Caray, Caray!

Que viva MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VIVA!!!!!!!!
Viva Mexico!!!! VIVA!!!!
Viva Mexico!!!! VIVA!!!!

Felicidades por su Bicentennial!!!!!! VIVA!!!

Tambien felicidades a todos que cumplan su anniversario hoy!!

Viva!!!

Labels: announcements

Thought you might enjoy seeing our stats from this morning...



Here's where our last 100 visitors were located. This map changes during the day as night sweeps around the world!

Labels: announcements

Hello friends! I'm sorry to report that our blog host is having some sort of problem (I googled it and there are plenty of others in this boat) and comments appear to post but disappear instead. Sorry for the frustration.

Labels: announcements

Imagine this. In an effort to be helpful to your community, you sign up to prepare a meal every Saturday for the local shelter. You spend three hours preparing a good meal. When you get to the shelter, you find two people there, ready to eat. No one else shows up. The next Saturday, the same thing happens. How many weeks would you continue, before you change your approach and fix two brown bags with a turkey sandwich and an apple in each?

We recently pulled the plug on Clon recaps because most nights, only two people (other than the recappers) were posting comments. This post isn’t really about the Clon board. It’s for the readers and lurkers on all the other boards, so you don’t lose your recaps, too.

It’s common for a recapper to spend three hours on a recap, and some take longer. The recappers are all volunteers. When they take a show, they are expected to stay for the duration, sometimes 14 months. They’re not paid, so why do they do it? As a service to the Caray community. For me, it feels good to know I’m helping others enjoy the shows like others helped me. So when no one comments, I feel like I’m giving a concert for an empty auditorium. People say, “Plenty of people read the recaps; they just don’t comment.” Well, excuse my bluntness. Am I investing three hours or more per night for the sake of people who can’t invest 90 seconds for a two-sentence reply?

I’m not asking for praise and adulation. Just shuffle your feet so we know you’re out there, so we know we’re not playing to an empty room. You can’t think of anything to say? Here are some ideas for starters.
• I’m glad you explained what Festus said to Sadie. They talked too fast and I couldn’t understand it.
• I laughed when you said Hephzibah had eyes in the back of her head thanks to too many facelifts.
• Do you REALLY believe Hortense is going to tell Aloysius the whole truth? Really???
• Feonando and Crabiela. Ewww. Creepy.
• I loved the scene where Martín said, “Nooo! Plátanos!”
• What do we want for Snidely? Hungry alligators or a runaway steamroller?
• I really wish he’d just kiss her already, doggone it!
• Paula’s right. Fernando Colunga truly is the best looking man on earth. (Las burras por delante!)

Do you enjoy reading the recaps for your favorite show? Do you want to see them continue? If you do, then remember it’s your comments that feed us recappers. If you forget to feed us, you might find us like the goldfish you forgot to feed when you were 10.

Labels: announcements, clon

Hey,

I know it's odd to put this here, but there was a big donation left for my son by the "Caray Caray Team" on his personal donations for Ezra's run for life page and I don't know how else to thank you! so, THANKS!

FYI, my son was a week or so past his 13th birthday when he was diagnosed with a brain cancer which had had, not many years earlier, a survival rate of 0% - so he, almost 11 years later and about to graduate from college, is acutely aware of the benefits of cancer research! Now, weeks from (we hope, knock on wood) graduation, he finally decided to 'come out' with his friends as a cancer survivor. He wrote

I've got some big news today, something that I've never shared online before.

It all started years ago, when conclusive and stunningly expensive neural imaging exams discovered a tumor riding on my cerebellum (according to an oncologist, as overheard while pretending to sleep: "medulloblastoma... it's a tricky sucker"). Treatment and removal was, predictably, a pretty poor year on the Ezra calendar, but that's not what I'm talking about today. Soon after diagnosis and surgery, some of my Dad's athlete buddies joined an ultra-marathon out west in my honor, under the name "Team Ezra." I hadn't thought about it for years, but now Team Ezra is back, and it's me running this time in a 16-hour Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Here's why:

I've always been reluctant to accept the "war on cancer" metaphor. I just sort of decided that my hell was over and I didn't want to think about it anymore. But the thing is, as I realized in my course last semester ("metaphors and illness") that there really is no such thing as a survivor. Your "success" is measured in terms of *probability of remission*. If your scans are clear one year out, the gauge of your "survival" is based on the percentage of "survivors" who've suffered a remission more than one year out. So your risk of getting sent back into the "war," for another tour of duty, dwindles year after year, approaching zero, but who's to say you won't be the statistical outlier?

So I guess I had those thoughts in my head and the idea that maybe setting cancer within the warlike metaphor is more appropriate than I'd thought. I'd never participated in any kind of fundraising and outreach, keeping my story mostly private, but this year, when I saw the posters for the Relay for Life, I wanted to "go public" with my experience more than ever before.

Labels: announcements

I sure hope Nick comes back and recaps for us again! He just sent me this, heh heh.

Labels: announcements

Hi all,

I thought it was just my own bad luck that a visit to Univision.com landed me with a horrible hard-to-eradicate computer virus which called itself "Internet Security Essentials" and locked up my monitor with frozen warnings of doom if I didn't buy "protection" (like the Mafia protects us).

But today my computer guy told me he has a bunch of Mexican customers who have brought in their locked-up computers with same problem, a computer virus gotten at http://univision.com.

The computer tech says it's not univision's fault, somehow their site has been invaded from elsewhere - they don't mean to be giving us computer worms - but till they get it fixed it is NOT A SAFE SITE.

Anybody else had this problem?

Melinama

Labels: announcements

I just sent an email to all recappers, past and present. If you don't get it check your junk mail folder. If you do get it please respond - I'm checking schedules for upcoming Corazon Salvaje and upcoming whatever-follows-ENDA.

If I don't hear from you I'll assume you want to be removed from the roster.

Also, if you get two emails on two different accounts please let me know what one to delete!

Thanks -
Melinama

Labels: amor, announcements, salvaje

Who else haven't I nabbed for the sidebar?? C'mon don't be shy!
Melinama

Labels: announcements

I'm trying to put pressure on you recappers to send in your pictures, is it working? If you sent me a picture and it's not up, I didn't get it, please re-send. If you didn't send, PLEASE SEND YOUR PICTURE TO ME at caray@mappamundi.com!!!

Labels: announcements

If you want to see what our wonderful recappers Vivi and Hombre de Misterio look like, they've joined our sidebar. Other recappers without pictures - please send to me at caray@mappamundi.com!!!

Labels: announcements

We have a TON of recappers who have never sent me a picture. I want your pictures for the sidebar! Please? Email them to me at caray@mappamundi.com. PLEASE!

Labels: announcements

Hello all,

It's come to my attention that some of our beloved readers feel an ungovernable urge to gossip about our telenovela actors' private lives, share spoilers, etc.

I am now providing you an OUTLET for these urges! In the left sidebar you will see three boxes with links leading you to the three squidoo pages I've written on telenovelas. If you want to go visit there you can say whatever you like in the comments as long as it isn't obscene. Have at it!

Labels: announcements

Hello friends,

You know how I don't allow gossip and speculation about actors' private lives here at Caray, Caray!? Well, I just put up a page at squidoo, about William Levy, which is just for the sort of thing I don't allow here. Want to see?

About William Levy, Univision star.

Please leave a comment in the guest book if you take a look!

UPDATE: there is a little bug at Squidoo this morning. I have approved the first two comments and I can see them when I edit but they're not appearing on the published lens. Don't let that discourage you, this has happened before and they all show up eventually!

Labels: announcements, sortilegio, stars

Hi, blog mom here saying - thanks all you guys - you are champs. All the recappers here at Caray, Caray are giving their time for free and what an amazing community we've created. I'm very grateful for you all. MEPS was a pretty good ride. Too bad Fernanda couldn't have a prettier wedding dress after all that waiting.

REMINDER: Sortilegio starts tomorrow. I'd still like another volunteer to step up and take at least half the Mondays (I'd rather not have an every-week slot...)

Melinama (aka Chapel Hill Fiddler)

Labels: announcements, manana, recappers-needed

El GRito!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tambien Felicidades a Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua y Chile por su independencia!!!

Labels: announcements

Oh wonderful readers,

You poured out so much great stuff it was too much for one lens, so I made another one, and if there's more, I can make yet another! Here's the second:

Telenovela Fun
The first one:
Telenovelas: a fun, painless way to learn Spanish

(On each lens, the link to the other one is just above the guestbook.)

If you want attribution on something I forgot, let me know. I also may have mis-translated some dichos.

Also, I vaguely remember there was some great discussion on "what is a naco" but I don't remember where. Anybody?

I think squidoo may turn out to be a wonderful place to store peoples lists of interesting stuff that gets lost here at the blog now that it is so huge.

Labels: announcements, telenovelas

Hi all, I have become a Squidoo addict and just put together the beginning of a "lens" on telenovelas. I've been at this so long I've lost most of my notes so I'm asking if you'd mind helping, I'm looking for more of the following:

• MOST needed as I've lost all my lists: The great Spanish proverbs and catch phrases we've learned through the novelas (like the ones decorating this page);
  
• Phrases commonly heard in novelas, like No puede ser! and Qué haces aqui?;
  
• Delicious deaths of telenovela villains (I have a good stock thanks to the last time I asked this question, but there are more of you now!)
  
• Things which always happen (as Carlos just pointed out, COMA and AMNESIA for instance - and there's baby-switching of course). I have a goodly number of those, but there's always room for more...

Could you have a look over there and see what springs to mind? You can leave your ideas here in the comments on THIS post so everybody can enjoy them. Thank you so much! Here's the link:

Telenovelas: a fun, painless way to learn Spanish

.

Labels: announcements, telenovelas

Would You Like to See the Captions on Internet-Based Broadcasts, Like Univision website Video Clips?

If you are a Closed Caption user, as many here on C2 are, I have compiled information below about a new bill in Congress right now that will increase the captions on the internet broadcasts we watch. I apologize for any redundancies and unclear information—I didn’t write the items but compiled them from about three sources, which I cite for clarity. The main issue here is that people with disabilities cannot access some aspects of the internet currently—captions for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in particular, and audio description for individuals with visual impairments. You can help change that!

What I take all this information below to mean is that commercial items on the internet would have to be captioned (like anything the commercial television networks put on the internet, which I can't get because I use Mac, but so be it). I don’t know if it means what typical consumers post, such as on youtube, because it's not clear. The general idea is, though, if the program was broadcast with captions on television then the same captions must be available when you view the program on the internet. For those of us who use the captions to understand better, this would be a great help!

Also, note that there are clauses in the bill that say “English language programs” that have been previously broadcast with captions must be delivered the same way on the internet. I think it does not clarify Spanish programming, though I haven’t read through the entire bill. Remember that the FCC has given a grace period for Spanish language programming in the US, since that is a newer format from the FCC caption law perspective. So, if you write your Congressional delegation members, urge them to adopt the bill both for English language and Spanish language programming.

The following information is from Jamie Berke and Robert Goodwin, who are deaf activists supporting the bill for deaf consumers. More information from other sources follows theirs. My DEEP apologies for not knowing how to make hyperlinks, so you’ll have to cut and paste to access the websites until I can consult with a fellow recapper who does it all the time and I’ll fix them this weekend.

HR3101 Captioning Bill

The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act was introduced in Congress on June 26, 2009. This Act, among other things, will require captioning on the Internet, and video description on the Internet for the blind and visually impaired. We need help to get this bill passed because it is not easy to get a bill through Congress!

Here is what I suggest: perhaps post this to your announcement wall or board(s) where clients meet for job searches and/or classes as well as newsletters and websites. They can use https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml to contact Representatives. We also need a similar bill introduced in the Senate, so use http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to contact Senators. Representatives should be asked to cosponsor the bill, and Senators should be asked to introduce a similar bill.

In addition, because in numbers there is strength, in addition to telling your clients about the bill and encouraging them to write their Representatives and Senators, you can also tell them about Caption Action 2, a grassroots Facebook effort to get this bill passed. Caption Action 2 is at http://www.causes.com/captionaction2 . We also have a blog, http://captionaction2.blogspot.com/ , where you can download a PDF of the bill and see a countdown counter showing how much time we have left. In addition, the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT, at http://www.coataccess.org) is working hard to get the bill passed. In fact, we only have until January 2011 to get this bill passed. After that, this bill will die.

We really need help. Most bills do not make it out of committee, and last year that is what happened to a similar bill. This year we have a second chance, and we might not get a third chance.

Thank you, in advance, for your help! This bill is really to guarantee the deaf and blind kids an accessible future on the Internet!

Jamie Berke and Robert Goodwin
Leaders, Caption Action 2

Schoolmarm Jeanne back again. Here is additional information from a couple of more websites:

Washington Watch says that “H.R. 3101 would ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to emerging Internet Protocol-based communication and video programming technologies in the 21st Century. “ The website is:

http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_3101.html

From “Day in Washington,” there is a summary of what the bill is supposed to do:

http://dayinwashington.com/?p=290

There has been significant legislation and regulation in the past to address access issues for people with disabilities to communications systems such as the telephone and television. Specifically, Section 255 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §225) requires telecommunications providers and manufacturers to make their services and equipment accessible to and usable by people with disabilities if readily achievable. And Section 713 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §613) which requires that video programming distributors provide closed captioning on 100 percent of new English video programming.

The problem? Today, there are web-based video services that offer television programs, movies, and web clips distributed over the Internet, but most of them do not provide closed captioning, even when the programming previously was captioned. In addition, cell phones and other mobile devices are being used more and more for communication and even entertainment. The legislation that offered protections for people with disabilities to ensure access does not cover new technologies. VoiIP and IP-based technologies are not always defined as being a telecommunications service. What that means is that they don’t fall under the access requirements in the Communications Act, and so would not be required to provide closed captions or video description.

Let me give you an example of how the law is out-of-date…the telephone. Federal law requires phones over the regular public telephone network to be hearing aid compatible. But, it is not clear whether this requirement carries over to smart phones used for communication over the Internet

So what does the bill do:

1. H.R. 3101 would require that mobile and other Internet-based telecommunications devices have accessible user interfaces, and offer people with disabilities use of a full range of text messaging and other popular services that are currently largely inaccessible;

2. Restore the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) modest video description rules and grant them the authority to expand such regulations, and require emergency announcements and similar information to be accessible to people with disabilities through audible presentation of on-screen alerts,

4. Ensure that video programming offered via the Internet will be described, and call for all devices that receive and playback video programming to employ accessible user interfaces and allow ready access to description; and

5. Strengthen consumers’ ability to enforce their rights to Communications and video accessibility through the establishment of a clearinghouse of information about service and equipment accessibility and usability, a meaningful FCC complaint process that holds industry accountable for their accessibility obligations, and judicial review of FCC action to ensure the Commission’s own accountability.

In this new era of electronic and internet-based communications, it is critical that the disability access requirements in telecommunications legislation continue to actually impact what communications systems people are actually using. All you have to do is look around a hearing room to see how prevalent mobile and web-based technology is. It is visible on buses and trains, in stores and on the streets; people are constantly using hand-held electronic devices to communicate, to access information, to interact with others and to engage in the larger world around them. The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act offers the best opportunity to expand current law and requirements to allow that same access for people with disabilities as we move to a much more digital, and mobile future.

(End of quoted material)

Schoolmarm Jeanne back for the last time. You can make a difference by writing to your Congressional delegation members and urging them to vote in favor of this access bill. It will help us, but it will help deaf and hard of hearing people, blind people and people with low vision, more than it will even help us! Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Jeanne

p.s. I watch a couple of TNs but rarely have time to check in with the blog, ¡discúlpenme, mis queridos/as amigos/as!

Labels: announcements

Somebody posted big fat ugly spoilers on the MEPS page last night. I've erased them but this is a reminder to all - you are NOT allowed to tell what's happening after the episode that's currently running. Speculation is ok but no wrecking the surprise for other people. So you looked ahead on YouTube - this does NOT make you special or entitle you to spill the beans.

And, bloggers - since I'll be away for three weeks you need to be especially vigilant about deleting any offending comments on your own posts. If you find there's a problem that needs my attention, please send me a direct email as I won't be able to monitor the computer regularly.

Thanks all! Enjoy the rest of July!

Labels: announcements, manana