Movie Review: "The Stepfather"

by Princess 14

"The Stepfather" is about a man who has different names and kills families as he goes from place to place. This movie started when he saw a woman at a supermarket with her kids. They were talking and the woman asked the man if he wanted to get pizza. He said yes. Six months later they got married. Then a boy named Micheal returned from the military. Micheal is the mother's son. He is the oldest one.

His girlfriend Kelly picked him up at the airport and they went to the backyard at his mother's house. It was a surprise party. He discovered that the stepfather is a killer. A woman next door told the mother, "Did you see America's Most Wanted last night? I think your husband was on it." Micheal goes on the internet. He sees the stepfather's and a different name. They have a fight. This is an exciting scene. They fight over the rooftops.

I think the acting in this movie was a come-back good. Dylan Walsh is the actor who played the Stepfather. He really made me think he's that evil. One thing I didn't like was the music. It wasn't scary enough.

If you are one of those people who likes thiller/horror movies, then "The Stepfather" is for you!

Bluford High: More Drama!

by Princess 14

Close your eyes and imagine that you are in Bluford High School. Your name is Tyray Hobbs. Your father abuses you. So you want a gun to even things out. People are bothering you and you want them to stop.

Or imagine that you are Darcy Wills. You break up with your boyfriend and you still miss him. Then your best friend starts going out with him

These are just two of the characters you will meet in the Bluford Series by Paul Langan.

I like these books because they have drama and you get very interested in them. You wouldn't even read another book if you start reading one of the Bluford books. Paul Langan makes you feel sympathy, frustration and so many other emotions. The characters have much more drama in their lives than I do but that's what makes the books interesting.

I discovered the Bluford High books when i couldn't find anything to read so I just picked up a Bluford High book in my English classroom. I looked in the back and I saw information about the book that was exciting. I started reading it and now I'm reading the whole Bluford series books.

I think they should make a movie about Bluford. The books are so popular and I think the movie will be popular too, just like the Twilight series.

GO GET THE BLUFORD BOOKS! =)

The Unheard Looks at The Undead

Edward vs. Jacob: whose side are YOU on?

by TwilightLover21

The story of Edward and Bella, the better version of Romeo and Juliet, Twilight is a romantic story about forbidden love and the horrors of its cast, especially between a human mortal and a vampire. Bella is a mortal who meets a vampire in the midst of high school, falling for his deep demonic and beautiful black eyes which change colors all the time. Then there’s Edward a strong and very fast vampire trying to get a glimpse of the human world. He falls for Bella and struggles against the overwhelming scent that attracts him to her. The struggle makes him go crazy.

Their love starts in junior year for Bella, although Bella and Edward are so different but so in love. Edward believes that if he keeps Bella too close, he’ll end up turning his only love to the monstrous side, a vampire. But Bella has no fear when it comes to Edward because she would rather die and become a vampire than be a mortal and grow old without Edward.

Little does Bella know that in Edward’s own eyes he’s a monster. When he thirsts his eyes are monsterious and his teeth sharpen. The look on his face screams evil. He’s stronger, so strong he can snap Bella like a twig, he’s fast so fast he’s invisible to the human eye. But to Bella that does not matter. Even though Edward sees himself as a weapon of death, Bella’s love for Edward still goes on.

The question many people are asking is: Why is the Twilight series SO popular? I believe that it is popular for a variety of reasons. People like the “Halloween” movies and vampires. They also like drama and doing stuff that they’re not supposed to, but they do it anyway. Teenagers also love romance. Stephanie Meyer put all these things together in one book.

Teenagers also enjoy arguing about who Bella should go with: Edward or Jacob.

I have a strong opinion about this question. Why would Bella even consider being with Jacob, when first of all Bella only met Jacob when she was young, therefore she doesn’t even remember him that well. Jacob is basically nothing but an old trustworthy friend of Bella. When you read the story you realize that all Jacob shows for Bella is friendship, while Edward protects Bella with all his strength and shares his life, secrets, and shows Bella just how much he cares about her even though it’s not for the best. Edward is the one that saves Bella from mischief and danger, and goes through the horrors of keeping Bella close to him while endangering himself and his secret of keeping Forks from finding out that the 17 year old god (Edward) that they all love is a blood sucking monster. But for all its worth Jacob will always be nothing but a friend, while Edward has true, unfulfilled, long lasting love for Bella that will go on for eternity. No matter how much Jacob seems to love Bella, he’ll never! love her as much as Edward loves her.

For all of you Twilight fans out there, as you can you can see I will always be for Bella and Edward forever! Now the question is, who do you think Bella should share her love with?

Okay, all you Twilight fans, now is your chance to make your voices heard! Tell us who you think Bella should choose, and why. Twilight Lover 21 will count your votes and report back to you on who "won" this contest: Jacob or Edward!

The (Slightly Less) Misunderstood Person's Journal Entry [6/3]

These past couple of days, I've been in some kind of depressive slump.

Yep, a certain someone is back, but the relief is short-lived when you find she's buddy-buddy with another guy that should be you. Best part? The irony of the situation. Someone you got a crush on, she breaks your heart into a million pieces by going out with someone else. Worst part? You can't explain in words your true feelings for that special someone in your life, because you're too g**damn late by weeks or even months. Even worse? You're probably not gonna see her again when you say bye-bye to this ****hole of a school.

That's your problem exactly, you only got 22 days to win her over and have good lovings forever and ever. (Talk about double meanings.) So, you formulate a plan in your mind; you slip your graduation autograph book on her desk, then when she sees it, pull a Rick Astley on her and bust out into some stupid love song before her BF gets the gist of what happened and goes after you.

Next step, you blog/write about how you pulled off the most awesome stunt ever. 'hey gaiz, i pulled of sumting awseom; i totally rick astey'd teh class wen she saw my grad book, tehn i kissed her on teh lips very long and bolted like hell lol!!!!1!!' Then you brag about it, both online and to your RL friends to make them feel worthless and boost your profile. Then, flirt with her in a casual way (a.k.a: just talk to her away from prying eyes, normally, so she doesn't suspect a thing) for 3 hours, so you got a thing going.

Next step, watch tons of the right kind of movies so your hormones are fired up, then invite her to your house in a casual, friend-like sort of way. Keep it that way until it's almost time for her to leave; then spill your guts out to her. She'll fall in love with you, just like in the movies, and kiss you the same way you did with her. Next, over the weekend, invite her, but this time for a sleepover. When no one is gonna be home, call her boyfriend and tell him to be there ASAP. Then, bust open the wine cabinet, and share some. (Enough to make her forget that she has a boyfriend, not really drunk.)

Next...you already know what's next. By the time you get through 10 minutes of the closest thing to heaven on earth, her boyfriend is gonna walk in, see you two doing things he thinks only he has the right to, and GTFO ASAP (50% says he'll make a dramatic speech over that before he gets out.) Tomorrow, she'll recover from a hangover, and you have all the time in the world to comfort her with your presence while she's recovering. After like 12 hours, tell her she can leave, and spend the rest doing whatever. At school, her BF will announce the break-up. Comfort her, then tell her you're willing to be her boyfriend to relieve the sorrow. She'll embrace you, and you're free to brag about it on the Internet to boost your profile even more. Congrats, you just got your crush to hook up with you within 22 days! Just remember to ask her e-mail/phone number so you can talk to her from far away.

Now I'm off to boost my profile and my manhood and get my girlfriend in one fell swoop~!
(H*ll no. I hope you can tell I'm not actually serious about the above stuff here. >_>
There's a reason why people tell you to read stuff ALL THE WAY to the end BEFORE jumping to stupid conclusions, and I do not believe that men have to make all the choices in a relationship...If you took any of the above seriously and plan to follow it, stop reading help guides on relationships and learn the difference between having a sense of humor and taking things so seriously that it might been warped past its original intention.)

Well, what actually happened made up for my bad days. School didn't suck as much as usual, the girl I liked actually signed an autograph in my grad book, and I found something interesting in the library to read. Also, the tests weren't as hard as usual. (read: what people made them out to be.)

If that's how the Regents will be for the next subjects and all, then i guess I don't need to worry about them so much, tbh. (I get the feeling that I'm starting to sound cocky here...) Anyway, that's it for now.

FMs -- The Good, the Bad...and the Annoying

- by Tewwy Lovestone

Tewwy Blogs About the Pros and Cons of Using an FM System at School

With FM units, you have to make sure you find someone in the school that you really trust in order to store the unit. You can’t take it home, and you have to make sure that it’s in a safe place so that you can charge it overnight. It has to be someplace accessible so you can get it in the morning when you first come to school. It’s a very expensive item, so you have to be very careful with it.

When I had my FM unit with my guidance counselor it was hard because sometimes she might leave early and I wouldn’t be able to get into her office with my hearing aids and my FM unit. So I had to find somewhere that’s always open, that’s always accessible so I could always get in to get my equipment. Otherwise you have no choice but to take it home with you, which you’re not allowed to do.

It’s hard, because sometimes you don’t remember until you are already downstairs at the end of the day, and you have to go all the way back upstairs – depending on where you stored it – to find that the person is not there anyway.

I had one teacher that kind of fussed about it – what is this, why do I have to wear it? Then I explained it, and he understood. All my other teachers understood and they were fine with it. You have to explain the benefit of it – that it will help you do better in their class.

I have left it in one class and started to go to another, and my teacher followed me down the hallway with it!

The FM is more useful in classroom situation where there’s a lot of group work going on, and the teacher is still talking or the class is noisy and you need to hear the teacher. On some sets you have different buttons to let you hear at different levels: the one with the line at the type narrows it down to the teacher’s voice alone, so it makes it easier to hear the teacher over the noise in the classroom.

If I was going to build a better FM, I would make it much smaller because it’s kind of weird looking on the teacher. I think a smaller unit would make the teacher more comfortable, and the student more comfortable.

Words from the Byrd


Byrdfly likes to write rhymes.
Next year he will be in the 8th grade.
He would like to have a career as a rap performer.
We sat down with him recently to talk about his experience with hearing loss.

Q: You used to use an FM unit in school. Why did you stop?
A: Because the other kids used to make fun of me. #1: I didn't think I really had hearing loss #2: The kids were making fun of me. And #3: People thought that I was deaf and I was not deaf.

Q: Do you think it would help if the other kids knew more about hearing loss?
A: Probably.

Q: Say the kids had not been making fun of you. Say they just accepted that sometimes you needed to wear that equipment, like wearing a pair of glasses. Do you think that it helped you? Did you hear the teacher better? Did it help you with your schoolwork?
A: I could still hear the teacher without it.

Q: So you feel it didn't boost your hearing enough to make it worthwhile?
A: Wait - it did boost my hearing. I ain't gonna lie about that. I remember I used to be able to sit in the back and I would still hear the teacher's annoying voice!

Q: So now you sit up in the front which is one thing anyone with hearing loss can do so they can see the person who's speaking and hear as much as possible of what they're saying. But going back to when people first suggested that you wear the FM equipment, what did you think about it? How old were you when you first noticed you had some hearing loss? Did your mother notice it first? Maybe she was calling you to dinner and noticed that you didn't come right away?


A: No, I had no problems. I had a hearing and seeing test at my school. They said that my hearing was low. I didn't start wearing it then. Then my mother took me to my audiologist and that's when he checked my hearing and said I needed it.

Q: Did you ever wear any equipment at home? Or just at school?


A: Just at school.


Q: What advice would you give someone your age (or younger) if they just found out they had a hearing loss?


A:
1) I would be myself.

2) Just say "Come again," or "I beg your pardon," if you want people to speak up louder.

3)The support of the teachers is very essential.

Please leave a comment or a question for Birdfly.
We hope to feature some of his rhymes very soon!

Deaf ? Don't Call the Doctor in This "House"

I was looking up stuff on DeafRead when I found a review of a House episode. I decided to take a look, and well...here is a selection from the review and my thoughts on the topic.

- AMP (A Misunderstood Person)

"When I sit down on Monday nights to watch House I expect to be mildly insulted and wickedly entertained. Unfortunately last night I was just shocked by the amount of ignorance spread by the writer's of the show. The episode centered around a young deaf wrestler who falls to the ground with exploding sensations in his head. After a bit of investigating he is diagnosed with "NF2 cancer" and told treatment would be relatively simple, and that afterward he may regain his hearing which he lost at age 4. Throughout the show the boy is referred to as an idiot and insulted repeatedly for being a well adjusted deaf child. At one point during a simple brain biopsy House directs Chase to put in a Cochlear Implant, without any planning or a specialist. It was actually hilarious. The boy wakes up and House is in his hospital room tuning his CI as he begins to awaken. He can immediately hear the tiniest of sounds, and within hours is asking if his speech sounds slurred as he hears his deaf girlfriend for the first time. He looks at her pitifully as she walks away. House is excused from forcing this contraption onto an unwilling patient because he "did the idiot a favor" by providing him with hearing. I expect that sort of belligerence from House, but even the other characters mirrored his viewpoint. The deaf boy was called an idiot and a moron repeatedly, and at the end when he is touched to hear his name on his Mother's voice he accepts his new gift and all is supposedly well.

I can deal with the fact that House is a fictional show, and not known for medical accuracy. How can they disregard the potential ignorance they are spreading about NF2 though? I do not have cancer, now all of my friends who watch House are probably thinking oh lord she has cancer! Should I be expecting muffin baskets? (Probably not.) When you are deafened by NF2 removing the tumors does not bring your hearing back, and may in fact also cause facial paralysis and disequilibrium. So aside from the general ignorance of NF2, the attack on Deaf Culture was nothing short of hurtful. There were not a handful of tongue in cheek remarks, the episode was a nonstop diatribe about the stupidity of Deaf people to stay hearing impaired when there are supposedly magical implants that can fix anyone. These implants rarely work on people with NF2, and I already deal with people on a daily basis who treat me with disdain and contempt, as though it's my own fault I am deaf. Thank you House for further increasing the misconceptions of deaf people, and causing all of us Deaf to turn off our TVs feeling like we just got beat up in gym class. For a show that generates millions of dollars in profit, you would think they could afford a medical fact checker, or at least a writer with enough common sense to write a witty joke without being bigoted toward an entire culture of people. The show had a chance to be a platform for the deaf, and instead reminded most of us exactly why many Deaf don't want anything to do with the hearing world."

- From Fabulous Running Mommy on DeafRead, NF2 House

Here are My Thoughts on the Topic:

While I don't watch House on a daily basis, I feel this woman's pain about this episode being little more than an attack on Deaf Culture. Srsly, there's no real reason why it's just a good idea to go, "Hey, let's just insult the deaf wrestler! Deaf people are too stupid to know how to watch TV, and our viewers will love it so much that we'll be rolling in cash!'

Meh, just because deaf people can't hear, doesn't mean they don't have feelings at all...but of course, most people don't realize this and just assume they're stupid because they totally can't hear them and misinterpret stuff because...yeah, the answer is obvious. They can't hear! >_> And you wonder why deaf people don't want anything to do with the hearing world...

So, about the 'boy gets cochlear implant, he gets to hear everything again, everything is just fine' part. Maybe that kind of scenario works in your mind, but in real life, no. Just no...after all, you have to learn how to use a cochlear implant to get anything out of it, and that usually takes a few months or years depending on how good a learner you are or how deaf you are (born deaf or just deaf in adulthood). You see, the implant sends sensations to your brain, and these can be a real pain to get a hang of. Whether it's solved or not, depends on what the deaf man or woman thinks, and it's usually never solved for them. Many deaf people end up abandoning the implant after a few years, because they either believe that being able to hear stuff again is not worth the hassle they have to go through to recognize these sensations that are either very confusing to get a hang of, or just a real pain. Or, they prefer just not hearing stuff like hearing people can or for some other reason.

In any case, cochlear implants....they don't ever work in real life like how House depicts it. So meh on that.

NOTE:

tl;dr version: The creators of House need to get better writers that know how to make a joke without being biased towards cultures of people who might take offense at it, or at least get a medical fact checker.

Welcome

Chronicles of the Unheard is written by and for young people in the Hearing Education Services program in New York City.

In most ways we are just like other people our age. We go to school every day. We have big dreams for our future and big questions about how to get there. We are more like you than we are different.

Okay, I know what you're thinking now. "Hold up! Different? What's different about them?"

With some of us the difference is obvious. We might wear hearing aids. We might use sign language. When we come into a classroom, we might hand the teacher an FM unit to wear around her neck.

With others, the differences are more subtle. You might notice that we ask you to repeat things more than other people do. Or that we sometimes seem to answer a different question than the one you asked. But you don't think about it too much, because most of the time we react just the way you expect us to.

We want to use this blog to communicate our experiences to the world. We especially want to hear from other young people who are Deaf and hard of hearing. We want your short stories, essays, reports and poetry about aspects of life as Deaf and hard of hearing youth. If ASL is your language, we will post your V-blog entries. Send an e-mail to mchoffman135@gmail.com if you would like your work to appear on our blog.

If you are a hearing person, please leave your comments and questions.


Note: Our title is inspired by a book by Josh Swiller. The book is called The Unheard, and it is all about his experiences as a Deaf man in Zambia, Africa.


Our First Post is by
A Misunderstood Person

The first day of seventh grade was a beautiful day, but it was a lie considering the stupid things that happened once I got to school.

First I was assigned to the wrong class. I mean, I had the paper that told me what class I was supposed to be in, and I was convinced it was the right one until the teacher spotted me among the 28-odd heads of students lined up for roll call.

She went: "Hey, I've got news for you, you aren't supposed to be in here young man. Get out. Get out now." And basically she pushed me out the door and onto the floor to the laughter of my classmates.

I picked myself up while trying, and failing, to hide my face. Before we even got halfway through the door one girl said to me: "Ooh, is the little baby crying?" She laughed in my face with her friends. It made me feel worse, but I tried to pretend that it didn't affect me.

We took our seats and I happened to wind up sitting next to another girl who thought what happened to me was hilarious. Yay, me! Off to a great start in seventh grade.


I listened to the teacher make her introductory speech. Meanwhile the whispered comments continued from the other rows of desks.

"Hey, you saw Ms. S. push that retard to the floor like that?"
"Ooh, yeah, the look on his face just got me so bad. I'll never forget that as long as I live."

The insults went on and on. They said maybe I went into the wrong classroom on purpose. Yeah, right, like I wanted to get a bad name for myself on the first day.


Lunch time was no better. I got to see my friends from another class, sure, but the food sucked as usual, and the insults didn't stop. It was so bad that since that day I haven't returned to the cafeteria at lunch time. Instead I spend my lunch hour in the room where I meet the hearing and speech teachers. At least I have something to do there. No one stops me from using the computer.

You could say the computer has kept me from feeling completely isolated. The only real friends I've ever had are internet people, especially people interested in RPGs. Too bad not people people realize this. Sigh.

(Note: RPGs are Role Playing Games.)

Writers note: The is just the edited version of the events. The real version is more vulgar than this. I think it gets the point across better, but we don't want to corrupt the younger kids who might read this blog! If you want to read the original version, send an email to: mchoffman135@gmail.com.

It's Your Choice

It's Your Choice -- What Do You Choose to Do??!!

by Tewwy Lovestone

Hearing loss or your hearing impairment isn't something you should be ashamed of. Your lack of hearing is the same as someone who has lost their eyesight. When your vision decreases, your optometrist tells you that you are going to need glasses with a certain amount of prescription in them that will help you to see and perform better in your daily life. Just like glasses, your hearing aids are hearing tools that will help you to perform better and up to standard in your environment. If you have been prescribed hearing aids, then you should wear them. Wearing them will benefit you tremendously, from your school work to even saving your life.

For example, what if you have hearing loss in your left ear and were crossing a one-way street with a car coming up towards you on the left side? When that driver beeps their horn, you're automatically going to turn your head to the right. Why is that? The level of hearing in your right ear is greater than the hearing of your left, therefore the sound that you hear will be louder in that ear, causing what might lead you to the end of your life!

School-wise, your hearing aid is basically a must, especially if your hearing loss is more than moderate! Wearing your hearing aids will allow you to function on the same or even better level than your school mates around you. You will be able to perform better and get better grades. As for myself, my hearing aids have helped me to bring up my academic skills, putting me on a better level of understanding. They have also helped my grades to increase, especially in math and science.

It's your choice...what will you choose to do?!! I choose my hearing aids!!

Tewey is a high school student in Brooklyn.