| The Future Is For Everyone (Or At Least, It Should Be)
The article about siblings seems to indicate mainly that siblings of autistics can have autistic traits (or perhaps even be autistic themselves), which of course makes sense when you consider that autism has a strong genetic component. The characterization of this phenomenon as autism being "bad for siblings" is more than a bit misleading—it's not as if, somehow, the autistic sibling hadn't been born, the children being studied would not have exhibited the same social and communication patterns. If someone is going to be autistic, or perhaps broader autistic phenotype, they're going to be that way regardless of whether they have siblings or not.What struck me about the article on siblings, though, was the manner in which the siblings' performance was described: "Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders demonstrated weaker performance in non-verbal problem-solving, directing attention, understanding words, understanding phrases, gesture use and social-communicative interactions with parents, and had increased autism symptoms, relative to control siblings," The reason that description struck me was because in all that verbiage, there was absolutely no questioning of the underlying assumptions in place. These assumptions are common in autism-related literature but very few people even notice them—to me, they're like the proverbial "elephant in the room". And just what are these assumptions? Well, first of all, the tests being used to evaluate the performance of the siblings of autistics (many of whom were probably autistic themselves) were probably not written with autistic cognition in mind. Second of all, I'm almost certain that the tests being used in this context probably assumed quite a bit about the childrens' level of understanding based on the compliance of these children. To make an analogy, watch any cat navigate around a house and you'll definitely get the sense that you're dealing with a creature with a highly developed understanding of physics, but tell the cat to fetch your slippers and you'll probably not get much in the way of a response. This isn't to say that all autistics are good at physics and bad at following instructions—but rather, that it doesn't really make sense to assume an autistic person must be able to perform well on tests normed to a typical population in order to be happy or successful. I somehow doubt that cats wake up every morning lamenting that they're not dogs—but who knows, they might if their human companions constantly punished them for not acting like dogs or doing things that dogs tend to do.Whenever I read articles on autism so utterly dripping with unquestioned assumptions, I can't help but think back to elementary school, when quite a lot about me was considered to be "problematic" or worrisome, even the aspects of myself that I really liked. If you'd asked my fifth-grade classmates about me then, they'd most certainly have said that there was definitely something very wrong with me, that I didn't relate normally, and even that they felt sorry for me. In sixth grade a few girls came up to me and told me that they were being mean to me "for my own benefit", since in high school, "everyone was going to hate me anyway". I remember people wondering if I was sad or depressed because I often preferred to read or draw rather than engage in group activities—in fact, the main thing that made me tend toward sadness at times was the perception that whatever I liked to do was some kind of symptom or problem. I even once got in trouble for being really interested in a particular subject—the teacher assumed that my interest was a sign of being "too lazy to learn about anything else". I'm not saying all this to invoke a pity party—that's the last thing I would want, especially considering one of the things that always infuriated me while growing up was the "we feel sorry for you for being you!" bit I used to run into at school. Rather, I'm just trying to make the point that kids like the ones I grew up with have also grown up. Some of them might even be in professions now where they're evaluating kids.
Miranda S-250 Travel Guitar
From an early age, I wanted to learn to play the guitar. I took a few lessons here and there through the years, but for the most part taught myself from books and tapes. I never was a very good player, but that hasn't stopped my love of the instrument and music. I've had several guitars, from electric to acoustic, to even a mini electric that I built myself using a kit. I even had a dial up BBS back in the day completely devoted to TAB (tablature files) that was named CrossRoads BBS. I haven't made time to play for years and years, but just recently decided to try to revive the desire. What better way to do that, then to buy a new guitar! I didn't want or need another regular acoustic since I already have a very nice small bodied Collings. I didn't want an electric because I don't have an amp.
How Do You Say ‘Sushi’ In Spanish?
Jose Espinal didn't know anything about Japanese food when he arrived in New York. In his hometown in Honduras, the only Asian restaurant was Chinese. Now a sushi helper on Long Island, Espinal, 24, makes $8 an hour preparing 40 different kinds of rolls. For eight months, three Japanese chefs have been teaching him to handle knives, cut raw fish and mix rice with the right amount of vinegar. “They gave me the opportunity to learn," said Espinal, who plans to be a chef in a couple of months and make $15 an hour. Like Espinal, many Central Americans and Mexicans in the New York area are training to become sushi chefs. With the growing popularity of sushi and the difficulties Japanese chefs face getting visas, it's become easier to train workers in the United States than wait for Japan-trained cooks.
Blowers blooming in new role as TV analyst
The early scouting report on this Mariners rookie is that his delivery and timing are good. He may be a little cautious while he learns a new position, but he's certainly coachable. Only a few weeks into his first season in the television broadcast booth, Mike Blowers is settling in nicely as he finds his stride. So far, the former Mariners infielder, who spent 11 seasons playing in the majors, has displayed an understated style. There are no hysterics, no stumbling over the play-by-play guys. The analysis has been solid if not yet spicy; the equivalent of the third baseman who handles all the balls hit his way, and is working on extending his range. "I felt my best bet was to just be myself as much as I could and if I needed help then I could polish it up from there," Blowers said.
The Literary Art
Anyone wishing to understand the contemporary poetry scene wants at least briefly to familiarize himself with the work of William Logan, and anyone wishing to comprehend today's American wants to know something of its poetry. A nation's poetry reveals its soul, its mind and heart. In this sense, Logan's writings are emblematic of larger and essential issues. In the poetry world, Logan is best known for criticism that has appeared in book form since 1984, George Orwell's future. Logan is known as an acerbic, reactionary critic. He is prone to blame, if not ridicule, rather than praise. He appears to have targeted for especially negative criticism the overtly experimental, vulgar "anything goes" school of modern and post-modern art. But this is only, guardedly, true. For Logan is something of blood brother to the fraternity he attacks, his sallies against it Pyrrhic victories.
The Number-One Ninja is Back in the PS2 Sequel “Naruto: Ultimate ...
"One of the features of the game that's pretty interesting is that you can learn moves from other characters." Last summer’s hit anime fighting game, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, boasted Smash Bros.-inspired combat, outstanding cel-shaded effects, and months of replay value, courtesy of the game’s addictive multiplayer battles. You’ll get the chance to be addicted once more in this year’s sequel, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2. Developed by CyberConnect 2, the studio responsible for the hit .hack series, Ultimate Ninja 2 continues the series with more of what you crave: 32 Playable Characters (including several favorites from the first) A New RPG Mode Chunin Exams New Mini-Games During a recent conference call, Andrew Davis (Localization Specialist) told us about the secret techniques in the game.
|
