The Lantern
The Lantern - November 2008
A publication of the Vision Loss Resource Center of the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
www.lighthouse-sf.org
The Lantern is free to the community we serve: blind and visually impaired individuals and their families and friends.
Please let us know what you think! To submit feedback about this newsletter, please send an email to Lantern@lighthouse-sf.org.
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In the Lantern:
- LightHouse Offers Affordable Choices for Recreation
- Weekend Workshops Highlight Dance, Yoga and Swords
- December Seminar to Showcase World of Digital Talking Book Players
- Apple Adds Accessibility Features to iPod Nano and iTunes
- Free Downloads Include Closed Captioning and First Online Video Program with DVS
- Site Gives Subscribers News They Want to Hear
- North Coast News: ‘Making Blindness Fashionable’ CD Debuts at HCB Benefit
- Celebrate White Cane Safety Month with 10% Off at Adaptations
- Next Generation Perkins Brailler Incorporates User Feedback to Improve Functionality
- Social Security Administration Makes Debit Card Payment Option Available
- Accessible Statements and Checks Make for Easier Banking
- Blind Babies Foundation Looks for Alumni to Join Anniversary Celebration
LightHouse Calendar - DeafBlind Christmas Party
- Blind activists protest movie 'Blindness”
- November 2008 LightHouse Calendar
- Feedback Corner
PHOTO CAPTION:
Blind Olympics participant wearing two medals around his neck smiles for the camera.
Over 50 youth with visual impairment gathered at the campus of Sacramento State University to compete in the blind Olympics, a recreational event sponsored by the Sacramento Society for the Blind. LightHouse Director of Public Policy and Information and 2008 Paralympic athlete Jessie Lorenz spoke to the families and students before the days events began.
"We know there is a correlation between physical activity and quality of life. Don't let your visual impairment stop you from being physically active. Dream big, work hard: achieve!" Congratulations to all of the athletes who participated in this fun filled day!
Special Section: Entertainment
In this issue of the Lantern, we present some options for entertainment and access to media products and services for the blind and visually impaired community.
LightHouse Offers Affordable Choices for Recreation
The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco is offering exciting new programs that are either free or discounted. Everyone is welcome to join, and all activities are designed with people who are visually impaired in mind. The LightHouse is located at 214 Van Ness Avenue between Hayes and Grove near the Civic Center BART station.
Some Highlights:
Yoga on Thursday evenings, 6:00 to 7:25 pm
Yoga Workshop: Saturday, November 8, 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Ballroom and Latin Dance Workshop
Saturday, November 1, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Tandem Biking on Sundays
Open Technology Lab Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Saturdays, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Basic Computer Skills Workshops
2nd and 3rd Saturdays of the month, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
For the most up-to-date listings, go to our events page.. For more information, contact Education and Recreation Coordinator Philip Kum at pkum@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7372.
Weekend Workshops Highlight Dance, Yoga and Swords
Saturdays at the LightHouse are full of action this November!
On Saturday, November 1 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, we start the month off with a dance workshop featuring contemporary Latin styles and traditional ballroom steps. Gene Russo teaches this 2-hour workshop. Everyone is encouraged to come, especially beginners.
We slow things down on Saturday, November 8 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm with a relaxing and calming hatha yoga class that is perfect for the beginner and students looking to get back into yoga. Gabbriella and Nancy Yates, the two lovely instructors from our regular Thursday evening class, teach this 2-hour workshop.
The Flowing Dragon Swords team makes a special visit to the LightHouse on Saturday, November 15 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm to give participants a very unique experience with swords, our senses and our peers. This is definitely an experience you will find interesting and fulfilling.
To keep up to date with all events at the LightHouse, go to our events page.
Insights 2008 Audio Tours
Audio tours are available for the Insights 2008 exhibition of works by artists who are blind or visually impaired. The exhibition, on view until December 12th, takes place on the lower level of San Francisco City Hall, at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery’s Art in City Hall
program.
The audio tour of each artist’s work is accessible either by using your cell phone (technology provided by Guide By Cell) or by listening to an audio player, donated by Acoustiguide, Inc. The LightHouse is currently scheduling guided audio tours for groups during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. To schedule a group tour, please email korvik@lighthouse-sf.org or call 415-694-7370.
Click here for information about Insights or email insights@lighthouse-sf.org.
December Seminar to Showcase World of Digital Talking Book Players
See and hear what’s new in accessible book players at the Vision Loss Resource Center’s next technology seminar. Digital talking book players using MP3 and DAISY formats are the focus on December 5 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.
This free seminar will preview the new talking book player from the National Library Service. Bookshare will discuss its free digital book program. The Victor Reader Stream and several other digital talking book readers will be discussed. There will also be time after the seminar to visit vendor tables, which will be available from 3:00 to 4:30 pm.
Attend this seminar in one of three ways: in person at the LightHouse, via conference call or through live audio streaming over the Web. Please RSVP to info@lighthouse-sf.org or 888-400-8933.
Apple Adds Accessibility Features to iPod Nano and iTunes
Apple has recently moved to make iTunes and iPods accessible to blind and visually impaired people. The iPod Nano, which was virtually unusable for people with vision loss, is now equipped with talking menus and large font options. Apple also made improvements to the accessibility of iTunes 8, which is screen reader friendly for both the Mac and the PC.
"This news is music to the ears of the 20 million Americans with significant vision loss," said Carl R. Augusto, President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), and an avid music fan. "I can't tell you how great it will be to find my Timbaland and Madonna songs without having to shuffle through every song in my music collection."
In addition to adding talking menus to the new iPod Nano (4th generation), Apple has expanded the accessibility section of its website at www.apple.com/accessibility. According to Apple, screen reader users will also be able to access many more iTunes features, such as creating and managing an account and shopping for albums and songs in the iTunes store.
AFB is testing Apple's new accessibility features, and will release a report on the findings. For more information and thoughts from AFB staff members, visit AFB's blog.
Free Downloads Include Closed Captioning and First Online Video Program with DVS
The PBS history series “American Experience” is offering free downloads of six of its award-winning presidential biographies. The free downloads will be available until Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.
Closed captioned biographies of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan—more than 23 hours of programming—are available on "The Presidents" website at www.pbs.org/presidents and on Apple's iTunes U, a section of the iTunes Store showcasing free offerings from colleges, universities and educationally focused organizations.
The Roosevelt biography is the first online video program to be offered as a download with a Descriptive Video Service (DVS) track, which makes video more accessible via narration of key visual elements that are inserted into pauses in dialogue to viewers who are blind or who have low vision.
"While virtually all broadcast and cable programs are closed captioned, and many air with video description as well, only a few programs that migrate to the Web do so with these important access features intact,” according to Larry Goldberg, Director of Media Access at WGBH. “We are thrilled that ‘American Experience’ has succeeded in including a large audience, numbering in excess of 36 million potential users with sensory disabilities."
“American Experience” is closed captioned and described for broadcast by WGBH's Media Access Group (http://access.wgbh.org), a nonprofit service of the public broadcaster that consists of DVS, The Caption Center (the world’s first captioning agency), and the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM), a research, development and outreach organization that works to make existing and emerging technologies accessible to all audiences.
Click here for more information about “American Experience” and “The President”.
Site Gives Subscribers News They Want to Hear
NewsworthyAudio is an audio newspaper site that delivers stories as podcasts to its users on a daily basis, free of charge.
Subscribers select the types of news stories they are interested in. NewsworthyAudio.com then finds full-length newspaper stories that match those interests and delivers them as personalized podcasts to each subscriber every day.
Subscribers can personalize over a dozen categories of news, pick from hundreds of pre-built news podcasts or create custom podcasts. They can also listen to full-length newspaper stories online.
While the NewsworthyAudio team believes that its podcasts are of an unmatched quality and content, they are also interested in hearing how they can make the site and service friendlier to the visually impaired. Write to newsworthyinfo@newsworthyaudio.com with comments and suggestions.
North Coast News: ‘Making Blindness Fashionable’ CD Debuts at HCB Benefit
Local bands Arrogant Hare and The Monster Women performed at the fourth annual Humboldt Council of the Blind (HCB) benefit show on Saturday, September 20 at the Alibi in Arcata. Money from the show went into HCB’s general fund.
This year the show doubled as a CD release party for “Making Blindness Fashionable.” This compilation CD costs $10 at local stores and features 22 bands—20 from Humboldt County—that donated their music and time. All of the proceeds from the CD benefit HCB.
HCB President James Forbes compiled and put the CD together on his label, Meth Bog Records. James, who was a former LightHouse summer intern, is a musician with The Buffy Swayze, which is described by RadioHead as an alternative/glam/pop music band.
Money from the CD, projected at proceeds of $500, will go into a fund to put a DVS/CC (Descriptive Video Service/Closed Captioning) system into a local theater, possibly the Broadway Cinemas. This fund will be the beginning of a campaign to raise half of the $8,000 that it costs to install the system into one theater.
Contact James with any questions about the local council, an official chapter of the California Council of the Blind (CCB), or the national American Council of the Blind (ACB). Feel free to also contact James regarding the DVS/CC project or the benefit CD at 707-444-3548 or mycrutch@sbcglobal.net.
Celebrate White Cane Safety Month with 10% Off at Adaptations
White Cane Safety Day has taken on added significance since 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson first declared the day as a reminder to promote courtesy and special consideration to the blind on streets and highways.
All 50 states now have a White Cane law declaring that drivers need to take caution and be prepared to stop their vehicles to prevent injury to people who are blind and visually impaired. White Cane Safety Day has become a second Independence Day for the estimated 250,000 people living in California who are blind or have a significant visual impairment. The long white cane is not only a mobility aid that allows the blind to travel safely; it also symbolizes the ability of the blind to live independently and to actively contribute to the community.
October 15 is National White Cane Safety Day. At Adaptations, the LightHouse Store, we will celebrate White Cane Safety Day for an entire month. This promotion lasts between October 15 and November 15! In celebration of White Cane Safety month, Adaptations is having a cane and cane accessory sale. Everything from mobility canes, to ID canes, to support canes is 10% off. Any add-ons to your cane, like tips or holders, are also 10% off.
So come on in and tap your way to freedom with new and improved independence. In addition, every time you make a purchase over $20 at Adaptations you will receive a free medication organizer (while supplies last).
Interested in a visit from our Mobile Store?
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Adaptations Mobile Store. This unit is able to travel to groups in the community interested in learning about aids and appliances for living with vision loss. To schedule a visit from the Adaptations Mobile Store, please contact Laura Peters at 415-694-7305 or send an email to info@lighthouse-sf.org.
Next Generation Perkins Brailler Incorporates User Feedback to Improve
Functionality Perkins School for the Blind announced in October the introduction of the Next Generation Perkins Brailler, a redesign of the classic braille writer that it unveiled 57 years ago.
The new model is currently available in APH Blue for $650 exclusively in the United States through Perkins Products or the American Printing House for the Blind, which provided support for the product’s development. In April 2009, resellers in the United States will be allowed to offer it for sale in all colors (APH Blue, Midnight Blue and Raspberry). An international launch is planned for early 2009.
The Next Generation model retains all of the original brailler’s features, yet is more portable, more comfortable to use and quieter. Based on user research from around the globe, new features and improvements were developed, including: an easy-erase button that allows correction of mistakes, a reading rest that provides a flat surface for proofreading the page, front panel margin guides that eliminate reaching around the back, environmentally friendly construction through the use of less oil and manufactured materials, and modern colors with a sleek design.
To order the Next Generation Perkins Brailler, call Perkins Products at 617-972-7308 or American Printing House for the Blind at 800-223-1839. Visit www.perkinsbrailler.org for more information.
Social Security Administration Makes Debit Card Payment Option Available
The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is providing a new way for its beneficiaries to electronically receive monthly payments such as SSI or SSDI.
Anyone receiving Social Security benefits can now opt for a debit MasterCard called the Direct Express card, to which funds will be automatically deposited on payment day each month. Recipients can then use it like an ATM card to make purchases, pay bills and get cash back at thousands of locations nationwide.
The card provides an option for federal beneficiaries who don’t have a bank account, but who are looking for a no-cost or low-cost alternative to using check-cashing facilities and carrying large amounts of cash. It also eliminates worries about lost or stolen checks. If people lose the card or it is stolen, their card will be replaced and the money on it is protected when they report the incident promptly.
No credit check or sign-up fee is required to enroll for the card, which also does not incur a monthly account fee. Most transactions are free, but there is a charge to use optional services, such as receiving a paper statement or transferring money to a bank account.
To sign up, call the Direct Express card hotline at 877-212-9991 or go to the Direct Express website. Once recipients receive their card in the mail, they must call the Direct Express customer service department to activate it. At that point, they will also select a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN).
After signing up, Direct Express’ card-issuing bank will notify SSA that beneficiaries have a Direct Express debit card account and will give SSA the information it needs to send benefit payments to their accounts.
Accessible Statements and Checks Make for Easier Banking
Bank of America customers can receive their consumer checking, savings or credit card account statements in braille or large print formats free of charge.
In addition, customers can order raised-line large print checks that can be oriented by touch for their personal checking and line of credit accounts. The checks are available at no additional cost above the standard check order fee for an account.
To request braille and large print statements or to order raised-line large print checks, visit a banking center or call 800-622-8731 (800-551-4453 TTY).
Click here for more information about Bank of America’s accessible accounts and services.
Blind Babies Foundation Looks for Alumni to Join Anniversary Celebration
Blind Babies Foundation (BBF) will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2009 and would like to include as many of its alumni and alumni families as possible in festivities to be held throughout the year.
BBF is also curious as to what has happened to its “babies” and their families during the last 60 years. If you were a BBF client or know of any graduates and families who should be included, please contact Michael McFarland at Blind Babies Foundation, 1814 Franklin Street, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Reach him by phone at 510-446-2229 or by email at Mcfarlandmike@blindbabies.org.
Deaf Blind Christmas Party
The members of the Bayview Chapter of the California Council of the Blind cordially invite you to attend the annual Christmas party given by the chapter for our deaf-blind and deaf friends.
We will meet at the Oakland Lions Blind Center located at 3834 Opal Street, December 5, from 11 AM to 3 PM. We will have lunch, prizes, games and a visit from Santa Claus.
Please RSVP with Sook Hee Choi by emailing schoi@lighthouse-sf.org or calling 415- 431-4572 (TTY/VP) by November 21st.
Blind activists protest movie 'Blindness”
Excerpted article by Ben Nuckles
Blind people quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves, trading sex for food. For Marc Maurer, who's blind, such a scenario — as shown in the movie "Blindness" — is not a clever allegory for a breakdown in society. Instead, it's an offensive and chilling depiction that Maurer fears could undermine efforts to integrate blind people into the mainstream. "The movie portrays blind people as monsters," said Maurer, president of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind. "Blindness doesn't turn decent people into monsters."
The organization plans to protest the movie, released by Miramax Films, at 75 theaters around the country when it's released Friday. Blind people and their allies will hand out fliers and carry signs. Among the slogans: "I'm not an actor. But I play a blind person in real life." The movie reinforces inaccurate stereotypes, including that the blind cannot care for themselves and are perpetually disoriented, according to the NFB. "We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don't think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help — at all," said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the organization.
"Blindness" director Fernando Meirelles, an Academy Award nominee for "City of God," was shooting on location Thursday and unavailable for comment, according to Miramax. The studio released a statement that read, in part, "We are saddened to learn that the National Federation of the Blind plans to protest the film `Blindness.'" The NFB began planning the protests after seven staffers, including Danielsen, attended a screening of the movie in Baltimore last week. The group included three sighted employees.
"Everybody was offended," Danielsen said. Based on the 1995 novel by Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago, "Blindness" imagines a mysterious epidemic that causes people to see nothing but fuzzy white light — resulting in a collapse of the social order in an unnamed city. Julianne Moore stars as the wife of an eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) who loses his sight; she feigns blindness to stay with her husband and eventually leads a revolt of the quarantined patients. The book was praised for its use of blindness as a metaphor for the lack of clear communication and respect for human dignity in modern society. Miramax said in its statement that Meirelles had "worked diligently to preserve the intent and resonance of the acclaimed book," which it described as "a courageous parable about the triumph of the human spirit when civilization breaks down."
Meirelles told The Associated Press at Cannes that the film draws parallels to such disasters as Hurricane Katrina, the global food shortage and the cyclone in Myanmar. "There are different kinds of blindness. There's 2 billion people that are starving in the world," Meirelles said. "This is happening. It doesn't need a catastrophe. It's happening, and because there isn't an event like Katrina, we don't see."
November 2008 LightHouse Calendar
Education and Recreation Program
For prerecorded monthly information on the Education and Recreation Program, call 415-694-7325 or email mpearson@lighthouse-sf.org. For reservations, call Molly Irish at 415-694-7320.
Town Hall
November 5, 2:00 to 3:00 pm
Reno Trip
November 6 and 7
Holiday Bazaar
November 19, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Adult Weekend and Evening Program
Contact Philip Kum at 415-694-7372 or pkum@lighthouse-sf.org.
Saturday Workshops
Dance Workshop
November 1, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Basic Computer Skills Workshop
November 8 and 15, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Yoga Workshop
November 8, 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Flowing Dragon Swords Workshop
November 15, 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Ongoing Events
Peer-to-Peer Support Group
November 8 and 22, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Hatha Yoga Class
Thursdays, 6:00 to 7:25 pm
Feedback Corner
We have received a lot of mail this month from our readers- thank you, you help make this newsletter better. Some of our readers point out that they no longer wanted to receive a floppy disk format of the Lantern and suggest we discontinue it. Most of our mail this month was from people requesting to be added to an email only format of the Lantern. As a result of this feedback we have decided to do a reader format audit. Do you want to read your Lantern in an email, in hardcopy braille, in large print, in a digital DAZY file you get from our website, on 3.5 floppy disk or by listening to it on tape cassette? We currently publish the Lantern in all of these formats, and yes, you can subscribe to more than one format if you prefer. You can help begin this audit by answering the following question.
Would you like to receive your Lantern in a different format than you currently receive it ?
To submit a format change please send an email to lantern@lighthouse-sf.org or contact the vision loss resource center at: 888-400-8933.
We are particularly interested in hearing from those of you using the 3.5 diskettes. We are considering eliminating the 3.5 floppy disk and replacing it with CD rom or eliminating it all together. What do you think about this?
Finally, we heard a lot of you who are disappointed with the discontinuation of the North Coast Lantern. Sadly, times are really tough and the LightHouse, like many employers, has had to tighten our belt.
We want to include North Coast News in the Lantern- so please send us Community announcements or things to share!
Please submit announcements and Lantern feedback to: lantern@lighthouse-sf.org
Alternative Formats
LightHouse documents including The Lantern come in alternative formats such as Braille, tape, disk or email and are available on our website.
If you wish to change the format you receive please call 415-431-1481 or email lantern@lighthouse-sf.org.
