Banjo's World

Yes, that Oliver Stone. He is well known for tackling subjects no one would even touch with a ten-foot pole. Oliver Stone has managed to interview people like Fidel Castro and many other controversial figures around the world. Even the filmmaker, Stone is controversial. He has been arrested and charged in the past for drug uses and possessions and more. He has been criticized in the past for spewing out liberal propaganda and such in his movies. The thing about people tackling controversial subjects is that they will be criticized for everything they do.

The truth is, some people just invest too much emotions into the politics. The same could be said about Oliver Stone. It's a two-way street when it comes to politics. You say one thing, they will say one thing, and it goes on and on.

One thing that cannot be denied about Oliver Stone is that his movies spark off a large number of discussions among the people and we get to learn from each other. "JFK" is a good example of that. "JFK" did not offer any real answers, it was basically a guessing game based on countless pages of documents and theories spawned out of nothing over the years.

A few of movies of his were focused on Vietnam. I can think of a few off my head. "Platoon", "Born on the Fourth of July", "Heaven & Earth" and more. All of these movies, especially "Heaven & Earth" were controversial. Even "Alexander" was controversial because of Alexander's sexuality being a subplot in the movie.

I am not defending Oliver Stone; he is able to speak for himself. He is clearly a strong-minded independent thinker, no doubt about that. You can see that from the movies he have produced and directed in the past.

Right now, he is walking onto thin ice. He is the director of a new movie that is already starting to spark off a controversy. The movie is called, "W." Yes, just W. People wouldn't have a clue what the movie was. I was already aware of this for a good while since I often read the scoops on movies before they are officially announced to the public. That's how I knew about the title.

Now, what is the movie about?

Well, I'll give you a hint. Below is the cover of this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly.


Yep, you guessed it right. It's startling to see Josh Brolin in the role of George W. Bush. First, I will say that he doesn't strongly resemble the actual president, George W. Bush. However, you can tell whom he is supposed to look like. Josh Brolin is a fine actor and I believe he will give a good performance. I must note that Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush looks rather young, but does bear a strong resemblance to the actual Laura Bush.

Here is a close-up shot of Josh Brolin as George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America.

Oliver Stone is promising that the movie will be a fair, true portrait of the man. However, people are already accusing him of trying to influence the election even though George W. Bush will not be running for president. But I don't blame them for being wary of Oliver Stone's promises. However, the truth can be like swallowing a brick. I think that is what they are mostly afraid of seeing. But it could be the other way. The only way to know that is to see the movie and decide for ourselves.

Personally, I don't believe George W. Bush is a monster or anything close to that. Just misguided. Terribly misguided. I also suspect him of being used as a puppet at times. I do question some people's motives when they involve God in their decisions. For instance, President Bush involved God in the decision on the invasion of Iraq.

Some people just aren’t meant to lead.

This movie, "W." is definitely going to gather more buzz and spark off a lot of controversies this coming fall when it's being prepared for an early 2009 release, unless they suddenly decide to release it before the election. A rumour has it that Oliver Stone is trying to get it ready by November. We shall see about that.

Some of you may have watched the movie earlier tonight on CBS. If you haven't watched the movie and don’t want to read anything spoiling the movie; Then I suggest that you hold yourself back from reading this. Also, I have to emphasize that this blog entry is not about the cochlear implants. It is about the movie and what I thought of it.

Jeff Daniels and Marlee Matlin play the leading roles in this TV movie. I just finished watching it on CBS. It was quite an emotional roller coaster ride. So were the Hallmark commercials. All of them were basically short films with a touch of heartwarming story to each of them. Hee hee.

Anyway, back to the movie. This kind of movie is rarely made. Tonight, this movie was aired to millions of viewers. It may open up some people's eyes to a whole another world that some of us live in. I reckon that quite a few bloggers, both deaf and hearing will be talking about it for the next few days.

The controversial subject of cochlear implants is not the focus of the movie. It is a subplot, which entails the struggles within the couple's marriage to unravel both emotionally and politically.

As many of you know, the deaf world and hearing world are two whole worlds apart. Many of us share a role in both worlds. The husband is a hearing person and he is married to a deaf woman who he truly loves. Their son, Adam was born hearing. He went deaf when he was a few years old. One day, the father becomes interested in the technology of cochlear implants after bringing Adam to the emergency room. A doctor made the suggestion that he should consider the surgery. He was hesitant at first.

After a while, he started making a few decisions that doesn't settle too well with his wife, Laura without any prior discussions. Therefore, their marriage begins to struggle. The parents of Laura's are both deaf, her father holds a lot of pride in Deaf Culture and even wrote a book on it. I can see some people jumping the gun to label him a Deaf militant. Truth is, I don't feel comfortable using these labels to describe people. The thing is, I don't see people with labels on their foreheads. I see them as human beings. All of us have our flaws. We have our opinions. Everybody is different and unique in his or her own ways.

What I really liked about the movie is how they made every single character appear human, simple and plain. They don't make anyone out to be a heartless monster. The movie itself is neither supportive of nor against cochlear implants. It is because it is not the focus of the movie. It focuses on the political and emotional clashes between the couple that are acting in what they believe to be the best for their son.

I do have to mention a few flaws that I had spotted in the movie. For instance, the signing isn't always fully shown. In many instances, they are cropped off and they used a narrator to do voiceovers for the non-speaking characters. I realize that it may put some people off because they used the same voice for some characters. So I can see why it may be confusing.

Myself, I would have preferred that they subtitled the signing rather than doing voiceovers. Although, we all know how some people just cannot stand reading subtitles. As ridiculous and ignorant that may had sounded, but it's true. If you ask me, I think some people are just taking too much for granted to appreciate life.

Also, one thing bothered me about the movie. Why didn't they ask Adam if he wanted a cochlear implant? The parents nearly destroyed their marriage because of their political differences. I wonder if the screenwriter even thought of this during the process of writing the screenplay, which was based on a play. Really, just think about it. The boy is eight years old, I am pretty sure the boy would have been able to answer the parents' question.

A friend just mentioned the same thing to me. Great minds think alike, I must say.

My biggest disappointment was how they ended it. I felt that it was rushed and rather abrupt. That's Hollywood for you. They usually go for the happy ending. I wonder why they chose to end it the way they did. At least they showed that it is important to keep a family together and that love triumphs all.

Overall, I did enjoy the movie despite its flaws. You will be able to buy the movie on DVD this May. This movie really hit close to home for me at some points during the movie. This is one of the best portrayals of the Deaf culture I have seen in a long time.

The other day, I stumbled onto a preview for an upcoming documentary that was recently screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It won an award. It is about a deaf couple in their sixties. They get cochlear implants together. The interesting part is that they are both fluent in ASL (American Sign Language). As you know, it is still controversial to even speak of cochlear implants in some of the deaf circles. Though I must say that a lot has mellowed out over the years and are more accepting than they used to be. After watching the preview, it seems to be a very intriguing documentary and quite different from "Sound and Fury", a documentary from 2000.

Paul and Sally Taylor, the deaf couple are the focus of the documentary. The story is told by their daughter, Irene Taylor Brodsky, she is a filmmaker. This is Irene's debut as a filmmaker. Her mother, Sally Taylor was also featured in the PBS documentary, "Through Deaf Eyes."

You can find more information on the documentary by going to their official website.

The documentary will be aired on the 8th of May. Unfortunately, I do not have HBO. I don't subscribe to any movie channels in Canada. So chances are it will be on DVD one day. Although I can tell you that it is a documentary that I am looking forward to seeing.

It would be nice if I would be granted the opportunity to be given a look at the movie itself. It's a common practice with a lot of film critics to be granted access to advance screenings. However, I am not a syndicated film critic. This is quite a subtle way of hinting that I would like to review this movie and then share my thoughts with my readers.

I'm not being so subtle now, eh?

It doesn't matter if you support cochlear implants or not, this may be worth checking out. If you were lucky enough to have seen this documentary, please feel free to share your opinion of it.

It's official now. Jericho will not be renewed for a third season. However, I should mention that they filmed only seven episodes for the second season. This time, they filmed two different endings so they would be prepared for either situations. I know some people will try to start up the 'Nuts' campaign all over again. I strongly discourage people from even bothering the people at CBS. They gave it a second shot and it didn't do good enough. It's not everyday that a show is rescued from cancellation. It's a rarity.

The seventh and final episode will be aired on Tuesday, March 25. Right now, it seems like the show is perking creatively. So perhaps it's a good time to go out in a big way and with closure.

To the folks of Jericho, it was nice knowing you.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly announced today that they would be releasing their movies onto Blu-ray Disc again as a result of the HD DVD's demise.

The consumers will become more confident in what format to buy now that all 6 major studios are supporting Blu-ray Disc. So much have happened in the last couple months. This week was pretty much the biggest week for the Blu-ray Disc camp so far.

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray Disc camp, a day after Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-gen game in town.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement sent exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (February 21, 2008)

I am relieved that this format war is coming to an end because there is no need to prolong it when HD DVD have yet to win a single week since January 2007 which was over a year ago. My real concern was that if they prolong the war, Blu-ray Disc might have suffered causing both formats to fade away before its time. However, the future is now looking bright for the Blu-ray format now that Toshiba have conceded defeat to the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) in the format war.

The Future is Blu.

Related stories:

• Amazon.com to Support Blu-ray
• Universal Studios Goes Blu-ray
• Ding Dong, the HD DVD Format is Dead
• Warner to Back Blu-ray Exclusively
• Something Smells Fishy at Paramount
• DVD vs. Blu-ray: A Comparison

This morning, the Amazon.com team released a press release announcing their support of Blu-ray. They are going to promote Blu-ray more from now on. They will continue to carry HD DVD products. This is something they can easily afford to do since they operate in warehouses and not retail stores. They just won't be promoted as much as they used to be. They were paid by Toshiba to constantly advertise HD DVD products through e-mails and inserted leaflets in all of their parcels to their customers for months. It certainly did not make any difference at all.

Below is the press release they released today.

Amazon.com to Support Blu-ray as the Digital Format of Choice for Customers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to help demystify high-definition entertainment for consumers, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced its support for Blu-ray as the digital format of choice for customers. As part of this announcement, Amazon.com will more prominently promote Blu-ray hardware and software products on its website.

“The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. “Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January. In order to best serve our customers, Amazon is recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format and will continue to carry the ‘Earth’s Largest Selection’ of Blu-ray products.”

Amazon.com currently carries a wide array of Blu-ray hardware and software products including players, Blu-ray discs, and the Sony PlayStation 3. For the hundreds of thousands of HD DVD owners who may still wish to purchase products for that format, Amazon will continue to carry a wide assortment of HD DVD products, including the broadest selection of HD DVD movie titles.

Source: BusinessWire.com

We still haven't heard anything from Paramount/DreamWorks SKG on their decision. If they don't announce it this week, it is just a matter of time before they do switch over. That $150 million payout isn't going to last them long.

Related stories:

• Universal Studios Goes Blu-ray
• Ding Dong, the HD DVD Format is Dead
• Warner to Back Blu-ray Exclusively
• Something Smells Fishy at Paramount
• DVD vs. Blu-ray: A Comparison

Already? It didn't take them long to make the “decision.” They must have been prepared for a long time. In fact, industry insiders mentioned that some people from Universal Studios were scouting the Blu-ray Disc facilities last year. That was a big clue that they were already thinking about it, but they had a legal obligation to stay committed to the HD DVD format.

At least one of the two studios exclusive to HD DVD is already gearing up to join the other team.
"While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

"The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear. Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for hi-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."

Source: Home Media Magazine (February 19, 2008)

Now we just have to wait for Paramount/Dreamworks SKG to make an announcement. It should be taking soon. We just don't know when, but it probably will be today or later this week.

Related story: Ding Dong, the HD DVD Format is Dead

Who would had thought of such a thing? Brilliant! Switching from the old-fashioned square Shreddies to the brand new Diamond Shreddies? Wow, just wow!

It is obvious that it is a joke. The ad campaign is a big success because it got people talking about it.

I bet it will be short-lived though. These types of marketing ploys don't last a long time. So they will have to come up with new and fresh ideas on promoting their products.

That's right, the HD DVD format is now officially dead as of today. Toshiba, the biggest backer of HD DVD announced today they are dropping the format due to the declining sales in both hardware and software. Ever since Warner Bros. Entertainment announced they were going to support Blu-ray exclusively back in early January, it resulted in a massive domino effect. New Line Cinema, HBO, National Geographic and more are now Blu-ray exclusive since the announcement.

Netflix recently announced they are dropping HD DVD, Best Buy announced they are now endorsing Blu-ray over HD DVD. Wal-Mart announced they are dropping HD DVD starting at the beginning of June.

It is highly likely that Universal Studios and Paramount/Dreamworks SKG will be switching over to Blu-ray Disc as a result of Toshiba's announcement. I wouldn't be surprised to see an announcement this week. Anyway, here is the press release.

February 19, 2008
Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses
Company Remains Focused on Championing Consumer Access to High Definition Content

Tokyo—Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”

Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba’s commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

Source: Toshiba Investor Relations

There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

For these who are fans and are looking forward to the second season premiere of TV show, "Jericho." I just wanted to give out a reminder that it is airing tonight.

There will be only seven episodes this season since it was a last-minute production due to the setbacks as caused by the cancellation back in May. They shot two different endings for the season finale. One ending will be open-ended while the other will be sealed for good if it is cancelled. If it does get cancelled, at least we will get a real ending rather than a cliffhanger.

I hope Bonnie (Shoshannah Stern) will get to kick some ass in this season. All of you did see her with a shotgun in the preview. A deaf woman with a shotgun blasting away at the baddies, which should be fun.

Remember, it airs tonight at 10pm ET/PT on CBS. Check your local TV listing to see which channel the CBS station is on.

Have fun!

This is a pretty cool one. It's an ASL story being told by a computer-generated person. I don't believe I have ever seen one this well done. Yes, the body model itself could be more realistic but that's not the point. The animated character features body movements, the facial expressions, the ASL classifiers and more. This is where they really excelled in.

Vcom3D and the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center of Gallaudet University researched and developed the proof-of-concept system to be used for creating and delivering animated stories in ASL with facial expressions and ASL classifiers. They are still researching and developing the system and improving it as we speak. I think it has great potential.

It is captioned for the signing impaired. Though you can turn it off, which I did. I am fluent in ASL and could understand the story without a problem.

Click here to view it. It is titled, "The Forest" by Jason Stewart. Jason Stewart is a teacher at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, he wrote the story.

I decided to browse the internet for the reactions to "Bob's House", which aired during the pre-game event yesterday. I came across this article. Just take a look and I think you will be pleased to see how it turned out.

Entertainment Score Rankings

Ads ranked based on their ability to entertain viewers. The top entertaining ads starting with best were: IRONMAN, Pepsi (Bob's House), Pepsi (Justin Timberlake), Bud Light (Wine and Cheese), Diet Pepsi Max, Budweiser (Team), Bud Light (Breathe Fire), Victoria's Secret, Audi (Godfather), and Doritos (Mouse Trap). The worst entertaining ads starting were: Sales Genie (Panda), Sales Genie (Plane), CareerBuilder.com (Firefly), and GMC (Yukon).

Vanity Score Rankings

Ads based on their ability to balance entertainment and influence on brand perceptions. The ads which most effectively balanced entertainment and marketing starting with best were: IRONMAN, Audi (Godfather), Diet Pepsi Max, Pepsi (Bob's House), Bud Light (Breathe Fire), Pepsi (Justin Timberlake), Budweiser (Team), ETRADE (Banking Baby), and Bridgestone (Firestone). The least effective ads in terms of balancing entertainment and marketing were: GMC Yukon, Sales Genie (Plane), Cars.com (Witch Doctor), and Life Water.

Source: PR Newswire (February 4, 2007)

Do you own a 1080p HDTV but aren’t really taking the full advantage of it? Well, here's your chance to take advantage of your HDTV. You can enter a contest to win a Blu-ray Disc player and an instant library of 100 movies on Blu-ray Disc! Amazon is having a contest where 30 people will be able to win such a big prize.

Just click here to gain access to the website for more information. You don't have to make any purchases or anything. All you need to do is give them your full name, home address, phone numbers and your e-mail address. It's that simple. This contest is only open to the U.S. residents; nobody outside of the country can enter the contest.

Good luck to all these who enters the contest!

Warner Bros. Entertainment made a major announcement regarding the high definition formats for movies. Starting May 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment will be releasing movies only on Blu-ray Disc instead of both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. This is a major blow to the HD DVD camp. Warner Bros. Entertainment has a massive library of movies including many classics just waiting to be seen in the full glory of high definition.

Now, this also means they may be increasing the video quality. The problem with Warner Bros. Entertainment being a neutral studio, they decided to use the same video encoding for both formats but they sometimes will add the uncompressed audio track for Blu-ray owners. HD DVD's bandwidth is more limited in comparison to Blu-ray Disc's bandwidth, so they have to cut corners and compromise the video and audio quality of the movies. Some of their titles look great, like "Blade Runner", the Harry Potter movies and more. Though it's obvious they can look even better if they were given higher video bit-rate for the Blu-ray Disc format.

New Line Cinema also confirmed that it has decided to support Blu-ray Disc only after releasing just one movie onto HD DVD. They have not announced any other HD DVD releases. The studio also shares the same parent as Warner Bros. Entertainment’s, which is Time Warner. Though they are two separate studios, but New Line Cinema always appeared to be more supportive of Blu-ray Disc. I always felt that it was Warner Bros. Entertainment that held them back from going Blu-ray exclusive.

Below is the press release issued by Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Warner Bros. Entertainment to Release its High-Definition DVD Titles Exclusively in the Blu-Ray Disc Format Beginning Later This Year
January 04, 2008

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future."

Source: Time Warner

The Future is Blu.

Earlier today, I wrote that Shoshannah Stern would be in the second season of "Jericho." I also posted a link to the video clip at the official website. Though it wasn't captioned.

Now, I want to thank Bill Creswell for captioning the video. A few days ago, I mentioned how he is working to caption as many movie trailers as he can free of charge. We shouldn't take it for granted; it's wonderful how many volunteers there are on the internet who are willing to work for free just to provide access.

Believe it or not, there are thousands and thousands of people on the internet who subtitle video clips on a daily basis and don't get a single penny out of it. It makes me wonder why so many websites like CNN, FOX News, CBS News and many, many more websites are not willing to do anything about it. It's a potential career for many people who are already volunteering their time to subtitle just to provide access to everyone. They even subtitle them in foreign languages. There are many people who deserve to be paid for doing such a thing.

In fact, there is a team of people who are getting serious about it. For instance, Project readOn. They just partnered up with Senator Tom Harkin to caption the video clips on his website, I mentioned it back in December.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Here's the captioned video and remember to thank Bill Creswell for volunteering his time to caption the "Jericho" preview. Also, click here to access his website.

As some of you know, the show, Jericho will be returning on February 12. The last time I covered the subject, I was unsure if Shoshannah Stern, the deaf actress, would be involved with the second season or not.

Today, I took a look at a video clip promoting the show on the official "Jericho" website. I was able to spot Shoshannah Stern in a few shots meaning she is still a part of the show. Click here to view the video clip. Just wait and then she'll appear. She's carrying a shotgun and shooting at some enemies. Though you will have to watch a 30-second long commercial before you can watch the video clip.

Just thought I'll let you know that her character, Bonnie didn't get the axe.

Thanks to Bill Creswell who responded to my recent blog entry, "Captioned Movie Trailers!" He gave me a web address leading to a website titled, "Subtitled Movie Trailers!" Click here to check it out!

They have over 100 trailers that are subtitled. I checked some of them out. The subtitles appear to be burnt in with the movie. Unlikely Bill Creswell's captioned trailers, you cannot turn them off. So the captions will appear a little soft rather than sharp because it's not embedded. Overall, I still recommend that everybody check the website out because they are doing quite a good job on captioning the trailers.

It's always great to see people working hard to make their websites more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Have a Happy New Year!

Bill Creswell, a web developer who works for a theatre that provides closed captioning and descriptive audio. He first contacted me earlier this year in response to my captioned vlogs and asked how I did it. I shared some information with him regarding captioning video clips.

I must say I am pleased with what he has done so far. The reason why he wanted my help in the first place was to see how he can caption the movie trailers on his own and provide them at the local theatre he's employed at. I don't know if he has managed to get any in. But he is doing a fine job of captioning movie trailers and posting them on his blog.

I certainly hope this will be the starting point of pushing the studios into providing English subtitles for the movie trailers on their websites and other websites hosting the movie trailers. I also share the same complaint toward websites like CNN.com and other websites where they provide a large amount of video clips that are inaccessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. It has been years and nothing is still being done about it despite the loud complaints.

I just want to let Bill Creswell know how I really appreciate his hard work and dedication to making the movie trailers more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing communities around the world.

Bill, keep up the great work! I really appreciate it, and I imagine many of us do too as well. By the way, for these who are interested in watching the captioned movie trailers, just click here to gain access to Bill's website.

Enjoy!

I know I haven't been writing for my blog in the last couple months. I don't expect to write on a frequent basis this month, as it will be a very busy month.

Now, let's get to the good news. According to Variety, "Jericho" will return on February 12. It will be replacing the recently cancelled TV series, "Cane". It will be airing at 10:00pm, ET/PT.

As some of you may remember, "Jericho" was cancelled once the season finale was aired earlier this year. The fans started a big campaign by sending them letters and boxes of nuts. Yes, nuts. It was a reference to the season finale.

Instead of a full season, which would contain 22 to 24 episodes, they will be only airing 7 episodes. It's mainly due to the scheduling conflicts and they already had taken down the sets at the soundstage where it was filmed. A full season requires a lot of time for script writing, building new sets, casting new actors and all sorts of preparation. It's not an easy task.

You also can read a message from the president of CBS Entertainment, Nina Tassler. Just go over to Jericho's message boards to read it or just click here to read the message.

Just to let you know, it has been reported in the last couple months that they are cutting down on the cast to save money. I can't say I'm surprised. If the reports turn out to be accurate, then most of the older characters will be gone for good. That means Pamela Reed who plays Gail Green, the mother in the Green family. It has been confirmed that Skeet Ulrich (Jake Green), Lennie James (Robert Hawkins), Michael Gaston (Gray Anderson, Mayor of Jericho), Brad Beyer (Stanley Richmond), but I don't have a word on his TV deaf sister, Shoshannah Stern (Bonnie Richmond) being in any episodes of the second season. It wouldn't be a big loss, but I'm just letting you know that she may have not made the final cut. Even if you protest, she will not be in any of the episodes. They already wrapped up on the production months ago.

Alrighty, that's all I can tell you at the moment because the information on the upcoming second season is still sketchy. I must say I'm a little surprised because there are always so many spies in Hollywood. Yet it's so quiet when it comes to "Jericho". Well, maybe we'll hear something soon.

February 12, 2008 at 10:00pm ET/PT. Mark that date down in your calendar.

Earlier this week, I went to Wal-Mart. I was browsing through the DVD racks and I came across a DVD. It grabbed my attention because of the cyan colour taking up the whole cover with a simple logo in the middle. Then I took a closer look. I was taken off guard by what I just had read. I had to read at least a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Apparently I wasn't seeing things. Here's the picture. If you don't see it, take a closer look and you will see something that is considered offensive among the deaf and hard of hearing population in North America.


Do you see it?

“I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes”

Yes, I do think it’s an offensive phrase. However, the quote above is an excerpt taken from the novel, ‘Catcher in the Rye’’ according to Wikipedia. I’m not sure what that has to do with the story of ‘The Laughing Man’. The impression I got was that the person hired to design the logo just tossed that in for the fun of it. It’s said that the character has a fascination with the novel, ‘Catcher in the Rye’.

I’m still not sure why they had to use the particular phrase for the logo. Most people who see that cover will certainly not think of ‘Catcher in the Rye’. That certainly didn’t come to my mind when I saw the cover.

Then I dug a little deeper; the packaging design was originally from Japan. Then Anchor Bay Entertainment/Starz acquired ‘The Laughing Man’ for DVD distribution across North America. In the process, all they did was replacing the summary and added their logos on the back of the DVD cover and removed the Japanese text from the front cover. That’s all they did.

The people at Anchor Bay Entertainment need to be aware of how we perceive the logo. It is highly likely most deaf people will find the phrase to be offensive. You don’t see people putting down phrases like “I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those retards” onto DVD covers. Out of all the cover designs, did they really have to go with this one?

By the way, here’s the e-mail in case you want to let the people at Anchor Bay/Starz know how you feel about the cover. The e-mail will be sent directly to the Anime section. They are the people responsible for all of the Anime movies distributed by Anchor Bay/Starz.

It may not be that big of a deal but I just think it’s in bad taste and it’s not remotely funny. Especially when children can read these DVD covers. These types of phrases are a bad influence on children these days. It’s bad enough that we have children swearing to the teachers these days.

Maybe the people at Anchor Bay/Starz will hear us and realize that they made a mistake by printing that particular cover.

Or not.

A Clarification: I want people to know that I am not offended by the fact that Anchor Bay printed this. I know it is not intended to offend anyone. What I'm saying is that making a good first impression is crucial in order to sell a product. Truth is, this particular product is intended for a small number of consumers. Had it been a major blockbuster, you would hear more about it. Some readers misunderstood my true intentions of writing this particular blog entry months ago. I can see why and I would like to apologize for that. I should had been clear from the beginning that it is about making a good first impression.