Rocky on those infamous steps ...

When one of my friends heard that I was going to take my dog Rocky to Philadelphia, he immediately suggested that I take him to those "Rocky steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I groaned at the idea. (For the record, I wasn't the one who named my dog "Rocky." He was already Rocky when I got him.) In any case, a dear friend (you know who you are, T!) came down from New York to catch my reading in Philadelphia so before we headed over to the library, he snapped a few lovely shots of Rocky and moi. Here's two from him, and one of the statue that I took. Please enjoy!

Wow! EYES OF DESIRE 2: A DEAF GLBT READER scores a rave!

It's always gratifying when book critics take a note of your work even if it's 18 months after its publication. Please check out the writeup about the book over at Rainbow Reviews.

Rocky Poses for His First Professional Photographer ...

Phillip Ward, one of my favorite photographers, has taken a nice one of Rocky and me at his apartment in New York. (Of course, I've tweaked it in Photoshop for a more distinctive look. Phillip, I hope you didn't mind!)


Even though he'd been around the country with me before, it was quite a different experience for him to walk all over the cities of Washington, Philadelphia, and New York, all within the space of one week! I had a blast introducing him to some of my friends in all three cities, and he got along with everyone just fine. :-)

And yes, I will post more pictures of Rocky later on. Have a great weekend, all!

There's a big piece on moi in PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS!

Hello gang:

*gulps*

Please click on this link PHILADELPHIA GAY NEWS, and scroll down a little bit to the right column where there's a "print edition" that's viewable online. Go to page 19 and go from there! OMG. This is the biggest write-up on yours truly in years!

I talk about Deaf LGBT issues, cochlear implants, and the nature of ASL among other things. ;-)

Toodles!

Raymond

P.S. Some people have said that they can't seem to find the issue I'm talking about. Look in the archives for the week of April 17-23, 2009. (Thanks!)

OMG! My hearing service dog's lost a lot of weight!

Today I took Rocky to his groomer's for the first time in many months, simply because I had wanted him to keep his coat thick and warm for winter. Well, spring's indeed arrived, so it was time for him to shed his woolly mammoth look. The transformation was so shocking that when I emailed this picture of him to one of my friends, he said: "I don't recognize that dog. What have you done to Rocky? Where is he?"


I'm sure that some of you have paid close attention to the brouhaha over how Amazon.com had "de-ranked" books by GLBT writers this past weekend, so I decided to check whether my books were ranked at all. I was very pleased to see that EYES OF DESIRE 2: A DEAF GLBT READER was still ranked, along with ... what? My novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS now has its own ISBN number and its publication date of October 2009 listed there. Yayyy! Some folks have asked me when ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: NOTES FROM A DEAF GAY LIFE would be available on Amazon. I'm not even sure when, but for the time being, please support RID Press directly at this link here and get your copy sooner than later! (Thanks.)

In the meantime, I'm getting psyched and ready for my week-long trip back to the East Coast. It'll be so great to catch up with friends in Philadelphia, DC, and New York. I know that I may be a little sad knowing that I won't be seeing Elsa again, but at the same time, I know I'll get to introduce Rocky to all my friends! (And yes, Tom and Jonathan have their own dear miniature daschund named Wendy. I can't wait to meet her!)

Are you subtitled? I sure am.

Hello:

In my previous blog entry, I apologized for the lack of subtitles for the clip that Signcasts.com had done with me. I decided to rectify that situation. Enjoy!

Thanks for your patience.

Raymond

Who said that Deaf people aren't newsy? I sure am!

Hello gang!

I've been far too busy lately, but I wanted to give y'all a quick summary of what mischief I've been up to lately.

DEAF BLENDER THEATRE
My show UN: 2 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT LOVE was a huge success. Signcasts has uploaded two videos of the director Evonne Bilotta-Burke and me talking about Deaf Blender Theatre. Both videos are unfortunately not subtitled, but if you do happen to know ASL (or just wanna see what we look like), please check out both videos at Signcasts.com!

Andrew J. Oehrlein is producing and directing Deaf Blender Theater's next show, D. L. Coburn's THE GIN GAME, featuring Douglas Bahl and Leslie Yount. The show runs from April 23 to April 25. Please go to Deaf Blender's web site for ticket information (and yes, you can actually order tickets online!). How 21st Century.

Deaf Blender Theatre won a slot to present my new play THAT CHAIR WAS MY WIFE as part of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, which opens on Thursday July 30th. Tickets will go on sale on July 1st at www.fringefestival.org, so please come see us! In the meantime, more information about the show will be posted in a month or so. It should make for an exciting summer!


WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT: AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
You may recall reading about my next book PLAYING IT BY EYE: STAGE PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE earlier on this blog. Well, the book is still on track to be published in September 2009; however, Gallaudet University Press has decided to change its title to WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT: AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. Its cover is being finalized for the Fall 2009 catalog, so once it's confirmed, I will post it on here with more juicy details. I'm really looking forward to its publication!


Reviews for ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: NOTES FROM A DEAF GAY LIFE
I scored one of the best reviews of my career recently. Please read Robb C. Sewell's review of my newest book here. One other review can be found here (by Amos Lassen); I've been told that Richard Labonte and Kathi Wolfe will have their reviews of the book posted soon. I'll link them from here when they're available. And of course, you're more than welcome to purchase your own copy of the book at this link.


That infamous episode of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT ...
You know how urban legends and rumors propagate all over the Internet? I had to laugh when I saw an email forwarded from friends of friends of . . . oh, gee. The email said that there was going to be a brand-new episode of LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT. The problem? The email said it would air on Tuesday, April 3rd, which it did in 2007. This year it fell on a Friday, but I've been told by a few people that it's supposed to air on Tuesday, April 14th on the USA Network. If so, please doublecheck your local listings and see the show if you haven't done so already! I still find it hard to believe that more than two years have passed since I shot my big scene with Deanne Bray. And yes, as much as I'd enjoyed being on the show, I'm happily retired from acting! (Below is a snap of my most shamelessly notorious moment on national television.)



DEAF AMERICAN POETRY
I want to congratulate my friend John Lee Clark on the publication of his brand-new book DEAF AMERICAN POETRY. Ever since I met him in August 2001, he'd always talked about the need for an anthology featuring the work of Deaf poets, and by golly, he's finally pulled it off after so many years of researching and assembling what I'm sure will be a fine collection. I haven't seen the actual book itself, but I know that I have six poems in it ("The Crucifixion," "Spelling Bee 1978," "Learning to Speak I," etc.). I can't wait to read the work of other Deaf poets because that's what we need more of these days. Yes, Deaf poetry still matters. So get your own copy!


LAMBDA BOOK REPORT
Before I forget again, I believe that LAMBDA BOOK REPORT, a national quarterly that focuses on LGBT books and authors (or as they say, "the country’s most established review of contemporary LGBT literature"), will run an interview with yours truly later this month. I don't remember what I told the reporter last November, so guess I'll have to refresh my memory by picking up a copy when it comes out. ;-) At least I scored a mention in John Morgan Wilson's "Book Buzz" column for the month of April and Jameson Currier's "Queertype" blog. (Use the Web browser's find function to search for my last name "Luczak" if you check either link!)


Philadelphia Freedom? You bet!
On Saturday April 18th, I will give a rare reading from my book ST. MICHAEL'S FALL and my first public talk about ASSEMBLY REQUIRED as part of the Free Library Festival in Philadelphia. Please come on up and say hello if you're nearby. I promise not to bite, especially if you have a book for me to autograph. (Hint, hint.)


Ah, spring's definitely here! Yayyy.
I was most pleased when SOUTHWEST JOURNAL, a local neighborhood newspaper here in Minneapolis, chose my poem "Winter's Ex-Girlfriend" as part of their Spring Poetry section. To help celebrate spring's arrival, please read the first poem at this link. Enjoy welcoming spring! We've all earned it.


Okay. Anything else?
So yeah, what other mischief am I up to these days? WRITING, since I don't have any book contract after my first novel MEN WITH THEIR HANDS, which is to appear in October 2009. You'll "hear" more about the fruits of my labors when I nab book contracts for 'em. Which I hope will be soon.

Sorry if this blog entry feels like an April downpour, but this is what happens when you're busy and forget to inform the world what mischief you've been up to lately. *glances down at my dog resting his head on his front paws* Right, Rocky? Let's go for a walk around the neighborhood! It is spring.

Toodles, everyone!

Raymond