Archive for the ‘Language’ Category
I’ve been pondering what my first official post should be on BRBcoffee.
The conclusion I came to was a post of what I, thus far, know I can write decently about. That would be poetry. So without further adieu. I present to you one of my poems.
What is hope?
I believe hope is the idea, that tomorrow will be better than today.
That the one thing you want the most, might someday be yours.
Like a candle in the dark, it lights our future. To some,
the flame might be brighter than to others.
The flame is fragile though, it can easily be blown out, lost, by the smallest wind.
If the flame is lost, to keep your flame sustained, and you theirs.
The two lights become one, and glow brighter, allowing you to see the obstacles ahead of you better,
and helps you get through it.
Ello.
So I’m sitting here surrounded by thick books i have to read for my exams coming up. I am not particularly pleased about the situation, and look forward to a change in my life. Anyways, I was digging through my folders and I came across this poem. Thought it was pretty cool, so I’m gonna share it with you.
It’s funny how hello is always
accompanied by goodbye
it’s funny how good memories
can start to make you cry
it’s funny how forever
never really seems to last
it’s funny how much you’d lose
if you forgot about your past
it’s funny how friends can just
leave you when you’re down
it’s funny how when you need someone
they’re never around
it’s funny how people change
and think they’re so much better
it’s funny how many lies
can be packed into one letter
it’s funny how people forgive
even though they can’t forget
it’s funny how one night
can contain so much regret
it’s funny how ironic life turns out to be
but the funniest part of all
is that none of that’s funny to me.
Cheers,
Vegard
Your beloved admin just came home from a concert with the Norwegian band Kråkesølv, which is the norwegian word for mica.
This is mica, which is not the band Kråkesølv.
Kråkesølv is a band from my home-town, Bodø, which lies in the northern part of Norway. I went to a concert they had up north some time ago, and was quite disappointed. I’d been told they were incredible, yet the concert was as boring as it was noisy. I do not know whether I was drugged, or they where, but this time the experience couldn’t be more different.
As some of the more perceptive among you might be able to tell, I was most impressed with Kråkesølvs performance. They started out with a promising tune, and their first song earned plenty of applause from the audience. Now there were two performances going on at the same time, of which this was the minor one, which I had only patriotically chosen to attend, so the audience must have fallen short of 60 people, but the atmosphere was great, and the warm-up band had really gotten us excited. After the first song ended, one of the band-members told us that he would like to dedicate the concert to his, and another band-member’s, late grandmother, whose funeral they had to pass up in order to play for us. That really gave the concert a personal feel, but without making it a dreary process.
As the concert went on I became more and more convinced that this was some other band than the one I had listened to before. They were all so into the music, and after one song one of them commented that they had not sounded that good in a long time. The music really did come alive on that small stage from which it blasted.
Amazing live artists, you can really tell they love what they do.
The concert ended with the best song I believe I’ve heard in 2010. I think they said it was brand new, it certainly had a different style than the other music they played. While the main focus had definitely been on the vocals up to this point, this one really let the instruments come into their own. It’s not like the vocals were neglected though, it was just that there was less of an obvious divide between the song and the rest of the music than there had been before. Their last song was also more upbeat and rocky than the rest of the concert, while remaining melodic, and it was still recognizably their type of music.
To summarize, if you ever have the chance to attend a Kråkesølv concert, take my advice and do so. Pass up anything you have to pass up, because when these guys are having a good day, they’re pretty much the best, and who doesn’t love awesome music? I know I am looking forward to the next time I can hear them live, and I’ll be checking out their recorded music too, first chance I get.
Over the past couple of months I have been introduced to a new culture. Experiencing such a thing is quite, what’s the right word for it, organic. Learning anything new is always a rich experience, but when it comes to culture, it is more profound. The process is rather predictable; (1) start with total ignorance, (2) become aware of said ignorance, and (3) lose/lessen that ignorance. As a newcomer to this particular culture, I feel almost like an ambassador between two worlds. That might be rather precocious of me, but it is truly how I feel. I think it is only natural to feel loyalty to that which we respect and value, so if you have come to value two cultures, you should feel loyalties to both and want both to peacefully coexist.
At this point you may be wondering what specific culture I’m talking about, or you may be totally disinterested and drifting your cursor closer and closer to the key which will exit you out of this blog. In case of the latter, I am now going to capitalize the name of the culture which I have been referring to in an attempt to catch your attention:
AMERICAN DEAF CULTURE!
Did it work? Yeah, probably not. However, many of you may not even be aware of such a culture’s existence. Many of you may think American Deaf Culture is no different than American Culture. Many of you may think that Deafness is an unfortunate disability that only limits those individuals who possess it. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong.
American Deaf culture does exist, it is entirely separate from American Culture, and the only “disability” which may be associated with Deafness is that which the hearing world forces upon it.
Now, you may be feeling offended, confused, or downright dumbfounded at that statement, but hang tight and I promise you it will get better.
I should start by saying that “Deaf” and “deaf” are two different things. Being “deaf” is being without hearing. Being “Deaf” is being a member of a culture. Not all who are “deaf” are “Deaf,” and sometimes being “Deaf” does not mean you’re “deaf.” Have I thoroughly scrambled your mind yet? Let me elaborate. Some people who are born deaf do not acknowledge their culture and are therefore not part of the Deaf culture. The Deaf culture mostly consists of those who have a serious hearing loss, but some hearing people are included too.
Within the Deaf community, deafness is not viewed as a disability. It is simply a gift. They do not feel like they are missing out on anything by not being able to hear. In fact, they think we, the hearing folk, are the ones to pity because we are so easily distracted by noise. With the invention of the Cochlear Implant,
many children (very few adults go through with the surgery) are being taken out of the Deaf world they were born into and being placed in between their old world and the world of the hearing. This is a very controversial topic as most Deaf people think the Cochlear Implant will be the death of Deaf Culture. On the flip side, many parents feel that getting the C.I. will give their children more opportunities in life. Both sides have valid points, but I cannot see any reason to get a C.I. unless you think that being Deaf is an inferior quality which should be fixed at any and all costs.
I realize I could go on and on detailing the intricacies of A.D.C., but perhaps I should save that for another blog. The lasting effect I want to get across to you, my reader, is to change your mindset towards Deaf individuals. They are not a burden on society, they are not disabled, they are no different than you or I in the sense that their deafness is simply a quality they possess, just like some of us are gifted with athleticism and some of us are not. Should those of us who are not athletic be made to feel inferior? No. Should we be treated less like humans? No. The same goes for the Deaf. They are perfectly fine the way they are, they do not need to be changed or “fixed,” and we should make an effort to reach out to them and bridge the two worlds in a harmonious coexistence.
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