KF
KISS-FIST MAGAZINE
THREE
KISS-FIST THIRD ISSUE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Frank Gallimore
PRODUCTION DESIGN Rosa Lee Gallimore
Editor’s Note Dear Reader, Once again, we here at Kiss-Fist are excited to bring you more of what you have enjoyed in the past about our magazine and, hopefully, a good measure of the unexpected. This time around, we've got a good helping of fantastic photography, writing, poetry, and art we think you'll enjoy. What makes this magazine a powerful experiment is that it is designed to serve as a reflection of the bonds people form in sharing with each other what they adore. And when it comes to the things we adore, we often find that these are things that both bring us together and reveal our individuality. In the brief time that we have been putting these issues together, our pool of contributors has proven ever-widening and our readers continue to multiply -- all of this by what we like to call "word of hand." If you'll notice, very little advertising has gone into the production of this online magazine. But we have long noticed how vibrant our communities are, how rife with talent and unique perspectives, and how, in a sense, we all find ourselves quite often in the same boat. In this holiday season, as you take the occasional break to browse through these pages, we hope you'll recognize a bit of yourself reflected here. Perhaps it will be a love poem that you identify with, or the look on a face in a photograph. Perhaps a fishing story or an article on food or fashion will trigger a memory for you, something that lingers in your thoughts as you celebrate with your family or friends. Yet, on the other hand, we also hope that you seek out the differences, what makes a certain article stand out to you as unusual, widening your awareness, perhaps, of how diverse our communities are. The Kiss-Fist team has been very fortunate to have had a close-up look at this diversity of thoughts and expressions. We've had the fortune of experiencing a large array of unique experiences and passions, interests and talents, all committed to the page for us to enjoy. And these have come to us from communities of the Deaf, Hearing, CODA, as well as many races and nationalities -- simply by "word of hand." That is, by interesting people who know other interesting people, and who care enough to pass along these gems of art and discourse, gems that Kiss-Fist would like nothing more than to share with you, the reader. Happy reading. And, of course, Happy Holidays.
WEB DESIGN Damon Timm
www.kiss-fist.com
Editor in Chief
contributors writers
poets
Allen W. Neece III
Mich Gerson
Lusaka, Zambia
Washington, DC
Mary Ruth Summers California
Kalif Price California
Photographers
Michelle McAuliffe
Paul Rutowski
Washington, DC
Texas
Mary Visco California
artists
Roberta M. Brown
Leon Lim
Washington, DC
New York
Jeremy Quiroga New York
artists
Kambri Crews
Daisy Fรถrster
Blake Nitko
New York
Germany
South Dakota and Arizona
Kiss-fist contributors
Abby Drake
Sharon Duchesneau
Carrie Lou Garberoglio
Washington, DC
Maryland
Texas
Julie Hochgesang
Melissa Huber
Washington, DC
New York
Q
Jennifer Kononenko Arizona
kiss-fist readers
How do you feel about holidays?
I am a Student Chef
I hate Holidays
Krystle Jo Gravatt
STRESSED Massachusetts
Yamilka Vargas
California
contents ART
BOOK REVIEW
BUSINESS
Metal Art: 11-14 Comics: 39-42, 90 Painting: 51-52, 81-82 Theater: 71-72 Jewelry: 79-80
65-66
47-50
FASHION
FOOD
HOME
23-28
75-78
67-69
INTERNATIONAL
POETRY
TALENT
55-60
Kalif Price: 45-46 Mich Gerson: 63-64
Model: 21-22 Sign-Song: 31-32 Writer: 37-38
SHORT STORY Hook Me Up: 17-19 Fear and Loathing: 33-36
Photo Credits Mary Ruth Summers Photo taken by Sarah Dawn Summers Katz Paul Rutowski Photo taken by Alexandria Rutowski Mary Visco Photo taken by her 5 year old niece
Kambri Crews Photo taken by Anya Garrett Abby Drake Photo taken by Scott Mohan. Jennifer Kononenko Photo taken by Mary Visco
Nikon D80
KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY
PAUL RUTOWSKI
I believe,
whole-heartedly, there
is no answer to why something is considered a ruin, a relic, a fragment or a token. I am drawn to the remains - the piece from the past that carries its own story; from a culture - living or dead; from a machine; from nature. As an artist, I gather these things to create a story. This approach to storytelling allows me to visually communicate without barriers to a broader audience.
Here, on this plane, I have gathered
remains I believe carry a spiritual purpose. Every second of every day, something dies, is ruined or thrown away... and, as well, is born, built, and recycled. I am amazed by the complexity - the many layers and dimensions that we as human beings materialize. These marks in space are my harvest - a harvest I
KISS-FIST ART
intend to give back.
[left] Bird Feeder (2007) 8.5” x 5” x 9” Steel, silver, and skull
Necklace Commission (2007) 1’ x 9’ x 10’ Railroad ties, rope, forged steel, found object
KISS-FIST ART Tilt of Life (2008) 26” x 47” x 25” Barn wood, driftwood, steel, found object
“I am thankful to Roberly Bell, one of my influential teachers who assured me that the wild beasts in my mind could be unleashed. I have also felt indirect influence from artists Martin Puryear for his cultural metaphor, Richard Serra for his organic massiveness and Robert Smithson for his love of the land. Planes touching other planes. Amazing.� JEREMY QUIROGA
MARY VISCO KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY Earring edited by Jaimie Valencia Models: Steve Biskupiak and Jessica Valencia
Canon 40D
KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY
KISS-FIST SHORT STORY
R
R
Hook Me Up Mary Ruth (BY) Summers
F
ishing and stench go together. Walking along the wharf, hooks lie exposed and bloodied. Huge white seagulls lie in wait, dotting like stuffed animals on the back wall of a ring toss. They are all happy. A few times, Dad brought home clear trash bags of fish and stuck them in the freezer. When I opened for ice cream, their eyes stared back. Hey, I was in the water! Get your ice cream and get out! Cooking them, the house smelled like the wharf. Mom tried to bread them to make them look like fish sticks, but the eyes were under there.
Sickle Jig Bend Hook – red finish, Ultra Sharp Aberdeen Style Gold Jig Hook- gold finish, 6” soft plastic hook tail worms, 7” ripple tail worms sat in the box near the dolly. Frayed cardboard boxes were placed in checkered format, so to walk through you’d pace your steps alternately one leg then the other reaching to the end of the aisle. The sporting goods department housed tackle, reels, rods, and worms. Mom lined up the gear on aluminum sticks tucked into polka dotted black holes. I stacked the tubs in a row on the bottom shelf, getting my thin hair caught on the aluminum sticks then abruptly getting up and seeing hair on them. Having walked seven miles from home to there, Mom at first did not believe it. At home, my brother’s Mario failed to leap over the barrel in Donkey Kong Jr. on Atari 7800. He didn’t give up his turn and we were playing together. He socked me daily without thinking, like he would eat canned peas. He was the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, always grunting and hitting and not thinking. Mom had pulled out of the driveway, distancing herself.
Watching her drive away, contemplating running after her, she was already at the intersection waiting to clear it. She would be driving past the railroad tracks in the baby blue Falcon. She was going to work at the department store, the hastiness in her tires. I wanted to be with her …not just to brush my brother out of my hair. I decided to chase after her and all the stop signs, leaving Donkey Kong and the giant. I see a small child sitting next to his parents on the platform facing the walkway. The fishing gear scattered around his bared feet. He is wearing bright red shorts, a contrast to the gray colors of his elders’ coats. He has little rocks in his hands, going over them happily while the fish lie still in a white fivegallon bucket. His patience is as amazing as the perseverance for smelly fish. Having walked four miles, I came across a truck driver. His neck arched out the window eight feet above me in his tractor truck. He’d slipped into an abandoned dirt parking lot adjacent to the sidewalk. I was sweaty and in a hurry. I glared at him, the sun backlighting his cluttered head. His brown leathery arm was dangling
KISS-FIST SHORT STORY
"He socked me daily without thinking, like he would eat canned peas."
outside his door. There was some sort of faded tattoo. He rose his arm up and pointed forward and pointed at me. Reluctantly, I moved my body to see his face. His mouth and words floated somewhere. Oh, he’s asking me if I wanted a ride. The truck didn’t have a trailer attached. I started to walk again, shaking my head emphatically. He moved with me. He repeated his gesture, slurring his words, particles picking through the air. I put my finger on my ear and shook my head, I can’t hear you. The downside of where I walked is that the vacant lot spanned a whole block of out-of-business stores. Across the street was the world famous 1960’s burger joint that had been in a location scout in many movies. I saw people walking in there but they were too far away. I veered myself towards the curb. The street carried heavy traffic both ways, palm trees and shrubs in the middle of the street divider. I decided to run to the next intersection. When I turned back from the walk signal after pushing the button, I saw his truck still there. He was watching me.
The street stretched through three towns. The scenery was rundown with deserted buildings, used car dealerships, factories, and discounted furniture shops with sofas blocking the sidewalk. Beyond the railroad tracks and into the town where Mom worked, the neighborhood was more upscale – Acura and Ford dealerships, Cosmic Bowling Lanes, and a major bank. On a sign outside of the Chamber of Commerce, it read “top 25% of 100 Best Cities to Do Business in California”. After another hour, the truck driver was back. He was parked on the curb, dangling a large fountain paper cup from A & W out the window and eating a hot dog. He did not have a shirt on. I could see specks of pubic-like hair on his chest. I ran into Denny’s, asking for a glass of water from a friendly waitress and waited out the truck driver. It’d been three hours since I left home. I only had a half a block to go. There was a payphone. Couldn’t use it. Thirsty, I walked to the A&W on the wharf. I wanted to reward the boy a drink, but didn’t want to dispel good behavior. I smoothed out my hair, hooking onto a tall glass of root beer float.
"HIS MOUTH AND WORDS FLOATED SOMEWHERE. OH, HE'S ASKING ME IF I WANTED A RIDE."
Mary Ruth is a deaf writer from California
How exhausting it is to be the color yellow. JT
KISS-FIST MODEL KISS-FIST MODEL
Charity
Charity is a deaf model from Virginia
Reid
Written by
Melissa Huber
f o s g n i l Ramb
a
d e s s e f n o C f l e S
Share Clothes with Your Man!
c
li o h a p o Sh
x
Menswear is a hot trend these days. Actually, I think it has always been "in" - I know of so many women who love snuggling up in their man's over sized sweatshirts, cardigans, tee shirts, or even going to bed wearing men's boxers.
If the shirt's not too fitted, and you want some shape, add a waist belt. Wear cardigans with tank tops underneath, either buttoned up or unbuttoned. Pair with leggings/skinny jeans and flats, and you've got a cute daytime look! If the cardigan or shirts aren't too loose-fitting, they can be paired with jeans or trousers. If the shirts are big enough, they can double as dresses. (Be sure to add a belt or something, so you don't look too frumpy) Pair vests with wife-beater type tank tops, or fitted tee-shirts and long-sleeves. "Feminize" any of the above looks by adding jewelry. The best part? This can be economy-savvy, sharing clothes with your man - that is, if he doesn't mind a trail of your perfume on the clothes.
KISS-FIST FASHION
Don't be afraid to go and shop in the men's department and find things for yourself. What’s more, you'll most likely be buying a smaller size than usual; you can't deny that feels good!
Fashion
Use as a Weapon Against the "Winter Blahs"
I
f you're like me, you get excited when the temperature first drops, because it gives you a good reason to wear all of your new fall clothes, go shopping, take out your favorite sweaters, tall boots, leggings, etc. The first few months is fun, the air's crisp, and the first snowfall is absolutely beautiful, until after the holidays, and then your mid-winter cabin fever sets in, and you start cursing the weather. Well, there IS a way to beat those winter blahs arm yourself with fashion! There are many cute cool-weather accessories out there. I'm a believer in using bold-color accessories during dull gray days, they CAN be a mood-lifter. Grab a faux pashima shawl (many places will sell them for 5, 10 bucks) in colors of lime green, orange, fuchsia, or even really funky patterns like plaid, polka dots or animal prints. (Word of advice - if you're going with a patterned scarf, make sure you go with a solid jacket/top and vice versa - patterned jackets/tops with solid color scarves) Berets and fedoras are also a great way to keep yourself warm. You know the saying - if your head's warm, the rest of your body stays warm. Take it up a notch and accessorize your headwear with brooches. Add a feather brooch, or even a flower brooch and pin it on the side of your beret (or fedora), and you've got a glammed up beret! (A "hat head" tip I read somewhere, bring a fabric softener dryer sheet in your purse, and use it to get rid of all the static on
your hair when taking off your hat/beret, a plus: your hair will smell fresh!) When you live in cities where you walk a lot, sometimes your coat IS your permanent winter wardrobe and often, the only thing people see you in during winter. Invest in a GOOD coat, and use it as a "base" for many different looks. How? I love the idea of adding belts to your coats to create different looks, and it also gives you a "slim" look, rather than a bulky look as many coats can add unnecessary bulk to your figure. Get a patent leather belt, pair it with your winter coat, and you're good to go. Feel free to use brooches (simple ones look best, such as jeweled brooches) and add them to your coat, on the flaps, or on either side of the chest. If your coat has a "V neck" collar, how about adding a fur (I'd encourage faux fur) stole, pinning it along your collar? (I did this a few years ago, I looked on ebay for a fur stole, and safetypinned it along a coat I had, and it looked as it it came WITH the coat, but for a much cheaper price!) Don't forget your gloves - you can choose to make your hands stand out by going simple with your coat and scarf, and getting a fun printed glove. (ie: black coat, red scarf, and leopard gloves) Use accessories sparingly, though you don't want to "overkill it" by using everything all at once, save them for different looks, and change them around. The possibilities are endless - decorate your coat
“For those of you who live in warmweather climates year-round, can I just say that I’m very jealous of you?”
with fun accessories, and you've practically got a new outfit every time you head out in the cold. For those of you who live in warmweather climates year-round, can I just say that I'm very jealous of you? However, true fashionistas will wear berets and scarves, even in 90 degree weather, just for the sake of stylish accessorizing
Every Woman's Must Have: The Little Black Dress The Little Black Dress is a must-have in any woman's closet. It's such an essential, that it's even earned its own acronym - the LBD. LBDs come in many different shapes and designs, it's impossible for a fashionista to stick with just one. I think there are three styles that are "universally flattering" on all women of different shapes. 1. The strapless dress. Every woman has a nice collarbone, and it deserves to flaunted! A strapless dress is flattering, even for the big-busted. Many strapless dresses will have hidden bra straps inside, which helps it fit properly. I've heard many women say they don't like strapless dresses because they have to "tug" at it, pull it up. Many strapless dresses come with silcone lining on the top, which helps it stay right in place, and if the fit's right, it can actually be a very comfortable dress. A strapless dress leaves plenty of room for creative accessorizing - whether you want to add a statement piece, such as a bold necklace OR dangly earrings (choose one, don't wear both at the same time, let one jewelry piece be the focus) 2. The halter dress. With thanks to Marilyn Monroe, the halter dress is such an iconic piece of clothing, and it flatters every woman, regardless of their size/shape. Like with the strapless dress, if it's the right fit, it
will look good on anyone. Some may feel that they have "broad" shoulders and don't look good in halter dresses, but if the halter "neckline" is just right, the attention will come right to the neckline, which is always flattering. You can also take attention away from your shoulders by adding dangly earrings. 3. The wrap dress. I'm a big fan of the wrap dress. In any color, or any pattern, I think wrap dresses are the best invention. It gives you a nice shapely figure, and allows you to show off whatever body part you feel the most confident with - whether it's your booty, or even your neckline, or chest. Wrap dresses are another great cool-weather staple and can be paired with knee-high boots to keep warm. Another great way to add different looks to the wrap dress - add lace camisoles underneath. Another iconic LBD that I love, the black sheath dress (think Audrey Hepburn) but I have to be honest and say that only those with great arms can get away with it, since it really draws attention to your arms. If you're not that confident with your arms, you can add cardigans or blazers and look impeccable. LBDs are easy to dress up or dress down, and different looks can be created with different jewelry pieces, heels, clutches, and hairstyles. Only certain materials can be versatile, though. For example, satin will always be a dressy option, while rayon jersey can be dressed up AND down. If you had a rayon jersey material dress (in any form - the strapless, halter, or wrap dress) you could dress it down for daytime wear by wearing flats or sandals, and casual jewelry. If you want to glam it up for a party, or a hot date out, you could dress it up with fancier jewelry and heels. Don't forget your hair and make-up they can play big parts in dressing up and down an outfit!
Using Your Hair as an Accessory Women spend so much time AND money on their hair - it's no wonder hair is such an important accessory to an outfit. I thought it'd be fun to do a "visual" tutorial. Special thanks to my dear girlfriend June Ann, who's not only envied for looking amazing after having SIX girls, but ALSO for her gorgeous hair. I couldn't think of a better hair model! First, let's start with the basics. I always say that I like to keep hair simple when you have a "busy" outfit with lots of detailing.
If you have a simple, basic outfit, and want your hair to "stand out", you can make your hair your main accessory. Another example - working with curly/ straight hair. If you'd like to wear your hair down with a dress that has a lot of detailing, I'd recommend going straight, making your hair simple, so your dress stands out. If you have a plain dress with simple details, I'd go with voluminous, curly hair, make your hair THE accessory.
l
Let's work with various necklines here If you have something strapless, such as a tube-top (dress or top), adding a major accessory such as chunky earrings or a statement necklace would be a good option, but letting your hair do the accessorizing is another great option. Two great hairstyles to go with tube-tops:
The fashionable side ponytail
Letting your hair down
If you've got a halter neckline, it really depends on how thick the halter is. If the halter neckline is thick, I usually like to keep hair simple, either half-up or pulled back completely, to complement the shoulders or neckline. Necklaces should be either non-existent or very simple. Two chic options:
The side bun with untucked strands
Titled halter with hair up
Now, if you're covering up completely, it really depends on how much you're covering up. If you're wearing a simple scoop-necked shirt, any hair style would be a good option, whether it is leaving it all down or pulling it back up. If you're wearing turtlenecks, you can really draw attention to your face (perfect time to really play up your eyes or wear statement lipstick) if you pull your hair up. If you wear your hair down, your face can get "lost" under all that material covering you up, PLUS your hair covering your face. Two ways to wear your hair with turtlenecks.
UGGs - No Longer "Fugly"?
x I'll be honest, I personally feel UGGs are a major Glamour "DONT", but when you live in New York City where comfort comes first, sometimes you DO have to give in to ugly footwear. UGGs are also great for keeping warm while walking my dog in the bitter cold days, too, I admit. I try to wear my UGGs strictly when running errands only.
If you've got short hair, then lucky you - your hair can go with any outfit. Don't forget to add some "fun" to your short hair by using headbands, hair scarves, hair clips -- you can also create many different looks with short hair.
I recently came agross some catalogs and saw some CUTE UGGs and actually, believe it or not, quite fashionable boots that promise the same comfort and warmth of UGGs.
With winter season comes plenty of holiday parties, plenty of reasons to glam up and look your best! Go ahead, spice up your coats with fun accessories, get your LBD, and a stylin' hair-do! You're good to go this winter!
Go to their website www.uggaustralia.com and prepare to be dazzled!
The classic ponytail
Wear your hair half-up
Happy Holidays with Fashionable Love,
Melissa
Now, if only they'd come out with cheaper imitations of those! MadameGlam@gmail.com
Melissa is a deaf New York resident
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WWW.KISS-FIST.COM
Artwork Available at FRANKGALLIMORE.COM
“
KISS-FIST TALENT
I believe in true love have to wait forever
BLAKE NITKO Deaf ASL Music Signer from South Dakota and Arizona
KF: Typically, there are well over a thousand views by YouTube fans for each of your songs. Some of them have had as much as 15,000 views! Has this success surprised you? How has it affected your art? Blake: The success indeed did surprise me, people are recognizing me from all over. I didn't ask to be noticed, I've just always had a heart for those who are inspired to learn ASL. It hasn't affected my art at all, I just keep doing songs and sometimes requests.
e and you donʼt vto find it.
”
KF: What does your screen name "xcrippledhope" mean to you? Blake: Well, I made the screen name when I was thirteen. It means a hope being crippled, or tarnished. It's the complete opposite now, haha. I just never changed it. KF: What motivated you to begin signing music? Blake: I used to sign all the time in front of a friend. And the thought of putting it on YouTube just came to mind one day. KF: What process do you go through to prepare for a video? How long do you rehearse before you feel you're ready to record? Blake: Most of the songs are my first attempt; I don't like repeating and making myself look perfect. No one is perfect. However for some, where I get lost completely, I review the lyrics and re-record. KF: Have you written any of your own music? Blake: No, but I have a friend who writes amazing songs KF: Do you have any other artistic projects in mind for the future? Blake: I am hoping to produce, film, and sign in my own music video, enabling both audiences, hearing and deaf to enjoy my work. KF: Who is your favorite singer? Blake: Ahh, I donʼt have one. Thereʼs too many.
www.youtube.com/xcrippledhope
FEAR AND LOATHING IN THE LAUSD: THE STRANGE AND BRUTAL MELTDOWN OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER
KISS-FIST SHORT STORY
Allen (BY) Neece III
thuggish administrative staff packing heat, teachers selling drugs in the bathrooms, students selling ABC cards in front of the school. As I turned the corner and drove up the driveway of was somewhere around the the school, all I could see were edge of the L.A. county line manicured front lawns, clean curbs, when I received the first SMS and people strolling about the from my brother. I flipped open neighborhood. the pager, held it up, and while The walls and lockers of the halls watching the road, I read: were immaculate, the floors glinted, “Out of cattle-prods. Low on and the storied graffiti was nowhere to Mace. Perimeter breached. Situation be seen. critical”. I found Andrew in his room, under I stuck the pager under my thigh, a computer bank in the corner, a cloak gripped the wheel, and stomped the of dangling wires shrouding his face. accelerator. Hell on Earth was about to I got down to one knee and erupt. peered at him, waving to get his I was on my way to pick up my attention. older brother, Andrew, who worked as When he saw me, he smiled a secondary English teacher in Los weakly and began to jabber Angeles. It was Friday, graduation had incoherently, something about “Todd taken place the day before, the weary lost the launch codes”, that there will teachers were finally alone in their be no more “Mr. Willy Pete.” His hands rooms, shell-shocked, relieved at wavered weakly, half-formed signs enduring yet another year of teaching made it difficult for me to follow him. in the unremitting nightmare that is the “What? Come now.” I nervously LAUSD. signed back. I knew that Andrew was His eyes rolled back so that only exhausted from the long school year the whites showed. In a quavering and that he was in dire need of a delivery he signed, “This, me accept, vacation. The ominous page I had just no more. Page 5a, no more. 5a, many, received from him signaled disaster of many. Me tired.” A sheaf of papers from the worst sort. As I drew near the his clenched fists cascaded to the floor. school, I scanned the sky for LAPD I grabbed one and quickly scanned it. helicopters, black smoke billowing into Something about “writing goals” for an the sky, listening closely for any “IEP”. He shook his head sharply. His approaching sirens, gunshots. fists were now on his head, elbows This was my first visit to the jutted in front of his face, a five-year old school and I was startled by what I hiding from monsters. As he slumped saw. Andrew had always painted to the floor, he entangled himself in the apocalyptic vignettes of a school run by wires and the computers and printers
I
rumbled to the edge of the table, teetering. Looking quickly behind me to check the door, I cursed silently and leaned forward to pull him out. He staggered to his feet, his 6’4 frame flailing about. His eyes were wild and darted around the room. “We need call air strike. A-L-M-IG-H-T-Y, they wait coordinates,” he signed slowly and deliberately. I sighed. His Apocalypse Now fetish was getting out of hand. “Never mind that. We need go. Now.” I signed back calmly. I draped one of his arms around my shoulder, walked him out the door, down the empty hall, and outside to the car. Amazingly, and much to my relief, no one saw us. He should’ve signed out but he can worry about that later. I opened the back door of the ’98 Toyota Camry and he clambered in, hand-over-hand, a five-year old ascending the back seat. As I drove down the street and around the corner, Andrew’s head lolled, slumping to his chest. As we passed a group of locals standing on a corner, Andrew suddenly lunged to the window and in that shrill voice so peculiar to deaf men, he shrieked, “504! 504! I WENT TO SCHOOL ON SECTION 504!” (Translated from his nasal pronunciation, it came out as “DIBEOH-DOOR! DIBE-OH-DOOR! DYE WAN DEW DOOL AHN LESHON DIBE-OH-DOOR!”) The men
immediately hugged the ground, their hands going for their waists. “You fool!” I screamed. “Didn’t you see Boyz N The Hood or Menace To Society? Now one of us is gonna die!” I sim-commed with one hand, whipping my head between the road and his face. Andrew cackled as I tore around corners. I recognized that gleam in his eye. A cold stab of terror iced my stomach, memories of childhood mayhem, violence, and tears, always a panicked search for refuge behind Mom or Dad’s legs. I began to sob as I
KISS-FIST SHORT STORY
“We need call air strike they wait coordinates,” and deliberately. watched the rearview mirror, fully expecting to see an Olds 88 come barreling up, sawed off pistol grip pumps protruding from behind tinted windows. After running several red lights, I merged onto the Ten East freeway. Traffic, of course, was at full stop. I was so absorbed in watching the rear view mirror that I didn’t notice Andrew had doffed his shirt and wrapped his tie around his head, Rambo-style. He proceeded to throw set signs out the window at the carks parked in our immediate vicinity. “THROW YOUR SETS IN THE AIR! PBR STREET GANG!” he bellowed. (“BROW DORE DETT DIN
DAH BEAR! DEEBEERAW WEET GAND!”) “You idiot! Stop it!” I snarled. “Here, have some of this.” I tossed him my flask, thinking some Bookers would calm him down. He cracked it open and began to gulp. I immediately realized this was a bad idea. All that 120 proof bourbon was just fueling his descent into madness. As we inched past downtown, I could hear him giggling. I alternated between watching the fender in front of me and keeping a sharp eye on the backseat. My nerves were shot to hell. “Deeey, maaaaan. Fan you
pacify him even if it annihilated my ear cells. I fumbled about for the ear plugs on the dashboard and shoved them in. The bass was so low, it’d make elephants hump everything in sight. This car originally belonged to Andrew and before he sold it to me, he had implanted massive subwoofers directly behind the rear seat. Even the steering wheel was vibrating and Andrew’s euphoric visage was a blur in the mirror. His terpsichorean antics had ceased and his eyes were shut as he held forth two horned hands, a demonic avatar luxuriating in the bliss of the enveloping drone. Hours passed as we whistled through traffic, down the 10, up the 15. Soon we were in the darkness of the desert. I could see jackalopes darting across the asphalt, their antlers a frozen frieze against oncoming headlights. Then I saw Him. Dick Cheney. With a pink Mohawk. Naked but for a loincloth. And fondling a shotgun. There were hundreds, if not thousands, standing at intervals on the side of the freeway. They stood like sentinels, a Praetorian Guard of scowls, sneers, and snarls interminably flashing by from the darkness. Sweet Jesus, I thought. That old maxim was true after all: the road to Hell was true biz paved with Republicans. Andrew and I exchanged stares. He dived. I floored it. The drone sank ever lower. Hell on Earth had arrived at last.
e. A-L-M-I-G-H-T-Y, ” he signed slowly deaaahhhrrr me?“ he slurred. I winced. “BASEBALL!” (“BAHTBOOL!”) “ICE CREAM!” (“YAIIIDEEM!”) “AIRPLANE!” (“AHPLAYM!”) Enduring Friday afternoon traffic in Los Angeles with a deranged deaf brother having speech therapy flashbacks was too much for me to handle. “Gimme back my flask!” I snatched it from his hand and quaffed long draughts. He merely hooted with glee and hopped on all fours, the rear shocks of the car leaping up and down violently; we were now a simianpowered G-ride bouncing its way to Vegas. I glanced at the car next to us. Their expressions spoke of uneasiness and alarm, Stations of the Cross in play. I put on Sunn 0)), hoping the subharmonic bass frequencies would
Allen W. Neece III is a deaf U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Lusaka, Zambia
KISS-FIST TALENT
Kambri Crews
Comedic Storyteller Kambri Crews is hitting the scene in a big way with her magnetic performances, acting, promoting, and an upcoming memoir that promises to captivate its readers. Written by Frank Gallimore Photo by Anya Garrett
rews is a CODA who grew up in Montgomery, Texas and now calls New York home. Incorporating American Sign Language into her performance pieces, she's well-known for stories of a tumultuous childhood involving a deaf father who currently serves a 20 year sentence in a Texas prison for the attempted murder of his girlfriend. "Feel good humor," she tells us, "I assure you." She updates fans on his condition and correspondence on her blog LoveDaddy.org. An essay on her childhood was published by Hillary Carlip on FreshYarn.com. Crews' work has received ample praise from respected talents like Janeane Garofalo and Chris Regan. She continues to redeem such praise with performances like that in the critically acclaimed show "Mortified," in New York City. Not only has she performed at top indie comic venues such as Comix, Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre, and The Peoples Improv Theater—she is also the creator of Ochi's Lounge, an alternative comedy venue that has served as a stage for performers like David Cross, Jim Gaffigan, Zach Galifianakis, Judah Friedlander, Tom Shillue, and her husband comedian Christian Finnegan. Clearly a firm believer in the "if you snooze, you lose" policy, Kambri Crews also owns her own PR company Ballyhoo Promotions and the networking group Tex in the City. In September of 2008, Crews sold her memoir to Villard (Random House) and hopes to see it hit the shelves around 2010.
C
For more information on Love Daddy, or any of the other adventures of Kambri Crews, visit her website at www.kambricrews.com.
KISS-FIST ART
by Frank Gallimore
KISS-FIST ART
KISS-FIST ART
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TO BE CONTINUED
How I Spend My Thanksgiving Day
11.27.08 r te Tullie a T y b o Phot
g n o L i l a M r te Tullie a T y b Photo
Spending time with friends
Having great conversations
Prepping for dinner
CHEERS! Loving my daughter Mali is a deaf Texas resident
Holga 120FN
KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY
MICHELLE McAULIFFE Model: Julie Hochgesang
Kalif Price
KISS-FIST POETRY
A fire broke out It was on the second story Of my heart
Pyromaniac
The first story was abandoned Long since sealed and boarded
The ashes float
But the fire was strange and unexpected
And cause me to hurt like swirling razors
It caught hold of everything
The wind has caught hold of them
And so quickly, poof,
And spins them around above singed carpet
It was all gone
Dingy mildewed blackened ruined home
KISS-FIST POETRY
A half foot of water settled at the floor A slow-to-rise sun
A yellow monster's boot kicked down the door
Rose at dawn
All secretes are open all rooms exposed
I remember wondering
Hidden treasures of forever are no more
Whether or not
The fabric of forgotten life
It had been there from the start
Has transformed at morn into a burnt coffin
O that end did come sudden
The body of our love has willingly laid itself
A flash of fire
Dressed in what is left of unraveled cotton
Flickered flamed and poof,
And polyester yester-years
Vanished void of thin air
Torn at the seams
Had I only imagined this hologram
It seems that the heat rose up
Of a home
Carried itself like the hand of an Olympic torch
This lover of a clone
Scorched and burned
And a bird flown round
Inflamed and learned that love is an unintelligible baby
The edges of the rafters
Decode my cries
Who found an open window
I wail long
Space through cracked shutters
And so quickly, poof,
And the frame of a painted pain
It was all gone
From which this bird would often perch Tweet-tweet from a small little meek beak And so quickly, poof, It was all gone Kalif is a poet from California
DVD FOR SALE
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SOUP
Website: www.thesoupevents.com Blog: http://thesoupevents.blogspot.com/ Email: sheena@thesoupevents.com
events
My “Twisted” Event Written by Sheena McFeely
The launch of The Soup Events, LLC began early summer 2008. Ironically, my first event was planning a retirement party. Retire my business? Heck no! I got busy immediately with my second event sponsored by CSDVRS. With the ball in my court, I set up several meetings with a deaf fashion designer to discuss our vision. Once that was completed, I began house hunting to host the vibrant fashion show. Barbara, a dear friend of my family, gave the heads up to use her charming home on September 6th. The saying, “Location, Location, and Location” rings true. To be eco-friendly, I designed a Save-The-Date card to be mass emailed. Like a bride would do for her own wedding celebration. Using this method spread the word around like fire due to the à la mode look of the eCard. Plus, Facebook was another center The Soup Events used to publicize the One Love Fashion Show. Thank goodness for technology today – I do not know how deaf people got by back then using snail mail! Before I knew it, tickets were sold out in advance. Due to the popularity, twenty plus people had to be turned down. About a week before, Mara visited me at my place to discuss the logistics of the event. What was more electrifying was that she designed a dress for me!!! That's the privilege of befriending someone who's in the fashion world. Four days later, my dress called “Twist” was completed! Don't think I'm twisted at love (wink). Once the dress was wearing me, the style was deceiving as it hid my secret pregnancy. My mom, a great right-hand person, darted like a roadrunner around town to obtain the freshest fruits, vegetables, and delicious food all under a “too good to be true” deal! We, as a team, ensured that we provided food to fit everyone’s needs. For example, I often find myself at parties unable to gobble on the hors devours due to being lactose intolerant. My experience is a constant reminder to always include a variety of dishes that will not leave a single guest famished.
what do we do? The Soup Events does all forms of event planning across America. Services ranging from choosing a theme to creating a design to coordinating schedules to negotiating to scouting vendors and more are provided.
What kind of events? ✦ Galas ✦ Grand Openings ✦ Baby Showers ✦ Weddings ✦ Fundraisers ✦ And more!
why hire an event planner? ✦ Saves relationships ✦ Experience counts ✦ Shave overcall costs ✦ Act as a go-to-person ✦ To feel like a guest ✦ Relationships with vendors ✦ More time for yourself ✦ Planning is a full time job
KISS-FIST BUSINESS
“At the end, an event planner not only pays attention to the finer details, but acts as a friend, consultant, cheerleader, and believer woven into one role.�
Sheena McFeely
A Glimpse of a Soup Event
KISS-FIST BUSINESS
There laid an assortment of fingerlicious foods ranging from homemade Italian bruschetta to tortilla chips with scrumptious dips to colorful veggie slices to cheese of all kinds to blanket crispy crackers. Aged wines were served until everyone got a bit tipsy. The first hour was a social hour to allow the fashionably late to arrive, as well as those who follow deaf standard time. Once the clock struck three o’clock, the seats were no longer empty.
The One Love Fashion Show embarked. Bursts of earthy toned outfits showed their way past wide-opened eyes. The fabric sat right on the skin on each figure. Their outfits were swinging at their own rhythm in front of the gleaming pool--the pool symbolizing people connecting, and a blossoming pride as once they're touched the ripple effect takes place. The guests grinned genuinely, forgetting the sizzling heat, enjoying each other’s company, the new mingling with the old.
KISS-FIST BUSINESS Sheena, Event Planner and Mara, fashion designer
The show ended in what seemed like a flash, with roaring applause for the hosting of this one-of-a-kind event. Indeed, hosting a fashion show planned by a deaf event planner and created by a deaf fashion designer is no longer a diamond in the rough. Countless asked when The Soup Events would plan the next event. This is living proof that attending an event that consist of a sea of booths is not enough. Clearly, The Soup Events’ mission is to create an “outside-the-box” event for all walks of life.
LEON
KISS-FIST ART
KISS-FIST ART
LIM Leon Lim is deaf and an International artist from New York
KISS-FIST ART
LEON LIM
Truths unfolded like loose card. JT
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
Written and Styled by Katie Cue
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
The Delegations
GRO aims to stand out from the few other deaf organizations that exist today. More than an organization, GRO is an initiative. Its goal is to become a global peer network of deaf youth interested in connecting, communicating, and taking action to enact change within their home communities. Each GRO delegation that is created is one small step towards reaching this dream.
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
An Awe-Inspiring Quest weeded out or forced to become The Amazing Race serious and make a decision. Each GRO delegation begins with a version of the popular TV The Choice game show known as the Amazing GRO is all heart, and delegates Race - GRO style. American are expected to give no less of delegates are unleashed on the host themselves. This is no spring break country to be immersed within the fling - it is a life changing experience culture of the people, and to be and you realize that pretty quickly. inspired to explore even further as From the moment you receive the days progress. In reality, the your email confirmation of amazing race begins long before the acceptance into the program, the plane touches GRO experience foreign soil. It begins. begins with an Strangers who Last shower at home, last idea, a little hope, you have never “American” meal - delicious and a lot of hamburgers and corn on the cob! met quickly inspiration. The - and last load of laundry done become good Amazing Race is, before taking off to India... It still friends. They’re in short, an awefeels completely surreal that all people you see 10 of us will set foot on Mumbai inspiring quest everyday, people within the next 24 hours. I’m that takes place sitting at Mia’s house, trying to who understand, in the hearts, take it all in, but something tells and people who minds and souls me it won’t hit us (or at least are your partners of each and every me!) until we’re flying over the in this journey. big ole Atlantic Ocean... - AVI delegate that It was our little GRO has touched experience, our over the past few little corner in the years. world, a little part of our lives. But The Beginning it’ll forever have a big, lasting impact The application process is a --Mich Gerson nerve-wracking one, especially if you apply with a lot of people that Giving Your Heart you know. Information that was The delegations are a series of once shared freely between friends trials and tribulations. GRO is still a become closely guarded state fledging organization - and as such, secrets. it exists primarily on the spirit, Application questions prompt energy and passion of those soul-searching like no other: where involved. Since GRO believes in do you see yourself in five years? empowerment, the delegates are What sets you apart from the other truly the ones that build each applicants? What are your current delegation from the ground up. goals and how do they dovetail with Once accepted, you have no time to GRO’s mission and values? bask in the joy before you are Applicants who once wanted to go eschewed in the whirlwind that is just for the heck of it are quickly preparing for the trip.
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
s and I I asked a student how old she wa e; at that found out we were the same ag line to be a point I realized there is no dead role model... or to find one. --Lizzie
We explained how flowers come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes but they’re all beautiful in their own way. We tried to compare the growing and nurturing of the flower to the students themselves with their family and education being the equivalent of water and sun. --Wyatte
Later, we had our second workshop with the 2nd group of students. I started to become more confident since I learned from the first group. Some of the students in the first group taught me some Thai sign language so I was confident enough to use them with the 2nd group. That workshop went a little more smoothly since I already know what to expect. --Erin
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
rkshops Each delegation has a series of wo ss various developed by delegates that addre hts, health things such as education, deaf rig and selfissues, leadership, dreams, hope, advocacy.
In GRO-Thailand 2007, U.S. delegate Anthony Balogh
asked all of the Thai delegates to write down their dreams on
paper. Each piece of paper was delicately placed inside individual
always keep them alive despite any obstacles we may face. The
helium balloons.
delegates then symbolically released their balloons into the air,
each one contemplating all possibilities.
After the workshops concluded for the day, Anthony
asked the peer delegates to join him outside with their balloons.
He explained that dreams are important and we must
Showing on GRO will have a Picture/Artwork M Saturday, December 13th @ 8P Lovin' Cup 300 Park Point Drive Rochester, NY
KISS-FIST INTERNATIONAL
ply for one of the upcoming Interested in joining GRO? Ap king to make an impact with spring break trips! If you are loo atemala Delegation (Feb other deaf people your age, the Gu ! If the prospect of new 27th - March 8th) is made for you then apply for the Honduras cultural experiences excite you, . All applications can be found Delegation! (March 14th - 21st) on the GRO website. 2008. Deadline is on December 20th,
For more information visit our website at:
www.globalreachout.org
NIKON D80
KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY
PAUL RUTOWSKI
HEARING YOU nose buried in the nape of your neck lips tracing, barely grazing your jaw who needs to hear you sigh? i can see the arch of your back i can feel your hands cling onto me i can see your mind reeling i can feel your breath catching
KISS-FIST POETRY
whisper yes mutter no it won't matter i'll still hear ...you.
MICH GERSON
MICH GERSON “I love writing... I have been given the gift of being able to eloquently express myself, and poetry has been one way for me to be able to do that. I always stick with one rule of thumb -- write what I know. While most of my work is fiction, it is largely autobiographical. You can't write well if there is no emotion behind your writing, and when you haven't experienced what you're writing about -- it's hard to put emotion behind it.� Mich is a deaf poet from Washington DC.
Carrie Lou’s
KISS-FIST BOOK
Book Review
Carrie Lou is a deaf educational psychology doctoral student at the University of Texas.
Lilith’s Brood by Octavia E. Butler
S
humankind, and continues on to more cience fiction, you ask? You metaphorical cyclical awakenings of either love it or hate it... but realization, disgust, connection, and before you decide, allow Octavia Butler to take you on a journey through understanding through her work with the alien race. Lilith has been given the the true potential power of science tremendous responsibility of awakening fiction, as speculative fiction that pushes us into an exploration of what it the rest of the humans and facilitating a relationship between humankind and means to be human, and what it the Oankali, and this relationship will means NOT to be human. Butler is continue evolving through the series, in able to bring us on a journey through surprising ways. the broad spectrum of humanity, Butler has an amazing power of encompassing issues of race, gender, making the speculative imaginings of sexuality, religion, power, and her worlds remain transformation. Science fiction is often dominated by "OCTAVIA BUTLER IS A deeply connected to the white male authors; Butler TRUE GENIUS IN THE authentic human experience. We see how was the first internationally WORLD OF SCIENCE Lilith slowly builds acclaimed black woman acceptance and even writing in the genre. Octavia FICTION..." understanding of the Butler is a true genius in the Oankali as we, the reader, build this world of science fiction, a recipient of same acceptance in the midst of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” apparent implausible scenarios that Grant. Butler pushes upon us. The dynamics Lilith’s Brood was originally of relationships between the Oankali published as the Xenogenesis Trilogy and the humans are never superficial; of three novels: Dawn, Adulthood one of Butler’s talents is building Rites, and Imago. These three novels complex multidimensional characters bring us to an alternate reality where with very real conflicts. humankind has brought on nearThe Oankali experience the world extinction; the few surviving humans through a continual merging; their are ‘adopted’ by an alien race, the bodies are made up of sensory Oankali, who are driven by an intense tentacles that receive a constant stream need to merge with other worlds. This of information. Reading Lilith’s Brood is series follows Lilith Iyapo through her like finding yourself in surrounded by awakenings, from a literal awakening these sensory tentacles in an onslaught by the Oankali after they have put her of thoughts and emotions, pushing you to sleep to allow her body and the to question what it truly means to be earth to heal as they learn about human.
Enlightening Your Home One Style at a Time
Written by KISS-FIST HOME
Jennifer (Jenko) Kononenko
KISS-FIST HOME
“ Jenko’s Tips to make any living space cozy with some aesthetic appeal.
Have a purpose Work around a purpose as a starting point. Don’t make it complicated or you'll prevent yourself from doing what you want to do. Just find a simple solution in your living space and focus, seek balance, and change the sense of the space using colors to power creativity. This is my BIG time secret!
I do believe it is essential to make our living spaces very comfortable and cozy. I can assure you that people can find themselves at peace when they are in a serene environment away from the stresses of daily life. Donʼt we need our own personal escape and retreat right under our roofs?
”d
Paint Your Room Paint is the cheapest and most effective room makeover. Don’t be afraid to go for something different and drastic with wall colors. Giving a new color for a room is considered a punch to shake the house up! Collect different color cards and spread it out on the wall or on the table and select colors that are attractive to you. Show these colors to others for their input. Once you come up with a color scheme for the room, be sure to emphasize the color with additional accessories.
Jennifer (Jenko) Kononenko is a deaf artist from Tucson, Arizona
“
I focused on the color scheme of natural elements in my house since I believe this reflects who I am.
”
Be Free and Eclectic Go eclectic with patterns, textures, and item arrangements. This is considered an instant art. You can assemble the accessories in a variety of shapes to make a focal point. You can use contrasts for interest. You can have your collectibles reflect a “personality”. It can be a way to express who you are. If you need more pieces, go to a few different stores and collect pieces that have aesthetic appeal to your eyes and what feelings you connect with it.
d
Arranging Items Establish functional spaces in a room. Arrange furniture into a well-designed way. Use plants to add life to the room. Plants can be a good way to fill in the blank corners. If you see a bookcase as cluttered, rearrange it for more pleasing displays. Be creative with lighting. Lighting often sets the tone for a room. Explore some ideas to play around with the wall. Fill in a bare wall. Collect some good prints and photography and frame them up.
If you have a dinky couch and can’t afford a newer one, find slipcovers in new shades of color and cover it. (I found 2 slipcovers on sale from Target and it was such a joy!) A new bedspread can refresh the bedroom automatically. Create a headboard effect by your bed with some unique material. Put something above your bed for the artistic appeal.
I think about you and how the cars outside my window sound like the ocean. JT
Photo by Damon Timm
KISS-FIST THEATER
Adrian Blue
direct because I am a storyteller, “Ipsychologist, and mad scientist. I love the puzzle of making the impossible, work. �
Adrian Blue is a deaf director, translator, storyteller, playwright and actor. He has translated more than thirty plays and novels, including children's books and several Shakespeare plays.
CANON 40D
MARY VISCO
KISS-FIST PHOTOGRAPHY Model: Jennifer Visco
FOOD UNDER BUDGET THE TOP CHEF STYLE
KISS-FIST FOOD
Written by Abby Drake
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Photo by Damon Timm
ecently I attended a friend's farewell party. She was moving to another city, and instead of the usual party with food and friends at either her house or someone else's, we decided to do something different. We had my friend--I'll call her Sue--meet us in front of Whole Foods. Sue and her husband recently bought a place, so obviously they were cash strapped. Another friend explained to Sue that since she and her husband are foodies, devotees of Top Chef on TV, and are cash strapped, we were doing something similar to that but with a catch. Each of us had to go into Whole Foods, find something and make into a dish for less than $7. Then Sue herself would taste the concoctions and be her own judge as to what tickled her palate fancy. Naturally Sue loved the idea but there were a few hesitant people who were quickly won over by the rest of our enthusiasm. We were told we had only 15 minutes to come up with something creative which also included selecting, buying, and preparing the dish. Sue and our other friend left to go scout out a table for us and get smoothies (under $7) for themselves. I walked into Whole foods with my friends and immediately zeroed in on the hot bar. Maybe a sliver of salmon with some greens? Nah, too boring. Or
KISS-FIST FOOD
perhaps some cheese and crackers of the roasted red pepper on top of it, for a picnic? Nah, you would need and finished off the cracker with a wine to complement the meal and garlic clove atop the roasted red wine would be over the $7 limit. I pepper, then set it on the napkin in walked around for a bit looking at front of me so that everyone else what was available, trying to find could see my concoction. I also inspiration, then it came to me. I had watched curiously while the others recently done some entertaining at who arrived with their purchases set home with this simple yet filling, to work on making something out of tasty appetizer, and everyone had their groceries. raved about it. I could pick items Sue watched all of us from the antipasti bar for less than scampering to meet the deadline and $7 to begin with as an appetizer, attempting to be creative with an and make a story out of how it amused grin on her face, messiness represented Sue and her husband. developing on the table. When With no time to waste, I set to everyone was done, everyone took work and turns picked out a "...my appetizer represented explaining why few strips of Sue and her husband because she picked roasted red what she they are entertaining..." peppers that picked and were soaked made. in flavorful olive oil, a tiny scoop of I explained to Sue that my roasted garlic cloves, scooped some appetizer represented Sue and her homemade hummus into a plastic husband because they are always container, and grabbed a box of entertaining and so creative. Carrs Table Water crackers. Simplicity is a big part of their I bought my purchases which vocabulary, with bold but healthy came to a total of $6.92. Whew.. I flavors. And the red paired beautifully knew I was cheating a little bit with with the creaminess of the hummus the Top Chef concept but it was my in terms of color and presentation. own concept. With a few minutes to The garlic added the sweetness that spare, I found Sue and our other the tanginess of the hummus and friend at our table, gleefully took my fruitiness of the olive oil marinated purchases out, and began to spread red peppers brought on. The hummus on the cracker, put a strip neutrality of the cracker tied it all
together, allowing the flavors to explode in our mouths. Needless to say, Sue loved all of this, and some of the selections were so creative. One friend presented a wrap made of one tortilla she'd purchased from the deli counter, a slice of turkey, a 4 ounce package of cream cheese, and an apple. She sliced the apple, putting it over the cream cheese that had been spread onto the tortilla and layered with turkey, finishing it with a slice of havarti cheese, then wrapped it up. She explained that it would serve as either a meal or a snack. On-the-go, you could put it in your bag and eat as you walk, without any of the messiness, then throw away the plastic it was wrapped in. Another friend served up a simple platter of cheese and crackers for wine in the park or on a bench, or even in the car as a quick snack on a trip. Another actually bought the roasted salmon with greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic that I had contemplated buying, as well as one chocolate covered strawberry from the hot bar, and explained that one always needs to have a hot meal each night at home. There were a few more creative concoctions, and Sue shared the sampling with us. It was a wonderful day as we sampled these dishes and
chatted away, eating up almost all the purchases. When we were ready to part ways, Sue wistfully explained that this had been one of the best days of her life, and a great and creative way to spend a farewell party. Not only was it that, but we also learned how we could eat for much less and still get creative and stay healthy.
KISS-FIST RECIPE EASY BANANA BREAD 1 cup succanat (use less of refined sugar) 1/4 cup sunflower or canola oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup mashed ripe banana (approximately 3 ripe bananas) 2 cups spelt flour (or 1 cup white flour and 1 cup wheat flour) 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda A dash of salt 1 tbs. ground flax seed 1/2 cup chocolate chips Mix in the food processor or by hand all the wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients and mix. At the end toss in chocolate chips. Pour into oiled loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack.
KISS-FIST MOMENTS
Morgan is a CODA artist-to-be from Indiana Photo by Rosa Lee
You're a closed door never meant to be opened, only speculated. JT
Photo by Janis E. Cripps
KISS-FIST JEWELRY
Greetings Beautiful People, Life had a funny way of leading me into bead making. I was inspired by a few people in unexpected places and found my passion in bead making. I care about the quality & beauty of each creation that I make. I never sell things that I don't feel I would wear! I love silver & can rarely wear gold pieces that really move me. I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE pearls & I wish I could simply eat them! I'm not a perfect jewelry artist, but I hope you guys enjoy the creations you purchase from me & get many sweet compliments. I want you to feel good knowing you're wearing my bead jewelry made with love. Don't forget. Beads make us sparkle inside & outside! Also, it's a great feeling for me knowing that I'm a SELF-TAUGHT bead jewelry artist. Especially now that it's become an obsession. I get to create day after day with my dazzling beads!!! Fun Fun Fun. I always love to be dazzled by you. With lots of Love,
Daisy Fรถrster
KISS-FIST PAINTING Tears of the Desert Acrylic
Roberta Mather Brown
About the Painting "Even tears of pain in the middle of obsoleteness can nourish a flower of hope and life."
Roberta is a deaf artist from Washington, DC
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If it’s the Season to be Jolly, Why am I Feeling so Blue?
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KISS-FIST ARTICLE
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aybe it’s the 10-pageand-growing gift shopping list, the marathon cookie-baking session that’s going to eat up your entire Saturday afternoon, or the upcoming family gathering where you’ll be the only Deaf and signing person out of 50 of your closest relatives. Whatever it is, if the looming winter holidays make you want to crawl under the bedcovers and hibernate until January, you might take some comfort in knowing that you are not alone. The holiday blues – feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and even grinchiness – are far more common than many people think. With all the commercial and media attention given to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve, it’s not surprising that expectations can grow and emotions intensify this time of the year. We are supposed to joyful, sentimental, and celebratory. When disappointment or sadness instead is felt in the midst of seasonal cheer, the holiday blues can result.
Different than clinical depression, the holiday blues consist of intense feelings that may last for several days or weeks around the holidays. Besides the aforementioned feelings, other symptoms can include sleeping or eating too much or too little, feeling guilty, and finding little enjoyment in life. Symptoms can be triggered by many things: recent losses or deaths that make celebrating seem out of place, financial burdens, unfulfilled fantasies about “perfect” holidays, stress from trying to do too much at once, separation from family or loved ones, and memories of unresolved past holiday conflicts, just to name a few. Depression, in contrast to the holiday blues, involves two weeks or more of symptoms that occur almost daily and have a major impact on work, family relationships, self-care, and social activities. Severe depression, which can cause thoughts of self-harm and suicide, is best treated with the help of a mental health professional. Shorter in duration and usually less impairing than depression, the holiday blues go away more quickly and predictably, once the holiday season is over. They are more like a mood than a serious mental health issue. This doesn’t mean that talking with a therapist about your holiday blues is a waste of time, but since they tend to be short-lived and have
less of an impact on your everyday functioning than depression, there are many strategies for handling the holiday blues on your own. Below are three common holiday situations and solutions. Even if your particular situation is not targeted, the suggestions for coping apply to a number of situations. Remember that it is okay to have positive and negative feelings – there are no right or wrong ways to feel – and you do have choices about how to spend your holidays. As always, get plenty of rest, eat well, exercise, and go easy on the alcohol.
Surviving (and Even Beating) the Holiday Blues: 3 Common Situations and Solutions 1. Nobody Here Speaks Sign Language: Communication-wise, the family aspect of the holidays can be a touchy one when you are the only Deaf and signing member of the family. If you are dreading the idea of sitting in annoyed silence while everyone else is laughing hysterically over Aunt Polly’s recounting of her cruise to Panama (or did she say the Bahamas?), it might be time to explore your options.
Plan ahead. Share your concerns with your most trusted relatives and enlist their support. Bring along a Deaf friend. Make sure you are seated next to someone who will meet you halfway with communication. Check into hiring an interpreter for a couple of hours. Break out the pens and paper or try a laptop for quicker communication. Get everyone involved in an activity that doesn’t require talking – cards, a board game, or flag football, for starters. Keep yourself busy in the kitchen, behind a camera or sketchpad, entertaining small children or animals. Limit your visit to a couple of hours or days instead of the usual week.
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Opt out. There is no law that says you must go to a family gathering. Consider doing something else for a change. Host your own celebration with friends. Offer to house- or pet-sit for someone. Save the family visit for another, less stressful time of the year.
2. Home Alone: Just because it seems like everyone around you has family plans for the holidays, this isn’t always the case. If going solo has you down, think outside the box.
Reach out. Invite friends or international students to join you for a meal. Find out if any of your local Deaf group home members would like company or a buddy for an outing. Visit a Deaf senior citizens home or relieve a caregiver for a few hours. Check the horse rescue center to see if they can use extra hands. Volunteer to drop off meals or gift bags for less fortunate families.
Stay active. Exercise – it’s a great mood booster. Spend time outdoors. Tackle a closet reorganization project and enjoy the tangible results. Bake Grandma’s shortbread to share with your office-mates. Take the plunge and do something new like a Polar Dip or a 5K walk/run.
3. A Heavy Heart: No matter if it is your first, tenth or fiftieth holiday season without a loved one, grief can be overwhelming this time of the year. Memories of holidays past, and what might have been, are vivid. Absences are heartbreaking. Seeing people happy when you are feeling sad is difficult. If you are grieving a death or major life event or transition such as an impending divorce, a terminal illness, or a job loss, the holidays may be the last thing you want to deal with.
Acknowledge your loss. If you are grieving a death, talk with a friend or family member. Share memories and stories. Make a point of remembering the person you are missing. Light a candle, hang a stocking to put notes in, bring out old pictures, visit a special place that reminds you of this person. Surround yourself with supportive people.
Do something different. If it’s too painful or impossible to celebrate as usual, make a change. Take a vacation. Decorate in a new way or eat different foods. If finances are tight or you aren’t interested in exchanging gifts, let people know ahead of time that you are scaling back this year. Skip the holiday cards and photos. Pamper yourself and do what feels right to you. Whether experiencing the holiday blues is something new for you or not, take solace in knowing that they will subside with the passing of the holiday season. Shake off the idea that you must be jolly for the next 31 days, that you should follow every family tradition, attend every gathering, no matter how you feel about them this year. Keep the holiday blues to a minimum by doing what feels meaningful to you.
Sharon is a Deaf psychotherapist from Maryland
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USADSF TO HOST NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA Proceeds to support USA Team to Summer Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan SIOUX FALLS, SD: The USA Deaf Sports Federation is hosting a New Years’ Eve Gala to kick off the Deaflympic year in style! On December 31, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. athletes, coaches, staff and other supporters of Deaflympians will ring in 2009 at a fundraising Gala at the Admiral Fell Inn in Baltimore, Maryland. At the Gala, a full floor featuring music by Deaf M Productions and entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display at the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore is sure to dazzle the revelers. “The night will be filled with endless fun,” said Gala coordinator Brianne Burger. Tickets are priced at $100 per person for admission, including unlimited food and drink (alcoholic/non-alcoholic). There are also two other pricing options, $80 for two hours of open bar and champagne at midnight and $50 for people who prefer not to drink alcohol and for people who are under 21. There will be a raffle at midnight, featuring prizes from a variety of businesses that have donated towards the Gala. “We are excited to kick off the march towards the Summer Deaflympics, and there’s no better way to do it than to party it up on New Year’s Eve with us,” said Burger. There is no deadline to purchase tickets, Burger adds. “It is recommended that people buy tickets sooner than later.” Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check or money order payable to USADSF to Chris Kaftan, 19117 Broadwater Way, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. For more information about the Gala, contact Burger at burger@usdeafsports.org. Further details can also be found from the USADSF website at www.usdeafsports.org. ### To obtain more information about the USA Deaf Sports Federation, the New Year’s Eve gala or to schedule an interview, please contact Chris Kaftan, the Communications & Media Specialist at kaftan@usdeafsports.org.
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by Frank Gallimore
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Jesscia Thurber (JT) is a deaf graphic designer from Washington, DC
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