Banjo's World

Originally posted on January 22, 2006

Earlier today, I watched a made-for-TV movie called, 'By Dawn's Early Light'. It was aired on HBO back in 1990, and I wasn't aware of what the movie was about till yesterday when I rented it at Jumbo Video. I don't rent as much as I used to due to the high rental fees. Anyway, I was surprisingly pleased with the movie and I find it hard to imagine how this managed to slip through the crack without anybody noticing.

They did an awful job on authoring the DVD, the video quality was in full screen and a lot of noises were visible on the screen. I imagine it was one of the early HBO releases on the DVD before they started to get serious about remastering them for the format.

The movie had a low budget, but was largely shadowed by the top-notch acting. It's based on a novel called 'Trinity's Child' by William Prochnau.

Soviet radicals upset with the thawing of the Cold War explode a
nuclear weapon in Russia, setting off a series of events that may very
well trigger World War III. The president (Martin Landau)
has been isolated after a helicopter accident and must outwit
government and military officials who are attempting to go forward with
the war. The film centers on the relationship between a pair of
American pilots who have been ordered to bomb the U.S.S.R. and the
attempts by some factions to bring them home before global Armageddon.

I came across this humourous video at Google Video. This comedian is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adult/s). He's fluent in ASL (American Sign Language). He often take jabs at the two worlds and when they collide. Yes, there is really a whole another world for the deaf.

Originally posted on December 2, 2005

Every single day, many parents are in shock after being told that their beloved infants are deaf. Well, any parents with absolutely no connections to the deaf world would react pretty badly to the news. The next step is to adjust to the alternating lifestyle in their family by learning how to sign in order to communicate with the deaf child.

Today, far too many doctors are still under-educated on the needs of deaf children. It is important that a child adapt American Sign Language as its primary language in communication along with English being given the equal status. We live in a society where everybody speaks and writes English. I don't have a lot of faith in the oral approach because many children who are born deaf tend to have a hard time learning how to speak. They can, but it's a very difficult task and requires a lot of training only to become barely capable of being understood by a completely stranger.

Deafness isn't just about being unable to hear, there's more to it than one could possibly imagine. There is actually a whole different world out there for the deaf. Just go to any deaf get-togethers or conventions for the deaf and you'll be amazed by what you see.

Though, there's a dark side to being deaf. It's the ignorance that the deaf keep facing every day in their lives. It's the society, despite the changes we've pushed for in the last few decades. People are still being ignorant of the problems that the deaf and the other types of groups such as autistic, blind, deaf-blind, quads, and more. No matter what we've achieved, there's always people who come up to our faces and mock us just for being deaf. We often have to fight to break down the barriers. There's always another barrier to break down after breaking one because people are just too damned ignorant and end up forming more barriers.

Some of these people end up having deaf children. Sure, you may laugh in their faces as a way of punishing them. The scary thing is, imagine what they'll do to their children for just being deaf. Some of them may suddenly be impacted by the fact that their children cannot hear and
become good parents. It still doesn't make up for their nastiness in the past. People just don't make fun of people for nothing, they weren't taught to understand people like us because they come from families who are too ignorant to bother with the reality in our societies.

Ignorance Hurts.

Originally posted on December 14, 2005

Excerpt from an article titled, "English First Advocate Feels School Rightly Suspended Student for Speaking Spanish".

"What they're saying is that [the school] violated his civil rights," the English First spokesman says. But he contends, "You have no right to speak another language in this country. Actually, in a school or workplace setting, you have very few rights, so to speak. Your employer has rights. The school principal has rights. What we're seeing here is an attempt to cash in."

Source: American Family Association

I can't believe what I'm reading here. No right to speak another language in the country of the U.S.A.? What kind of drug is this English extremist on? What about American Sign Language? It's not English so I guess it's out of the question. The Americans must be very grateful to have the first amendment in place for them to take advantage of.

Language laws, they don't work. Period. Look what happened to France when they tried to preserve their language and culture. Do you want that to happen to the U.S.A.? Then don't make English the official language of the U.S.A. It's bad enough that corporations and small businesses are being summoned for violating the language laws in Canada especially in the province of Quebec.

Below here is another excerpt from the article,

The Rubios have gained considerable support as word of the controversy has spread. However, Jim Boulet, executive director of the Virginia-based group English First, says the school did the right thing in suspending the high school student. "Let's face facts here; if the kid had been saying in Spanish, 'The bomb is around the corner,' the school would be held liable for not knowing that," the English language advocate asserts.

Ridiculous.

Just think of how the deaf community would react to this if it had happened to a deaf student for signing in ASL. I'm sure it wouldn't be pretty.

Yes, that's me in the image displayed above. Wondering why there are two different coloured eyes in the image? Think that's just a photo effect to look cool?

Originally posted on October 9, 2005

One word, brilliant! Nick Park is a brilliant animator, something you cannot deny. This movie is obviously based on the early shorts Nick Park made starting back in 1989 till 1995. You can get all three Wallace & Gromit shorts on the DVD format. I remember watching them when I was younger and enjoyed the heck out of them. Nick Park also brought us Chicken Run which the critics raved over years ago. There's just something about movies combining the British humour and claymation that I love.

Originally posted on October 2, 2005

As quoted by William Gaddis, the author. Some of you may be familiar with the man known as Tom DeLay. He recently stepped down as the U.S. House Majority Leader due to the recent indication by Ronnie Earle. DeLay obviously was stupid enough to point his finger at Earle for being biased toward him with absolutely no prior knowledge of the lawyer's past records. I quoted a small part of the article below stating that 12 out of 15 politicans indicted in the past were democrats.

Two decades later, Earle is going after another powerful Texas politician, and the defense is no different. When he indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Wednesday, the Texas Republican lashed out at Earle, calling him an "unabashed partisan zealot."

Just one hitch: Earle may be a Democrat, but, he said, so were 12 of the 15 politicians he has indicted over the years, including Mattox. Even Mattox said Wednesday that Earle long had targeted people on both sides of the political aisle, roiling the halls of power in Austin — and now Washington — at every turn.

Originally posted on October 1, 2005

Based on the failed TV series, Firefly. You can buy the complete series on the DVD format. All of the characters from the series are back though one role was greatly reduced to merely a cameo but well-done. Firefly was a great Sci-Fi/Western show, it wasn't given a chance. This movie was made on a budget of $40 million. That's not really a big budget for a Sci-Fi movie. After seeing this movie, the special effects team obviously worked their asses off on this movie giving the impression that it was made on a bigger budget. There's some good fighting scenes, though some could had been better done but they were nice.

I did feel a little disappointed by the movie; that's because you cannot cramp everything into a couple hours. In fact, the person who went with me felt somehow lost due to the amount of information that was provided. For the Firefly fans, I'm sure all of you will be able to follow the storyline without a hitch since it has the same backstory as Firefly did. We do get a peek at the reavers often mentioned on the show, but not enough. Hopefully, this movie will set up a new TV show instead of a sequel because of the storyline.

I would recommend this to any Firefly fans who want more, though I must warn you that a couple of Firefly regulars didn't make it through. Not going to name names; I don't want to spoil the movie for you. For these who never saw the television show, I would recommend checking Firefly out on the DVD before seeing Serenity, you'll be doing yourself a favour. Even if you didn't see Firefly, you may still end up enjoying the movie.

Originally posted on September 10, 2005

People are saying that hurricanes cannot be prevented. They are absolutely correct, you cannot stop Mother Nature from creating chaos. However, the impact can be greatly reduced due to some types of land terrains. That's where the wetlands come in handy.

Unfortunately, we've been wiping them out at a rapid rate due to the greed.

Wetlands act as a "speed bump," slowing down storms almost like dry land does, said Kip Patrick, spokesman for America's Wetland. "They take some of the brunt of the force of the hurricane, weakens the storm like any land mass would." Sidney Coffee, executive assistant to the governor for coastal activities, said about 1,900 square miles of wetlands have disappeared from the area since the 1930s, and the receding continues at a rate of about 24 square miles per year. The erosion has a direct impact on New Orleans' ability to absorb the blow of a storm like Katrina, she said. For every 2.7 miles of wetlands, storm surges are reduced by about one 1 foot, she said. "We've tried and tried and tried to tell people this is real, this is happening. This is happening a little bit every day," she said. "But it's a real emergency."

Here’s a story from my memorable early childhood, I was merely a 2 years old toddler who already had taught himself how to operate a VCR on his own. But, there’ve been times that my curiousity could have turned out to be a fatality but I’ve cheated death.

One bright morning when all of my older siblings were learning new things at school, I was wandering around the huge looking world, which was my house. It looked big to me because I was only a tiny toddler. I stepped into my sister’s bedroom and something grabbed my attention. It was bright and shiny yellow bottle. At that time. I couldn’t read it but I was definitely assuming that it was a yummy thing to drink. I made my own decision to take it into my hands and put it into my drooling mouth and gulp some of it down.

All of a sudden, a shriek came out and it was my mother going into a frenzy as she ran right for me and grabbed me out of the room. She buckled me into the car, which could have broken a record for the quickest buckling up. She ignited the engine and headed for the emergency room at our local hospital. I couldn’t keep my eyes on anything at all due to my mother’s trembling shock, which distorted my view of everything.

My mother’s eyes were filled with uncontrollable tears like any mother’s would be in this situation. I was rushed into a holding room and the doctor handed a vial of medication to my mother and was told to force me to swallow it to induce vomiting. She struggled so hard to force me to drink that the sweat was running off her forehead. I was very stubborn and didn’t want to take any medications like any kids would. After struggling, my mother succeeded into getting me to drink it. The only thing my mother was trying to do was to console me and stop me from crying my head off. Within two minutes, I started to vomit, and my mother acquired a bundle of vomit splashed onto her clothes and face. The point is, curiousity can and does kill, and toddlers need to have somebody looking over them. Luckily I had somebody to watch over me.

Copyright 2001 Paul Moreau. All rights reserved.

By Paul Moreau

Louis Burt Mayer was born on July 4, 1885 in Minsk, Russian Empire that is known as Belorus today. His birth name was Ezemiel Mayer instead of Louis Burt Mayer. Louis Mayer was approximately a couple years old when his family emigrated from Minsk to Canada. They settled in Portland, which is in New Brunswick renting a shabby tenement. “He absolutely adored his mother, but he didn’t have a lot of warmth for his father. The relationship with his mother was the most interesting. The rest of his life, the sentimental way of looking at women came through.”[1]

He had two spouses, he was married to Margaret Shenberg on June 14, 1904 till 1944 when he divorced. Louis and her had two children. He remarried to a woman named, Lorena L. Danker on December 4, 1948 until October 29, 1957 when he died. They had no children..

In reference to the first sentence, Mayer actually wasn’t certain about the exact birth date, but he did know that he was born in the summer, so he picked the Fourth of July as his birthday. He started out as a scrap metal dealer inspired by his father. But the business belly-flopped big time after moving to Boston leaving the family behind in New Brunswick.

After the business failed miserably, he purchased a 600-seat theater called, “The Gem” which was in the Boston suburb of Haverhill in 1907.[2] The theatre was renamed “The Orpheum.” Louis Mayer made a promise that only “high-class films” would be shown at the theatre. After “The Orpheum” theatre became a success, Mayer made the decision to expand into film distribution; he started it by opening the Louis B. Mayer Film Company.[3] In the year of 1913, Louis Mayer got involved with an arrangement with Jesse Lasky, who was a movie producer in California, and some of the other film producers. Then a couple years after the arrangement, Mayer and several partners formed the Metro Pictures Corporation.[4] Some of the first films they received for distribution were “Birth of a Nation” (1915) which was a classic of D.W. Griffith’s.

After “Birth of a Nation” became an enormous financial success, Louis Mayer went on to form a series of distribution companies such as Master Photoplays, Serial Producing Company, and American Feature Film Company.[5] In 1918, Louis formed another company called, “Louis B. Mayer Pictures” and lured the actress Anita Stewart away from Vitagraph to Los Angeles. “Virtuous Wives” became the first production of his, which starred the actress he lured, Anita Stewart and Hedda Hopper. The movie was another successful film. “I will only make pictures that I won’t be ashamed to have my children see, “ Mayer said.[6]

While in the progress of building the studios, Mayer managed to hire Irving Thalberg who once worked at Universal Studios and give him the position of Vice-President and Production Assistant in the year of 1923. Joseph Godsol, president of the Goldwyn Company signed a deal with Mayer to merge their studios into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. That name of the studios, “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer” is still around as we speak. But they don’t make the movies like they used to with the themes of honour, fidelity, decency, and virtue.[7] The epic “Ben-Hur” (1925) with Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman in it was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s first big productions which also were partially filmed in Italy.[8] Unlikely today, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released an average of one movie per week. Louis Mayer went on to become the first business executive in the country to make over a million dollars per year. It stayed that way for a long time till after 1944.

His business partner, Thalberg felt that he was entitled to an equal share. But the problem was that Mayer started to resent the opinion that Thalberg was the real brain behind the success of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It led to an angry Thalberg threatening to leave the business, but that conflict between Mayer and Thalberg ended in 1936 when Thalberg died of pneumonia. One of the leading men at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, John Gilbert made some disparaging remarks about women in general, and mothers were included in his description. Louis Mayer took the liberty of beating the daylight out of him!

Some of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s big stars were Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, Mickey Rooney, and many other stars during his 27-year tenure. It was known that Mayer ruled over Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a big family with Mayer in the role of the paternalistic authority who rewards loyalty, obedience, punishing insubordination and regarding opposition as person betrayal.[9]

When they were approaching so closely to the 1950s, the golden years for the studio moguls were put to an end. It was due to the government forcing the film industry to divest its theater chains with top stars and directors demanding a share of the profits, which Mayer had always denied them.[10] The finances became to slump very badly, and Dore Schary, head of production at RKO Studios was hired to replace Thalberg. After he returned to the studios lot, things started to get off the ground and do better. After these situations, Louis Mayer had a good chance of being forced out by Nick Schenck, the head of Loew’s, Inc because they had control over Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1951, Mayer finally submitted his resignation due to Schenck choosing Schary over Mayer. But when Schenck retired in 1955, Mayer tried to convince the major Loew’s stockholders to let him take control of the studio again, but he got rejected a few weeks before his death in 1957 in the city of Los Angles.[11] It was due to complications of leukemia.

If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have the Oscars, because he happened to be one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[12] In 1950, Mayer received a special Academy Award under the title of, “For Distinguished Service to the Motion Picture Industry.” Jeanette MacDonald sang the song called, “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life” at Mayer’s funeral. Samuel Goldwyn, the founder and former head of the Goldwyn Company kept on saying “The Reason why so many people showed up at his funeral was because they wanted to make sure he was dead.”

Bibliographies

“Hollywood Remains to be Seen” Cemetery Guide

Available: http://cemeteryguide.com/mayer.html

This website provided detailed information and background on the life of Louis Mayer. There were a lot of detailed information associated with his businesses.

“Louis B. Mayer, Movie-Maker from Saint John” Theatre: Heritage Resources Saint John

Available: http://www.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/~Heritage/Theatre/LouisMayer.htm

This website provided the basic background and information of Louis Mayer. A very short biography.

“Biography for Louis B. Mayer” IMDb

Available: http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Mayer,+Louis+B.

This provided some facts and detailed information on the life of Louis Mayer.

During the period of 1995 to 2000, North America had the lowest concentration of the attacks, which only 15 happened during the period. The Eastern world is one of the most dangerous places to be especially Africa with a record of 5,762 deaths. The Middle East, which is in Asia, is second with a record of 2,190 deaths. Every time the Middle East is mentioned, everybody shudders and thinks of the terrorists as if they were the biggest threats.

In addition to the hijacked airplanes which were both registered American airlines. There hasn’t been a single hijacked American airplane since 1991 when one got hijacked. The highest total of hijacked American airplanes was in 1980 at 21, hard to imagine? To find more information about airplane hijackings, use a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, etc.

The most wanted terrorist of all is Osama Bin Laden along the other 21 suspects. The pictures of these suspects can be viewed on the FBI website. There is a reward of 25 US million dollars each for turning them in. Osama Bin Laden is known for plotting an attack against the World Trade Centre back in 1993 which killed 6 persons and injured dozens and this time, he has succeed in destroying the World Trade Centre 8 years after the failed attempt at destroying the towers. An interesting posting was made by the FBI back in July of 2001 stating that a predication for some major terrorist attacks would take place in USA; it clearly stated that there would be a major terrorist attack per year for the next 5 years. September 11, 2001 was one of the first major terrorist attacks to take place.

My opinion of the terrorism happening in today’s world. I find it terribly sad because there are some people who can’t find happiness so they turn to the dark side and try to kill innocent people because of jealousy of North America’s strong freedom of choices. These kinds of people are seriously biased in due to their religions. They hate to see different forms of religions allowed in our countries I don’t show hate for these people because if I did, I would become just like them. I feel sorry for these people who can’t find their lives to be satisfied so they use terrorism to take our freedom away. I know how hard that can be to imagine but that’s what I think how they are.

Bibliography

The Emergency Website

http://emergency.com/cntrter2.htm

The Heritage Foundation

http://heritage.org/shorts/20010914terror.html

FBI Website

www.fbi.gov/mostwant/terrorists/fugitives.htm

Originally posted on July 28, 2005

For the last few years, especially after the 9/11 disaster. There has been quite a number of people, a good number of them being Americans going after people of certain backgrounds including the French, Islamic followers and more

In my life, I've had a lot of people asking me what it's like to be deaf. But the problem is, I don't know what it's like to be hearing since I never was one myself. Therefore, I imagine the hearing folks would have a difficult time imagining it. One can find it quite easy to imagine being deaf, but when they actually go deaf... it's often vastly different from what they imagined.

I recall reading the results on a survey done among the public. I was quite perplexed at the answers they gave. The survey was to ask people if they'll rather go deaf or blind. Most went with blindness, but don't they realize that blindness is very, very limiting in comparison to being deaf? A part of the blame may rest on the famous deaf-blind woman, Helen Keller. She was the one to say that being deaf cut you from the world. It does not, but it does create barriers for us to face. It's up to us to break them down or not, it cannot be done without a good fight. I can see where she came from on that one, but a hearing person should know better especially when we live in such a modern world.

Blind people continue to this day face a lot of frustrations with the society. They have to rely on their memories a lot when it come to walking in public. Honestly, do you think one would find it easy to walk through a city like Toronto if s/he is unable to see and remember where the hotel is when s/he is around 30 blocks away? Yes, one could remember the directions, but it's much easier to navigate with a pair of eyes. They aren't legally allowed to drive either, a major disadvantage. I have a driver license, and I take pride in that because I know far too many deaf people who procrastinate on a lot of things... except for partying and living in style at taxpayers' expenses.

I do believe that there are too many deaf people who had made bad names out of themselves and are looked down at by the society. It's not something to be proud of. I may just had answered my own question, but feel free to say something if you must. You're entitled to your opinion just as much as I am to mine. I also base a lot of my opinions on life experiences; though the life experiences varies among the communities across the world. But I'll say I'm glad I don't live in Toronto because I've noticed several restaurants giving quite unprofessional services to deaf customers. I went to two restaurants in a day... terrible, terrible attitudes toward the deaf customers. Yet I see them laughing with the hearing customers. I was being given a dirty look by a waitress, though the food was great. I'm pretty sure that it was the deaf customers that the servers didn't think too much of since there was a deaf event close to the restaurants that day. There were some deaf customers there in my presence and they were being given the same attitude by the waitress, but not toward the hearing customers as I mentioned. The only reason I can think of is that the servers are unable to find a trace of the tips on the table.

I believe the majority of deaf folks are well-behaved and leave a darn good tip for the server. Unfortunately, there's too few deaf customers and are easily remembered by the employees. Something that we often have to be careful about because our reputation as deaf people is an easy target. Having a job also shows a sense of being productive and contribute to the society. Living on disability checks and not looking for a job isn't a good lifestyle at all. Earning money give you a very different feeling, a more powerful sense of pride. Even if you hate your job, at least you earned the money.

Sorry for jumping around, but deafness isn't a small topic to cover. I don't hate being deaf, nor am I in love with it. It comes with both advantages and disadvantages to live with. We learn to adapt to it and learn our ways around. I don't spend everyday giving people a sob story about how deafness is such a burden. Actually, it isn't a burden on me most of the times. Although there has been times when it was. Living in a family full of hearing folks and being the only deaf person in it... we will face hard times even when our parents use sign language to communicate with their children. We are constantly left out of family conversations and we often have to tap a parent or sibling to find out what's being said. At the family dinners, it's usually fine if everybody can sign. But at big family parties where all the relatives attend... deaf folks are almost always left out. Which is why I often leave big family parties the earliest because I just find it mind-numbing. Hey, everybody has a bone to pick with their families, and I picked mine. Though I love my family dearly and see them all of the times. They're the most important people to me in my life because they've done so much for me.

The thing about being deaf, it isn't so bad. But yes... we do sometimes face barriers and find them to be frustrating. Though we do end up winning a lot of times, don't we?

I know that some of you will be left with unanswered questions, and may had created even more questions after this. Feel free to discuss and ask me questions if you have any. Just leave a comment.. Please don't hesitate to say something, even if you feel that I may be offended. I'm not easily offended, and will try my best to give you a good response.

Cheers.

Today, I received a message from a friend with a link to a news article. This also belong in the Politics section, but since this is about a movie, so automatically, I put it in the Entertainment section. It's an article on the upcoming movie, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. I have to say that I'm surprised to see some people making comparisons between the movie and the Iraq war. Even though the plot was developed years ago before President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush were voted into the White House. But of course, there is a war going on right now, so some people are bound to make accusations and point fingers at everybody.

"This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause," bemoans Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) as the galactic Senate cheers dictator-in-waiting Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) while he announces a crusade against the Jedi.

This was one of the two lines that people were led to believe that there was a hidden message in the movie and I can see where they're coming from on this. Now, the next one is even more suspicious.

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Hayden Christensen's Anakin soon to become villain Darth Vader tells former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The line echoes Bush's international ultimatum after the Sept. 11 attacks, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

I remember President George W. Bush making the message loud and clear on terrorism shortly after 9/11 struck the U.S.A. However, must one jump and quickly assume that George Lucas is up to something fishy? Be careful where you point that finger, people are perfectly entitled to their opinions and shouldn't be skinned alive for it. George Lucas is an independent filmmaker and he fund the movies himself. That's something not many filmmakers can and would do. He is famously known for going against some film unions with his early Star Wars films. He's considered a hero among many independent filmmakers. I did enjoy his early films that he directed even though he didn't direct Episode V and VI. THX 1138 which was released back in 1971 and was recently given a great DVD treatment is a brilliant film. American Graffiti was a big hit in 1973. It's one of my favourites to this day. Though his directing skills is kind of rusty these days, but I hope to see a great comeback in a movie of his in the short future.

Lucas said he patterned his story after historical transformations from freedom to fascism, never figuring when he started his prequel trilogy in the late 1990s that current events might parallel his space fantasy.

What he just said makes sense, the original trilogy has a very strong vibe that reminded me of the Nazi era and several Empires that went ka-boom in the last few hundred years. Good will always overcome evil, period. People has to use their strength in fighting it, but there are some wars that will never be justified and were for political reasons which is just plainly wrong.

"As you go through history, I didn't think it was going to get quite this close. So it's just one of those recurring things," Lucas said at a Cannes news conference. "I hope this doesn't come true in our country.

"Maybe the film will waken people to the situation," Lucas joked.

Glad to see that George Lucas has a sense of humour. He's right, it's just one of those recurring things. There has been so many wars on Earth and many of them had a lot in common.

Unlike Moore, whose Cannes visit came off like an anybody-but-Bush campaign stop, Lucas never mentioned the president by name but was eager to speak his mind on U.S. policy in Iraq, careful again to note that he created the story long before the Bush-led occupation there.

"When I wrote it, Iraq didn't exist," Lucas said, laughing.

Very true, we knew the basic facts about what had happened prior to storylines in the original trilogy. Therefore, the prequels came and gave us tons of juicy details on why and how it happened.

"We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam. ... The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable."

George Lucas has a point, they did help Osama Bin Laden and supplied him a bunch of weapons to fight the Soviets. In the end, he turned around and went against the U.S.A. Of course, the Soviets were the bad guys too as well. So it made perfect sense to help them fight the Soviets, but it turned out that the fighters didn't think too much of the Yankees either. It echoes the expression, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Something people keep forgetting.

Of course, this isn't either a Pro-Bush nor an Anti-Bush bit. Everybody are entitled to their opinions, and learning to agree to disagree wouldn't hurt. Hostility doesn't help but enables negativity and wars. I've seen so much hostility coming from both Democrats and Republicans, sometimes one is worse than the other. It's bad enough that the word, Liberal is used as a four-lettered word while one use Conservative as one.

Lucas began researching how democracies can turn into dictatorships with full consent of the electorate.

In ancient Rome, "why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew?" Lucas said. "Why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler.

Obviously, George Lucas did his homework before making the original trilogy and the prequels. That's what I love about freedom of speech, people are able to speak their minds and some of these great minds pave the road to making a country that is already great to become even greater. But the more restrictions, the bigger the potholes in the road becomes which is what I believe is happening in some countries that I consider to be great including Canada and the U.S.A.

"You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."

Source: Yahoo! News

It already happened in Canada which is such a shame. The Canadian government is badly corrupted which is enough to make me angry and sick to my stomach. Neither the Liberal party nor the Conservative party can be trusted in the federal government. In the Saturday edition of Toronto Sun newspaper, there was a great page that made a satire out of Star Wars by using Canadian politicans.

Dark Side of the Farce
A short time ago in a scandal far, far from over...

Chancellor-turned-Emperor
Jean Chretien, Former Prime Minister

Long ago presided over these sinister events from his evil throne.

Obi-Wan Kenobi
Justice John Gomery, Inquiry Judge

Powerful, wise, fair, outspoken and unafraid to take on any and all Darth lords.

Evil Apprentice I, Darth Maul
Alfonso Gagliano, Former Cabinet Minister

Did a lot of damage before suddenly getting sliced in two.

Evil Apprentice II, Count Dooku
Chuck Guite, Sponsorship Bureaucrat

Silver spooner at first out-duelled Obi-Wan, but is about to his match.

Evil Apprentice III, Darth Vader
Paul Martin, Current Prime Minister

More machine than man now. Has finally succumbed to the Dark Side, yes... but how long ago?

General Grievous
Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Quebecois leader

Leader of Separatist Alliance. Good brain but heartless. Is attacking capital to destroy republic.

Clone Army Commander
Stephen Harper, Conservative Leader

He and his legions are formidable, but can they be trusted?

Jar Jar Binks
Jack Layton, NDP Leader

Was easily manipulated into bolstering the evil regime.

Queen/Senator Amidala
Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General

Avoided this scandal thanks to endless trips to the Outer Rim.

C-3P0
Scott Brison, Cabinet Minister

Wimpy, apologist robot. And fluent in more than six million forms of communication.

Chewbacca
Tony Valeri, Cabinet Minister

Cries wolf all the time and no one ever understands a single word he says.

Han Solo
Jean Brault, AdScam Middleman

Was only in it for the money until Obi-Wan and The Force compelled him to do good.

Jedi Knights
Ontario Voters

The only ones who can save the galaxy from evil.

The Death Star
The Liberal Party of Canada

Jedi shots are away... just waiting for the explosion.

The Useless, Ineffective Senate

The useless, infeffective Senate.

Source: The Toronto Sun - May 14, 2005 (Page 22 - News)

What did you think of the piece the Toronto Sun did? I thought it was great because I'm so sick of the Liberal party even though I consider myself to be a moderate Liberal and is quite a conservative at times. But will I vote for the Liberal party in the next election? Nope, and the Conservative party? Hell no!

Neither can be trusted, and the NDP already had walked into the trap the Liberals setted up a while ago by making a deal with them. So... I'll have to look into different parties and see who the best choice is. The Canadian government need to be reformed.

Feel free to express your opinions here on my blog.

Originally posted on May 20, 2005

The bit Ridor made toward Kokonut Pundits in a recent blog entry inspired this blog entry. Obviously it was a response to Kokonut’s blog entry on the “Star Wars” and "Clearplay" bits. I know you didn’t mention Clearplay, you obviously were responding to it. I’m glad you did though because I wanted to say a few things on it. To read Ridor’s blog entry, click here.

Why would somebody watch a movie if they know what had been said in and consider them to be quite offensive? I watch a lot of movies that people would consider offensive, but to me, it's just listening to somebody else's viewpoint. At least I listen and take my time thinking about what was said rather than reaching for the tissue box and make sob story about how they are forced to hear such a thing.

“If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy” – Anakin Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” – President George W. Bush to the Americans and the world.

These two quotes brought to bring up the topic regarding a DVD player called, “Clearplay.” Just click here to read this blog entry Mike McConnell of Kokonut Pundits wrote.

One can use Clearplay to censor some so-called offensive audio or visual images. But why would one bother watching it if they already had taken offense to the movie? Just because these parts are censored doesn’t mean it isn’t there. That’s like censoring the part where John F. Kennedy got shot several times or censoring a powerful speech of his in a JFK documentary. What’s the point of watching it if you know you won’t like what you’ll see in the uncensored version?

Imagine somebody watching Fahrenheit 9/11 on Clearplay. All that person will see is the end credits on it. At least some of it.

I do believe the people responsible for the Clearplay DVD player are perfectly entitled and should be allowed to make a DVD player that is capable of censoring audio and visual images. Even though I wouldn’t buy it.

Freedom of Choice, what baloney. It's really Freedom of Ignorance. If it weren’t for the pioneers of America, America wouldn't be what it is today. It's just easier for one to ignore than to hear it. My friend, that is what we call ignorance.

Kokonut is quite predictable when it come to these matters. Though everybody knew this was coming anyway. But that’s him, he’s a predictable person since he’s a self-proclaimed ultra-conservative making it easier to know what to expect from him. Nothing’s wrong with being an ultra-conservative, but going off the edge can make you look bad. Which already had happened several times especially in that blog entry about the ‘Koran’ situation. It really showed his true flying colours. Click here to view the recent blog entry I just referred to. Kokonut Pundits is a big supporter of violating human rights. The evidence is right there in his blog entry. He said it.

If you are unable to see what I’m talking about, then you are turning a blind eye to it. Newsweek didn’t lie; even a spokesman from International Red Cross already had told the U.S. government about the problems regarding the ‘Koran’ situation prior to the Newsweek exposure several times. Several times? How did that even get ignored in the first place? Not only to mention that there are talks that Newsweek’s source was from a branch of the U.S. government. Straight from the horse’s mouth, like it or not. Now, about that Saddam picture in the Sun? Why did they even publish it in the first place? Oh right, to sell more newspapers. Capitalists often have no moral values, what else is new? Really, there was no point in it except to humiliate people, which they always manage to succeed at. Saddam will get the punishment he deserves someday. But do we have to see pictures of him in his underwear?

Certainly not.

At least I know better to not flip a coin over on whom to vote for. There's simply no excuse for flipping a coin. If one want to vote for President Bush because he/she believe is the right choice, go ahead. Stay true to your beliefs. If you feel opposed to President Bush due to the differences in beliefs and values, and vote for somebody else, go ahead. At least you'll be true to yourself. Though some people has pointed out that Freedom of Speech is not just a right, but a right that comes with a big responsibility.

Though I’m glad this voter realized the inexcusable mistake that had been made and voted for the person that he believe to be the right person in the ’04 election unlikely in the 2000 election. Still, I’m amazed that he resorted to it in the first place.

If one cannot decide whom to vote for, be a non-voter. Spare us the troubles. Let the others make their decisions... as long they don't flip a coin over it. Spock, a fictional character that doesn't believe in emotions and illogical choices would be outraged if one was stupid enough to do such a thing. No, I’m not calling just one person an idiot. Anybody who would flip a coin to make a major decision is an idiot. Would you flip a coin on if you should press the red button that clearly tell you to not press it? Not even an apology or gazillion apologies would justify such a thing because it jeopardize the principles of the USA. This is just one of many reasons why I don't have as much respect for Kokonut as I used to. Just enough to respect the fact that he exist.

Shocked at the fact that I used to have respect for him? Yup, he used to be more friendly toward most people. What happened? His ego; politics and more went up to his head.

Hey, you're probably reading this. Especially after a friend told me that you made an “observation” about your link being removed from the list on my blog. Though I did add your blogsite back onto the list after a while. Just in case you think I shouldn't be naming you, think again. You're a public blogger and you obviously are trying to make a household name out of yourself. Therefore, everybody can mention your name if they wish to. I will list whomever I want to in my links section.

For some people who feel that I am too Anti-Bush, or too Pro-Bush. I used to be quite Anti-Bush, but I was just a teen with raging hormones filled with ideas and crazy thoughts. Now, I believe it boils down to being about beliefs and choices when it comes to making big decisions. To err is human, that’s how I see the world. Human beings are so flawed, which is why they often have to go back to their faith, which may be the God or something else. I am a Christian, not an agnostic like I used to be. Ridor, I’m not preaching to you. I’m just acknowledging that I do believe in God along with spirituality. I believe it is everybody’s right to have a faith even it is quite different from mine. You have your faith and beliefs to guide you through your life. Even if it’s your own principles that guide you, you are using use it as your faith. To me, the bible is wide open to interpretations and always will be. There will never be a definite version of the bible because it will continue to be written by men, not God. They claim that it was God who said it. But like I said, it’s open to interpretations.

I don't think President George W. Bush is much of an evil person. But I do think he made a huge mistake by waging a war with Iraq. Everyday, American troopers, Iraqi soldiers, American civilians, Iraqi civilians are still dying. Actually, Iraqi civilians are at the highest risk of dying. Dozens of thousand Iraqi civilians had been killed in the crossfires, car bombings and more, which makes me wonder if the war is really doing them a favour. I realize it's wonderful that they are able to vote now. But I do feel that the war would had been better justified if the President hadn't emphased so much on the WMDs being in Iraq instead of liberating Iraq. Liberating Iraq as the main point would have been much better. Especially when the CIA report had been proven to be flawed and admitted by the CIA. People already had voted to reform CIA and more. I do feel that President Bush had done a lot of damages and split the country of the U.S.A. Just look at the millions who had rallied in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and more major cities before the Iraq invasion began. It was quite clear that there weren’t just a few people who were opposed to the way the war was planned. A lot of liberals supported the idea of going to war with Iraq, but the plan the president had made wasn’t quite what they were hoping for.

Anyway, back to Clearplay, what a perfect tool for people who are incapable of listening to the others without investing emotions into them or even taking time to look into their viewpoints. Also a perfect tool for irresponsible parents because they don't know what movies to show to their children. There's thousands and thousands of G-rated movies on DVD, yet they rent PG-13/R-rated movies and then blame Hollywood for their problems. Though nobody should invest in this technology because it's going to be a flop. Not even V-Chip on TV was a big hit. Many parents still haven't enabled their TV sets to block out certain programs and channels.

But hey, I'm a film purist. I wouldn't invest a penny in it as I mentioned earlier, but if somebody wants to. Go ahead; buy it if you want to. It's suited for some, but not for some. It's my choice to not censor whatever I watch or read. If I have children, I won't show them movies that I don't feel they are mature enough to view. Therefore, save me the troubles of having to invest in a machine that is programmed to censor some visual images and audio out of the movies that weren’t suitable for children in the first place.

There’s more to discuss the subject on the Star Wars saga. It's a fact that George Lucas started with Star Wars by laying out a bunch of political research papers on the table that he did. It covered about every famous political era including Roman Empire, Nazism, Vietnam, Nixon and more. With the prequels, it made sense that George Lucas would take the modern politics into account.

I'm neither a hardcore liberal nor conservative. Much, much more of a centrist. I have some liberal viewpoints along with conservatives. But I often draw the line at certain points.

In Canada, we have a bunch of problems going on in both provincial and federal governments. I didn't vote for the Liberal party (Federal) in the last election because I felt they had been in power for too long, around 12 years. But I didn't vote for the conservatives either. I voted for somebody else, but some people obviously felt that the liberals deserved another round at it.

Look at all the scandals they've gotten themselves into now. Totally disgusting, not only to mention the dirty games the Tories (conservatives) are playing against the Liberals right now. Yesterday, a huge shock hit the government. A Tory defected to the Liberal party. Of course, the Tories decided to hurl insults and many more toward this woman who did such a thing. Shows that our politicians are quite mature, eh?

You (Ridor) obviously read my blog on Star Wars the other day where a bunch of Canadian politicians were compared to some Star Wars characters. It was quite a good piece, I must say since I'm familiar with the politics of Canada. Yes, I do feel that my government needs to be reformed or ruled by a different party. One party is growing stronger especially after the last election, called the Green Party. But I have to do some research on them, I've found some of their ideas to be quite refreshing and interesting. I'm not sure if they have the same ideas as the one in the USA.

Some people are going to take all of what I had said the wrong way and some would take it the way I wanted them to see. Though I do have a good hunch that the people I’m aiming for aren’t going to bother. But at least I said my piece.

I recently made a blog entry on the facts about tobacco, I know it's a long read. But it's worth reading for many. I grew up in a family with quite a good number of smokers, so I do know a thing or two about the dangers of smoking.

I know most smokers are addicted to smoking, even if they deny it. But that's just denial they put themselves into. People need to stop making excuses for the smokers, but they shouldn't feel like they are the bad guys, they are also the victims. Making such forceful approaches to the smokers on kicking the habit isn't going to do anything. Trust me, I know because I've dealt with this for many years. Cigarettes, they're disgusting and contain a lot of dangerous chemicals. A single cigarette has at least 4,000 toxic substances and many of these are known to cause cancer. It's bad enough that the nicotine is a very addictive substance. For your information, it is a drug. Only the difference is that it's legal. Heck, I'll rather have people smoking pot. Still I consider pot to be a unhealthy habit since inhaling smoke is never healthy to begin with.

Anyway, here's a list showing some of the toxic substances inside a cigarette.

ARSENIC: used in rat poison
ACETIC ACID: hair dye and developer
ACETONE: main ingredient in paint and fingernail (polish) remover
AMMONIA: a typical household cleaner
BENZENE: rubber cement
BUTANE: lighter fluid
CADMINUM: found in batteries and artists’ oil paint
CARBON MONOXIDE: car exhaust fumes
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE: dry cleaning fluid
ETHANOL: alcohol
FORMALDEYHDE: used to embalm dead bodies
HYDRAZINE: used in jet and rocket fuels
HEXAMINE: barbecue lighter
HYDROGEN CYANIDE: poison in gas chambers
LEAD: batteries
METHANE: swamp gas
METHANOL: rocket fuel
NAPTHALENES: used in explosives, moth balls, and paint pigments
NICKLES: used in the process of electroplating
PHENOL: used in disinfectants and plastics
POLONIUM: radiation dosage, equal to 300 chest x-rays in one year
STEARIC ACID: candle wax
STYRENE: found in insulation material
TAR: road surface tar
TULUENE: embalmers glue

Source: Family Health Administration

Now, can you honestly tell me that you would destroy your body like that? Hey, I'm just giving you a friendly reminder that smoking can kill you and it will. I would rather see you living happily ever after and live a long and healthy life.

The Truth About Second-Hand Smoke

Second-hand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke.

Second-hand smoke is made up of:

• Sidestream smoke that goes directly into the air from the end of a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe.
• Mainstream smoke that is inhaled by the smoker first, then exhaled into the air.

Did you Know?

• A non-smoker in a smoky room is inhaling the same chemicals as a smoker.
• Second-hand smoke has been labelled as a "Class A" cancercausing substance in the United States. Class A is considered the most dangerous type of cancer agent and there is no known safe level of exposure.
• Smoking in a closed-in space such as a car greatly increases the concentration of harmful chemicals produced by secondhand smoke.
• Second-hand smoke contains the same 4,000+ chemicals that are inhaled by a smoker. About 50 of these chemicals are associated with, or are known to cause cancer.
• Some of the toxic and cancer causing agents found in second-hand smoke include hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and benzene.

The Health Effects of Second-Hand Smoke

Second-hand smoke affects your family differently depending on their age and their health. Second-hand smoke hurts everyone, but it is especially dangerous to little ones because their lungs are still growing and developing. Because they are smaller, babies and children breathe more quickly and take in more harmful chemicals for their size than adults do. In addition, their immune systems, which protect them from getting sick, are less developed and can't protect them as much from tobacco smoke.

Before a baby is born

Second-hand smoke is even harmful to unborn babies.

• Nicotine found in the blood of a pregnant woman who is exposed to second-hand smoke can cross the placental barrier and decrease the blood flow to her unborn baby.
• Nicotine can affect her baby's heart, lungs, digestive system and even central nervous system.
• Carbon monoxide contained in cigarette smoke can affect her baby's growth and may lead to low birth weight.

After a baby is born

• Babies who breathe in second-hand smoke have a higher risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or crib death.
• Babies and children exposed to second-hand smoke have more frequent lower respiratory tract problems, such as coughs, pneumonia, bronchitis and croup.
• Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop asthma, and they will suffer more from it than children of non-smokers who have asthma.
• Second-hand smoke increases the number of ear infections in children.

Children don't have as much control over their world as adults do. Babies and toddlers can't complain about smoke. Even older children may not feel comfortable saying anything or trying to get away from the smoke. This is unfortunate because the health effects of second-hand smoke on children are much worse than for adults.

Many parents don't realize that second-hand smoke may harm their child's behaviour and ability to think things through (cognition). Recently, studies have shown that children who were exposed to tobacco smoke scored lower on tests than children who were not.

Adults are affected, too!

• If you are a non-smoker, exposure to second-hand smoke may increase your risk of getting lung cancer, heart disease, or respiratory problems.
• Second-hand smoke fosters the formation of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
• Second-hand smoke raises your heart rate and damages your heart muscle.
• Second-hand smoke lowers the level of protective HDL-cholesterol in your blood.

Second-hand smoke and your pets

• Some studies have shown that second-hand smoke can cause leukemia (a type of cancer) in cats and that dogs in smoking households have a greater risk of cancer. And your furry friends don't just inhale smoke; the smoke particles are also trapped in their fur and ingested when they groom themselves with their tongues.

The Truth About How Second-Hand Smoke Travels In Your Home

Many people are misinformed about how they can protect their families from second - hand smoke. Do any of the following myths sound familiar?

MYTH #1: If I smoke in another room, I'm not harming anyone.

THE TRUTH: Second-hand smoke spreads from one room to another even if the door of the smoking area is closed. In addition, harmful chemicals can cling to rugs, curtains, clothes and other materials and can usually remain in a room long after someone has smoked there.

MYTH #2: If I open a window in my home or car, I can get rid of most of my second-hand smoke.

THE TRUTH: You may think that by opening a window you are clearing the smoke from a room or your car, but that is not the case. To effectively remove cigarette smoke, you need to increase the air-exchange rate a thousand times to something equal to a gale force wind!

In addition, opening a car or room window can result in air flow back into the room or car which may cause the smoke to be blown directly back at non-smokers.

MYTH #3: If I smoke when my children aren't home or in the car, it can't hurt them.

THE TRUTH: Many parents think that it's alright to smoke when their children aren't around. What they may not know is that second-hand smoke lingers long after they finish a cigarette. In a recent study, researchers found that second-hand smoke can remain in contaminated dust and surfaces, even if smoking took place days, weeks or months earlier.

MYTH #4: If I use an air filter or a fan, my second-hand smoke won't hurt anyone.

THE TRUTH: The sad truth is that even air filters, air purifiers and ventilation systems are not enough. After a smoker leaves a room, chemicals from the second-hand smoke remain behind in the air, on food, furniture, curtains and skin. Most ventilation systems are designed to limit the build-up of carbon monoxide and keep odour down, not to remove smoke.

Source: Health Canada

The deaf folks are legally entitled to obtain a driver’s license. Did you know that? I did, but that’s only because I am deaf and I have a license to drive. Before you say something, I’ll bet most people haven’t even noticed a deaf driver on the road. How would they know if they see one to begin with? Deafness is invisible; we look like everybody else out there. Only we just can’t hear. Drivers don’t talk to each other on the road; they use gestures and signals instead. So there’s no way of identifying a deaf driver, not even if they’re signing because the passenger may be deaf, not the driver. There are a lot of deaf drivers on the road, believe it or not.

In today’s world, with all the progress we’ve made with making people awake of deafness and trying to break down the barriers, I think we’ve made great progress in some places. However, there’s also some that we haven’t succeed at yet. For instance, the government of Japan to this day has a law barring the deaf from obtaining a driver’s license. There are still a lot of countries that bar the deaf from doing so, but the reason why I mentioned Japan out of all the countries was because of how civilized it is. I would have thought they’d allowed it starting a long time ago, but I guess they never did.

Contrary to popular belief that the deaf are inherently unsafe drivers, this is not true. Have you ever recalled a headline in the local newspaper about a deaf driver causing a collision? I doubt most would be able to recall such a story. Of course, there have been accidents where the deaf were involved, but they are much smaller in population than the hearing and the represent a small percentage of the entire population of drivers. There have been several studies and all of them seem to contradict each other. Some say are significantly unsafe than the average while one would say the opposite, and the others has said that deaf drivers has been found to be just as safe as everybody else.

Personally, I don’t believe we are more dangerous, or are we any better. All of us have a responsibility to ensure everybody’s safety on the road, not just ours. Basically, it’s a task that requires teamwork. You don’t drive alone; you drive with everybody on the road. You communicate with everybody by signals, driving patterns, speed, facial expressions, gestures, though it’s true that many deaf drivers aren’t able to hear the horn. On second thought, there are a lot of people who enable in road rage these days and many will take the honking sound the wrong way. The deaf drivers rely on their vision to see everything around.

I’ve been driving since I was sixteen. In the province I live in, teenagers can obtain their learner’s permit starting at the age of sixteen. I’m twenty-two now, and I have my own car. I’ve been driving for six years. I have learned a lot from the road over the years, and I never engage in road rage. Well, I do have an occasional thought of scolding an irresponsible driver but who hasn’t done that? I don’t feel that I am a danger to anybody on the road; I feel that driving safely is a responsibility that never should be neglected.

Unfortunately, I’ve witnessed a large number of irresponsible drivers. When people are driving, they shouldn’t be talking on the cell phone, eating, reading, nodding off or even shaving. Yes, I’ve seen people shaving on the road. Though I would say that either reading or nodding off while driving is pretty much the scariest encounter you could come across.

I know quite a lot of deaf people who drives, and there are quite a few who does use text messaging on their mobile phone while driving which is recklessly dangerous. Using a mobile phone isn’t quite safe for anybody, and let alone the idea of text messaging. I don’t even look at mine while I’m driving. Like I said, I’m a responsible driver and I don’t want to put anybody’s lives in jeopardy just to send a text message. I don’t believe that would justify the reason why to bar the deaf from driving, as there are a lot of responsible drivers out there who have careers. By taking that away from us, they are taking independence along with it. In every apple basket, there are always a few bad apples but it doesn’t ruin the whole basket.

Now, I’m sure some of you have questions. Feel free to ask questions if you want to. First, I’ll answer a few popular questions before they’re even asked.

The most common question is how do the deaf drivers become awake of the emergency vehicles? I am aware that emergency vehicles produce loud sounds to alert the drivers. Many people often forget that they also carry sirens. In fact, in most cases, you will see the sirens flashing before you hear them. I recall a simple science lesson from elementary school on the speed of light and sound. The speed of light travels at a higher speed than the sound. Which is why it’s important that we become more observant while we’re on the road. It gives you more time to get out of their way, and it also can help you avoid collisions if possible. Everybody has to check their rear mirrors frequently because that mirror was designed to help people ensure their safety.

Another question people often ask is this one, how do the deaf hear warnings from other motorists? It’s rather simple if you think about it. Use hand signals or flash your headlights, even if it’s illegal in some places but it’s absolutely necessary if they don’t respond to the sounds made with a horn. They’ll take it as a visual cue. It’s everybody’s job to be observant, audio cannot be just relied on. Especially when drivers are driving by with their stereos blasting and shattering windows. Yeah, even the deaf drivers can hear them.

There are also some people that have asked about what type of vehicle the deaf can drive. They can drive any type of vehicle they wish to like everybody with the general driver license they obtain. There are a few different licenses for different drivers. From what I know, in many places, the deaf cannot obtain a license to drive a truck that is heavier than 10,000 pounds due to various safety concerns about the blind spots. I don’t know too much about that subject since I don’t desire driving an 18-wheeler rig big. I also came across some information that quite a lot of truck drivers use earplugs due to the noise pollution the vehicles produce, but some claim that it tune out the loud noises while the sounds they need to hear comes in. I’m not sure if I should buy that argument, quite unrealistic if you ask me. I don’t believe that wearing earplugs to tune out the noises will help you hear the sounds they should be hearing. Well, it’s a whole different subject, and I don’t have any plans to continue that subject soon. We’re talking about the general drivers.

The deaf are perfectly capable of driving and they aren’t more of a threat than the average driver is on the road. Driving is dangerous; people die from it every day, mostly due to bad judgment. We are required to take responsibility, and use our eyes to stay aware and alert. The deaf drivers are not inherently unsafe; they are just as safe as every responsible driver out there.

Was Alexander Graham Bell, the Greatest Canadian... or the Worst?