Frarochvia noticed an important detail in one of yesterday’s pictures – an ASL book. Last night I started taking ASL classes through Minneapolis Community Education.
“Hey, big kitty, what does this mean in Kitty Sign Language (KSL)?” -Mayhem
“It means you’re smooshing my ear and cruising for a bruising, May!” -Chaos
ASL is one of those unexpected side effects of blogging. (Not making the connection yet? Read on!) Like many of you, I’ve developed a number of friendships through blogging and have met bloggers from the Twin Cities, from across the US, and from overseas. Spoken English has been the common language; however, it isn’t the common language of some deaf bloggers I very much hope to meet and spend time with: my dear friend Fraro, local Limedragon, and Tiphanie. I don’t want our meetings to consist of us typing frantically and staring at our computer screens – we already have that down without leaving our own living rooms.
So I’ve been inspired to go forth and learn ASL. And I find myself thinking about blogging and the direct benefits (connection! community! friendship! laughter and tears!) and some indirect benefits, such as this ASL class. What have the expected and unexpected benefits of blogging been for you? The direct and indirect benefits? I’m curious. This seems a great topic for discussion.
Speaking of discussion, recently, Deb aka Chappysmom wrote about a post she’d read on getting more blog comments by replying to comments via comments instead of via email. She was curious what we thought about it; a very interesting discussion subsequently developed in her comments as the author of the aforementioned post and others participated.
Now, I personally really like replying to comments via email because some great conversations and friendships get started that way. You know who you are! 😉 But since I’m curious to see what sort of discussion develops in the comments if I reply there and maybe some of you return a time or two to contribute additional thoughts to the discussion, I’m not going to reply to the emailed comments for this post. Nor am I going to reply to every single comment with a comment of my own. I’m just going to participate in the discussion, and I hope you will, too!
“Gee, I guess he wasn’t kidding about that one… Hey, what do you think this is the sign for in KSL? Maybe ‘Help?!!’ Or ‘Unpaw me, you wretch?!!'” -Mayhem
(Nope, they aren’t dusty or dirty – they are simply covered in catnip…)
I tried taking ASL in college, but I wound up abandoning it (in part because I was taking it not-for-credit and my for-credit classes took up more time). I couldn’t figure out how to take notes, which was a big problem for me. Good luck to you!
I think replying in the comments makes a lot of sense in a politics or politics-related blog. I enjoy reading the sometimes-very-long comment threads on blogs like Shapely Prose, for example. Still, I don’t really ever go back and reread them, and I almost never subscribe to comments on anything except my own posts on the group locavore blog I write for.
Um.. I totally forgot what the heck I was even going to say after reading 50 comments + replies.lol
I’m not a fan of commenting in comments (obviously since I also respond to comments left via email) because it takes too long to read to find a response and I hardly ever come back to read comments after I’m done reading the 200+ blogs I sub to on Bloglines.
Harley will be jealous that Chaos and Mayhem are allowed to roll around in the nip!
I rarely go back and read comments once I’ve read them, so I would miss replies this way. And although I’m bad at replying to comments on my blog, I think it would be even worse if I tried to reply in my comments! (And I’m with Lisa — I like your personal replies!)
The big unexpected gift from blogging is that when I moved 1000+ miles where I knew almost no one, and didn’t have any close friends, I felt like I was bringing some friends with me.
@Janna: You have a cat named Harley? My room mate had a cat named Davidson. Coolest cat ever, he rode on Pete’s shoulder when he took the Harley out. The two cats I have now aren’t as bold, they’re happy just to leave paw prints all over the bikes. Trés chic. Every biker should have paw prints on the tank.
Yeah, I ran out of steam somewhere around 30 comments. And I never go back and read comments once I’ve finished a post.
I find myself too impatient to read through all the comments, but I see how it would be helpful in fostering a community. I mostly wanted to say that I had friends in college who knew/were learning ASL (and we weren’t too far from Gallaudet University) and they found it helpful in loud places to communicate to each other! I’d love to do it myself, but I’ve got my hands full with the Japanese I’m taking now!
Naomi – Thanks! So far, I’m just writing down a list of vocabulary words he introduces so that I can refer to the book. And I think you’re right about the sorts of blogs/discussions that replying in the comments best suits.
Janna – Aww! I would miss the personal, one-on-one interaction, too. And I’m finding replying via comments far more time consuming than individual emails.
Wait, why would you take notes in English for an ASL class? 😉
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. I don’t take notes, ever, but I am good at not taking notes. If that makes sense.
Bellamoden: Because I couldn’t figure out how to write in ASL. I took notes in at-least-mostly-French in French class, and at-least-mostly-German in German, but ASL didn’t click the same way for me.
You can’t write notes in ASL anyway – it was a tongue in cheek snark! ASL is entirely right brained, while spoken languages are left brained. That might also help explain why it doesn’t click as easily.
Fifth most difficult language? No idea.
I don’t always respond to emailed comments particularly if I’m stupidly busy but I do appreciate them. Also, I don’t always feel compelled to comment on everything I read.
The unexpected benefits of blogging are definitely meeting you and lots of other wonderful people. It is nice to know that I’m not alone in my cat eccentricities and to make new friends who I wouldn’t have normally come across. Besides I now have two black cats that I want to lure over here.. 😉
Bellamoden: I know. 🙂 But if I were going to try again to learn ASL, I think I’d try to develop some sort of pictographic note-taking.
Really? I seem to remember that ASL activates the same parts of the brain as spoken/written language, which (as I recall) had something to do with its acceptance as a real language and not a pidgin-y short-hand. It’s been a while since my scholarly interest in language was overtaken by my interests in cell biology, though, so I may be misremembering things.
I don’t know. All I know for sure is that written and spoken English might as well be entirely different languages for me.
Never mind ASL.
First, Amy Winehouse caught on video smoking crack….
Now, Chaos and May caught on camera covered in nip and in a compromising position….Oh, the shame! Have the tabloids caught wind of this yet?
BTW, I took ASL for two quarters as my foreign language in college! I really enjoyed it and attended many events, theater performances, etc. that involved the deaf culture and ASL. Were it not for nursing school sucking away any life I may have had at the time, I would have pursued it further.
First:
I’m not a huge fan of the response in comments because I rarely get a chance to get back – the blog roll is long.
Second:
I would love to see ASL offered in our schools; haven’t figured out why it doesn’t rank as a language option in middle & high schools. I know Gameboy would be all over that instead of his other options.
Third:
Blogging has allowed me to meet many people who share a variety of my different interest- some local, some far way. None of these friendships would be possible without the blog – and my life wouldn’t be as fun.
I took an ASL course once. It was very challenging and fun. I think I did well, but the college didn’t offer any more courses past the first one, so I never got a chance to follow up.
I, too, wish it was a language option in schools.
As for the comment or email debate, I’m torn. I find reading tons of other comments daunting sometimes, and rarely go back to see if anyone has responded to my comment. I understand the theory, but it would incredibly time consuming keeping up with all the conversations going on on all these blogs! I already spend too much time online!
Holy Moly – what a conversation.
I don’t respond to comments via email ’cause I use Blogger without a plugin – I have no way to email. What I do is add most of my blog commenters to my Bloglines, and then comment on their blogs. Make sense?
I do like getting your emails because you are usually just giving me back of little of my own smart talk.
Holy Moly is right. About three hours since my last comment, and I came home to 38… 39… no wait, 40… (good lord, don’t they stop?!) comments in my inbox.
Guys, you’ve garnered my amazing respect for your community. It’s huge. Be proud.
You’ve also come up with some great conversation in here – I mean, man, this is a buffet of conversation! I’m going to have to blog about this whole new world I’ve discovered, I think.
Time: Took me five minutes to read all comments, another two to jot this reply, but you’re right – I can’t comment to everyone directly in here and that’s kind of a shame. But there are a bunch of side convos going on that are so interesting to read.
What an experiment! (Are y’all smug now?)
I think they look like Siamese Kitties — not siamese cats, but siamese twins — where does one end and the other begin.
The ‘nip is a nice touch, though.
I used to work with a deaf woman and she told me that if I would just take the time to learn ONE sign each day, at the end of a year I would know 365 signs. It was seriously cool. I need to brush up, though.
Discovering the online knitting community through blogs has been a lifesaver for me. I was always the only knitter I knew, so this has really opened up the art for me and I’ve “met” some really cool people.
http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/01/24/pepsi-unveils-super-bowl-ad-with-no-sound/
Oh. I love it.
James my man, they done wore us out. I had to stop checking my email or else I wouldn’t have gotten any work done.
It has been interesting to watch, I’ll give you that. Got to go now, the Monte Carlo hotel/casino is on fire and it’s all over the news!
@Harry/James–I TRIED to tell you!!
Ah, but there is no teacher like experience, is there? Lesson learned and duly noted 🙂
@ Deb:
Thomas the Apostle was not there and when he heard about it, he didn’t believe his friends, and he said he wanted to see it for himself.
Would it surprise you that my friends constantly tease me about Saint Thomas? I wonder why…
I’m guessing it’s sign for “Unpaw me you wretch.” Fraro? am I close? Ooh, an ASL class! That’s a great idea.
Sheesh, I’m glad I got here early today! I usually kind of stall off so I can read all the comments anyway but this is impossible.
I like comments via email even if Blogger is doing its darndest to make it impossible. Most of my book blog bloggers reply in their comments and it’s hard to get back to them. Just like the few blogs that post daily. If we all did that? I’d only be able to keep up with a fraction. I can barely keep up as it is. And there are the weekends of obsessive knitting when I don’t go online at all.
Oh dear. I leave to get a soy mocha, get some lunch, do some work… *blink blink*
I think we’ve established that the knitblogging community works a wee bit differently from other segments of the blogosphere, and that’s not a bad thing.
I’ve also learned that I can definitely deal with comment reply better via email than back here. However, I’m going to try to look at comments a bit differently; if there’s something that would benefit others, I’ll try to respond to that in the comments (as well as in the email to the commenter).
(I’ve also been pleasantly surprised at how many people have at least some basic knowledge of ASL.)
Congrats, everyone – once again, knitbloggers have boggled the muggles. 😉
Hey! I’m not a Muggle! I just don’t knit. 😀
Trouble is, now I feel compelled to say something intelligent. And all I really wanted to say was, “Aww, look at the widdle biddy kitty chin! Whosa cutest kitty outside of my house? Oh yes you is!”
@Harry – The Yarn Harlot doth sayeth that non-knitters be muggles; so mote it be. 😉
Anne – That’s what my brain feels like right now, too!
Minnetonka High School does offer ASL and it does qualify for the language requirement.
*grumbles* So mote it be – under protest.
>I’m guessing it’s sign for “Unpaw me you wretch.†Fraro? am I close? Ooh, an ASL class! That’s a great idea.
Take an ASL class! And then you’d learn the mysteries of KSL.
Or something.
Have fun with the ASL. I had noticed the book but cigured i may have missed any mention of it before. I have a girlfriend who makes her living translating and she loves it.
On the learning ASL thing? Very Cool. I’ve wanted to for years, even took a course waaaay back in the early 90s but never had anyone to practice with so the interest, while still strong, has never been followed up properly.
As to the respond to comments by email vs. respond to comments in the comments discussion, here’s my two cents:
Some of the most important relationships in my adult life have become what they are because I left a comment on a blog, and the blogger sent an email in response. This allowed us to have a dialogue, an opportunity to find out more about each other. That the blogger took time to respond to me personally is something I always appreciate, especially as I don’t blog myself. I certainly don’t expect that every time I leave a comment somewhere I’ll get an email back – let’s face it, I don’t comment on every post on the blogs I read. Fair’s fair, you know? And blogging is supposed to be fun, not a burden.
When the blogger responds in their own comments, honestly I tend to lose interest after a while, because the personal connection hasn’t been made. And unless the topic of the post includes an open question of some sort or is somehow intriguing, or one that will obviously generate discussion, I won’t go back and check for ‘conversations’ later in the day. (the one exception to that is on blogs I know Rams reads. I’ll check to see if she’s popped in to comment, as that’s always a pleasure, and she and I have become friends through our mutual commenting habits. There’s one of those indirect benefits right there!)
Isn’t “so mote it be” a reference to the Daughters of Gaian?
I subscribe to over 200 blogs. (not all of them knitting and many don’t post every day. or even very often.) After reading the post at Chappysmom I tried subscribing to the comments on 3 and am now deluged with emails. I can’t keep up with jsut those 3, never mind my other blogs. So it’s not really a conversation….
Nope, it’s the pagan equivalent of “amen”
Hm. Also used in Anne Bishop’s book, Daughters of Gaian.
Did she properly cite her usage?
Sorry, Harrison. A muggle you are. Unless you learn to knit. So mote it be.
KSL! I hear that’s the hardest language to learn.
I was going to say something else intelligent, too, but I’m still laughing at Anne’s baby-cat-talk!
And, Chris, the Better Comments Manager plug-in is very handy for responding to your blog’s comments. Just sayin’. I’m not using it often, but it’s very useful when I do!
@ Deb – WHY didn’t you tell me about this plugin BEFORE?
Women. Sheesh.
I just assumed you knew, James!
You know, what with you being a problogger, and all (grin).
Here’s the link:
http://techie-buzz.com/wordpress-plugins/better-comments-manager-wordpress-plugin-release.html
Oh, go to hell 😉
Honestly, with the plethora of plugins there are out there, we tend to stumble upon good ones amongst the wealth of crap ones out there. This is definitely one of the better ones. We have about 20 installed and about 100 we’re familiar with, but there’s always that *one* that we discover. By accident. When someone shares the secret.
Oh, I’m way ahead of you lol – downloaded and going to install! (but thanks – it’s a VERY good one for us. Being comment freaks and all.)
@Carrie: Stop rubbing it in already! 🙂
@Deb: Oh. Thanks. There you go making more work for me. *expects plug in link to show up in his email at any moment*
@James: Do not at “freak” to the list of names going on here.
I swear, you’re all against me.
I meant “add”. See? I’m so distraught I can’t spell anymore.
Deb – Ok, I’m testing that Better Comments Manager as I type. Thanks for the link!
Carol – I’m having so much trouble keeping up with these comments, I can’t imagine doing it for multiple blogs! I hover around 180-200 subscriptions; I wonder if nonknitbloggers subscribe to that many? Or is it another weird us thing?
RachelH – Hee hee. I just wanted to keep saying “Right on! Exactly!” as I read your comment. Some of the most important friendships of my adult life have likewise been formed through blogging. (Chill, Jeanne! We got to know each other through knitting, and we did begin to blog independently, simultaneously, and unbeknownst to each other.) I cannot even begin to imagine where my life would be without knitblogging; I know that it wouldn’t be as happy and full as it is.
@Harry – Well, duh. Of course we’re all against you! 😉
@James – Now, if you interviewed the Yarn Harlot on your blog, you would be shocked at the blog traffic you got!
Ooh! Ooh! Do that! Interview the Yarn Harlot!! Heck, her last couple of posts have all been about the publishing process for her next book….
@Chris: Awww….c’mon, I’m a nice guy. Aren’t I?