Last Friday we just published our 75th episode; in both video and podcast formats. We have 60+ TIkTok posts and 150+ Instagram posts. This is our 170th blog post.
But, honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Our website has started to feature honest-to-goodness pictures of your favorite DHH duo. Because, while we love our Bitmoji, they can’t go out into the real world. At least not off a printed page. (But who knows what dangers AI shall unleash upon us?) And going out into the real world is exactly what we’ve started doing. We’ve recently presented for HLAA DownEast Maine and HLAA Boston. We hope more presentations are in store for 2026.
Read on for more hope, ‘cause couldn’t we all use a little more hope these days?
Collaborations
Our collaborator, and good friend, Jonathan Ozek, connected us with Sarah from Mass Ability and Jeremy (and Maricarmen) from Tactus Music. Jeremy brought a DTT flyer with him to Tokyo for the Deaflympics. The fact that our printed-out Bitmoji made it to The Land of the Rising sun before us, stoked the fire of collaborative possibilities within us
We’re working on a couple of other collaborations and are on the lookout for more people and organizations whose DHH advocacy efforts we can bring to the attention of dear readers like you. We also feel that they would do well to share the laughter-tinged information that is our efforts with their own audiences. We always say, there’s no one way to be deaf. Collaborations help us shine a light on how many other ways there are.
Book Deal
This is another incarnation of collaboration. It takes a dedicated team to bring a book into this world. We feel we have no small skill in the ways of wordsmithing. We like to think you agree at least somewhat, since you’re picking up what we’re putting down on this digital page. Next we hope to get our words on the printed page. Be it a collection of these blogs or some newly woven yarn, it’s our hope to start the journey that leads to one day seeing our names on the spine of a book. And Brad would need a fainting couch if he ever saw his name listed in the Library of Congress Name Authority list.
Hockey Hall of Fame
In perhaps the only case where Brad has gone somewhere Julie has not, we just must get up to Toronto and visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. The man who captained the team who brought The Cup back to Boston, Zdeno Chara, was just inducted. We’ve gotta get up there to see his plaque. Not to mention the building is gorgeous. It’s got a stained glass dome.
But, since we’re so passionate about our advocacy work, we’d invariably mix business with pleasure. There’s a lot of good DHH advocacy work being done in The Great White North. We’d do our homework and plan to meet with some people and organizations to see how a collaboration could be mutually beneficial
Office Space
No, not the movie. Actual office space. We established Down the Tubes Productions this year but that didn’t change much of anything. The laptop, camera, and more recently microphone travel to many a place. This flexibility played a pivotal role in our getting up-and-running so quickly. But Brad has experienced some technological issues thanks to this setup. Having a place to keep all the hardware would also allow us to up our game. We could create a set and not have to worry about bent cords and dark shadows. No, not the TV show. Actual dark shadows. Before we started this gig, neither of us realized the importance of lighting in filming!
Mama Hu
Dr. Michelle Hu is a pediatric audiologist over on The Left Coast. She’s also a cochlear implant user. But she wasn’t satisfied helping children, and their parents, she could physically see. She’s got a website and Instagram presence that help make it ok to talk about, and have, hearing loss. She’s not afraid to talk about tough topics but does so with a dash of humor. She shares our infotainment ideals. We hope to at least meet her if not collaborate with her!
Swag
Julie has designed some shirts for the show and for the Walk4Hearing. Brad started the ruff, sorry, rough draft of our Hearing Things Logo and Julie prettied it up. Then she designed our Down the Tubes Logo. So we’ve got stuff to slap on stickers and mugs and shirts (oh my!) We’ll most likely coerce Rocky and Happy with treatos to be models but we hope to branch out and sell the stuff to readers like you, too! While don’t do what we do for the money, there’s no denying we need to start making money. That office space ain’t gonna pay for itself. Plus, with people walking around with our logo, that’ll help us spread the word about our show.
Convince Brad to go shopping and to let Julie style him
Brad hikes in the woods, Julie hikes in Nordstroms. Neither of us enjoy time on the others’ trails. Brad prefers his comfy T-shirts, well-worn jeans, and Northface hoodie zip-up, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with his preferred style, as we are becoming more visible, we need to have a few more options. If Brad had it his way, every time we present we would be wearing our bright blue “Down the Tubes” shirts. But there are situations that will call for an ensemble that is a tad more…elevated. Julie’s expertise in styling “resistant to change” men (she has a wealth of experience in this department) is going to be employed. One way or another, Brad will end up with a capsule collection of pieces that he can mix and match for presentations and work meetings .Mission, impossible – but Julie will make it possible!
Convince Julie to wander in the woods on an easy trail
He’s already tried the Happy Meal version of this. Julie was not happy. (Nor was Happy there for that matter.) He realizes that there’s more to Julie’s hesitation than mere preference. Bob the Knee must be treated with care. So Brad’s mission, one he’s chosen to accept, is to find a trail that does not rock. He thinks there are some unpaved trails that are hugged on all sides by trees but not dotted with small stones and large boulders. Nor over-filled with roots poking up into the path. So in 2026, he hopes to share something that brings him serenity with someone who is gonna help him change the world.
Twenty Twenty-six:
Another year under our belts.
We are full of hope.
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