I’ve been around ASL a lot lately. Bonnie is learning it and we have been watching a lot of ASL videos. Nathan also showed us both the website for D-PAN (Deaf Performing Arts Network). I don’t think I would have realized how beautiful sign languages were if it wasn’t for this website (Nathan and Bonnie too). ASL is really beautiful. I feel moved to learn this language because of its efficiency and expressiveness.
Here are a couple of videos that can be found through D-PAN. The first, produced by D-PAN, is the song “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. The other one is a short film about coming out. Enjoy!
Published by Derek under Personal on
November 23, 2008
I’m finally back in Rhode Island spending my last few days relaxing. Bonnie has again opened her home to us and is letting us stay until we need to leave.
Yesterday Nathan and I spent the day organizing our clothes: getting rid of the ones we had thought we needed but realized we don’t. We also organized our food pantry a bit. All this loose end-tying got me to hem some pants and make patches for them for the first time ever. I really like them a lot. I’m going to miss this place when we leave soon. I haven’t felt this peaceful in a while.
Wednesday I leave for Shelburne, MA to start a ten-day Vipassana meditation. Wish me luck. For now I am content to be here where I feel most at home.
So it goes these days as I spend more and more time observing media that my views on society are more and more volatile. I am consumed with dread for most of the entire race. Everything around me points in a direction of mass destruction, deprevation, and death, and the people responsible are me and you. So leads me in this short rant to affect some kind of action.
If you sit down and actually look at our privileged lives you’ll realize the systems of control are set in place and our place here in this society gives them power. We ride puplic transportation, eat fast food, go to school, even sell ourselves for money. All of these things can be made better. All of these things can be made pure once more. What’s more is that we can stop all of this madness. But as I see things today there are not enough of us changing the way we move, eat, learn, and work. We just filter through the system and expect someone else to do the work for us (I don’t think Obama is going to do anything for us; only we can make the change he promises.).
This very moment is the only reality we face, and we are left with the obligation to decide what to do next (thank you Nathan for making clear this thought). I think that everyday more and more people are picking a fight and speaking up for those who either can’t or those who are just ignorant to the entire sytem of their own repression. I don’t care what you realists say about my fanciful ideals and my crunchy granola hippy outlook on life. I believe in love. I believe in human kindness and human empathy. I believe in you and me.
The solutions are within our reach. We have all the tools we need to create a future for all people to thrive. Don’t let the media tell you what to believe. Unplug your televisions and start making your community something to be proud of. Bring together community: something truly important to our survival on this planet. Let’s reconstruct our lives and break down the boundaries that isolate us from each other. Bridge the gaps between the people around you and realize our mutuality. Let us come together right now and make our world today.
I am not going to sit back while there is so much left to do. I am on my own journey for change and you are on yours, but only together can we make the world’s vision of beauty appear. I pray for compassion and I am thankful for it, all at the same time.
Noam Chomsky is a great man (if you have not heard him speak I suggest you get your hands on one of his commentaries). He and many more of our contemporaries are great. You are great and can make great things. I believe in myself and mostly in you.
I dropped off my student visa application on Monday, and as of today the consulate still has my application. Let’s hope that one more day is all that is needed.
Nathan and I spent the entire day inside looking at farms in Spain. We found some really interesting ones in Málaga and Granada. Later Nathan, Mercy, and I went out into Manhattan to go to a discussion/presentation called “Rebuilding Local Food Economies” with a great speaker from Brazil, Rodrigo Lopes. Here’s the info:
Published by Derek under Personal on
November 16, 2008
Last night Nathan and I arrived in Salem, MA. I spent Thursday with a sore arm from a typhoid shot and the evening watching a really lame French movie. We’ve been staying with my friend Nick for a couple of nights while I’ve been catching up with family and friends one last time while I can.
Today was my day to spend with my father and I’m really glad I did. For the first time I felt connected to my dad… He even likes Sudoku!!! All night we talked about socialism, commercialism, agriculture, unions, Walmart, and many other charged topics. I really gained a new respect for my father. He opened my eyes to who I am through who he is. It took 25 years but I now know who my dad is and what he really cares about. I am so proud to have him as a father for the first time.
I went to the outsourcing office for my visa today and I was denied. Apparently I put too much information about where I would be staying so it seemed that I should have applied for a student visa instead (despite having been advised otherwise). Hopefully I’ll be back in NY next week with everything in order. For now I am trying not to worry too much about how and when it will happen.
All day Nathan and I walked around Central Park, Union Square, and Chinatown. Central Park was a nice place for lunch and we also met a really cool street musician named Arland. After letting me play his dulcimer and his three stringed lute-like Mongolian instrument he told us that the only sane people are the ones who truly believe in a utopian society. It made me feel good inside to hear that because what I mostly hear from people is the negative… “Derek, you’re too ideal.” “This is reality, Derek.” “Not everyone can love…” etc.
At union square was the farmers’ market. We bought a few things for dinner and made our way to Chinatown to meet up with Mercy again. We all made a great dinner and spent the evening relaxing.
Here’s a picture of Nathan and me at Central Park. Enjoy!
Nathan and I left DC today and now find ourselves in Brooklyn, NY. We are spending the night with our friend Mercy Bell who recently moved here. I must say we are enjoying our time here as well as having such flexible schedules.
When we arrived we enjoyed a homemade lunch by Mercy. After lunch we walked around the neighborhood and bought groceries for dinner (vegan corn and kale chowder from corn I canned this summer). And after all that we had some non-dairy frozen dessert and watched A Crude Awakening. Below is the trailer for the movie… which I must say scares the s%&# out of me. I am scared for the future of humankind and the lives of all the people that will surely die if we do not cease our dependence on oil.
Tomorrow we will all go to the visa outsourcing office for India. I hope I got the right state this time…
Published by Derek under Personal on
November 10, 2008
When we got to DC we were welcomed by Jasmine and Ley with open arms. Immediately we started cooking and had a mock thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings. Later we just sat around, played guitar, and found out about each other.
The best part of the night was when I found out I was in the wrong place…
My visa application was processed through the travisa outsourcing office. When I originally looked at offices for travisa I was first directed to DC. The weird part is when you apply to pickup your visa in the same day you can only apply for an appointment 5 days in advance… so I failed to notice that my jurisdiction for a visa to India was out of New York! Thankfully no one laughed at me but I felt pretty dumb for missing that fact.
Although now that we’re in DC I am glad to have the time to go see some museums and spend sometime with some great people. We’ll be leaving tomorrow for NY and my new appointment is for Wednesday morning. Hey if that’s the worst thing that happens to me on this adventure I’m going to be alright!
Published by Derek under Personal on
November 9, 2008
Yesterday was a momentous day for me and Nathan. We left the farm!!! We spent three days getting all our stuff packed or donated. Even after we got rid of two car loads of stuff that, we still filled our car one last time before leaving Saturday morning.
The two of us left at 8am for Bonnie’s to drop even more stuff off. We all hung out and had some breakfast before Nathan and I left for CT.
In Hartford, we went to the most amazing anarchist conference. (I’ve never been to an anarchist conference so I have nothing to compare it to, but it was pretty amazing.) I’m so glad we went. I got to meet some really amazing people doing some amazing stuff. (All of those “amazing”s are necessary to describe the conference.) A lot of it was theories being thrown around about racism, feminism, and queer rights. The discussions were intense, and now I feel more empowered than I ever have. Food Not Bombs supplied tons of snacks and prepared a delicious, vegan dinner. They were cool to meet and talk with. I hope I can get back there some weekend and help them out.
Our friend Nico met us there for the last discussion and the free dinner. After finishing up our conversations with our new friends Saffo and Solomo, we went to Nico’s apartment. We watched the documentary King Corn before going to bed (well, Nathan already fell asleep during the film.). Thank you, Nico!
Well that’s our update for the first day of crazy, homeless adventure. Our schedule is busy and exciting. Tonight we leave CT for DC!!! We meet a pair of CSers that will be hosting us for a couple of days. I’m pretty psyched about getting my visa for India.
