#are we the same? god bless easily accessible phone cameras.

[charlieism]

i am THINKING....... about the fact that our ancestors are going to be able to remember us in such vastly different ways than we remember OUR ancestors because of, y'know, the internet and stuff and the vast, infinite amount of information that is stored everywhere i mean even when we're dead there's going to be our old messages, our old photos and selfies, the memes we made, the stupidest fucking videos we film, our jokes and the things we love and how we speak and what we look like, we post them constantly and theyre just everywhere!! and people in the future are going to be able to look back and see all that!!!! theyll be able to watch our 2am videos!!!!!! we're going to be ghosts but we're gonna linger on bc we have so much access to technology and ways to store information, especially visually thru videos and photos now!!!! its like, we think of victorians and shit as all uptight and serious bc thats what the photos and their writings etc have portrayed to us but if the people after us can See how we acted normally, and hear how we spoke, not just in the serious/educational/important moments we wanted recorded but in the dumb moments with our friends where we're loving too hard at jokes that arent even funny, or making faces at the camera, or doing buckwild shit for the fun of it, then what will their opinion of us be? it'll be so different!!!

and NOW im thinking abt OUR opinions of our ancestors and its like bitch they had teenagers too!!! boys wouldve been boys back then as well!! girls wouldve been batshit back then As Well!!!!!!!! we just didnt see that recorded enough!!!!!!!!!! basically i cant stop thinking abt memes and teenagers and the little moments and jokes we share thoughtlessly on the internet every single day, and if they'll be remembered in the future considering theyre everywhere, how they'll be remembered, if any teenager 50 or 100 years from now will stumble upon an old video from 2020 and think oh, they were like me. or if the internet will even be an accessible source of information then, or if anything 'old' like this will be able to be recovered after being buried under 100 years worth of other random shit people post. god. what is our legacy going to be, what will people remember our generation's personality as now that there remains more firsthand information about us than any generation beforehand? its not even 10pm but i cant stop thinking. im so excited for the future, i want to live long enough to see even a little bit of it.

[joon-ipersgirl]

O2 - “airplane”

genre: strangers to lovers!au, angst, fluff

pairing: jimin x reader (f)

word count: 3.5k

warnings: cursing

summary: they say home is where the heart is. you’re convinced yours was taken the day your father died. until you meet jimin.

you believe in love but after watching men cycle through your mother’s arms, rocky relations with ex boyfriends, and broken friendships, you no longer see it in your future. so much so, you never settle in one place long enough to create ties and call it a home, choosing a job where you’re always on the go and on your own. 

a chance encounter on a flight from new york city to bali, indonesia, you meet. flustered by jimin’s flirty advances but enamoured by his understanding and good-natured tendencies, you start to fall. what starts as a work-trip soon blossoms into a budding romance, but will jimin’s secret destroy the relationship before it’s had the chance to truly begin?

a/n: whew! we made it to part two. thanks for sticking with me y’all. we get to see a little more banter with jimin. thank you again for reading and hopefully i’ll get the next part out on time for y’all. leave a comment with some feedback; i love receiving them. have a wonderful rest of your day/evening/night and thank you vi for being my editor in chief as always!

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You could only thank your sweet Lord and Savior for blessing you to fly on an aircraft that had some semblance of high-speed data. There was only so much one could do with the airplane monitors to keep yourself entertained - if the flight you were on had them. Skimming through your email, you stared skeptically at the most recent one from Michael. Hadn’t you just spoken this morning?

Y/N,

I assume that your meticulous planning has failed you for once in your brilliant life and you were late to catch your flight so you didn’t have time to check your phone as you would not purposely ignore a text from me. Gods be with you during this time - I have taken a moment of silence as I pray for your divinely placed gift to be restored upon you.

Onto more pressing matters, Julia has sent me an updated list of the things they expect to see in this video; please see attached. Because I have so earnestly prayed for your skills to be returned to you, I have full confidence in your ability to work through these minor inconveniences.  

Just because I know you missed my text, I’ll say it again: remember the passion! Enjoy the moment.

Yours eternally,

Michael  

P.S. Garland Sans has an exhibit coming to the MET! We must go!

You snorted. Michael was as ingenious as he was dramatic. One of the best in the management game, Michael was sought after to solve the worst of problems when regular members of his team couldn’t in his own consulting company, Callahan Consulting. His personality was infectious and made one want to strive above and beyond for his approval. It surprised you every time that you were partners and he was your manager as declared by himself. As they say, opposites really do attract.

Clicking on the files attached in the email, you groaned softly as you realized that though the wifi was available, it wasn’t strong enough to access any large multimedia files, the downloading circle on a seemingly never-ending loop. You sank further into the seat, your knees hitting the one in front of you due to the cramped economy design. Your fingers slipped easily through your short locks as you tried to stay calm. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you couldn’t see what changes you’d made. It’s not like you’d have to potentially rework your entire itinerary for the trip the moment you landed. You scrunched your eyes shut as you tugged on the roots of your hair in an effort to quiet your increasing anxiety. The softest of touches against your knee jerked you upright.

“Are you alright?” You gazed down at the hand splayed across your leg, eyes wide. It squeezed and you finally turned your eyes towards its owner.

“What are you doing?” you asked hurriedly, tugging your headphones off. The weight of his hand, though not physically heavy, metaphysically felt like it was anchoring you to your seat and you wouldn’t be able to move it yourself even if you tried.

“Are you alright?” stranger-that-causes-you-continuous-embarrassment repeated. “You looked like you were in pain,” he trailed off, finally removing his hand. You slumped over in relief on your exhale.

“Fine,” you replied curtly. You could feel the blood pounding in your ears as you shifted in your seat. His long legs seemed precariously too close to your own in the compact space.

“Are you sure? I can call an attendant -”

“No!”

“What are you doing?” he murmured, eyebrows raised and amused. Looking like any stubby child hanging off of the monkey bars, you were clutching onto his forearm and yanking down with all your might to stop him from pushing the call attendant button above you. The muscles under his forearm flexed as stranger-that-causes-you-continuous-embarrassment lowered his arm against the armrest. You blinked slowly as the realization that you were still holding onto him traveled to your central nervous system and you let go as quickly as you’d clung onto him.

“Nothing!” you inhaled deeply. “Seriously, I’m fine. You don’t need to call anyone,” you told him sternly. You turned back to your laptop and opened your 0618 Bali Itinerary document; adjusting your plans would calm the thumping in your chest. You could handle the anxiety of trying to edit the document blindly, but handling his apparent concern over your physical well-being was another story you weren’t prepared to read. He hummed in acknowledgment and settled back down in his seat, eyes focused on the book in his hand. How he managed to fit in any seat was a miracle.

“What are you doing in Bali?” he asked casually. He didn’t look at you as you turned to him.

“Nosy aren’t we?” you  replied in the same tone, eyes challenging. Your eyes met, a glimmer in his.

“Hmm?”

“How did you know I was going to Bali?” you contested.

“Well, I would hope you didn’t board the wrong flight - though you don’t strike me as the woman to make that kind of mistake,” a soft smirk graced his lips. You bit your lip hard.

“Well, I could have been getting off at the Hong Kong connection,” you said, trying to counter.

‘True, but you confirmed that you were going to Bali when you asked how I knew that. I was just assuming before,” he replied with a shrug and a soft grin. You tongued your cheek in annoyance at his observation.

“Right,” you mumbled. You yanked your headphones back over your ears, cutting off the ability to continue the conversation for both your sakes. Only 13 hours and 25 minutes to go.

Your Fujifilm camera felt light in your hands as you recorded a few minutes of the passing clouds. Capturing the changes in the sun during the duration of the flight seemed like a simple task, but balancing the light and adjusting the colors so they came through as vibrant as what they really were was difficult. These would be the first shots seen and they had to evoke the right feeling - the passion that Michael and Julia were looking for. Your passion for your work, for your art, for your life. You stifled your groan, not wanting to cause panic in your concerned neighbor again. You frowned as you stared down at the short video you’d taken; the focus wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be. Turning to the interior of the plane, you held the camera back up to your eye trying to get it to focus.

“If you wanted me to be your muse, all you had to do was ask,” he said with a chuckle. “I won’t even charge you for taking the shot.” The corners of your mouth turned down further.

“You’re not my muse. I’m trying to refocus my camera. You just so happen to be in the way,” you said matter-of-factly.

“I seem to always be getting in the way huh?” He leaned further back in his seat as he turned his head towards me, the sunlight hitting his face so gently. You bit your lip and fiddled with the AF fine-tune again. “First it was your seat, now with your shot. What are you going to do with me?” he asked with a fake sigh of contriteness. You rolled your eyes at his dramatics and took another test shot, the corner of his face creeping into the frame.

“Absolutely nothing,” you told him, adjusting the calibration once again. He moved closer as you snapped another test shot. His olive skin glowed under the mellow rays of the afternoon sun filtering in and his smile filled the small screen of your camera.

“Would you like some help?” he offered as he noticed the slight tremble in your fingers.

“I don’t need your help,” you mumbled.

“Are you sure?” he asked again. “You’re adjusting your AF fine-tune, but you’re in the wrong AF mode. Any adjustments you make wouldn’t have a significant effect if you’re shooting the inside of the plane.”

Stranger-that-causes-you-continuous-embarrassment slipped your camera out of your hands, his fingers brushing against yours, and flipped modes quite expertly as the blood rushed up your neck and into your face. The sounds of your breathing echoed in your ears as you could not believe you’d made a fool of myself in front of him for the fourth time now. Michael must have been right when he said your previous abilities had left, the stress of this upcoming project getting the better of you. It had to be.

“Are you a photographer?” you asked. He took his own test shots, double-checking his adjustments.

“Here and there,” he replied nonchalantly. “I have a few friends in the industry and I dabble in a little bit of art myself. A hobby really,” he continued, snapping his last one of you before handing the camera back. You nodded your thanks and tucked the camera back into its bag; your nerves were too shot to continue. You could probably edit the footage to be better anyway.

“Excuse me, are you Park Jimin?” An attendant appeared with a tiny cart filled with food, her petite frame barely visible from behind it. Jimin.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Here’s your vegetarian lunch, sir. Please enjoy,” she told him as she set the tray down in front of him. Her reach was far more extended than it needed to be and you internally scoffed at her not so subtle attempt to flirt. He smiled and thanked her before turning his attention to the steaming plastic bowl in front of him.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a vegetarian,” you thought aloud.

“Do you think about pegging often?” Jimin’s smile was innocent but his gaze was not. Your eyes widened comically slow as you realized what he was suggesting.

“No! Not at all! What are you talking about?! I would never -” you spluttered out, hands waving frantically in front of you “- I mean, if you’re into that, then that’s great. I’m not judging you at all!” His laugh cut off your backtracked rambling. It was boisterous and loud and filled up the entire space between us as he tipped his head back, clearly delighted by your discomfort. It hurt your ears but made your heart jump. “Please stop laughing at me, Jimin.”

He hummed an “okay” and filled his mouth with another large bite of what you assumed to be vegetarian lasagna. Your  eyes fell to his plump lips as you watched him, his jaw moving almost rhythmically as you counted each chew to ground yourself into the present moment. 7, before he swallowed. It was only the tiny flicker of his tongue against his bottom lip that reminded you that you were staring at him. Again. You busied myself with the in-flight monitor screen, extremely fascinated by the current flight path.

“So, are you going to tell me your name?” You raised your eyebrows at his question.

“No, I don’t think so,” you said with a smile.

“Why not?” Your smile widened as you felt like you finally had the upper hand, something that he seemed to continuously have.

“Why should I?”

“Well, you know what my name is. I think it’s only fair that I have yours as well. What else would be appropriate to call you other than your name?” He asked thoughtfully as he pointed his fork towards you, the mischievous glint never really leaving his deep brown eyes.

“Are you going to stab me with your fork if I don't tell you?” He lowered it sheepishly. “Besides, you didn’t tell me your name, Mr. Park. That nice flight attendant did,” you said with a shrug. “So technically, fairness isn’t a part of this equation. The odds just so happened to be in my favor.”

“‘May the odds ever be in your favor’, my ass. Alright, fine.” Jimin peered around your seat, leaning over into your space while nearly knocking his food off its tray, trying to find any semblance of a clue to what your name could be. He sat back and directly faced you, almost folding his body underneath the tray table to do so. You ignored the way his knee bumped against the outside of your thigh.

“Give me a hint,” he pouted. You giggled as his lower lip jutted out.

“You’re too big to use the puppy dog face against anyone,” you informed him with a laugh. Even if it was cute. You hauled your beanie off your head and wrenched your hands through your hair.

“Just call me Clifford,” he teased. He perked up, an imaginary lightbulb going off in his head. “Elizabeth! Is that your name?”

“No,” His shoulders slumped. “But it could have an ‘a’ in it,” you commented casually. His shoulders rallied at the small hint.

“Don’t worry Shutterfly, I’m going to figure it out. Promise.” He beamed at you and you offered a half-smile in return, your attention more focused on the attendants bringing the rest of the food to passengers as you pondered over his words. Promises were made to be broken, filling you with disappointment and regret. In fact, they only served as false assists in the game of life and you’d stopped playing a very long time ago.

The cabin became pleasantly quiet after dinner was served, the passengers settling down for the night. It was cold and you were grateful for the hoodie you’d folded into your bag, the thin airplane blanket not doing much to keep you warm. Your Saipan video was pulled up on your laptop again and you longed to be in the warmth of the beach. Adele would always know when you’d been out in the sun for too long, more freckles dancing their way across your cheeks as your tell-tale sign, but it never stopped you. You smiled at the memories of busted knees and skinned elbows from being too adventurous with friends during the summer.

Nursing your cold cup of coffee, you sighed in exasperation as you felt the strong urge to use the bathroom. Of course, it would only be fair that your favorite drink was also a diuretic. You chewed your lip as you contemplated how exactly you were going to make it out of your seat without disturbing Jimin who was comfortably sleeping beside you, his arms folded and face hidden in the confines of his hood. He looked peaceful and you felt guilty for even thinking about waking him up. If you went to sleep now, maybe you could hold it? You squirmed in your seat as your bladder protested profusely at the thought. It was now or never.

“Jimin,” you whispered and gently poked his arm. Nothing. “Jimin,” you whispered a little louder, leaning closer to his face. You whimpered softly as he didn’t stir. “Fuck this,” you muttered and pushed off the blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

Peeking over to the passengers behind you to make sure they were asleep, you carefully maneuvered your laptop into your seat before standing up. Jimin had titled his seat back to get more comfortable and you assumed to give himself more room - though again, you didn’t believe there was any space that could fit his long legs; they still touched the seat in front of him. Bracing yourself between the rows in front and behind you, you placed one leg in between the gap of his two and held your breath. So far so good. You twisted to face him so you could slot your second leg into the gap, bending over his sleeping frame. It was nerve-wracking to be this close to him in such a tight space and you prayed to your Lord and Savior that he wouldn’t wake up now as you’d gotten so far into your poorly concocted plan.

Just as you were slipping your left leg over and into the aisle, Jimin shifted beneath you. You froze. The strings of your hoodie dangled treacherously close to his nose. You pleaded silently that he wouldn’t wake up as you scrunched your eyes shut.

“Shutterfly?” The sound of his deep voice caused you to look down. “What are you doing? If you wanted to sit in my lap, all you had to do was ask,” he murmured as he removed his headphones and sat up straighter. Of course, he couldn’t hear you.

“I have to pee and you weren’t waking up, so,” you trailed off, ignoring his flirtatious comment again. He gave you a lazy smile that barely reached his sleep-heavy eyes. The distance between you was much shorter and you focused on keeping your breathing as even as possible.

“Hmm, you should go pee then,” he replied as he let his hand rest gently on your hip, nudging you into the aisle. You squeaked and darted from under his touch, hitting your knee on the armrest. You grumbled a string of curses and rubbed your knee as you headed to the back of the cabin, his quiet chuckles fading behind you.

The relief was imminent and you sighed in contentment as you washed your hands in the tiny sink. Under the dim fluorescent lighting, your skin looked washed out. Your eyes and cheeks were puffy from the high altitude and you tried to rub the tiredness away. You knew you should get some sleep, but the thought of accidentally cuddling into Jimin’s soft, warm body as you slept was so tempting, it was terrifying. You sighed in annoyance as you thought about your fellow passenger. He would be the bane of your existence with his deep sleepy voice and soft touches and stupid nickname.

You shut the door with enough force that you grimaced at the loud noise. It wasn’t as if you could shut all your thoughts of Jimin into that pint-sized restroom as you’d attempted to do with Tiago those many summers ago. You scowled at his memory as you angrily walked back to your seat, the pain in your knee forgotten. You tapped Elijah harshly on his shoulder but softened your gaze after realizing you’d startled him.

“Sorry, I’m in your way again.”  He stepped out into the aisle to let you through, the subtle waft of his cologne moving with him.

“No, you’re fine,” you told him as you slipped into your seat and rested your laptop onto your open tray table.

“You think I’m fine?” you rolled your eyes at his dumb grin.

“Do you ever stop flirting?”

“Who said I was flirting?”

“Your entire demeanor!” you exclaimed. He hushed you and warned you to keep your voice down as people were sleeping. “Your body language, your tone, your eyes. All of it - all of you,” you finished, gesturing to his body.

“And here I was thinking you weren’t interested,” he said with the same smile. He propped his chin up in his palm as he gazed at you through his long lashes. You scoffed.

“No one is interested in you, Jimin.”

“Mhmm, I love it when you say my name.” You covered your mouth to stop the burst of laughter in your chest. He chuckled quietly and returned to his seat. “You don’t have to lie to me though, Shutterfly.”

“Delusional and dramatic. That’s quite the combination you have going for yourself, Mr. Park,” I commented as you searched for your additional Saipan clips.

“As delusional and dramatic as you are uninteresting and not flustered by me,” he shot back playfully and you struggled to keep the corners of your mouth from turning up as you kept your focus on the screen. “How long does it take you to do that though?”

“Do what?” you asked.

“Edit your videos,” he clarified, closing the distance between you again. It was becoming increasingly obvious that personal space did not matter to him.

“Oh. It depends on the project and how much material I have to work with. Sometimes I can knock out a video in a couple of hours, but other times I get stuck for inspiration or I can’t figure out this one technical aspect and it stumps me for days before I can finally move on,” you said slowing down as you realized you were rambling. “Sorry, that was a lot,” you apologized.

“No, I get what you mean. The purpose of projects will definitely define what type of style you go for. I’ve been in those spaces. No need to apologize, seriously.” Jimin rested his hand on your forearm in a comforting manner and you smiled softly at the gesture.

“Is that a genuine smile I see?” He shoved his head in front of your face trying to get a better look.

“Way to ruin the mood,” you said with a laugh. You pushed his head away gently.

“Wow, I think it is,” he continued. “Your freckles are beautiful by the way. And don’t worry about the mood, darling. I can create another one for you.” Jimin winked at you and placed a headphone in his ear.

“You’re a fool,” you informed him, tucking your hair behind your ear.

“A fool in love!” he sang. “Don’t stay up too late. Gotta reset your circadian rhythm before we get to Bali,” Jimin warned. You shook your head at his concern; if only sleep was so easy. Even so, it was only 2 am back in New York. Plenty of time to nap and be up by your usual 4 am wake up time.

“Goodnight, Jimin.”

“Goodnight, Shutterfly.”

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© joon-ipersgirl, 2020

[hearingaidsandtea]

On Accommodations (they’re for me not for you)

On Hearing Aids and Tea, I don’t mind acting as your Deaf/HoH Dictionary. But, what works best for me will not work for or be applicable to everyone in the community. This is simply a place to start. This particular post is going to be long because I’m going to be addressing the nitty-gritty. So bookmark it, like it, whatever. Come back to it and take it in small manageable bites. Anyway, let’s do this.

I’ve been watching a lot of Glee lately. Glee has its issues (sooo many issues) but their episode Wheels did a good job with physical disabilities in one key part.

Will, the Glee club head is calling out Sue (cheer leading coach) for being mean to the new cheerleader, a girl with Downs Syndrome. He says Sue should be nicer because "She's not like everyone else." 

Sue stops, faces him and says "I want you to listen to what you just said, William. You're asking me to treat this girl differently because she has a disability. When it seems to me she just wants to be treated like everybody else."

Not enough people realize this. This is what accommodations are for. That is what they are designed to do--help disabled people interact with the world as normally as possible. Let me help you out here by explaining what you need to know about accommodations.

WHAT is an accommodation?

Anything that helps me function as independently as possible. Functioning here means communicating with the world and being able to interact and do the things I want to do (going to school and participating in class, working, going to the mall with friends, etc.). 

WHO accommodations are for?

Me. They are not for you. They are not supposed to make your life easier. Let me repeat that. Accommodations for a disabled person are not supposed to make your life as an able-bodied person easier. Read that as many times as you need to. It hurts, but it’s important for you to know and understand if you’re going to interact with those who need and use accommodations.

WHY do I (Anna) have accommodations?

Because it helps me interact with the world, the world you (assuming you are an able-bodied person) are apart of, as close to normal as possible. Because guess what? I am magically a human being! I actually want to be treated like a  person! Which is why I freaking loved that part of Glee despite the rest of the episode being a train-wreck. That scene nailed it. I do want to be treated like everyone else as much as possible and the best way for me to do that is to use my accommodations.

My accommodations are not to single me out, but so that I can interact with the world more easily. Many, many doors are closed to me because of my disability, and using my accommodations helps me push some of those doors open.

I have a number of accommodations: My hearing aids, subtitles on movies, an alarm clock that can wake me/the dead/the Elder gods, and translators (which in my case are family and friends). I also have a cell phone that is designed for people who are deaf/HoH. In certain situations, such as school, I have other accommodations (such as preferential seating). If my hearing were to get bad enough I could get a hearing dog.

Some of these are free and some of these are incredibly, incredibly expensive. Let’s take a look at the accommodations I use more closely: 

Hearing aids boost my hearing but even with cochlear implants (which I do not have and have their own problems) hearing is never 100% perfect. I will NEVER have normal hearing.

Hearing aids can cost up to $5,000 or more.

To get ones that fit my hearing needs, I need to get hearing tests, which are around $200 (and that’s after insurance). Frankly, I should be getting my hearing tested once a year to keep up with any changes.

Hearing aids require batteries which are around 20 dollars a pack for 20. A pair of batteries lasts me (with my current aids) about a week, sometimes less. That adds up!

I have a currently have a dry aid which absorbs the moisture from my hearing aids. This isn’t the place to explain how that spiffy and all important piece of technology works, but suffice to say, it’s bloody important. This costs around $150-200. To run it needs a Dry Brix which come 3 to a pack and cost $20 dollars. I need 6-8 of these a year.

Subtitles: This should be a no-brainer. But to explain it anyway. I cannot lip read if the characters are not facing the camera or are in a super dark place. If they have accents that makes it harder. While I adore the music in movies, that also makes it hard for me to hear. Many times certain tones overlap which makes it hard for me to pick out voices and what the characters are saying. Subtitles are the core of my enjoyment in movies. Unless I have someone who’s willing to explain to me what’s going on every so often, I much prefer to watch movies at home with my beloved subtitles. 

Alarm Clock: I actually need a new one, which is totally beside the point. But an alarm clock that can wake me, the dead, and the Elder gods is very important. Thankfully the deaf/HoH techno geeks (and techno geeks in general) have got my (and the community’s back) on this point. There are alarm clocks that will make the pillow vibrate so you wake up. There are alarm clocks that flash brightly while beeping so you wake up. There are ones like mine, that are so loud that even with both my room doors closed, it can be heard all the way at the other end of the house at full volume. These alarm clocks are all around $20 or so dollars. Most expensive one is around $50. 

Translators (aka family and friends): My family and close friends are probably one of the biggest accommodations after the hearing aids. Ironically it only works because they are willing to accommodate me. A translator in this case is someone who is standing close to me and when I can’t lip read or hear what’s being said, they tell me. This person is always standing close to me and faces me when they’re talking. My translators change frequently depending on the situation and are more often than not my family. But these are people who have been around me long enough to know when I’m catching something or when I’m not and will naturally translate for me. If I knew ASL, a translator would translate what is being said into ASL. At many events I can request that I have a translator or bring my own.

Cell Phone: DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE PHONE WAS TRYING TO INVENT THE HEARING AID FOR HIS HARD OF HEARING WIFE AND ACCIDENTALLY INVENTED THE PHONE INSTEAD?!?!?! I know he was trying to invent hearing aids, but bless him anyway! And bless the phone manufacturers that make phones that are specifically for people like me. These phones are awesome because they allow me to hear well with my hearing aids in or out. Even on my bad side I can hear pretty well using those phones. Now this might not seem like a big deal, but if you are constantly frustrated by not being able to understand what is being said then talking on the phone becomes terror inducing. It’s frustrating and not at all fun. We’ll avoid talking on the phone if at all possible, and thanks to the internet as well as texting, often times we have an easier way to go about things than calling someone. But sometimes you just have to make a phone call. A good phone helps take away a lot of that anxiety and frustration. The phone also has an option to light up whenever I get an alert or call, so that I can see it flashing, even if I don’t hear the phone ring.

There’s actually a rating system that phones have, and the system is based on how well phones work with hearing aids (HAC ratings). When I buy a new phone this is the key thing I look for. Phone prices vary, but using the HAC ratings is super helpful in narrowing down a phone to suit my needs. My current phone (Samsung Galaxy) is one of the highest rated. I love it! Any phone that rates highly on the scale is a good investment.

Preferential Seating/Note Taker: All my life in schools I have had multiple accommodations. Those have changed over time but two have always remained the same, ready for me to make use of if needed. In a later post I’ll talk about the process to get the accommodations you need in schools. Preferential seating means that I have first choice in where I sit, regardless of any seating charts. I sit in the first or second row so I can easily hear and see the professor. A note taker is someone who sits beside me and takes their own notes on a special paper and after the class is over, they give me a carbon copy of the notes. I have always taken my own notes, but in the past I’ve found note takers useful because if I miss something, my note-taker has most likely written it down.

Other Accommodations: There are fire alarms for the Deaf/HoH which light up and are loud enough to once again, wake the Elder gods. This is great because you can see it. On the off chance you can’t see or hear it, one of your neighbors can. A hearing dog can alert their human to noises, such as people talking to their owner, the door bell, any objects in the kitchen that are beeping, and loads of other things. Speaking of door bells, there are specially designed ones that light up. These are only a portion of accommodations that we have access to. There are resources out there that level the playing field.

There is nothing that we can’t do once we have the right tools.

As a friend or family member to someone who is deaf, the most important thing is to respect these accommodations. If you have questions, ask them! Keep in mind though, understanding isn’t as important as respecting and doing as asked to help. 

[daleisgreat]

Furious 7

The first official spinoff of the Fast and Furious franchise hit theaters this weekend with the release of Hobbs and Shaw. It only seems fitting then with that hitting theaters to continue my trek through covering the series here with 2015’s Furious 7 (trailer). The seventh entry in the series showcased Jason Statham in the role of the unstoppable villain, Deckard Shaw. Furious 7 also infamously went down as the last film in the series to feature one of the two franchise lead-men, Paul Walker since he perished in a tragic car wreck in the midst of shooting this film. His brother took his place in several stand-in spots for the final scenes to be shot with his character. Needless to say one of the burning questions I had originally going into this at the theaters opening weekend was how were they going to handle writing him off the series? I will cross that bridge in towards the end of this entry. Furious 7 has a new director at the helm with James Wan of Saw, Insidious and Conjuring fame. He has a killer opening shot of Deckard Shaw at the hospital bedside of his brother, Owen (Luke Evans), who barely survived the aftermath of his clash with Dom (Vin Diesel) in the last film and Deckard promising to avenge him. Another opening act shot that gelled with me was Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Dom revisiting the Race Wars rally for the first time in the series since the original film to get our obligatory drag race out of the way early where Letty easily lays waste to her opposition. I appreciated the callback to Race Wars, and was surprised to see them dig out periphery character Hector (Noel Gugliemi) from the original film to make a fun cameo too.

Just like the post-credits tag scene in Fast & Furious 6 eluded to, Furious 7 finally puts a tidy bow on the split timelines in the canon. Stick with me…..the previous three Fast films technically all took place before Tokyo Drift since Han (Sung Kang) perished in that film but the filmmakers liked him so much that they kept bringing him back. To wrap up this glaring loose end, after an exhilarating fight with Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), Shaw breaks into Hobbs’ computer to find the location of Han and assassinate him to get Dom’s attention. Props to Furious 7 for tracking down Lucas Black to get him back in his role as Sean Boswell for a scene with Dom wrapping up the Tokyo chapter of the series. I remember being both stoked to see Black back, and bummed to see him limited to only one scene and almost expected to see him welcomed as part of Dom’s gang. There are currently rumors he will be back in a bigger role in the upcoming ninth film in the series. Since we still see Dom’s crew at Han’s funeral and all the succeeding events seemingly transpire in the weeks afterwards it is safe to presume this movie still is set in 2006 when Tokyo Drift initially released….that is until we see in the early part of Furious 7 Letty visiting her old grave that has a 2009 death year on it from when we thought she died in the fourth film, which should have took place before Tokyo Drift…..ah forget it.

Anyways, point being is whenever year Furious 7 transpires, it is hard to believe it was in the 2000s decade (aka ‘The Aughts’) after Dom’s crew meets up with secret government ghost agent Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). Mr. Nobody essentially gives the government’s unofficial backing to Dom’s gang as their go to master heist crew for secret-ops missions. He also introduces the gang to all kinds of high-tech level gadgetry right that seems like it was pulled right out of the latest 007 film. I could not remember the name of Russell’s character when writing this and I cannot stand the name ‘Mr. Nobody’ the moment I looked it up for reference for this so I will instead just refer to his character as his real name Kurt Russell from here on out because Kurt Russell is portrayed as a bonafide badass in this film. Russell helps Dom’s crew rescue kidnapped hacker, Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), who has knowledge of a ‘God’s Eye’ device which has access to all the security and cell phone cameras across the world. Of course, there are the now-obligatory ridiculous stunt scenes that result in Team Ride or Die snatching Ramsey away from the terrorists. It involves a hilarious sequence of skydiving cars and culminates with Dom escaping terrorists by intentionally flipping his car down a cliff and literally walking right out of the totaled car and brushing it off without any injury! Not even a bandage! Trust me, things get even more gloriously ludicrous from there when Ramsey tells the crew they must traverse to Abu Dhabi to procure the ‘God’s Eye.’ If you thought things were bonkers with the safe in Fast Five and the heroic tank leaps and infinite runway in the sixth movie, then props to Wan for somehow topping those stunts with a must-see to believe ‘Cars Can’t Fly’ moment in Furious 7 involving a three million dollar car and the Etihad Towers. It is easily one of the all-time ‘holy shit’ moments in big-budget blockbuster cinema history, and that is saying something!

After some more back and forth shenanigans with Shaw, everything comes to a boil in a heavy duty final act involving predator drones, car jousts, Hobbs donning a chain gun against a helicopter and an epic Dom vs Shaw street fight. This all adds up to Dom’s gang being masters at car-heisting, street races, breathtaking vehicle stunt-work and fluent in the latest and greatest top-secret government tech. 007 Car Heisters….or something like that. This is the first time I saw Furious 7 since the theaters and I forgot about how awesome the overall arc and climatic action/stunt-work/heist scenes were compared to the previous movies. It is easily in the same class with the raised stakes and budget the previous two movies established. A lot of that amazing stunt work is chronicled in the near two hours of extra features. Flying Cars is a fascinating watch to see how skydivers literally jumped out with flying cars to get those up-close camera shots during the car skydiving sequence. Tower Jumps is also worth checking out to see how the ‘Cars Can’t Fly’ sequence was pulled off. Both are quick watches at around seven minutes each while Talking Fast is a broader all encompassing extra at just over a half hour where Wan curates his favorite moments and scenes from the film and it nicely jumps to interviews with the cast members involved in each moment and Wan provides additional insight to how he pulled off some key shots. Talking Fast suffices for the lack of a commentary track from Wan that Justin Lin spoiled me with on the last four Fast home video releases.

There are a few other smaller extras on the BluRay covering other stunt-work and fight scenes, but what surprisingly jumped out to me in this last smattering of bonus features is one covering the making of the Fast and Furious Supercharged Ride attraction at Universal Studios. I coincidentally went on that ride on vacation earlier this year and can confirm it captures the spirit of the films and spares no expense when compared to the other big budget rides at Universal Studios. Finally, there is the Wiz Khalifa music video, ‘See You Again’ that is easily identified for being the song that closed off Furious 7 with its emotional farewell scene for Paul Walker. Yes, it is time to touch on Furious 7 sending Paul Walker off into the sunset. Wan and the rest of the filmmakers could not have done it any better. It is undoubtedly a rough scene to get through and I would be lying if I said I was not holding back any sniffles and getting dusty-eyed throughout it. Part of me thought they were going to kill off Connor, and I had no idea what the script originally called for, but the final on-screen product was the perfect way to sunset the Connor and Mia (Jordana Brewster) characters out of the picture by them going on their own to be a family. I will never forget I was at a gas station shortly after leaving a minor league hockey game with another film buff when I found out about the news and we both needed a moment to take it all in. Ironically enough, earlier that day before the hockey game I was at a pawn shop and bought the PS2 Fast and Furious game.

This was the final film in the franchise I watched along with Dan, Vinny and Alex of Giant Bomb in their Film and 40s commentary series. It made for once again another highly entertaining watch as I echoed many of their sentiments throughout. Highlights include the quote ‘That’s some Asura’s Wrath shit’ during a big stunt moment, Dan picking Alex’s brain on getting into Deftones, priceless reactions to the huge car skydiving and tower leap moments, predicting future celebrity villains, them trying to add up the Tokyo Drift plot lines like I was earlier and searching online for a replica Vin Diesel cross necklace on Amazon. Oh yeah, and I did indeed share along in the sniffles with them during the aforementioned emotional final scene. And that is Furious 7. I apologize for repeating myself, but it seems worth repeating all I remembered going into it again was the Paul Walker farewell and I forgot how good the stuntwork and caliber of jaw-dropping moments were here especially when stacked up to prior films in the series. Again, Furious 7 stands in the same league with the big budget blockbusters that the fifth and sixth installments evolved into and I loved how it found another way to raise the stakes by introducing Kurt Russell’s character into the fray and giving them the government’s unofficial blessing as being super-hi-tech ghost agents. With the untimely death of Paul Walker and the fitting farewell scene for him to close off the film I will forever have a special place for Furious 7 in the brand’s hierarchy.

'For Paul' Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[olwog]

So, we’re off to Amsterdam. We travel overnight from Hull and I’m told we’re in an outer cabin; there is entertainment, there is also a bar and, the coup de gras is a casino. I’m not particular

ly a casino person although I have been involved with the organisation of ‘pop up’ ones for corporate events using pretend money and I have managed to make a lot more pretend money at those same events. Whenever I’ve had a bet using real money it deserts me like water in a desert so I make a mental budget so that if disaster strikes I can hit the bar with enough money to drown my sorrows then sleep.

It’s Brexit day so all is well with the world and utopia is just around the corner. I should have bought my Euros yesterday as the pound is having a few jitters but the result isn’t going to break the bank. I stopped the two hour footslog up and down the High Street to get an extra 60p when I realised my time was worth more than 30p/hour, I still avoid airports where I can though, that’s where you can really become unstuck!

The Pilgrim is getting quite excited and asks me if I’m taking a ‘proper’ camera. I have a couple of them and neither is light but there’s no restriction on the weight of our bags so in it goes and I must admit that the extra creativity that it’ll enable is exciting.

Hull is looking great in terms of flowers etc but I have to ask if they were late in being informed of the city of culture as there are road works, path works, holes being dug, holes being filled, scaffolding, drilling and stihl sawing nearly everywhere and with it the all pervading dust. The poppies are worth a mention though.

We arrive in Rotterdam to the equivalent of “good morning campers, hi di hi” together with some binging and bonging from a disembodied voice emanating from a speaker in the ceiling. I find it easy to go to sleep but I’m very easily woken so within milliseconds of the fist syllable from the voice of god I’m sitting bolt upright with staring eyes and a heart rate over 130 even on the atenolol.

So, be warned, a North Sea morning call is not to be taken lightly.

  The journey from Rotterdam to Amsterdam is nondescript in the strict sense that there is nothing to describe. The countryside is flat and varies from 1 metre below sea level to almost 5 metres below, so, I keep asking myself, why is it still land?

There are no bulb fields which is a little disappointing to me and I follow the example of The Pilgrim and go to sleep. Just 15 minutes later I awake to the sound of me snoring and see that one or two of the female passengers are smiling their sympathies at us.

As we begin to enter the city the size of the cycling population becomes obvious. There are thousands of them and they seem to outnumber the pedestrians and the cars. Over the next couple of days I’ll begin to appreciate their position in the pecking order of modes of travel. It’s great that they have such an important status but also unbelievably irritating that they have their own tracks and really don’t take prisoners if a pedestrian happens to walk on one of them. The trouble is that that they park their bikes on the paths reserved for pedestrians. There may be 30 or 40 bikes or there may be 100’s and they’re all parked and locked with huge chains thus blocking the path  and forcing the reluctant walker to use the cycle track – QED!

We’re dropped off near the beautiful St. Nicholas Basilica which is near the railway station and guarantees that we’ll be able to find this spot when we return tomorrow evening.

It’s a 15 minute walk to the Hotel Estherea which takes us almost half an hour largely due to me taking photographs and both of us pausing to take in the wonderful sites as we cross huge open squares. We dodge trams that creep-up eerily behind us then ring their bell in the full expectation that we’ll hear it and get out of the way. No sooner have we avoided almost certain death by being hit by one of these multi-tonne silent monsters than we risk major injury from the cyclists. Whilst cyclists may not have the mass of a tram they do travel faster and will result in some significant pain and really nasty injuries in the event of a collision; however, they are also skilful and blessed with a combination of lightning fast reactions coupled with a psychic ability to see the future.  I note there are no cycle hats or motor cycle crash helmets – by this I mean in the whole of the two days I spend here I see only one group of 8 who were wearing cycle helmets and they were being trained in the park.

The youngsters pass us two on a bike and the pillion jumps off to help push the bike over a hump-back bridge then hops back on again without a reduction in speed; there is constant laughter. Mothers and fathers carry their children on seats that are mounted behind them above the back wheel, in front of them on the cross bar and also on the handle bars and in some cases all three. There is the occasional tandem, always with the man on the front! Sometimes there are two or three wheeled bikes that have a wooden structure on the front, it’s a bit like a wheelbarrow and it carries anything from ladders and paint to human cargo such as three small children, all of them chatting and all of them smiling. No one wears a helmet not even the kids. This is a very happy and carefree city.

The hotel is wonderful. It was built in the 17th c on Singel and overlooks the canal. It’s olde world and wonderfully quirky. We both love the decor and The Pilgrim immediately goes into search mode for her ‘phone to photograph the fabulous chandeliers which are absolutely astonishing.

There’s some light banter from the desk clerk.  He tells us that they’re full and we have to come back at three and would we mind taking our cases with us as they’re very busy and they’ll get in the way.  Then with perfect timing he breaks out in a smile that will light a room, “Joking!”, he says. This is just before go for his neck and The Pilgrim begins the process of trashing the chandelier… I pretend I’m adjusting my sleeve.

The room is excellent with more of the quirky decor and bathroom with shower and a bath, I like a bath although this one is for tiny people. I remember being bathed in something this size when I was a child. It was galvanised and was used mostly in the winter as there was no central heating and the bathroom was intensely cold. The tin bath would be brought out and placed on a clippey mat in front of the fire. It was then filled with a combination of water from the hot and cold taps in the kitchen. It runs in my mind that it was always a bit hot and I’d jump in and out of it just dipping my toes and chirping, “Ow, ow, ow!”. In fact, this was the performance whether it was hot or indeed, perfect. I do remember one night when I was sloshing water around by spinning on my bum and watching the bubbles rotate even though I was now stationary. I turned my back to the fire and made the mistake of leaning back against that side of the tin bath. It must have been a particularly well lit fire because that night I burned my back on the bit of the bath side that was above the water level. I cleared the other side in one bound and accompanied it with a scream that would have brought a social worker but I didn’t end up with a burn. My Mam had seen what had happened and had me under the cold tap in the sink before I could breath in enough air for the second squeal. She was a wise and wonderful woman was my Mam and I loved her.

We’re in and out of the hotel in minutes but not before The Pilgrim fills up with a piece of apple pie that is so big it had to the eaten from the sharp end to get it in your mouth followed by some excellent freshly ground coffee all on the house. Nice one Hotel Estherea another tick in the box.

We emerge blinking in the sun and begin walking randomly, the weather renders all plans for culture in art gallery or museum redundant and we explore.

Most of the canals have a variety of trees along their banks and they’re just becoming green. Amsterdam is probably a couple of weeks further forward in the season than Yorkshire, about the same as London and Kent. The trees are Elm, Plane and Lime with significant numbers of Poplar and others. There is a statistic of over 75,000 elm alone so you can see this is a woody city and all the more beautiful for it.

After an hour of exploration we decide on a canal boat trip and there’s a one hour excursion that we can take after a coffee and snack on the roof of a boat overlooking a motley row of buildings that look like they’re about to fall down. I read later that many of them are like this due to being built on wooden piles and they varied in both quality, length, girth and degree of rot. Things appear to be OK where there are lots of buildings together but where there has been additional work or they are standing alone they can adopt the most amazing leans to the left or right but also to the front or back or even a combination so, when you look at the photos, it’s not a lens aberration that you see, it’s real!

There is also the issue of their width and this is due to the original allocation of land being 5 to 7 metres in width to maximise the number of premises on the waterfront which was the means of access. The Pilgrim tells me that because the houses are so narrow the staircases are also famously narrow. This might seem difficult when you want to move house, but in fact, up to this day, people still use the hoist beam on top and the wide windows to move their stuff into the house.

We finish our snack and make our way to the quay side where our boat is poised ready for our trip. If you go to Amsterdam please consider an excursion on one of these boats, they’re informative and you get a different perspective on this beautiful city.

Towards late afternoon we do the tourist thing, a drink at a pavement cafe in the sun people watching. It really doesn’t get better than this.

A quick shower later and we’re out looking for a restaurant for our evening meal. We have two criteria either it serves Dutch or Indonesian cuisine and we have two names on a yellow sticky supplied by a lovely lady in the hotel. We stop at the Haesje Claes Dutch restaurant and the evening is so warm we sit at a table outside. I go on a recce to trace the Indonesian whilst a beer is arranged at the Dutch. I come back bearing good news and after a little bit of banter with the waitress we pay the bill and make our way a hundred yards to Leantjil Tijger.

The waiter indicates a table for four that has two gentlemen on the inner side leaving the side near the path available to us. It’s standard practice to share a table in Amsterdam but we ask the occupants out of good old fashioned manners anyway. We’re greeted by smiles and open handed gestures that indicate a welcome and our English reticence evaporates.  The gentlemen are in conversation and one of them, an American clearly knows a thing or two about the food so we wait for a natural break and jump in with a question about how we use the menu and the reply is poetic. Indonesian food is meant to be colourful and we’re advised to explore the Sundanese choice.

A couple of beers later and it arrives. There are 15 different bowls of delightful, fresh and colourful foods and initially it looks over powering but the dishes are responsible for much of the space and the amount is just about right. If you’re an explorer with your food I’d urge you to try Indonesian.

An hour and half later and we’re on our way towards Dam square and a couple of bars later round off the evening in an Irish Bar, it’s only now that it’s chilly enough to force us inside.

Friday morning and a latish start with a promise to hire some bikes. The hotel has coffee which is all we require to nudge us towards the a gorgeous day in the sun. We’d already decided on a bite to eat later and go in search of a bike shop. Yesterday they were littered all over the city and I dare say that today would be likewise but we don’t find one, well not immediately; but it does give us the opportunity to explore some wonderful narrow streets and a very special square that is reserved for rent only to women. It has a wonderful history related to the conflicts of faith but the outcome is good and this quiet space in the middle of a very bustling city is astonishing.

We manage to hire some bikes and hit the road like locals, well not quite, we’re not as confident but the cycle paths make life so much easier and infinitely more relaxing for those on two or three wheels. We decide to go to Vondelpark but do it the pretty way by heading in the direction of the railway station first then we follow canals back through the city and entering the park via a detour past the museums.

Vondelpark is fabulous. The youngsters have taken it over and there are hundreds of them in small groups listening to music, making music, talking, walking or biking around the perimeter. There are lakes, trees, shrubs and cafes and when you mix in the weather the whole thing is idyllic. We opt for a hamburger and hotdog off the stall, I really know how to treat a lady! then lie on the grass to eat them.

The Pilgrim does a bit of litter picking and we set off again to do our own circumnavigation of the park and make our way back towards any of the offices that supply our bikes to return them and visit the flower market on the way back to the hotel for our bags.

The flower market is on Singel and is built over the canal with numerous stalls all competing with huge displays of fabulous bulbs, rhizomes and tubers along with all manner of other shrubs and plants. It’s a lovely experience to go there and if you’re not interested in plants there’s always the cheese shops in front of them.

We make some purchases and meander our way back to the hotel. It’s beginning to get overcast now and there are spits of rain.

The luggage is retrieved and we’re on our way to the pick up point, this time it only takes 20 minutes along the canal with the avenue of trees, through the stone clad squares and along the incredibly wide main streets to St Nicholas Basilica where the first of the buses is full and just about to pull away. We wait for the next and find ourselves in luck as there are two spaces left and we can have them.

Sadly our luck ran out at this point and we’re amongst a group of young men on a stag party one of whom is both pissed and has mental issues. It’s a long two hours and I’ll not describe it here but, in  a previous life,  I taught young men of these ages for 25 years and during that time, even when I’ve seen them drunk, I have never heard any of them quite as obnoxious as this particular one and some of his compatriots. Ah, well, they only spoil 2 hours, the rest of this break has been wonderful. Would we go back to Amsterdam, yes, we’re already planning it.

Enjoy the snaps…G..x

A Postcard from Amsterdam So, we’re off to Amsterdam. We travel overnight from Hull and I’m told we’re in an outer cabin; there is entertainment, there is also a bar and, the coup de gras is a casino.