New Year, New Poll

Well, the new year is here and I have a new poll. I got the idea for this one when I saw a performance of the musical Forever Plaid. One of the numbers is a spoof of the Ed Sullivan show that the Plaids perform (in three minutes and eleven seconds!). Admittedly, I did not understand some of the jokes and references because I've never actually seen an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show, but I did know what some of them were, including The Singing Nun. So, when I heard "Dominique," the idea for the new poll came to me.

I'm not using my classifieds, Congress of 1783, mayhap you would like to peruse them?

The other day I encountered a perfect example that illustrates the gap between the hearing and the deaf students with whom I work. And when I say, "gap," I really mean, the huge, gaping chasm into which all kinds of incidental, academic, semantic, social, mathematical, practical, and artistic (just to name a few) forms of knowledge are poured.

True Story: In eighth grade social studies we were discussing the Articles of Confederation and how they were ineffective as a governing document for the United States. Basically, the newly independent colonists (now Americans), were completely mistrustful of the federal government and wanted to prevent a strong centralized government from having king-like control. So, they wrote the Articles to outline the system of government, but they reserved most of the governing to the states. The federal government was very weak because of this, and could do little to control the states. Congress did not have the power to raise taxes and they had no way of forcing the states to pay the money owed to the federal government from the war. While this discussion was going on in the classroom, I was interpreting for a deaf student. We began to work on a chart explaining what each article was and why it was or was not effective. When we got to the part about the United States being in debt and Congress having no way to collect on their debts, I asked the deaf student why this would be problem. His response? "If Congress needs money, they should get a job." I had one of those moments when I wasn't sure whether or not I should laugh or take the student seriously (frankly, working in a middle school, this happens frequently). "Congress should get a job." Congress. Get a job. This came from an eighth grade student. Thirteen years old and this kid doesn't realize that Congress is not a person, it is an entity. And as such, it can't get a job. Not to mention, he's completely missed the point about Congress's ability (or lack thereof) to raise taxes. Simple, real-world reasoning skills. I still haven't completely wrapped my mind around this one.

The Corruption of Christmas

The world has gone mad. As I was driving home from school today, I passed a house that had one of those giant, inflatable Christmas decorations in the front yard. The hideous part was that it was a giant, inflatable Nativity scene. I was horrified. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (was I just naming the characters in the Nativity? Or was I just swearing in an Irish-Catholic fashion? I'm not sure) were all cartoonishly huge and balloon-like. It was soooo tacky.
Oh, this all reminds me of that story from working one Christmas at Hallmark. True Story: One Christmas, while I was working at the Hallmark at home, a girl came in and wanted to know if we sold any Christmas snowglobes. I directed her to the front of the store where we had a display of Precious Moments snowglobes, all featuring a Nativity scene. The girl, who was probably between the ages of 18 and 20, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Oh, is this it? I was hoping you would have something more Christmasy." SOMETHING MORE CHRISTMASY. I kid you not. Is it even possible to be more Christmasy than a scene depicting the birth of Christ, Himself?

New Poll

The new poll is up. This one is tricky, because, frankly, both of those songs are horrendous. I keep waffling back and forth over which song is actually worse. Every time I go to vote for "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," because of the absolute crudeness and annoying vocal tones, I then hear the whiny voice of the kid in "Christmas Shoes," begging for some stupid footwear for his sick mother. Seriously, Mom, if you were sick, would you really want me to beg for some special Christmas shoes for you? Wouldn't you rather that I donate a kidney for you or something? But then, when I decide that I'm going to vote for "Christmas Shoes," I realize how much I really, really hate GGROBAR.
It's a conundrum, plain and simple.

I like Vanilla, and I like Coke...but I don't like Vanilla Coke.

Hey this idea comes from a post a while back...Sis and I were talking about Andy Rooney and his general zaniness. I mentioned the title sentence about Vanilla Coke (which is a true statement) and Sis had used the statement, "I like peanut butter and I like cookies, but I don't like peanut butter cookies." Which is a total lie, because she does like peanut butter cookies, including, but not limited to, Nutter Butters and those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey Kisses on top. So, I'm wondering...can you guys come up with some other good comparisons following the pattern from above (two things that you like separately, but not in tandem)? And, they have to be real combinations, not like, "I like cheese and I like chocolate ice cream, but I don't like cheesy chocolate ice cream," or something ridiculous like that.
I'm looking forward to your responses.

Sis, are you okay?

Sis, are you doing okay out there? I haven't heard from you for a while. You haven't posted anything on your blog (The Crafty Snicklefritzes) and you haven't posted any comments to mine for a few days now. You haven't called and you haven't emailed. I know you're having a rough week, what with Robert's death and all. But, cheer up! You can always pull out the records and listen to him belting out "Camelot"!!

What is the one sign that I cannot sign...

without completely losing it and cracking up? ROBOT. That's right, I cannot interpret the word ROBOT. I can't handle it. Even thinking about it while typing this entry is making me chuckle. Seriously, try signing it. I challenge you to sign it in a serious manner. It's impossible. And really, when I'm in the middle of interpreting something and most of my signs only last about a second, I can't help but drag out the sign for ROBOT to about five seconds.
So why is this a problem? Well, currently the seventh graders are gearing up for the good ol'Science Fair. Yes, it's that time of year again. The time when young adolescents dream of grandeur and making the impossible possible. This past week we've watched two videos about science fair projects and ideas, we've visited the computer lab to look at websites with ideas and project help, and we've viewed past science fair projects. All leading to today, when the students had to submit their final topic proposal.
If you haven't done so recently, I recommend talking to a seventh grader. No, really. Have a conversation with one. I promise you, it will be fantastical and hilarious; especially if you ask one to think of a science fair topic. These kids haven't grasped the concept of what is measurable and testable. And, they haven't realized the limits of their own knowledge and ability. Really, that can be a good thing, I mean, all kids should have high goals and strive towards achieving them. But, when a student has difficulty remembering to place his completed homework in the correct tray before the bell rings, it's a little difficult to approve a science fair proposal in which he wishes to construct a robotic arm.
Yes, this is where the sign ROBOT comes into play. My favorite video of the week (note that all interpreters hate interpreting videos) was one that was probably 18 years old and featured a boy who did create a robotic arm. Let's just say that that science class was not one of my finer moments in interpreting; it was a video from 1989 and the word "robot" was used roughly 52 times.