Become

The Disability Pride Flag features a black field with green, blue, white, yellow and red striping which runs diagonally across the field from top left to bottom right.

 

“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”

― David Bowie

I want to talk about how I no longer consider myself "deaf first", but Autistic first. See, I was mainstreamed in education and never really got to socialize with Deaf peers who were signing. The deaf school in the area however was rife with stories of abuse and other horrors - I never attended there. Despite the fact I was able to pick up sign language, I never really felt like I belonged anywhere.

However, it is part of my identity. While I was marching in a Pride parade last week in the rain, signing with my left hand and holding an umbrella in the other, something in my "deaf brain" switched on and suddenly, I wasn't struggling to recall vocabulary. 

July 31st is the last day of Disability Pride Month. Perhaps being part of the 2SLGBTQ++ community is enough to feel like I belong somewhere.  

 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario driving his red Kart, with glowing blue anti-gravity wheels.

Just finished playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online VS my 10-year-old niece. We went through several tracks I hadn't played before.

She kicked my ass.

Festivals

Concert Venue photo by: Anthony Delanoix.

Good morning. I've got a lot on my mind.

Signing one-handed in the rain last week was enough to kick-start my Deaf brain into gear again. I'm recalling signs I haven't used in YEARS! 

*PAH* (that means success!) 

This has given me ideas - festival interpreting. Up on the stage, with the band, interpreting the songs for the Deaf folx in the crowds.  I used to do this in Karaoke bars for crying out loud.

♪ It's all coming
Back to me now ♫ 
 

Be awesome to someone today, even if it's just yourself. 🤟

ASL Vocbulary: Autism

I defer to Bill Vicars' definition for the ASL sign, as I do not get the opportunity to sign very often: "Autistic" ASL Sign Lifeprint Page

Font

"Jake Verda: Our hand size determines the size of our sign language font"

 

Fuck Cancer

Today was probably the worst birthday I've ever experienced. But I don't want to make this post about me.

My Father has Stage 4 cancer, and today we received the news that it's spreading, and the prognosis is months to live. We knew we only had a short time, but this puts a finer point on it.

That's what our small family is dealing with. Fuck Cancer.

Pirate Pete

 

I've been slowly building up my retro arcade games on my Switch, a gift from my Father-in-law - this is something I would never have bought for myself. I feel like I'm no longer missing out, as I've been "catching up" with all the games I've missed. Many of them have been ported to this system. There's been so few misses in my searches - remember Pitfall? I loved that game as a kid - but Activision wasn't making it available on the Switch. So I consoled myself with the other gems in my trove.

Story time.

I was having trouble recalling the name of a game - it was called either Jungle Boy or Tarzan Boy? It had something like 3 or 4 stages you had to clear; feats such as swinging from ropes, dodging boulders, swimming?

I believe I've figured out why I could not find this game - it was removed from market because of "racist overtones" in the game play. To wit, the damsel in distress had been captured by "savages" and needed saving. Racism, anyone? No wonder the game was pulled. 

I suspect "Pirate Pete" is a re-write of Tarzan Boy. Those stages I mentioned are all there, just tweaked slightly. 

I was 11 at the time the game had shipped, and I'm trying not to chastise myself about searching for it, because I had honestly FORGOTTEN about that part. This game scratches that "itch" of an old school, scrolling platformer, and I'm happy I found it.

I recall liking Pitfall! better than Tarzan Boy, anyway.

Resilience

Bullying takes many forms and formats.

What doesn't change is our resilience. 

We're still here.