“Vision Through Words” is a blog that posts poetry and short essays written by blind and visually impaired people. The purpose of the blog is to give visually impaired writers a new venue in which to share their experiences and inner visions, showing how their lack of eyesight has impacted their lives. For details on submitting your poem or essay, click on the “Submissions” tab at www.visionthroughwords.com.
Arts and Entertainment
Free Information and Entertainment on Your Phone
By Brian McCallen, LightHouse guest blogger
Do you want to find out the latest news but can’t read the paper? Do you want to read a magazine but are frustrated because you can’t see the pictures? Access News is the solution to your problems.
Access News by Phone from the Society for the Blind in Sacramento is Northern California’s premier radio-reading service. All you need is a touch-tone telephone and a free subscription to listen to newspapers, newsletters, magazines and other entertainment and information seven days a week. The best part is that trained volunteers read the newspaper articles and describe the magazine pictures to keep you informed and entertained.
Access News’ most popular programs are actually the Safeway, Raley’s and other grocery store ads. In addition, some of the service’s exciting entertainment fare includes the “CBS Mystery Theater” and “Dragnet” radio dramas.
Using Access News was a fun and welcoming experience. Upon calling the Society for the Blind, I spoke with Joseph Hamilton, the program manager. Hamilton put me on the subscription list and registered my name, address and phone number in the Access News system. Then, he gave me a toll-free phone number, user code and a security number, and I was all set to use the service.
I dialed the toll-free number, listened to the prompt and pressed “1” to jump to the “California Access News Local Content Area.” After punching in my user code and security number, I heard all of the options in the main menu.
I like action-packed, thrilling radio dramas, so I decided to listen to an episode of “Dragnet.” It was fun to hear and visualize how Detective Sergeants Joe Friday and Ben Romero solved an L.A. homicide and caught the suspects.
One idea that might make Access News a little easier to navigate is the ability to use voice recognition. Without having to find which buttons to push, I’d be able to just say my choices into the phone.
I interviewed Tuan Nguyen, a college student and Access News user from Sacramento. I asked Nguyen about his experience with the service, and he said it’s an excellent resource for daily information. Nguyen uses Access News to look up store ads and listen to the day’s news with his cup of morning coffee or nightly drink of vodka.
He also had some suggestions for improvement. He wants “even more magazines that are not currently available, such as scientific journals for enthusiastic college students in the sciences, latest romance novels for active blind readers, and expansion of the library of Old Time Radio Shows for enthusiastic collectors.” Nguyen went on to say that Access News should expand even more to attract blind communities in the U.S., around the world and even on the web.
To subscribe to or provide feedback for Access News, call 916-732-4010. To listen to a demonstration, dial 916-732-4000 or toll-free (in California) 800-665-4667. For more information about the service, click here.
Did You Hear Your Breath Today?
Yoga Workshop for Everyone!
Come stretch, laugh and learn how to listen to your breath with Yoga Instructor Nancy Yates. Listen to music, drink a cup of complementary Chai tea and enjoy this workshop which is open to everyone, no matter what skill level.
Like all LightHouse events and workshops, Yoga Workshop for Everyone! is fully accessible, and Guide Dogs and wheel chairs are welcome.
“No food or drug will ever do for you what a fresh supply of oxygen will.” Tony Robbins
When: Saturday, May 21 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: San Francisco office of the LightHouse (just a few minutes from the Civic Center BART station)
Cost: $15 donation (no one turned away for lack of funds.) Note: Bring a friend for free!
For information or to sign-up, call Brandon Young at 415-694-7372 or email him at byoung@old.lighthouse-sf.org.
Fun and Informative Radio for the Blind
By Brian McCallen, LightHouse guest blogger
Want to enjoy your favorite entertainment and informational programs at the click of a mouse? Well, look no further than the American Council of the Blind’s ACB Radio.
ACB Radio offers five channels of programming. The MainStream airs “spoken-word content by the blind, for the blind” and for listeners interested in important issues affecting the blind. ACB Radio Cafe is the place to hear new and well-known blind musicians play and sing your favorite tunes. The best in old-time radio dramas and comedies is on Treasure Trove. ACB Radio Interactive (ACBRI) is the source for more music, variety and your requests. Blind and visually impaired presenters from around the world host ACBRI, and the service is for anyone interested in great and unpredictable interactive Internet radio. ACB Radio World brings you blindness-related programming in languages other than English, along with live and special-interest shows.
In addition to the five channels above, ACB Radio offers a blog on show and website updates, programming on-demand and more. ACB offers plenty of choices for your radio-listening pleasure!
Accessing ACB Radio is easy. First, go to www.acbradio.org. At the left side of the home page under “CONTENTS,” click on either MainStream, Cafe, Treasure Trove, Interactive or World. You’ll be transferred to the site for that particular ACB radio station. On each station’s page, select the audio player and associated dial-up or broadband live stream that you wish to use. The live stream opens up and you’re listening to talk and tunes in just seconds.
On a side note, you may access a station’s page at any time by clicking on “Listen,” which is also located under “CONTENTS,” and tapping the appropriate link (e.g., “Connect to ACB Radio Main Stream for the talk of the blind community”). There’s also a “Downloads” page where you can download the required audio players, along with a special ACB Radio Tuner for Windows and Macintosh systems. The link for the “Downloads” page is located in the “CONTENTS” menu.
ACB’s Treasure Trove took me on an awesome adventure back in time to the old days of radio. The station was easy to access, and I enjoyed listening to suspenseful and exciting episodes of Batman, Gunsmoke and The Shadow from the 1940s and ‘50s.
Listen to ACB Radio today. It’s informative, entertaining and, most of all, FUN!
Free Dance Classes in Emeryville
The Allegro Ballroom is offering free classes for visually impaired participants every Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. at its main ballroom (5855 Christie Ave., Emeryville). Classes are taught by Gene Russo.
Classes are for all levels and no partner is required. Traditional ballroom styles, Latin and night club style are included. Guide dancers are available for those who need them.
For more information, contact the Allegro at 510-655-2888.
Hey Kids: Review a Described Film and Win Prizes
The American Council of the Blind – Audio Description Project and the Described and Captioned Media Program recently announced their Third Annual Young Described Film Critic Contest.
If you’re a young person who can’t see or can’t see well, audio description provides access to all the visual images of the movies that your sighted peers enjoy.
Some films in movie theaters and certain DVDs have description available; many of those DVDs and the older VHS tapes with description can be borrowed at public libraries or state libraries for the blind.
The Young Described Film Critic Contest wants you to experience these films and the description soundtracks. Young people with a visual impairment have a chance to win prizes for themselves, recognition for their schools and the title of Young Described Film Critic of the Year!
All you need to do for a chance to win is write, type or record your own film review of any described movie. Keep it short: 250 words maximum.
There are three age categories: Sophomore (ages 7 to 10), Junior (ages 11 to 14) and Senior (ages 15 to 18). You can enter as many times as you like!
The top nominees in each age category will be invited to an awards ceremony at the American Council of the Blind 2011 convention in Reno, NV, during the week of July 11. Special guest award presenters will be in attendance. Prizes are still to be determined.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Friday, June 3, 2011
Enter online at:
http://listeningislearning.org/get-involved_events-and-contests.html
Send your written entry in regular or large print or Braille via email or postal mail (submissions from outside the United States are fine) to:
ACB-Young Described Film Critic
2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 650
Arlington, VA 22201 USA
E-mail: jsnyder@acb.org
Phone: 202-467-5083
Include the following details:
Name
Address
Phone
Email
Age category: Sophomore (ages 7 to 10), Junior (ages 11 to 14) or Senior (ages 15 to 18)
Name of school and class
School address and phone number
For “Top Tips for Writing the Ultimate Film Review,” visit:
http://listeningislearning.org/get-involved_events-and-contests.html
The Department of Justice’s Changes to Audio Description and Movie Captioning: Hearing Highlights and More
By Brian McCallen, LightHouse guest blogger and volunteer
The Department of Justice (DOJ) just held three hearings on the Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs), containing changes to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that call for upgrades in digital cinema equipment and increases in audio-described film offerings. According to published and broadcasted highlights, all three hearings in Chicago, Washington and San Francisco featured disability organizations, service providers and the general public.
At the San Francisco hearing, Marilyn Piepho, who spoke by phone, said that there are too few theaters in the country utilizing descriptive video service. Piepho recommended that the Department of Justice not only call for more movie theaters to add audio-described movies, but also use a test pattern with an audible tone to let people know that the film they’re watching has descriptions at the beginning of the show.
I tried to contact several small Northern California movie theaters, including Sierra Theaters in Grass Valley, about the possibility of their offering descriptive video service in the future. None of the theaters returned my emails or calls for comment.
Even though the hearings are over, you still have a chance to speak out about the proposed changes! The period for public comment continues until January 24th, 2011. To learn more, go to http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/anprm2010_comment.htm. There, you’ll find the link “Movie Captioning and Audio Description.” Just click on the link, and type your name, address, email and comments inside the special box on the next page. You can upload a word processing document with your comments to the site as well.
So speak out and make your voice heard about these new and exciting changes to the ADA. And for all the information on the ANPRMs, log on to http://www.ada.gov/!
Described Classic Movies for Free
-by LightHouse guest blogger and volunteer Brian McCallen
Want to hear described classic movies at the click of a mouse? Well look no further than the Narrative Television Network’s (NTN’s) new website. An Emmy-award winning leader in audio description, NTN has a page for FREE DOWNLOADS of your favorite classic movies. Some of the best classic films for download from NTN include: A Star Is Born, Nicholas Nickleby, and The Third Man.
Best of all, the movies are available to download for FREE! No account is required! All you need is RealPlayer and at least a 28.8 Kbps Internet connection.
I just downloaded one movie from NTN called The Big Lift. I simply went to the website at http://narrativetv.com/films.htm and clicked the title. Then RealPlayer opened, and I was able to hear the described film in just a few seconds. Pretty easy, huh?
“Glow in the Dark” — A Public Art Project
Organized by California College of the Arts students, artist GK Callahan, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Center for Art and Public Life
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, 7 to 10 p.m. (rain or shine!)
165 Grove St. (Civic Center) @ The Please Touch Garden
California College of the Arts (CCA) and the LightHouse are pleased to present “Glow in the Dark,” a one-night exhibition of student work. The project takes place in the vacant building lot at 165 Grove St. in the Civic Center district of San Francisco, the future site of the Please Touch Garden, a community garden for blind and visually impaired people.
The project features work by the following CCA students:
Nicolas Colon
Elliott De Aratanha
David Elder,
Ian Garrison
Yoojin Kim
Fred Kolouch
Blaz Pirnat
Robin Tilby
Ping Zhang
The show brings together light sculpture, interactive projects, sound art and tactile experiences that reflect on blindness and visual impairment. The exhibition comes out of an ongoing dialogue between CCA undergraduate students and the LightHouse community.
In various projects, sensory experiences are reevaluated, calling into question common perceptions of what it means to see, feel, hear and touch. “Glow in the Dark” promotes the idea that there are many ways of seeing, and that the relationships between bodily senses are more intertwined than commonly assumed.
http://www.cca.edu/calendar/2010/glow-dark-public-art-project
Northern California Entertainment and Recreation Listing November 19, 2010
If you do not receive this listing in your inbox every Thursday, join the distribution list by emailing bberenson@old.lighthouse-sf.org.
This listing is compiled by the Information Resource Center at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It is compiled weekly as a service to the blind and visually impaired community of Northern California. If you have a meeting or event information that would be appropriate for inclusion in this list, please email info@old.lighthouse-sf.org. This list will be updated every Thursday. Information for each Thursday’s listing must be submitted one week prior to publication.
Northern California Entertainment and Recreation List November 19, 2010