... but it makes me wondering why we aren't getting wiser...

Ignoring the past, you are bound to repeat certain things, eh? True, but it's too easy to say that. There's more to that... that's my gut feeling.

So I am a bit pensive this morning...

-E

Wake up!

Seen from Clevergirl's blog.

If you have cats... I think that you'll love this video. :)

Wow... Sign Language on prime time television!

Sometimes, there are gems...

I rarely watch television, but tonight the mood wasn't much for anything else.

So I happened to watch Radio-Canada's Le moment de vérité (The moment of truth, in French). Several teams, each with a different challenge. They have a week to practice... and then they return to the studio, and they have to show their newly acquired skills.

Whether to learn the first 1000 decimals of Pi... whether the ahem... joy and pain of archery... and to be able to hit a target at 15 metres away. In just one week. Can you do that?

Well, I almost fell off my chair tonight. For one team... their challenge was to learn 250 "words" in LSQ! The Langue Signée du Québec, our equivalent of ASL!!!! Learning Sign Language. Wowie!!!

In just... ONE WEEK... and tonight... *is* the night. Gulp...

I'm learning ASL, and I agree with the two LSQ experts (and judges for this challenge) they invited in studio .

Learning 50 signs per week is quite a rapid pace (I *fully* agree! :) ). . They were skeptical the candidates would be able to learn 250 signs in just one week. So do I !!!

So they show videos on how their week went. One candidate is a teacher and she took the whole week off to work FULL TIME on learning LSQ. I think that for all the members of that team, when they fell asleep, they were "nightmaring" in Sign Language. :)

In studio, they were asked 50 LSQ signs out of the 250 signs they had to learn. No mistakes were allowed and they have just 2 minutes. Whew.

Well... I was floored and at the same time extremely thrilled! Nor that I take a sadistic pleasure... nooooooo, well... a little bit, okay... I admit !!!

Hey, I'm a student, and I've been sweating heavily, here! Well, sort of... :)

Seriously, I don't know who has thought of this challenge, but a heartfelt *BRAVO* to Radio-Canada! A fun way (and very entertaining!) to introduce Sign Language, on a popular show and on prime-time. I can't remember the last time a major TV network did that. So, Bravo Radio-Canada!

Also, I was a little bit curious to see how close is LSQ to ASL.

I was surprised to see that signs like "father" (and presumably grandfather) are the same as in ASL. (with a "High Five" hand) .

But you know what? They won!!! All the 50 signs!

Personally, I got about half of all the LSQ signs they showed, and I haven't even studied LSQ!

Some of these signs were like their ASL equivalent... and ahem... yes, on other LSQ signs, I've done some guesses. Cough cough!!!

So I had a devil of fun watching television!

Later in the evening, I was thinking of that... Sometimes, I wish I could tell (sign? :) ) to my fellow deaf friends... the future of the deaf culture isn't in sterile debates on CIs (Cochlear Implants), nor the violent protests against AG Bell, telling them where to shove their audism, etc...

The future of the deaf culture... is about original works in ASL... It is also about dissemination ...

Gallaudet, the only deaf university in the US can (and actively) promote the Deaf Culture... but like any university, even one for the deaf people... there's so much an university can do.

When I visit the US, I'm floored by the zillions of specialty channels I see on digital cable. Many channels in foreign languages (hey, I was pleasantly surprised to see the French-speaking TV5! :) )

Why there isn't... a deaf channel? Even several channels? In the US alone, it is believed there are at least several millions of people who are fluent in ASL. In Canada, since we get a lot of your US channels, add the Canadian market to the list.

Besides, having a deaf channel, it means that you have to *feed* that channel, with new materials. You can't do re-run forever!

How's about some news bulletins in ASL? How about TV game shows in Sign Language?

Can you imagine the effects onto the Deaf Culture? I think this is the jolt it really needs.

"I'll take LSQ for $200, Alex".

Heck, I'm in !!!

-My 2-cent...

-E

Is ASL... a language?

I was doing my round of web sites. I like sites like DeafPulse, everything at a glance about the deaf community from several sources. This saves considerable time.

From there, I came to Kalalau's Korner. This a blog and vlog I like. I like his way of thinking.. and his way to make me thinking. :)

His latest entry: The American Sign Language Debate (part 2). I entirely agree with what he mentioned.

I'd like to share some tidbits...

-During the summer, Gallaudet University has announced, *officially* that they are bilingual, welcoming the English language onto their campuses. I relayed the news (along with some comments), to a friend who is interested by ASL and she's seeing my progress and everytime we see each other, I teach her a few signs. So her reaction was:

What bilingualism? They don't teach already in English? There's just one language there...

Ooooohhhh boy... So I have to remind her about the "L" in ASL, and this has to be accounted for, just like English, (hence bilingualism) and the whole shebang about "audism", etc...

But I'd bet her reaction is typical. ASL isn't considered as a real language, so words like "bilingualism" sound funny. What bilingualism?

Because ASL is taught in the United States, an English-speaking country, maybe the link between English and ASL is so strong... that it blurs some borders? Mhhh...

I'm a French-speaking native and I'm learning ASL. I know a dear friend who is a Spanish native speaker who had to learn ASL when she became deaf.

Conversely to some people, ASL *is* their native language, and they learn English as a second language.

So, I see no reasons why there aren't textbooks in French, in Spanish, or in any language about learning ASL. They probably exist, but I haven't looked for them.

To me, the "A" in ASL simply means the region which this Sign Language is used. In... America, period.

In England, they have BSL, British Sign Language, and to have seen some BSLs, they quite differ from ASL, and yet, this is two Sign Languages which are used... in dominant English-speaking countries.

In France, they have LSF, Langue Signée Française and back home, LSQ, Langue Signée du Québec. I have seen some LSQ (thanks to the Parliamentary Channel, the only channel which I can see LSQ! French is the dominant language here in Québec, and a lot of signs in LSQ... are also defined in ASL, either "verbatim" or with minor variations. So, Sign Language isn't subordinated to a spoken language, such as English. I'd say it is defined by the geographical region where this language is used. In America, in England, in France, in Québec, etc. That makes sense.

Also, if you have some relatives living in Europe (my case), you may chuckle a little bit. When Laurent Clerc came to America, he brought with him, some of the European culture.

When you count in ASL, say from one through 5, it is the same thing as hearing people do when they count on their fingers. Except for the number 3. Between hearing people all over Europe, if you want to show the number 3, you'll raise the index, the major... AND THE THUMB. We don't do that in America.

However, in ASL, this is the *proper* way to sign the number 3, with the thumb's up! Just like the Europeans do! So, if you don't pay attention, and you sign 3 the way you've been taught at school, you'll likely to sign the letter "W" or the number 6. Oopsie!

A language isn't static. It borrows words from other languages, and adapt them too.

Borrowing words in ASL... means signing spelled words. For instance, if you want to sign "pizza", you'll sign a "double z" with the major and index and then it is followed by the letter "a". The last 3 letters of "pizza". There isn't a genuine ASL sign for pizza. Shocking, I know!

If you want to sign an all-encompassing "all", there are several signs for that, but on one sign , you begin to sign the letter "L" (index and thumb at 90 degrees, visually looking like the letter L) and you make a wide lateral move with your hand. Hence, "all".

This is sometimes called "lexicalized signs"... and this has also been a rather hot debate. This is not pure ASL, and to some people this is another (bad) influence of the English language onto ASL.

I chuckle, because we Québecers, we often lecture our "cousins de France" of their use and abuse of English words... while conveniently forgetting that here too... we use English words. So this isn't only in ASL that there are such language debates... nor only in ASL that the English language is considered the big villain. :)

At some points, a language has to be practical. I'm well aware of that, as an ASL student. So many signs to remember, so many signs to associate with visual concepts!

So any visual clue will help.

A "double z and an a", because when I sign this, I *visualize* the word pizza, this is fine with me. The association between the two is obvious.

If I sign "T" (all fingers closed, except for the thumb that is placed between the index and the major) and I wiggle my hand.. it means toilet and mostly I or someone I know need to go there real... QUIIIICKK!

Therefore, the letter T for toilet, and the dance (wiggle) we all do when the bladder is full ! Then, you remember for the rest of your life the sign for toilet. The association is so easy to make.

Not all ASL signs are easy to remember... but my point is,.. there are thousands and thousands of signs to remember. So... why not making it easy to remember... when it's possible to do so. :)

Kalalau later went on with this vlog (sorry, only in ASL) about language decay. This is a problem all bilingual / multilingual people have to face. It also affects ASL and all Sign Languages as well.

I've felt that with my sign language when I took a few weeks off recently. My signs were rusty.

I feel the same with the English language, and even with my mother language, French. True, it's always easier to catch up with the mother language.

A tale: I've been on the go for 5 months, always in English-speaking countries... so, when I returned to Québec for good, it took me a little while to adjust. Because I was then thinking in English and no longer in French.

Anyway, just my little 2-cent of ramblings. :)

Cheers!

-E

The calendar...

A new month, a new page on the calendar...

At FC, they have this question: "The five things you'll find in a bedroom".

In *my* bedroom, you'll find a calendar. A calendar from a place I visited.

Of course, the calendar is there... for the photos. Nothing dirty! :)

Welcome to Vancouver, welcome to the totem poles in Stanley Park.

The "Indians" have these very delicate and beautiful things called "dream catcher". If you have seen one of those, they look somewhat like an UHF antenna.

Usually given to children, to protect them while they sleep.

There are many things floating in the ether, and it is believed that a "dream catcher" will filter bad dreams. It is tuned to pull all the good spirits floating, so you'll have the nicest sweetest dreams.

So in a way, this calendar about coastal British-Columbia is my "dream catcher"... to filter all the bad dreams, and to allow the spirit of the West Coast to fill the airspace in my bedroom.

Well, you might say this is gibberish. Of course, the grain of salt has to be valued. But there are sweet things like that... I like to say that we're irrational people, and it is a GOOD thing that we're irrational. We're not cold blood like robots!

When I was in the forum business, at a language & culture (it certainly helps to open one's mind, I'm telling you), I remember saying this, to someone who was (too) openly laughing at these... rituals.

We're talking about people who live in the nature. This defines in part their vocabulary, their mindset, their culture. They speak about what they feel in the vocabulary they know, and this deserves respect.

I would say that living *in* the nature, they have this keen perception, that we, urban "modern" people don't. Because our artificial world has completely sheltered us from nature, so we lost that feeling, that perfection.

So, I wouldn't readily dismiss things like "dream catchers". Or to some Wiccans and I'm also thinking of Shamans, the healing powers of some rocks, or why in some cultures they worship the sun, or some animals like the eagle, the bear, and so forth...

You may have to dig hard, but this is always based on something that is true, and people who have this close connection with nature have noticed. We don't.

The rest is being explained with the vocabulary and culture of the person telling that to you... which in your language and your culture may not make much sense.

So, this deserves respect, no matter how silly or weird it comes to you. A lot has been lost in the translation.

As a free thinker, I _think_ that I'm allowed to pick and choose what fits me...

So I am sharing with you... my "dream catcher".

Did I mention that I have sweet dreams? :)

Cheers!

-E

Elections...

I got the reminder in my mailbox today. I wonder what to do?

Oh, did you say elections? Yup. Federal? Nope... Provincial? Nope... Municipal? You aren't even close.

Scholar. Schoolboards. To elect a "commissionnaire", for 4 years.

So I am a registered voter with the "Commission Scolaire de Montréal" (aka CSDM). Like many Quebec adults, that schoolboard didn't exist when we were sitting on school benches.

I have no kids. The only reason I'm registered with the CSDM, is because the high school I went... fell in the hands of the CSDM.

Voters' turnout? Utterly low. At the last elections: 10%. Ten percent.

It is sad. Schoolboards are a good idea, though. Elsewhere, schools are often managed, if not "micro-managed" by towns and cities officials. Having an independent schoolboard taking charge of schools, you avoid the negative influence of rotten politicians from the town or the state who are there just to get re-elected. So, schoolboards do serve a purpose, as a shield.

So there are two candidates in my area. The current commissionnaire going on re-election, and a runner-up, a former commissionnaire from a different district.

It's funny. I never heard of these guys, only... on elections. And when I read their blurb (enclosed in that envelope), I'm floored.

My school, in my time (the 1970s. I'm not exactly... young!), was always in the top 5 schools in Montréal.

You may remember the jointly-run TV quizz by Radio-Canada and the CBC: Génies en Herbe / Reach for the top (A sort of scholar version of today's Jeopardy, with very good ratings on both networks). We went to the National's semi-finals. Not bad for a French-speaking school. We were little geniuses... he said modestly. :)

The only sore point was... "éducation physique". Sport wasn't our forte.

Fast forward some 30 years later...

Too often, I see the name of my high school in the newspapers. We're now the schoolboard's *bottom* 5 schools. Drugs, rapes, violence... along with vandalism, even arson... are common occurrences, so police squads, fire trucks and ambulances are routinely dispatched to my former school (and therefore making the headlines in the newspapers).

So what do I read from these totally unknown candidates? Both are saying that schools are doing so great, both are sayings that they'll work hard to get more money... to fund more SPORT activities.

Hello ?!?

It's my duty to vote. Sunday is coming...

The last time, 90% of eligible voters didn't vote.

Dang, it's tempting...

Cheers,

-E