Pah! My first ASL Vlog (below)! I decided to dedicate my first vlog to Deaf Children by telling the fable: The Tortoise and The Hare. Since I don’t know how to caption my vlogs yet, I have added a transcription below the vlog.
Thanks to my friend Amy Cohen-Efron who encouraged me to try this out. I’m probably the 4th or 5th wave of ASL vloggers out there now, but I’m finally here! It’s a baby step, but a step in the right direction. Would love your comments! If you like my blog/vlog site, give me a boost on your blogroll and I’ll do the same.
Peace.
~ LaRonda
www.earofmyheart.com
Transcription:
Hello! My name is LaRonda Zupp and this is my first vlog. I decided that my first vlog would be dedicated to children who are deaf. I have one story that has always been my favorite. It’s called The Tortoise and The Hare. This story is a fable. A fable is a story that has a special meaning behind it at the end. Watch.
Once, a long time ago, there was a tall rabbit with long, straight ears standing around bragging. All he talked about was himself! He had a very big ego and a big head!
“Hey! Hey! You guys! Did you know that I’m the fastest one around? I’m the champ! I’m the best of the best! It’s true! Come on! Who wants to race me? Who wants to challenge me to a race? Come on! Come on!…. Ah phooey on ya!”
None of the other animals wanted to race the rabbit. They did know he was fast. He was also quite full of himself and the other animals didn’t really want to be involved with him.
But, it just so happened that a turtle standing nearby accepted the rabbit’s challenge!
“Excuse me, Rabbit. Umm… I accept your challenge,” the turtle said.
“What?” exclaimed the Rabbit! “You think YOU can beat ME? Oh go on! Ha-ha-ha! Don’t make me laugh!… Fine! Alright! Are you ready?”
“Yup, I’m ready,” said the turtle.
The rabbit asked Mr. Fox, “Would you come and start the race for us with the starter pistol?”
“Sure!” said the fox, and down he came. He drew a line in the dirt and then he brought up both the rabbit and the turtle to the starting line.
“Are you ready, Rabbit?” the fox asked.
“Of course I’m ready! Yes! Yes! Get on with it!” said the rabbit. His foot was impatiently thumping the ground in anticipation of the race.Then the fox turned to the turtle and asked, “Are you ready, Turtle?”
The turtle smiled and nodded, “Yup. I’m ready.”
“Ok,” said the fox. “One, two, three!” Booooom went the starter pistol and zooooom went the rabbit in a cloud of dust!
The turtle coughed at the dust cloud, peered ahead, and saw that the rabbit was long gone. But he didn’t give up. The turtle simply lifted his shell and began the race.
He walked slow and steady. Now, understand that the turtle truly believed he could beat the rabbit. He had self-confidence and he knew if he just tried, he could beat that rabbit!
“I can! I can!” he said to himself, and onward he continued, steady, persistent and focused.
Well, later, the rabbit stopped. He looked behind him, but he couldn’t see the turtle. He was way far behind.
“I doubt that turtle catch up,” he told himself, “so I think I’ll sit down and rest awhile.”
The rabbit saw a tree nearby. “Ah, perfect,” he said.
Then the rabbit nestled down near the trunk of the tree and before he knew it, he fell fast asleep!
Meanwhile, the turtle kept on going, walking steady onward. As he walked on, he wiped the sweat from his brow and who did he see nearby? The rabbit!
“It’s the rabbit,” the turtle marveled, “and he’s sleeping! Perfect!” he thought. And on he went, creeping right past that old rabbit and pushing himself to the very end until he finally crossed the finish line and won the race!
The other animals were in shock! Their eyes were wide and their jaws dropped! “Whoa! Amazing! The turtle beat the rabbit! How is that possible? Hooray!” they cheered in amazement.
Well, Mr. Fox wondered where the rabbit was, and he decided he’d better go have a look. Down the path he went until he spotted the rabbit sleeping near the tree. Mr. Fox went over to him and tapped him to wake him up. The rabbit tossed and turned a moment before he became awake. He looked at Mr. Fox and said, “What? What? What is it?!”
Mr. Fox said, “Duh! The race!”
“Yeow!” said the rabbit, and he zoomed off to the finish line. When he arrived, who did he see there with a big smile on his face? Yep! It was the turtle!
“You, you tricked me!” cried the rabbit. “You deceived me! You’re nothing but a pea-brain!”
“Hey, whoa! Whoa! Enough! I’m not a pea-brain,” said the turtle, firmly standing up for himself. “I didn’t give up! I kept on going, steady and persistent. I believed in myself and I had self-confidence! That always wins!”
The rabbit wanted to say something back, but he couldn’t find any words.
That’s my story of The Tortoise and The Hare. Now, what’s the meaning behind this story?
The turtle had a vision of himself. In his mind he affirmed, “I can! I can do it! I can try! I will beat the rabbit!” That’s called positive self-talk. Positive self-talk is uplifting and makes you feel good about yourself. It made the turtle feel brave. Believing in yourself, whoo! It makes all the difference!
The rabbit, on the other hand, was more like, “Me-Me-Me, I-I-I” and his ego was huge! He was too full of himself and wasn’t really paying attention to what needed to happen. He wasn’t focused on the race. Instead he wanted to pamper and boost his own ego. He didn’t really care about anything else.
Ultimately, it is persistence that always wins.
That’s my story, and my first vlog. I hope you enjoyed it! Bye!
My name is LaRonda Zupp.
I am Deaf. Welcome to
"The Ear of My Heart."
LaRonda,
Very nice job with your first vlog! Keep ‘em coming!
So good to see you on the vlogosphere, and welcome to the FemDeafVlogger Club!
Amy Cohen Efron
Left by Amy Cohen Efron on March 5th, 2007
Thanks Amy.
You are my inspiration.
LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
If you really want to keep deaf children entertained, there are several things you need to work on.
Work more on your ASL skill and add more facial expressions.
Needs a better background and more light.
Don’t bother thinking about adding captions as it hinders the vision of ASL. It is like adding static noise to a voice.
This is just a feedback no offense intended. Looking forward to your improvement.
Left by deafgetreal on March 5th, 2007
LaRonda,
I love your vlog! I am a hearing mother of a deaf son and plan to show him your story tomorrow! I look forward to seeing more – thanks for sharing this!
Blessings, Susan Fahncke
Kansas
Left by Susan Fahncke on March 5th, 2007
“LaRonda Gets High Cowin Kid Cool Rating!”
Dear LaRonda,
I checked out the link to your blog and then I called all my kids over to see you sign the story!! They think you’re pretty cool! I think it’s tremendous for [hearing] kids to be exposed to sign language. Not only for connection with the deaf community, but it is a learning experience for them that relates hand motions with words (something that computer games work against) and promotes brain connection with language. I was just talking with our children’s teacher about this very issue at our last parent-teacher conference.
– Cathy
Left by Cathy on March 5th, 2007
Deafgetreal, I appreciate your encouragement towards improvement. I take it with an open mind and heart. No worries.
I realized right away that I stood too far away and the light was bad. I was also dressed in light colors with a light background. My bad. In addition, I see that I need a haircut! Ha. My bangs are toooo long! You can’t see my facial expressions. My eyebrows are hidden behind my hair! Eeek!
I haven’t found the right location in my house yet to shoot my video clips. I thought maybe using a mirrored hallway would help reflect the light, but I can see myself in both mirrors which is distracting. Grrrr….
I figured out there are more settings on my video camera and I don’t need to use the wide cinema screen. So I’ll experiment with others later on. This was only a test. I had to see what worked and didn’t work.
I’m glad I’m out there though. I’ll work on improvements. Like the Tortoise in my story, I have confidence I can do it!
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
Hey LaRonda!
How great to find your site and see this wonderful vlog for children to enjoy! I’m planning to forward the link to several of my friends whose children are at WSD so they can enjoy it as well, and will watch it with my son tomorrow!
So great to see you, even via vlog. Your blog is beautiful and thought provoking as well.
Hugs to you and Brent…tell him I’m still hacking away at racquetball but not much better than when he last saw me!
Julie
Left by Julie on March 5th, 2007
Your still a great actress. I think what you are doing is wonderful!
Tere Joyce
Left by Tere Joyce on March 5th, 2007
hi, i adore ur story. most of all i enjoyed the rythm of turtle while it was on race. it was like part of dance, u know what i mean lol
keep vlogging!
Left by kira on March 5th, 2007
Hi Kira.
I’m glad you liked that part of the turtle’s walk. I tried to show how it was steady and focused so I gave him a little rhythm. I’m glad it was entertaining.
Thanks for noticing.
LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
I loved watching your story… hope you have more to share?
welcome to the vlog world! from Susan in Australia.
Left by Susan on March 5th, 2007
Hi Tere.
Always good to hear from you and get your kudos.
(For those of you who don’t know, Tere Joyce was one of the first comedians on The Last Comic Standing. I get bragging rights to say I was friends with, went to high school with, and acted on stage with someone famous! I’ve always wanted to say that!
Tere is a marvelous person! I just adore her!
If you want to check out Tere’s story about her experiences on The Last Comic Standing reality show, she was a guest blogger on Suzy Soro’s blog:
Go have a look!)
Thanks again Tere!
LaRonda ~
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
Hi Susan in Australia!
It was so nice to get your comment from so far away! I visited your blog site and added it to my blogroll. Keep up the good work! You are a welcome contributor!
My best to you.
LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
i loved watched your story you are good actress and asl skills
Left by Bridget on March 5th, 2007
Thank you Bridget.
My heart feels full.
LaRonda ~
Left by LaRonda on March 5th, 2007
I am happy you made your first vlog! Look forward to more vlogs from you.
Left by Candace A McCullough on March 6th, 2007
LaRonda,
Hey… I am really pleased you are making vlogs for Deaf children! Not only them, but this is perfect for my ASL I students to learn and see your creativity and how you sign in ASL. I hope you have many more ASL stories in mind for Deaf chldren (and for all other ASL students). You have big heart.
Matt Jamison
Left by Matt Jamison on March 6th, 2007
LaRonda,
I loved your story!! Can’t wait to see the next one.
Vikki
Left by vikki on March 6th, 2007
LaRonda:
Your story is delightful. Although my sign language is rusty, you are very expressive and the story is clear. It reminds me of the terrific family reunion we had last year. What a precious gift that event was – and your and your Mom’s story to the kids was one of the most memorable parts. Thank you for including me in your email list! Your blog is very well done.
Love,
Auntie Marilyn
Left by Marilyn on March 6th, 2007
LaRonda,
Congratulations on your very first vlog! Your style is yours, and while we all have room for improvement, please don’t change your style… I really like your style. (Just move a bit closer to the camera, ha!)
DE
Left by DE on March 6th, 2007
I loved the turtle’s happy walking rhythm, too. And, espcially liked the turtle’s nodding “YES” from under his shell. Nice touch!
Left by aware on March 6th, 2007
I love your vlog. Great job, AAAAA+++++! Its good for hearing people who are learning ASL to watch your vlog.
Lisa
Left by Lisa on March 6th, 2007
Hi LaRonda!
My big congratulations for your fantastic Hare-Tortoise story via your great first blog! You did a great job! I enjoyed watching it several times. Keep on with your dream!
Hugs, Maryellen
Left by Maryellen on March 6th, 2007
I have been faithfully reading your blog and thoroughly enjoy it. Thank you for your honesty.
Kirsten
Left by Kirsten on March 6th, 2007
That is awesome……. Thanks for sharing…. Natalie
Left by Natalie on March 6th, 2007
Wow! I’m overwhelmed with all the positive comments. Heartfelt thanks everyone. What a difference a vlog makes!
Thanks for cheering me on. More to come in the weeks ahead!
Hugs to all!
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on March 6th, 2007
Greetings, LaRonda ~
I truly enjoyed watching your vlog, and I look forward to future vlogs from you. The story you chose was a beautiful one, and it as an important message to it that I think we can all learn from.
One of these days I hope to get a videocam and be able to join the “league of women vloggers” here in the Deaf Vlogosphere.
In the meantime, I encourage you to keep those vlogs coming. For your first attempt, I think this was great! And as they say…practice makes perfect, so I’m sure your future efforts will be even better!
Blessings,
~ Ocean
Left by Ocean on March 6th, 2007
Love it, love it, love it! I can practice with it while I’m out of school. I can see that I’m getting a little rusty. =0)
Left by Carolyn on March 6th, 2007
Hi …I love this…you made the story so exciting…your facial expressions were excellent….keep up the good work.
Minor observation: picture on the wall behind you might be distraction…also mirror image on left side of screen…a blank wall background might be best…(I know…”Where do you find one?”)
Ami
Left by Ami on March 7th, 2007
I loved it! You are so talented!
Carole
Left by Carole on March 8th, 2007
Dear LaRonda,
Oh, how great to see you in your glory! And thank you, thank you for listing me on your blog. I’m honored.
Love to you and fresh-hearted Brent,
Kim
Left by Kim Garcia on March 8th, 2007
i love this story
Left by AngelStandngby on March 9th, 2007
What a wonderful ASL rendition of this famous story! You have a talent! With time, you’ll get better at producing vlogs.
A suggestion: Try setting your camcorder to aspect ratio of 4:3 (standard TV size) instead of 16:9 Letterbox size. This will fill up the entire youTube window instead showing the black bars on the top/bottom of your screen.
Left by Jared Evans on March 9th, 2007
A beautiful first time vlog! You act as if you are truly enjoying yourself!
I am not a vloger, so how can I give any tips? I DO know children, tho and it helps to get right down into their space! Then the entire circle “becomes one”.
Hugs,
Lantana
Left by Lantana on March 9th, 2007
I love your story and how you explain this…… thanks for posted on….
hopefully I will see some more on this website again……
Left by Haiyen on April 23rd, 2007
I love seeing the repeated transformations of timeless archtypal stories into new stories to reflect their current human experiences. Why don’t you continue working on the story and make more connections to the deafhood process of one deaf child.
Left by cnkatz on June 30th, 2007
Loved the vlog. i am learning ASL, so it was my challenge to see how much I could understand before I read the story. LOL!! You were great, I look forward to more!
Left by Faithfulmommy on January 22nd, 2008
good idea for help with deaf kids, especially for schools, but you MUST wear darker, solid clothing. Watching you for an extended period of time is like trying to read a newspaper printed in pink ink. You can do it, but after awhile your eyes get very tired… every good interpreter knows this!
Left by Kathy on February 26th, 2008
Hi Kathy.
Thank you for your comment on my Tortoise and the Hare vlog. I made this last year. It was my very first vlog. So yes, the color and lighting were off. Since then, my vlogs are much more professional with darker clothing and backgrounds. Please feel free to check them out. http://www.earofmyheart.com.
I appreciate your comment. Just wanted to tell you that particular video clip was my very first one a long time ago.
By the way, I’m deaf. Not an interpreter. 
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on February 26th, 2008
Wow!! PLEASE don’t change a thing– GREAT PACE for the younger kids and students epecially!!! I LOVE the transcript as we try to teach reading to autistic, downs, baby signers(who still need LI to learn best-smile) and Deaf children. THANK YOU for providing such rich, Deaf resources:)
Left by Lesley on November 10th, 2009