Deaf on TV
RIT/NTID Alumnus Finishes The Amazing Race
http://www.deafnewspaper.com/2009/may/09may19.html
Luke Adams, and RIT/NTID graduate, and his mom, Margie, competed in the season finale of The Amazing Race. Photo courtesy of CBS.
Rochester Institute of Technology alumnus Luke Adams '08 (criminal justice) and his mother, Margie, came up short in their quest to win the hit CBS reality drama The Amazing Race. The outcome, which had the pair finishing the race in third place, was revealed May 10 during the program's season finale.
Adams, 23, of Monument, Colo., became the first deaf contestant in the show's history. He and Margie were among 11 teams to race during the series' most recent season, which began airing Feb. 15.
"The first deaf person on The Amazing Race, I'm very proud of that," said Adams during a post-race interview. "I think deaf people think, oh, a deaf person on The Amazing Race means other deaf people can do the same as me. No matter what, deaf people can do anything."
Luke and Margie Adams led the remaining teams during the final leg of the competition, which took place in Hawaii, but difficulty in matching a symbol that represented the previous leg of the race cost the pair their advantage.
Tammy and Victor Jih, sibling lawyers from California, crossed the finish line in first place and claimed the top prize of $1 million. Cara Rosenthal and Jaime Edmondson, friends and former NFL cheerleaders from Florida, came in second.
More than two dozen deaf and hard-of-hearing students from RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf watched the race finale on a captioned television in a lounge in Ellingson Hall at a "Luau Party" courtesy of RIT Residence Life. There was an inflatable palm tree, Hawaiian pizza and the students wore colorful leis to keep in the spirit of the race's end city, Maui.
The students cheered when Luke and Margie were in the lead, and groaned as they were passed on the way to the finish line. Roommates Jimmy Michels and Brendan Wolfert watched the show since the season began in February.
"We were rooting for Luke and his mom every week," Michels said. "It was sad to see he didn't win, but it was great that he got to the final three. We definitely felt inspired to try to apply for the race together after seeing that Luke could do so well."
Michels believes Luke's groundbreaking performance will inspire others as well. "Luke's appearance was yet another great example of how deaf people can do anything a hearing person can do and possibly even better if you believe in yourself," Michels said.
Contestants on The Amazing Race began the competition on Oct. 31 in California, and taping continued through Nov. 21. The winners traveled 40,000 miles and visited nine countries. Contestants were not allowed to discuss the race or its outcome until the broadcast of the season finale.
I'll Scream Later
Hardcover, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1439102856 & ISBN-13: 9781439102855
Critically acclaimed and award-winning actress Marlee Matlin reveals the illuminating, moving, and often surprising story of how she defied all expectations to become one of the most prolific and beloved actresses of our time.
Marlee Matlin entered our lives as the deaf pupil turned custodian audiences fell in love with in Children of a Lesser God, a role for which she became the youngest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar. More than twenty years after her stunning big screen debut, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actress is an inspirational force of nature -- a mother, an activist, and a role model for millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people around the world.
In I'll Scream Later, Marlee takes readers on the frank and touching journey of her life, from the frightening loss of her hearing at eighteen months old to the highs and lows of Hollywood, her battles with addiction, and the unexpected challenges of being thrust into the spotlight as an emissary for the deaf community. She speaks candidly for the first time about the troubles of her youth, the passionate and tumultuous two-year relationship with Oscar winner William Hurt that dovetailed with a stint in rehab, and her subsequent romances with heartthrobs like Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson, and David E. Kelley.
Though she became famous at the age of twenty-one, Marlee struggled all her life to connect with people, fighting against anyone who tried to hold her back. Her own mother often hid behind their communication barrier, and Marlee turned to drugs before she even started high school. However, she found in acting -- with the encouragement of her mentor, Henry Winkler -- a discipline, a drive, and a talent for understanding the human condition that belied her age and her inability to hear. By the time Hollywood embraced her, she had almost no formal training, a fact that caused many other deaf actors to give her the cold shoulder, even as she was looked upon as a spokesperson for their community.
She has played memorable roles on wildly popular television shows such as Seinfeld, The West Wing, and The L Word, danced a show-stopping cha-cha-cha on Dancing with the Stars, and now, with uncompromising honesty and humor, Marlee shares the story of her life -- an enduring tale that is an unforgettable lesson in following your dreams.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=larry+king+live&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=C-LkSamWHePflQfr9bjgDg&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#q=larry+king+live+with+marlee+matlin&emb=0&client=firefox-a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te-I7L286_k
Channel at 8p.m. ET/ 7 pm CT. Check the website for more information - http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/
Meet
Margaret and Luke
Happy
Holidays from Discovering Deaf Worlds!
This is an exciting time! Within nine weeks of returning to the
USA, we are already in production of our first documentary film,
Discovering: Shuktara. It is the remarkable story of 18 boys
and girls in Kolkata, India who were given a new chance at life after
being abandoned by their families or escaping abusive homes.
As you know, DDW is dedicated to empowering and advocating for deaf
people around the world. Throughout our international travels, we
found several unique organizations that overcame the hardships of
poverty and neglect to make an enormous impact in their local
communities. The Shuktara Home is one of these organizations.
The purpose of Discovering: Shuktara is to tell the story of
this magical place that has been tirelessly at work since 1999. While
many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India often overlook
homeless children who are deaf or have cerebral palsy, Shuktara
embraces them. This film will help DDW move closer to one of our
long-term goals- assisting the boys and girls of Shuktara with their
language development.
We invite you to become a part of the completion of this documentary.
Production costs will range from $10,000 to $12,000. Your donation of
any amount will help make this film come to life!
For those who are able to donate $100 or more, you will receive a
limited edition copy of
Discovering: Shuktara, which includes a photo slideshow
telling more of Shuktara's story. A donation of $500 or more will
entitle you to one of ten available sponsorship positions for the
film: your name will appear in the credits and your name or business l
ogo will appear on the back cover of the DVD case. Contact
info@discoveringdeafworlds.com for more information.
Discovering: Shuktara will be submitted to the Deaf Rochester
Film Festival, the Sundance Institute, the NYC Rooftop Films Festival,
and many more documentary film showcases. It will be the first in a
series of several DDW short films we intend to submit to PBS, BBC and
the Discovery Channel.
Trailer coming soon!
To learn more about Shuktara, read
DDW's June Newsletter article or visit Shuktara at
www.shuktara.net. If you wou ld like to send a check or
make a secure online donation to the production costs of
Discovering: Shuktara , please visit our website.
Thank you for following DDW throughout our journeys and discoveries.
All that we accomplish is due to your thoughtfulness, interest, and
support.
Namaste,
Christy Smith, Dave Justice, and Davin Searls
The Discovering Deaf Worlds Team
2220 Ridgeway Ave
Rochester, NY 14626
More about Shuktara at:
http://www.discoveringdeafworlds.com/discovering_shuktara.php
http://www.ashleyfiolek.com/
Born
profoundly deaf, Ashley Fiolek began riding and racing motorcycles at
age seven and worked her way up the amateur Motocross ranks. In 2004, at
the age of 13, she won her first national championship at the Air
Nautiques AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynns.
Between 2005 and 2007 she went on to win 12 more national championships
and has won more than 100 races in her career so far. Ashley made her
professional debut in September 2007 and in her first full season of
professional competition she won the 2008 Womens Motocross Association
Championship, the premier womens motorcycle series and the only
professional womens motorsport series in the U.S.
CLICK >> News 10 Now
MATT HAMILL
Free MP3 Of Matt Hamill's 1st Ever Radio Interview
Aaron
Bronsteter from "Hardcore
Sports Radio" sent along the
following to
www.MMANews.com :
On the July
15th edition of Sports Rage Uncensored with Gabriel Morency, UFC
fighter Matt Hamill did his first ever radio interview to talk
about his upcoming fight with Rich Franklin. Hamill, who is deaf,
often gave his own answers and was accompanied by Duff Holmes who
relayed the questions to him in sign language.
At the end of the interview, Holmes pointed out that this was
Hamill's first ever radio interview. Morency added that just
because Hamill is deaf, doesn't mean that he has a shortage of
opinions on the MMA world.
The interview in its entirety, can be found at:
http://hardcoresportsradio.com/content/media/podcasts/ac928e93-bff2-4064-b3af-f5a5fa746d76.mp3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Hamill
On this episode of True Life, you'll meet two young people who were born completely deaf and must overcome huge obstacles to get the most out of their lives. They're trying to make their way in the world but will their deafness hold them back?
Episode will focus on Vernon boy's cochlear implant experience
Chris Bryson of Vernon is prepared for cochlear implant surgery at the Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute of Morristown Memorial Hospital in February.
Filming took place over six weeks at various locations, including at Chris' home, at Morristown Memorial Hospital and at Mountain Lakes High School, where Chris will be a junior in September.
The school has a program where hearing-impaired students -- who once attended the Lake Drive School of the Deaf in Mountain Lakes -- can take mainstream classes.
Chris, who was familiar with "True Life" and MTV's other reality shows, was one of two individuals selected for the episode on young people receiving cochlear implants and learning to hear.
"I was pretty stoked," Chris wrote in an e-mail to the Daily Record. "I've seen (the shows) all the time and I imagined what it would be like if I was on a show that everyone can see. I can't believe this is actually happening ... I feel like a celebrity right now."
Marshall Eisen, executive producer of "True Life," said the one-hour episode fits the series' primary focus on the experiences, niches and subcultures in the lives of young people.
"True Life: I'm Deaf" features the lives of both Chris and Amanda, a 22-year-old college student in Maryland who also was born profoundly deaf.
"This was an idea that came up that we thought would be really interesting -- to see how people who are deaf navigate through life, through the world," Eisen said.
"It's just a really kind of deeply felt emotional topic that has a lot of visual and sort of experiential moments that can make for compelling TV."
Chris' story fits the series profile, Eisen said.
"He had this quite interesting story of receiving a cochlear implant and allowing us to be there through that process and see what happens," said Eisen. "It's a pretty extraordinary moment, to see him hear ... to watch him take on this ability that most of us take for granted."
David Bryson, Chris' father, said his son -- the second-oldest of five boys -- received his first cochlear implant at the age of 7. The first device, a 1.2 model, was defective and emitted a constant whine before it stopped functioning, David Bryson said.
At that point, Chris stopped wearing the speech processor attached to the implant, but he was only able to communicate through sign language for years, said Gina Bryson, Chris' mother.
"When he got to be older, and more like a teen, his desire to communicate verbally kept increasing," she said. "His own desire was to have a device that works."
The Brysons learned that Advanced Bionics, the California-based manufacturer that supplied Chris' first cochlear implant, would replace the device with a more advanced model for free.
The company, which creates state-of-the-art hearing technology, also agreed to pay for Chris' surgery to have the new implant installed and activated, said Gina Bryson.
After Chris decided to have the surgery, the family learned of "True Life: I'm Deaf" through Advanced Bionics.
MTV had contacted the company, seeking individuals ages 16 to 24 who fit the bill, and also issued a casting call.
Three weeks before Chris was scheduled for surgery for the new implant, Gina Bryson e-mailed and sent photos of Chris to the network. MTV responded immediately, requesting permission to film, she said.
"It all happened very fast," she said. "The next thing we knew, they were here, filming."
New York-based Gigantic Productions, which produces the show for MTV, sent a two-woman crew to the Bryson home and then to the Summit Medical Group in Berkeley Heights, where Chris underwent surgery for the implant in February.
The cameras even captured some squirm-inducing moments, such as the incision that Dr. Jed Kwartler made in Chris' skull, right behind his ear, to install the implant, said Gina Bryson.
"I was a little uncomfortable initially, but was willing to do it for the sake of what we were doing," she said. "I just felt that it was something people should see and rejoice with us."
Following the surgery, Chris let the incision heal before heading to the Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute at Morristown Memorial for activation, or mapping, of the new implant for two days in March.
Christine Hoffman, lead audiologist at the Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute, said the Harmony model implant that Chris received processes sound more efficiently and is more frequency-specific than the 1.2 implant he previously had.
Mapping the implant requires measuring a patient's level of sound and discerning the comfortable decibel level, Hoffman said.
Hoffman, who also programmed the first implant that Chris received as a youngster, said she was conscious of the cameras recording her every move but was only asked by the producers to explain certain procedures.
"In the beginning, of course you're nervous that people are filming you," she chuckled. "But I totally forgot that they were there."
For Chris, the filming experience was "pretty fun," especially following his surgery when he engaged normally with his family and friends at the local basketball courts and skateboarding park.
Months after his surgery, Chris is happy with his new implant and is looking forward to speech therapy when school resumes in September.
"I just love everything about it and it helps me hear a lot ... it's more improved," he wrote in his e-mail.
"But it's pretty difficult because I haven't been practicing (speech) in a few years without the cochlear implant. ... Right now I'm working on it, and I'll always try my best no matter what."
Filming "True Life" gave him "the best courage and faith," he said.
"I'm so happy that everyone can see what deaf life is all about, and I hope they can understand deaf people," he wrote. "I think it's gonna be different seeing myself on MTV ... It's pretty wicked, man."
Deaf actress Marlee Matlin
eliminated from 'Dancing With the Stars'
April 23, 2008
Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez — Cha Cha Cha — Dancing with the Stars 6
Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez — Quickstep — Dancing with the Stars 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And the couple with the lowest total score and therefore leaving us tonight on Dancing with the Stars is: Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez!
We will miss you Marlee Matlin! You were amazing on Dancing with the Stars!
Marlee Matlin's 'Internal Metronome' Will Set Her Apart on DWTS
Don't underestimate Marlee Matlin when she hits the ballroom floor on season six of Dancing with the Stars. Not only does she have the focus, she has "a sense of rhythm" that a lot of people may not think she has.
"So much will depend on me being in synch with my partner with my eyes, with my arms, with my legs," the 42-year-old Oscar winner tells PEOPLE. "Plus … sign language has given me a an internal metronome."
That innate rhythm and two powerful digital hearing aids are what she plans to use to guide her dancing — not to mention her dance pro partner.
"My partner, Fabian Sanchez, is Latin. And as any one can tell you, Latins speak with their hands, their bodies. He's great," she says. "We use a combination of lip reading (he's easy to follow even if he has a slight accent), signing (the first sign he learned was "again" — he uses it a lot) and an interpreter."
So far,
she explains, training has been a lot like being on a movie
set. And since dancing runs in the family — her 12-year-old
daughter, who "screamed when she found out," is a hip-hop
student and dance lover — Matlin may have a better shot than
most.
"I've had no formal dance training. Though I did a little
dance in Children Of A Lesser God, that was improvised,"
Matlin says. "But I figure that I'm ready in that I
communicate with my body when I sign and dance is a lot like
that. … Right now I'm not terrified of Latin dances; I've
got a Latin partner and he's a Mambo champion! I've already
begun the Cha Cha and I love it! I don't know about jive."
Matlin also says that, in addition to making her "friends and family proud," she wants to "prove to people that the only thing I, and 26 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing like me, really can't do — is hear."
And while she's a longtime fan of DWTS — "I love the spectacle! I love the clothes!" — what really pushed her to compete in season six are her children.
"I'm really doing it for my kids because they want me to be the coolest mom ever," she admits. "I don't know if I'm crazy or what, but I'm going to give it my best shot!"
TV Show of Super Nanny to meet Deaf Couple House this fall
Marlee Matlin on Ellen 3/21: Captioned
CLICK THIS > http://www.netsignnews.com/video/news/html/playall.php?vidid=306
Have you ever wondered what the right ASL signs would look like performed to your favorite song?
Keith Wann has launched a monthly club that will allow you to download and view an ASL clip with a song that the subscribers picked to be analyzed and performed in ASL.
Each song will have an introduction discussion, then the song, and then a wrap up discussing certain sign choices to help you better understand.
FOR OUR DEAF SUBSCRIBERS - the songs will be captioned
Subscribe now and start enjoying and downloading Keith Wann ASL clips to keep once a month with songs that will help you learn more ASL and how to perform them yourselves. $5 dollars a month for ASL Songs!
Deaf & Coda Actors & Actresses
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