Freewrite! Yay!

Kazaa, I like freewrites. I don't have to think as much, which means I can free up brain power for other things, like my ridiculous amounts of sociology theory. (Bleh.) [It's okay, it's an English blog, I can bash on sociology here.] I am actually fairly tempted to quit sociology altogether because of this theory class. Ew. I'm trying to remind myself how interesting the higher-level classes were, though, and compare it to the basics of sketching-- because in order to be any kind of good artist you have to learn all the basics, which usually involve lots of incredibly boring still-lifes of pretty little fruit bowls and glass bottles that have been sitting on the teacher's shelves for several decades. I was severely tempted to draw a rotting still life many, many times... with flies... and mold...

It probably really did not help that I was in an animation class at the same time that emphasized energy and movement and life. Rather contradictory combination.

Anyway. At least I have my signing, and that makes me happy. I'm still having dreams in sign, which makes me uberhappy, and I always wake up in a good mood after having those. I used to have those in German, but seeing as I haven't really used that for years... Heh, I had a friend once who told me that his roommates had told him that he spoke in three different languages while he slept-- English, German, and Tagolog. Then he said he had a roommate who was Samoan (or something) and one night it sounded like he was chanting some wicked-sounding war curse... totally freaked him out :).

TA: Which is not FA, but TA, and the "T" at least means "Technical"...

So, I rather like the intros we've been writing lately. We were discussing how to write more creative intros rather than just, "The discussion of the dissection of social properties is important to our society because blah blah blah..." I suppose the reason is because I was a writer in high school, (oy, and even junior high and clear back to elementary...) so it's right down my alley, and I admit, I do enjoy creative introductions a lot more. A heckuvalot better than the dry, boring, smart-sounding ones.

So. Here we go with another.

*Note: for anyone who is involved with Deaf culture, this is a composite of stories I've heard and what I understand some Deaf experience to be like. I have not actually experienced this myself, so forgive me if you feel some of the details are wrong or have a completely different personal experience. If so, send me a friendly note, but don't bite my head off, please.

"The girl's hands fluttered a quick sign and snapped it off to her brother, who was seated across the room. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying discreetly not to change positions too much, lest the teacher discover his inattention when she turned around. He shook a closed fist back at his sister, signaling a yes, then quickly signed a reply. It was too quick and signed too low, though, and he realized that she had not understood when her eyebrows knitted together and her mouth frowned slightly. He resigned it. Her face lifted in comprehension, then abruptly switched to shock as the shadow of their oralist teacher fell over her. She mouthed something, loud and angry, thrusting her face into the girl's, so she was sure to see her mouth, and then slapped her hands. 'NO-SIGNS', she over-enunciated. She swept across the room and likewise slapped her brother's hands, repeating her mantra. 'THAT-IS-FOR-BID-DEN. NO-SIGN.' The brother ducked his head, hoping she would leave it at that. He had only understood half of what her silent lips had thrown at him, although he knew what she intended to say. He could, however, understand perfectly what his sister would sign; but not when they had to do it illegally, furtively. That was what "talking" meant. It meant looking like everyone else, lipreading, blending in, not letting them realize you were deaf. It meant no signs. Ever. "

WATCO teaching strict oralism on sign language production?


Heh, if it's not readily apparent, Deaf culture and Oralism is a hot topic for me. It is one of the few things that I'm that passionate about and really gets me going. I'm glad I finally found something to be passionate about, because before I found sign, nothing really struck me quite in the same way. I love sign...