New ASL Songs!

Halito! I had some time the other day, and I started to feel froggy, so I decided to film some new ASL (American Sign Language) videos. I did a few more of dwight Yoakam's songs, one of Garth Brooks', and even one by Cher. I had a lot of fun in the filming proccess (when I wasn't mad at myself for my mistakes), but had even more fun during the editing. One of my videos, the one for "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere", had a lot of parts where there was music, but no singing. I didn't want it to look stupid with me just standing there doing the sign for "music", so I decided to play with the video editor I have some more. It turned out WAY better than I expected! Here's that video:

A Thousand Miles From Nowhere in ASL

Now, from time to time, I take suggestions from friends for songs they want me to try. I never promise anything, but I always listen to the song and try to perform the ASL if it's at all possible. If you want to get updates on new ASL videos from me faster, here's the link to my channel. You can subscribe to me, or just have some fun and browse through the videos.

Trinity4h's Channel

I'm currently working on more songs by translating them and will post more videos as I remember to. Hope everyone's summer is fun, but not too hot! Chi pisa lachike! See you later!

UPDATE!

This is coming a little (okay, more like A LOT) late, but I finally found out the results of my freshman year of college!
First semester: 3.96 GPA
Second semester: 4.00 GPA
End result is that I made the President's Honor Roll!

There is even more exciting news in my world! (Yes, that last bit was exciting cause I'm nerdy and weird like that) On July 6th, I get to see Jeff Dunham perform. Here's a clip for anyone who is unsure of who he is:

He's a great ventriloquist with several puppets he brings on stage, Peanut just happens to be my favorite.

AND if THAT wasn't news enough, I get to see the extraordinary Dwight Yoakam once again on August 18th! Pictures (and hopefully video) will come. I know many people may be unsure who he is so, here's a music video and a clip from one of the movies he was in:


First, the music video for "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere:

And here's the movie clip from the movie "Panic Room" released in 2002. This is a movie about a woman and her daughter who are trapped in their panic room after three men break into the house (which they assume is empty) to steal some bond notes that are hidden in, where else, the panic room. Jodie Foster plays Meg (the mother), Kristen Stewart plays Sarah (the daughter), Jared Leto is Junior (the head bad guy), Forest Whitaker is Burnham (the machinist who builds panic rooms), and Dwight Yoakam plays Raoul (the crazy psychopath wearing the ski mask). This clip shows one of several ways these guys try to get Meg and Sarah out of the Panic Room. I like this movie, but if a lot of cussing bothers you, this clip may not be your thing. In this clip, the guys try pumping gas, through the air vent, into the panic room to make the girls open the door. Watch to see how well it works:

This is gonna be a GREAT summer! :D

To Hell on a Fast Horse

I had to read this book for my history class recently, and it was AWESOME! Here's MY review of it that I wrote for the class:

Billy the Kid was, in the eyes of many, a no good desperado. To native New Mexicans he was a local hero and friend, often being referred to affectionately as Billito or Chivato (meaning Kid in Spanish). Pat Garrett moved from being a drifting cowpuncher to Lincoln County sheriff after the infamous Lincoln County War. In just a few short years, he would go from unknown sheriff to the man who killed Billy the Kid. In his book, To Hell on a Fast Horse: the Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, author Mark Lee Gardner paints the picture of the lives of these two men, how they dealt with their struggles, how they lived life till the end, and how each left their own unique mark on history.

This is a very good book. I started reading it with the feeling that it would hold a lot of names, dates, and places with little to bind it together and make it memorable. The book quickly drew me farther into the story. After several pages, this book reads more like a Western novel than a factual account of history. Gardner weaves things like newspaper articles about Billy from the time with journal entries from eye witnesses and a biography Garrett wrote entitled The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid. The point of Gardner’s book is to try to give as factual of an account of how the Kid and Garrett came to the iconic statuses we assign them. It also serves to show that most of what people know about the Kid comes from the Lincoln County War days, and even that is, in most cases, extremely limited knowledge.

I recommend that readers of this work have a true interest in the subject and the time period because Gardner floods you with information. Even though it would seem that this subject should be short (since Billy was killed at about age 21), Gardner proves that there is a back story to everything. He looks extensively into the lives of Garrett, the Kid, and others to illustrate how they all walked down the road to their fateful destinies. People like Bob Olinger, John Tunstall, and John Chisum- among others- begin to step up and become more than just names from a history textbook. The only downside to this is that Billy never gave a single straight answer as to where he was born and what his real name was. He told Garrett, at one time, that he was born Henry McCarty in November in New York, and that’s what Garrett put in his biography of the Kid. The back stories, along with photographs of the people and places mentioned, give this story a new life.

Most of the time when you read a book on a historical subject it is very dry, and you have a hard time imagining the events that took place. In this book, however, Gardner writes it so that the reader can smell the gunpowder, feel the heat of the sun’s rays, and even see the people mentioned. Gardner even makes the notes at the end an interesting read, especially if you want to know from where the information he provides in a certain chapter came.

The book is also unique in that it does not end with Billy’s death, or even that of Pat Garrett. About the time you think that you are done reading, Gardner keeps the story going. For instance, I did not know just how mysterious Garrett’s death was. His killer was never found because all the evidence ever gathered was circumstantial, at best. After Garrett’s documented death, you would think it would be over. Gardner, though, tells of the struggles Garrett’s family faced while trying to keep others from dragging his name through the mud. They were not very successful, but at least they tried. Gardner even introduces a man I had never heard of before reading this: Ollie L. “Brushy Bill” Roberts. He was the best known man, out of the many, who lived out their lives claiming that they were actually Billy the Kid. His view of the people claiming to be the Kid is very biased. He maintains the same mood about it that Florencio Chavez, friend of Billy and fellow Regulator, had when he said, “He is dead, my friend Billy. These stories of another being killed, of the Kid slipping away, they have come with late years. My friend Bill he is dead” (256). I think it is the only place in the book where I, personally, did not fully agree with Gardner.

Mark Lee Gardner is a historian and consultant, writing primarily on the American West. He has written interpretive guides for the National Park Service on such subjects as Geronimo and George Custer. He has also served as a visiting professor in the Southwest Studies department at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In 2010, about the same time as this book’s publication, New Mexico’s governor decided to revisit Billy’s case for a possible pardon. Gardner was interviewed time and again by several stations for his extensive knowledge on the subject.

In all, this is a good book, and Gardner is well within the capacity to write it. It is a book that would be worth reading over and over. The story of Billy and Garrett is hard to sum up because there are many opinions on the men and their situations. Gardner manages to make a very good one line summary, though. “In the end, it was not as much about right versus wrong, lawman versus outlaw as it was about survival. For others to survive, Billy could not, Garrett could not” (2). Billy and Pat were tough men in a tough land, and that land was changing. For better or worse, Billy and Pat both had to die for that change to take effect.

 What do y'all think? Would you read this?

I'm it.... again

So, Mr. Valance was tagged to answer some questions before, and he challenged ALL of his readers to answer the queries he posted for us. Me being the good sport I am, I accept the challenge. Ia li!

1 Best subject?
         DEFINITELY History, especially the "Old West" and Native Culture



2 And the worst?
         Probably Biological Science

3 What do wish you’d tried harder at?
         Sports. Except archery, I never really enjoyed anything else...

4 Your proudest moment?
          Being accepted into my county 4-H Hall of Fame

5 And your worst moment?
          I was clumsy... Pick any time I fell down while standing still, and THAT'S my worst moment.

6 Something you wish you’d done?
          I wish I would have had the chance to travel more growing up

7 Something you wish you hadn’t done?
          Wish I had NEVER lied to mama... BIG mistake as a kid

8 The worst punishment?
          The school calling mom. She had a paddle, and I'd get a whippin from her, the principle, the teacher, and my dad. Then, I had to call my grandparents, my "4-H mom", my aunts and uncles, and others who were like family and tell them what I'd done. The thought scared me so much that I never got in trouble in school.

9 The worst thing you had to wear?
           Pink. I found pictures, from when I was little, of me wearing pink. I want to go back in time and slap the kid version of me sometimes.

10 The best school trip?
           I was in Gifted & Talented in elementary school (like a group for smart kids). One year, they took us on a trip to "Woolaroc". It's a park/museum full of Native, cowboy, and oil boom history. We were there the whole day, and I STILL didn't even see half of it! I hope I get to go back sometime. The part I remember best was driving in. It was a mile or two drive trough a wildlife preserve full of buffalo, deer, and several other animals. It was SO pretty!

11 And the worst school trip?
          Probably in 4th grade when they took us to the state capitol. It was interesting, but I don't think that was a very good trip for our age group. They should have waited till we were older so EVERYONE could appreciate it, not just me and one or two others.


Well, I hope you liked the answers you got. I won't tag anyone because I don't have many people who read this anyway. Till next time. Chi pisa lachike!

Answering Questions for Mr. Valance

Mr. Valance tagged me, so I have to answer these questions. Ia li! (Here I go!)

What is the best thing about where you live?

Well, there is a town (where the college is at), but there's a lot of open country round here. The best part is waking up in the morning and seeing the early golden sunshine spilling out over the green pastures filled with fog.

If you could be anyone you wanted to be, other than yourself, who would you be?

I'd have to be a sign language interpreter for some of my favorite singers.

What is your favorite item of clothing?

Without a doubt, it'd have to be my boots. I'm a cowgirl at heart, and boots are ALWAYS going to be high fashion!

Who, or what, inspires you the most?

Dwight Yoakam, he's a great singer and actor. He is so true to himself and where he's from. He does music his way, whether others like it or not. His music has allowed for a lot of sign language practice for me.

Do you use public transport?

If I have to, yes, but I try to walk as far as I can.

What is most likely to set off the fire alarm at home?

Well, just about anything I guess, we used to use the fire alarm as a timer: when it goes off, supper's ready!

What do you do to stay healthy?

Do what you like. I like sign language, archery, and crafts. I believe that when you have things you enjoy doing, you are more likely to have a healthier life.

If you could pass one new law, what would it be?



I would make honesty the law of the land, like the Native Americans practiced. That old saying of "My word is my bond".

Pondering about uniforms, as I sometimes do, is there a uniform that grabs your attention?

Navy uniforms from the World War II time frame, like what Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra wore in "Anchors Aweigh".

If you had to choose between who you love and what you love doing, what would win?

What I love doing, because sign language is my thing. I always worry that the man I "love" would ask me not to do ASL, and that would be a horrible existence for me.

What is your best time of day?

The morning is prettiest, but I get most of my work done of an evening.

Halito!

Halito! Hello! I have changed up this place. I have started taking Choctaw language classes, and I have decided that I enjoy it enough to use it in my life (so I won't forget what I've learned lol). I will occasionally share my knowledge. Essentially, it's the same site and the same me, just remodeled. Hope y'all like it! Chi pisa lachike! See you later!

FREEDOM!

After over a week of frustration, confusion, and EXTREME anti-socialism, I have finally emerged from the dark, cruel world known as "college midterms". I am now free, for a short time, to keep myself busy working on interpreting more songs into American Sign Language, reading blog postings from all my Blogville friends, and the #1 thing that people think all college kids do all the time: sleep. In truth, I have noticed that I get more sleep now than I did in high school, and I think it's because I am no longer in 4-H. That was the one thing that kept me busier than anything else. Maybe I'll even have time to update my blogsite and make it look a little better. It's kind of cluttered in here (just like if you were to look into my brain!). After tomorrow, I have 1 week to suffer through before Spring Break. I'm not a "party kid" or anything. This break will be full of... WORK! No rest for the weary. I have a 4-H Hall of Fame book to do (it's my last chance, might as well), I have a book to read for a history class, and I might be helping my parents in the garden. And, I'm only a FRESHMAN! Still think college isn't stressful?